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To test the validity of the Professional Quality of Life (ProQOL) scale in a sample of Romanian social workers, registered social workers (N = 533) completed an online cross-sectional survey administered between November 2016-April 2017. Limitations of the original three-scale ProQOL model were found, indicating that the problems manifested only in the burnout (BO) and secondary traumatic stress (STS) subscales of the ProQOL which showed a high degree of overlap. Following successive exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to test construct validity, the best model supported by the data is a model with two factors: compassion fatigue (CF), consisting of 10 items belonging to the original scales BO and STS and compassion satisfaction (CS) (composed of all original items). In addition to the separate CS and CF scores, we propose a new computed score that describes the ratio between satisfaction and fatigue (Psychological balance). Its high values (> 1) indicate a positive psychological ratio, while the low values (, Author(s): Florin Lazar [sup.1] , Daniela Gaba [sup.1] , Shari Munch [sup.2] , Adrian Luca [sup.1] [sup.3] , Anca Mihai [sup.1] , Georgiana Cristina Rentea [sup.1] , Marian Popa [sup.1] [...]

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including paramount issue of maternity protection during social crises; essential changes undergone by social work and need for innovation in social services.

High-risk contexts, such as the one created by the SARS-CoV‑2 pandemic, remind us of the importance of having both systematic, organisational responses to crisis and individual skills for the management of diverse risks in everyday life. The growing applications of neuroscience in fields such as entrepreneurship and cognitive psychology illuminate some of the neural processes underscoring individual responses to high‑risk situations. This paper analyses two growing fields of research, the emergent neuroentrepreneurship approach and the neurofeedback methods for training brain activity with a special look at their possible applications to individual risk management. Neuroentrepreneurship scholarship adds to the eclectic theoretical perspectives of entrepreneurship (traits‑based, behavioural, cognitive, biological, etc.) by proposing new modalities of studying the entrepreneurial mindset in which the structure and functioning of the brain play a central role. Neurofeedback (EEG biofeedback) is a non‑invasive method for training the self‑regulating functions of the human brain. While neuroentrepreneurship offers a transdisciplinary theoretical framework for the application of neuroscience knowledge with the goal of enhancing human activity and performance, neurofeedback represents a practical tool/method which could contribute to this goal. Neuroentrepreneurship and neurofeedback give promising outlooks on the current possibilities of enhancing individual responses to risk, with possible applications in a range of human activity fields. However, there is still a need for research determining the specific ways in which the two might help individuals improve their ability to manage risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the author discusses the topics include Role of Social Work in the 2020s; rising economic inequalities; and demographic aging.

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various topics within the issue, including nutritional program for children, family issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges facing persons living with disability during the pandemic.

