Originally published in 1983 Social Work Values is a sustained enquiry about the present situation of social work. It describes the treatment of social work values in the social work literature and in research, and pursues three distinct avenues towards an improvement on the present unsatisfactory treatment. First, the book introduces and encourages more philosophical reflection on the customary 'lists' of social work values. Second, it investigates three (...) social work controversies: between the Charity Organisation Society and 'the Socialists'; between the Functionalist and the Diagnostic schools of social work; and between 'radical' Marxists and 'the rest'. Third, and finally it explores the treatment of 'value' and 'values' in economics, sociology, ordinary usage, and philosophy, in order to establish the distinctive elements to which the term 'values' is applied. (shrink)

This is _the_ leading introduction 200to professional values and ethics in social work. Frederic G. Reamer provides social workers with a succinct and comprehensive overview of the most critical issues relating to professional values and ethics, including the nature of social work values, ethical dilemmas, and professional misconduct. Conceptually rich and attuned to the complexities of ethical decision making, _Social Work Values and Ethics_ is unique in striking the right balance (...) between history, theory, and practical application. For the third edition, Reamer has updated the content and strengthened the relevance of the case material. Also new to the third edition: o Discussion of the moral dialogue between practitioner and cliento Coverage of virtue ethicso Practical discussion of concepts underlying social work ethicso Expanded application of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics to ethical dilemmas in the professiono A look at the historical evolution of ethical standards in social worko New vignettes, illustrating difficult ethical decisionso More guidance on informed consent and termination of serviceso Discussion questions at the end of each chaptero A section on how to conduct a social work ethics audit. (shrink)

This is the leading introduction 200to professional values and ethics in social work. Frederic G. Reamer provides social workers with a succinct and comprehensive overview of the most critical issues relating to professional values and ethics, including the nature of social work values, ethical dilemmas, and professional misconduct. Conceptually rich and attuned to the complexities of ethical decision making, Social Work Values and Ethics is unique in striking the right (...) balance between history, theory, and practical application. For the third edition, Reamer has updated the content and strengthened the relevance of the case material. Also new to the third edition: o Discussion of the moral dialogue between practitioner and cliento Coverage of virtue ethicso Practical discussion of concepts underlying social work ethicso Expanded application of the National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics to ethical dilemmas in the professiono A look at the historical evolution of ethical standards in social worko New vignettes, illustrating difficult ethical decisionso More guidance on informed consent and termination of serviceso Discussion questions at the end of each chaptero A section on how to conduct a social work ethics audit. (shrink)

Teaching on social work values is centrally important in social work education as a core aspect of underpinning knowledge in preparing students for practice. This paper describes an innovative project occurring within the first year of the degree in social work, where service users and carers have assisted students with their understanding of social work values. The positive contribution of service users and carers in facilitating students to make links between (...) theory and practice is now well documented. Applying this user perspective to the educational domain of values, however, is relatively uncharted territory given the challenges that have traditionally accompanied the teaching of values. Importantly, this paper describes the ?value talk? which occurred when first-year students sought further meaning from service-user and carer groups in their community settings following classroom teaching on values. The paper not only discusses the detailed preparations involved in the project but also the learning which resulted, drawing on the evaluation findings from the students and participating groups. Whilst the findings show that the students' understanding of social work values has been most significantly influenced by the contributions from service users and carers, it is recognized that further research is needed to monitor the longer term impact on social work students' practice after they qualify. (shrink)

In a unique and student-friendly package, Ethics and Values in Social Work offers a series of learning modules that will ensure graduates receive a ...

