The premier social work online reference, published in partnership with the NASW Press
Encyclopedia of Social Work
A digital guide for a lifetime of social service
Editor in Chief: Dr. Cynthia Franklin,Ph.D
From Our Blog
Posted on March 17, 2020
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Ever wonder why Lady Justice looks the way she does? She is modeled after the Roman goddess Iustitia and is an allegorical personification of the justice system. She is usually depicted with a scale in one hand, a sword in the other, and wearing a blindfold. Why? Well, she is to use the scale to weigh the evidence.
Posted on March 26, 2019
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Community healing and reconciliation has been a focus of many nations in response to civil war, genocide, and other conflicts. Over the past 12 years there has been a growing number of high profile murders of African American youth in the United States. Some communities have responded to the incidents offering examples of how communities may work together to move forward.
Posted on February 3, 2018
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Notions of social justice generally embrace values such as the equal worth of all citizens, their equal right to meet their basic needs, the need to spread opportunity and life chances as widely as possible, and finally, the requirement that we reduce and, where possible, eliminate unjustified inequalities. The following excerpt explores the meanings and principles of social justice from a political, philosophical, and social worker perspective.
Posted on March 25, 2017
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The 2014 Global Slavery Index estimates that 35.8 million people are enslaved globally, and modern day slavery generates $150 billion in illegal profits annually. The problems regarding human trafficking are multifaceted; however, there is research to suggest how society can work to better prevent human trafficking through a variety of approaches.
Posted on January 11, 2017
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December 10 is International Human Rights Day, as recognized by the United Nations. Human dignity, freedom from discrimination, civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights for all should go without question. Whether it be from 'the Hindu Vedas; the Babylonian Code of Hammurabi; the Bible; the Quran (Koran); the Analects of Confucius; the codes of conduct of the Inca,
Posted on December 10, 2016
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Life in the modern era is total chaos. From the constant outbursts of sound, to the ubiquitous bombardment of advertisements, to the racing taxi cabs, cars, and buses, to the sheer swarms of people, even a simple stroll in the city can be massively taxing on your sensory system.
Posted on December 3, 2016
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The World Health Organization estimates that 'about 1 in 3 (35%) women worldwide have experienced either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.' Few data exists and measurements can vary substantially across cultures, but evidence suggests that even more women face psychological violence
Posted on December 1, 2016
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Not quite sure if it's really worth squeezing those extra few minutes into your busy schedule to meditate or practice mindfulness every day? According to research, it's definitely worth it. These practices offer us a means to reconnect to ourselves and each other on a deep, fundamental level. Here are some of the amazing benefits that meditation and mindfulness practices can offer you.
Posted on November 25, 2016
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You probably know about how important it is to donate food to your local soup kitchen during the holiday season (and the rest of the year, as well!), but do you ever give much thought to what you're donating? Do you ever give food you wouldn't necessarily want to feed to your kids in large quantities?
Posted on November 24, 2016
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Today, 10 October, is World Homeless Day. This day is dedicated to increasing awareness of the global issues surrounding homelessness, as well as getting people involved in their community to help meet the needs of homeless people locally. The increased publicity and solidarity of the global platform helps to strengthen grassroots campaigns at the most local level. The problems regarding homelessness are multifaceted.
Posted on October 10, 2016
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From student presentations, to lectures, to reading assignments, and so much more, teachers today have a wide variety of methods at their disposal to facilitate learning in the classroom. For elementary school children, group work has been shown to be one strategy that is particularly effective. The peer-to-peer intervention supports children in developing cognitively, emotionally, behaviorally, and socially. Group work encourages children to expand their perspectives on the world.
Posted on September 22, 2016
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Refugees have become so pervasive in human consciousness that the Oxford Dictionaries for Children identified 'refugee' as the 2016 Oxford Children's Word of the Year, based on findings from the '500 Words' global children's writing competition sponsored by BBC Radio 2. According to the BBC, 'refugee' was selected 'due to a significant increase in usage by entrants writing in this year's competition combined with the sophisticated context that children were using it in and the rise in emotive and descriptive language around it.'
Posted on September 19, 2016
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Each year over one million people worldwide die by suicide. In the United States, approximately 42,000 people die by suicide each year, with a suicide occurring every 12.3 minutes. It is the 10th leading cause of death overall, and the 2nd leading cause of death for youth under the age of 24. For World Suicide Prevention Day, we'd like to tell you why this matters to us and why it should matter to you.
Posted on September 10, 2016
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Few professions aspire to improve the quality of life for people and communities around the globe in the same way as social work. Social workers strive to bring about positive changes in society and for individuals, often against great odds. And so it follows that the theme for this year's National Social Work Month in the United States is "Social Work Paves the Way for Change."
Posted on March 27, 2015
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Harriet Ross Tubman's heroic rescue effort on behalf of slaves before and during the Civil War was a lifetime fight against social injustice and oppression. Most people are aware of her role as what historian John Hope Franklin considered the greatest conductor for the Underground Railroad.
Posted on September 17, 2014
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In the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy, one group of dedicated social work scholars at Rutgers University explored options to offer funding and training programs to assist clients who were hit hard. One of their more recent initiatives provided subscriptions to the Encyclopedia of Social Work Online to seven agency directors who needed access to scholarly research to guide their work in the field. We spoke to Kathleen Pottick, professor in Rutgers University's School of Social Work, who spearheaded this endeavor to hear the story behind their work.
Posted on March 18, 2014
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By Cynthia Franklin Social workers that provide therapeutic and other services to children and adolescents can expect to find some major changes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition: in their placement within the DSM-5, the conceptualization of the disorders, the criteria for the disorders, the elimination of disorders, and the inclusion of some new diagnoses.
Posted on March 10, 2014
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By Georgia Mierswa Oxford University Press would like to take a moment to honor all grandparents, great-grandparents, and beyond, acknowledging the often extraordinary efforts (more are primary caregivers than ever before in history!) required to build and sustain a family. The information and statistics below have been drawn from numerous articles on the significance of grandparents in Encyclopedia of Social Work.
Posted on September 8, 2013
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By Michael Weiner The activity has many names: 'rough and tumble,' 'boy,' 'physical,' 'aggressive.' We see it everywhere, on playgrounds, in homes, at schools. With early childhood education literature rife with new research, we recognize that this type of play activity is developmentally essential for children.
Posted on August 30, 2013
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By Max Sinsheimer Recently I was chatting with a regular at my gym, an Irish man named Stephen, when he asked me what I do for a living. I told him I am an editor in the reference department at Oxford University Press, and he excitedly launched into a description of the draft manuscript he had just completed, a novel about his wild (and illicit) youth spent between Galway and the Canary Islands.
Posted on July 12, 2013
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