Computerized Social Casework Recording
Autonomy and Control in Australia's Income Support Agency
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11229969 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Philip Dearman (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2005 |
| Volume | 30 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 47-65 |
| Publication date | 2005-03-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Labor Studies Journal (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0160-449X • E-ISSN: 1538-9758 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0160449x0503000104 |
| OpenAlex | W2067391964 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 8 |
This paper reports on a case study of the computerization of social work recording. The context is a large and geographically dispersed social work service that forms part of Australia's income support network, Centrelink. The study is part of a larger research project charting the effects of computerized recording on the autonomy—or sense of independence, and freedom of action—of social workers. The paper summarizes interviews with workers who responded to questions about a management information system they use to record their work, and that managers use to monitor and control certain aspects of that work. Interviewees were asked to talk about the development and implemen tation of the system, and to comment on their expectations and their feelings about the outcomes. Responses indicate a sense of frustration with a system used to monitor but not effectively regulate workloads. While computerization holds out the prospect of making procedures more rational—in the name of the imagined paperless office—it seems to have swamped these workers with new workload burdens that are difficult to escape, and to have standardized elements of judgment and decision making, leaving caseworkers with a substantially differ ent sense of autonomy
Action (physics · Agency (philosophy · Autonomy · Context (archaeology · Control (management · Economics · Feeling · Management · Political science · Public relations · Sense of agency · Social science · Sociology · Work (physics · Workload · Engineering · Healthcare innovation and challenges · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Social Work Education and Practice · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics · Social Work
A Conceptual Framework for Information Technology in Social Work Practice
Screen-level bureaucrats in the age of algorithms
What is the purpose? Caseworkers’ perception of performance information
Decision support and algorithmic support
Mutual Benefits
Accountable and Countable
Decision-Making Tools and Their Influence on Caseworkers' Room for Discretion
| Citations per year | 0.41 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2009 - 2023 (15) |
| Highly cited | No |