Epistemology, Social Work and Substance Use

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra McNeil
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Medical Problem ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Education Policies ◽  
Critical Social Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
Professional Treatment ◽  
Use Studies

Abstract Social work and substance use research often neglect to make epistemological perspectives explicit in their studies, inadvertently embedding numerous assumptions that remain invisible and uncontested. Consequently, the unchallenged dominance of post-positivist epistemologies in Western European countries becomes (re)produced in social work and substance use education, policies and practices, limiting space for alternative viewpoints. This narrative review examines some of the social work and substance use literature, highlighting the value of making epistemology more explicit and the importance of applying critical epistemologies to counter dominant paradigms. This article makes a unique contribution to substance use literature by examining substance use from post-positivist, social constructivist and critical paradigms and by promoting a critical social work lens. A critical paradigm is particularly useful for questioning prevailing assumptions of substance use as a medical problem requiring professional treatment and for generating greater attention to structural policies that promote a more equitable society. Social work’s commitment to human rights and social justice effectively positions the discipline to apply a critical paradigm to the field of substance use studies.

scholarly journals Trabajadora/e/s Sociales como sujetos políticos, una apuesta desde la reconceptualización latinoamericana

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-59
Author(s):  
Haider Esteban Bautista Joaqui ◽  
Joseph Vicent Castillo Niño
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
Social Question ◽  
Political Subject ◽  
Critical Social Work ◽  
The Social

El presente artículo pretende evidenciar algunas reflexiones sobre la necesidad del profesionalen Trabajo Social como sujeto político en la cotidianidad ante la arremetida del modelo neoliberal. El objetivo fue establecer la relación entre el movimiento de reconceptualización y la construcción de un/a trabajador/a social como sujeto político acorde a la cuestión social. Se empleó una revisión bibliográfica de carácter cualitativa en diversas bases de datos y mediante múltiples buscadores académicos. Se presenta el contexto socio-histórico del proceso de la reconceptualización en Latinoamérica. Sumada una búsqueda sobre las implicaciones de ser sujeto social y la comprensión de la cuestión social de cara a nuevas representaciones de la desigualdad social.  Luego, una articulación y reflexión de las categoríasseñaladas anteriormente dando un apartado de discusión donde son expuestos algunos argumentosque sustentan el objetivo central de la investigación. A manera de conclusión, se destaca la necesidadde ser sujeto político desde la formación y ejercicio profesional frente a las nuevas representacionesde la cuestión social en concordancia con la vigencia de los aportes realizados por el movimiento de lareconceptualización (1960-1970). Se finaliza la discusión con una invitación para ampliar y fortalecer el área de investigación como una apuesta ético-política This article aims to highlight some reflections on the need of the social worker as a political subject in all his professional actions, is a qualitative research, conducted under a documentary review in various databases and repositories, indexed books and journals, both nationally and internationally. It is divided into a review of the socio-historical context of the process of reconceptualization and its contributions to the construction of critical social work, a review of the importance and implications of being a social subject, the understanding of the social question emanating from a capitalist model that constantly generates inequalities and precarious living conditions for a large part of the world’s population, followed by an articulation and reflection of the categories outlined above, finally, conclusions are presented that point to the need to be a political subject from the training and professional practice as a response to the community and in accordance with the validity of the reconceptualization as an emancipating struggle for the social subjects that see afectted their integrity and the guarantee of their human rights, calling on him or the professional in Social Work, to be a participant in the processes he carries out and not seen as a third , oblivious to that reality, to conclude the invitation is extended to expand and strengthen the area of research as an ethical-political bet.

Case Management and Social Support System for Families in Distress: A Social Work Response

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
W akar Amin
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Case Management ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Support System ◽  
Armed Conflict ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Support System ◽  
The Disappeared

History is witness to the fact that warring factions in any armed conflict often commit several human rights violations like murder, rape, torture etc., and the act of disappearance of person is one among them. While the persons who are subjected to disappearance are the primary victims, the families they leave behind are the secondary victims. The situation makes families of the disappeared person suffer great anguish when their loved ones go disappeared. The phenomenon produces anguish, fear and unspeakable sorrow for thousands of families. Appreciating the importance of social work professionals in helping families deal effective with their life situations the present paper aims to provide a case for social work interventional techniques of Social Support System (SSS) and Case Management to modify and make the social environment conducive for the families to live a normal life.

How the environment is conceptualised and represented globally in social work codes of ethics

2021 ◽  
pp. 002087282110200
Author(s):  
Kang Liu ◽  
Catherine A Flynn
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Physical Environment ◽  
Codes Of Ethics ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Sequential Mixed Methods ◽  
The Social ◽  
Holistic Understanding

While the environment is fundamental to humankind’s wellbeing, to date, social work has been largely focused on the social, rather than the physical, environment. To map how the broader environment is captured in the profession’s foundational documents, an exploratory sequential mixed methods study (QUAL → quan) analysed data from 64 social work codes of ethics. Findings indicate that although the environment is mentioned in the majority of these, there is a continued focus on the social, overlooking to some degree the physical, predominantly the built, environment. A more holistic understanding of the environment would enable social work to better fulfil its commitment to human rights and social justice.

