Work-based Welfare as a Ritual: Understanding Marginalization in Post-Independence Lithuania

The paper analyzes the functioning of the newly created labor exchange in post-Soviet Lithuania. It is argued that the labor exchange in post-Soviet Lithuania operates under the conditions of a structural contradiction: welfare services are designed to reintegrate unemployed into the labor force under the conditions of (a) increasing competitiveness of the labor markets and (b) a rapid decline of employment within the Lithuanian economy. As a result, labor redundancy is produced which consists predominantly of low skill/education individuals. Because the economy is unable to generate employment, job searches for this segment of the population are transformed into a highly bureaucratized and ritualized activities directed and supervised by the labor exchange. The purpose of the activities is to impose social order and control over those marginalized from the labor force via the creation of the divisions between deserving and undeserving poor. Foucault\u27s theory of governmentality is used to examine two types of rituals employed by the labor exchange: individual and group based. The effectiveness of the labor exchange as a mechanism of social control and the impact the labor exchange has on the marginalization of some categories of the unemployed are discussed

Types of Knowledge, Forms of Practice

This study was designed to explore the way that us e of theory influenced a social worker’s conceptualization of a simulated case. The participant in this case study was a woman employed in child welfare, who holds an MSW. She was chosen because her response in a larger study represented a deviant case. Data analysis included both thematic analysis and an analysis of a written report based on ideas taken from institutional ethnography. The authors use this case example to illustrate the ways that one’s understanding of theory may impact social work practice

Exclusion from work and impoverishment in post-communist societies: the case of „unattached males“ in Lithuania

This article investigates the emergence of a phenomenon new to post-communist societies – the sociodemographic group of „unattached males.“ This group constitutes a growing number of young males with poor skills and little education who 1) detach themselves from the labor force even in the presence of jobs, 2) are not marrying, and 3) are increasingly plagued by a variety of social pathologies and health problems. These pathologies include crime, alcoholism, drug abuse and depression that, in turn, contribute to this group’s silent withdrawal from society. A conceptualization of the „unattached male“ as an adaptive strategy is presented along with a typology. Reintegration of these ‘unattached males’ represents a significant issue for social policy and potential focus for considerable social work practice.Straipsnyje analizuojamas naujas reiškinys postkomunistinėse šalyse – sparčiai besiformuojanti „nereikalingų žmonių“ socialinė–demografinė grupė. Šio sluoksnio daugumą Lietuvoje sudaro palyginti jauni (25–35 metų), menko išsilavinimo vyrai. Jie ilgą laiką neturi darbo, netgi esant galimybei įsidarbinti dažnai vengia dirbti, nesituokia ir nekuria šeimų ir pasižymi socialiai destruktyviu elgesiu (nusikalstamumu, girtavimu, valkatavimu, depresija, ir savižudybėmis). Straipsnyje pateikiama šio reiškinio koncepcinė analizė ir pabrėžiama, kad „nereikalingų žmonių“ integracija į „normalią visuomenę“ turėtų tapti svarbia socialinės politikos ir socialinio darbo praktikos dalimi

Notes on a Possible Critical Social Work

Critical social work is an intriguing idea. From my perspective it is at once filled with possibility and, at the same time, ambiguous. It is dynamic, moving in and out of focus. The foreground and background blend and merge, flowing into one another, exchanging positions and then beginning again. What is the modifier? Is it 'critical' and 'social' or just 'critical'? If 'critical' is modifying 'social work,' and we are considering social work a profession, the title implies a particular form of the profession

Savęs paties sąvokos teorinė interpretacija ir jos naudojimas socialinio darbo praktikoje

