The purpose of this study is to, from a perspective of power, understand and interpret Swedish social workers experiences and comprehension of their clients trust in them. The study is based on interviews with eight social workers from two municipalities in the south of Sweden. Five themes were identified that represents the five different forms of power which the social workers used on a daily basis. The themes were: normalization, demands and control, the social worker as an expert, the conflict between bio power and disciplinary power and the transparency of power. The analyzis of this study is based on the comprehension of hermeneutics as well as previous research on trust and power in client relationships. As a conclusion we found that whether the interviewees stated that their work was about the exercise of power or not, we could still identify that all of them used some form of power on a daily basis. We also saw that trust was not always the essential part of a working client relationship. Through this study, and by using the theory of power by Michel Foucault, we found that power therefore is something that exists in all relationships whether you believe you exercise it or not.

The aim of the study is to understand how the construction of honor-related violence is interpreted by the social worker and the individual on the basis of risk assessment and support. The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews and informants consisted of nine social workers at eight interview sessions. All the social workers had expertise in honor-related violence but had different positions as social workers. Some were children administrators and others were adult handlers. The information was processed by the encoding of the text for theoretical concepts. The results showed that it is relevant to make a difference in the risk assessments of honor-related violence compared to other violence. This is because honor-related violence often involves greater restrictions than partner violence. The phenomenon of honor-related violence can include a wide age range and cannot be reduced to the girls and young girls but also affects older women, depending on what context it is interpreted. Furthermore, higher requirements on protection strategies and coordinated action are demanded. The result shows that it differs greatly between municipalities how to work out with honor-related violence. Violence has scales and it may be different how the individual perceives the violence. Honor based repression often leads to very subtle expression control which makes the problem difficult to identify. This as well as the starting point for the analysis assume their own words to be aggravating factors. There could be a conflict of identifying honor-related violence and social secretary's approach to risk assessment and support can be crucial.

The focus of this research is to investigate how the client's emotions can affect the social worker and how the social worker manages these feelings in order to make the right decisions. We have used a qualitative approach in our investigation. We have interviewed six social workers at social welfare bureaux in southern Sweden. Our theories are ‘Naïve Theory’ and ‘Affect Theory’. The social workers have told us about their experiences in meetings and how they handle the clients' feelings. According to the social workers that we have been in contact with, the clients can show all sorts of emotions, ranging from clients that are happy to those that are angry. It is more common that clients show irritation or frustration against the social worker. The main conclusions are that it is important that the social workers are aware of the feelings that they encounter in meetings with clients, and that they may be affected in different ways. The co-worker of the social workers is important when it comes to the handling of emotions. A client's emotions can affect a social worker and if the social worker does not pay attention to these feelings and learn how to handle them, this may cause the social worker unable to perform their work or that they bring the emotions home.

This essay examines six transpersons’ experiences as clients of treatment from the social services. Research shows that transpersons experience a high amount of discrimination and vulnerability in society. For this reason, it is important to examine how transpersons, as clients, experience professional treatment in their interaction with social workers. Using a qualitative method, six respondents were interviewed about what kind of treatment they had expected to receive prior to their first meeting with the social worker. The respondents’ general perceptions of their treatment and their wishes regarding how transpersons should be treated were also examined. The results showed that the respondents experienced a positive treatment regarding their gender identity but perceived the social application process as difficult and demanding. One respondent expressed a negative perception of their treatment by social services regarding their gender identity. This experience was however regarding a social worker not in charge of the social benefits application process. The informants expressed a wish to be treated like other clients but with a knowledgeable social worker who understood transpersons’ special vulnerability and needs. Informants also expressed their recommendation that Swedish social services should undergo a LGBTQ certification to ensure a knowledgeable and respectful treatment of transpersons.

This thesis is an ethnography of a community of professional thieves called the Kanjar-a 'caste of thieves' by practice, public perception and self-designation-in the northern Indian province of Rajasthan. It is also an argument that spells out the broader logic of rank in local society. Insofar as it offers the first ethnography of the Kanjar community- and of caste-based, professional, hereditary theft-this study is new. My analytical concern with hierarchy and rank, however, is old, engaging in the once central, and now largely out-fashioned, discussion in the sociology of South Asia. My project began with a narrow set of concerns with the place of thieving and thieves in local society. In the course of my fieldwork, however, it became apparent that the received wisdom of South Asian sociology regarding the principles of rank did not offer useful explanatory tools and that a different conception of rank was necessary to make sense of what I observed, both about the social position of Kanjars and the hierarchical social formation at large. As is so often the case, what began as a study of historically and sociologically particular circumstances became an inquiry into the pervasive regnant aspects of the local order of things.

