Connectivity and discontinuity in social work practice: Challenges and opportunities of the implementation of an e-social work system in Romania
Journal Title: Journal of Comparative Research in Anthropology and Sociology - Year 2016, Vol 7, Issue 2
Abstract
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) (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.
Authors and Affiliations
Anca Mihai, Georgiana-Cristina Rentea, Daniela Gaba, Florin Lazăr, Shari Munch
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP655989
- DOI -
- Views 109
- Downloads 0
Questioning women’s subordination: cross-cultural insights from anthropology
This review article discusses several ways in which women’s subordination has been addressed in various cultural contexts: from Thailand to Poland, Bulgaria, Greece and Egypt. The paper points to how the concept of gende...
Linking social capital, cultural capital and heterotopia at the folk festival
This paper investigates the role of folk festivals in transforming interconnections between people, space and culture. It interlinks three sets of theoretical ideas: social capital, cultural capital and heterotopia to su...
The social construction of menopause as disease: A literature review
Menopause is not only a natural biological aspect of women’s life, but, also, a social construct, mainly due to the contribution of the medical science. The article analyzes, in its first four parts, how this social cons...
An anthropological approach to voluntarily single motherhood in Barcelona
This article is based on the research I did for my doctoral thesis about voluntarily single motherhood in Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain). It is an anthropological approach to the appearance and the development of voluntari...
Practicing vaginistic femininity: Doing bodies, enacting normative heterosexuality
Vaginismus is a female sexual pain disorder, characterized by contractions of the pubococcygeus (PC) muscle that surrounds the outer third of the vagina, which makes penetrative penile-vaginal intercourse (coitus), inser...