Social Work, Risk, Power

2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Smith
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Action ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Substantial Impact ◽  
Related Material ◽  
The Social ◽  
Relational Domains ◽  
The Individual

Contemporary ideas and strategies of both ‘risk’ and ‘power’ are significant and dynamic influences in social theory and social action, and they can therefore be expected to have a substantial impact on the ways in which social work is constituted, practiced and evaluated. In this article, I shall articulate distinct conceptualisations and debates about each of these, before considering their inter-relationships and the implications of these for our thinking about what social work is, and what it should be. Firstly, I will consider social work's contested and problematic place within the broader welfare domain. It is recognised as being a form of activity which inhabits an ambiguous and uncertain position at the interface between the individual and the social, and between the marginalised and the mainstream. Building on this, ‘power’ will be shown to infuse social work ideas and practices in a number of distinct dimensions, linking and bridging ‘personal’, ‘positional’ and ‘relational’ domains. This discussion will be juxtaposed with a discussion of ‘risk’ and the part it has come to play in shaping and infusing social work practices, especially but not exclusively with children. The deconstruction of contemporary understandings and uses of risk as a central and ‘authoritative’ feature of assessment and decision-making will inform the argument that it can be viewed as a vehicle for the maintenance and legitimation of power relations which disenfranchise and oppress those who are most vulnerable. In conclusion, I will summarise the ways in which conventional understandings and inter-related material realities of power and risk are often hierarchical, uni-directional and oppressive; and on this basis, how they can be laid open to challenge. The reconceptualisation and remaking of power relations will be shown to have direct consequences for the ways in which risk is defined and addressed as a social work ‘problem’.

Accent Policy and Accent Modification Enterprises as Potential Indicators of Intercultural Power Relations: A Call for an Updated Research Agenda

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brynne D. Ovalle ◽  
Rahul Chakraborty
Keyword(s):  
International Relations ◽  
Identity Construction ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Linguistic Diversity ◽  
Cultural Organization ◽  
Using Data ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

This article has two purposes: (a) to examine the relationship between intercultural power relations and the widespread practice of accent discrimination and (b) to underscore the ramifications of accent discrimination both for the individual and for global society as a whole. First, authors review social theory regarding language and group identity construction, and then go on to integrate more current studies linking accent bias to sociocultural variables. Authors discuss three examples of intercultural accent discrimination in order to illustrate how this link manifests itself in the broader context of international relations (i.e., how accent discrimination is generated in situations of unequal power) and, using a review of current research, assess the consequences of accent discrimination for the individual. Finally, the article highlights the impact that linguistic discrimination is having on linguistic diversity globally, partially using data from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and partially by offering a potential context for interpreting the emergence of practices that seek to reduce or modify speaker accents.

Counterfactuals in Health and Risk Messaging

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina A. Iles ◽  
Xiaoli Nan
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Counterfactual Thinking ◽  
Depth Information ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Positive Events ◽  
Political Sciences ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One ◽  
The Individual ◽  
And Control

Counterfactual thinking is the process of mentally undoing the outcome of an event by imagining alternate antecedent states. For example, one might think that if they had given up smoking earlier, their health would be better. Counterfactuals are more frequent following negative events than positive events. Counterfactuals have both aversive and beneficial consequences for the individual. On the one hand, individuals who engage in counterfactual thinking experience negative affect and are prone to biased judgment and decision making. On the other hand, counterfactuals serve a preparative function, and they help people reach their goals in the future by suggesting effective behavioral alternatives. Counterfactual thoughts have been found to influence an array of cognitive processes. Engaging in counterfactual thinking motivates careful, in-depth information processing, increases perceptions of self-efficacy and control, influences attitudes toward social matters, with consequences for behavioral intentions and subsequent behaviors. Although it is a heavily studied matter in some domains of the social sciences (e.g., psychology, political sciences, decision making), counterfactual thinking has received less attention in the communication discipline. Findings from the few studies conducted in communication suggest that counterfactual thinking is a promising message design strategy in risk and health contexts. Still, research in this area is critically needed, and it represents an opportunity to expand our knowledge.

New regulation of the right to a dignified dying in Spain: Repercussions for nursing

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 619-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cayetano Fernández-Sola ◽  
José Granero-Molina ◽  
Gabriel Aguilera Manrique ◽  
Adelaida María Castro-Sánchez ◽  
José Manuel Hernández-Padilla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Critical Discourse Analysis ◽  
Patient Empowerment ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Analysis Methodology ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Right ◽  
Discourse Practice

Preserving dignity during the dying process requires reviewing the roles of those involved in the treatment, care methods and decision-making. This article examines the participation and responsibility assigned to nurses regarding decision-making in the final stages of life, as laid out in the Rights to and Guarantee of Dignity for the Individual During the Process of Death Act. This text has been analysed on the levels of socio-cultural practice and discourse practice, using the critical discourse analysis methodology. The results show that, although the law is another result of the social trend of patient empowerment, the responsibility of the nurses is not recognised, and they are left out of the decision-making process in the final stages of life.