Šio darbo objektas yra Lucko (1507-1536 m.) ir Vilniaus (1536-1555 m.) vyskupo, kunigaikščio Pauliaus Alšėniškio dvaras ir klientūra. Šio darbo tikslas yra nustatyti Pauliaus Alšėniškio klientų ir dvariškių vietą XVI a. I pusės Lietuvos Didžiosios kunigaikštystės visuomeninėje struktūroje. Naudodamiesi istoriografija apsibrėžėme keturias skirtingas patronato formas, atsispindėjusias Pauliaus Alšėniškio aplinkoje: asmeninį patronatą, regioninį patronatą, politinė klientūra bei bažnytinė klientūra. Darbo struktūrą parėmėme šiuo skirstymu. Šio darbo įžanginę dalį sudaro, įvadas, šaltinių ir literatūros apžvalga, teorinių patronato ir klientūros klausimų aptarimas. Darbo dėstomąją dalį sudaro penki skyriai. Pirmasis skyrius yra skirtas Pauliaus Alšėniškio dvaro problemoms: dvaro pareigūnų ir dvariškių identifikavimui bei kasdienio veikimo problemoms. Antrasis dėstymo dalies skyrius skirtas „regioniniam“ patronatui. Jame nagrinėjame pagrindinių Pauliaus Alšėniškio valdų – Alšėnų, Volpos ir Punios bajorų santykius su Pauliumi Alšėniškiu bei jų statusą valstybėje. Trečiasis dėstomosios dalies skyrius skirtas klientūrai siaurąja – politinio patronato prasme. Šiame skyriuje mes aptariame Pauliaus Alšėniškio klientus LDK didžiojo kunigaikščio dvare bei jų socialinio mobilumo klausimus. Ketvirtasis dėstomosios dalies skyrius skirtas Pauliaus Alšėniškio klientūra jo pagrindinėje veiklos sferoje – katalikų bažnyčioje. Šiame skyriuje mes identifikavome jo klientus dvasininkus Lucko ir... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The research object of this thesis is the court ant the clientage (client system) of duke, bishop of Lutsk (1507-1536) and Vilnius (1536-1555) Paul of Holshany. The aim of this research is to identify the status of courtiers and clients of Paulo f Holshany in the context of social structure of Grand Duchy of Lithuania (GDL). After reviewing newest historiographical positions on the subject of social structure of 16th century GDL, we have identified 4 different spheres of patronage (personal patronage, regional patronage, political patronage (clientage proper), and institutional patronage), which have been researched by other historians and therefore we have divided our work accordingly. This thesis begins with (review of sources and theoretical framework of patron-client relations). Main body of this work is divided into five chapters. The first chapter is dedicated to identifying the courtiers and members of the court of Paul of Holshany and the problems of the everyday existence of this institution. The second chapter is dedicated to the problems of regional patronage in the main landholdings of the duke-bishop – Volpa, Holshany and Punia. Third chapter is dedicated to the clientage proper – political clients of Paul of Holshany and the political influence he had in the GDL. The Fourth chapter explores the system of clientage that Paul of Holshany created in his main sphere of work – the Catholic Church. We dedicate this chapter to identify the church – clients in the... [to full text]

This study illustrates how the power relation between the trustee and principals are experienced and maintained in proportion to the missions design. The main focus lies on understanding of how trustee perceives and applies the mission`s cornerstones and how power can be expressed in the relationship between trustees and principals. Nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with trustees whose principals were mentally disabled. The interviews were then analyzed with the support of Foucault's concept of discipline, knowledge, control, surveillance and reward/punishment and Tilly's theory of persistent inequality We have obtained an understanding of the complexity of the assignment regarding the mission`s cornerstones who goes into every other, and all respondents agreed that the cornerstones should be considered as a whole. We concluded that the trustee on the basis of the mission's design possesses a power that is necessary and important to have regarding the relation to his principal and its social network. Half of the trustees were well aware of the power they possess; however, all agreed that power is a negatively charged word that not necessarily needs to be operated in the guardianship. We could, based on empirical data, see that the power is used in various ways, both directly and indirectly against their principals and its social networks.