Globalization and knowledge economy nowadays have brought changes in social structure and living style and cause the occurrence of social problems, proposing new requirements to the conceptions and application of social welfare. A scholar named Midgley responses this by his conception of the developmental perspective in social welfare. This article addresses on the comparison between the value of developmental social welfare and the value of social work, in order to achieve a clear view (...) on the similarity and difference of the two conceptions and provide references for the improvement on the prospects and methodologies. (shrink)

In social work there is seldom an uncontroversial `right way' of doing things. So how will you deal with the value questions and ethical dilemmas that you will be faced with as a professional social worker? This lively and readable introductory text is designed to equip students with a sound understanding of the principles of values and ethics which no social worker should be without. Bridging the gap between theory and practice, this book successfully explores (...) the complexities of ethical issues, while recognising the real-world context in which social workers operate. Key features of the text include: - Full of hands-on advice and tips for professional practice. - Engaging and student-friendly. Each chapter is packed with case studies, reader exercises, key definitions and useful summaries. - Comprehensive content. The book explores core issues such as moral philosophy; professionalism; religion; power; oppression; difference and diversity; and ethical codes of practice. - Satisfies all the curriculum and training requirements for the new social work degree. Mapping directly on to first year courses, this text is essential reading for all social work undergraduates. It is an ideal refresher text for upper-level undergraduates, postgraduate and post-qualifying students, and for professionals. `This introductory text succeeds in providing an accessible introduction to the subject area. The book is consistently structured, well planned and uniformly written in a conversational and immediate style…. The discussion manages to combine a sense of engagement with a balanced treatment of the issues. Readers who apply themselves will be well sensitised to the matters under discussion and should be able to take their understanding into the practical arena' - Chris Clark, University of Edinburgh. (shrink)

It is vital that social workers have a deep and critical understanding of the social work value-base, and are able to analyse and apply values and ethics to their everyday practice. This fully-revised edition of one of our best-selling titles identifies current issues in social work and then applies an ethical dimension. These issues are then investigated further within an anti-discriminatory framework and against the background of the code of practice for social care (...) workers and employers. Traditional value perspectives are clearly explained and current developments in virtue theory and the ethics of care for social work are also introduced. (shrink)

The third edition of this popular book has been updated to take account of the latest developments in policy and social work practice. It includes new sections on radical/emancipatory and postmodern approaches to ethics, analysis of the latest codes of ethics from over 30 different countries, additional case studies of ethical problems and dilemmas, practical exercises, and annotated further reading lists at the end of each chapter.

The first aim of this paper was to investigate how the traditional Protestant work ethic and more contemporary work values were related to one another, and differed across genders and two cultural contexts, namely Turkey and the U.S. The second aim was to elucidate the role of religiosity in PWE among the two cultural groups. Two hundred and sixty six American and 211 Turkish university students participated in this questionnaire study. The analyses examining cross-cultural differences revealed that (...) Turkish university students reported greater scores in the PWE and all contemporary work values as compared to their American counterparts. For the Turkish sample, there were no gender-related differences in the PWE, whereas in the U.S. sample, men reported greater PWE scores than did women. With regard to gender differences in contemporary work values, our results showed that gender groups differed in feminine and entrepreneurship values in both cultural contexts; men emphasized femininity and entrepreneurship more than women in Turkey but the reverse was true in the U.S. Correlations between contemporary work values and the PWE illustrated that the PWE is associated with entrepreneurship and masculine values in both cultural contexts and with feminine values in the Turkish context. Finally, our results regarding the role of religiosity in PWE indicated that highly religious participants reported greater PWE scores than the less religious ones regardless of culture. Findings are discussed with reference both to differences in the two socio-cultural contexts and to recent change in the social structure of Turkish society. (shrink)

The debate on the ethics of involuntary treatment for Anorexia Nervosa (AN) is dominated by biomedical ethics approaches to the issues. In keeping with the biomedical ethics emphasis on objectively balancing ethical principles, the debate centres on how to respect the autonomy of persons with AN who refuse treatment whilst protecting these persons from harm. Commentators discuss this at a normative ethics level. Thus, the debate does not address the moral relevance of how knowledge is constructed in the practice environment (...) and the impact this has on how professional values are applied during treatment decision making. Social work ethics highlights the need for professionals to account for the authority of professional knowledge and for patients to participate in treatment decisions. However, in the practice environment, questioning medical hegemony and supporting patient participation, empowerment and self-determination (core social work values) is complicated by a lack of treatment efficacy, the high level of risk that patients present to themselves and uncertainty around the autonomy and competence of the patient to refuse treatment. This paper argues that postmodern ethics can support practitioners in managing these issues. In doing so, this paper makes a social work contribution to the debate. (shrink)

