Suchergebnisse

This study examined variables impacting job stress, burnout, and turnover rates among social workers north of the 60th parallel, in remote parts of Canada populated by Inuit communities. A literature review identified understaffing, social and geographic isolation, role stress, lack of professional support, and cultural and ethnic disparities as possible sources of burnout. This qualitative study evaluated these factors in relation to Northern social workers. Nine in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted via telephone with former Nunavut social workers, some of whom were directors, to probe the issue of burnout and turnover. Several themes emerged that are supported by the literature on burnout of social service workers in remote regions and related to the administration of Northern social work services, including understaffing, lack of supervisory support, dual role stress, and overworked staff. Findings suggest the need for giving more attention and resources to social work staff supporting Inuit clients, specifically increased staffing and culturally sensitive training.

In 2010, Ontario's Ministry of Education introduced a revised Health and Physical Education (H&PE) curriculum that promised to be a vital health promotion initiative. Yet, after a minority conservative backlash, the Ontario government withdrew the sexual health sections from the elementary school curriculum, reverting it back to its 1998 content. This study is a content analysis, informed by queer theory and institutional ethnography, of the current and proposed H&PE documents, with a focus on the sex education component. This research aims to examine i) the specific differences between the new and old H&PE documents with respect to referencing and delivering sex education, and more specifically sex education on queer/trans* issues; and ii) the potential social exclusion that the absence of queer/trans* curriculum content imposes on youth. The findings demonstrate that evidence-informed policy development cannot always overcome political power imbalances, such as those created by the socially constructed ideology of heteronormativity. As the Ontario government prepares to implement the reformed curriculum, this study provides insight into its controversial history and the complexities of policy development—insights that may extend beyond this moment.

There is an urgent need to increase the social inclusion of postsecondary faculty with disabilities by reducing the need to adapt to ableist and sanist neoliberal standards. In this article, two social work faculty with disabilities argue that their social exclusion is inevitable under systemic neoliberal priorities of individualism, efficiency, and productivity. We engage in a systems analysis of how educational institutions, namely universities, engage in practices and processes of social exclusion of faculty with disabilities through neoliberal ideologies, policies, and practices. Using an autoethnographic case study method, guided by an intersectional and disability justice theoretical framing, the authors challenge the ahistorical and non‐relational tendencies of neoliberalism in its many forms. Using lived experience as data, the authors elucidate strategies to promote social inclusion aimed at universities and at the discipline of social work. In conclusion, the authors advocate for change at the structural level for the social work profession and for postsecondary institutions.

Abstract
Two-Spirit, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (2SGBTQ+) men face significant health inequity. This article reports on two phases of a study conducted in conjunction with the Gay Men's Sexual Health Alliance (GMSH) to examine 2SGBTQ+ men's health inequity. First, an environmental scan of existing Ontario government health policy was conducted to identify specific gaps. Second, six focus groups of GMSH Alliance members (n = 21) were conducted to understand the impact of policy gaps and identify potential strategies to address them from the community's perspective. We argue that to meet the wellness needs of the community, community development and healthy public policies are appropriate strategies. The environmental scan confirmed that there is currently very limited policy content specific to 2SGBTQ+ men's wellness and mental health. Data from focus groups were consistent with the scan. GMSH Alliance members struggled to serve their community in the absence of sufficient resources. Participants also expressed an interest in advocacy, but they felt that they lacked the skills to do so. It is clear that 2SGBTQ+ men face population-specific health risks, and much work is needed to advocate for 2SGBTQ+-centred well-being policy. Future work should develop a policy that focuses on addressing many of the issues raised in this research, while also contributing to the achievement of health equity for 2SGBTQ+ men.

This article explores the anti-LGBTQI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex) campaigns' rise to power at the United Nations (UN), nation state sovereignty (of the member states), and criminalization LGBTQI assembly and association. Emphasis is placed on how these arguments are implemented and affect the social and political landscapes of LGBTQI rights promotion. Findings from primary interviews (conducted with UN bodies, agencies, and affiliates) are critically analyzed. The article concludes by challenging the arguments posed against LGBTQI rights being taken up as human rights from a social justice perspective and social work's role in protecting and supporting these marginalized populations in the international arena.

Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights: (Neo)colonialism, Neoliberalism, Resistance and Hope is an outcome of a five-year international collaboration among partners that share a common legacy of British colonial laws that criminalise same-sex intimacy and gender identity/expression. The project sought to facilitate learning from each other and to create outcomes that would advance knowledge and social justice. The project was unique, combining research and writing with participatory documentary filmmaking. This visionary politics infuses the pages of the anthology. The chapters are bursting with invaluable first hand insights from leading activists at the forefront of some of the most fiercely fought battlegrounds of contemporary sexual politics in India, the Caribbean and Africa. As well, authors from Canada, Botswana and Kenya examine key turning points in the advancement of SOGI issues at the United Nations, and provide critical insights on LGBT asylum in Canada. Authors also speak to a need to reorient and decolonise queer studies, and turn a critical gaze northwards from the Global South. It is a book for activists and academics in a range of disciplines from postcolonial and sexualities studies to filmmaking, as well as for policy-makers and practitioners committed to envisioning, and working for, a better future.