Knowledge Creation in Social Work During the Time of COVID-19

This chapter discusses the experience of three graduate students of social work enrolled in field instruction during the first semester that was restructured to be managed remotely, due to the restrictions of the COVID-19 community quarantine in the Philippines. Specifically, the researcher examined the integrative reports and reflexive notes of the students and faculty supervisors, and audio/video recordings of the department's field sharing of experiences. Comparison of the data from the proposed models of practice submitted by the graduate students revealed different knowledge sources used by the students in evaluating the gaps in practice in their respective agencies. The proposed models of the graduate reflected the combination of knowledge shared by the different stakeholders, (organizations, clients, faculty supervisors, agency supervisors), the application of theories and perspectives in social work and other disciplines, and the insights and strategies gleaned from innovative practice. This knowledge creation is vital toward the remaking of social work for the future. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

The Generative Mechanisms of Financial Strain and Financial Well-Being: A Critical Realist Analysis of Ideology and Difference

Background: Rapid, strategic action is required to mitigate the negative and unequal impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on the financial well-being (FWB) of global populations. Personal financial strain (FS) worsened most significantly among systematically excluded groups. Targeted government-and community-led initiatives are needed to address these inequities. The purpose of this applied research was to identify what works for whom, under what conditions, and why in relation to community and government initiatives that promote personal and household FWB and/or address FS in high-income economies. Methods: We employed a critical realist analysis to literature that reported on FWB/FS initiatives in high-income countries. This included initiatives introduced in response to the pandemic as well as those that began prior to the pandemic. We included sources based on a rapid review. We coded academic, published literature (n = 39) and practice-based (n = 36) reports abductively to uncover generative mechanisms – ie, underlying, foundational factors related to community or government initiatives that either constrained and/or enabled FWB and FS. Results: We identified two generative mechanisms: (1) neoliberal ideology;and (2) social equity ideology. A third mechanism, social location (eg, characteristics of identity, location of residence), cut across the two ideologies and demonstrated for whom the initiatives worked (or did not) in what circumstances. Neoliberal ideology (ie, individual responsibility) dominated initiative designs, which limited the positive impact on FS. This was particularly true for people who occupied systematically excluded social locations (eg, low-income young mothers). Social equity-based initiatives were less common within the literature, yet mostly had a positive impact on FWB and produced equitable outcomes. Conclusion: Equity-centric initiatives are required to improve FWB and reduce FS among systemically excluded and marginalized groups. These findings are of relevance now as nations strive for financial recovery in the face of the ongoing global pandemic. © 2023 The Author(s);Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences.

COVID-19 impacts on sport governance and management: a global, critical realist perspective

This commentary considers the impacts of COVID-19 on sport governance and management, given the global threat to sport services and organizations evident as a result of the disease since early 2020. To frame this analysis of the impacts and lessons to be learned, we use a Critical Realist (CR) perspective, which takes a multi-level view of reality and seeks to establish how and why something occurs in reality [Byers, T. (2013). Using critical realism: A new perspective on control of volunteers in sport clubs. European Sport Management Quarterly, 13(1), 5–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/16184742.2012.744765]. While the existing commentaries and emerging research on COVID19 have focused on a superficial level of reality (i.e. what stakeholder responses have been), a CR view encourages a more holistic account of what and why something happens. Specifically, this commentary contributes to the discussion of COVID-19 impacts focusing on sport governance, using a philosophy that encourages examination of what is happening in sport organizations, how different stakeholder's perspectives and assessment of the legitimacy of COVID-19 may reveal underlying social structures and biases that help explain sport administrator's responses and value systems. We hope this novel perspective on sport governance encourages readers to think of new ways of organizing and governing that is more inclusive of diversity (e.g. race, gender, disability) in sport.

SEIR models in the light of Critical Realism - A critique of exaggerated claims about the effectiveness of Covid 19 vaccinations.

