Kehittämisen kompastuskivet - myytit kehittämishankkeen keskusteluissa

I studied discussions during development project. Aim of the study was to analyse, what way workers represented their work: how normalized way of interpretation myths appeared in discourse and what consequences these utterances caused to drift of discussion. Change laboratory, which is a development method, is based to developmental work research methodology. Development is designed to be successful by learning activity and learning acts. Preventing factors of learning have been studied widely. Research has leaned to concept of resistance to change. Phenomenon of learning has been interpreted to be successful only if everybody has an agreement about the situation. There is also a new kind of concept of resistance. Resistance can be seen as a part of learning, normal processing of the learning activity. Another preventing factor can be seen as disorders of discourse, which are verbal ways of telling something that aren t real. Theoretically I consider these verbal ways as myth interpretations, which can be used as argumentative tools. I used analysis of discourse as an analytical method. Results of analysis revealed four different myth interpretations in workers discussions. Character of work was been described with myths unforeseen situations and disturbances are normal . Work was also described to be functional with myths system works and workers cause disturbances . Change laboratory discussions can be described as different social languages, which caused diverse perspectives to workers and researchers representations. Social languages also affected the way people analysed disturbances and system. Critical phase of change laboratory method seems to be analysis of disturbances and planning new mode of action. Myth utterances were used to reject ways of developing, analysis of system level and need of development. Myth utterances worked three different ways: ineffective, active or passive.

Asiakassuunnitelma asiakaslähtöistä auttamista tavoitteellistamassa : Kohteen rakentumisen moniääninen menetelmä

The research focuses on client plan in the field of health care and social work on families with children. The purpose of the plan is to create objectives for helping the client and to assist in coordinating the ever-increasing multi-professional work. In general, the plan is understood in terms of assignments and as a contract specifying what to do in client cases. Taking this into consideration, the plan is outsourced into a written document. Instead of understanding the plan as a tool that stabilizes the objectives of action, documents it and facilitates evaluation, the client plan is conceptualized in this study as a practice. This kind of practice mediates client work as being itself also a process of action that focuses on an object whose gradual emergence and definition is the central question in multi-professional collaboration with a client. The plan is examined empirically in a non-stabilized state which leads to the research methodology being based on the dynamics between stabilization and emerging, non-stabilized entities the co-creation and formulation of practice and context. The theoretical approach of the research is the micro analytic approach of activity theory (Engeström R. 1999b). Grounding on this, the research develops a method of qualitative analysis which follows an emerging object with multiple voices. The research data is composed of the videotaped sessions from client meetings with three families, the interviews with the client and the workers as well as client documents that are used to follow up on client processes for at least one year. The research questions are as follows: 1) How is the client plan constructed between the client and different professional agents? 2) How are meanings constructed in a client-centred plan? 3) What are the elements of client-employee relationships that support the co-configuration necessitated by the changes in the client s everyday life? The study shows that the setting of objectives were limited by the palette of institutional services, which caused that the clients interpretations and acts of giving meaning to the kinds of help that was required were left out of the plan. Conceptually, the distinctions between client-centred and client-specific ways of working as well as an action-based working method are addressed. Central to this action-based approach is construing the everyday life of the client, recognizing different meanings and analyzing them together with the client as well as focusing attention on developing the prerequisites for social agency of the clients. The research portrays the elements for creating an action-based client plan. Key words: client plan, user perspective, multi-voiced meaning, multi-professional social work with children and families, agency