The Neglect of Network Theory in Practice with Immigrants in the Southwest

This paper reviews selected theories of international migration including social network and human capital. It discusses the nature of social networks among immigrants and the costs and benefits for the sending and receiving countries. The history of social network theory in social work practice is revisited. Given the current importance of immigration in the Southwest, the strength and limitations of applying networking principles in practice with immigrants in the border areas are included. This article does not focus on the complexity of networks among refugees or asylum seekers, where government population dispersion or resettlement policies might change their circumstances

Assets and Financial Management Among Poor Households in Extreme Poverty Neighborhoods

Proposals supporting the accumulation of assets in poor households are hopeful of creating upward mobility. The experiences of poor families in managing assets and other elements of daily economic life were explored through interviews with low-income Hispanic and Anglo families. All families exhibited planning and management skills needed for assets accumulation, but were unable to escape the effects of unrewarding neighborhood environments. Assets did not provide clear avenues out of poverty. If assets-based programs are to raise the economic status of poor families in extreme poverty neighborhoods they must include mechanisms to protect value and reduce uncertainty

Will We Build A Wall? Fear of Mexican/Latino Immigration in U.S. History

A presidential election was won on the strength of a nativist philosophy which asserts that the U.S. must build a wall of separation with its closest neighbor to the South. The current president has voiced not only his frustration and prejudices but the nativist sentiments of the public. The emphasis on “building the wall” and the antagonism expressed towards Mexico have deepened the centuries-old sense of fear and separation felt by members of the Mexican/Latino immigrant group. Can we look at history in search of plausible explanations? This paper examines past and contemporary reasons that might explain the observable antagonism to the Mexican/Latino population in the U.S. today

Contemporary Social Work practice and education: a call for a re-examination of virtue ethics

In this paper, we will suggest that social work needs to recover its connection to the Aristotelian ethical tradition wherein, to be «virtuous» is a «practice». Virtue ethics, we argue, is holistic. It implies a strength of character within the polity. No one can live a good life by focusing only on a single «virtue» or dimension of character. Social work is a complex practice through which not only the client but the practitioner will be enhanced or transformed. In spite of the Kantian emphasis on duty, the behaviorists emphasis on «behavior», the professional association’s emphasis on «codes» to control misconduct, and more recently the emphasis on risk management in social agencies, social work is still a «calling», a moral enterprise wherein excellence depends on the character traits or virtues of the practitioner. The article suggests paths for incorporating virtue ethics in the curriculum

Un diálogo de pensares: Dos paradigmas para la práctica y la investigación en el trabajo social en el mundo hispanoparlante

En este artículo se explicaran los principios de los paradigmas principales de práctica e investigación en el trabajo social del mundo anglosajón; se presentarán reflexiones sobre estos paradigmas vis-a-vis la realidad cultural y lingüística hispanoparlante y se sugerirán alternativas paradigmáticas para la práctica y la investigación en el trabajo social en las comunidades de habla castellana.This article will explain the principles of the main paradigms of practice and research in social work Anglo-Saxon world, will present reflections on these paradigms vis-a-vis the Spanish-speaking cultural and linguistic paradigmatic and suggest alternatives to the practice and research in social work in Spanishspeaking communities