Summary

As the super-aging society approaches in Japan, the weakening of social networks and community reciprocity will pose increasingly serious social problems in the 21st century. In order to promote community networks and build social capital in local society, the Japanese government has attempted to promote policies and programs for the improvement of information communications technology (ICT) literacy among senior citizens, specifically among those referred to as ‘physically healthy active seniors’ among the aging baby boomer generation since 2012. While there has been an increasing interest in the use of ICT among ‘active seniors’ in Japan, the digital divide for senior citizens is acknowledged especially in the use of the Internet.This study examines the relationship between the use of the Internet and volunteer activities among senior citizens in a local city of Japan. A survey questionnaire was conducted among elderly people living in Fukui City, Fukui Prefecture, Japan in March 2019. A part of the survey focused on questions pertaining to Internet use among randomly sampled senior citizens in Fukui City, in comparison with national survey data from the Japanese government. The data on this survey was analyzed quantitatively to investigate a correlation between the frequency of Internet use and 1) frequency of participation in volunteer activity, 2) the content of volunteer activity, 3) the method for obtaining potential volunteer in the community. The survey shows that frequency of Internet use significantly influences participation in volunteer activity among senior citizens. The study’s results also suggest that face-to-face interactions and communication on an everyday basis in addition to the use of the Internet is likely to build social capital and facilitate volunteer activity among senior citizens.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Internet, volunteer activity, active senior citizens, Japan

Summary

Suicide is a major public health concern. It is the eleventh leading cause of death in the United States. Social workers serve as the largest group of mental health care providers, and commonly intervene with suicidal clients. Despite the high rate of suicide and social workers interface with client suicidality, there is limited research on the attitudes of social workers toward rational suicide. The notion of rational suicide challenges traditional views on suicide intervention and has complex ethical implications for the social work profession. Social workers adhere to the ethical standards set forth by the NASW and rational suicide involves two of those ethical standards, client self-determination and commitment to clients. This quantitative research study examined the attitudes of 2,157 licensed clinical social workers toward rational suicide. Findings revealed that social workers broadly agree (67.1%) that individuals can make a rational decision to die by suicide. Social workers’ personal characteristics (gender, age, race/ethnicity, state residency, religious affiliation and having personal thoughts of suicide) were found to predict their attitudes about rational suicide. The findings suggest that social workers’ attitudes about rational suicide are related to their personal characteristics. These findings have ethical considerations for the social work profession when intervening with suicidal persons with physical and psychological pain as well as value neutral practice.

Keywords (separate with commas)

Rational suicide, ethics, clinical social work, physical, psychological pain

Summary

It is often heard that protective social workers have faced several threats at their work, such as pressure caused by workplace violence from perpetrators of family violence in Taiwan. Meanwhile, in the process of helping clients, the protective social workers have great concerns over their personal safety. The research aims to enhance the competences of protective social workers on prevention and de-escalation of workplace violence by offering the training materials with virtual reality (VR). Nevertheless, meeting the challenges and finding the ways to exploit new technologies require creativity and the development of an expanded body of research on social work continue education and in-service training. The research is adopted the perspectives of learning psychology and experience-based approach. Using multiple data collection methods, the researcher collects cases through literature analysis, and then through focus group discussions to review cases and script ideas, and complete the production of social worker safety VR app. A pilot run is conducted with the comments and feedback from protective social workers for launching the training materials. It is also to make suggestions for future application on continuing education and training for protective social workers.

Keywords (separate with commas)

virtual reality(VR), protective social workers, experience-based approach.

Summary

Becoming an adult and starting independent life represent an important turning point in the life of every young person, but for those living in child protection care, this turning point is even more significant. Most of the youngsters growing up in institutional care are confronted with the tasks multiplying with adulthood and the responsibility these entail rather unprepared. Children and young adults need information in different fields they are interested in, which are delivered through interactive communication, are built on their needs, and formulated in a language comprehensible to them, as that is how we can support their coming to age and successful social integration.The presentation \ shows two applications, which were primarily designed for children and youth touched with child welfare services and the child protection system in Hungary. The Youngo app aims to prepare youth for independent life, while the Asszerteen app promotes assertive communication for teenagers. We will present how youth and social workers can use this innavative IT tools in everyday situations.Development and design of both applications was preceded by research among youth and professionals working with them. The needs and opinions expressed are also relevant for the developers not just in the development phase, but in the implementation, and then in the testing phase.

Keywords (separate with commas)

child welfare, child protection in Hungary, innovations, ICT tools