Looking At Out Expectations Of Social Work Social Work Essay

The following sample essay on Looking At Out Expectations Of Social Work Social Work Essay. I am traveling to briefly discourse the significances of hazard. Whilst I am cognizant that there are many theories of hazard, I have identified three chief subjects and will be researching these in relation to modern-day societal work, the subjects of governmentality, cultural theory and hazard society. Present twenty-four hours societal work is concerned with affairs of exposure and hazard. Media coverage of serious instance reviews sing the deceases of kids have led to an onslaught of unfavorable judgment into societal work pattern.

In looking for definitions to specify hazard, I found several significances. Traditionally hazard was defined neutrally as a ‘chance ‘ or likelihood a behavior or event will happen, for illustration the possibility of a addition every bit good as a loss. Kemshall ( 2002 ) discusses the utilizations of hazard to insurance and a mathematical chance attack to hazard. In postmodern society, hazard is now attributed to the footings of “ danger ” or “ jeopardy ” .

The construct of ‘Governmentality ‘ was developed by the Gallic philosopher Michel Foucault in the ulterior old ages of his life between the late 1970 ‘s and his decease in 1984. His construct provides an apprehension of power, non merely in footings of the power of the province from a top-down attack, but in the “ more elusive signifiers of power exercised through a web of establishments, patterns, processs and techniques which act to modulate societal behavior ”.

Power is noticeable in a positive manner through the production of cognition and discourses that are internalised by persons, steering the behavior of populations and taking to more efficient signifiers of societal control.

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Parton ( 1994 ) cited in Pease ( 2002 ) writes how persons permit authorities at a distance through being encouraged and supported to exert freedom and pick. Because power is de-centred persons play a function in their ain self-governance. Criticisms of Foucault argue that he fails to recognize that power is non equal to all. It can besides be argued that he lacks mention to the exercising of power in relation to race, age, gender and category, particularly how accessible power is between different societal groups. Cooper  argues about the “ character ” of the engineerings of power sing racialist and gendered discourses being used. It was argued that Foucault was non attentive to how people respond to discourses in their day-to-day lives.

Critics besides believed that Foucault lacked consciousness in the power establishments had over persons and that persons behaviour in society was down to following regulations of conventions. Feminist critics such as Hartstock  believe Foucault ‘s apprehension of power diminishes persons to objects of power than persons able to defy. Foucault ‘s work on specifying the dealingss and mechanisms of power like governmentality can back up societal workers to believe about their place of power within the constructions ( that maintain the subjugation of service users ) in their work. Empowerment uses societal scientific discipline to work out societal jobs and is a societal justness discourse in societal work. It allows societal workers to redistribute power and cognition in their pattern, whilst challenging and battling unfairness and subjugation. Empowerment develops capacities of persons, whilst underscoring single duty.

Pease ( 2002:137 ) argues that there is an premise that power is something that can be given and authorising person is to confabulate. Therefore as Braye and Preston-Shoot ( 2003:100 ) discuss, authorization is about “ laden people taking the power and demanding to be heard ” . Because cognition is cardinal to understanding power within society, in order to authorise service users there must be a reallocation of cognition, an “ rebellion of subjugated cognition ” as indicated by Foucault ( 1977 ) . Listening to service users and leting them to hold more control over seeking solutions to their jobs or placing their demands within the wider societal context, is another illustration of authorization. We belong to many societal groups, some by pick and some because they are forced upon us. Within these groups, some have more or less power over others. Social workers need to be cognizant of difference and diverseness and develop a greater sense of ego consciousness about the hazards of labelling, pigeonholing and keeping subjective beliefs. The term ‘Risk Society ‘ describes a society that is exposed to harm as a consequence of human activity. German sociologist Ulrich Beck ( 1992 ) foremost used the term, although British sociologist Anthony Giddens has besides written on the same capable affair.

Both writers argue worlds have ever been subjected to put on the line, e.g. natural catastrophes but these are seen as being caused by non-human forces. Modern society is now exposed to hazards such as terrorist act, chemical pollution and atomic power. Giddens ( 1999 ) defines these as ‘external ‘ and ‘manufactured hazards ‘ , external being hazards originating from nature ( e.g. implosion therapy ) and manufactured hazards being the consequence of human activity, e.g. developments in scientific discipline and engineering. As worlds are responsible for manufactured hazards, both Beck and Giddens argue that societies can measure the degree of hazard being produced in a automatic manner that can change the planned activity itself. Peoples are now more wary of what professionals tell us, which is different to the position of the older coevals. We are more critical of professionals and more likely to oppugn them They believe there is an addition in reflexiveness ( the thought that society can accommodate to new hazards ) as a response to hazard and uncertainness in postmodern society, but Beck ( 1992:21 ) relates this to more hazards and jeopardies being produced, where Giddens ( 1999:3 ) believes in human subjectiveness being more sensitive to put on the line.

