Social Work Commons^™

Transforming The Volunteer Experience In The Social Service Sector, Dalvin Sidhu, Weng Lin Ng, Thilanga Dilum Wewalaarachchi

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

Transforming the Volunteer Experience in the Social Service Sector is the first analysis report of its kind that focuses on investigating and enhancing volunteerism in Singapore. Through the perspectives of volunteers and volunteer managers via surveys and in-depth interviews, this report reveals a framework depicting five key features that contribute towards a quality volunteering experience. The study also makes recommendations on the actionable steps and strategies that Social Service Agencies can adopt to engage their volunteers more strategically, so that they can play a more significant role in delivering enhanced quality services to service users.

The State Of Transgender And Kinnar Communities In Delhi: Case Studies Connecting Socioeconomic Factors To Health, Ray Craig

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The paper seeks to draw connections between socioeconomic barriers faced by the transgender (trans) community in Delhi, India and the healthcare that the community receives. It primarily discusses transgender people who are not part of the kinnar population, with as much consideration to the experiences of the kinnar community as possible, given limited access to their circles. Five transgender individuals and two cisgender individuals who have worked with trans communities participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews to understand various factors that affect trans people’s daily lives and their healthcare experiences in Delhi. Interviews were transcribed and coded, finding common themes of …

An Experiential Qualitative Analysis Exploring The Sexual Identity Experiences Of Latino Caribbean Cisgender Gay Men, Starlin Astacio

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This qualitative study aims to explore the unique experiences and challenges faced by Latino Caribbean cisgender gay men within their cultural and social contexts. Using focus group and thematic analysis, the researcher examines the narratives and perspectives of a diverse sample of Latino Caribbean cisgender gay men (n = 6) to gain insights into their sexual identity process, cultural influences, family dynamics, and support systems utilizing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) as the methodological framework. The researcher’s findings highlight the themes of Awareness of Sexual Identity, Visibility Management, Spanish Caribbean Families' Influences, Being True to Oneself, and Positive Experiences & Role …

Healing From Genocidal Rape: An Exploration Of The Trauma Healing Process Among Sevota Members, Delaney Bluhm

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Through a case study of SEVOTA, this paper examines trauma-healing practices among genocidal rape victims. Its primary research objectives are to identify the resources available to victims immediately post-genocide through the present, critically examine how these resources have helped victims heal, and observe any existing or impending challenges to healing from rape-related trauma in Rwanda. It concludes that building a community and providing resources to help with certain situations (such as funding for medical treatments or children’s school fees) are effective methods of trauma-healing among genocidal rape victims in Rwanda.

Mama! I Hear Your Silence: Grief And Covid-19 On The Global North And South Disparity, Magnus Mfoafo-M'Carthy

Lyle S. Hallman Social Work Faculty Publications

In this conversation with Mama, I use my mother’s voice as a reflexive mirror to explore the social work silences that the COVID-19 pandemic expresses so eloquently in my own life and work. I seek to highlight the intimate link between Mama’s silence and social work silence.

Implementing Lasting Change: Hr In The Social Service Sector, Fermin Diez, Run Qian Ng

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The Human Resources (HR) practices in any organisation can make a big difference in its ability to implement the strategic plan (Thomas, Smith & Diez, 2013). This assertion points towards an additional question: Can a whole sector of the economy increase its overall capability and capacity by improving the overall HR abilities of the organisations in the sector? The Social Service Sector in Singapore has been undergoing just such a sector-wide transformation over the past 6 years, and provides a great opportunity to analyse empirically whether a systemic approach to improve the overall HR practices of the Social Service Agencies …

Supports For Migrant Farmworkers: Tensions In (In)Access And (In)Action, Susana Caxaj, Amy Cohen, Sarah Marsden

