The Post-Soviet Model of Accountability in the Estonian Local Welfare Government | Chapter 6 | New Ideas Concerning Arts and Social Studies Vol. 5

 

Background: Accountability is ubiquitous in social systems, and its necessity is increased in formal organisations that supposedly aim to predict and control behaviour. Today’s public authorities need to show value diversity, understand and respect different cultures, and design and deliver culturally relevant and responsive programs and services. Accountability in social work is crucial for ensuring professional legitimacy and adherence to public organisational practices. This is particularly important in the Estonian context, where social welfare is undergoing rapid changes due to Europeanization and public administration reforms.

 

Aim: This chapter aims to shed light on accountability in administrative social work within the Estonian welfare model. Specifically, it seeks to examine how the responsibility of the nation-state is shared in ensuring social well-being and to explore how the provision of necessary social services to residents can be predicted.

 

Methods: A meso-level model was employed, integrating contemporary research and expanding perspectives from individual, group, and organisational levels into a coherent framework. A case study approach was used, analysing publicly available documentation and data from three Estonian local governments (Viru-Nigula, Lüganuse, and Mustvee) collected between 2020 and 2022. To study the process of accountability, a concept has been developed with the following features: legal basis, political discourse of well-being, theoretical discourse, standards, public information, applied methods, profession/profession, decision-making process, and evaluation.

 

Results: The study reveals challenges in predicting social service provision to clients. These challenges stem from the fragmented nature of the Estonian welfare system, the lack of clear criteria for allocating local social benefits, the limited professional autonomy of social workers in local governments, and the opacity and lack of evaluation mechanisms in accountability processes in Estonian social welfare.

 

Conclusions: The research highlights the need for clearer definitions of social work roles, stronger professional autonomy for social workers, and a more client-centred approach to social welfare in Estonia. Future research directions include exploring the perspectives of social workers, clients, and policymakers on accountability in social welfare and conducting comparative studies with other countries.

 

 

Author(s) Details

Vaike Raudava
Department of Social Science, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.

 

Please see the book here :- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/nicass/v5/6613

Professionalising Agricultural Extension in Limpopo, South Africa: Challenges, Progress and Key Competencies | Chapter 1 | Agricultural Sciences: Techniques and Innovations Vol. 3

 

The journey towards professionalism in South Africa was championed by not a single person but a collective, each one doing a part in the process. The South African Society for Agricultural Extension made some efforts by participating in the Standard Generating Body, and it further developed an extension landscape which categorised its members towards professionalism. The paper argues that professionalism also affects agricultural extension in service delivery by creating demotivated cadres in agriculture. It also provides clarification of the concept of professionalism. It draws data from researchers who did extensive work in the area of professionalism and the registration of profession, the paper seeks to achieve the following: 1) provide concrete principles of professionalism, 2) identify critical obstacles associated with professionalism, 3) review progress on efforts done to date in South Africa about professionalism in extension, 4) and highlight the qualities extensionists are expected to possess. Only three districts in Limpopo, namely Capricorn, Vhembe and Sekhukhune, participated in a sample of 30 extension officers. They were interviewed on their opinions about the skills requirements of the extension profession. The majority of the respondents were male, constituting 70 per cent and 30 per cent female.

 

The results revealed that certain skills are important to be possessed by the extension practitioners as seen by their rating: public speaking 86%, writing 72%, listening 69%, research linkages 83%, leadership,76.6%, critical thinking 63%, supervisory 70% and communication planning 83.3%. But when respondents were asked to judge themselves on the functionality of those skills, it was found wanting. The study concluded that professionalising extension and advisory practitioners in South Africa should be considered highly by all stakeholders interested in agricultural development. The study recommended that an action plan needs to be developed in order to bring or maintain a variety of competences among the extension practitioners, who should strive for excellence in order to improve service delivery.

Author(s) Details

E. M. Zwane
Centre for Rural Community Empowerment, School of Agriculture, University of Limpopo, South Africa.

 

Please see the book here:- https://doi.org/10.9734/bpi/asti/v3/4902

 

Examining the Professionalization of English Language Teaching (ELT): From a Global Perspective | Chapter 8 | Progress in Language, Literature and Education Research Vol. 6

 The public education system was established in the 19th century to ensure that everyone could read and write. In the past, parents would often teach their children at home, but as society became more industrialized, teachers were needed to fill this role. Traditionally, new teachers would learn from experienced teachers in a sort of apprenticeship. Teacher training courses were also available in the main towns. Today, most teacher training programs are still offered by "normal schools," which are secondary schools that accept students at around 15 years old for a two- or three-year program. These schools are found all over the world, but there are many in Latin America. In Europe and North America, teaching colleges have been replaced by universities. By the early 20th century, the teaching profession had become more formalized, with official training and certification requirements. Today, it is important to professionalize English teaching globally to improve communication. This research paper aims to explain the importance of professionalizing English language instruction in a global setting.

Author(s) Details:

Md. Tariqul Alam,
Chandigarh University, Punjab, India.

Aditi Goyal,
Department of English, Chandigarh University, Punjab, India.

Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/PLLER-V6/article/view/13702

Prayer and Naturopathic Medicine in Ghana; A Qualitative Study | Chapter 09 | New Frontiers in Medicine and Medical Research Vol. 11

 Spirituality is crucial in the life of a Ghanaian patient seeking treatment. In their seek for God's face, the majority of them end up in prayer camps. In Ghana, several Naturopathic practitioners have started to incorporate prayer exercises during their consultations. The majority of these practitioners are pastors. Using Ghana as a case study, we want to look into the function of prayer in the Naturopathic profession.

The purpose of this research is to look at the qualitative aspect of prayer's use as a type of Naturopathic protocol employed by naturopathic practitioners in their healthcare delivery.

Methods: A draught open-ended questionnaire was sent via WhatsApp to thirty (30) Naturopathic practitioners with pastoral backgrounds who are members of the Ghana Association of Naturopathic Physicians (GANP) in their various Naturopathic facilities that provide pastoral services as part of this qualitative study.

According to naturopathic practitioners, patients seek prayer services from their centres as a supplemental therapy as part of their therapeutic order routine.

Patients also employ prayer as a traditional remedy for their medical problems, according to others.

Conclusion: We discovered that effective prayer is crucial in the healing process of a sick patient.

Prayer is widely used by Naturopathic doctors as a supplemental therapy rather than a regular treatment.

Author(S) Details

Raphael Nyarkotey Obu
Department of Holistic Medicine, Nyarkotey College of Holistic Medicine and Technology, Ashaiman, Ghana.

Lawrencia Aggrey –Bluwey
Department of Health Administration and Education, University of Education, Winneba Ghana.

View Book:- https://stm.bookpi.org/NFMMR-V11/article/view/3695