Since the inception of social work numerous practice theories have been advocated. These range from the "Friendly Visitors" of the Charity Organization Society to the co-constructors of reality of post modern practice. Each of these perspectives emphasized the importance of "relationship" in practicing social work. This term in more recent times has been called "use of self." Rarely in the literature is either "self" or "use of self" defined? This article illustrates the links between practice theory and assumptions about self. The authors provide a relational perspective of self and then define both self and use of self for social work practice. Finally, an example of use of self is provided.Socialinio darbo, kaip profesinės veiklos, pradžioje jos intervencijos objektu laikyti klientų tarpusavio santykiai. Laikui bėgant socialinio darbo objektas buvo pervadintas savęs paties naudojimo praktika. Vis dėlto socialinio darbo teorijoje sąvoka „pats" menkai apibrėžta. Iš dalies tai galima paaiškinti socialinio darbo teorijų kaita, kurių kiekviena pateikdavo vis kitokią „savęs paties" sąvoką. Pavyzdžiui, Malonių labdaros lankytojų organizacijos darbuotojai kliento savimonę tapatino su jo/s asmenimi. Psichoanalitinei teorijai tapus socialiniu darbu, individo „pats" pradėtas sieti su jo/s psichika, t. y, id. ego, super ego. Vėlesnė naujovė „paties" suvokimą sieja su socialiniu veiksmu pagrįsta George'o Herberto Meado (1934) teorija. Visos trys socialinio darbo teorijoje vartojamos „savęs paties" koncepcijos - konstruktyvistinė, socialinio veiksmo, ir psichoanalitinė - individo „pats" vertina kaip socialinės sąveikos procesą su „kitu". Taigi „pats" ir „kitas" yra neatskiriami. Šiame straipsnyje „paties" sąvoka tapatinama su socialiniu sąveikos procesu, kuriančiu socialinį pasaulį. Empiriniai pavyzdžiai pateikiami iliustruoti šį „paties" suvokimą

Socialinė atskirtis ir naujų marginalinių grupių atsiradimas postkomunistinėse šalyse : "nereikalingų žmonių" sindromas Lietuvoje

Straipsnyje analizuojamas naujas reiškinys postkomunistinėse šalyse – sparčiai besiformuojanti „nereikalingų žmonių“ socialinė-demografinė grupė. Šio sluoksnio daugumą Lietuvoje sudaro palyginti jauni (25-35 metų), menko išsilavinimo vyrai. Jie ilgą laiką neturi darbo, netgi esant galimybei įsidarbinti dažnai vengia dirbti, nesituokia ir nekuria šeimų ir pasižymi socialiai destruktyviu elgesiu (nusikalstamumu, girtavimu, valkatavimu, depresija, ir savižudybėmis). Straipsnyje pateikiama šio reiškinio koncepcinė analizė ir pabrėžiama, kad „nereikalingų žmonių“ integracija į „normalią visuomenę“ turėtų tapti svarbia socialinės politikos ir socialinio darbo praktikos dalimi. Reikšminiai žodžiai: Marginalization, social exclusion, social transformation; Postsovietinės transforamcijos; Socialinė atskirtis; Socialinės permainos; Vyriškumas; Marginalizacija, socialinė atskirtis, socialinė transformacija; Masculinities; Post-soviet transformations; Social changes; Social exclusionThis article investigates the emergence of a phenomenon new to post-communist societies – the sociodemographic group of "unattached males". This group constitutes a growing number of young males with poor skills and little education who detach themselves from the labor force even in the presence of jobs, are not marrying, and are increasingly plagued by a variety of social pathologies and health problems. These pathologies include crime, alcoholism, drug abuse and depression that, in turn, contribute to this group’s silent withdrawal from society. A conceptualization of the "unattached male"‚ as an adaptive strategy is presented along with a typology. Reintegration of these "unattached males" represents a significant issue for social policy and potential focus for considerable social work practice

Social Work and the Colonization of the Life-World

This paper examines the effect of technical-rational social work practice upon the lived experience of recipients. The authors explore the influence of technical-rational practice upon the creation of reality from a social constructionist perspective. Kondrat’s (1992) argument for the construction of professional knowledge independent of a technical-rational approach and Rosen’s (1994) response provide a path into the material. The differences between the two views are explored by means of a discussion of theories of language and reality as well as the contrasting worldviews found in comparing existential versus behavioral approaches and strengths perspective versus cognitive-behavioral approaches to social work. The emphasis upon a technical-rational practice is identified as an element in the deformation of the symbolic structure of the life-world