Health and Rehabilitation Sciences Publications

Purpose: This study examined the role of support actors in promoting or hindering access to migrant agricultural workers' (MAWs) needs, and, to determine the factors that influence adequate support for this population.
Methodology: Employing a Situational Analysis methodology, we carried out focus groups and interviews with 35 support actors complimented by a community scan (n=28) with public-facing support persons and a community consultation with migrant agricultural workers (MAWs).
Findings: Two major themes were revealed: (In)access and (In)action, and; Blurred Lines in Service Provision. The first illustrated how support actors could both reinforce or challenge barriers for this population through tensions …

“Las Mamás No Son Putas”: Percepciones Y Experiencias De Embarazo Y Maternidad En Trabajadoras Sexuales En Buenos Aires / Mothers Are Not Prostitutes: Perceptions And Experiences Of Pregnancy And Motherhood Among Sex Workers In Buenos Aires, Fiona Kennedy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En Buenos Aires, la gran mayoría de las trabajadoras sexuales también son madres. Sin embargo, ha habido pocos estudios en Argentina sobre los vínculos entre el trabajo sexual y la maternidad y las experiencias de embarazo para las trabajadoras sexuales. Las trabajadoras sexuales en Buenos Aires experimentan estigmatización y violencia institucional en múltiples entornos, lo que afecta tanto el acceso a la salud como el bienestar general. Este estudio tiene como objetivo examinar cómo estas vías afectan a las trabajadoras sexuales en la maternidad y el embarazo, con el fin de encontrar áreas de intervención. La mayoría de esta investigación …

Adicción Como Un Hecho Político Económico: Un Análisis De Servicios De Atención De Abuso De Drogas Y Alcohol En Arica, Chile, Jack Steffy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research question – What is the current landscape of drug abuse in Chile and how has the state attempted to address this problem?

Objectives – The objectives of the paper were to characterize drug use patterns in Chile since 1994, revise drug abuse services, and offer possible improvements for the system of drug abuse treatment.

Background – Chile, despite being one of the most well economically-developed countries in South America, has some of the worst mental health indicators, one of these being drug abuse. Since 1994, use of alcohol and marihuana has increased, while use of cocaine products has remained …

Poetic Representation Of Immigrant Bengali Women From Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration Of Narrative In Relation To Physical And Cultural Migration, Tabashshum J. Islam

Publications and Research

Poetic Representation of Immigrant Bengali Women from Queens, New York: A Qualitative Exploration of Narrative in Relation to Physical and Cultural Migration is a qualitative poetic inquiry and collaborative creative writing project. Five participants were interviewed and invited to engage in a collaborative writing process with the themes of immigration, cultural negotiation, and oral family history. All participants identified as college-educated Bengali women with a connection to Queens, New York, as well as being an immigrant or relative of an immigrant in the United States. From transcriptions of one-on-one interviews and personal notes, research-poetry was created to center on the …

Social Support And Discrimination: The Experiences Of Recovering Heroin Addicts In Kunming, China, Phoebe Li

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Opioids have had a long, complex position in Chinese society, dating all the way back to the Ming dynasty. In 1949, 5% of the overall Chinese population and 25% of the population in Yunnan smoked opium regularly, which led to societal collapse and economic downturn. Since then, the Chinese government has used many different methods to attempt to control drug use and trafficking, including registering all users, executing traffickers, and using Compulsory Rehabilitation Centers. Starting in 2008, the government switched to a harm reduction approach and began to invest in methadone clinics, community support groups, and needle exchange programs. Because …

Internamente Solo: Escuchando Y Resistiendo La Soledad De Adultos Mayores En La Araucanía, Chile / Internally Alone: Hearing And Resisting The Loneliness Of Seniors In La Araucanía, Chile, Grace Ellrodt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Research Question: Which current patterns drive or diminish loneliness among seniors of the Region of the Araucanía in the city of Temuco and surrounding rural communes?

Objectives: Understand and interpret the roots and the antidotes of the loneliness phenomenon experienced by seniors in Temuco and surrounding communes in the present moment.

Identify and analyze the drivers of pathological elder loneliness in structural, intermediary, and proximal factors.

Highlight the perspectives and narratives of seniors, community leaders, and health resources with respect to strategies to reduce the crisis.