Att arbeta med utsatta människor i en statlig verksamhet som tjänsteman kan för de flesta människor verka ofarligt – men hur är det egentligen? Tidigare forskning har visat att det finns ett stort mörkertal när det kommer till klientrelaterat hot och våld och att incidenterna inte tas tillräckligt seriöst. Syftet med denna uppsats är att få en större förståelse för vad de ökade hoten får för konsekvenser för personalen på Migrationsverket. Vi vill belysa och synliggöra spänningsfältet i klientrelationen som leder till att hot och våld mot handläggare ökar. Det teoretiska ramverk som används i uppsatsen är gräsrotsbyråkrati, makt och klientrelationer. Genom sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med handläggare på Migrationsverket har vi fått fram underlag som visar att hot och våldssituationer förekommer i större omfattning än vad det anmäls och rapporteras om. Resultatet visade att mörkertalet är stort vid incidentrapporteringen och att det råder en ”det kommer med jobbet”-mentalitet bland personalen. Maktfördelningen har en stor roll i klientrelationen och är en bidragande orsak till att incidenter uppstår. Vidare visar det sig att negativa beslut är de som tenderar att utlösa hot eller våld från klienten och att det väldigt sällan rapporteras kring eller anmäls om inte klienten tar till fysiskt våld. Slutligen visar uppsatsen att förebyggande arbete måste ske i en större omfattning. / Working with vulnerable people in a government controlled authority may for most people seem harmless - but is it really? Previous research has shown that there is large hidden statistics when it comes to client-related threats and violence and that the incidents are not taken seriously enough. The purpose of this paper is to gain a greater understanding of what the increased threats and violence towards officials in a government controlled authority can lead to. We want to shed visibility over the attributes in the client relationship that leads to threats and violence against the government officials. The theoretical framework used in the paper is street-level bureaucracy, power, and client relationships. We have performed six semi-structured interviews with officials from the Swedish Migration board, which have shown that threats and violence towards government officials occur to a greater extent than it is shown and reported on. The results showed that the hidden statistics is large in incident reporting and that there is a "it comes with the territory" mentality among officials. The distribution of power has a major role in client relationships and is a contributing factor to incidents occurring. Furthermore, it turns out that negative decisions are the ones that tend to trigger threats or violence from the client and that it is rarely reported unless the client resorts to physical violence. Finally, the paper shows that prevention work must be done on a larger scale.

<p>The aim of this study was to enlighten social workers experiences of social networks direct influence in Swedish social services, and in which ways those influences are manifested. Some of the issues that are being explored in this study are: The separation of the private sphere and professional duties; boundaries and dual relationships that occurs inside social networks; the use of social networks as a control-instrument in authority exercise towards clients; and social networks arising impact on social work. The empirical material was collected with nine qualitative interviews with social workers stationed at different social service departments in a Swedish municipality. Also one qualitative e-survey was sent out to, and answered by four social workers with a managerial position in the same municipality.</p><p>The results reveal that several informants have experienced different problematic situations involving clients within the social networks. This study shows that the informants are very restrictive with what information (text and pictures) they publish on their facebook-profiles, because of their position of authority and the awareness of the possibility of always being watched. Several informants reveal a strong attitude against the use of social networks in social work and argue that information about clients fetched at social networks cannot be used. Yet some social workers use social networks at work to search information about clients and verify suspicions, for example in decision-making of governmental economical support. The power that the social workers hold against their clients is being exterritorialised inside the social networks and makes further way for an expanding control-society.</p>

My original contribution to theory and practice formulates management consultancy as a social act evolving within interaction with clients whereby identity, as an emerging process, can form and be formed within consultant-client relationships. Drawing on Stacey's work on complex responsive process thinking, I have described a reflexive, social self, highlighting the implications for management consultants of this open-ended responsiveness of identity formation. Within the prevailing management literature there is a sense that consultants design interventions that change organisations, whether through working on leadership development, executive coaching, providing expertise or facilitating organisational change. As part of my original contribution I pick up on the emotional, relational and occasionally messy nature of consulting, which is frequently overlooked in the literature. My research into the emergence of intentions and the formation of identity within consultant-client relationships analyses my work as a researcher-practitioner working within large financial service organisations through a variety of consulting projects. The inquiry examines my professional practice, researched through a social, iterative and temporal method centring on reflexive, narrative inquiries. I illuminate the fundamental conversational nature of consultant-client relationships; challenging the view of consulting as a transaction whereby the consultant provides a service, withdrawing relatively unchanged. I postulate consulting as a series of conversations with interdependent people wherein emerging themes organise new ways of relating and novelty evolves. Drawing on Elias' process sociology I extrapolate the fundamental interdependence of consultant-client relationships; conceptualising management consulting from a complex responsive processes way of relating. I challenge the notion of intention as located in the individual; an independent, disembodied, thought before action predicated on an 'if-then' notion of causality, underpinned by an assumption of human beings as autonomous and rational. I develop the work of Joas arguing that intentions are emerging, social and embodied; a theme organising conversations. In particular I detail how strong emotions and embodiment occur in those arresting moments, where experiences of inclusion and exclusion, can alert the consultant to new ways of relating. My inquiry has highlighted the significance for management consultants of realising the fundamentally social nature of human interaction and the importance of responsiveness in the living present. With reference to Mead's view of conversation as a pattern of gesture/ response I highlight the consultant-client relationship as co-created and therefore not to be ordered by the consultant who can, nevertheless, pick up on and influence new patterns of relating as they evolve.