Values are numerous, interrelated and hard to discern in professional practice. This article reports on key findings from research into locating professional values within health social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research explores how 15 health social workers experience and negotiate value demands when working with newborn infants. A staged methodology underpinned by constructivist grounded theory was utilised to generate theoretical knowledge through two phases of semi-structured individual interviews. The research firmly located health (...) social workers practice in the middle ground of a complex, tension-ridden practice environment with health social workers courageously striving to balance competing requirements. Within a health model influenced by neoliberal policy, key tensions related to challenges faced due to professionals oversimplifying social circumstances in risk-laden situations. This resulted in issues of judgements, bias and racism being a central concern for the participants’ social work practice. Despite these tensions, the place of social justice as a primary organising value was affirmed by the research. A stronger focus on the profession’s values would strengthen the collective voice of health social workers and their identity, in order to better address the systemic drivers of health inequities. (shrink)

Pt.1. Foundations of Values and Ethics -- Ch.1. What are Values and Ethics? -- Ch.2. Moral Philosophy -- Ch.3. Values and Religion -- Ch.4. Values and Politics -- Ch.5. Realism as an Ethical Principle -- Pt.2. Values and Ethics in Practice -- Ch.6. Being Professional -- Ch.7. Power and Control -- Ch.8. Self-Determination and Privacy -- Ch.9. Respect Versus Oppression -- Ch.10. Ethics and Resources -- Ch.11. Difference and Diversity.

Social work and bioethics are fields deeply committed to cross-disciplinary collaboration to do their respective work. While scholars and practitioners from both fields share a commitment to social justice and to respecting the dignity, integrity and the worth of all persons, the overlap between the fields, including shared values, has received little attention. The purpose of this article is to describe the ways in which greater collaboration between the two fields can broaden their scope, enrich (...) their scholarship, and better ground their practice. We describe the potential for realizing such benefits in two areas – health care ethics consultation and social inequalities in health – arguing that the fields both complement and challenge one another, making them ideal partners for the interdisciplinary inquiry and problem-solving so often called for today in health and health care. (shrink)

On the back of recent high-profile cases, the subject of internet pornography has become the focus of media and political attention. Social workers are increasingly likely to be drawn into this issue through requirements to provide courts with reports or taking child protection decisions relating to clients' use of child or, potentially, extreme pornography. Within a risk paradigm, they may look for answers based on technical and ‘scientific’ knowledge. We argue here that pornography is, first and foremost, an ethical (...) issue. This article offers a preliminary exploration of some of the ethical issues it raises. We take as a starting point that whatever we might personally think about it, pornography is a fact of everyday life. Yet, in the current political and social climate it has become deeply moralised. We argue that social workers might legitimately adopt a range of value positions in relation to pornography that these need to be opened up to ethical debate. (shrink)

The present study investigates how business ethics are related to vocational interest. Special attention has been paid to the relationship between business ethics and the interest in ‘enterprising’ and ‘social’ oriented professions. The results show that business ethics is only significantly correlated in a negative way, to enterprising vocational preferences. Moreover, the negative contribution of business ethics to the preference for entrepreneurial and managerial professions remains after controlling for personality and work values. Some work values (...) also predict the entrepreneurial interest: Earnings, Influence, Competition, Innovation and Creativity. The personality traits Extraversion (positive) and Agreeableness (negative) have predictive validity, but this effect disappears after controlling for work values. In the ‘Discussion’ section, we pay attention to possible consequences of the negative relationship between business ethics and Entrepreneurial interest for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). We argue that efforts concerning realistic job previews will only be meaningful if they are completed with efforts to make people more sensitive for ethics in two other domains, namely education and business. (shrink)

