7 DRUŽBOSLOVNE RAZPRAVE/Social Science Forum, XXXVIII (2022), 101 Drage bralke, dragi bralci! Kot smo napovedali že v uvodu k septembrski izdaji revije, leto 2022 zaključu- jemo z decembrsko številko, ki obsega obširen tematski blok petih prispevkov, ki so nastali kot rezultat sodelovanja z gostujočo urednico Darjo Zaviršek s Fakultete za socialno delo Univerze v Ljubljani. Tematski sklop je v širšem smislu posvečen vprašanju spola v kontekstu socialnega dela, v ožjem pa tematizira številne vidike razvoja profesionalizacije socialnega dela, izobraževalnega sistema in socialnih politik. Članki obenem aktualizirajo vprašanja socialnega dela in socialnih delavk na posameznih študijah primerov v različnih časovnih obdobjih, konkretneje v letih od 1945 do 1950, od 1945 do 1960, v šestdesetih in sedemdesetih letih 20. stoletja ter med obema vojnama. Te informativno bogate in vsebinsko nadvse relevantne tematike presegajo disciplinarne okvire socialnega dela, saj odpirajo številna aktualna vprašanja na področju pravic žensk, kar prepričljivo oriše tudi uvodnik v tematski sklop z naslovom Izkušenjska zgodovina socialnega dela pod avtorstvom gostujoče urednice Darje Zaviršek. Posamezni prispevki sodelujočih avtoric, Mateje Jeraj, Nine Vodopivec, Dunje Dobaja, Sare Pistotnik in Darje Zaviršek, so nastali v okviru raziskovalnega pro- jekta Socialno delo kot družbena naprava solidarnosti: izbrane problematike v zgodovinski in izkušenjski optiki, ki ga sofinancira Javna agencija za raziskovalno dejavnost Republike Slovenije (ARRS). Podobno kot v septembrski številki gre torej tudi v tokratnem tematskem bloku za znanstvene prispevke, ki so plod intenzivnega raziskovalnega dela v okviru konkretnega raziskovalnega projekta. Raziskovalni projekti so dobro – seveda pa ne edino možno – izhodišče za tematske številke, ki predstavljajo rezultate tematsko, disciplinarno in metodološko načrtno usmerjenega raziskovanja, za katerim stoji sistematično pridobivanje podatkov in različnih gra- div. Ker gre običajno za timsko delo, je natančna obdelava gradiv in interpretacija rezultatov kakovostnejša, predvsem pa gre za zaokrožene ideje, ki nastajajo v individualnih ali skupinskih prispevkih. Sam postopek najave tematskih številk v Družboslovnih razpravah je sicer formalno gledano utečen: zainteresirane skupine oz. gostujoči uredniki uredništvo najprej seznanijo s pisnim konceptualnim načrtom, h kateremu dodajo konkreten seznam predvidenih prispevkov skupaj s kratkimi povzetki in pripadajočimi avtorji. Prijavljeno temo nato pregleda uredniški odbor, ki lahko vsebinsko poseže v samo idejno strukturo in usmeri nadaljnje delo na tematskem sklopu. Po odobritvi teme in uskladitvi časovnih rokov se začne intenzivno delo na tematski številki, ki običajno zajema redno komunikacijo glavnih urednic z gostujočimi uredniki. Vloga gostujoče- ga urednika je primarno usmerjena v koordinacijo z vabljenimi avtorji in predvsem v skrb za pravočasno oddajo obljubljenih prispevkov. Odgovornost za realizacijo je v tej fazi v celoti na plečih gostujočih urednikov; če avtorji zamujajo ali njihovi 8 DRUŽBOSLOVNE RAZPRAVE/Social Science Forum, XXXVIII (2022), 101 UVOD prispevki ne dosegajo zahtevanih kriterijev revije, lahko zasnovani projekt pade. Šele v drugi fazi se delo na prispevkih prenese na samo uredništvo revije, ki v celoti poskrbi za recenzentski postopek in nadaljnjo komunikacijo z avtorji. Gostujoči ure- dniki so v tej fazi praviloma »izvzeti«, saj je končna odobritev vseh prispevkov tudi v tematskih sklopih pogojena z odobritvijo recenzentov, za kar poskrbi uredništvo revije; gostujoči uredniki sicer sodelujejo pri predlogih recenzentov, saj področje tudi najbolje poznajo, v samem ocenjevanju prispevkov pa praviloma ne. Napovedana tematska številka lahko v končni fazi mestoma odstopa od dejanskega bloka, saj ni nujno, da bodo vsi prispevki uresničili pričakovanja recenzentov, glavnih urednic in nenazadnje uredniškega odbora, ki ne potrjuje zgolj napovedi številke, ampak tudi končna besedila, preden gredo v tisk. Če je sam postopek najave in poteka priprave tematskih številk relativno