La presente obra supone una revisión crítica tanto de un amplio sector de la teoría de la asistencia social, como de sus valores dentro del marco de la práctica profesional moderna. El autor sostiene que la práctica de la actividad social es muy estable, y cuenta con un modelo fundamental de tipo práctico compuesto por un cierto número de aspectos cruciales. La importancia variable que se da a cada uno de estos aspectos es un reflejo de las fuerzas económicas y sociales que marcan el moderno devenir de la asistencia social, dando lugar a que unas ideas consigan una cierta ascendencia en determinados periodos. Gran número de teorías reconocidas aportan ideas al paradigma básico de la práctica convencional y responden a necesidades que surgen en la práctica y en el debate académico y profesional. Y de ahí que los asistentes sociales tengan que saber de dónde proceden estas ideas y cómo se insertan en la red de teorías vigentes. El libro, de esta manera, acaba ofreciendo un ponderado análisis delas teorías de la asistencia social entendidas no sólo como tales, sino también como parte de una constelación de ideas al alcance de todos los asistentes sociales.

This book addresses several fundamental aspects of social work practice. From a qualitative and exploratory perspective, the book analyses pre-professional practices in the formation of social workers by contrasting the perspectives of students, institutional supervisors and university lecturers. Areas of opportunity in training are identified, such as handling personal and family crises of high conflict, the lack of specialised knowledge according to intervention areas, and limited participation in technical processes. The book proposes strengthening communication, mediation and emotional support skills, as well as incorporating optional courses and specific diplomas to fill these gaps. Methodologically, the book is based on semi-structured interviews and focus groups, allowing a systemic understanding of the educational phenomenon from the voice of the main actors. Together, this work offers an enriching overview of the challenges and opportunities in the practical training of social workers, laying the foundations for improving the quality of these training processes.

This Festschrift is published in honor of Alex C. Michalos, a great scholar and inspiration to many upcoming and famous academics and practitioners. The Festschrift celebrates his lifelong, outstanding scientific and cultural contribution to Quality of Life Research. It contains contributions written by the most prestigious and renowned scholars in the field of social indicators research and quality of life studies. Taken together, the contributions from scholars around the world reflect Michalos’ stance that even though there may be differences in individual scientific positions, the language in the field of quality of life has no limits and boundaries.

The main purpose of this book is not only to present recent studies and advances in the field of social science research, but also to stimulate discussion on related practical issues concerning statistics, mathematics, and economics. Accordingly, a broad range of tools and techniques that can be used to solve problems on these topics are presented in detail in this book, which offers an ideal reference work for all researchers interested in effective quantitative and qualitative tools. The content is divided into three major sections. The first, which is titled “Social work”, collects papers on problems related to the social sciences, e.g. social cohesion, health, and digital technologies. Papers in the second part, “Education and teaching issues,” address qualitative aspects, education, learning, violence, diversity, disability, and ageing, while the book’s final part, “Recent trends in qualitative and quantitative models for socio-economic systems and social work”, features contributions on both qualitative and quantitative issues. The book is based on a scientific collaboration, in the social sciences, mathematics, statistics, and economics, among experts from the “Pablo de Olavide” University of Seville (Spain), the “University of Defence” of Brno (Czech Republic), the “G. D’Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara (Italy) and “Alexandru Ioan Cuza University” of Iaşi (Romania). The contributions, which have been selected using a peer-review process, examine a wide variety of topics related to the social sciences in general, while also highlighting new and intriguing empirical research conducted in various countries. Given its scope, the book will appeal, in equal measure, to sociologists, mathematicians, statisticians and philosophers, and more generally to scholars and specialists in related fields.

This book analyzes how quality of life research results can be transferred to policy making, and considers the role of actors in this process---researchers, policy makers, and citizens---as well as their interrelationships. This book points to the need to include actors other than the state in public policy-making related to quality of life and well-being issues, in defining problems and formulating alternatives. It identifies obstacles and facilitators in the process and offers a review of different types of aid that affect well-being and quality of life. Finally, it shows possible pathways for various stakeholders in policy-making to interact with one another in the building of good societies.

What can we learn about social work - and what is its importance - when viewed from a pan-European perspective? Authors from eight European countries look at their own experiences and set them in the context of what they have learn from making comparisons.