Dissertationen zum Thema „Registry of social service providers“

This study focuses on burnout among bilingual Social Service Providers (BSSPs) and examines their thoughts and beliefs on the interconnection of their bilingual/bicultural skills and higher risk of burnout. The findings from this study have significant ramifications for the social service field on both Macro and Micro levels. At a Micro scale, the data validates the additional responsibilities of BSSP’s, while bringing more awareness to this group of professionals. Additional findings contribute to new policies regarding BSSPs job responsibilities; for example, accurate job descriptions and training for positions that require translation and interpretation. An exploratory study using qualitative data was utilized in order to best address the issue at hand. In order to appropriately analyze the data collected, the researcher examined the data collected through thematic analysis. Several themes emerged which include: proficiency, length of service, Spanish speaking caseload percentage, familiarity and knowledge of burnout, burnout experience, emotional overextension, impersonal response towards clients, decreased feelings of competence/successful achievement, and more effort when providing services in Spanish. subthemes include: burnout experience, attitude towards caseload and length of service and burnout.

As a relatively new phenomenon in 2009, Swedish nonprofit social service providers proposed quality improvement as a way to reduce mistakes, use resources more effectively and meet the needs and expectations of clients in a better way. Although similar experiences have been studied in health care, the transfer of quality improvement to nonprofit social services gives a possibility for more knowledge on what enables, and constrains, systematic quality improvement in this specific context. This thesis is based on five years of supporting quality improvement in the Swedish nonprofit welfare sector. Specifically, it builds knowledge on which active mechanisms and enabling or constraining structures exist for nonprofit social service quality improvement. By studying quality improvement projects that have been conducted in the development program Forum for Values, critical cases and broad overviews are found valuable. These cases have resulted in four papers on quality improvement in nonprofit social services. The papers include: critical cases from a nursing home for elderly and a daycare for disabled children (Paper I); a critical case from a sheltered housing (Paper II); an overview of performance measurements in 127 quality improvement projects (Paper III); and an analytical model of how improvement policy and practice are bridged by intermediaries (Paper IV). In this thesis, enabled or constrained events and activities related to Deming's system of profound knowledge are identified from the papers and elaborated upon. As a basis for transforming practice into continuous improvement, profound knowledge includes the four knowledge domains: appreciation of a system, theory of knowledge, understanding of variation and psychology of change. From a realist perspective, the identified events are seen as enabled or constrained by mechanisms and underlying regularities, or structures, in the context of nonprofit social services. The emerging mechanisms found in this thesis are: describing and reflecting upon project relations; forming and testing a theory of action; collecting and displaying measurable results over time; and engaging and participating in a development program. The structures that enable these mechanisms are: connecting projects to shared values such as client needs; local ownership of what should be measured; and translating quality improvement into a single practice. Constraining structures identified are: a lack of generalizable scientific knowledge and inappropriate or missing infrastructure for measurements. Reflecting upon the emergent structures of nonprofit social services, the role of political macro structures, reflective practice, competence in statistical methods and areas of expertise becomes important. From this discussion and the findings some hypotheses for future work can be formulated. First, the identified mechanisms and structures form a framework that helps explain why intended actions of quality improvement occur or not. This frameworkcan be part of formulating a program theory of quality improvement in nonprofit social services. With this theory, quality improvement can be evaluated, reflected upon and further developed in future interventions. Second,new quality improvement interventions can be reproduced more regularly by active work with known enablers and constraints from this program theory. This means that long-lasting interventions can be performed and studied in a second generation of improvement efforts. Third, if organizations integrate quality improvement as a part of their everyday practice they also develop context-specific knowledge about their services. This context-specific knowledge can be adopted and further developed through dedicated management and understanding of variation. Thus, if enabling structures are invoked and constraining structures handled, systematic quality improvement could be one way to integrate generalizable scientific knowledge as part of an evidence-creating practice.

Social prescribing aims to offer an alternative to pharmaceutical or psychological treatments for mild to moderate mental health problems that present in primary care. Social prescribing seeks to link people with community-based sources of support, which are provided outwith the traditional National Health Service (NHS). As such, it calls for collaborative working between three groups: service users, prescribers (health professionals), and providers of community-based activities. However, little is known about these stakeholders' perceptions of social prescribing as an acceptable and appropriate alternative care pathway. ~; ..• Drawing on the theory of social capital, this study aimed, firstly, to develop an understanding of the nature and potential of social prescribing as a means of health improvement. Secondly, it sought to identify factors that were likely to help or hinder' successful implementation. This qualitative, exploratory study adopted a case study methodology underpinned by a critical realist perspective. Three cases were selected purposively. Each was a community-based organisation offering activities which were being 'prescribed' by NHS health professionals. At each site, semi-structured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of health professionals, service users and providers of the service (n=49). Findings indicate that service users were enthusiastic about the activities provided by the three community-based organisations. Processes of self-efficacy and social support appeared to have been facilitated by participatory person-centred relationships with service providers. These mechanisms were encouraged to operate by providers' creation of enabling contexts. Although challenges to the successful implementation of social prescribing were identified at individual, inter-personal, institutional and infra-structural levels, the findings suggest that social prescribing offers a promising alternative care pathway for people with mild to moderate mental health problems. It provides a holistic framework which, potentially, shifts the focus of care from an individual's deficiencies to their strengths, and from seeing people as passive recipients of services to active participants.

The emergence of Relationship Marketing around 40 years ago has led to an improvement in our understanding and management of business relationships through the study of relationship constructs such as loyalty. Researchers have also found a number of different bonds in business relationships. One of these is social bonds which develop between individuals and can impact positively on long-term client relationships at an organisational level. However social bonds have suffered from a lack of clarity in definition, identification and measurement. Scale development has been limited as most researchers view the social bond as a unidimensional construct and fail to provide solid theoretical support for their scale. There is a need to define the concept and build a multidimensional scale of social bonds using a comprehensive theoretical framework. Researchers such as Barnes (1994) suggest that marketers can learn from social psychologists who have studied relationships extensively. Indeed social-psychology theories such as social exchange theory have been widely used in relationship marketing studies. Attachment theory is relatively new to business relationships, having emerged from the study of child-parent relationships but has been applied more recently to explain customer attachment. Another promising theory is Sternberg’s Triangular Theory of Love (1986) which can be used to identify potential bonds based on liking. This study uses attachment and liking theories as the theoretical framework for developing a social bond scale in the context of clients’ business relationships with professional service providers. These relationships have been substantially under-researched and provide a relevant context for the research due to the benefits of strong interpersonal bonds in a pure service environment like professional services. A multi-method research design was adopted consisting of qualitative in-depth interviews with professional service providers and a questionnaire survey of senior decision makers in the hotel industry. The study’s contributions include a greater understanding of social bonds, attachment and liking in business relationships. The research found two distinct social bonds thereby confirming that the construct is multidimensional. A number of demographic and contextual variables were found to have an impact on social bond strength. These findings have led to guidelines on managing client relationships for professional service providers and organisations.

The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal seeking to fund the development of a curriculum that supports the needs of youth who have experienced or are at risk of, sexual exploitation. The proposal ultimately targets a potential host organization that could sustain and support the development of a curriculum and effectively reach the target population. The curriculum is intended to be used to train child welfare staff and group home service providers about the identifying markers and needs of sexually exploited youth. A literature review details the main causes, the biopsychosocial effects and what is being done to address the problem. Potential funding sources were reviewed. The proposal includes a needs assessment, implementation method, staffing, evaluation and budget narrative. The actual funding and submission of this grant proposal were not requirements for the successful completion of this project.

Millions of Vietnamese have migrated to the United States, after having endured the traumas of war. To meet the mental health needs of populations, who encounter both socioemotional and cultural adjustment challenges, social workers have approached such individuals with a culturally relevant approach. This has been implemented through cultural matching of providers to consumers. Given that the social worker’s role is to be an ongoing learner of clients’ experiences, the proposed program aims to improve culturally matched services by underscoring that cultural nuances exist, despite providers fitting the same ethnic profile as consumers. The purpose of the project was to develop a cultural humility training for the Vietnamese Community of Orange County, a nonprofit organization that provides comprehensive social services to the Vietnamese. The potential funding source for the project was identified as the California Wellness Foundation. Actual submission and funding were not required for the completion of this thesis.

