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Item Open Access The Advocate Self of(f) Beaten Paths: Travelling Colonial Roads in Neoliberal Times(2020-04) Koziorz, DorothySocial work often conceptualizes advocacy as synonymous with social justice and critical praxis (Smith, 2011), which seemingly affirms the heart of the social work profession. Though many claim an advocacy role or agree that advocacy is essential to social works cause, little is known about how the advocate self is constructed, understood, and practiced. 6 self-defined, Ontario-based child and youth advocates were interviewed in this study to explore how they engage in their own self-making processes; specifically advocates for children and youth who are involved in the child welfare system. This research is informed by post-structural, anti-colonial, anti-racist, and other critical theories and worldviews. It deploys a narrative approach and an analytic framework of Foucauldian discourse analysis to explore how child and youth advocates are shaped by, and in turn, shape dominant relations of power that work against, or in solidarity with children and young people towards social justice. Findings reveal that the roads travelled by child and youth advocates in their self-making processes are complex and ever-changing. The narratives of child and youth advocates reveal that they are both co-producers and disrupters of dominant discourses and power-knowledge systems. Additionally, it is argued that the advocate self is not a bounded self, but that it is “discursively mediated and politically situated” (Macias, 2012 p. 10). Finally, the research concludes with an argument for the necessity to historicize social justice imperatives in order to gain insight to the current tensions experienced by social justice advocates and further, opportunities for resistance.Item Open Access An Examination of How Dominant Notions of Normalcy Inform the Experiences of Non- White Subjects Living with Chronic Illness(2018) Iyer, MinakshiThe subject of normalcy within critical disability studies explores the dichotomy of normal and abnormal and how this informs the way disability is discussed within society. Using a post-structural and critical approach, this research has examined the intersections between race and disability within the narratives of non-white subjects living with chronic illness. What this research reflects is a global conversation regarding the ways in which capitalism, whiteness and ability impart limitations upon participants in this study, and how community activism and friendship serve as a form of empowerment and solace while navigating these structures of dominance.Item Open Access Case Worker’s Perspectives of Ontario’s Social Assistance Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic(2021-04) Parnell, MorganThis study explores seven Ontario Works case workers’ perspectives of the social assistance program in Ontario, Canada, during the novel coronavirus pandemic 2019 (COVID-19). Rooted in a critical paradigm, this research was guided by the following research questions: How has the COVID-19 pandemic influenced case worker’s perspectives on the effectiveness of Ontario’s income support program? What gaps do case workers identify in this system and how do they think they would be best addressed? Data for this study was generated through the use of semi-structured interviews and the major findings that emerged include 1) Challenges clients faced while transitioning to virtual service delivery highlight lack of communication and support; 2) COVID-19 emphasizes Ontario Works’ universal service delivery approach and the inability to support people with complex needs; 3) The implementation of CERB highlights Ontario Works’ inflexible program requirements, insufficient assistance rates and who is defined as deserving versus underserving during the pandemic; and 4) Quality of case management service delivery could be improved if case workers experienced less stress, more flexibility and more support from the organization. Participants also identified two major recommendations to address these gaps, including the implementation of a wraparound, wholistic, mixed-methods model that offers financial amounts that meet MBM and inflation, and consult welfare recipients and Ontario Works case worker’s and involve them in the decision-making process.Item Open Access Co-Creating Ethical Understandings Through Outsider Witnessing(2020-04) Mulloff, MarkThis research project seeks to examine ethical dilemmas faced by practitioners who work with men who have used intimate partner violence (IPV). The study is informed by a Foucauldian conception of power. The research explores how the workers’ reflections on power and ethics give them insight into the journeys towards accountability that their clients undertake. Methodologically, the study adopts narrative inquiry combined with outsider witnessing methods, which allow an audience of participants to listen to one participant be interviewed about an ethical dilemma, and