Top Banner
Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University
31
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University

Page 2: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Virtual proximities and corporeal co-presenceSocial life is fundamentally transformed by

mediated communication that enables a range of ‘virtual proximities’ (mobile phone, internet, web cam etc)

Individuals can sustain a range of connections/variety of networks – that are instant, economic and can compress time and distance

Yet somehow – orientation to human co-location or corporeal co-presence (face-to-face/body-to-body interaction) survives

Page 3: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Goffman and co-presence“Persons must sense that they are close

enough to be perceived in whatever they are doing, including their experiencing of others, and close enough to beperceived in this sensing of being perceived.” (Goffman, 1963, p. 17)

“In range of each other’s naked sense perceptions” (Zhao, 2003)

Page 4: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

EmbodimentInvolvement of human bodies in the process

of communication .

Both verbal and nonverbal human behaviours including ‘body idioms’ (Goffman, 1963)

To achieve full embodiment we require ‘face to face’ -interface (Zhao, 2003)

Page 5: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Co-presence‘. the robust nature and enduring necessity of

traditional human communication ...modernity is achieved not just through computer circuit boards and devices such as voice mail, video conferencing and fax production but through the intensely social daily routines of humans thinking, cooperating and talking face-to-face’

Boden and Molotch (1994, p.258)

Page 6: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Recent researchSignificant evidence of extensive business travel

to achieve corporeal co-presence – despite rapid developments in mediated communication

Familial and friendship ties – orientation to ‘visiting’

Individuals ‘upgrade’ to the best approximation to face-to-face contact

(see John Urry, 2003, for a fuller discussion )

Page 7: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

So – why the ‘compulsion of proximity’ ‘co-presence is biographically and historically

prior to other forms of communication:’ (Boden and Molotch, p.258)

‘body talk adds a visual vocabulary and social grammar...the cues of physical movement, eye contact and facial expression relay substantive meaning’

‘It is through the reaction of others that we see what we are doing – in co-present interaction there is no time out from expressive being’ (Thrift, 2004)

Page 8: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Co-presence and contextual detailCo-present interaction is rich with information.

Co-presence offers a far greater level of contextual detail than mediated communication .

Co-presence puts us on the spot – when we are co-present with another – our feelings/responses are more difficult to hide

‘The density of co-present encounters both engages and entraps us’ (Boden and Molotch, p.259)

Page 9: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Corporeal co-presence is key to:Conveying commitment

Managing ambiguity/misunderstanding

Development of trust

Page 10: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Social Work – a thoroughly ‘social’ profession

1.The home visit – enduring aspect of social work practice (primary site for engagement and for ‘seeing’ what’s going on) – enshrined in statutory obligations

2. Key decisions are taken through ‘meetings’ – again orientation to the face-to-face (strategy, case conference, pre-proceedings, childcare review)

3. Co-presence is both preferred and necessary across a wide range of social work tasks

Yet, somehow in social work – both in research and practice, we have come to lose sight of the detail of embodied co-present human interaction

Page 11: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Why?Social workers have come to position themselves

outside the helping relationship (as brokers/care managers) losing sight of their interactional expertise

Moreover, the technologisation of experience in social work has led to the privileging of information over affect

General distancing impact of anti-dependency discourses & a turn to the instrumental

Co-presence prevails - but social workers are less attuned to their interactions with others....

Page 12: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Home VisitField note 12.4. 2011

I was struck by the social worker seeming to ‘deliver’ the family support worker, she introduced the worker and proceeded to tell the mother what kinds of things the family support worker will help her with – improving housing, helping her to access drug counselling. The worker reminder the mother that she needed to get to her appointments with the drugs counselling service. It was all quite matter of fact and the visit ended with the worker asking to inspect the children’s bedrooms. After the visit I asked the worker to reflect on the encounter – her response was overwhelmingly task focused, she was keen to hand over the case to the parenting support team and was hopeful that through the core assessment process that the problems were stabilised.

