Suchergebnisse

The workings of Romanian migration networks across western Europe are well documented. Yet, transnational relations have rarely been examined outside of these networks, namely in their potential for value extraction in broader accumulation processes. This article looks at the self-organised mobility of Romanian workers in relation to exploitation in highly segmented labour markets, and substantiates the view that, in the Austrian fresh food sector, it is that self-organised mobility that has become exploitable by Austrian growers. The article shows how growers capitalise particularly on labour intermediation to maintain the resilience and profitability of local agricultural businesses in the Austrian agricultural market. The resulting workplace regime ensnares workers in a two-fold exploitability: not only is their labour power subject to labour extraction but so are their interpersonal relations. This analysis implies the need to move beyond commonplace vocabularies of 'social capital' to grasp the persistent exploitation of migrant workers and their reproductive capacities across segmented labour markets.

Romania's transformation from a socialist to a capitalist market society resulted in massive negative social and economic consequences which, ultimately, have become push factors for labour migration. However, little research has been done on the consequences of Romania's transformation for the work and labour struggles of migrant workers abroad. Empirically, the article shows how the intersection of the 'making money' motive, which is anchored in rural Romania, and the fear of job loss, which characterises the construction industry in Echsberg, shapes labour struggles. Fearing job loss, many do not engage in open labour disputes, but have developed a variety of strategies of covert resistance with which to counter exploitation. Accordingly, the article shows how the transformation in Romania shapes labour struggles at German construction sites. The findings not only highlight the need to include migrants and their work abroad in order to reach a comprehensive understanding of the effects of transformation but also provide starting points for combating labour exploitation.

This anthology presents decision cases that depict the actual experiences of social work field educators and students. They showcase the complex dynamics of field education and highlight a range of dilemmas experienced by novice and seasoned field educators.

This paper examines the experiences of a group of female drug offenders who successfully completed a county drug court program in northeast Pennsylvania. Using the constant comparative method, we analyzed interviews with these women for thematic patterns in order to provide an evaluation of this program based on participants' subjective perceptions of its strengths and weaknesses. While other drug court evaluations identify rewards for good behavior and compassionate program staff as important contributing factors to participants' success, women in this study credited their recovery and successful completion of the program primarily to fear of punishment and program structure. Our analysis also revealed patterns of improved self-images, improved physical and mental health, improved coping mechanisms, and improved interpersonal relationships. We end the paper with a discussion of implications for future research.

This pilot study represents an effort to implement and evaluate use of a curriculum
module on Charitable Choice and social work practice in a faith-based
organization. Using a nonequivalent control group design, repeated measures
MANOVA showed significant differences between the treatment (n=54) and comparison
groups (n=53) on knowledge and degree of comfort at posttest. Despite the use of
a small sample (n=107) of MSW students at a public university in the Southeast, the
findings provide initial support for further use and future evaluations of curriculum
modules covering specific content on practice in faith-based settings.

Practitioners who work with clients at the end of their lives face difficult decisions concerning the client's self-determination, the kind of death he or she will have, and the prolongation of life. They must also remain sensitive to the beliefs and needs of family members and the legal, ethical, and spiritual ramifications of the client's death. Featuring twenty-three decision cases based on interviews with professional social workers, this unique volume allows students to wrestle with the often incomplete and conflicting information, ethical issues, and time constraints of actual cases. Ins

Given growing interest in and need for social innovation, social workers will benefit from knowing about positive deviance (PD), an approach that capitalizes on local creativity and strengths. The PD approach seeks community (or organizational) members who have developed solutions for problems with which other members struggle, despite their having similar resources and constraints. Rather than rely on professional expertise and skills to solve intractable problems in communities, the PD approach evokes a "new way of thinking" that promotes indigenous leadership and community responsibility for problems and solutions. This article outlines key components of the PD approach, describes steps for implementing PD, and discusses implications for social work.

Adults with cognitive disabilities residing in group homes face special challenges in establishing and maintaining friendships, and in coping when they are disrupted—for example, when a housemate moves to a different level of care, or a staff member quits or is dismissed. On the basis of a small-scale qualitative study, this article raises concerns about the frequency of such disruptions—their psychological and social effects in the lives of people with limited cognitive abilities and limited social support. It also highlights a number of difficulties for participants in telling their stories of loss and suggests steps that agencies, social workers, and family members can take to support significant relationships for people with cognitive disabilities, even when disruptions are unavoidable.

A growing body of empirical research indicates that structured writing interventions produce substantial immediate and long-term benefits, including improvements in cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and physiological functioning. To date, many of these studies have used non-clinical college student populations. In contrast, the present study involves a woman suffering anxiety symptoms resulting from domestic violence, and adopts the structured writing intervention as a self-administered adjunct to her clinical treatment. It uses a single-system design with multiple measures to track progress in reducing these symptoms.

To facilitate the inclusion of world peace as a health promotion issue, a theoretical framework is presented that describes a possible relationship between continued personal growth and development and world peace. In this framework, personal health and growth are related to the evolution of human consciousness beyond the adult ego. This personal growth is then viewed as a contribution to the multiple conditions necessary for world peace. Consequently, world peace can be viewed as a personal health issue as well as a social and political issue. So viewed, peace becomes a personal and professional concern in health promotion.