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AbstractThe growing impact of new media around the world has been the subject of study by scores of scientists in multidisciplinary fields. Satellite TV and the Internet have been viewed as instruments of social and political change — connecting communities, educating the youth, and creating social networks previously unaccounted for, like virtual groups. However, in the Arab World and the Middle East, such technological developments have been hailed as tools for the empowerment of marginalized communities such as women and the youth, also brought new opportunities that have resulted in the breaking of the communication monopoly by those in power and the creation of a new communication environment. Such environment has — as part of its manifestations — the current social transformations that the region is witnessing. Drawing on examples from social media networks used in Tunisia and Egypt, this article analyzes the extent to which new technologies have changed the rules of the game regarding public opinion construction and the communication flow traditionally monopolized by the hegemonic power structures in Arab society. This study not only reveals the decisiveness of platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube in the Arab Spring countries' revolutions, but also the extent to which their availability served in a complex manner the democratic transition that Tunisia have been undergoing and the political turmoil that Egypt is witnessing. Furthermore this study argues that such online spheres of communication mark the emergence of the virtual yet vibrant space of political campaigning and social empowerment, especially for the youth and marginalized communities.

It has been argued that the applied nature of social work renders the appreciation of social theory by practitioners as unnecessary. This paper takes issue with this controversial stance and shows how social work itself can not be understood outside of the social context in which it is located. This social context, however, is said to be changing: the world in which we currently inhabit is vastly different to that of our immediate forbears. This has prompted social work theorists to consider the implications for the profession and the role of practitioners. This paper reflects upon the underpinning principles of the competing perspectives and concludes that, given the complexities involved as well as the responsibilities with which social workers are charged, social theory is an essential component of the practitioner's education.

Background:This article explores the relationship between social class and social media use and draws on the work of Pierre Bourdieu in examining class in terms of social, economic, and cultural capital. The article starts from a prior finding that those who predominantly only use social media formed a higher proportion of Internet users from lower socioeconomic groups. Data: The article draws on data from two nationally representative U.K. surveys, the OfCom (Office of Communications) Media Literacy Survey ( n ≈ 1,800 per annum) and the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport's Taking Part Survey ( n ≈ 10,000 per annum). Methods: Following Yates, Kirby, and Lockley, five types of Internet behavior and eight types of Internet user are identified utilizing principal components analysis and k-means clustering. These Internet user types are then examined against measures of social, economic, and cultural capital. Data on forms of cultural consumption and digital media use are examined using multiple correspondence analysis. Findings: The article concludes that forms of digital media use are in correspondence with other social, cultural, and economic aspects of social class status and contemporary social systems of distinction.

Conocer sobre qué publican las revistas de Trabajo Social y Servicios Sociales es un elemento fundamental para acercarnos al estado de la cuestión de la disciplina en el ámbito académico y profesional de las publicaciones científicas afines a esta área de conocimiento. Mediante el análisis de indexación de materias, hemos tratado de detectar las principales líneas de investigación o prácticas profesionales publicadas en las revistas de Trabajo Social y Servicios Sociales a nivel nacional. El estudio se centra en el lugar que la Política Social y Bienestar Social ocupa en las revistas de Trabajo Social y Servicios Sociales. Se ha utilizado para este fin, la exploración de la indización de las palabras clave empleadas por los autores, según el Tesauro UNESCO, ofreciendo una perspectiva general de las temáticas que, durante el periodo 2000-2011, han obtenido mayor visualización en la divulgación científica. Presentamos, pues, una aproximación a los resultados de la divulgación científica en materia de Política Social y Bienestar Social en Europa y España, a través del análisis de la base de datos DICE, referidos a la materia concreta mencionada. A efectos analíticos hemos incluido los siguientes elementos: (1) la delimitación temporal, (2) la utilización de palabras claves, (3) la selección de bases de datos, (4) la pertenencia al área de conocimiento y (5) la indexación en las bases de datos referenciadas en las agencias de evaluación, acreditación y categorización. Con esta metodología, se han obtenido unos resultados que se presentan desde un punto de vista temático y longitudinal. ; Knowing what is published in journals of Social Work and Social Services is essential to approach the state of the discipline in the academic and professional scientific publications related to this area of knowledge. Through the analysis of indexing materials, we tried to identify the main lines of research or professional practice journals published in Social Work and Social Services in Spain. The study focuses on the place that Social Policy and Social Welfare have in the journals of Social Work and Social Services. For this purpose, we used the exploration of keyword indexing used by authors according to the UNESCO Thesaurus, and offer an overview of the themes that have gained greater visibility in science popularization during the period 2000-2011. We present an approach to the results of scientific publication in Social Policy and Social Welfare in Europe and Spain, through the analysis of the DICE database, referred to the specific subject mentioned. For analytical purposes we have included the following: (1) temporal boundaries, (2) use of keywords, (3) selection of databases, (4) membership in the area of knowledge and (5) indexing in the databases referenced in the assessment agencies, accreditation and categorization. The results obtained are presented taking into account the material and methodology used from a thematic and longitudinal perspective.