Page 13: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Something’s missing....?‘There is in many accounts of social work

with children and families today a pervasive sense of loss, or at least of an absence, a sense that something is missing and doesn’t feel right. There is little doubt from the social work literature that what is thought to be lacking or lost is relationships, and having the time, capacity and capability to relate to children and families.’ (Ferguson, 2011 p28,)

Page 14: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Burgeoning literature on relationship – based practice

But what does this mean?Can we add to the extant vocabulary?How can we add to the extant vocabulary

through research and practice?

Page 15: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Refocusing on the centrality of face-to-face/body-to-body practice Implications for research and practice:Shift away from that which is narrowly conceived

through procedure – standardised and flattened out – towards a re-focusing on the ad hoc..... the reflexive, unfolding of practice

Take hold of the renewed interest in the realm of social reproduction what Katz describes as ‘the fleshy, messy, and indeterminate stuff of everyday life’ (2001, p. 711)

Develop an understanding that the quality of people’s lives depends hugely on the quality of their social relationships - how people treat one another (Sayer, 2010)

Page 16: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Foregrounding corporeal co-presence in social work researchSome starting points:The face and faciality as the index of emotionThe skin as the interface between internal

and external worldsThe body as ‘our first and foremost, most

immediate and intimately felt geography ... the site of emotional experience and expression par excellence’.

(Davidson and Milligan, 2004, p523).

Page 17: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

CASE STUDY SITE

Starting from an assumption of practice as situated in place – then individual and collective life stories matter. Practice, in our chosen case study site, is heavily influenced by the lengthy personal/institutional biographies of team manager and assistant manager who prize the relational aspects of their work, over and above the demands of performance management.

Page 18: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

MethodsDirect observation of practice – meetings, home

visits, case conferences, informal discussion...

Conversational style interviewing to probe impact of co-present activity

Audio recordings and field notes

Access possible, via larger commissioned project

Page 19: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Research QuestionsResearch questions that influenced the cases

study analysis?

What is gained from corporeal co-presence? Foci:How does the body impact on trust and

commitment?What can we learn from ‘the face’ in

interaction?

Page 20: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Example 1 (established worker)Field noteI accompanied the family support worker on a home

visit. The visit is part of an initial assessment and have decided to keep the case open to core assessment. There has been pressure from other agencies for the children to become subject to child protection plans due to concerns about neglect, particularly home conditions and an unwillingness to engage with services.

The case concerns a young mother with 3 young children aged under 8 years. The family support workers is making an unplanned visit.

Page 21: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Example 1 (cont’d)FSW enters the house into a long, narrow, open

plan kitchen lounge. The mother sits herself down on the settee in the living space and the FSW sits beside her. The mother’s response to this physical proximity indicated a sense of being comfortable –

The mother’s partner in contrast walked to the far end of the living space into the kitchen area and turned his back. In response to this, the FSW turned herself to ensure her body position indicated openness to the partner, and she says to the mother “is this your chap?”

Page 22: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Words and body“I’ve heard a lot about you Craig, it’s really

nice to meet you... I’ll tell you what it is Craig, I was so impressed when I saw the work you’d done here, it’s really good, it’s excellent”

Craig then turns and looks at the FSW and smiles and the FSW gives him the ‘thumbs up’. Craig blushes slightly and briefly looks away, initially embarrassed but smiling. Craig then begins to interact with the child which draws him back into the living room and all further conversations he engages with.

Page 23: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Touch and the bodyThe family support worker enquires as to whether

there are any plans for the new partner to move in. The mother responds by saying “yeah... After Xmas when he’s got a job and I’ve got SSD off my back”. The FSW sitting next to the mother on the settee, turns her body to make direct eye contact, prefacing an important utterance: “ then you do need to engage with us Lisa”. As she says it, she opens her palms and slaps her hands on her lap. You know how serious it has been and we really don’t want to be going to cp. The mother drops her head and looks noticeably concerned – slightly disengaging from the FSW with this movement.

Page 24: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Example 1FSW, in response to the young mother’s body

talk, she softens and lowers her voice, and places a hand gently on Lisa’s knee, which causes Lisa to lift her head and resume eye contact. The FSW’s body talk is complemented by reassuring words: “ But I am really pleased Lisa, you have looked at it [the issues], you have known that this place [house] wasn’t right and you have done something about it and that’s really good. I am pleased. The service user responds to the praise and smiles and then starts to talk about the steps she’s taken to secure another property – there was excitement and achievement in her voice.

