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Abstract The realization of human rights standards depends in part on the commitment of local actors. It can be argued that local public service professionals such as social workers can also be regarded as key players. The possible role of social workers becomes imperative if these professionals are working in a policy context that is not congruent with human rights. If existing laws or policies cause or maintain disrespect for human rights, social workers are in a position to observe that this is having an adverse impact on clients. When social workers are regarded as human rights actors, the question arises how they can or should respond to law and policy that impedes them in carrying out their work with respect for human rights. This article adds to existing theories on social workers as human rights actors by examining the practices of social professionals working in such a challenging policy context. The research took place among professionals in social district teams in the city of Utrecht, the Netherlands. Following a series of decentralizations and austerity measures the social care landscape in the Netherlands has changed drastically over the last few years. As a result, social workers may find themselves on the one hand trying to realize the best possible care for their clients while on the other hand dealing with new laws and policy expectations focused on self-reliance and diminished access to specialist care. The article explores how social professionals’ responses to barriers in access to care affect human rights requirements. In doing so, this socio-legal study provides insight into the ways in which everyday social work relates to the realization of human rights at the local level.

The conductance of a system containing two tunnel point-contacts and a single subsurface scatterer in the presence of a magnetic field is investigated theoretically. A general formula for the dependence of the conductance on the distance between contacts, the defect position, and the magnetic field is obtained. It is shown that in the presence of a magnetic field the conductance undergoes Aharonov-Bohm type oscillations. We find a simple relation between the period of the oscillations and the depth of the subsurface impurity. On the basis of this fact a new and easy method of determination the depth of the buried impurity is proposed.

The conductance of a tunnel point-contact in an STM-like geometry having a single defect placed below the surface is investigated theoretically. The effect of quantum interference of electron waves, which are scattered by the contact and the defect, has been taken into account. It is shown that this effect leads to oscillations of the conductance as a function of applied voltage and position of the defect. We demonstrate that the amplitude and period of the conductance oscillations are determined by the local geometry of the Fermi surface. The influence of a quantizing magnetic field has been considered. We predict that the conductance exhibits specific magneto-quantum oscillations, the amplitude and period of which depend on the distance between the contact and the defect. It is shown that multiple electron scattering by the magnetic impurity and the metal surface plays a decisive role in the point-contact conductance at voltages near the Kondo resonance. We find that the shape of the Kondo anomaly depends on the position of the defect.