The work motivation construct is central to the theory and practice of many social science disciplines. Yet, due to the novelty of validated measures appropriate for a deep cross-national comparison, studies that contrast different administrative regimes remain scarce. This study represents an initial empirical effort to validate the Public Service Motivation (PSM) instrument proposed by Kim and colleagues (2013) in a previously unstudied context. The two former communist countries analyzed in this dissertation—Belarus and Poland— followed diametrically opposite development strategies: a fully decentralized administrative regime in Poland and a highly centralized regime in Belarus. The employees (n = 677) of public and nonprofit organizations in the border regions of Podlaskie Wojewodstwo (Poland) and Hrodna Voblasc (Belarus) are the subjects of study. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed three dimensions of public service motivation in the two regions: compassion, self-sacrifice, and attraction to public service. The statistical models tested in this dissertation suggest that nonprofit sector employees exhibit higher levels of PSM than their public sector counterparts. Nonprofit sector employees also reveal a similar set of values and work attitudes across the countries. Thus, the study concludes that in terms of PSM, employees of nonprofit organizations constitute a homogenous group that exists atop the administrative regimes. However, the findings propose significant differences between public sector agencies across the two countries. Contrary to expectations, data suggest that organization centralization in Poland is equal to—or for some items even higher than—that of Belarus. We can conclude that the absence of administrative decentralization of service provision in a country does not necessarily undermine decentralized practices within organizations. Further analysis reveals strong correlations between organization centralization and PSM for the Polish sample. Meanwhile, in Belarus, correlations between organization centralization items and PSM are weak and mostly insignificant. The analysis indicates other factors beyond organization centralization that significantly impact PSM in both sectors. PSM of the employees in the studied region is highly correlated with their participation in religious practices, political parties, or labor unions as well as location of their organization in a capital and type of social service provided.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate Portland, Oregon's community policing policy by using focus groups to discuss the development and effectiveness over one year, Spring 1994 to Spring 1995. The group discussed included management level social service providers and was one piece of a large scale program evaluation. The collected data developed into six major categories: 1) personnel policies and institutional memory; 2) training; 3) consistency; 4) community involvement and responsibility; 5) partnerships or relationships, and 6) change over time. The most highly discussed issue was the discrepancy between the philosophy of the Bureau, community policing, and the way in which the Bureau moves personnel. Data analysis suggested that the level of confidence and support felt by social service providers has increased dramatically over one year. Although, the group participants still have many issues they would like to see resolved, all recognize this is a process that takes time. Generally, community policing has rooted itself and established a footing with the social service providers who are committed to assisting in the molding and development of community policing as well as providing resources to assist in that Journey.

This study addressed the lack of culture-specific empirical data related to Mexican-American battered women. In California this is of great concern because the population of Mexican-Americans is large and increasing. There is a need for programs to be designed and providers trained on the basis of more specific, differentiated data. The study addresses the following question: What are the characteristics regarding age, social isolation, substance abuse, social class, and characteristics of the battered woman's relationship with her partner? General demographic information was also analyzed. The sample included 424 Mexican-American battered women who sought emergency shelter services at one shelter during the period 1979-1994. Data were obtained from shelter records. The findings from this study pointed to a general profile of this population. The typical woman was a relatively young, poor, socially-isolated woman with low educational attainment, with two to three children, who was subjected to a variety of emotional and physical abuse from a male partner who cohabited with her. Most of the partners were substance users with a jail or prison record. The average relationship was seven years in length, with violence starting after approximately one and one half years. Most of the women experienced abuse during pregnancy. The data analysis further revealed that 121 of the 424 women left the batterer after one incident of abuse. Implications for service providers who intend to attract and serve Mexican-American battered women include the provision of support groups within the shelter and the location and referral to support groups outside of the shelter. Support groups would serve the dual function of validating the battered woman's experiences and of empowering her to maximize her individual potential. It is recommended that future researchers compare characteristics of women who left their batterer after one incident of abuse to women who stayed and endured abuse for an average of 5.5 years.

The purpose of this study is to explore Filipino service care providers’ experience of compassion fatigue. Compassion fatigue is a common experience among health care professionals and can contribute to feelings of hopelessness and adverse behaviors in caring for patients. In California, there are a large number of Filipinos who are employed as care providers for older adults; however, there is limited research available regarding Filipino workers in the United States. This study took on a qualitative design that utilized face-to-face interviews to gain more insight into Filipino service care providers’ experience of compassion fatigue in relation to their employment. Factors that were explored in interviews were exposure to terminally ill individuals, coping and self-care strategies, and working environments. The results of this study indicated participants appeared to experience compassion satisfaction, rather than compassion fatigue. Furthermore, recommendations for future research were discussed. These recommendations included the need to explore experiences of compassion satisfaction in this population and to look into the experience of Filipino service care providers who were born in the United States, rather than in the Philippines, to determine whether Filipino cultural values of caring can act as a buffer against the effects of compassion fatigue.

Public housing structures that are deemed “severely distressed” are being demolished and replaced with mixed-income developments. The current study examines the role that social service organizations play in the relocation of public housing residents. Service organizations tend to locate in areas anchored by public housing complexes where the need for their services is immense. Organizations that lose clients due to relocations run the risk of losing the funding they get for serving that population. GIS mapping and semi-structured interviews were used to answer questions about how redevelopment affects the communication infrastructures of public housing residents. GIS mapping was used to determine how services are spatially distributed in relation to public housing developments in Atlanta. Representatives from a sample of those organizations located near current and former public housing locations were interviewed to examine if a strategic communication plan is in place to retain connections with clients during the relocation process.

Thesis (M.A.)--Georgia State University, 2009.
Title from file title page. Holley Wilkin, committee chair; Jeff Bennett, Jaye Atkinson, committee members. Description based on contents viewed July 22, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-97).