Page 25: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Touch and the body‘Touch increases the level of self-

disclosure....co-presence provides the means to experience it[touch] directly.’

‘The use of body in interaction feels good’

‘Our ability and insistence on co-ordinating our body actions with those of others lies at the heart of our sociability ‘

(Boden and Molotch, 1994 p. 263).

Page 26: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Example 2: NQSWField notes 25. Feb. 2011 This is the second time that I have observed a

meeting in connection with this mother and baby. The baby is now in foster care on a voluntary basis having been separated from the mother a few days after the birth – a plan for reunification is in place. This is the young mother’s first child – the mother has enduring mental health problems.

Outside the meeting, I speak with the mother and the mental health support worker – the mother is suspicious of the social worker – she doesn’t quite believe that they are going to go ahead with the reunification.

Page 27: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

The meetingThe meeting commences – it is a contact planning

meeting. How will contact which is essential to the reunification plan be managed over the Xmas period – a sensitive and difficult topic.

Two NQSWs are convening the meeting, one will chair and the other take notes. Just prior to the start of the meeting as everyone is gathered in a circle of chairs, the female NQSW who is herself noticeably pregnant and the designated note taker, asks the mother if she’d like to hold the baby during the meeting, she goes over to the foster carers and picks up the baby from his chair and hands the baby to the mother... the two young women momentarily exchange smiles and share in a moment of mutual delight in the new baby – there is a moment of felt intensity in the room given the significance of this gesture and movement,

Page 28: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Field note continued: I spoke with the young mother again after the

meeting, after she had handed the baby back – she seemed hopeful – smiling, fingers crossed.

Here we see compassion as a thoroughly embodied social action, realised in and through worker and service-user co-presence. Laughter, breath, smiles, gaze as well as words create moments of mutual intensity between workers, children and parents which elude easy description, but still reverberate beyond the moment. They leave, as Thrift describes (2000, p.214), a trace of ‘invisible dust, still singing, still dancing’.

Page 29: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Co-presencewhen bodies come into contact in this way – the

communicative potential is huge... We cannot approximate this exchange through mediated communication. Actions of trust building, the communication of affective warmth, are difficult to simulate at a distance.

Cues of physical movement, eye contact, facial expression and body orientation relay substantive meaning themselves (Boden and Molotch, p.260)

Page 30: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

References Boden, D. and Molotch, H. L. (1994) The compulsion of Proximity, in

R. Friedland and D. Boden (eds) NowHere: Space, Time and Modernity, University of California Press, California.

Davidson, J. and Milligan, C. (2004) ' Embodying Emotion, Sensing Space: introducing emotional geographies', Social and Cultural Geography, 5:4, 523-532 Ferguson, H.(2011)

Ferguson, H. (2011) Child Protection Practice ,Basingstoke: Palgrave MacMillan

Goffman, E. (1963) Behavior in public places. New York: The Free Press.

Haimes, E. (2002).What can the social sciences contribute to the study of ethics? Theoretical, empirical and substantive considerations. Bioethics, 6(2), 89-113.

Jupp, E. (2008) The feeling of participation: Everyday spaces and urban change, Geoforum, 39(1), pp. 331– 343

Page 31: Karen Broadhurst and Claire Mason: Lancaster University.

Katz, C. 2001: Vagabond capitalism and the necessity of social reproduction. Antipode 33 (4), 709–28

Sayer , A. (2011) Why Things Matter to People ; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Serres, M. (2008) The Five Senses: A Philosophy of Mingled Bodies. London: Continuum.

Thrift N, (2000) ``Afterwords'' Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 18, pp 213- 255

Thrift, N (2004) Intensities of Feeling: towards a spatial politics of affect, Geografiska Annaler · 86 B (1) 57-78

Urry, J. (2003) Social Networks, Travel and Talk, British Journal of Sociology Vol. No. 54 (2) pp. 155–175

Zhao, S. (2003) Taxonomy of Co-Presence, Presence Vol. 12, No. 5, Pages 445-455