• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.61 no.4
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• pp.307-332
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• 2009

This study is about the development and effectiveness of the 'Empowerment Program' for the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents. The program was developed on the basis of the analysis of focus group interviews for the rehabilitation counselors who work with the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents. Also, it was based on Miley et al's empowerment model and the group social work practice. The goal of the program was to strengthen the level of empowerment and decrease emotional frustration for the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents. The program consisted of two different types: one for the hospitalized person and the other for the discharged person. The program practiced once a week for 6 weeks and 8 weeks by the choice of the rehabilitation counselors. In order to verify the effectiveness of the program, the participants included 11 persons for the experimental group and 10 persons for the control group. The empowerment scores of the two groups were estimated at the point of pre-test and post-test and were analysed through the Wilcoxon signed rank test and Mann-Whitney U test. As the results of the analyses showed, there were significant differences in the increases in the areas of total empowerment and self-image as a sub-scale between the two groups. In conclusion, the effectiveness of the program was confirmed. Also, it has been verified that the program can be an important social work practice tool for strengthening the empowerment level of the persons with disabilities caused by industrial accidents.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.103-130
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• 2013

Although both ecosystem theory and empowerment have become the most prevalent candidate for integrated paradigm for social welfare practices, they could not overcome completely the long-standing and sharp divides between micro and macro practices, that is, between subject and structure as a main explanatory element in social welfare realm. Along with such traditional dualism and tension, a new emerging divide between modernism and postmodernism regarding intrinsic mission and roles of social welfare has urged strongly to develop the overarching theoretical framework for social welfare practice. In this regard, this study aims to recast the ecosystem theory and empowerment through the reflexive modernization theory of critical sociologist Anthony Giddens. With relatively strong emphasis on human capability coined as the reflexivity, Giddens's own creative theory of modernization can be thoroughly expected to provide a solid foundation of integrated paradigm enough to bridge the existing dualisms in social welfare theory and practice. Especially, his unique account of integrated way of how human agency is involved in the construction of social structure and how to transform each other recursively has profound implication for empowerment to be adequate and proper comprehensive framework for social welfare practice.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.89-112
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• 2004

The purpose of this study is to systemize volunteer program for the people with chronic mental health problems to participate in helping the community as service providers not receivers, and then to examine empowerment effects of this volunteer program. The distinctive feature of this program was to volunteer the mental ill to help other people. Therefore, this volunteer program had specially strengthened preliminary stage which make not only the mental ill be ready to work but also the community to use them as volunteer, and to invite general citizen of the community as co-volunteers. The result showed this program empowered the mental disorders to have more positive self-concept. It revealed that co-volunteer's attitude toward the mental disorders was changed positively through this program, also. These results told us not only the chronic mental ill could be volunteers helping others using their abilities, but also this activity would make their self-image better and citizen's perception toward mental disorder less prejudiced. The volunteer program presented in this paper was expected to be useful for their empowerment and social integration.

• 재활복지
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.79-101
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• 2013

This research investigated the relationship between the parent's positive perception of parenting children with disabilities and family adaptation, and the mediating effect of empowerment on the relationship. For this research, data from 189 parents of children with disabilities who had used social service facilities and a school for the disability. There are the research results. First, the level of empowerment and positive perception are both high and were different between father and mother. The level of Self-efficacy is highest among sub-factors of empowerment. The parent's positive perception of parenting children with disabilities was positively correlated with empowerment. The empowerment and parent's positive perception had an direct effect on the family adaptation. On the verification of the effect of empowerment as the mediator, the empowerment variable revealed possessing the partial mediating effect. Therefore, this study suggest for the practical promotion about empowerment and parent's positive perception of parenting children with disabilities.

• Management & Information Systems Review
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.57-82
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• 2012

The purpose of the study is to suggest the measure for the improvement of job satisfaction and level of empowerment of sanatoriums' social workers by analyzing factors of empowerments' effect on the job satisfaction, and investigating level of empowerment and job satisfaction of social workers of sanatoriums for the elderly and the handicapped. The result of investigation and analysis on subjects of 420 social workers of sanatoriums for the elderly and the handicapped in Youngnam area for this is as follows: First, job characteristic that is empowerments' influence factor of sanatoriums' social workers is appeared in order of feedback, and function variety, and in organization characteristic is appeared in order of leadership, reward, and employee development. Second, level of empowerment that is recognized by sanatoriums' social workers is appeared a little higher than normal level and significance is appeared highest, and next are capability, self-determination ability, and influence. Third, features that showed significant difference with significance in general characteristic of sanatoriums' social workers were 'sex', 'marital status', and 'religion', and features that showed significant difference with capability were sex, age, marital status, academic background, and employment history. And features that showed significant difference with self-determination ability were sex, age, marital status, and employment history, and features that showed significant difference with influence were sex, age, employment history and types of facilities. Fourth, the whole average of job satisfaction of sanatoriums' social workers was 3.82 out of 5, which is generally high, features that showed significant difference statistically were age, marital status, academic background, employment history, and types of facilities. Thus, job satisfaction was appeared as high as 'more than age of thirty' in age, 'married' in marital status, 'under graduates of colleges' in academic background, and 'less than three years' in employment history. Fifth, as for factors that had influence on job satisfaction, the indirect effect with empowerment was appeared that had significant effect in organization characteristic, and had few effect in organization features. On these results, practical measures to increase job satisfaction of sanatoriums' social workers are as follows: First, political approach is required to standardize duty system(by various types of facilities and clients' characteristic) of social workers of sanatoriums for elderly and the handicapped, and help to do the role as professionals with giving better treatment and building self-respect by enough reward. Second, to suggest chances to perform the responsibility for the duty of the scenes by the regular supervision, establish regular supervision system of social workers of sanatoriums for the elderly and the handicapped, and the extension of duty to increase the functional varieties. Third, it is required to motivate to have self confidence for the work and to use potential ability with transforming leadership, and to have more chances of education for the self-development. To increase job satisfaction of sanatoriums' social workers who give direct services in sanatoriums for the elderly and the handicapped, more active and positive empowerment's level improvement is in need by improvement of empowerment for them.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.75-99
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to examine effects of empowerment on relationship between supervisors transformational leadership recognized by care givers and organizational effectiveness represented as the job satisfaction and the organizational commitment. For the purpose, survey were conducted with care givers working in long-term care facilities in Seoul, Gyeonggi-do and Incheon, and final data were resulted from analysis of 283 examines of those care givers. The findings of this study were as follows: first, transformational leadership of long-term care facilities had a significant influence on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Second, the care giver's empowerment had a influence on the job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Third, empowerment worked as mediators between the transformational leadership of long-term care facilities and care giver's job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Based upon these findings, we can propose practices towards improving a long-term care facilities administrator's transformational leadership and implication of program development and provide an institutional strategy aiming to care giver's empowerment improvement.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.41 no.1
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• pp.5-37
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• 2010