Managing participation and turn-taking in children’s digital activities: touch in blocking a peer’s hand

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teppo Jakonen ◽  
Kreeta Niemi
Keyword(s):  
Social Action ◽  
Hand Movements ◽  
Classroom Activities ◽  
Multimodal Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Digital Classroom ◽  
Controlling Actions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Primary School Pupils ◽  
Material Setting

This article investigates touch in the social organization of digital classroom activities as small groups of primary school pupils animate a story by using a shared iPad. Such a socio-material setting foregrounds haptic resources for action and requires coordination of hand movements on and around the screen. The groups in our data treat the animation as a product that takes its shape through the individual members operating the device one at a time. Our analysis focuses on how the haptic practice of blocking a peer’s hand is deployed to manage competition for a turn at using the tablet and to resolve the problem of its simultaneous manual operation by two or more participants. The blocks we describe are non-intensive human-to-human touches with varying duration whereby one participant prevents another from accessing the screen by sweeping the latter’s hand aside or grabbing and holding it. We show through a multimodal analysis how blocks accomplish the social action of claiming a turn for the blocker by investigating how they emerge sequentially, how participants operating the tablet anticipate peer interruption with ready-to-block hand movements, and how blocks are complied with or resisted. In our conclusion, we consider to what extent the young children in our data treat blocks as morally problematic and socially controlling actions, and how digital technologies shape educational practices.

scholarly journals Empowerment i velfærdsarbejde fordrer professionel læring

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Maja Lundemark Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Power Relations ◽  
Professional Competence ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Relational Work ◽  
Democratic Principles ◽  
The Individual

ResuméDet sociale og pædagogiske velfærdsarbejde i Danmark har udviklet sig, så der kan iagttages to modsatrettede tendenser, hvor den ene handler om mere kontrol og sanktioner i velfærdsarbejdet, og den anden handler om at øge borgernes deltagelse og ejerskab i egen sag. Denne artikel diskuterer om – og hvordan – det er muligt at øge borgernes deltagelse og ejerskab i egen sag gennem en kommunikativ kompetenceudvikling hos de professionelle. Artiklens fokus er en undersøgelse af, hvordan et praksisforskningsprojekt kan bidrage til refleksion og læring i den professionelle praksis, som kan medvirke til et øget samarbejde mellem borger og professionel. Observationer og direkte supervision af praksis kan danne en frugtbar akse, hvor organisation, profession og forskning spiller sammen i en kritisk konstruktiv optik, der kan omsættes i læring og konkrete produktive forandringer i mødet mellem system og borger. AbstractEmpowerment within modern welfare requires professional skills. Power and power relations are dominant concepts in any form of social and relational work in modern welfare. In order to create an empowering partnership between service users and social workers it is necessary to research the production of power and to make power relations visible and negotiable. Service users’ perspectives and democratic principles could strengthen empowerment processes and develop social work practice. This article discusses how practice research as a process of collaboration is able to inform professional competence building and reflection to further cooperation between the professionals and the service users. Paying attention to details and micro processes in the individual meetings between service user and professional makes it obvious to understand how professionals can learn to communicate and work with empowerment in cooperation with the service users. On this basis the article concludes that it is possible for practice research – based on a close collaboration between research, social work and user perspectives – to inform new learning processes among professionals, and this in turn can contribute to a more empowering perspective in the collaboration between professionals and service users.

scholarly journals Clinical social work practices for adult offendersYetişkin hükümlülere yönelik klinik sosyal hizmet uygulamaları

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 620-634
Author(s):  
Esin Zengin Taş ◽  
Nurdan Duman
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Clinical Social Work ◽  
English Summary ◽  
Review Article ◽  
Clinical Knowledge ◽  
Work Practices ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
The Social ◽  
Individual Family ◽  
The Individual

