title: Realising values: The place of social justice in health social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand

authors: Glubb-Smith, Kelly J.

subjects: Constructivist grounded theory

abstract: Values are numerous, interrelated and hard to discern in professional practice. This article reports on key findings from research into locating professional values within health social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research explores how 15 health social workers experience and negotiate value demands when working with newborn infants. A staged methodology underpinned by constructivist grounded theory was utilised to generate theoretical knowledge through two phases of semi-structured individual interviews. The research firmly located health social workers practice in the middle ground of a complex, tension-ridden practice environment with health social workers courageously striving to balance competing requirements. Within a health model influenced by neoliberal policy, key tensions related to challenges faced due to professionals oversimplifying social circumstances in risk-laden situations. This resulted in issues of judgements, bias and racism being a central concern for the participants’ social work practice. Despite these tensions, the place of social justice as a primary organising value was affirmed by the research. A stronger focus on the profession’s values would strengthen the collective voice of health social workers and their identity, in order to better address the systemic drivers of health inequities.

text: Realising values: The place of social justice in health social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand Values are numerous, interrelated and hard to discern in professional practice. This article reports on key findings from research into locating professional values within health social work practice in Aotearoa New Zealand. The research explores how 15 health social workers experience and negotiate value demands when working with newborn infants. A staged methodology underpinned by constructivist grounded theory was utilised to generate theoretical knowledge through two phases of semi-structured individual interviews. The research firmly located health social workers practice in the middle ground of a complex, tension-ridden practice environment with health social workers courageously striving to balance competing requirements. Within a health model influenced by neoliberal policy, key tensions related to challenges faced due to professionals oversimplifying social circumstances in risk-laden situations. This resulted in issues of judgements, bias and racism being a central concern for the participants’ social work practice. Despite these tensions, the place of social justice as a primary organising value was affirmed by the research. A stronger focus on the profession’s values would strengthen the collective voice of health social workers and their identity, in order to better address the systemic drivers of health inequities.

year: 2022-04-06

title: Editorial: The experience and benefits of game playing

authors: Lorentz, Pascaline

subjects: Social Sciences

abstract: Now that video games have permeated daily life across the globe on computers, consoles and pocket devices, they call for a more comprehensive—and accurate—understanding of their role in society. Psychological research into the impact of games upon players was initiated more than fifteen years ago, with researches devoted to uncovering the alleged negative impact of game playing in response to politically driven moral panics. The focus and dominance of experimental ‘effects’ research has given rise to a need for further research to balance what is sometimes seen as moral crusades associated with causation studies to articulate the more mundane, less contentious existence of games as a significant leisure activity for billions of individuals who repeatedly play them for entertainment and fun.

text: Editorial: The experience and benefits of game playing Now that video games have permeated daily life across the globe on computers, consoles and pocket devices, they call for a more comprehensive—and accurate—understanding of their role in society. Psychological research into the impact of games upon players was initiated more than fifteen years ago, with researches devoted to uncovering the alleged negative impact of game playing in response to politically driven moral panics. The focus and dominance of experimental ‘effects’ research has given rise to a need for further research to balance what is sometimes seen as moral crusades associated with causation studies to articulate the more mundane, less contentious existence of games as a significant leisure activity for billions of individuals who repeatedly play them for entertainment and fun.

year: 2015

title: Supervision and culture: Meetings at thresholds

authors: Crocket, Kathie

subjects: supervision

abstract: Counsellors are required to engage in supervision in order to reflect on, reflexively review, and extend their practice. Supervision, then, might be understood as a partnership in which the focus of practitioners and supervisors is on ethical and effective practice with all clients. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, there has recently been interest in the implications for supervision of cultural difference, particularly in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi as a practice metaphor, and when non-Māori practitioners counsel Māori clients. This article offers an account of a qualitative investigation by a group of counsellors/supervisors into their experiences of supervision as cultural partnership. Based on interviews and then using writing-as-research, the article explores the playing out of supervision’s contribution to practitioners’ effective and ethical practice in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand, showing a range of possible accounts and strategies and discussing their effects. Employing the metaphor of threshold, the article includes a series of reflections and considerations for supervision practice when attention is drawn to difference.

text: Supervision and culture: Meetings at thresholds Counsellors are required to engage in supervision in order to reflect on, reflexively review, and extend their practice. Supervision, then, might be understood as a partnership in which the focus of practitioners and supervisors is on ethical and effective practice with all clients. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, there has recently been interest in the implications for supervision of cultural difference, particularly in terms of the Treaty of Waitangi as a practice metaphor, and when non-Māori practitioners counsel Māori clients. This article offers an account of a qualitative investigation by a group of counsellors/supervisors into their experiences of supervision as cultural partnership. Based on interviews and then using writing-as-research, the article explores the playing out of supervision’s contribution to practitioners’ effective and ethical practice in the context of Aotearoa/New Zealand, showing a range of possible accounts and strategies and discussing their effects. Employing the metaphor of threshold, the article includes a series of reflections and considerations for supervision practice when attention is drawn to difference.

year: 2013