Thesis (DPhil)--University of Stellenbosch, 2005.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: South African local government literature suggests a historical problem of municipal non-consultation in services identification and provision that goes hand-in-hand with community non-participation in municipal activities, coupled by a ‘culture of non-payment’ for these services. This research, which was conducted between 2002 and 2005 in the city of Johannesburg municipality, had the central purpose of ascertaining the manner and ways in which the city of Johannesburg provides its basic services to the Soweto communities and, in turn, of understanding if communities participate in municipal activities and hold possible attitudes of non-payment for municipal services. In order to attain the research purpose, six research questions were identified through local government theories and literature and advanced. The first set of four questions was aimed at the Soweto communities: How affordable are the basic municipal services to the Soweto communities? What are community’s perceptions of the importance of the various municipal services? Are the communities participating in the services identification and provision? How satisfied are the communities with the service delivery? The second set of two questions was aimed at service providers or the municipal services managers and councillors: What methods does the municipality use in identifying and delivering service? What does the municipality perceive to be their application and enforcement of service quality management standards? The original methodological intent was to interview the Soweto communities and the city of Johannesburg municipal services managers and councillors. 200 Soweto households were indeed interviewed from the eight townships of Chiawelo, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Dube, Jabulani, Meadowlands, Naledi and Orlando, which were randomly selected. The survey amongst the heads of these 200 households was followed by four focus group meetings at Chiawelo, Dobsonville, Dube and Meadowlands and between five and eleven households participated in the discussions in clarifying survey outcomes. It was only possible, however, to interview three service managers from the city of Johannesburg services utilities Pikitup, Johannesburg Water and the Contract Management Unit. Frustrated attempts to interview municipal councillors in the city of Johannesburg led to obtaining permission for proxy interviews from the MEC of Local Government and Traffic Safety in Mpumalanga municipalities of Govan Mbeki and Emalahleni and the inclusion of the KwaZulu-Natal municipality of Emnambithi. The usage of proxy interviews is thought to be relevant since the perceptions on service provision relate to the application and implementation of the uniform countrywide local government structures and systems. A total of 24 interviews were conducted with the Mpumalanga MEC, the city of Johannesburg service managers (3), councillors (9) and senior municipal administrators (11). In order to confirm or repudiate service provider findings from the Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal municipalities, supplementary interviews were held with persons knowledgeable about service delivery in Soweto between 2002 and 2005. A total of four additional interviews were thus conducted. In the analysis of the community survey data, townships were classified as well-off and worse-off on the basis of household incomes and thus participation in municipal activities, payment of services and other attitudes were compared between the two strata. The findings of the research reveal low levels of ability to pay for municipal services by communities in terms of household incomes. However, the household possessions of the living standard measurement (LSM) utilities indicated otherwise. The use of income as a measure of affordability to pay is suspect in methodological reliability; hence income related findings should be interpreted with caution. The worse-off townships preferred state provision of the basic municipal services. There was less inclination to participate in municipal structures such as ward committees and Integrated Development Plans (IDP) processes by the well-off townships, although they were the least satisfied with service provision and municipal performance. The city of Johannesburg municipality was found to be addressing service backlogs as a method for service identification and prioritisation. The municipality has semi-privatised basic municipal services such as water, electricity and garbage collection through section 21 companies in order to overcome service provision inefficiencies and ineffectiveness. This has devastating effects in terms of the community’s inability to pay, leading to services disconnection. Communities in general, however, believed that service provision has improved through these utilities even though the municipality has not finalised its performance management contracts with the utilities. Whereas the service provider interviews were conducted in Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal, additional telephone interviews with service provision experts for Soweto agreed that municipal challenges throughout the country are generally the same since they operate within relatively new policy frameworks. It is acknowledged, however, that metropolitan municipalities and specifically the city of Johannesburg face some unique challenges too. It is concluded that the central role of the local government as the custodian of basic municipal services cannot be disputed; however, the inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of the market forces require private-public partnerships. It can also be concluded that non-participation is an outcome of, among other things, poor participative capacity within communities, apathy, feelings of distrust of both the municipal institutions and municipal councillors and the lack of information regarding community obligations to municipal institutions. The research recommends the use of similar service utilities in both townships and former white suburban areas in order to overcome the perceptions of the municipal services level disparities that are formed on the basis of townships versus white suburban areas; an overhaul of the municipality’s billing system to overcome its debt and service charges collection problems; ward committee participation capacity improvement for both the municipal councillors and communities and the development and communication of clear guidelines on the roles of regional services management centres. Further research is recommended on, among other things, whether privatisation of municipal services results in better access by all and improves efficiency and payments, and on the functionality and effectiveness of ward committees as vehicles for community participation and in developing new and more reliable socio-economic modelling for assessing community ability to pay for government services.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Uit ’n literatuuroorsig van plaaslike regering in Suid-Afrika het dit geblyk dat daar ’n historiese probleem van nie-oorlegpleging by die identifisering en lewering van dienste deur munisipaliteite bestaan. Hierdie probleem gaan hand aan hand met niedeelname aan munisipale aktiwiteite deur gemeenskappe en ’n kultuur van “geenbetaling” vir dienste gelewer. Die hoofdoel van hierdie navorsing, wat tussen 2002 en 2005 in die stad Johannesburg gedoen is, was om vas te stel hoe die stad se munisipaliteit basiese dienste aan Soweto lewer en of daar enige gemeenskapsdeelname aan aktiwiteite is en of gemeenskappe ’n geenbetaling-houding inneem. Om die navorsingsdoel te bereik is ses vrae deur middel van literatuur en teorieë oor plaaslike regering geïdentifiseer. Die eerste vier vrae is gemik op gemeenskappe in Soweto: Hoe bekostigbaar is die basiese munisipale dienste aan die gemeenskappe in Soweto? Wat is die gemeenskap se mening oor die belangrikheid van die onderskeie munisipale dienste? Het gemeenskappe deel aan die identifisering en lewering van dienste? Hoe tevrede is die gemeenskappe met dienslewering? Die laaste twee vrae is gemik op die diensleweraars of munisipaledienstebestuurders en raadslede: Watter metodes gebruik die munisipaliteit om dienste te identifiseer en te lewer? Wat beskou die munisipaliteit as op hulle van toepassing sover dit die afdwingbaarheid van kwaliteitstandaarde in die lewering van dienste en bestuur betref? Oorspronklik was die doel om onderhoude te voer met gemeenskappe in Soweto sowel as munisipaledienste-bestuurders en raadslede van Johannesburg. Onderhoude met hoofde van 200 huishoudings in Soweto is wel gevoer. Hierdie huishoudings is ewekansig uit Chiawelo, Diepkloof, Dobsonville, Dube, Jabulani, Meadowlands, Naledi en Orlando gekies. Die onderhoude is gevolg deur vier fokusgroepvergaderings te Chiawelo, Dobsonville, Dube en Meadowlands, en tussen vyf en elf huishoudings het aan besprekings deelgeneem ten einde duidelikheid te verkry oor bevindinge van die ondersoek. Dit was egter net moontlik om onderhoude met drie dienstebestuurders van die stad Johannesburg te voer, naamlik Pikitup, Johannesburg Water en die Kontrak Bestuursgroep. Verskeie vrugtelose pogings om onderhoude met raadslede te bekom het uiteindelik gelei tot die verkryging van toestemming vir plaasvervangende onderhoude met die LUR vir die Plaaslike Regering sowel as Verkeersveiligheid in die volgende munisipaliteite: Govan Mbeki en Emalahleni in Mpumalanga en Emnambithi in KwaZulu-Natal. Hierdie plaasvervangende onderhoude is as toepaslik beskou, aangesien die menings oor dienslewering te doen het met die toepassing en implementering van die uniforme landswye plaaslikeregering-strukture en -stelsels wat dus op Soweto ook van toepassing is. ’n Totaal van 24 onderhoude is gevoer met die Mpumalanga-LUR (1), die dienstebestuurders van die stad Johannesburg (3), raadslede (9) en senior munisipale administrateurs (11). Om die bevindinge van die Mpumulanga- en KwaZulu-Natal-munisipaliteite te bevestig of te weerlê, is aanvullende onderhoude met persone wat kennis van dienslewering in Soweto het tussen 2002 en 2005 gevoer. Altesaam vier addisionele onderhoude is dus gevoer. Tydens die ontleding van die gemeenskapsdata is gemeenskappe as gegoed of minder gegoed geklassifiseer op grond van huishoudelike inkomste en dus is deelname aan munisipale aktiwiteite, betaling vir dienste en ander gesindhede tussen die twee strata vergelyk. Daar is bevind dat min mense munisipale dienste kan bekostig in terme van huishoudelike inkomste, maar dat huishoudelike besittings wat lewenstandaard bepaal op die teenoorgestelde dui. Die gebruik van huishoudelike inkomste as ’n maatstaf van die vermoë om te betaal is ’n aanvaarbare metode, maar moet tog met omsigtigheid benader word. Die gemeenskap wat die slegste daaraan toe was, verkies dat die staat basiese munisipale dienste voorsien. ’n Laer geneigdheid tot deelname aan munisipale strukture soos wykskomitees en geïntegreerde ontwikkelingsplanne is by die meer gegoede gemeenskappe aangetref, hoewel hulle die grootste ontevredenheid toon met dienslewering en munisipale werkverrigting. Daar is gevind dat die munisipaliteit van die stad Johannesburg die agterstand in dienste aangespreek het as metode om dienste te identifiseer en te prioritiseer. Om die probleem van oneffektiewe en ondoeltreffende dienste te oorkom, maak die munisipaliteit gebruik van artikel 21- maatskappye vir dienste soos water, elektrisiteit en vullisverwydering. Dit lei tot die beëindiging van die dienste van gemeenskappe wat nie kan betaal nie. Oor die algemeen is inwoners egter van mening dat dienste deur hierdie maatskappye verbeter is, hoewel die munisipaliteit nog nie sy prestasiebestuurkontrakte met hierdie maatskappye gefinaliseer het nie. Terwyl die onderhoude met diensverskaffers in Mpumalanga en KwaZulu- Natal gevoer is, is verdere telefoniese onderhoude met kundiges op die gebied van dienslewering in Soweto gevoer. Laasgenoemde het saamgestem dat munisipaliteite regoor die land oor die algemeen voor dieselfde uitdagings te staan kom, omdat hulle binne relatief nuwe beleidsraamwerke funksioneer. Daar word egter toegegee dat stedelike (metropolitaanse) munisipaliteite, en spesifiek die stad Johannesburg, ook met sekere unieke uitdagings te kampe het. Die gevolgtrekking waartoe gekom is, is dat die rol van plaaslike regering as die toesighouer oor basiese munisipale dienste nie betwis kan word nie, hoewel oneffektiwiteit en ondoeltreffendheid privaat vennootskappe vereis. ’n Verdere gevolgtrekking is dat niedeelname onder andere ’n gevolg is van ’n gebrek aan deelnemende kapasiteit binne gemeenskappe, apatie, wantroue in munisipale instellings en raadslede, en ’n gebrek aan inligting rakende gemeenskappe se verpligtinge jeens munisipale instellings. Die navorsing beveel aan dat gelyke dienste gelewer word in swart gemeenskappe en in tradisioneel wit gemeenskappe ten einde die siening dat daar onderskeid getref word, te verander. Daar behoort ook ’n hersiening van die munisipaliteit se rekeningestelsel te wees ten einde die skuldinvorderingsprobleme uit die weg te ruim. Deelnemende kapasiteit vir raadslede en gemeenskappe binne wyke moet verbeter word. Duidelike riglyne oor die rol van streeksdienstebestuursentrums moet ontwikkel en aan gemeenskappe oorgedra word. Verdere navorsing word aanbeveel om te bepaal of die privatisering van dienste tot beter toegang vir almal sal lei en of dit doeltreffendheid en betaling sal verbeter. Die funksionaliteit en effektiwiteit van wykskomitees as meganisme vir gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid sowel as die ontwikkeling van nuwe en meer betroubare sosio-ekonomiese modelle vir die bepaling van gemeenskapsvermoë om vir dienste te betaal, behoort ook ondersoek te word.

