Praca socjalna – kwestie definicyjne

Author(s): Stanisław Buda / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2016

This article presents some of the formal determinants of the definition of social work as a practical activity and, at the same time, as a scientific discipline. It also shows a few examples of some alternative directions that the concretization of this definition may take. The main intention of the author is to draw attention to the close relationship between the process of constitution of the theory of social work and making certain decisions of a philosophical nature.

Socialinio darbo sistema Lietuvos visuomenės kaitos kontekstu

Author(s): Birutė Švedaitė-Sakalauskė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 12/2004

Im Artikel wird die Frage nach Funktion der Sozialen Arbeit in einer modernen Gescllschaft gestellt. Daraus werden die Ziele und wichtigste Tatigkcitsbereiche der Sozialen Arbeit abgeleitet. Es werden die Situation und Hauptprobleme der Sozialen Arbeit in Litauen dargestellt und analysiert. Theoretiseher Hintergrund des Artikels ist moderne Theorie der sozialen Systeme, entwickelt vom deutschen Soziologen Niklas Luhmann.

CONTROL AND PREVENTION OF FISCAL CRIME

Author(s): Iuliana Pană / Language(s): English Issue: 01/2019

Legal evasion is ”the taxpayer’s action to bypass laws by resorting to an unforeseen combination of them, being forgiven by fleeing.” Tax fraud is a form of deliberate evasion, în violation of legal provisions that explicitly criminalize action or inaction with a fiscal consequence as a crime, and the purpose of the act is to hide the tax obligation or to diminish it.

Welfare and legal aspects of making decisions on medical treatments of pet animals

Author(s): Nikola Puvača,Britt Chantal / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2020

When it comes to humans and the necessity for their young ones’ medical treatments, the parental responsibility is crucial. The decisions made by parents involve the legal aspects as well as welfare aspects, respectively. Pet animals are usually classified as property in the European Union, but pets are the same as kids regarding medical treatments and illnesses or diseases. In that case, the decisions are made by their owners, posing a legal challenge only if the proposed treatment can trigger damage or needless pain, as defined by the Law on pet animals` welfare. In this article, there will be discussed the best interests both in legal and welfare aspects of decisions being made in the medical treatments of the pets by their owners. Reaching the choice of pets’ medical treatments will primarily be focused on pets protection and welfare avoiding unnecessary pain, which is in the pets` best overall welfare interests. While the statute law is not a mandatory one considering the pets’ best interests, this article might be a useful resource for professional veterinarians and practitioners. At the same time, this article regards of the best interests of the pets and it can be integrated into the existing ethical frameworks for making medical decisions and more humane treatment of pet animals.

COMPARATIVE LAW REVIEW OF LONG-TERM CARE SYSTEMS IN SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Author(s): Marija Dragićević / Language(s): English Issue: 3/2020

The organisation and funding of a long-term care system have been one of the most commonly debated issues in the social policies of developed European countries since the 1920s. The key issue in the debate on the long-term care system is to what extent the population should finance their own needs for custodial care and assistance, and to what extent it should be done by the state. Another important issue is whether the funds for long-term care should only be beneficial for those who cannot pay from their own assets (residual model), or whether long-term care services should be a universal right. The existence of such huge national differences has contributed to the intensity of this debate, both regarding how the system is organised (according to the type of benefits) and how the resources are generated. Bearing in mind the foregoing, in this paper, the author analyses the long-term care systems for people dependant on custodial care and assistance in several most developed European countries. The paper examines their organisation and funding, and highlights their major advantages and disadvantages, which may eventually serve as an indication for improving the domestic system.

The Development of Corporate Social Responsibility in the Context of Overcoming a Welfare State Crisis: a Theoretical and Empirical Analysis

Author(s): Nadiya Grazhevska,Alla Mostepaniuk / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

The current social crisis, caused by the negative consequences of globalization, labor migration, and an aging population, requires the state’s role in economic and social spheres to be reconsidered. In order to achieve and maintain sustainable economic growth, the pressing social problems, such as poverty, hunger, discrimination, and the unequal distribution of income, should be solved. Under these circumstances, the paper investigates the process of forming a welfare state to evaluate the role of current states in this period of social crisis. To achieve the aim, the following methods were used: historical and systematic analysis of the scientific literature and socio-economic conditions of the evolution of theoretical approaches of the welfare state, and the causes and characteristics of the present social crisis; cluster analysis of European countries to find similar patterns based on the level of corporate social responsibility (CSR) development, state social expenditures, and the government budget balance. The paper contains a detailed analysis and discussion of the formation of a welfare state. The study concludes that the process of delegating some state social services to the private sector in the form of CSR can be considered an efficient mechanism to eliminate and overcome the current social crisis through the accumulation of social capital. At the same time, the results of the cluster analysis of European countries demonstrated the importance of CSR development as a compensator for the negative effects of a public welfare crisis and for solving pressing social problems in most European countries. Specific features of post-socialist countries in the context of social orientation of state policy and the development of CSR are highlighted.