Is there a corporate social work? Do business corporations as a part of their ‘social responsibility’ aim to socially empower the community by enhancing their basic ‘capability’ registers? While the newly acquired critical conscience has made social work ethics self-reflexive and thus interrogative about a lot of concept-metaphors taken for granted in traditional social work discourse, the language of ‘empowerment’ seems to have still bullied this apocalyptic, experimental eye. All the negative effects of (...) power are lost in the blood of positive nonchalance that seems to promise the granting of power to the people people’s empowerment)—as if. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) leading to social empowerment which we term as—Corporate Social Work (CSW)—thus is affirmed in more ways than one. This article—instead of an external (typical of the radical) disavowal—offers through a theoretical and an empirical problematic—an internal unpacking of the concept metaphor ‘empowerment’—where ‘empowerment’, ‘doing empowerment’ and ‘being empowered’ are demonstrated to be completely separate registers awaiting an ethical reckoning. Having completed this separation—however, the article proposes a discourse ethical monitoring of the capability approach where empowerment participates only as a (’three-way’) fractured phrase in dispute. (shrink)

Social care responses to extra-familial harm require social workers to work across the binaries of welfare and justice, victim and perpetrator, parent and professional, risk and protection. This paper examines the ethical consequences of working in this manner, through qualitative data (focus groups, interviews, observations, case file analysis and documentary review) from three children's social care organisations in England who trialled new child protection pathways for significant harm outside of family homes/relationships. The extent to which these (...) pathways created five conditions for a welfare response to extra-familial harm are considered, before these results are brought into conversation with Bourdieu’s meta theory of capital, habitus and doxa, and Fenton's practice theory of ethical stress. The challenges identified evidence of the importance foregrounding social work values in the pursuit of welfare-based response to extra-familial harm. They also offer a rationale for studying theories of care ethics in social work in the context of interagency practice. (shrink)

Chapter 1: Introduction to Social Work Values and Ethics -- Chapter 2: Managing Ethical Issues -- Chapter 3: Social Justice -- Chapter 4: Client Autonomy, Self-Determination, and Informed Consent -- Chapter 5: Privacy, Confidentiality, and Exceptions -- Chapter 6: Professional Competence, Incompetence, and Impairment -- Chapter 7: Cultural Competence, Humility, Awareness, and Responsiveness -- Chapter 8: Professional Boundaries, Dual Relationships, and Conflicts of Interest -- Chapter 9: Responsibilities in Practice Settings -- Chapter 10: Access to Services (...) -- Chapter 11: Honesty and Integrity -- Chapter 12: Social Work Accountability and Regulation -- Chapter 13: Risk-Benefit Management -- Chapter 14: Conclusion. (shrink)

This article debates the possibility that social work as a profession can, if it is not vigilant to the underlying premises of social development, contribute to the promotion of social injustice towards the same people it sets out to empower by unwittingly depleting and destroying the environment. Social development with its strong focus on economic development is driven mainly by modernity as a worldview. Values from this view underline aspects such as the natural environment (...) as resource, economic growth and domination over nature. Although some definitions of social development might include the concept of sustainability, thereby implying that the environment is an important issue, this level of work does not require social workers to practise from an eco-spiritual or a deep ecological point of departure. An eco-spiritual social work approach is harnessed to try and explain social work's contribution to the critical issue of the survival of all species. Guidelines and possible actions from an eco-spiritual social work approach are indicated for a shift from that of fitting in with modernity to one of sustainability and participation in the creativity of the environment. (shrink)

The transformation from industrial social work to corporate social responsibility points out a definite shift in the realm of social work vis-á-vis goal, objective and priorities of business. Over the past several decades social workers around the world have successfully been able to integrate with the modern production and business processes, particularly in addressing the emergent needs of the industrial population like those arising out of the psychosocial impact of workforce alienation, over-specialization, competitiveness, and (...) stress and fatigue on their life. Over all these years, as there has been a major transformation in defining human beings in the context of business from human resource to human capital, the corporate has also been restructuring its role in revitalizing its human resources alongside taking care of the vast external stakeholders (customers) through its new slogan of ‘corporate social responsibility’. But this new configuration lends itself to the process of self-examination and the litmus test remains: Is corporate social responsibility a new area structured to delineate the corporate's idea of greater variety of social services for humankind; or just one more catchphrase used to establish the fact that business houses are doing ‘a lot more’ than mere expansion of industrial social work; or has there been a change in the principal objective and priority of the corporate at the back of starting these programmes—from curbing loss to ‘just making profit’? (shrink)

