| Abstract [eng] |
The paper analyses a problem of immigration. This phenomenon is one of the manifestations of globalization. The work reviews a number of problems faced by immigrants, and analyses their safety prospects. The topic is relevant because immigration is a common phenomenon in Lithuania; however the scale is not that high as in foreign countries. The United States of America, Great Britain and other countries are taken for the comparison. The paper is divided into theoretical and empirical parts. Recently Lithuania faced a huge wave of emigration, and the question of immigrants was often a hot topic. This question regards the solution of the lack of workforce. Yet could this be only a short-term solution for the problem? What new problems immigrants will cause for Lithuania and its citizens? Is Lithuania ready to welcome more immigrants? Are the citizens of Lithuania mature enough to accept and tolerate different cultures? Will immigrants be socially safe? These are just a few questions that must be answered by the specialists, namely by the social workers. The paper differentiates social work specialists with a social work degree and those without a degree. Social workers are the best specialists as they are mediators between people and the system. The paper sets out to find whether the attitude of both aforementioned groups towards immigration and its problems differ in any way. The purpose of this research is to explore the differences in attitude towards immigration of social workers with a social work degree and those without a degree. Does higher education make any impact while assessing the situation of immigration in Lithuania. The research sets out to explore the attitude of respondents towards the phenomenon of immigration, its causes, safety and problems of immigrants. 80 respondents participated in the survey. Half of them were social workers with a social work degree, and the other 40 respondents were social workers without a social work degree. Questionnaire forms were used for this survey. The survey was conducted in March, 2009 in Vilnius social care centre. The method of purposive sampling was used because the research was specific. That is, respondents were chosen according to their ability to answer questions most accurately. In this instance the respondents were social workers. The results show that attitude towards immigration and its problems is in part statically different of social workers with a social work degree and of those without a degree. |