Criticisms of hazard society inquiry the degree of hazard in postmodern society. Turner ( 1994: 180 ) inquiries whether life has become more hazardous in the present twenty-four hours, than how it affected persons in the yesteryear. Ungar, cited in Goode and Ben-Yehuda ( 2009: 82 ) argues that the menaces of today infuse fright every bit good as, non alternatively of the past frights. Culture, race and gender do non have in both Beck and Giddens Hagiographas and it could be argued that it would be hard for an person to be automatic sing struggles of this nature. Joffe ( 1999 ) argues that there had been a failure to recognize emotion in regard to how people cope with life in a hazard society. Delanty ( 1999:171 ) draws from the unfavorable judgments by Lash, reasoning that Beck and Giddens do non recognize the cultural dimension of reflexiveness, due to ignoring corporate bureau such as the community in favor of individuality.

Social work has changed from a concern with demand to one of hazard. The media perceptual experience of societal workers neglecting in their responsibility to forestall the deceases of kids or protect the populace from persons known to be mentally sick, has led to more “ bureaucratic solutions, through statute law, processs and guidelines ”. Blame is allocated due to the accent in hazard . The ordinance of hazard replaces need as a focal point and concluding for societal work intercession. Lishman ( 2007: 164 ) writes how “ working with hazard will ever stay a hazardous concern, but with the aid of sound methods and defendable decision-making it can be good managed ” . Titterton ( 2005:50 ) argues “ there is no such thing as a hazard free option: all options hold possible hazards ” . Lishman explains further that in the clime of the blasted civilization, hazard appraisals need to be of a criterion that contain “ defendable determinations ” that can keep up in instances where there has been a hazard failure ( 2007:157 ) .

There is the danger that in utilizing hazard appraisals to look into handiness for a service, there is the possible for the societal worker to be distanced from the service user. Involving the service user to make their ain hazard appraisals and explicate what they believe are the hazards is a signifier of authorization, which places them at the Centre of the procedure. Clutton et Al ( 2006: 18 ) links the engagement of the service user to empowerment, “ Risk appraisal may be authorising if it allows the service user to take an informed determination on future action ” .

Social workers have to be able to asses the predicted results of a possible hazard to a service user but this is non ever easy. Differing readings of a state of affairs due to the cultural and societal background of people and groups can do understanding hazard and hazard direction hard in determination devising ( Reed et Al, 2004:149 ) . Service users have started to do picks in how they interact with societal services e.g. self-referral. In order to do programs about their lives, societal workers need to interact with households in new ways that recognise their disadvantage and subjugation in society. It could be asked if service users truly have pick or do they have options within pick? Harris and White ( 2009:100 ) see pick to be a cardinal component of the authorities ‘s modernization docket and are established in services such as direct payments and pick of infirmary.

Labeling of service users in appraisals as ‘disturbed ‘ , ‘at hazard ‘ , ‘in demand ‘ , describes behavior from a value position ( Dalrymple and Burke, 2006 ) . Slovic ( 1999 ) writes how risk appraisals are coloured by subjective opinions of the societal worker at every phase of the appraisal procedure. Hall et Al ( 2006:23 ) argues nevertheless that classification of service users in studies, meetings and in the tribunal is an outlook of societal workers as a practical and professional responsibility to supply appraisals and supply a class of action or services.

The impression of ‘Culture Theory ‘ developed by Mary Douglas ( 1966, 1798 ) and Douglas and Wildavsky ( 1982 ) has been influential in looking at positions on hazard. Cultural theory purposes to explicate how personality and cultural traits influence hazard perceptual experiences and why different people and societal groups fear different hazards. Douglas argues the relation of hazard to political relations and its nexus to answerability duty and incrimination ( Lupton, 1999:39 ) . Douglas and Wildavsky ( 1982 ) introduced the ‘grid/group ‘ construct to explicate how cultural proportions can compare society. It defines how people can be divided into four types that predict how they react to different types of hazards- Individualist, Egalitarian, Hierarchists and Fatalist. Thompson et Al ( 1990:5 ) explain group as mentioning to how much the person is integrated into enclosed units and grid to how much a individual ‘s life is restricted as a cause of exterior compulsory instructions.