The purpose of this study is to see the motive, processes and strategies of change in poor single mother self-help group and analyze meaning in the self help group, agencies and themselves by change. As to this discussion, We seek to grope practical ways for self-help group. By using Participatory Action Research, We intended to an alternative plan in collaborating between practitioners and all concerned. Following four-step-process in this methodology, we explored processes of changing and considered social work practical meaning. On results, first, The motive have come from critical minds that motivate them to choose their way subjectively. We concluded that they have a necessity of change as a groping activity within their capability. Second, On process trying to be changed, They have made initiative decisions about how extensive and deep their changes should be, by discussion being themselves. So they have agreed to aim at purposeful activities beyond just emotional support. Third, they suggested and planned meaningful action as a specific strategy for changing and all these were done by local community volunteering and lecturing for supporting single mother. In conclusion, The 'Change' single mother group activity aim at is, based on subjective decision, to change a practice of a social worker into a practice of participant, and to develop social empowerment more improved to control social condition, which is forming their life, by their own choice. Furthermore, It needs to be considered approach to Community for overcome limits of self help group activities. Based on these consequences, We presented social work practical meaning.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.49
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• pp.34-61
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• 2002

Recently, the concept of empowerment has become popular within social work practice. Despite of this trends, we have little empirical knowledge about what empowerment practice is and how it is applicable to practice settings in Korea. This study explored how social workers perceived and experienced the concept of empowerment. We used qualitative method to solve this questions. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted to 7 social workers serving in diverse settings. Research results are as follows: Participants had common perceptions of empowerment concept despite of the different settings. They perceived power as confidence, independence, self-control. The client/worker relationships were open, nonhierarchial egalitarian and characterized by mutuality and reciprocity. They emphasized the nature of empowerment as circular and diffusive process. Also, they orientated long term practice related to impatience of social workers. Finally, those who participated in this study challenged and reinterpreted the existing traditional "professionalism". We concluded that empowerment practice might demand infinite energies, social worker's creativity, trust of clients, and that empowerment practice would be a new approach in social work practice which influence on much more population because of its diffuseness.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.39
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• pp.83-113
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• 2008

The purpose of the study is to explore the mental health social workers' experiences concerning client's self-determination by grounded theory, one of the qualitative method. Although a lot of previous studies has proved that the practitioners have suffered from the ethical considerations in their practice, on which the matter of client's self-determination is centered, little attention is paid to deep exploration of practitioners' real experience about those aspects. To carry out the research question, first, through literature reviews focusing on clarify the underlying issues about client's self-determination, three intrinsic clues are found out; incompetence, medical benefits, the harm to the third party. Data obtained by in-depth interview with 10 participants are analyzed by employing the methode developed by Corbin and Strauss, which could categorize the raw data into several high-level concepts and constructs. The findings of the study show that most practitioners would consider the clients as the intrinsic subject of self-determination. Therefore, in practice, they are trying to support the client's self-determination even within the some constraints. In addition, they also experience the clients' latent potential in actualizing autonomy and self-determination, and identifies the positive effect of self-determination not only on the client's self-help and mental health but also on the practitioners themselves. The results of the study clearly suggests that it is critical to provide the practitioners with adequate ethical education and training to help them to overcome their ethical suffering concerning clients self-determination.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.533-544
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• 2021

This study was focused on social stigma in utilizing community child centers which are selective child welfare institutions. The study model derived from the stress process model. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of stigma on happiness among children in community child centers and mediating effects of empowerment and community social capital as coping resources. The data were collected from 5, 6th grade students who are attending community child centers located in Daegu and Gyeongsan city. Data of 175 were analyzed and SPSS Process Macro and bootstrapping method were used. The results of the study were follows. First, stigma among children in community child centers showed significant direct effects on happiness. Second, empowerment and community social capital had significant mediating effects on the relationship between stigma and happiness. Based on the results, the policy and practice implications to improve happiness of children in community child centers were suggested.