explore what things resonated with them in the story; what accounted for this resonance within the life or practice of the witness; what these things indicate about the values, ethics, or politics of the storyteller; and where the witness has been transported as a result of hearing the story. Findings indicated that this process contributes to a relational understanding of ethics through soliciting shared experiences, feelings, and values; by causing participants to reflect on past experiences differently; and by descriptions of values, ethics, and power as active and relational processes. Insight into the clients’ pursuits of accountability arose through reflections on the experiences of clients, the process of change, and an understanding of shared navigations of power relations with clients. The study recommends that those working with men in IPV intervention consider building a regular practice connecting with others doing similar work in order to co-create shared ethics and mutual support around the pursuit of those ethics.Item Open Access A Cookbook Approach to Building Community: Applying a Narrative Lens to Food Work(2019-03) Guthrie, JadeThere has been a push from community food activists to create community food work practices which are more democratic, collective, and connected to social justice goals. As a response to these calls, this research project explore the research questions of “how can a collective narrative approach be applied to community food work programming in order to render this type of programming more inclusive and empowering for participants?” Using a narrative approach to probe this question, this community-based participatory project develops a “food narratives” framework to doing community food work. In-depth interviews, as well as a creative focus group session with community food practitioners served to gain insight into to the work being done on the ground. This research grounds this framework in theories of affect, intersectionality, and critical pedagogy, contending that “food narratives” can be mobilized within community food spaces as a means of exploring identity, creating community, and building resilience.Item Open Access Diverse Political Women in Canada and Online Attacks: Experiences, Perspectives, and Insights(2019-06) Skogberg, JennaMultiple academic disciplines agree upon the importance of women having diverse representation in politics because their unique perspectives are strongly thought to have positive implications on policies that affect the health and well-being of all people (Clayton & Zetterberg, 2018). Yet, abuse or harassment levied at these women both online and offline likely diminishes their voices or desires to remain politically engaged. Using hermeneutic phenomenology and intersectional feminism, I explored the experiences of a diverse group of political women in Canada with online attacks to gain their insights on potential implications and strategies for change. The findings analyze the participants’ complex relationships with social media, the unique challenges of each platform, the interlock of online and offline harassment, the women’s resiliencies and strategies to cope with online attacks, and their ideas for potential resolutions. The implications for critical social work practice are identified as: insight on the continued need to challenge Eurocentric heteropatriarchal colonial institutions, online and offline; the importance for Canadian social workers to (re)imagine their roles in online spaces; and, the need to develop methods with interdisciplinary teams to combat ideological radicalization on online echo chambers. Regarding future research, there exists much potential. One focus I recommend is that an interdisciplinary team of people, representing various socio-political positionalities, study how to perform community building projects on online echo chambers.Item Open Access ‘Drink a Nap. Take Water.’ and Other Self-Care Advice A Foucauldian Discourse Analysis on Self-Care Posts on Instagram(2020-04) Blumenfeld, StephanieIn recent years, self-care has become a qualification for many social work organizations. At the same time, mental distress has been receiving significant attention. Through this period, government policies have decreased funding to social services while increasing surveillance. As well, social media has increasingly become a source of governmentality as a useful tool for perpetuating dominant narratives, surveilling each other and the self. The purpose of this study is to explore these connections through a Foucauldian Discourse Analysis on self-care posts from Instagram. My analysis uses post-structural literature on mad studies, neoliberalism, whiteness, and feminism. A major theme of my analysis regards evidence of reification of the neoliberal state as self-care becomes the qualification for worker-citizen-subjects. The implications of self-care discourses for people struggling with mental distress are that those experiencing it are blamed for their individual choices. The paper concludes