BackgroundOne of the preferences working in the Generation Z is based on their motivational work values. The relevance of job choices with the work values will contribute to student career planning. The work value instrument among generations is one of the popular instruments used to measure final year students' work value, yet few studies of the psychometric properties of non-English language versions of this instrument. This study's objectives were to adapt a questionnaire of (...) class='Hi'>work value in Indonesian final year university students.MethodsThe number of participants in this study was 316 students in Indonesia, comprised of final year students from various majors who were selected by quota sampling. The instrument consisted of 5 dimensions of value, including leisure, extrinsic rewards, intrinsic rewards, altruistic rewards, and social rewards. The reliability analysis was performed using McDonald's Omega, the evidence of validity was obtained from test content, internal structure through confirmatory factor analysis, and evidence-based in relation to other variable has conducted the correlation between work value and career development learning using the Pearson's correlation coefficient.ResultsThe results showed that the work values instrument had good psychometric properties, including good reliability, good content validity, and internal structure. In CFA, the two-factor structure showed satisfactory model fit. Moreover, the correlation of work value with career development learning builds stronger validity evidence on this instrument.ConclusionThe adapted instrument can be used practically to identify work value preferences of final year students to help them choose a work preference and setup the career planning before graduating. The result could be of interest for the researcher in work value, motivational work, and career areas in higher education. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports about the adaptation of work value instruments in Indonesian final year university students. (shrink)

In discussing social work and spirituality this paper will: list social work’s core values, language, and personal qualities that connect to spirituality; give a brief historical perspective that has led to social work’s struggle with the concepts of “religion” and “spirituality”; explain the present position of social work toward religion and spirituality and examine some of the controversies; present some current definitions of “religion” and “spirituality”; define different types of spirituality; and (...) end with the concept of “relational spirituality” and its connection to social work. (shrink)

Evidence-based practice (EBP) is a relatively recent incarnation in social work's long history of valuing evidence as a basis for practice. Few argue with the ethics and usefulness of grounding practice in empirically tested interventions. Critics of EBP instead focus on how it is defined and implemented. Critiques include what counts as evidence, who makes decisions regarding research agendas and processes, and the lack of attention to context. This essay reflects on such critiques and suggests that social (...) work, as a profession that values human diversity, equality, and self-determination, is well situated to shed light on such debates about EBP. As a profession that supports a person-in-environment perspective, we must examine not only the theory but the practice of EPB in academic, institutional, and societal settings. It is also argued that, owing to our professional mission, it is not enough to acknowledge the risk of oppression and harm; we are obligated to take them seriously and include such potential for harm in our assessment of so-called best practices. (shrink)

As the applied field of social work attempts to become more of a sciencebased profession, it is relying more on the findings from empirical research studies. Withinsocial work there is little discussion of the philosophy of science underlying conventional research inquiry. This paper introduces some major philosophical principles that undergird scientific investigations of the causes of societal and psychosocial problems and of the effectiveness of structured programs, policies and practices to ameliorate social ills. Among the principles (...) introduced are the philosophical concepts of determinism, empiricism, realism, operationalism, scientific materialism, parsimony, logic, and positivism. Together these philosophical assumptions provide a pragmatic framework to design and conduct scientific research of value to the social work profession and other fields. (shrink)

This paper argues the case for taking a critical realist (CR) approach to social work research. The normativity in social work is often under-communicated in the social sciences, resulting in research that has an unclear value base as its starting point. Social work practice promotes social change and people's development, empowerment, and liberation. By taking a CR of view as a starting point for researching social problems, the focus shifts towards explaining (...) phenomena by revealing and discussing the mechanisms through which they are produced and maintained. Child welfare issues are argued to be “wicked problems”, on top of which the practice of social work itself is a complex field. Two studies from the field of child and family welfare are presented here to illustrate how CR has been fruitfully applied in research on such complex phenomena. These two studies comprise research on child protection assessment and parental high conflict. (shrink)