In a recent modeling study Watson et al. (Lancet Infect Dis 2022;3099:1-10) claim that Covid-19 vaccinations have helped to prevent roughly 14-20 million deaths in 2021. This conclusion is based on an epidemiological susceptible-exposed-infectious-recovered (SEIR) model trained on partially simulated data and yielding a reproduction number distribution which was then applied to a counterfactual scenario in which the efficacy of vaccinations was removed. Drawing on the meta-theory of Critical Realism, we point out several caveats of this model and caution against believing in its predictions. We argue that the absence of vaccinations would have significantly changed the causal tendencies of the system being modelled, yielding a different reproduction number than obtained from training the model on actually observed data. Furthermore, the model omits many important causal factors. Therefore this model, similar to many previous SEIR models, has oversimplified the complex interplay between biomedical, social and cultural dimensions of health and should not be used to guide public health policy. In order to predict the future in epidemic situations more accurately, continuously optimized dynamic causal models which can include the not directly tangible, yet real causal mechanisms affecting public health appear to be a promising alternative to SEIR-type models.

Theorising sociomateriality in online learning: cutting through the complexity

The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need to develop theory and practice in digital education. In this position paper, we expand on the research conducted in information systems (IS) on sociomateriality by applying it to online learning. The aim was to provide a theoretical underpinning for guidelines to reduce the complexity of social and material combinations in digital education. An overview of sociomateriality within IS research is provided, distinguishing between two sociomaterial perspectives to situate the research. A high-level review of student learning as the social and online learning as the material is applied to a four-quadrant model to unbundle the complexities within this space. Our perspectives are supported by feedback from a third-year information systems course that confirmed the merit of the model and broadened research in online learning. The model is further refined with a philosophical underpinning of Ackoff's four pursuits of humankind to provide recommendations for future interventions © Copyright the author(s);published under a Creative Commons NonCommercial 4.0 License

Practical and social interaction justice of online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic

The implementation of learning in the current situation can be carried out using online learning as part of the methodology to answer the educational challenges caused by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The role of technology in the online learning process in previous research studies has made it a major and important factor for successful learning in this emergency situation. This study aimed to investigate a philosophical perspective using the critical realism paradigm regarding the role of technology in online learning practices based on e-learning systems and justice in social interaction in aspects of learning implementation during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a qualitative method with a critical realism approach. The results indicated that several critical arguments exist to rebalance the role of technology back to its origin, which is not a major factor, but a factor that still requires support from personal factors, personal behavior, and teacher readiness in facing technological developments. The findings of the study can be used to implement technology-based online learning while keeping practical and social justice in mind for both students and teachers. © 2023, Institute of Advanced Engineering and Science. All rights reserved.

The Generative Mechanisms of Financial Strain and Financial Well-Being: A Critical Realist Analysis of Ideology and Difference

Background: Rapid, strategic action is required to mitigate the negative and unequal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the financial well-being (FWB) of global populations. Personal financial strain (FS) worsened most significantly among systematically excluded groups. Targeted government-and community-led initiatives are needed to address these inequities. The purpose of this applied research was to identify what works for whom, under what conditions, and why in relation to community and government initiatives that promote personal and household FWB and/or address FS in high income economies.Methods: We employed a critical realist analysis to literature that reported on FWB/FS initiatives in high income countries. This included initiatives introduced in response to the pandemic as well as those that began prior to the pandemic. We included sources based on a rapid review. We coded academic, published literature (n=39) and practice-based (n=36) reports abductively to uncover generative mechanisms - i.e., underlying, foundational factors related to community or government initiatives that either constrained and/or enabled FWB and FS.Results: We identified two generative mechanisms: 1. neoliberal ideology;and, 2. social equity ideology. A third mechanism, social location (e.g., characteristics of identity, location of residence), cut across the two ideologies and demonstrated for whom the initiatives worked (or did not) in what circumstances. Neoliberal ideology (i.e., individual responsibility) dominated initiative designs, which limited the positive impact on FS. This was particularly true for people who occupied systematically excluded social locations (e.g., low-income young mothers). Social equity-based initiatives were less common within the literature, yet mostly had a positive impact on FWB and produced equitable outcomes.Conclusion: Equity-centric initiatives are required to improve FWB and reduce FS among systemically excluded and marginalized groups. These findings are of relevance now as nations strive for financial recovery in the face of the ongoing global pandemic.