Douglas ‘s theory is non without unfavorable judgment. Lupton ( 1999:7 ) inquiries the media ‘s contributory function to the hazard cognition of their audience. It can be argued that you can non anticipate how anyone will act in response to a peculiar circumstance and that cultural theory is opaque, non taking into history the complexnesss of modern society ( Rayner, 1992, Boholm, 1996 ) . Tansey and O ‘ Riordan ( 1999 ) argue the theory is deterministic and takes no history of the free will of persons. Ostrander ( 1992 ) makes a outstanding statement, proposing that cultural theory should use to societal environments in order to separate societal systems as a whole. It could besides be argued that as Douglas does non explicate how risk perceptual experiences sing to persons and administrations change over clip, her theory could be seen as “ inactive ” ( Bellaby ( 1990 ) . Gross and Rayner ( 1985:18 ) argue that Douglas fails to explicate, “ what economic incentives or wants dispose individuals to alter their societal place ” .

Accountability means being answerable to others for the quality and efficiency of one ‘s attempts. Social workers are accountable to service users, the community, their section and their supervisors. They must be able to explicate what it is they do, how it is done and that their work meets professional criterions for competency. Mishra ( 1984 ) , cited in Wilson et Al, ( 2008:39 ) writes how there is a decrease in professional liberty and control due to answerability and structural demands being placed on bureaus. Social workers, through fright of misestimating a state of affairs can set about cautious and defensive pattern which falls short of sing the deductions, hazards and benefits to the service user of the determinations made and measures taken. Bamford ( 1990 ) writes how “ societal workers must develop a system of answerability which does non lose sight of the demands of the clients and their support systems ” .

O ‘ Hanlon, cited in Parton and O ‘ Byrne ( 2000: 88 ) , separates blame from answerability in that answerability features duty, is authorising and promotes self bureau. Incrimination does non ask for co-operation, is estranging and stopping points down possibilities. An illustration of the links between hazard and incrimination is the instance of babe Peter, who was killed by his female parent ‘s spouse and was the topic of a multiple sum of media attending, proportioning incrimination on the societal workers in his attention. The description of injury and danger portrayed by the media, the authorities and organizational responses to ailments and legal action, ensuing in a blasted civilization is a effect of hazard antipathy employed by some societal workers ( Furedi, 2002 ) . This could go forth societal workers experiencing the demand to protect themselves and hesitant, taking to go throughing the incrimination onto other people.

Webb, ( 2006:70 ) links blasted civilization to put on the line turning away being the chief precedence, ensuing in tighter steps of answerability and transparence being involved. Kemshall ( 2002: 94 ) suggests blame “ serves to beef up answerability, but besides subtly to command information flow and use and to reenforce trueness and solidarity with peculiar point of views on hazard ” . Duty of the societal worker is linked to answerability. These are sustained in codifications of pattern, the jurisprudence and day-to-day verbal exchanges. Hall et Al ( 2006: 16 ) depict how professionals are aware of their interactions, should their address causes their behavior to be accountable.

Parton and O’Byrne ( 2000: 183 ) discourse the moralss of duty in which service users are able to speak freely about themselves, their state of affairs and the best manner to work out their jobs. Social workers are back uping service users to take duty for their ain actions, which replaces constructs of “ cause and finding ” Howe ( 1986 ) , cited in Parton ( 1996:88 ) . The duty of the societal worker is to the wellbeing of service users, but there are times when they work in state of affairss that are conflicting. Dominelli ( 2009:11 ) offers one account of this in a “ care-control quandary ” , when there is a demand to equilibrate the finding of the service user with injury. The societal workers duty to the wider society and attachment to the jurisprudence mean that at times the wellbeing of the service users may non take precedence.

In decision we have considered the impact of hazard in the field of societal work. In making so we have identified three chief theories, that of Govermentality, Risk Society and Culture Theory. We have analysed the impact of societal work on these theories. Govermentality Theory helps us to understand power and the production of cognition that enables persons to regulate themselves. Empowerment, as discussed antecedently enables service users to derive control over determinations that affect their lives.

Risk Society Theory helps us to understand how communities are organised in its response to hazard. This has been discussed in relation to societal work in the media and the bureaucratic defensive patterns that have developed as a consequence of extended coverage of high profile service weaknesss. Culture Theory seeks to explicate how the societal context in which we operate affects our responses to put on the line. As considered earlier, answerability is a agency for societal workers to explicate their actions and the logical thinking behind them, blasted civilization leads to societal workers experiencing discerning and self-preserving of their function. The societal worker besides has duty to the service users, but besides to the wider society.