Introduction (1/2010)

Dear readers of our first number of the ERIS Web Journal 1/2010

All beginnings are difficult – please allow as to use this motto for the first number of our webjournal. As we, the seven partners of the European Research Institute in Social Work,

• the Faculty of Social Studies at the University of Ostrava (CZ)
• the Faculty of Social Work (Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt (D)
• the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work (University of Hertfordshire (UK)
• the Faculty of Social Work (Catholic University of Applied Sciences Koeln (D)
• the Faculty of Health and Social Care at the University of Trnava (SK)
• the Institut Social Vauban of the Catholic University of Lille (F)
• the Department of Social Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland (FIN)

started with our cooperation on research in social work we weren’t fully aware of all organisational problems which were to solve in order to create such a challenging enterprise: To strengthen research in social work and to use European experiences and results to improve the quality of social work both as science and practice.

Now this process of constitution has ended and we as the directors are happy to be able to present our platform for texts and debate: the ERIS Web Journal 1/2010 with some first articles from different authors connected to our network. Brian Littlechild and Heinz Wilfing/ Susanne Wurm on Social Work and Youth in England respectively Germany, Wendy Fitzgibbon on the topic oft Mentally Disordered Offenders in England and Juha Hämäläinen on Privatization of Social Care Services in England.

Future numbers will have more distinctive topics as e.g. “Social work and social policy in Europe” (2/2010), Child welfare in Europe (1/2011), Social work and diversity (2/2011) and social work and social space (1/2012), but there will be always space for other topics.

All scientists and especially readers of this journal are invited to send us their articles according to our guidelines. The articles will be refereed both internally and externally and then published in our journal.

We’re looking forward to hearing from authors of all European countries and to creating together a European platform for social work research findings.

With very best wishes

Oldrich Chytil, Dana Sykorova, Peter Erath