This thesis as a case study explored the narratives of a convenience sample of four women with the disease known as lupus. The author used an ethnographic approach to investigate how these women coped and how service providers, including carers, met their needs. The author used participant observation in his role as Occupational Therapist (and son) to gain access to this sample. He asked them to keep written diaries about their day-to-day experiences of living with the illness. These diaries were later given to the author to read, study and analyse. Additionally, the author’s personal ethnography as a son was submitted as data for this study. This ethnographic writing centred on the life of one sole informant, his mother, who later died with the disease in hospital. Qualitative data analysis (QDA) techniques with grounded theory origins (Glaser and Strauss 1965,1967 and Charmaz 2007) was used to analyse the data. The techniques comprised of line-by-line analysis and coding, constant comparison of cases, thematic analysis, theoretical sampling and the development of framework tables. The study revealed a range of findings, which were later conceptualised into an ethnographic ontology of lupus. First, people encounter a daily struggle to cope with illness symptoms. Second, there was evidence of poor communication between the hospital ward staff (and carers) and failure for social workers to be the main advisor/counsellor of end of life care needs including missing referrals to hospice services. Health and social care professionals sometimes struggle to provide a basic level of service leading to a “know do” gap. This leads to an inconsistent level of end of life care for the individual and limited support for the identified carers. Narratives in diary form have a role to play in helping clinical teams develop meaningful insights into their life of their patients. Clinical teams in turn need to be forthright enough to develop “death covenants” for all patients (and their carers) with palliative care needs. Developing these tools and including them as intervention turn will lead to more cohesive practices within health and social care (Dean 1996, Dean and Melrose 1996, Mol 2008).

The purpose of this project was to write a grant proposal seeking funds for an educational program for social work professionals who work with the Department of Children and Family Services or collateral agencies throughout the Los Angeles, California area in order to increase awareness of the prevalence of child sexual abuse and culturally-relevant interventions for Latino families. Nearly 60% of the reported child sexual abuse (CSA) cases in Los Angeles County are of Latino origin, making it important for child welfare workers to develop cultural awareness and competence when working with these families. The goal of the program will be to increase worker's awareness about CSA and to further their knowledge on best practice interventions in working with victims and their Latino families. The potential funding source for the program was identified as the Stuart Foundation as they fund programs related to child welfare agencies. The actual submission and/or funding of the grant proposal were not a requirement for the successful completion of this project.

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore and expose the needs of sexually exploited women and children. The participants were recruited from a few non-profit agencies in the Inland Empire area. This study found one of the most underlying challenge facing the participants when working with sexually exploited victims was the unavailability of resources, particularly, shortage of transitional housing for them. Another finding that featured prominently in the study was related to a need for continuous training and education for the service providers in order to stay current with trends. The study also identified the rapport building challenges faced by service providers and the risk of re-traumatization for these victims and proper types of treatment for these individuals. This study recommends that the policymakers work with other key stakeholders to provide resources to these service providers in addition to providing a favorable environment. The collaboration should also include the law enforcement agencies and the judicial officers to protect the victims from further suffering. Furthermore, the study suggests that attention should be placed on the development of awareness campaigns and stronger voices of support and advocacy for these victims.

Transport projects are complex; the interface with different policy areas can often lead to significant challenges to ensuring that long-term value outcomes are achieved. This thesis seeks to explore the challenges associated with the effective provision of transport services from a social exclusion perspective. It uncovers a number of key factors that can affect the successful delivery and provision of such schemes by examining the consequence of the decisions and actions taken by service providers and commissioners. Using a case study approach conducted on three local authority projects across the United Kingdom, the study is exploratory in nature through an in-depth qualitative data analysis. In order to address the aim of the thesis, six key objectives are defined: to understand how transport projects may act as a vehicle for delivering policy aimed at addressing social exclusion in the United Kingdom; to understand and investigate the impact of deregulation of the bus industry on the provision of transport services, particularly for the socially excluded; to critically examine the process underpinning decisions that guide the provision of transport schemes to address social exclusion; to examine the propensity for service users to be actively involved in the decision making process; to conduct a case study research in order to explore the challenges to the successful provision and delivery of the transport services to the socially excluded as a consequence of the decisions and actions taken by the service providers in the case study areas; and to characterise the factors that should be considered in the provision and delivery of transport services, particularly for the socially excluded.Semi structured interviews were carried out with the service providers in three locations– West Midlands, Sheffield, and Manchester. These interviews seek to determine the challenges to the effective provision and delivery of transport services as a consequence of the decisions and actions of the service providers. Overall, some challenges that could inhibit the provision and delivery of transport services were identified. These include constraint on the provision and delivery of transport services for the socially excluded due to the Competition Act, lack of accessible information, lack of close working relationship between service providers, lack of trust and mutual respect between service providers, too much focus in reducing the number of benefits claimant, service accessibility – inflexible access criteria, lack of support for bus drivers, lack of cultural diversity in the workforce and marketing of services, resource constraints on scheme performance, tendency on the service providers to focus getting output rather than outcomes, partnership issues - lack of commitment, poor communication, lack of common understanding of social exclusion, tendency on the service providers to focus on economic aspect, and lack of willingness to fully engage with citizens in the delivery and provision of transport services.These challenges identified were then further analysed in order to examine the underlying reasons why those challenges existed. Having identified and examined the challenges that could hinder the provision and delivery of the transport services, particularly for the socially excluded, some recommendations were made based on the identified issues that should be considered in the provision and delivery of transport services, particularly for the socially excluded.The findings that emerged contribute toward the social exclusion and transport provision domain in four areas:• Highlighted and provided an understanding of the difficulties surrounding the role of bus drivers and how it affects transport provision for the socially excluded;• The importance and the need to have the local knowledge in delivering transport service;• Understanding service provider’s attitude towards engaging with the community in the provision of transport services; and, • Inadequate funding and the impacts on transport provision for the socially excluded.

This study explored human service providers’ perception of the quality of client services provided as related to the providers’ level of self-care. We utilized a quantitative research approach to survey 54 human service providers from three Southern California agencies. An independent t-test was conducted to analyze the difference between participants’ perceptions of self-care by age, gender, and level of education. This study revealed a significant difference was found between gender and social care. Females are more likely to maintain an open, trusting relationship with someone who they can share their frustrations with, sustain balance in their life by pursing a variety of interests outside of work, and have a close relationship with someone who serves as a mentor and/or advisor. Also, a significant difference was found between gender and service delivery. When not meeting self-care needs, men felt that their service delivery was affected more so than women. Additionally, when stressed, males had more difficulty relating to clients than females. Due to the limitations of the study such as: sample size, sampling technique, validity and reliability of the questionnaire, these results cannot be generalized. For future research, it is recommended that similar studies are conducted on human service providers’ perception of the quality of client services provided as related to their level of self-care utilizing a larger sample size and a standardized instrument. It is also recommended that gender differences are studied within social work regarding self-care and its impact on job retention.

Child abuse and neglect often leads to a child's removal, necessitating the intervention of the Juvenile Dependency Court. Parents are provided with services aimed at mitigating the risk factors leading to the removal and safely facilitating reunification. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to develop a grant to fund a Safety Organized Practice training program focusing on family engagement for service providers contracted with Ventura County Children and Family Services. The proposed training program would provide specialized training to child welfare professionals in order to increase the quality of interventions provided by child welfare professionals, enhance the quality of their visitations with families, and help promote improved reunification rates. The potential funding source for this grant was the W.K. Kellogg Foundation as this program coincides with the foundation's focal beneficiaries. The actual submission and/or funding of this grant was not required for the successful completion of the project.