In the historical process, crime has a long history. Crime is one of today's biggest social problem. Because of the consequences of crime to the whole society, prevention efforts have gained importance especially with the developments in the field of human rights. At this point today's prisons are places where the punishment foreseen by the law in return for the consequences of the crime are taken; also draw attention as institutions to prevent crime. One of the most important disciplines to prevent crime in prisons targeting rehabilitation is the social work profession. For this reason, social work practices in prison gain importance in terms of reducing the negative effects of the crime on the individual, family and society; contributing to the functional passage of the execution time; to intervene in accordance with the needs of special-needs offenders and  preventing re-offending.Based on all these; In this review article on clinical social work practices for adult offenders; It is intended to provide a perspective on the structure of today's prisons, current social work practices, population of prisons and theoretical and clinical knowledge and skills of the social worker working in the penitentiary system.Extended English summary is in the end of Full Text PDF (TURKISH) file. ÖzetTarihsel süreç içerisinde suç olgusunun uzun bir geçmişi bulunmaktadır. Suç günümüzün en büyük sosyal sorunlarından birisidir. Suçun tüm toplumu ilgilendiren sonuçları sebebiyle de önleme çalışmaları, özellikle insan hakları alanında var olan gelişmelerle birlikte önem kazanmıştır. Günümüz ceza infaz kurumları bu noktada suçun sonuçlarının karşılığında hukukun öngördüğü cezanın çekildiği yerler olmasının yanında; suçu önlemeye yönelik kurumlar olarak da dikkat çekmektedir.  Rehabilitasyonu hedefleyen Ceza İnfaz Kurumlarında suçu önlemeye ilişkin en önemli mesleklerden birisi de sosyal hizmet mesleğidir. Bu sebeple ceza infaz kurumlarındaki sosyal hizmet uygulamaları; suçun birey, aile ve toplum üzerindeki olumsuz etkilerini azaltmak, infaz sürecinin işlevsel geçmesine katkıda bulunmak, özel ihtiyaç sahibi hükümlülerin gereksinimlerine uygun müdahalelerde bulunmak ve en önemlisi yeniden suç işlemeyi önlemek anlamında önem kazanmaktadır. Tüm bunlardan hareketle; yetişkin suçlulara yönelik klinik sosyal hizmet uygulamalarını konu alan bu derleme yazısında; günümüz ceza infaz kurumlarının yapısı, mevcut sosyal hizmet uygulamaları, ceza infaz kurumu popülasyonu ve ceza infaz sisteminde çalışan sosyal hizmet uzmanının sahip olması gereken teorik ve klinik bilgi ve becerilere ilişkin bir bakış açısı sunulması amaçlanmaktadır.

scholarly journals Emotions, Emotional Intelligence and Professional Practice in Caring Professions

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 35-45
Author(s):  
Habibie Bte Hj Ibrahim ◽  
Norhamidah Jarimal ◽  
Nurul Hudani Md Nawi ◽  
Puteri Hayati Megat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Professional Practice ◽  
Great Emphasis ◽  
Working Relationships ◽  
Work Settings ◽  
The Social ◽  
Decision Making Processes

This paper based on literature review relates to emotions, emotional intelligence (EI) and their contributions to working relationships and decision-making processes are explored, particularly in social work settings. Little research has been conducted regarding emotion and Emotional Intelligence in the social work context. However, other caring professions such as health and nursing placed great emphasis on the importance of EI in their practice. Illness and healing processes occur within the context of relationships, and relationships are important frameworks for conceptualizing health care. This paper therefore aims to reveal the potential contributions of EI to working relationships with clients and decision-making processes in social work. This paper may provide some useful information for individuals and organizations as to how they can benefit from such contributions in order to develop more effective social work practices.

scholarly journals Algorithmic Accountability in Context. Socio-Technical Perspectives on Structural Causal Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaus Poechhacker ◽  
Severin Kacianka
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social System ◽  
Causal Models ◽  
The Social ◽  
Algorithmic Accountability ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
New Form ◽  
Automated Decision Making

The increasing use of automated decision making (ADM) and machine learning sparked an ongoing discussion about algorithmic accountability. Within computer science, a new form of producing accountability has been discussed recently: causality as an expression of algorithmic accountability, formalized using structural causal models (SCMs). However, causality itself is a concept that needs further exploration. Therefore, in this contribution we confront ideas of SCMs with insights from social theory, more explicitly pragmatism, and argue that formal expressions of causality must always be seen in the context of the social system in which they are applied. This results in the formulation of further research questions and directions.

scholarly journals Class conflicts, defense of rights and Social Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 20
Author(s):  
Jaime Hillesheim
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Theory ◽  
Social Service ◽  
Critical Social Theory ◽  
Professional Work ◽  
The Social ◽  
Political Project ◽  
Gyorgy Lukacs ◽  
Critical Social

Based on Marxian and Marxist assumptions, in particular, the contributions of György Lukács to law as ideology, we try to elicit reflection on the current theoretical and practical challenges to social service to prevent the profession from seeing its ethico-political project capitulate in view of the intensification of the capital offensive against labor. In this paper, the contradictions of the social worker’s work in defending and extending rights vis-a-vis the own logic of bourgeois sociability are discussed. We address the challenges imposed by the limits of such sociability, which require, to be faced, an understanding of critical social theory, given its potential to contribute to professional work in line with the values and principles of the aforementioned project.***Conflitos de classes, defesa de direitos e Serviço Social***A partir de pressupostos marxianos e marxistas, em particular, das contribuições de György Lukács sobre o direito como ideologia, procura-se, aqui, instigar a reflexão sobre os desafios teóricos e práticos do serviço social no tempo presente, para que a profissão não veja seu projeto ético-político capitular em face da intensificação da ofensiva do capital sobre o trabalho. No presente artigo são abordadas, essencialmente, as contradições do trabalho do assistente social na defesa e ampliação dos direitos em face da lógica própria da sociabilidade burguesa. São situados os desafios impostos pelos limites dessa sociabilidade que exigem, para o seu enfrentamento, a compreensão da teoria social crítica, haja vista seu potencial de subsidiar o trabalho profissional em consonância com os valores e princípios contantes do projeto supracitado.Palavras-chave: Luta de classes. Direitos. Emancipação Humana. Serviço social.

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