Summary

In 1950 Alan Turing first time posed the question if machines can think. Since then, Artificial Intelligence has evolved significantly and has come to dominate almost all areas of our society. Its growing popularity; and meantime, its promises to contribute to advance the future society have convinced social workers, too, to adopt the Artificial Intelligence in social work. And yet, there is a little discussion whether the use of the Artificial Intelligence is good for social work. And hence, this presentation will respond to this question based on four criteria: (i) Comprehension: Has the discipline of social work adequately understand about the Artificial Intelligence, (ii) Contribution: Will the use of the Artificial Intelligence affect social work positively or negatively in the future, (iii) Opportunity and Challenge: What are the opportunities and challenges for social work to adopt the Artificial Intelligence, and (iv) Ethics: Can social work manage and respond to the ethical questions while adopting the Artificial Intelligence in social work. Apart from contributing to the existing debates of social work and Artificial Intelligence, this presentation will further equip likeminded social workers to better reflect, as well as intellectually and ethically respond to the question where the use of Artificial Intelligence is good for social work in the future.    

Keywords (separate with commas)

Artificial intelligence, social work, ethics, future of social work

Summary

 In recent years, the integration of technology in mental health interventions has shown great promise in reaching broader populations and providing innovative treatment approaches (Denecke,  Schmid, & Nüssl, 2022). As technology-based interventions increase in popularity, it is vital that they are based on evidence.  Research finds that most mental health apps do not clearly define the evidence behind their apps, and partnership with mental health professionals is often not evident in app development (Wang, Fagan, & Yu, 2020).  In the absence of a clinical expert, app developers may not appropriately translate evidence to practice, consider important user safety issues, or understand data governance related to personally identifiable information or government regulations, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act in the US context (Huckvale, Nicholas, Torous, & Larsen, 2020).  On the other hand, mental health experts often lack knowledge of the technical aspects of app development. This workshop focuses on collaboration between social workers and technologists in developing effective mental health apps, using a case study of ResilientMoment, an AI-powered app designed to treat anxiety.Using a case study approach, the workshop explores interdisciplinary collaboration, including strategies to identify and establish partnerships with technologists to bridge the gap between the domains of social work and technology.  We will explore the disparities in language styles between social workers and technologists (author, 2023), and practical skills to foster effective communication and overcome potential barriers when working in interdisciplinary teams. Through interactive exercises, attendees will learn how to cultivate shared goals.We will discuss the translation of evidence-based practice and integration of user feedback in the development of technology-based social work interventions. By considering both scientific rigor and human-centered design principles, the workshop aims to equip social workers with the tools necessary to collaborate on tools that are effective, accessible, and user-friendly. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

apps, technology, ai, social work, anxiety, mental health, interdisciplinary

Summary

Abstract: In critical discussions of integration practices, recent scholarship interrogates grassroots migrant/refugee-led organizations vis-a-vis professionalized immigrant-serving organizations as institutions in multilevel governance. Whereas the latter, as street-level bureaucracies, are constrained by policies, funding and the political sphere, migrant/refugee-led organizations enact resistances and affordances at the most local levels of governance. This paper contributes to this line of scholarship by way of a materialist lens, honing in on the relevance of space, infrastructure and relationality in analyses of integration practices. Analysis draws upon multiple sources of data from the United States and Canada as well as supportive data from Tunisia: participant observation, focus groups and interviews with organization leaders; interviews and surveys with immigrants and their families; and an environmental scan of immigrant-serving institutions. This paper argues that organizations’ occupying of physical space, use of digital tools and deployment of privatized resources are bound to their visibility as an institution and to the actuality of their integration practices. Borrowed office space, WhatsApp group chats, a migrant’s garage and a refugee’s grocery store, for instance, emerge as salient in examining integration practices. The material is examined not merely with tangible qualities, but also with symbolic capacities. That is, the physical spaces, digital tools and resources of RLOs yield meaning—affordances and limitations—that are crucial for their work. Thus, in their grassroots endeavors of disrupting dominant integration practices, not only the symbolic legitimacy but also the institutional materiality of migrant/refugee-led organizations go hand-in-hand and are mutually accountable. 

Keywords (separate with commas)

digital; migration; immigration; digital; infrastructure; materiality

Summary

The fast-paced development of digital technologies in the areas of social media, pet robots, smart homes, and artificial intelligence (AI), among others, has a profound influence on the daily lives of older adults. It also has the potential to improve the well-being and life satisfaction of one of the most vulnerable populations of older adults, older immigrants and refugees who suffer migration-associated stress, loneliness, health and psychosocial challenges. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) five-stage framework, we conducted a scoping review of peer-reviewed empirical studies published in English with no time restrictions to understand the impact of digital technologies on the well-being of older immigrants and refugees. We searched nine databases for the reviews, and abstracts were reviewed using Rayyan QCRi(c) before the full-text review. The comprehensive database search yielded 4134 articles, of which 15 s met the inclusion criteria. The results of the review suggest that digital technology is essential to the well-being, quality of life and life satisfaction of older immigrants and refugees, especially for maintaining and building new social support networks, navigating opportunities, coping with migration-induced stress through e-leisure and physical activities, and staying connected to their culture. The literature also revealed poor utilisation of digital technologies amongst older immigrants and refugees, suggesting barriers to access. Hence, more research and intervention should focus on multiple strategies, including education for increased digital technology access and utilisation, so that more older migrants can benefit from the advantages of digital technology in a safe way.\ 

Keywords (separate with commas)

Digital technology, Internet, older immigrants, older refugees, well-being\