The world has experienced multiple disasters in recent years that have highlighted the importance of effective disaster preparedness and response initiatives. One prominent example is the January 12, 2010, 7.0 magnitude earthquake that shook Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The massive disaster made it difficult for local Haitian community officials to respond immediately, leaving the country reliant on foreign aid and international and non-governmental relief organizations. Within days, hundreds of organizations and volunteers mobilized to send physicians and medical specialists, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists and social workers to the affected area. However, the political and financial instability of Haiti, in conjunction with limited resources and severe destruction from the earthquake, made it difficult to coordinate response efforts between hundreds of responding organizations. The literature indicates that when health professionals are disorganized and unprepared, they are at risk physically, emotionally and mentally which could hinder their effectiveness as first responders. While these risks have been made known, there is little literature that explores the effectiveness of the supports, as perceived by Canadian health and social service providers in Haiti. In order to address this gap, this qualitative study explores various supports that were available to health and social service providers in Haiti by focusing on their lived experiences pre-deployment, on-site and post-deployment. These findings provide evidence to inform policy development regarding future disaster relief and the supports available to health and social service workers assisting with international disaster response.

This project was a mixed methods study that examined the collaboration dimensions of Homeward's planning process and the factors that motivate organizations to participate. The study examined the collaborative strategy used by an organization called Homeward located in Richmond, Virginia. Homeward is a broker organization (Chaskin, Brown, Venkatesh, & Vidal, 2001) that was created in 1998 to mediate and nurture relationships among partnering organizations in order to facilitate the collaborative process required by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to receive Continuum of Care funding. During the quantitative component of the study, a survey was sent to Homeward's partners (n = 44) to identify partner perceptions of Homeward's leadership, organizational structure, benefits and drawbacks of participation, and relationships with partners. The follow-up survey and focus group in the qualitative component explored themes related to organization affiliation with Homeward, benefits and drawbacks of participation, relationships with partners, challenges that impact the ability of Homeward to facilitate collaboration, and strategies to involve key stakeholders. The findings from both methods have provided an overview of how Homeward's collaborative process is perceived by its partners and have raised issues that may impact Homeward's partner recruitment and retention efforts in the future. Implications for Homeward's model of collaboration include developing an organizational structure that will support the existence of both loosely and tightly coupled systems under the auspices of a single collaborative effort for long-term planning.

Human sex trafficking of minors is generally thought of as a problem that occurs in third world countries; however recent incidents have begun to shine a light on domestic sex trafficking happening in the United States. Qualitative interviews were conducted with seven participants who work with this population and explored treatment approaches they have observed to be effective when treating victims. The common theme was the use of Trauma Focused-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), especially when gathering information surrounding the trauma. It is important to note that although TF-CBT has been observed to be effective it does not meet all of the complex needs of the victims as reported by the participants. This population can be challenging to treat, but positive changes have been observed, such as increased use of coping skills to manage symptoms. There is a great need to educate service providers and the general public on this matter in order to boost advocacy, and improve and increase resources for this group.

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis is to study and show how a customer relation through its strategic key elements is related to Core competence. Design and Methodology: This is a case study approach involving multiple cases for mobile telecommunication service providers from two countries namely, Tanzania and Zambia employing a qualitative research design. Literature review and theoretical framework resulted into a proposal of a theoretical model of relationship between Customer relations and Core competence. Open ended questions were designed so as to gain as much information as possible from respondents; data were mainly collected through survey questions and face to face interviews. Collected data were then analyzed using pattern matching technique and theoretical model tested against the observed or actual model after data analysis and discussion of findings. Findings: This study examines the relationship between Customer relations and Core competence of a business. Customer relation strategies which are aimed at creating and maintaining a strong Customer relations-base can only be fully implemented or executed from a backing or support of an efficient Core competence, in other words, Core competence improves and maintains a good and strong Customer relations base. Applicability/Value: This research holds value and adds knowledge to the domain of strategy in general and in particular in the area of Customer relations and core competence. Though it may be limited in certain ways such as the type of industry researched, it certainly underscores important issues to the understanding of customer relations and core competence concepts and this knowledge can help in developing successful customer relations leading to increase in market share, leadership and hence business profitability. KEYWORDS: Customer relations, Core competence, Influence, Relationship, Customer relations strategies
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The American social welfare system is a mixed system consisting of loosely coupled government programs, private nonprofit and for-profit organizations, grassroots and religious entities. Although religious entities historically played a key role in the development of the social welfare system, the faith-based initiative of President George W. Bush targeted religious service providers to receive government funding and take on a larger role in service delivery to at-risk populations based on the belief that these providers were substantially different from traditional providers. Using a cross-sectional research design and a survey instrument created for the study, data was collected from 121 nonprofit service providers in the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area of Virginia. Nonprofit organizations were selected from three online databases using identified criteria and sent paper surveys and/or emails inviting them to complete a web-based survey. The study identified similarities and differences between characteristics of faith-based service providers and traditional providers and used a conceptual model composed of Resource Dependence Theory and Neo-Institutional Theory to suggest dynamics impacting similarities and differences between providers. Data analysis included univariate and multivariate analysis of organization characteristics. Univariate findings identified that faith-based organizations in the study were older, served more people in 2006, generally provided services via volunteers, received more funding from congregations and other religious entities and did not favor membership in professional organizations. Other than these notable differences, faith-based providers were fairly similar to their traditional counterparts. A multivariate analysis used a two-group discriminant function (DFA) procedure to determine which variables best discriminated between provider groups. Two variables, funding from congregations/other religious entities and funding from government grants/contracts, were found to be the most important discriminating variables. Study findings were consistent with prior research comparing the provider groups. Although some differences do exist, overall similarities tended to outweigh differences suggesting that the claim of substantially differences between providers did not fit the geographic area studied. For those concerned with community service delivery, the implication is that recent economic developments suggest that attention should be placed on collaboration and service delivery capacity-building rather than on the differences between service providers.

The purpose of this study was to identify barriers to receiving services for women suffering with Postpartum Depression (PPD) in the San Bernardino and Riverside County areas. 11 - 20% of mothers experience symptoms of PPD, which if left untreated can negatively impact the mother-infant relationship, ultimately affecting the entire family unit. Past studies have identified a variety of barriers to receiving treatment for PPD. However, research has not focused specifically on the obstacles mothers face in these two neighboring counties. The study utilized an online self-administered questionnaire developed by the researchers to identify barriers to treatment for PPD. There were 41 participants from San Bernardino and Riverside Counties. The questionnaire was intended to be distributed to service providers that come into contact with this vulnerable population; primarily social workers, licensed therapists, masters of social work (MSW) students student interns, physicians, registered nurses, and midwives. However, because a snowball sampling technique was used, it was possibly sent to other professionals who come into contact with this population. Our study found that most of the barriers identified in previous studies also applied to our participants. The barriers rated highest in terms of limiting access to PPD services were a physician’s lack of time with patients, knowledge of PDD symptoms, the patient’s relationship to physician, and limits in coverage, as well as knowledge of services covered, lack of emotional support from significant other and/or family members, and transportation challenges including distance from providers. Additional barriers that were recognized in the literature and in our research, were education barriers, cultural barriers, stigma associated with postpartum depression, fear of child welfare officials, lack of culturally sensitive screening tools, and fears surrounding the use of medication. The results from this study may help practitioners and researchers better understand the barriers women with PPD face in accessing services, and may help service providers tailor their treatments and services accordingly. Additionally, the knowledge gained from the research may also inspire policy changes to improve women’s access to PPD services.

In recent years, there has been a strong push on the federal level to support efforts of faith-based organizations, which provide a variety of social services ranging from literacy improvement efforts to homeless prevention. This thesis sheds light on the current efforts by faith-based homeless service providers in the Baton Rouge area, and examines their role in helping the homeless. This thesis uses existing literature and interviews with the director of The Capital Area Alliance for the Homeless as well others involved with homeless programs in Baton Rouge. This thesis also provides data collected by the ServicePoint HMIS (Homeless Management Information System) which gives a clearer picture of which agencies are providing services in Baton Rouge, and the clients served by these agencies. The efforts of these organizations were particularly critical following Hurricane Katrina, and it is vital that those in the policy arena understand the role of these organizations.

Introduction – People and society are more concerned about Corporate Social Responsibility as well as the demand of outsourcing logistics services. When buyer companies select TPL providers, the selection criteria are focused on cost and on time delivery, while issues like CSR are often placed in a low priority. Purpose – The purpose of this master thesis is to analyze how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) impacts as selection criteria when buying services from Third Party Logistics (TPL) providers. Design/Methodology – The research approach of this thesis is qualitative. Both primary data and secondary data collection were used; semi-structured interviews, emails, field observation and documentation. There are seven respondents from three different companies. Findings – From buyer companies’ perspective, CSR was taken into account when buying services from TPL providers. However, it had impact on a low priority since the buyer company chose leading TPL providers that have a good reputation and image. The buyer company believes that those selected TPL providers have already implemented CSR practice. Moreover, the results show that the main driving force behind the application of CSR was the customer requirement Research limitations – This master thesis has studied in a specific Swedish company when selecting TPL providers. Moreover, this research has been studied from the buyer companies’ perspective.