Farmers’ Markets as Resilient Alternative Market Structures in a Sustainable Global Food System: A Small Firm Growth Perspective

A sustainable food system is a key target of the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current global food system operates on market mechanisms that prioritise profit maximisation. This paper examines how small food businesses grow and develop within grassroot economies that operate on different market mechanisms. Focusing on artisan food producers and farmers’ markets, this research highlights the potential of resilient, small-scale, diverse markets as pathways to sustainable food systems. An applied critical realist, mixed-methods study was conducted at a macro (Irish food industry), meso (farmers’ markets in the region of Munster, Ireland) and micro (artisan food producers and their businesses) level. The resulting framework provides a post-growth perspective to sustainability, proposing that farmers’ markets represent an alternative market structure to the dominant industrial market, organised on mechanisms where producers ‘Mind what they make’ and ‘Make peace with enough’. In their resilience, these markets can provide pathways for structural change. This implies a call to action to reorientate policies targeting small food businesses to move beyond the concept of firms as profit-maximizing enterprises and to instead focus on a local food policy framework that reinforces the regional ‘interstices’ within which small food businesses operate to promote diversity, resilience and sustainability in the food system.

What Does Comparative Policy Analysis Have to Do with the Structure, Institution and Agency Debate?

A growing number of political and policy scientists have utilized institutional theory to explain how the purposeful actions of agents shape and are shaped by structural, institutional, and agential factors. Most current studies, however, have conflated and/or combined the fundamental concepts of structure, institution, and actor, overlooking how their interactions shape policy and institutional outcomes. Furthermore, such research lacks an approach that allows a more comprehensive means to integrate the various dimensions of such interactions. By studying these distinct but interdependent causal factors through an integrative approach, we provide a richer, more comprehensive understanding of contingent conditions, agency, and outcomes.

Critical realist multilevel research in business marketing: a laminated conceptualization of resilience

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to ease the methodological application of critical realist multilevel research in business marketing. Although there has been plenty of theoretical contributions in this field, it is not always clear how critical realism can be best applied in business marketing settings. Accordingly, this paper addresses this gap in literature. Also, this paper addresses the calls for a multilevel conceptualization for resilience, based on the critical realist laminated systems. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper, which uses pre-existing literature to develop a critical realist methodological approach for the purposes of multilevel business marketing research. The contribution is based on literature by combining pre-existing ideas in a new way in the context of business marketing. Findings This paper makes a methodological contribution by introducing the critical realist "laminated systems" to business marketing as a multilevel research approach. Furthermore, the authors conceptualize a specific laminated model, the Laminated Interactional Model (LIM), that is designed for the purpose of business marketing research. The LIM is a methodological tool that conceptualizes business marketing based on six levels of analysis, easing the methodological application of critical realism in business marketing settings. In addition, to provide an example, the authors apply the LIM to the literature on resilience, providing a multilevel conceptualization. This is a timely contribution, as resilience has emerged as a central concept addressing interorganizational survival during the COVID-19 pandemic. Originality/value This paper makes three main contributions to business marketing. First, this paper provides a methodological contribution by introducing the critical realist notion of "laminated systems" to business marketing. Second, this paper conceptualizes a specific laminated model for business marketing, namely, the LIM. Third, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper will apply critical realism and the LIM to the notion of resilience, addressing the calls for multilevel conceptualizations.

Digital Intervention, COVID-19, and Critical Realism: Toward a Science of Digital Social Work

The COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the pace of the digital transition process in which we have been immersed. In a context of generalized lock-down, our organizations have been forced to go digital and many of the activities social workers perform must now be done remotely. As a result, e-social work, or digital social work, has gone from being an emerging specialization to a critical specialty across organizations and activities. In this article, we examine some basic scientific and methodological foundations to develop a science of social work from the perspective of critical realism, with special attention to digitalization. Establishing the scientific foundations of digital social work is a preliminary step for its development as a field of specialization. © 2021, Western Michigan University. All rights reserved.