• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.27
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• pp.209-224
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• 1995

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.27
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• pp.35-65
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• 1995

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.62 no.2
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• pp.349-373
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• 2010

The purpose of this paper is to critically analyze the way of knowledge production in social welfare and to graft feminist epistemology to the discipline of social welfare. To put it more concretely, as analyzing the epistemological and methodological issues appeared in the articles in "orean Journal of Social Welfare", this study examines the meanings of feminist epistemology and its implications to research and practice in social welfare. From its onset, feminist research criticized the 'mainstream' ways of conceptualizing knowledge construction via research conducted upon a positivist epistemological position. Particularly, western feminists have problematized the androcentric bias embedded within the so-called 'social sciences' that we have taken for granted as 'scientific,' 'objective,' and 'neutral,' and attempted to redirect and reformulate the way of knowledge production with new concepts of 'strong objectivity,' 'partial/situated knowledge,' and 'strong reflection.' We believe that the implications of feminist epistemology to enable us to reflect the power relationship between subject and object, I and Other, and the researcher and the researched will contribute to recover the original vision of social welfare as critical theory and liberating practice in social work.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.31
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• pp.171-190
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• 1997

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.61 no.1
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• pp.33-55
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• 2009

This article reviews 20 empirical studies that have focused on the organizational effectiveness of social welfare organizations since 1980. The purposes of this study were to understand the organizational phenomena of social welfare organizations, to offer practical implications for organizational management and to propose direction for the further researches. Special attention has been paid to identify 1) subjects of research 2) approach and criteria of organizational effectivess and 3) critical factors that impact on organizational effectiveness. The results showed that 1) most of researches utilized samples from social welfare community centers and assisted-living facility, 2) many researches focused on internal process approach and used diverse criteria of organizational effectiveness 3) collective developmental culture, decentralized structure, transformational leadership, open relationship between organization and external environment were critical factors of organizational effectiveness. The review suggests that social welfare managers should practice diverse approach based on vision, purpose and developmental stage of each organization. The managers also should implement more conscious efforts to make supportive and fair work environment where all employees feel valued and can demonstrate their maximum potential and to respond to task environments more proactively. Further research should be conducted from diverse organizations using various research methods. More comprehensive empirical model and multidimensional measure of organizational effectiveness need to be developed.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.177-188
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• 2013

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feeling of distance of social work practitioners for people living with HIV/AIDS(PLWHA) and to identify related factors. Methods: A total of 409 data were collected as convenience sampling from social welfare service providers. Independent variables were socio-demographic data, AIDS related knowledge, authoritarian personality, prejudice for minority(handicapped, women, foreigner, old aged), cultural competency. Data were analyzed by t-test, ANOVA, multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results: Multiple regression model was developed by integrating the significant variables from univariate analysis. Significant factors of physical distance were social prejudice against handicapped, knowledge about AIDS and critical awareness/knowledge about other culture. And significant factors of social distance were social prejudice against handicapped, knowledge about AIDS, authoritarian personality, critical awareness/knowledge about other culture. At last, we found that social prejudice against handicapped was the biggest factor for physical distance and authoritarian personality was the biggest factor for social distance of social work practitioners. Conclusions: The area of social services for PLWHA have to be expanded. Physical and social distance of professionals to provide services to PLWHA and factors affecting it is necessary to continue research. In addition, on the basis of these findings, specific training programs is need to be developed.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.465-497
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• 2013

This paper criticizes the ontological and epistemological dichotomy in social sciences including social welfare and probes into Critical Realism as an alternative paradigm. Many theories for social welfare have adhered to dichotomous ontological standpoint, 'agency' vs. 'social structure', and Eco-system approach have occupied dominant position to integrate this dichotomy. These theoretical standpoint have had great influence on social work practice. On the other hand, dichotomous epistemological standpoint which is constituted of different views of phenomena, 'positivism' and 'constructionism', have had great influence on social work research and practice. These dichotomous ontological and epistemological approach have a limit to reveal qualitative nature of the relationship between agency and social structure, to ponder the deeper reality, the mechanism of stratified reality, and the reality being independent of agency. Replacing these approaches, Critical Realism unfold the theoretical potential as an alternative paradigm for social welfare through the discussion on stratified realty(the empirical, the actual, and the real), intransitive/transitive dimension, double hermeneutics in these dimensions, and the conditions for conceptualization, duality of structure and practice, transformation model of agency and structure.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.69 no.1
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• pp.175-197
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• 2017

This study aims to analyze the formation of Korean social welfare delivery system and its pathway, from which the pending issues are to be discussed on the organizations and personnel of the delivery system using the word 'social welfare' with its related discourse. Historical institutionalism is chosen as the perspective to explain path-dependent change and critical juncture, and various legislative data are used as the indicative signals for the discourse of 'social welfare'. The results of the study are as follows. First, the term 'social welfare' began to be institutionalized in Korea by the enactment of Livehood Protection Law(1961). Second, the policies by the year 1987 of expanding social welfare center and introducing social welfare professionals as civil servants form a critical juncture which makes the social welfare discourse realized as the institutional realities. Third, until the year around 2014, the system has not changed in the perspective of macro framework. Fourth, currently the system shows several signs of severe turmoil, which might lead to dismantle the system of 'social welfare' discourse. To conclude, this study shows the possibility of explaining organizations and personnel composing the social welfare delivery system by the usage of discourse analysis, treating it as an analytical entity.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.43
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• pp.193-221
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• 2000

The conventional framework of welfare politics, based on class concepts, tends to fail in explaining the recent social changes. Theoretical response from the social science diverges into two blocs. One is the postmodernist approach that denies possibility of structural cleavage; the other is the alternative trial that seeks to find various kinds of cleavages. The former approach is to be rejected because there is few empirical supports for it. The latter is too sparse to be applied to the studies of welfare politics that requires a comprehensive analysis. This study starts from critical investigation of such approaches, aiming at providing a theoretical framework that combines merits of existing studies on welfare politics. The theoretical framework of three statuses of welfare rights and duties, which is to be presented as an alternative to the conventional class counterpart, does not only underscore the expansion of welfare rights but also the burden of welfare duties. Hence, it can comprehensively subsume complex existence of interest cleavages of welfare politics. To make a long story short, individual interest, related to the welfare state, will effect individual attitudes toward the welfare state and their ways of political support.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.255-285
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• 2013

The aim of this study is to demonstrate how Self-Sufficiency Promotion Centers (SSP Centers) run by social movement groups have struggled to defend their voluntary identities in conflict with SSP Centers operated by professional social welfare centers. Since political democratization, social movement groups have been increasing invited to run frontline public welfare agencies in South Korea, and Self-Sufficiency Program is one of the representative policies in which social movement groups have actively partaked. But many critical scholars have warned that such institutionalization of social movements into social welfare system is likely to dampen their voluntary nature and force them to render their hegemonic power to professional social welfare institutions. In contrast to the critical viewpoint, however, this study unveils how social movement-based SSP Centers have strived to tackle the professionalization pressure by deploying various survival strategies at the micro level. Through a historical discourse analysis on the frontline conflicts between social movement-based and social welfare-based SSP Centers, this study contends that social movement groups in Self-Sufficiency Program can still maintain their traditional spirit despite the obvious professionalization phenomenon.