While previous health research with Aboriginal populations focused almost exclusively on Aboriginal Peoples of First Nations descent living on reserves or in isolated rural communities in Canada, this study focusing on diabetes aimed to engage Aboriginal Peoples of First Nations and Métis descent living in an urban Ontario setting. Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a progressive metabolic disorder that affects Aboriginal Peoples of Métis and First Nations descent disproportionately compared to the rest of the Canadian population. To understand this disparity in diabetes incidence and to address issues with existing diabetes prevention and management strategies, this study: a) explores the perceptions surrounding Type 2 diabetes and its prevention from First Nations and Métis community people and health service providers and policy makers; and b) informs the existing diabetes prevention, management and care strategies in light of these perceived understandings. Primary data was collected through 40 in-depth one-on-one narrative interviews with First Nations and Métis people, health service providers and policy makers. Thematic codes that emerged through the narrative analysis of this data revealed that to fully understand the social determinants of diabetes in an urban First Nations and Métis people’s context required the application of intersectionality theory, since production of First Nations and Métis diabetes is socially determined and deeply intersectional. By combining the concepts of the social determinants of health and intersectional approaches, narrative analysis of the primary data revealed that diversities in socio-economic, cultural, legal and spatial contexts determine First Nations and Métis people’s life choices and have a strong bearing on their health outcomes. First Nations and Métis participants’ narratives revealed that dimensions of marginalization were reflected not only through inadequate material resources, but also through intersections of multiple factors such as colonial legacies, stereotyping, legal statuses, and the pan-Aboriginal nature of government policies and services. First Nations and Métis community members indicated that preventive programming aimed at avoiding or managing diabetes should be grounded in balancing and restoring the positive aspects of physical, mental, spiritual and emotional health and should also balance their diverse needs, lived realities, and social circumstances. The views of health service providers and policy makers captured in this thesis tended to reflect an understanding of diabetes causation grounded in both biomedical and intersecting social determinants of health. At the pragmatic level, however, the solution to this health issue presented by health service providers and policy makers addresses only the measurable individualistic biomedical risk factors of diabetes. Policy makers also discussed the need for developing qualitative indicators of the success of presently implemented health programs. Overall, the results of this study indicated that effective diabetes prevention and management strategies for urban First Nations and Métis people must recognize and address the diversities in their historical, socio-economic, spatial and legal contexts as well as their related entitlement to health services. A comprehensive diabetes prevention strategy should target the social determinants of health that are specific to urban First Nations and Métis people and must build on community strengths.

This thesis examined the social networks and the perceived social support of people who have been receiving case management services from a community mental health program. Specifically, I focused on individuals who have severe and persistent mental illness and who have been living on the streets, in homeless shelters and in other forms of inadequate housing, since there is some evidence that homelessness itself can have important ramifications for the social network. The study had several objectives. Firstly, I described the social networks (including the professional branch of the network) of participants. Next, I looked at the links between their objective social network features (such as total network size, number of professionals, number of 'close confidantes', etc.) and their well being (as measured by life satisfaction and community adaptation). I also examined the relationship between subjective social support and well-being. Finally, a qualitative analysis was conducted using an inductive content analysis approach. Participants were asked to describe the types of changes they would like to make in their relationships with family members, and they were asked about the changes they would like to make in their relationships with unrelated individuals. As expected, participants described abnormally small social networks, and there was an over-representation of mental health professionals. The regression analyses suggested that the objective aspects of the social network may not be as important as participants' beliefs about their relationships and their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with their relationships. After controlling for the effects of gender and level of symptomatology, satisfaction with family relationships stood out as a predictor of overall life satisfaction. The qualitative results supported the quantitative results in some ways, but in other ways, the qualitative results contrasted with the quantitative. Participants were well aware that their social networks are small, and they wanted to have more friends. Importantly, they wanted to have friends who are "normal", i.e. friends who do not have mental health issues, friends who are socially acceptable and friends who look like valued members of society. In describing their family relationships, participants wanted to have more contact with their families and they wanted to feel more accepted by their families. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

This essay explores the early experiences of Bangladeshi blue-collar service workers in digitalising their livelihoods. It is a qualitative study that surveys and interviews service-providers in Dhaka who use the business aggregator platform Sheba.xyz, an online service marketplace, and seeks to understand what brought these self-employed micro-entrepreneurs, previously outside the digital economy, to adopt an ICT-enabled solution. The study is guided by Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory, one of the historically dominant paradigms in the field of communication for development (C4D). The overarching research question is, “Why did blue-collar service-providers in Dhaka adopt and use a digital business aggregator platform?” The aim is to explore what motivated/discouraged and enabled/hindered innovation adoption among a group of users previously marginalised from digital and financial inclusion. The findings suggest that adoption of Sheba.xyz among service-providers was not driven so much by a desire to digitalise one’s business per se, and as a means of mitigating a previous inability to do so. Rather, the factors that emerge from the qualitative data are other perceived relative advantages of the solution – of increase in customers, income, and opportunity. Survey respondents and interviewees also displayed strong affiliation with, and trust in, the platform provider; an alertness for fair treatment; and a drive to prosper, suggesting that they embraced a comprehensive concept and altered life situation where belonging, respect, and self-fulfilment matters, rather than narrowly adopted a new mobile application.

Background: In a larger picture, companies are hiring third party logistics operators who have the task to manage all or part of logistics operations such as storage, transport and packaging. The case company strives to constantly improve in order to get a better understanding of the requirements in connection with procurement. More and more demands are placed on the corporates responsibility along with the procurement. Corporate social responsibility describes a company’s responsibility judging by three dimensions: Ecologic, economic and social. Purpose: The purpose is to decide from a corporate social responsibility perspective which demands are meaningful while purchasing logistic services from a third party logistics operator. Method: This study is a case study at a third party logistics operator. The study is built upon an abductive research approach and the results are collected through semi- structured interviews with the company along with the three potential customers. This theoretical referencing is built from scientific article, books and websites. Conclusion: The amount of requirements put on a third party logistics operator from an economical responsibility perspective is twice as much with ecological responsibility perspective. The least demands is required by social responsibility. The operator’s price and quality on the service, correctly maintained goods, withholding of vehicles, ability to communicate electronically and localizing are the requirements that are made from the economical responsibilities perspective. Fuel usage and environmental class vehicles and that the operator has an environmental goal are required by ecological responsibilities perspective. The social responsibilities perspective requires long-term collaboration and fair working conditions. This study has contributed knowledge about the requirements by corporate social responsibilities three dimensions and how they affect third party logistics operator.
Bakgrund: I en allt större utsträckning anlitar företag tredjepartslogistik-aktörer som har till uppgift att sköta hela eller delar av logistikverksamheten som lagring, transportering och paketering. Fallföretaget, som är en tredjepartslogistik-aktör, strävar efter att ständigt förbättras för att få en ökad förståelse för de krav som ställs i samband med upphandling. Allt fler krav ställs på företags ansvarstagande i samband med upphandling. Corporate social responsibility beskriver ett företags ansvarstagande utifrån tre dimensioner: ekologiskt, ekonomiskt och socialt. Syfte: Syftet är att utifrån corporate social responsibility utforska vilka krav som är betydelsefulla vid inköp av logistiktjänster från en tredjepartslogistik-aktör. Metod: Denna studie är en fallstudie hos en tredjepartslogistik-aktör. Studien bygger på en abduktiv forskningsansats och resultatet är insamlat genom semistrukturerade intervjuer med fallföretaget samt tre potentiella kunderna. Den teoretiska referensramen är uppbyggd utifrån vetenskapliga artiklar, böcker och hemsidor. Slutsats: Antalet ställda krav på en tredjepartslogistik-aktör utifrån ekonomiskt ansvarstagande är dubbelt så många jämfört med ekologiskt ansvarstagande. Minst krav ställs utifrån socialt ansvarstagande. Aktörens pris och kvalitet på tjänsten, korrekt hantering av gods, underhåll av fordon, förmåga att kommunicera elektroniskt och lokalisering är krav som ställs utifrån ett ekonomiskt ansvarstagande. Bränsleval och miljöklass på fordon samt att aktören har ett miljömål är krav som ställs utifrån ett ekologiskt ansvarstagande. Långsiktigt samarbete och rättvisa arbetsvillkor är krav som ställs utifrån socialt ansvarstagande. Denna studie har bidragit med kunskap angående ställda krav utifrån corporate social responsibility:s tre dimensioner och hur de påverkar valet av tredjepartslogistik-aktör.