by exploring subjugated discourses, relevance for social work and suggestions for future research.Item Open Access Economic Recovery for Whom? Jobs, Business, and Homo Oeconomicus in BC’s COVID-19 Economic Recovery Plan(2021-04) Zainal, ShilaThis qualitative study examines how neoliberal rationality is reproduced and reinforced, in addition to how certain lives are centered while others marginalized and excluded, in British Columbia’s COVID-19 pandemic economic recovery plan titled “Stronger BC for Everyone”. Utilizing Foucauldian Discourse Analysis, this study found that neoliberalism is sustained in this recovery plan through the discursive centering of jobs, business, and homo oeconomicus–the productive, self-interested, and entrepreneurial “economic man”. This paper also proposes that the realities of marginalized subjects and demands for radical alternatives are repackaged to uphold neoliberal rationality, leaving palpable silences on the realities of those who are the most marginalized throughout this pandemic. These reconfigurations and silences further entrench the hegemony of neoliberalism as the only common-sense solution to the existing inequities. Furthermore, this study illustrates the importance of re-politicizing social work and the need for more research radical alternatives to neoliberalism.Item Open Access Exploring Polysexual Experiences within Mental Healthcare and the Negotiation of In/Visibility: A Qualitative Arts-Based Inquiry(2020-04) DeAngelis, AlyssaContemporary research has found that polysexual people (who are sexually and/or romantically attracted to multiple genders) report poorer mental health when compared to monosexual people (Arnett, Frantell, Miles, & Fry, 2019; Bostwick, Boyd, Hughes, & McCabe, 2010; Brennan, Ross, Dobinson, Veldhuizen, & Steele, 2010; Flanders, Gos, Dobinson, & Logie, 2015; Steele, Ross, Dobinson, Veldhuizen, & Tinmouth, 2009). Furthermore, data from the 2003 and 2005 Canadian Community Health Surveys found that, “Bisexuals were more likely to report unmet [physical and mental] health care needs, compared with heterosexual Canadians” (Tjepkema, 2008, p. 62). Thus, this study explored the research question: “How do polysexual identified individuals wish to be seen, understood, and/or engaged within the specific context of mental healthcare?” The framework for this study was based on Daley’s (2013) theory of “negotiating in/visibility” in psychiatric service spaces. In the current study, six people participated in a semi-structured interview and four participants additionally completed a reflexive photography exercise (which included photographs and text). All mediums of data were brought together to discuss the following four themes: intersectionality; relevance; physical, online and community presence; and resistance. Findings revealed (respectively) that polysexual people wish to be seen as intersectional bodies, for their sexuality to be understood through their own perspectives as it relates (or not) to mental healthcare, to be engaged with through queer politics, and for therapeutic services to not be yet another space where they must resist oppression. While these results are not revolutionary by any means, they convey – often unmet – needs of polysexual people, from which service providers can reflect upon their own practice.Item Open Access Exploring the Impact of Client Suicide on Social Workers: A Phenomenological Study(2018) Duffy, AmberThis research aims to further the understanding of how the phenomenon of client suicide is experienced. Using phenomenology, registered social workers were interviewed to garner an understanding of how client suicide is experienced within the social work perspective. Client suicide research has largely focused on the experience of other professions such as psychology and psychiatry, despite social workers often working with people who have suicidal ideation. Understanding how social workers make meaning of, and are possibly affected by their clients dying by suicide, is valuable in avoiding trauma, grief, and burn out. This research used a constructivist lens to interpret how various social workers experienced the same phenomenon differently, examining the question, “how do social workers describe their experience of client suicide and its impact on their personal and professional lives?”Item Open Access Exposing and Closing the Knowledge Gap in Canada for Indigenous People: What is working to support Indigenous students in schools today from an Indigenous perspective(2017) McKay, TsitraThe major focus of this project explores what factors enable Indigenous people to continue in education despite all the barriers they face. Furthermore the research looks at how the education system can continue to improve to support Indigenous people through post-secondary. Moreover, the research looks at what the implications to government and educators are now that the TRC (2015) recommendations have been released and how they are being implemented. Most importantly my research was done in collaboration