Social Work as a Transformative Science: The Importance of Relevance Structures in Knowledge Production

This article focuses on the question of how cooperative knowledge production takes place and, in particular, how novel knowledge is formed and implemented in organisational action. According to the current state of knowledge, this process, which results in a change in the way an organisation acts, is called social innovation. The framework for argumentation and reflection is provided by studies from the social work sciences on cooperative knowledge production and social innovation, as well as studies on the hybridity of knowledge and its interaction with the knowledge resources of scientific and non-scientific actors. Relevance structures are recognised in this article as a fundamental structure in the field of cooperative knowledge production; they significantly influence the question of how and when new knowledge leads to social innovation. A research project on homelessness serves as an example. Homelessness has been a research topic in Europe for many years. In Switzerland, however, there are hardly any scientifically sound studies and there are also few documented methods of action in practice. From this point of view, homelessness in Switzerland is therefore in need of innovation.

Cooperation of small rural commodity producers in post-reform Russia: factors and conditions

In this article, the authors, based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, using the statistical method and a systematic approach, analyzed the first steps in the development of cooperative societies in the rural environment using the example of the Volga region provinces. The factors and conditions were identified, the totality of which influenced the rate of spread and development of cooperative forms of management in the peasant environment during the post-reform period. This is, firstly, the urgent economic need for the peasant in inexpensive credit: the lack of financial resources forced them to borrow from usurers at a high interest rate; secondly, the efforts of representatives of the aristocracy, intelligentsia and zemstvos to draw attention to this problem, to promote and demonstrate the first experiences of cooperative work; thirdly, the actions of the state to create and develop cooperative legislation. The authors analyze examples of cooperative endeavors that were initiated by the most enlightened people of their time; trace the activities of the zemstvo in the dissemination of cooperative ideas in the peasant environment, the promotion of cooperative knowledge, assistance in opening cooperative partnerships and the provision of initial loans to peasants by rural credit and savings and loan associations; state measures at the legislative level to activate peasant self-help. The analysis of all the above factors in the development of cooperative societies in the peasant environment allowed the authors, following the ups and downs of the processes described, to draw a conclusion about their interaction and influence on the development of the cooperative movement in Russia. In zemstvo and state circles, an understanding has been formed that without the inclusion of peasants in a market economy, it is impossible to develop the infrastructure of the agricultural sector. At the same time, the authors are convinced that without the gradually emerging objective conditions, all these efforts would hardly have been justified.

Are Cooperatives an Employment Option? A Job Preference Study of Millennial University Students

Millennials represent the most important group among the working age population. Destined to be the leaders of the future, their professional and personal profiles differ considerably from previous generations. Despite being considered as the most successful generation, millennials face a societal transformation and a labor reality marked by high levels of unemployment and underemployment that shape their career choice. Although millennials’ and university students’ job preferences have long been debated in the literature, some research gaps remain. Studies rarely consider the interplay between individuals’ profiles and the institutional form of business, particularly cooperative versus non cooperative options. To predict the compatibility between Millennials’ profiles and the cooperative job preference, a multinomial logit model is developed based on a survey of millennial business college students. Our key findings showed that some extrinsic issues are related to cooperative job preference, however the factor that has the most significant impact is the cooperative knowledge. This has important implications for the cooperative movement and for policy makers in charge of cooperative development.

PENGARUH PENGETAHUAN KOPERASI, MOTIVASI BERKOPERASI DAN PELAYANAN KOPERASI TERHADAP MINAT MENJADI ANGGOTA KOPERASI MAHASISWA

This study uses a population of 335 students of Universitas Kanjuruhan Malang who entered the cooperative in 2017-2018 and then the sampling technique was taken 25% of the population using proportional random sampling. The results of this study indicate that: 1) cooperative knowledge, cooperative motivation, cooperative services have a joint effect on the interests of students becoming members of student cooperatives in Universitas Kanjuruhan Malang, 2) cooperative knowledge has a positive and significant effect on the interests of students becoming members of student cooperatives, 3 ) motivation to operate positively and significantly influence the interests of students to become members of student cooperatives, 4) cooperative services have a positive and significant effect on the interests of students to become members of student cooperatives.