Preliminary Material --Foreword /Samuel M. Natale --Acknowledgements /Samuel M. Natale, Brian M. Rothschild, Joseph W. Sora, and Tara M. Madden --Introduction /William O'Neill and Samuel M. Natale --Section I /Samuel M. Natale, Brian M. Rothschild, Joseph W. Sora, and Tara M. Madden --The Working Class Spirituality /Joseph M. McShane --Comparative Christian Perspectives on the Meaning of Work /Joseph W. Ford --Work, Spirituality, and the Moral Point of View /Kenneth E. Goodpaster --Can Christian Ethics Inform Business Practice?: A Typological (...) Road Map and Criteria of Adequacy for an Ethic of Capitalism /David A. Krueger --The American and Catholic Models of Worker Rights: A Comparison and Appraisal /Michael A. Zigarelli --Section II /Samuel M. Natale, Brian M. Rothschild, Joseph W. Sora, and Tara M. Madden --The Work Ethic and Notions of Character in Scottish Education /W. A. Gatherer --The Multidimensionality of Values Conflicts in the Organizational Life /Michel Dion --New Organizational Structures: A Chance for Workers or a New Mode of Control? /Jacques Delcourt --Defining Forces in Work Attitudes: Cultural Values and Economic Environment /Eduardo S. Paderon and Charles F. O'Donnell --The Growing Dilemma of Loyalty to the Firm /John C. SJ. Haughey --Section III /Samuel M. Natale, Brian M. Rothschild, Joseph W. Sora, and Tara M. Madden --Values/Work/Education: Definitions and Context /Lee J. Richmond --Six Questions for Ethical Educational Management /Michael Bottery --Values Education: A More Effective Route to Managerial Competence? /W. M. Robb --The Educative Dimensions of Workplace Democracy /W.J. Toth --Influences on the Value-Mediating Work of Educational Leaders /K.D. Walker --Personal and Social Education in Vocational Preparation /Richard Pring --Contributors /Samuel M. Natale, Brian M. Rothschild, Joseph W. Sora, and Tara M. Madden --Index /Samuel M. Natale, Brian M. Rothschild, Joseph W. Sora, and Tara M. Madden --VIBS /Samuel M. Natale, Brian M. Rothschild, Joseph W. Sora, and Tara M. Madden. (shrink)

Social work and other professions struggle with the roles of knowledge and values in the study of society and human lives, and in professional practice. Discussions of this topic range from those who see relatively clear distinctions between these concepts and those for whom the lines between the concepts are blurred. For those who separate theory and knowledge from values and ethics there is further discussion in the literature on which is the appropriate foundation for (...) class='Hi'>social work practice. The following discussion examines two arguments: firstly, that these concepts, and the two camps they can be placed into, are distinct and should be kept separate; and secondly, the alternative perspective that the concepts overlap and that the separation into two camps is false. The analysis here outlines these perspectives and suggests reasons why shades of both are necessary to fully understand and participate in the reality of social work as a profession and an academic discipline. (shrink)

Abstract“Integrative Social Robotics” (ISR) is a new approach or general method for generating social robotics applications in a responsible and “culturally sustainable” fashion. Currently social robotics is caught in a basic difficulty we call the “triple gridlock of description, evaluation, and regulation”. We briefly recapitulate this problem and then present the core ideas of ISR in the form of five principles that should guide the development of applications in social robotics. Characteristic of ISR is to intertwine (...) a mixed method approach (i.e., conducting experimental, quantitative, qualitative, and phenomenological research for the same envisaged application) with conceptual and axiological analysis as required in professional studies in applied ethics; moreover, ISR is value-drivenand abides by the “Non-Replacement Principle”:Social robots may only do what humans should but cannot do. We briefly compare ISR to other value-sensitive or value-directed design models, with a view to the task of overcoming the triple gridlock. Finally, working from an advanced classification of pluridiscplinary research, we argue that ISR establishes a research format that can turn social robotics into a new transdiscipline. (shrink)