for- maliziran, pa se same spodbude za pripravo tematskih številk mnogokrat začnejo povsem neformalno: na raznih dogodkih, ob predstavitvah referatov na posame- znih konferencah, okroglih mizah, strokovnih srečanjih ali ob praznovanju obletnic strokovnih združenj, oddelkov, raziskovalnih skupin ipd. Ker so to priložnosti, na katerih se med drugim pogovarjamo tudi o lastnem delu, se tam lahko porodijo tudi nepričakovana in nadvse prijetna sodelovanja. Takšna srečanja so lahko ne- napovedan vir idej, za doseganje vsebinske raznolikosti pa je pomembno, da je budno tudi samo uredništvo. Tudi tokratna tematska številka je idejno pot pričela na neformalen način na enem od javnih dogodkov: natančneje 29. septembra 2021, ko je Mirovni inštitut na Letnem vrtu Gala Hale priredil osrednji dogodek ob 30. obletnici svojega delovanja. Da pa decembrsko številko, ki je pred vami, uvajamo s samostojnim prispev- kom Iztoka Šorija in Leje Markelj, ki oba prihajata z omenjenega inštituta, je zgolj simpatično naključje, tako kot je naključje, da tudi ta prispevek obravnava temo s področja dela. Članek z naslovom Sistematičen pregled literature o poklicnih tve- ganjih, strategijah in politikah v seksualnem delu v Sloveniji med drugim poglobljeno orisuje tveganja, povezana s stigmo, varnostjo, zdravjem seksualnih delavcev in delavk, kot tudi z ovirami na ravni politik. Avtorja v sistematični analizi med drugim opozorita na potrebe po spremembi regulacije, informiranja in zaščite ter k spod- bujanju profesionalizacije seksualnega dela. S tematizacijo dela se celotna številka vsebinsko zaokrožuje tudi v sklopu recen- zij knjig. Marko Hočevar namreč piše o knjigi Jessice Whyte z naslovom Morala trga: človekove pravice in vzpon neoliberalizma, Svenja Fischbach pa v recenziji v angleškem jeziku predstavlja monografijo Tanje Višić z naslovom Peripheral Labour Mobilities. Elder Care Work between the Former Yugoslavia and Germany. V imenu uredniške ekipe vam želimo prijetno branje in uspešno 2023! Tanja Oblak Črnič, sourednica Družboslovnih razprav 9 DRUŽBOSLOVNE RAZPRAVE/Social Science Forum, XXXVIII (2022), 101 INTRODUCTION Dear readers, As announced in the introduction to the September issue of Social Science Forum, the December issue brings 2022 to a close with an extensive special issue conta- ining five articles written in cooperation with guest editor Darja Zaviršek from the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Social Work. This special issue explores various aspects of gender in the context of social work; more specifically, several aspects at stake in the process of the professionalisation of social work, the positioning of social care in the local education system, and social work in the context of social policies. The contributions also draw on case studies from different time periods, namely 1945–1950, 1945–1960, the 1960s, the 1970s, and the interwar period, to demonstrate the relevance held today by some of the biggest dilemmas in social work and to shed light on the position women hold in social care. These rich, informative and thematically diverse contributions reach beyond the disciplinary framework of social work, opening up many topical issues in the field of women’s rights, as convincingly outlined by Darja Zaviršek in her editorial entitled The Experiential History of Social Work. Written by Mateja Jeraj, Nina Vodopivec, Dunja Dobaja, Sara Pistotnik and Darja Zaviršek, the featured articles were developed as part of the research project Social Work as a Social Apparatus of Solidarity: Selected Problems in an Historic and Experiential Optics co-funded by the Slovenian Research Agency. Like the September issue, this thematic block also presents the results of intensive research in a specific research project. Research projects provide a good – but, of course, not the only possible – starting point for special issues that aim to bring the results of thematically, disciplinary and methodologically-focused scientific inquiry to the surface based on systematic data collection and the acquisition of various materials. Typically based on