Jobban tudják-e az okos szavazók? Az iskolázottság, a hírfogyasztás és a politikai érdeklődés szerepe a pártos elfogultság alakulásában

Author(s): Veronika Patkós,András Szántó / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 4/2020

Numerous notable books have warned about the deleterious effect of voters' uninformedness. While some works depict the role of sophistication as an attribute which decreases partisan bias and thus enhances democratic functioning (Brennan, 2017; Somin, 2016), other authors, like Achen and Bartels (2016) argue that sophisticated citizens are at least as biased as their unsophisticated counterparts. Our study's aim is to clarify the link between sophistication and partisan bias in order to find evidence/counter evidence/counterevidence for the widespread theoretical assertion that smart voters are actually better decision-makers as they are less biased. We look at the effect of political interest, education and political information acquisition on the extent of partisan bias. We use European Social Survey data to test our research question. We find that while education does not appear to have a bias-inducing effect on citizens' information processing, information acquisition and political interest positively and significantly increase partisan bias. Our results are in accordance with the vast majority of earlier empirical evidence on the role of sophistication but may question some well-established claims in connection with the role of education in biased information processing. In other words, the findings do not support the optimistic conceptions on the role of sophistication but they fully underline the interpretation of Achen and Bartels (2016) on the role of sophistication.

Justice on the Streets

Author(s): Éva Tessza Udvarhelyi / Language(s): English Issue: Spec 1/2013

With knowledge and power so intimately tied together, research and documentation can easily turn into technologies of control and exclusion. While the modern state is extremely adept at counting, documenting and categorizing its residents, it is also able to enforce certain expectations towards its citizens through a request for proper documentation. In today’s Hungary, the state has acquired a vast knowledge about people who are homeless through various forms of registration. At the same time, being properly documented is essential for homeless people in order to access necessary services and maintain their links to the body politic. By contrast, homeless people are rarely in a position either to get to know the state’s operations in detail or set expectations towards the state and its representatives. Justice on the Streets, a participatory action research (PAR) project undertaken by the homeless and housed members of The City is for All (AVM), a homeless rights advocacy group in Budapest, represents an attempt at bridging this huge inequality in knowledge and power by documenting the behaviour of the state from the perspective of street homeless people. In this paper, I use the concept of deep participation to examine the collective process of critical reflection and knowledge production in PAR. More specifically, I analyse the unfolding of deep participation in Justice on the Streets from the perspective of: 1) the development of a critical consciousness; 2) the dynamics of participation in a cross-class context; and 3) the deconstruction of power and inequality at both the micro and macro levels.

Uloga saradnje i koordinacije u praksi socijalnog rada

Author(s): Nedreta Šerić / Language(s): Bosnian Issue: 15/2021

Social work, in the theoretical discourse, is an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary occupation. This fact has been confirmed throughout the history of the development of social work and has inevitably been reflected in practice. Social workers need to collaborate and coordinate, in everyday practice, with different services, agencies, institutions, and organizations. There is a legal framework for a multi-sector approach, namely for the participation of stakeholders from the governmental, non-governmental, civil, and private sectors, but also from the ranks of religious communities and individuals. The focus of this paper is to analyze the role of collaboration and coordination through the scope of theory and practice, in different areas of professional practice of social work. Collaboration is important on many different levels, as well as coordination of agendas designed by different stakeholders. Perceived as connective elements, collaboration and coordination make way for more efficient social activities, optimal use of resources, and timely social reaction to different issues and social needs of a specific local community. In a wider context, this also leads to raising the level of efficiency, which is a significant issue in contemporary social work practice. Furthermore, this paper will also shed a light on possibilities and limitations, causes, and reasons for collaboration, as well as on different kinds of collaboration and problems in the process of establishing and maintaining the collaboration. The paper also includes legal background and research focused on collaboration and coordination in social work.

Produkce a nasazení tureckých ozbrojených dronů

Author(s): Pavel Faus,Miroslav Mareš / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2021

This article studies the current stage of development of armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology in Turkey, within the context of the current media attention caused by its deployment in various conflicts. Authors first provide a classification framework for surveillance and armed drones. Text proceeds with an overview of the technology and its military use. The core of the text focuses on Turkey’s past and present use of armed drones. Authors analyse the current stage of Turkey’s armed drone development production and export destinations. Furthermore, operational use by Turkey or other parties is discussed. Authors conclude by comparing current generation of Turkish drones to those deployed by the United States, highlighting technological edge on the side of the US, as well as continuing dependency of Turkey’s main drone systems on foreign components.

