Our Journal works on the premise that social work is a theoretical as well as practical discipline, with the goal of social work being to professionally handle the problems of people who find themselves in challenging circumstances. In their efforts to help, social workers deal with the entire situation of the client. The articles in this issue, we believe, demonstrate well how these aims are being met. In their article on the “Impacts of Working with Victims of Domestic Violence on Social Workers”, Iva Frydrychová and Ester Poláčková of Charles University in Prague in the Czech Republic, address two very important issues for social workers: firstly, the effects off what we know is one of the main and most destructive forms of violence around the world, interpersonal violence; and secondly, the need for social workers to be supported sufficiently when they are undertaking work in such distressing and difficult areas of conflict within their work. The authors set out the situation concerning domestic violence in the Czech Republic and the types of trauma which victims of domestic violence may be experiencing, and then look at the secondary effects on those attempting to help victims in these types of circumstances. Linking this with our knowledge of such areas as compassion fatigue for those working in such types of conflict and high demand, the authors examine support needs and self-care approaches for workers. This includes not only emotional and professional distress for the workers, but also when intervening in such abusive situations to help the victim, actual attacks on the social worker themselves. In the article, the needs of the clients and the workers are necessarily looked at in tandem. The article “With Empty Hands: How the Lack of Public Resources Distorts Social Work Performance” by Jana Havlíková and Olga Hubíková of the Research Institute of Labour and Social Affairs in the Czech Republic discusses, from an examination of the theoretical literature, and two original pieces of research, issues around social workers’ experiences and views on accessing resources which are necessary for clients when they are not able to do this directly themselves. Drawing on social workers lived experiences, this is a valuable examination of how social workers attempt to cope with, and can do their best to manage these matters, in order to best advocate for their clients’ needs.
In their article “The Digital Age – Digital Radicalisation?” Magdaléna Hovanová, Tomáš Šeďo, of Pavol Jozef Šafárik University in Košice in Slovakia examine a contemporary and important matter in European societies and beyond, on how radicalisation in online environments is influenced by face-to-face factors. In studying online content accessed by adolescents and how this may have an important role in developing online radical behaviour, the article sets out to identify key determinants of radicalisation and online radicalisation. Crucially, it moves on from this to discuss the digital environment’s potential in the prevention of such radicalisation, using analyses from correlation calculations, factor analysis, simple linear regression, developing from this a multiple linear regression model. They found that Personal Values have a greater influence on online radical behaviour than General Values and break these down into variables such as Socialization and Communication, exposure to Emotional Content and Quotes, and how they are associated with levels of online radical behaviour. From this they make suggestions on how social workers can better deal with such radicalisation by actively focusing upon such content, and shaping personal values and beliefs, supporting socialization and communication that can help prevent radicalisation.
In the contribution from Kateřina Mikulcová, Michal Burda, Martina Daňková and Veronika Sikorová of the Faculty of Social Studies at the University of Ostrava on “Sibling relationships as a source of resilience in homeless children in the Czech Republic”, the authors set out to understand the relationship between sibling relationships and resilience in homeless children, setting out how the features of warmth and intimacy are important for children in developing their resilience; but also how these relationships can include negative qualities such as intense, potentially destructive conflict. Using responses to a questionnaire on resilience, sibling relationships and parentchild relationships, the authors discuss and analyse how the quality and nature of these relationships between siblings can affect the resilience of the children. Homeless children face particular risk in many ways in relation to their health and development, and thus a focus on helping meet their needs is important. The article is of particular importance because there is no research in the Czech Republic or internationally that focuses on understanding the key valuable elements in sibling relationships in development of resilience in homeless children.
Katarzyna Miśkiewicz, of the University of Łódź, Poland, presents a research note on “Family Probation Officer in the Field: Interactive Rituals Enacted in a Professional Role” utilised a qualitative research strategy, based upon a theoretical framework of symbolic interactionism, to look at the activities of Polish family probation officers in a large city, where they are in the role of “forced guest”, and subsequent interaction rituals revealed by family probation officers in relationships with their clients. The roles as social actors in such encounters are discussed within the concept of “dirty work. Some of the important results of the research were strategies of supervising through protection, consisting of two tactics — caring as well as monitoring protection. One other result was about talking strategies, which had their source in the conflictual relations between the probation officers and their supervisees.
Daniel Houben of University of Applied Sciences Landshut offers a research note on the “Challenges of the Digital Transformation for Social Work” in an age when there are increasing pressures for social work organizations to implement the rapidly accelerating digital transformation of services in their work approaches. From five case studies in Lower Bavaria, it examines how digital transformation of social work will likely reshape the structures of these institutions and also change the life and participation opportunities of their clients. The case studies included a mobile eldercare service, two homelessness assistance centres, a child and youth welfare service, and a migrant support service. The 16 interviews conducted involved executives, professionals, and beneficiaries, and found the main issues for clients were financial barriers, lack of social resources, habits and routines that for many clients’ digital technologies have played a subordinate role, and low self-efficacy. Barriers in organizations include lack of financial and technical resources, inadequate technical equipment, shortage of skilled personnel, lack of interoperability & synchronization issues, challenges in data management, lack of strategic planning, and legal frameworks which complicate or prevent the use of certain digital solutions. For professionals, lack of systematic/professional knowledge about technology and digital media, personal distance from technology, lack of control and co-design, and data protection are important barrier features. The authors then go on to suggest ways in which such transformation may benefit all parties in social work, and how this might be achieved.
We hope you find these articles that we believe aid the mission of the Journal—and social work—valuable.
Karen Mills and Brian Littlechild,
University of Hertfordshire, UK