teamwork, project-based special issues involve high level of data processing and interpretation. Such issues also tend to offer well-rounded ideas as part of individual or collective contributions. Publishing a special issue of Social Science Forum must comply with a formal set of procedures. First, interested groups or guest editors prepare a written con- ceptual framework, accompanied by a list of planned contributions with abstracts and corresponding authors. The submission is then reviewed by the editorial bo- ard, which may ask for the content and structure of the proposal to be adjusted. After approval of the proposal and deadlines, intensive work on the thematic issue begins, mostly involving regular communication between the editors-in-chief and the guest editors. The guest editor plays a coordinating role, communicating with the invited authors and particularly that the submissions are delivered on time. At this stage, the guest editor bears all responsibility for the process; if the authors are late or their contributions do not satisfy the journal’s criteria, the proposed issue 10 DRUŽBOSLOVNE RAZPRAVE/Social Science Forum, XXXVIII (2022), 101 UVOD might fail to see the light of day. It is only in the second phase that the materials are transferred to the editorial team, which takes care of the review process and further communication with the authors. Guest editors are generally ‘excluded’ from this phase since final approval of all contributions, even in the thematic sections, is subject to the reviewers’ agreement. Although guest editors are leading experts in a given field and take part in suggesting peer reviewers, they are not involved in the actual peer review process. The planned special issue might thus be a little different from the final outcome. This is because sometimes not every contribution will meet the expectations of the reviewers, editors-in-chief and editorial board, which not only confirms the proposal, but also the final texts before they go to press. While the process of proposing a special issue is relatively formal, initial ideas often sprout quite informally: at various events, conferences, roundtables, profes- sional meetings or at anniversary events celebrating professional associations, departments, research groups etc. Among others, such opportunities allow collea- gues to discuss their work, sometimes leading to unexpected and very rewarding collaborations. While such meetings can be a source of ideas, the editors must also be alert to ensure the content diversity and relevance of a special issue. In fact, the special issue you are now holding was itself conceived at one of these public events: on 29 September 2021, when the Peace Institute was celebrating its 30th anniversary in the summer garden of the Gala Hala club in Ljubljana. The fact this December issue begins with an article by Iztok Šori and Leja Markelj, who both work at the Peace Institute, is just a nice coincidence; equally coincidentally, their contribution also deals with the concept of work. Entitled Systematic Literature Review on Occupational Risks, Strategies and Policies in Sex Work in Slovenia, this article provides an in-depth discussion of the risks associated with sex workers’ stigma, safety and health, as well as certain key policy-level obstacles. In this concise analysis, the authors highlight the vital need for changes in the areas of regulation, information and protection, along with the need for the professionalisation of sex work. The book reviews appearing at the end of this issue address questions related to work as well. Marko Hočevar discusses the Slovenian translation of Jessica Whyte‘s book The Morals of the Market: Human Rights and the Rise of Neoliberalism, while Svenja Fischbach’s book review – our first to be published in English – presents Tanja Višić’s monograph entitled Peripheral Labour Mobilities. Elder Care Work between the Former Yugoslavia and Germany. The Social Science Forum editorial team wishes you enjoyable reading and a successful 2023! Tanja Oblak Črnič, co-editor-in-chief of Social Science Forum