Social justice has been a central normative component of U.S. social welfare and social work for over a century, although the meaning and implications of the term have often been ambiguous. A major source of this ambiguity lies in the conflict between universalist views of social justice and those which focus on achieving justice for specific groups. This conflict has been masked by several long-standing assumptions about the relationship between social justice and multiculturalism – (...) assumptions which have been challenged by recent developments. The assumption that the pursuit of social justice requires the creation of a more egalitarian society has been challenged by the new political-economic realities of globalization. The assumption that the maintenance of individual rights complements the pursuit of social equality has been challenged by racially-based attacks on social welfare benefits and civil rights. Most significantly, the assumption that a socially just society is one in which different groups share a compatible vision of social justice has been challenged by the realities of multiculturalism. This paper explores the evolution of four themes regarding the relationship between social justice and multiculturalism during the past century and discusses their implications for the contemporary demographic and cultural context of the U.S. These themes are: the relationship of cultural diversity to the nation’s values and goals; the contradiction between coerced cultural assimilation and coerced physical and social segregation; the relationship between individual and group identity and rights; and the linkage between “Americanization” and the equal application of justice. (shrink)

Based on a case study of a large utility company, this article analyzes the effect of a preference for white-collar work on women's job decisions. The sample consists of a group of women who worked temporarily in traditionally male plant jobs in the company and a group of women who remained in white-collar jobs in the same firm. Results indicate that both groups did indeed value job attributes that are found principally in office jobs, such as clean conditions, the (...) chance to socialize on the job, and working with similar people, but these preferences did not significantly influence whether they would consider switching to traditionally male plant jobs. Much more influential were practical considerations, such as economic need. Since many women–especially ones in economic need–would find such jobs desirable, an explanation that takes into account barriers to women's entry is necessary to understand the causes of women's low representation in traditionally male plant jobs. (shrink)

This paper seeks to analyse the contribution of a human rights perspective to emancipatory social work. Human rights practice builds on long-standing values and theoretical frameworks related to emancipatory, radical and structural social work and anti-oppressive practice. However, historical tensions within social work, notably in the United Kingdom, continue in contemporary forms, magnified by the global impact of neo-liberalism. The paper considers connections between human rights and other frameworks, including professional codes; ethical critiques (...) drawing on feminist and indigenous perspectives; the articulation of human rights with social justice; and the strength of a rights-based approach demonstrated by community campaigns and service-user movements. It also addresses discontinuities between human rights and trends in social work and the wider context, including managerialism, privatization, and the consumerization of rights; unexamined rhetoric and limited regulatory interpretations; the dangers of rights being interpreted and imposed from dominant and/or Western perspectives; and the complexities of universal versus culturally specific rights claims. Drawing on the struggles of oppressed groups, the paper argues that a more critical and informed focus on human rights can be a further potentially powerful tool contributing to resistance to oppression, collective solidarity and the promotion of emancipatory change. (shrink)

How do we take care of homeless people? A field study with a humanitarian NGO, the Samusocial de Paris, France, gave the author the opportunity to observe nursing and social work with homeless people. The first part of the article recounts how the public problem of “grande exclusion” emerged in France and the kind of value judgments and controversies it gave rise to. He accounts for his tactics not to take sides for any of the definitions and evaluations (...) available in the public sphere, and to deconstruct the genesis of the public policy of “social emergency” that was built in response to “grande exclusion”. The second part of the article keeps on drawing on pragmatism, shifting from Dewey’s The Public and its Problems to his Theory of Valuation . It describes social work and nursing as moral and political activities. Care is not only given in face to face relationships, it is also a distributed and coordinated activity, embodied into situational arrangements, made of procedures, technologies, institutions, and people. The author shows how a moral ethnography of outreach work with homeless people gives new insights on the valuation operations performed by professionals on the field. It opens new perspectives in the analysis of situated ethics, in connection with a sociology of public problems and public policies. (shrink)

Elderly refugees in Jordanian healthcare settings are a vulnerable group. Most of them come from a collectivist culture where family members are the main source of care. Many elderly refugees can no longer work as they did, and are in need of professional intervention from social workers who will take account of their cultural values and beliefs. This exploratory study seeks to understand the role that religion has in the lives of displaced elderly refugees and the impact (...) of those perspectives on how they make sense of their circumstances. Using a qualitative design the methodology drew upon focus group discussions, semistructured interviews and ethnographic participant observation in the gathering and analysis of data. The study highlights the important role that religious beliefs and values play both in maintaining and enhancing elderly refugee’s sense of community, security and mental well-being, and the fundamental importance of the same in their interactions with professionals. A key finding is that religious sensitivity and awareness are critical to good social work practice with religious elderly refugees from the Arab world. It is also suggested that the findings of this study can be transferred to other populations and age groups. (shrink)