NYUGDÍJASOK KÖZÖSSÉG-INTEGRÁLÁSA

Author(s): Judit Molnár / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 1/2020

One of the most dynamically developing areas of our time is the provision of pensioners within the social sector. In my publication I would like to outline the possibilities of the elderly requiring institutional service. After that, I focus on exploring the relationship between opportunities and demand. With my manuscript, I would like to assist professionals actively involved in the submission and evaluation of applications.

Disturbances in the Mechanism of Apoptosis as One of the Causes of the Development of Cancer Diseases

Author(s): Paweł Rusin,Karolina Jabłońska / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2020

Apoptosis is a genetically programmed process that affects all multicellular organisms. This mechanism of programmed cell death is designed to protect the body against uncontrolled proliferation of cells with impaired functions. Apoptosis can occur through two major pathways. The extrinsic, initiated by signals from the death receptor, and the intrinsic one, resulting from a change in the permeability of the external mitochondrial membrane due to stress factors promoting the initiation of programmed cell death. Apoptosis may be influenced by many factors that may lead to suppressing the initiation of apoptotic pathways, and the damaged cell will develop, divide, and over time transform into a cancerous cell. As a result, cancer cells will be resistant to the applied chemo- and radiotherapy. The mechanisms responsible for apoptosis regulation are impaired, what eliminates the effects of therapies aimed at initiating this type of cell death. New types of molecular therapies provide an opportunity to increase the effectiveness of anticancer treatment, aiming at deficient proteins and suppressing or eliminating their antiapoptotic effects.

Volume Presentation "Social Policies in Romania 30 Years after: Expectations and Answers"

Author(s): Elena Zamfir / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

It is much harder to introduce a collective volume than a one-author book. As I assumed the introduction of the volume on behalf of the coordinators, I won’t enter into detailed analysis for each study, leaving room to your questions for the authors of the book. I will resume myself only to the general and ultimate intent of the book, and to some of its conclusions regarding the impact of the policy strategies’ in creating social and individual welfare in post-December Romania. The book provides an integrative vision about the social policy models in their dynamics, over the 30 years from the Revolution. In fact, the 16 studies, though independent, have the backbone of shared unity regarding the thematic structure and methodology. The studies, one by one, are an analysis of the sectorial social policies over the 30 years of transition, for outlining the specific profile of the policies in Romania as compared with the ones of the EU-member-states.

Implicațiile tehnologiei 5G asupra evoluției securității statelor

Author(s): Alin Albu,Dan TEȘILĂ / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 2/2019

In the last years, wireless communication services have benefited from numerous improvements, both in terms of area of coverage and most importantly, in terms of offered quality and speed. Thereby, from the trivial 2G, which came with possibilities of voice and text communication, there has been an accelerated jump towards 3G technology, which has facilitated global access to the Internet through mobile devices. The technological breakthrough and the migration towards 4G services were based on previously used infrastructure, with significant improvements regarding bandwidth and data traffic in the domain of 800Mhz, 1800Mhz and 2600Mhz frequencies. At the moment, civilian technological capabilities have had an ascendant development, facilitating speeds of access and data traffic of hundreds of megabits per second, in contrast with those of ten years ago, which did not exceed 82 Mbps. Most probably, the technological evolution will not be limited in time under technological aspects, objective made possible through the implementation, in the immediately following period of time, of 5G services, services by which the cities of future, described in science-fiction literature, will become reality and the human society will migrate towards a virtual world. How much this technology is going to represent a source of risk for the security of states makes the subject of an extended analysis, through which we hope to respond to the following questions: what is 5G technology?, what are its directions of development?, what is the balance between costs and benefits? And, last but not least, how is it going to influence the security of states?

THE NEED FOR SOCIAL SERVICES IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF THE PANEVEZYS CITY – ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION

Author(s): Reda Jonušauskienė,Dalia URBONIENĖ / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

The survey of the residents of the Panevėžys City Municipality aimed at evaluating the need for social services in Panevėžys has been presented in the article. The respondents have evaluated the awareness of social services and the availability of information, the need for social services as well as the factors determining the necessity and the adequacy of the services. Therefore, the respondents' views on the problems faced by the users of social services have been summarised in the article.