Contexte: De récentes études ont explicitement démontré que les communautés d’immigrants doivent affronter des difficultés particulières afin d'accéder aux services de santé et font face à des disparités sanitaires significatives, subissant l'effet de déterminants sociaux sous-jacents de la santé (DSS). Les immigrants représentant un pourcentage grandissant de la population dans de nombreux pays développés, mieux comprendre et supprimer ces barrières est une des grandes priorités. En se fondant sur l'utilisation d'une structure DSS, cette thèse contribue aux recherches actuelles concernant l'accès aux services de santé parmi les populations d'immigrants bangladais dans trois villes internationales : Lisbonne (Portugal), Bruxelles (Belgique) et Boston (Massachusetts, U.S.A.). À cet effet, elle apporte des précisions sur les données qualitatives limitées disponibles concernant les communautés immigrantes bangladaises qui vivent sur les sites de recherche mentionnés ci-dessus.Résultats: Les résultats obtenus ont montré que les immigrants bangladais vivant sur ces trois sites de recherche possèdent une vision généralement holistique de la santé et du bien-être. Les pressions de l'acculturation et l'isolement social constituent deux des DSS pertinents ayant une influence sur la santé et l'accès aux services sanitaires. Parmi les principaux enjeux de santé et besoins en soins de cette communauté, les problèmes de santé mentale et l'isolement social, l'alimentation et les habitudes alimentaires, le manque d'activité physique, des niveaux élevés de diabète et de maladies cardiovasculaires ont été identifiés comme facteurs influençant. Certaines valeurs culturelles associées à des motivations d'ordre économique peuvent conditionner l'importance que les individus accordent à leur santé. A titre d'exemple, l'obligation envers la famille, profondément ancrée dans la culture bangladaise, se traduit souvent chez les immigrants travaillant à l'étranger par un sentiment de pression économique et se manifeste par un stress chronique et un déséquilibre entre vie professionnelle et vie personnelle. La communication et les barrières linguistiques apparaissent comme étant les principaux freins à l'engagement des immigrants bangladais avec les prestataires de soins. Enfin, le type ainsi que le contexte de l'immigration joue un rôle important dans l'utilisation des services de santé par les immigrants bangladais: le sentiment d’être dans une situation transitoire sur le lieu où ils se trouvent tel qu'à Lisbonne et Bruxelles, en opposition à une perspective d'établissement plus permanent tel qu'à Boston, semble influencer l'utilisation active de soins de santé continus.Conclusion: Les problèmes de santé de chaque individu, la situation de leur statut d'immigrant et les circonstances familiales ont joué un rôle sur la manière dont les membres de la communauté bangladaise ont accédé et utilisé les services de santé sur chaque site de recherche. Bien que les liens sociaux au sein des communautés bangladaises vivant à l'étranger soient forts, tous les individus ne se trouvaient pas nécessairement en contact avec les membres de leur communauté. Ceci met en exergue le besoin d'un engagement et d'une sensibilisation auprès des immigrants susceptibles de ne pas bénéficier de la protection du capital social de leur communauté. Cette dissertation a permis de dresser le profil des déterminants sociaux influençant l'accès aux services de santé de la communauté immigrante bangladaise, avec pour objectif d'informer les professionnels travaillant avec cette population. A cet effet, les conclusions de cette recherche seront partagées avec les participants et intervenants de chaque site d'études afin de renforcer la compréhension des communautés immigrantes bangladaises et accroître les ressources mises à leur disposition
Background: Recent studies clearly identify that immigrant communities experience specific challenges in accessing health care services, and face significant health disparities, that are impacted by underlying social determinants of health (SDH). As immigrants comprise an increasing percentage of the population in many developed nations, a better understanding and eliminating of these barriers is a major priority. Using an SDH framework, this dissertation contributes to the current research regarding access to health services among Bangladeshi immigrant populations in three international cities: Lisbon (Portugal), Brussels (Belgium), and Boston (MA-USA). In doing so, it expands upon the limited qualitative data available that concerns Bangladeshi immigrant communities living in these aforementioned research sites.Methods: This dissertation utilized a qualitative descriptive research design to comprehend issues from the perspective of both immigrant community members and service providers. The findings presented in this study, therefore, focus on data analyzed from 45 original in-depth interviews with Bangladeshi immigrant community members (n=32) and service providers (n=13) across Lisbon, Brussels, and Boston. Data was collected primarily using a semi-structured interview guide.Results: Bangladeshi immigrants living across the three research sites possess an overall holistic view of health and well-being according to results. Relevant SDH affecting health and accessing health services included pressures of acculturation and social isolation. The following were identified as some of the key community health issues and care needs: mental health and social isolation, food and dietary habits, lack of exercise, high levels of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Certain cultural values coupled with economic motivators may influence the way individuals prioritize their health. For example, the obligation towards family that is deeply embedded in Bangladeshi culture often translated to feelings of economic pressure by immigrants working abroad and manifested as chronic stress and a work-life imbalance. Communication and language barriers emerged as the most prominent issue of engagement between Bangladeshi immigrants and service providers. Finally, the type and context of immigration played in important role in health service utilization by Bangladeshi immigrants: a transitory outlook on their current location such as in Lisbon and Brussels, as opposed to a more permanent outlook in Boston, appeared to influence the active uptake of continuous health care.Conclusion: Individual health priorities, immigration status, and family circumstances affected how Bangladeshi community members accessed and utilized health services at each research site. Although social networks in Bangladeshi communities abroad were strong, not all individuals were necessarily connected with their fellow community members. This underlines the need to initiate engagement and outreach to immigrant individuals who may fall outside of the protection of social capital in their community. This dissertation has established a profile of social determinants impacting access to health services for Bangladeshi immigrant communities, with the purposes of informing professionals working within this population. As such, results will be shared with participants and stakeholders at each of the study sites in order to strengthen the understanding of and resources available to Bangladeshi immigrant communities

Motel life has existed in the United States for over 100 years. However, it was not until the HEARTH Act in 2009 changed the federal definition of homelessness that those who live in motels more or less permanently were considered homeless persons. This project utilizes qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 18 families with children who are living in motels to explore their experiences with motel life and social service providers, their housing identity, and identity management strategies. Interviews with social service providers were also conducted for context and to gain their perspective on families living in motels. Findings show that most of the motel residents did not identify with the conventional definition or image of homelessness and instead negotiated the term to fit their situation. Although they did not initially self-identify as homeless, when discussing policy recommendations all participants adopted a homeless social-identity (i.e., they identified as members of the homeless social category). As members of the homeless community, the participants agreed that homeless families in the area needed more attention and assistance. The identity management strategies employed by the participants were meant to show how they were good people who were just stuck in a motel because of circumstances outside of their control and how they were deserving of assistance to help their families move out of the motel and obtain adequate, permanent housing. Interviews with the social service providers showed that they often do exercise their power over clients by classifying them into a "deserving" group or a "not willing to work for it" group based on their own experiences and prejudices.
Ph.D.
Doctorate
Sociology
Sciences
Sociology

Molnets ökade popularitet har drivit allt fler företag till att lansera molntjänster. Det vill säga tjänster som tillhandahålls över internet. För att hålla koll på dessa tjänster krävs det register som lagrar information om dessa. Idag finns det en hel del sådana produkter på marknaden, men vad bör prioriteras vid val eller utveckling av ett tjänsteregister? Denna studie tar upp vilka olika kriterier som finns för ett tjänsteregister som inkluderar molntjänster och rangordnar dessa baserat på hur viktiga de är. Den insamlade datan kommer från intervjuer samt enkäter och jämförs i studien mot tidigare forskning. Datan är analyserad med AHP-metoden, vilket genererar exakta värden som är lätta att jämföra. Studien fastställer att det viktigaste kriteriet i ett tjänsteregister är säkerhet och därefter kommer reliabilitet.
The increasing popularity of the cloud has driven more companies to deploy cloud services, which is a service provided over the internet. To keep track of these services, registries are required which stores information about them. At present there are many such products on the market, but what should be prioritized when selecting or developing a service registry? This study brings up the different criteria of service registries that include cloud services and ranks them based on their importance. The collected data is derived from interviews and surveys and is compared to previous research. The data is analyzed with the AHP-method, which generates accurate values that are easy to compare. This study determines that the most important criterion is security and thereafter reliability.

