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Personal Computer Applications in the Social Services
David A. Patterson, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Social Work

ISBN-10: 0205285376
ISBN-13: 9780205285372

Publisher: Allyn & Bacon
Copyright: 2000
Format: Paper; 335 pp
Status: Out of Print

Suggested retail price: $61.60
This item is out of print and is no longer available for purchase.

This book demonstrates the usefulness of personal computers and readily available software in social service practice. It emphasizes how students and professionals can use information technology to acquire, synthesize, enhance, and analyze information that is used in human services practice.

The text includes numerous illustrations, including screen shots, of software procedures and techniques, and examples to demonstrate the application of particular computing skills. Each chapter ends with individual and group exercises designed to reinforce concepts and skills.

The text demonstrates the use of spreadsheet software in the collection and analysis of data, including procedures for collecting and displaying single system practice evaluation data. It illustrates the creation and use of charts and graphs in spreadsheet, and describes how to use word processing software to produce smart case notes, interactive documents, mail merges, and Web pages. Chapter 9 is devoted to practice applications of the Internet, the Web, and E-mail. Chapter 10 discusses the ethics of personal computing in social service practice.

  • Complete discussion of the use of personal computers in the social services, with examples and individual and group exercises.
  • Demonstrates the use of spreadsheet software in the collection and analysis of data, including single system practice evaluation data.
  • Demonstrates practice applications of the Internet, the Web, and E-mail, and includes an entire chapter on the ethics of personal computing as applied to social service practice.

Each chapter includes “Purpose,” “Chapter Summary,” and “Exercises.”

1.Comes a Revolution.

The Personal Computer as a Tool of Practice.

A Day in the Life of a Laptop.

Communication, Collaboration, and Cooperation.

Information Serving the Practitioner.

Daring to Imagine and Experiment.

Cultivating an Attitude of Openness.

Essential Limitations.



2.Hardware: The Basics and Beyond.

In and Out of the “Black Box.”

Basic Personal Computer Forms and Functions.

Information In: Keyboards to Captured Video.

Information Out: Monitors and Screens.

Storage and Retrieval.

Notebooks: A Desktop Alternative.

Purchasing a Personal Computer: Choices, Trade-Offs, and Sources.



3.Software: Basic Tools.

The Changed Face of Software.

Operating Systems Basics.

Applications: Tools for Tasks.

Application Suites: Tools That Work Together.

Web Browsers.

Utilities.



4.Spreadsheets: Multipurpose Tools.

Capturing Data.

Survey Data Collection.

Data Analysis: Making Sense of It All.

Simple Statistics (Not an Oxymoron!).

Data Analysis Tools.

Bivariate Analysis.

Multivariate Analysis.

Budgeting: Managing Fiscal Resources.



5.Databases: Information When and How You Want It.

Database Basics.

Database Applications in Social Service Practice.

Creating a Database.

Importing a Database.

Data Organization.

Data Selection.

Report Generation.



6.Graphics: Visual Representation of Practice Information.

Thinking Visually.

Graphical Representation.

Tools for Graphical Representation of Information: Spreadsheets.

Enhancing Graphs.

Exporting Graphs.

Spreadsheet Drawing Tools.

Ecomaps.

Genograms.

Organizational Charts.

Flow Charts.



7.Beyond Just Word Processing.

Smart Documents: Finding and Linking Information.

Graphics: Beyond Charts and Graphs.

Templates: Frequently Used Document Forms.

Mail Merge: From One to Many.

Web Page Development.



8.Presentation Software: Beyond Magic Markers and Posterboards.

Presentation Software's Fundamental Features.

Using Microsoft PowerPoint.

Using Lotus Freelance Graphics.

Using Corel Presentation.



9.The Internet as a Tool of Practice.

A Brief History of the Internet.

Gaining Access to the Internet.

E-Mail as a Tool of Practice.

The World Wide Web as a Tool of Practice.

Other Internet Tools.



10.Ethical Applications of Information Technology in Social Service Practice.

Informed Consent.

Protecting Confidentiality.

Electronic Storage of Information.

Electronic Transmission of Information.

Ethical Use of Software and other IT Resources.

Use of Intellectual Property.



References.


Glossary.


Index.

For Technology in Social Work and Social Welfare


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