Social workers’ attitudes toward human rights in a sample from Taiwan

2017 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 295-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hsin-Yi Chen ◽  
I-Chen Tang
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
General Knowledge ◽  
Educational Training ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Protests ◽  
Social Work Practitioners ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

The human rights concept is that everyone is entitled to enjoy those rights inherent to being human, without distinction. However, should human rights be considered a self-evident value for the social work profession? This study was to explore how social workers in Taiwan perceive the human rights concept. Responses from 276 social worker participants were analyzed by using a self-administered questionnaire. This study showed that social workers had a general knowledge of human rights. Receiving human rights educational training and engaging in social protests were important variables in increasing human rights awareness for social work practitioners.

Social Exclusion and Inclusion

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Lyons ◽  
Nathalie Huegler
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
International Development ◽  
Social Exclusion ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
The Social ◽  
Late Twentieth ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Late Twentieth Century

The term social exclusion achieved widespread use in Europe from the late twentieth century. Its value as a concept that is different from poverty, with universal relevance, has since been debated. It is used in Western literature about international development, and some authors have linked it to the notion of capabilities. However, it is not widely used in the social work vocabulary. Conversely, the notion of social inclusion has gained in usage and application. This links with values that underlie promotion of empowerment and participation, whether of individuals, groups, or communities. Both terms are inextricably linked to the realities of inequalities within and between societies and to the principles of human rights and social justice that feature in the international definition of social work.

Neoliberalism, austerity and social work with children and families: challenges and critical/radical possibilities

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steve Rogowski
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Welfare System ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Children And Families ◽  
Welfare Provision ◽  
Poverty And Inequality ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Uk

In the UK, neoliberalism and associated austerity have dominated social work and welfare provision over the last decade. Consequences include severe financial cuts to social work with children and families, as well as public services generally, and large increases in poverty and inequality. Despite increasing numbers of people in difficulty, the social work and welfare system has become more punitive and presents ongoing threats to social work’s commitment to human rights and social justice. This article examines such developments and includes the views of practitioners. Despite the strength and depth of challenges, it argues that critical/radical possibilities remain for practitioners to work both individually with service users and collectively. Such opportunities need to be taken with a view to working towards a more just and equal society, this being a much-needed antidote to the unequal neoliberal world we currently inhabit.

Social Work Scholarship on Forced Migration: A Scoping Review

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Odessa Gonzalez Benson ◽  
Karin Wachter ◽  
Jessica Lee ◽  
Darlene Nichols ◽  
Erica Hylton
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Forced Migration ◽  
Large Majority ◽  
Production Of Knowledge ◽  
The Social ◽  
Global North

Abstract This scoping review identifies and analyses historical to present–day contributions of social work scholarship on forced migration, with the aim of reviewing trends and identifying priority areas for the discipline moving forward. This review examined 331 articles related to forced migration published in 40 social work journals over four decades (1978 to 2019). Findings illustrate notable trends in temporal, methodological, topical and geographical dimensions and how those vary by first authors' locations, research sites and study populations. Temporally, the number of articles has been increasing, quadrupling between 2001–2010 and 2011–2019, with 20 social work journals doubling their number of articles. Methodologically, the large majority of articles were qualitative and/or conceptual. Topically, the most common were practice, intervention, health and mental health, while the least common topics included human rights, social justice, poverty, religion, violence, history and theory. Geographically, social work scholarship was mainly focused on refugees in the Global North and third-country resettlement contexts, and authored by scholars in the Global North. Findings thus reveal critical gaps in topics and geographical biases, raising questions related to issues of ethics, power and the production of knowledge about forced migration in the social work academy.

scholarly journals Social Workers’ Attitudes on Social Justice in Taiwan

SAGE Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 215824402098828
Author(s):  
Hsin-Yi Chen ◽  
I-Chen Tang
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Moderating Factors ◽  
The Social ◽  
Work Concept ◽  
Work Education ◽  
Human Rights Based Approach

As social justice is an essential social work concept, this study examined the factors that influenced the attitudes of social workers in Taiwan toward social justice through an analysis of Social Justice Scale-TW (SJS-TW) questionnaires conducted on a sample of 276 social workers. It was found that years of work experience, human rights training, and past participation in social protests were important moderating factors of supporting social justice. It was concluded that including a human rights–based approach in social work education has the potential to increase the social workers’ knowledge of and actions in support of social justice.

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