Internet intermediaries facilitate a wide range of conduct using services supplied over the layered architecture of modern communications networks. Members of this class include search engines, social networks, internet service providers, website operators, hosts, and payment gateways, which together exert a critical and growing influence upon national and global economies, governments and cultures. This research examines who should face legal responsibility when wrongdoers utilise these services tortiously to cause harm to others. It has three parts. Part 1 seeks to understand the nature of an intermediary and how its liability differs from the liability of primary defendants. It classifies intermediaries according to a new layered, functional taxonomy and argues that many instances of secondary liability in English private law reflect shared features and underlying policies, including optimal loss-avoidance and derivative liability premised on an assumption of responsibility. Part 2 analyses intermediaries’ monetary liability for secondary wrongdoing in two areas of English law: defamation and copyright. It traces the historical evolution of these doctrines at successive junctures in communications technology, before identifying and defending limits on that liability which derive from three main sources: (i) in-built limits contained in definitions of secondary wrongdoing; (ii) European safe harbours and general limits on remedies; and (iii) statutory defences and exceptions. Part 3 examines intermediaries’ non-monetary liability, in particular their obligations to disclose information about alleged primary wrongdoers and to cease facilitating wrongdoing where it is necessary and proportionate to do so. It proposes a new suite of non-facilitation remedies designed to restrict access to tortious internet materials, remove such materials from search engines, and reduce the profitability of wrongdoing. It concludes with several recommendations to improve the effectiveness and proportionality of remedies by reference to considerations of architecture, anonymity, efficient procedures, and fundamental rights.

This master's thesis, named "Care and support of the elderly with multiple disabilities in retirement homes," focuses on the potential admission of these persons to retirement homes in the Czech Republic. The aim of this study is to find out whether and under what conditions seniors with multiple disabilities are admitted to the standard type of retirement homes. The empirical section deals with the legislative basis for retirement homes in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, it deals with sight, hearing, movement and cognitive functions in old age. For each of these monitored areas, this section contains descriptions of the greatest functional changes in the daily life of a senior citizen. The research section of this thesis is based on the testimonies of individual retirement homes. Sixteen randomly selected retirement homes were sent an application for the admission of a grandmother with diagnosed deafness and blindness. Based on their answers we can observe the attitudes of the individual facilities regarding this issue, and their conditions for admission. KEY WORDS Retirement homes, multiple disabilities, seniors, registry of social service providers, old age

The backlog in foster care applications has been an issue in the Department of Health and Social Development, Johannesburg office, for the last number of years, resulting in foster care placement applications accumulating and families’ quality of life being affected and compromised. The service providers are inundated with high caseloads. Foster care applications could take up to a year or longer before they are processed and finalised at the Children’s Court. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the factors contributing to the foster care backlog from the service providers’ perspective and to provide suggestions to address this continuing backlog. The researcher employed a qualitative research approach and an explorative, descriptive and contextual research design. Factors such as high caseloads, lack of resources and lack of support and training from management were identified as contributing to the backlog. Recommendations made are the immediate filling of vacant posts, induction of new social workers, provision of adequate resources and infrastructure as well as the division of foster care services.
Social Work
M.A. (Mental Health)

碩士
輔仁大學
兒童與家庭學系碩士在職專班
106
The purpose of this study was to explore work engagement, social support and work well-being of family childcare service providers. First, the situations of work engagement, social support, and work well-being were studied. Then, the extend to which the backgrounds affected work well-being were explored. Finally, the relations among work engagement, social support, background variables and work well-being of the family childcare service providers were analyzed. The questionnaire research method was used in this study. Participants were from family childcare service center and had the family childcare service registration certificates and currently employed in New Taipei City. This questionnaire adopted Wok Engagement scale, Social Support scale and Wok well-Wing scale as research tools and totally 479 questionnaires were valid. The collected data was analyzed with SPSS software package, by using descriptive statistics, Paired sample t tests , ANOVAs, Pearson correlation and hierarchical multiple regression. 1. The results showed that work engagement, social support, and work well-being of family childcare service providers tended to show average or above average level. 2. In terms of sources of social support, the source of emotional support and instrumental support for family childcare service providers were based on support from family and friends. For information support, the family childcare service center was the main focus. 3. The situation in which family childcare service providers personnel perceive work well-being varied significantly depending on providers age, education level, and years of childcare work experience. The frequency of participations in the collaborative circles showed significant differences in the “psychological well-being” of perceived work well-being; however there were no significant differences arong “social well-being” and “job satisfaction”. 4. The years of childcare work experience, the frequency of participations in the collaborative circles, work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption) and social support (emotional, informational and instrumental) of family childcare service providers had significantly positive relations with work well-being. While education level of family childcare providers had significantly negative relations with work well-being. 5. The results of hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that the background variables, work engagement, and social support explained 62% variance of work well-being. The work dedication and social support had significant predictive powers for overall work well-being. Finally, according to the findings of this study, the suggestions were provided for family childcare service providers, the family childcare service center, and future studies.

A qualitative study was undertaken to develop an understanding of the social welfare services rendered to street children and to ascertain how these social welfare services can be enhanced from the perspective of service providers employed by NGOs in Pretoria. An explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. The researcher used purposive and non-probability sampling methods to draw the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information from nine service providers working with street children. Data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 2009). Data was verified using Guba‘s model (in Krefting, 1991).The study highlights challenges faced by NGOs in providing social welfare services to street children. The study provides a critical analysis of some of the key social welfare service challenges that need to be addressed to ensure effective and sustainable delivery of social welfare services. how these social welfare services can be enhanced from the perspective of service providers employed by NGOs in Pretoria. An explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. The researcher used purposive and non-probability sampling methods to draw the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information from nine service providers working with street children. Data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 2009). Data was verified using Guba‘s model (in Krefting, 1991).The study highlights challenges faced by NGOs in providing social welfare services to street children. The study provides a critical analysis of some of the key social welfare service challenges that need to be addressed to ensure effective and sustainable delivery of social welfare services. the social welfare services rendered to street children and to ascertain how these social welfare services can be enhanced from the perspective of service providers employed by NGOs in Pretoria. An explorative, descriptive and contextual research design was utilised. The researcher used purposive and non-probability sampling methods to draw the sample. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect information from nine service providers working with street children. Data were analysed according to the framework provided by Tesch (in Creswell, 2009). Data was verified using Guba‘s model (in Krefting, 1991).The study highlights challenges faced by NGOs in providing social welfare services to street children. The study provides a critical analysis of some of the key social welfare service challenges that need to be addressed to ensure effective and sustainable delivery of social welfare services.
Social Work
MA (Social Work)

This study examined the influence of: 1) research experience; 2) knowledge and education; and 3) agency characteristics on providers' willingness to be involved in research and DEBI use. Grounded in an integrated theoretical framework of organizational and behavioral theories, this study used concurrent mixed methods for a secondary analysis of 20 in-depth interviews and cross-sectional surveys from 141 providers in New York City. Content analysis identified specific research tasks/procedures employed by providers involved in collaboration with researchers, according to whether they do or do not resemble service provision ("proximal") or ("distal"). Multivariate linear regression was applied to determine the influence of these tasks/procedures on willingness to be involved in research and use of DEBIs. The study showed that having been involved in proximal tasks was positively associated with providers' willingness to collaborate with researchers and with their use of DEBIs. Having been involved in distal tasks was negatively associated with providers' use of DEBIs. Providers' level of education, attitudes toward research, and agency capacity were positively associated with willingness to be involved in research. Providers' level of education, knowledge of DEBIs, and agency capacity were positively associated with use of DEBIs. This study demonstrates how proximal tasks/procedures and other modifiable factors (e.g., education, agency capacity, knowledge) may influence providers to use DEBIs. The findings may help inform: 1) best practices for research collaboration; 2) funding to involve providers in research; and 3) training for researchers and providers to collaborate.

碩士
亞洲大學
經營管理學系碩士在職專班
102
Virtual path the industry, such as the well-known marriage site "very wedding" or "marriage doctrine shared" so virtual community members by this open community search, publish or exchanged wedding-related knowledge. By members of the different characteristics and needs-based "interest" "novelty" and "relationship", etc., contributed to the industry and consumers in the wedding industry to complete the transaction. In this study, based on content, search engine optimization and social media as a conceptual framework for the wedding community to ANP method to assess the weight of index, use these assessments to establish indicators and weights checklist to find someone to marry the Internet service providers are important factors. The results showed that individual Internet service providers to get married or to establish the most important word of mouth, so the industry's services are sure to attract more consumers.