Corporate social responsibility refers to the duty of management to consider and respond to issues beyond the organization’s economic and legal requirements in line with social and environmental values. However, ‘management’ is constituted by real people responsible for routine decisions and formulation and implementation of policies. It can be said therefore that the ethical ideals and beliefs of these individuals – in particular their personal values – play an important role in their decisions. It is contended (...) in this article that the personal values of managers may contribute to the creation and maintenance of ‘CSR cultures’ in their organizations; that is, organizational cultures focused on ensuring environmental and social sustainability. Based on an exploratory study carried out in Brazil in 2008, this article explores the perceptions of five CSR managers in relation to the influence of their personal values on their work. The first part discusses the notion of CSR within the context of Brazilian society, the second provides a brief literature review on the link between values and organizational cultures and the third explores the perceptions of the participating managers, identifying the main thematic patterns that emerged in the study. (shrink)

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show how both the presentation and limitation of visual choices in massively multiplayer online role‐playing games (MMORPG) avatar creation interfaces tends to exclude or favor different real life social groups.Design/methodology/approachA novel method combining both quantitative and critical analysis of the syntagmatic‐paradigmatic structure of MMORPG avatar creation interfaces is used to inform the findings of this study.FindingsThis study concludes that as cultural interfaces, current fantasy themed MMORPGs remediate socially exclusive values both from (...) fantasy literature and from their own game lore. The socially exclusive values deal largely with extreme and immutable racial and sexual dimorphism.Research limitations/implicationsInterfaces which present users with color palettes and/or smooth slider‐based body modifiers do not lend themselves well to this method of analysis. In addition to this, only a handful of the popular MMORPGs are analyzed within the body of this work.Practical implicationsThis paper demonstrates that MMORPG players and designers need to be more aware about how they are constructing and embedding social values in their worlds. Avatars are critical conduits for online social dynamics and embedding socially exclusive values may transfer negative ideologies from old media to new.Originality/valueThis paper offers one of the earliest critiques of embedded values in avatar creation interfaces of MMORPGs. The paper aims to begin discussion on an overlooked area of now popular media that has not received any critical attention regarding its embedded messages of social inclusiveness or exclusiveness. (shrink)

Social work is underpinned by values of anti-oppressive practice and social justice. Our professional standards require social workers to consider their personal and professional development. Thus, this article combines a reflection on both our professional role as academics and our existential identity as social workers in challenging racism and mental health stigma. To progress equality of opportunity, we argue it is necessary to understand first what we mean by an ‘integrated society’ before we can (...) secondly challenge diverse forms of oppression. We conclude by positing that a community free of interpersonal, institutional and structural oppression may only be possible within a virtual world. (shrink)

In discussing social work and spirituality this paper will: list social work’s core values, language, and personal qualities that connect to spirituality; give a brief historical perspective that has led to social work’s struggle with the concepts of “religion” and “spirituality”; explain the present position of social work toward religion and spirituality and examine some of the controversies; present some current definitions of “religion” and “spirituality”; define different types of spirituality; and (...) end with the concept of “relational spirituality” and its connection to social work. (shrink)

This paper compares and contrasts the impact and the interface of different sets of values held by social care practitioners in their decision-making process with regard to ethical dilemmas. Specifically, it explores some of the fundamental distinctions between self-directed groupworkers and other qualified social workers practising in both statutory and voluntary sectors. The methodology is qualitative and draws upon a Grounded Theory process. In contrasting the contribution of different sets of values in decision making, we found (...) that participants, regardless of their approach to work, showed an overall fit between their personal and professional values. However, when we explored the influence of participants? agencies on their decision-making processes, participants tended to prioritise organisational values, whereas for participants practising in the self-directed approach, the impact was less marked. Reflections on the role of values in increasing social workers? resistance to organisational constraints, and discussion of some implications for social work education, conclude the article. (shrink)