With a history of almost 90 years, professional social work in Romania once flourished up until World War II. The Communist Party disbanded the profession in 1968 and it was reinstated after the fall of the Iron Curtain in 1989. Within the context of the socio-economic transition from a centralised to a free-market economy, Romanian social policy and social work have evolved from a Marxist/socialist-type ideology, one that advocates for state intervention, to a libertarian/neo-liberal-type ideology, which promotes both state withdrawal from welfare provision and individuals taking responsibility for their own welfare. These two trends continue to co-exist subject to sometimes divergent forces such as international institutions and internal Romanian social pressures. Using a qualitative approach, we explore how Romanian social workers are adapting to the neo-liberal realities and identify three types of perceived challenges: 1. those related to regulation, 2. linked with collaboration in social work activity and 3. those related to the social worker-client relationship. Under neo-liberal pressures, the social worker's role of agent of social change becomes marginalised in daily practice, leaving little power to influence agency policies that negatively impact clients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article uses as a starting point a recent debate in Romanian society following the separation of the five children of a half-Romanian family by the child protection services in Norway to compare the Romanian and Norwegian child welfare systems. Legislative analysis underlines the striking simmilarities between the two countries, with some differences in the implementation. The concluding part argues for the need of a culturally competent practice of social workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To increase the efficiency of the social work system in Romania, "investments in improving the current IT system in order to build an efficient electronic social work system" (Romanian Government, 2015b, 85) and the "development of a modern payment system" (Romanian Government, 2015b, 85) are key-points in the National Strategy concerning Social Inclusion and Poverty Reduction for the period 2015-2020. Among other utilisations, the e-social work system is meant to be used by potential clients when submitting a request to benefit of means-tested measures. The current level of digitalisation of the Romanian society, particularly among vulnerable groups, leaves room for constructive debate regarding the feasibility and the potential challenges of such a project. The purpose of this paper is to identify the challenges posed to social workers' daily practice by the introduction of digitalisation in the work place, as well as its potential effects on the social worker-client professional relationship. We discuss based on the national strategies and data provided by the Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI)6 (connectivity infrastructure and quality, digital skills of human capital, use of internet by citizens, integration and digital technology, and digital public services). We identify gaps between the aims and the proposed solutions concerning the e-social work system. Our study contributes to understanding the potential changes in social workers' traditional roles brought forth by the implementation of a digitized social work system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fields of social work and international development appear to be linked at the level of their theoretical and methodological approaches, areas of activity, types of intervention, and end goals, with important implications for practice and social justice. Despite these apparent similarities, the interest towards understanding the interactions between social work and international development has been scarce within scholarly debates and the subject is yet to be addressed in a systematic manner. This paper aims at contributing to filling this gap by analyzing the interactions between social work and international development using a scheme of classification based on two criteria of analysis: (a) the area of connection or the main social issues addressed, following the main issues reflected in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): poverty, health, gender, environmental sustainability, global cooperation, and education, and (b) the level at which the interaction occurs, i.e. the theoretical/methodological, practical/professional and ethical/deontological levels. The multilevel analysis of the interaction between social work and international development led to the identification of several points of connection, which were constantly weighted against four related phenomena: internationalization, politicization, westernization, and professionalization. The analysis revealed very strong interdisciplinary ties between social work and international development, as well as a marked overlapping between the activities of international development professionals and those of social workers, geared by strikingly similar value bases. The interplay between the professionalization and internationalization phenomena creates a push towards transformational approaches in social work which appear to be strongly intertwined with international development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article's main concern is with understanding the recent evolutions in social work as a result of its interdisciplinary blending with development theory. It starts by offering a brief overview of the evolution of development theory, more precisely its main paradigms (i.e. the modernization and the dependency paradigms) and their implications for social welfare and social policy. Although the bulk of theories emerged in the field of development in the wake of the Second World War had the implicit responsibility to foster social welfare, it wasn't until the 1970s-980s that a clear link between development and social welfare has become explicit in development theory (Midgley, 1984). This shift in the approach of the link between development and social welfare and social work has been the advent of a new social welfare-entered paradigm in development, one that takes away the focus on mere economic growth and places it on human capabilities, human rights and sustainability. Social welfare theory has responded to this paradigm shift in development by proposing a social development approach of its own, i.e. developmental social welfare and social work, and South Africa became the first nation to explicitly adopt it in its national social welfare system. Drawing on the broad body of theories and practice surrounding social work's increasing engagement in development and on the recent experiences of South Africa, in the last part of the article the viability of developmental social welfare and its prospects for social work are discussed. Evidence suggests that there is a gap between policy and practice, between welfare provisions and social work, and that this gap is due to the tension between the developmental perspective and neoliberal thinking and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years there has been a significant decrease of new infections with HIV accompanied by an increase in improved specialized health care for people living with HIV in many parts of the world. However, there are still reasons to worry, particularly in regard to certain vulnerable social groups, which find themselves at greater risk of contracting the virus, such as people who inject drugs (PWID). This paper highlights the complexity of the issue of the HIV response among PWID and presents specific challenges that arise from it. The rise of new psychoactive substances, social justice concerns, the representation of the fight against HIV in the Millennium Development Goals as well as traditional and human rights based responses to the drug problem are analyzed. In the end a personal viewpoint on what constitutes an efficient HIV response for PWID is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]