Caring Power – Coercion as Care

The article analyses the compulsory care of drug misusers in Sweden. An historical analysis of this field of work as a part of the Swedish welfare state highlights historically changing legislations, institutions, understandings and practices. Following Foucault, it is argued that it is impossible to distinguish between power and care and that confusion about coercive care is a result of not acknowledging power. Empirical studies of current social work point to the significance of different institutional settings. The author's study of the Swedish probation service shows that social workers and clients may adopt different positions in relation to each other and that their experiences of the practice of social work depend on the congruence or disparity between these positions. The problematic role of motivation in coercive care is highlighted. While some scholars claim that motivation is not possible in coercive institutions, the author relates motivation to the caring power arguing that social work is always aimed at normality and that care is exercised to achieve normality. The promise of an improved life situation may make people in need of help adapt to the demands of the helper, and the caring power can be seen as a way to provide help for individuals who do not realize that they are in need of care

I stället för fängelse? : En studie av vårdande makt, straff och socialt arbete i frivård

The purpose of this thesis is to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between support and control. The purpose is reached by a study of the probation service as an organization and the practical side of its work The thesis is based on two empirical studies. One is a study of records and published texts from the period 1820-2000. The second is an interview study, in which twenty probation-service clients, twenty probation officers and ten layman supervisors have contributed their stories of the probation service. Assisted by Charles Tilly's (2000) explanations of categorical inequality, Michel Foucault's (1980; 1987) explanations of disciplinary power, and Erving Goffman's (1998) dramaturgic perspective, it has been possible to explain the patterns and the variations that are presented. During the first, disciplinary, period from the early 19th to the early 20th century, philantropic organizations tried to find work for offenders who wanted to lead a steady life. During the second period, from the turn of the century to the 1940s, the demands on the offenders had been specified and special officials were employed. The third period, from the 1940s to the end of the 1980s, was characterized by an idea of psychosocial work with individuals in a manner concurring with the work performed by the municipal social services. The fourth period, from the 1990s, is characterized by a "management" idea, in which the increasingly professionalized officials of the probation service administer the clients' problems rather than help solving them. The probation service is still presented in terms of "alternative", but the meaning of the words has changed. From their previous meaning of "something other than", they now mean "another form of". Complementing the prison, the social services and other human service organizations, the probation service has a strengthening effect Probation officers and clients vary in their attitude towards their common task.When the parties' attitudes towards each other are similar, their positions are congruous, and when their attitudes differ, their positions are discrepant. Congruous positions accumulate stories of the probation service's supportive aspects. When the positions are discrepant, the parties describe the action by the controlling aspects. The probation service changes its shape in every relation and will be interpreted differently depending on who is describing and who is interpreting. In this way, the disciplinary power will function and avoid the pronounced resistance. By that, it is also possible to individualize the support so as to help each person in the way most appropriate to him

Relationer och meningsskapande mekanismer i socialtjänstens arbete med LVM

Abstract not availabl

Kontextuell professionalisering: Att studera professioner i historiska samhällskontexter

The article shows how to study the growth, development and transformation of professionals in social contexts. It is based on results from a project in two parts: one historical and one contemporary. The method is comparative case studies, which aims to find common and different processes, forces and mechanisms. The concept of the professional landscape seeks to capture the professional layer as a whole and place it in social contexts. This landscape is shaped by professional fields of expertise. We focus on the fields: academia, education, social regulation, social integration, medicine, technology and economics. Within each field, we study three generations of professions: classic, welfare- and pre-professions

Voluntary Private Investments Role in Pension System in Latvia

Pension systems have become one of the main priorities for the national governments. Developed countries population is getting older by putting the pressure on the state budgets and work age people tax load. The current pension system in Latvia performs according to regulation of state compulsory unfunded pension scheme since 1996 and regulation of the state funded or accumulated pension scheme since 2001. The third pension system pillar is private voluntary pension schemes realized in form of people contributions into pension funds and life insurance policies. Aim of the research – deeper analyses of voluntary private investments as the pension system part and its development challenges in Latvia. Research methods: scientific publications and previous conducted research analysis; analysis of time series on private pension fund developments in Latvia and comparisons with the situation in other OECD countries. The authors were looking for answer on the question – can voluntary private investments cover the gap between pre-retirement and after-retirement income of population in Latvia and what are the pre-conditions for it.The research was supported by the NATIONAL RESEARCH PROGRAMME “LATVIAN HERITAGE AND FUTURE CHALLENGES FOR THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE STATE” project “CHALLENGES FOR THE LATVIAN STATE AND SOCIETY AND THE SOLUTIONS IN INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT" (INTERFRAME-LV, Project No.VPP-IZM-2018/1-0005