Background: Currently, the population of seniors has risen and will continue to rise in …

Bodies Of Work: Skilling At The Bottom Of The Global Nursing Care Chain, Yasmin Y. Ortiga, Jenica Ana Rivero

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In the midst of a growing global market for migrant care work, there is a need to investigate not only how such labour is consumed but how ‘ideal’ care workers are also produced. This paper investigates how schools within migrant-sending countries produce nurse labour through body work or the testing and honing of hospital procedures on patients’ bodies. Focusing on the case of the Philippines, this paper shows how the education of nurses for export creates a paradoxical impact on care work within local healthcare institutions. Aspiring nurse migrants provide much-needed manpower to understaffed public hospitals yet, treat poor patients …

Self-Determination Theory As A Framework For Understanding Needs Of Youth At-Risk: Perspectives Of Social Service Professionals And The Youth Themselves, Tania Nagpaul, Jinwen Chen

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

While there is evidence from the self-determination perspective for the positive impact of self-determination interventions on at-risk youth's transition outcomes, no research to date, has attempted to understand youth needs from both social service provider and youth client perspectives in the same study. The present study sought to generate a nuanced understanding of youth needs. For this purpose, the study was conducted in two phases. In phase1, twenty-one social service professionals (case workers, social workers, counsellors, program supervisors) were interviewed to get an understanding of their perception of youth needs and how they are being met. In phase 2, 45 …

Seven Factors That Influence The Effectiveness Of International Development, Jaylyn Perry

Senior Honors Theses

This literature review analyzes the global issue of poverty and the various factors that are influencing the ability of nations to effectively achieve development. The many interpretations of what development is, as well as the categories and forms of poverty, are examined to show the scope of the issue. Seven factors: politics, economics, institutions, culture, geography, aid, and globalization are explored as to their impact on the effectiveness of development around the world. The review of the literature found that effective development is influenced by each one of these factors and it is necessary to consider them when planning and …

Convivendo Na Lagoa Do Mineiro: An Education In Living And Loving With, Daniela Aldrich

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

One of Brazil’s most pressing issues is unequitable land distribution and agrarian land reform. Movimento Sem Terra (MST) is at the forefront of this struggle and has redistributed land to approximately 1,250 families so far. As well as access and right to land ownership, MST addresses issues from youth development, to education, to ecology and more with the mission to create a more just and inclusive Brazil by training its future leaders. This vision includes moving away from the capitalist system that currently enables hierarchies of power to control Brazil at the expense of many of its citizens and natural …

In Search Of Safety, Negotiating Everyday Forms Of Risk: Sex Work, Criminalization, And Hiv/Aids In The Slums Of Kampala, Serena Cruz

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation offers an in-depth descriptive account of how women manage daily risks associated with sex work, criminalization, and HIV/AIDS. Primary data collection took place within two slums in Kampala, Uganda over the course of fourteen months. The emphasis was on ethnographic methodologies involving participant observation and informal and unstructured interviewing. Insights then informed document analysis of international and national policies concerning HIV prevention and treatment strategies in the context of Uganda. The dissertation finds social networks and social capital provide the basis for community formation in the sex trade. It holds that these interpersonal processes are necessary components for …

Hoping For Help: The Organizational Response To Street Children In Tangier, Stefanie Cruz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although the exact number is impossible to obtain, there are an estimated 30,000 street children living in Morocco. There are many different profiles of street children, but they are categorized mainly as children in the street and children of the street. Children in the street leave home due to poverty and precarious family situations but still return home from time to time if not every night. Children of the street have no homes to go to; they live, sleep and struggle to survive on the streets. In the city of Tangier where this study takes place, most of the children …