with Indigenous peoples through a sharing circle and interviews using Indigenous research methodology which is holistic, sacred and honors Indigenous knowledge.Item Open Access Fatphobia as Marginalization: The Impacts on Women in the Public Sphere(2021-04) Schmalz, HayleyThis paper seeks to explore the impact that fatphobia has on Western society, specifically the female body. Using existing literature, this research aims to deepen the knowledge and experience around fatphobia and its pervasiveness in the public sphere. Key questions explored are centered around how fatphobia impacts women in Western society, how fatphobia is created and maintained, and the exploration of where fatphobia is most pervasive in a person’s life. The study will analyze its research findings through a feminist and intersectional theoretical perspective. Some of the key findings in this study were that fatphobia is largely connected to patriarchy, Western culture, and colonization. As well as classism and neoliberalist ideologies and how these ideologies create and maintain fatphobic beliefs. The intersection between fatphobia and race was explored, however, there was a significant lack of perspective in the literature from fat women of colour. Additionally, analysis on the biomedical discourse around obesity and weight discrimination was explored, eliciting extreme discrimination against fat bodies. Based on this information, it is apparent that awareness of fatphobia needs to be explored further in professional research and in day-to-day life. Specifically, recognizing fatphobia as a form of marginalization is recommended to be included in social work education and implemented into social work practice to ensure more inclusive knowledge and practice.Item Open Access Feature Profile - CUPE Faculty and Former Alum William Woolrich(2018-09) Woolrich, William; Saadi, SalmaWilliam Woolrich has several years of experience working in direct practice as a social worker on a forensic mental health team and then managing a supportive housing program. He also has over a decade of experience teaching social work, much of it online, and has several conference presentations exploring innovative teaching methods in post-secondary education. He has a MSW from York University’s School of Social Work and is now a Doctoral Candidate in the Faculty of Education at York University where he is focusing on teaching and learning in higher education and, in particular, examining critical approaches to pedagogy for students considering a career in social service administration. Most recently, he has accepted a full-time faculty position at George Brown College where he teaches in the Community Worker Program. In this interview, William discusses his passion for teaching, his social work field experience and the CUPE 3903 strike.Item Open Access Feature Profile - Field Instructor Leyla Didari(2018-07) Didari, Leyla; Saadi, SalmaLeyla Didari is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) with two Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees from Iran and Canada. She currently works as a social worker at Compass ACT Team at Michael Garron Hospital with adults with chronic mental health issues. She is using an eclectic approach tailored to the unique needs of each client. Leyla has over 16 years of experience in a variety of settings and with diverse clients, including both patients with physical and/or mental health issues. Leyla is always challenging herself. She went through so many changes in her life, such as changing her career from nursing to social work, immigrating to Canada and starting over, learning a new language and going through various academic programs in her new country, such as IESW (International Educated Social Worker) Program at Ryerson University, as well as MSW Program at the University of Windsor, while working full time. She is continuously seeking to gain more skills and broaden her education. For instance, Leyla has spent many hours of training to become a WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) facilitator and a certified Auricular Acupuncture Specialist. Leyla tries to provide an environment of compassion and support to help her clients and families overcome obstacles to move forward and thrive. This is what Leyla had to say about her experience working as a social worker in Canada and supervising York University social work students.Item Open Access Feature Profile - Part-Time Faculty and Alumnus Brenton Diaz(2018-11) Diaz, Brenton; Saadi, SalmaBrenton Diaz received both his BSW and MSW at York University, as well as receiving a BA in Social Development Studies at the University of Waterloo. While studying for his MSW, his Practice-Based Research Paper analyzed the services provided to Mexican Migrant Farm Workers in Canada and was awarded the Gerry Erickson Prize for Best Paper. He currently teaches several courses in the School of Social Work at York University, and has also taught at Lakehead University and Georgian College, as well as in several post-secondary