EUROPOS PAGALBOS LABIAUSIAI SKURSTANTIEMS FONDO LIETUVOJE PARAMĄ TEIKIANČIŲ SPECIALISTŲ PROGRAMOS VERTINIMAS

Author(s): Daiva Skučienė,Agnė Buividavičiūtė / Language(s): Lithuanian Issue: 1/2021

The main aim of the Fund for European Aid to the Most Deprived (FEAD) is to help people to overcome poverty and social exclusion. One of the program’s evaluation elements is the evaluation of the program providers. Their attitudes and values are important because, as stated by Lion et al. (2006), these specialists can change the original design of the intervention and its final outcome. The FEAD in Lithuania was evaluated using ex-ante approach, and a survey of the providers was implemented. The contribution of this research is a self-constructed understanding of support provision and its development by support providers from different administrative levels. Thus, the aim of this research is to analyze the FEAD results from the perspectives of support providers. For the implementation of this aim, the following objectives were established: firstly, to analyze the academic literature on the program’s evaluation; secondly, to review the results of the FEAD during its operation; and, thirdly, to analyze the evaluation of the FEAD by the support providers.The aim of this research was realized using the meta-analysis of EU and Lithuanian reports, semi-structured interviews with program administrators/coordinators, and a survey of direct support providers involving open-ended questions. This research was implemented in 2019–2020. The results of the research revealed that support providers think that support is targeted, but it is a weak measure in helping people to integrate into the labor market. The specialists suggested expanding the basket of products and their quality, and frequently encountered refusal to accept this support based on the stigmatization of some elements of it.

A novel approach for abdominal sonographic evaluation of the prostate, median lobe hypertrophy and huge prostatic hyperplasia

Author(s): Emrah Doğan,Uğur Taylan Bilgilisoy,Yelda Dere,Cenk Elibol / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

Background: The formula used for the calculation of prostate volume is roughly the three dimensions of prostate (L×W×H) multiplied by 0.52. Indeed, this is the formula for calculating the volume of a sphere. However, almost all of the papers on this topic describe the shape of the prostate as a pyramid. As the true prostate shape is a rhombohedral regular tetrahedron with a median lobe, a more effective calculation method is needed. Aim of the study: This paper aims to develop a different approach for sonographic measurement of the prostate through mathematical models. Case report: We present a 74-year-old patient with HPH and median lobe hypertrophy. Conclusions: The classical method is insufficient for accurate measurement in patients with median lobe hypertrophy. In prostates with median lobes, the measurement should be calculated as the median lobe volume plus the spheric prostate volume.

Missed first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine: a qualitative study on vaccine hesitancy among healthcare workers in Nigeria

Author(s): Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi,Aanuoluwapo Adeyimika Afolabi,Omolade Falade / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2021

This study aimed to explore the factors contributing to COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy (VH) among healthcare workers (HCWs) who missed the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in Nigeria. We conducted a qualitative study of the factors contributing to COVID-19 VH among HCWs at the University College Hospital, Ibadan using purposive sampling technique. Each interview session was held through telephone conversation. Qualitative data were analyzed using Colaizzi’s phenomenological method. The mean age of the 15 HCWs was 34.33±3.77 years; 10 (66.7%) were females; 6 (40.0%) were physiotherapists. Three themes were identified. The first theme, “Factors contributing to COVID-19 VH among healthcare workers” had five clusters: i) Lack of adequate information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine; ii) Challenges with immunization schedule; iii) Fear of side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine; iv) Lack of trust in the government; and v) Concerns about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. The second theme, “Healthcare workers’ perception on the solution to COVID-19” had three clusters: i) Adherence to non-pharmaceutical measures; ii) Vaccine production: key to submerging the COVID-19 pandemic; and iii) Healthcare workers’ perception of their roles in patient education on the COVID-19 vaccine. The third theme; “Recommendations to encourage COVID-19 vaccine acceptance among healthcare workers” had three clusters: i) Disclosure of extensive information on COVID-19 vaccine components; ii) Decentralization of COVID-19 vaccine collection points; and iii) Procurement of other brands of the COVID-19 vaccine. Public health authorities should promote information on the safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Pomoc dziecku choremu, rodzicom, nauczycielom

Author(s): Edward Grott / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2005

Reforms of Social Insurance Governance in a Quasi-Bismarckian Welfare State: How Estonia Moved from Tripartism to Direct State Management

Author(s): Anu Toots / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2022

Continental welfare regimes in Western Europe have in last decades gone through a set of paradigmatic reforms that significantly altered the initial Bismarckian principles of social insurance and welfare governance. Existing research overwhelmingly concludes that social partners have rendered up their power to the governments that inter alia facilitated expansion of non-contributory social security instruments. This article asks to what extent this reform trajectory can be found in quasi-Bismarkian welfare states, which already initially lacked solid social dialogue and favoured market-oriented approach to the social security. Tracing the process of main social policy governance reforms in Estonia 2009-2019 we test the assumption that fiscal prudence is in quasi-Bismarkian regimes important similarly to the typical Bismarckian countries, yet – it is achieved by using different means. The main empirical finding is that the governments in Estonia acted much more autocratically and used social insurance funds to execute various priorities of government programs. Differently from full Bismarckian regimes, insurance contributions were neither lowered nor complemented by tax instruments. We discuss these findings in the light of the institutional theory and welfare state change in times of increasing EU pressure.