Arizona's Vulnerable Populations, Jonathan G.S. Koppell, Warren Prostollo, Jay Kittle, Arlan Colton, Kim Demarchi, Darryl Dobras, Susan Goldsmith, Billie Fidlin, Jim Holoway, Tara Jackson, Rita Maguire, Elizabeth Mcnamee, Patrick Mcwhortor, Ray Newton, Pat Norris, Steve Pedigo, Scott Rhodes, Fred Rosenfed, Chad Sampson, David Snider, Bob Strain, Marissa Theisen, Devan Wastchak, Terri Wogan, Larry Woods, Antonia Adams-Clement, Nina Babich, Andrea Banks, Eric Bjorklund, Luke Black, Luis De La Cruz-Parra, Richard Fabes, Felicia Ganther, Joseph Garcia, Maria Harper-Marinick, Kevin Hengehold, Lane Kenworthy, Julie Knapp, Kelly Mcgowan, Ray Ostos, Kathleen Perales, Suzanne Pfister, Michael S. Shafer, Julia Grace Smith, Ed Strong, Cynthia Zwick

Publications from President Jonathan G.S. Koppell

Arizona’s vulnerable populations are struggling on a daily basis but usually do so in silence, undetected by traditional radar and rankings, often unaware themselves of their high risk for being pushed or pulled into a full crisis. Ineligible for financial assistance under strict eligibility guidelines, they don’t qualify as poor because vulnerable populations are not yet in full crisis. To be clear, this report is not about the “poor,” at least not in the limited sense of the word. It is about our underemployed wage earners, our single-parent households, our deployed or returning military members, our under-educated and unskilled workforce, …

Social Work: A New Phenomenon In China, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Social tensions are bubbling in China. Are social workers the way to maintain social stability?

Livelihood Security Among Refugees In Uganda: Opportunities, Obstacles, And Physical Security Implications, Karen J. Norris

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research project was designed to investigate the challenges refugees face in securing a livelihood, and to understand the extent to which the United Nations, the government of Uganda, and various aid groups are able to assist refugees in achieving self-reliance, and the capacity that refugees have to empower themselves. It also endeavors to expose any disparities between nationality groups, and the impact of these differences. Furthermore, this project aims to explore the impact of refugee livelihood security on regional physical security and community stability.

Research for this study was conducted in Kyangwali and Nakivale Refugee Settlements in Uganda, as …

Prevalence, Nature, Context And Impact Of Alcohol Use In India: Recommendations For Practice And Research, S. Prabhu, David A. Patterson Silver Wolf (Adelv Unegv Waya) Phd, Catherine N. Dulmus Phd, K. S. Ratheeshkumar

Brown School Faculty Publications

Presently alcohol policy in India takes a moral stand rather than a scientific approach towards understanding and dealing with the problem of alcoholism. To effectively address this social problem in India, public policy must take into account the nature, extent of the problem and the context in which it occurs. This literature review examines the nature, prevalence and impact of alcohol use and misuse in India, within its historical and cultural contexts, as a beginning step to inform policy. Recommendations for practice and future research directions are suggested.

Attempting Preventing Reinventing The Wheel: Establishing Chicano/A-Latino/A Studies At A Midwest Urban University, Joseph A. Valades, Theresa Barron-Mckeagney, Michael Carroll, Lourdes Gouveia, Lucy Garza

Social Work Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

“This session will focus on the personal observations of three faculty who sought to establish a minor in Chicano/a-Latino/a Studies . . . Follow our graphic accounts as we wrestle with the decision of actually embarking on such a quest amidst our thencurrent demands of doctoral coursework, research, teaching and tenure.” In the fall semester of 1995, Chicano/a Studies was formally recognized as a "minor" at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Two years previously, three faculty members from the College of Public Affairs and Community Service at UNO diligently worked to gather student and faculty support and put the …

Study On Street Children In Four Selected Towns In Ethiopia, Kevin Lalor, Angela Veale, Azeb Adefrisew, Unicef, University College Cork

Reports

The child is the most precious asset and the focal point of development for any country. However, unless children are brought up in a stimulating and conducive environment getting the best possible care and protection, their physical, mental, emotional and social development is susceptible to permanent damage. Ethiopia, being one of the least developed countries of the world due to interrelated and complex socio-economic factors including man-made and natural calamities, a large portion of our population - especially children - are victimized by social evils like famine, disease, poverty, mass displacement, lack of education and family instability. Owing to the …