institutions in Lithuania, Kenya and the Ukraine. He works as the Clinical Coordinator of the Adult Program at Cedar Centre, an agency based in York Region that works with people who have experienced interpersonal trauma as children (his position at Cedar Centre began as a BSW placement, arranged by York when his original placement fell through). Brenton has also consulted with local agencies and community leaders on violence and trauma in Malawi, Dominican Republic and Rwanda.Item Open Access Feature Profile - Social Work Alumna Sonya Bourgeois(2018-10) Bourgeois, Sonya; Saadi, SalmaSonya Bourgeois completed her Master's of Social Work at York University, and is currently a policy professional with the Ontario Public Service. She has led projects in the areas of violence against women, health policy, community and social service delivery, and gender-based policy and program development. She has published in the areas of women and HIV, and access to abortion in Canada. Early in her career, she worked as a fundraising professional in the areas of human rights, mental health, and community development. She is a former staff of the Redwood Shelter and currently a member of their Board of Directors.Item Open Access Feature Profile: Michelle Del Carmen, Field Instructor and President of The Centre for Dreams(2018-01) Del Carmen, Michelle; SAADI, SalmaFeature Profile: Michelle has been a part of The Centre for Dreams family from the very beginning. The need for the program came to light the day her brother John turned 21 and was finished school. Michelle graduated from The University of Windsor with a Bachelor of Social Work in 2000 and has been working in the field of disabilities all her life. As a result of having John as her brother, she has been instrumental in advocating for the rights of persons with disabilities from a very young age. She found her niche working at The Centre for Dreams and is very proud to be associated with such an outstanding organization that truly makes a difference in the lives of adults with a developmental disability. Michelle has been supervising students for sixteen years and York students for eleven years. She is also a long-time member of York University’s School of Social Work Field Education Committee, sitting on the committee for 8 years. The Centre for Dreams is a Markham day program that provides services for adults living with a developmental disability from across York and Durham Region. The Centre for Dreams provides special individuals with educational programs and social skills training with the hopes of integrating them into the community – both independently and confidently.Item Open Access Feature Profile: PhD Social Work Alumna Nimo Bokore(2018-08) Bokore, Nimo; Saadi, SalmaAs part of our Feature Profile series, the School of Social Work interviewed PhD Social Work Alumna Nimo Bokore. Nimo completed her PhD at the School of Social Work at York University and currently teaches at the School of Social Work at Carleton University. In this interview Nimo discusses studying at York, her research and teaching at Carleton.Item Open Access Feature Profile: Elene Lam, Alumni, Field Instructor and Executive Director of of Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network)(2018-04) Lam, Elene; Saadi, SalmaElene Lam is the founder and Executive Director of Butterfly (Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support Network) and the Migrant Sex Workers Project. She has been involved in both the gender and sex work movements, as well as migrant and labour activism for almost 20 years. She has conducted training and presentations to community members, services providers and policy markers on sex work, migration, anti-oppressive practice and human rights in more than 20 countries, including the United States, Australia, Japan, Hong Kong and Switzerland. She also submitted and presented a brief to the Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights in Canada and the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women of the United Nations in Geneva to advocate for the rights and safety of migrant sex workers. Elene holds a Master of Law, a Bachelor of Law and a Bachelor of Social Work. In 2014, she received a Master of Social Work from York University and is currently doing her PhD in the School of Social Work at McMaster University.Item Open Access Feature Profile: Field Instructor Kristen Lwin(2019) Lwin, Kristen; Saadi, SalmaKristen is serving as the Executive Director of Practice and Research Together, a national non-profit knowledge translation organization for child welfare. Kristen has led the development of a curriculum focused on promoting research evidence use in child welfare. Kristen has over twenty years of clinical experience with victims of crime and in the child welfare system and child welfare research and evaluation. Kristen's research is focused on how child welfare worker and organizational factors effect service user outcomes. Kristen has a Doctorate in social work from the University of Toronto.