Empowering the Shamed Self: Recognition and Critical Social Work

Summary: This article provides a review of the contribution of Axel Honneth’s model of recognition for critical social work. While Honneth’s tripartite conceptualisation of optimal identity-formation is positively appraised, his analysis of the link between misrecognition, the experience of shame and eventual sense of moral outrage, is contested. Drawing on a range of sources, including the sociology of shame, Honneth’s ideas about the emotional antecedents of emancipatory action are revised to guide critical social work with misrecognised service users.

Findings: The intellectual background to Honneth’s recognition model, emanating from leading German philosophers, is described and its application to social work set out. Even so, Honneth’s model is found to be deficient in one primary regard: its assumption about the emotional antecedents to quests for withheld recognition is misapprehended. In particular, the argument in this article is that the ubiquitous emotion of shame, which Honneth argues flows from misrecognition, must be carefully addressed through the medium of relationship, otherwise it might lead to repressed shame and frustrated attempts at social struggle. To this end, a social work process is delineated for dealing with shame, following episodes of misrecognition.

Applications: Honneth’s model of recognition, along with revised ideas about how to recognise and manage shame, is incorporated into a conceptual framework for critical social work practice. With this renewed understanding of the impact of shame, following misrecognition, social workers should be better equipped conceptually to enable service users to take action for empowerment.

Heritability of immune function in the caterpillar Spodoptera littoralis

Phenoloxidase (PO) is believed to be a key mediator of immune function in insects and has been implicated both in non-self recognition and in resistance to a variety of parasites and pathogens, including baculoviruses and parasitoids. Using larvae of the Egyptian cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, we found that despite its apparent importance, haemolymph PO activity varied markedly between individuals, even amongst insects reared under apparently identical conditions. Sib-analysis methods were used to determine whether individuals varied genetically in their PO activity, and hence in one aspect of immune function. The heritability estimate of haemolymph PO activity was high (h 2 = 0.690 +/- 0.069), and PO activity in the haemolymph was strongly correlated with PO activity in both the cuticle and midgut; the sites of entry for most parasites and pathogens. Haemolymph PO activity was also strongly correlated with the degree to which a synthetic parasite (a small piece of nylon monofilament) was encapsulated and melanized (r = 0.622 +/- 0.142), suggesting that the encapsulation response is also heritable. The mechanism maintaining this genetic variation has yet to be elucidated.

Self-cooling of a micro-mirror by radiation pressure

Cooling of mechanical resonators is currently a popular topic in many fields of physics including ultra-high precision measurements, detection of gravitational waves and the study of the transition between classical and quantum behaviour of a mechanical system. Here we report the observation of self-cooling of a micromirror by radiation pressure inside a high-finesse optical cavity. In essence, changes in intensity in a detuned cavity, as caused by the thermal vibration of the mirror, provide the mechanism for entropy flow from the mirror's oscillatory motion to the low-entropy cavity field. The crucial coupling between radiation and mechanical motion was made possible by producing free-standing micromirrors of low mass (m approximately 400 ng), high reflectance (more than 99.6%) and high mechanical quality (Q approximately 10,000). We observe cooling of the mechanical oscillator by a factor of more than 30; that is, from room temperature to below 10 K. In addition to purely photothermal effects we identify radiation pressure as a relevant mechanism responsible for the cooling. In contrast with earlier experiments, our technique does not need any active feedback. We expect that improvements of our method will permit cooling ratios beyond 1,000 and will thus possibly enable cooling all the way down to the quantum mechanical ground state of the micromirror.

Beyond homo economicus: Recognition, self-realization and social work

This paper builds on Ferguson's important contribution to the debate on personalization in social work that appeared in the British Journal of Social Work in 2007. Whereas Ferguson approached the topic through the lens of political philosophy, the account below draws on critical social theory to examine not only the nature of personalization, but also its supportive pillar of individualization. In particular, Axel Honneth's critique of individualization in modern society is presented before setting out his ideas on the need for self-realization through inter-subjective recognition. The implications of Honneth's position are then considered in terms of four interrelated dimensions of social work practice, namely: (i) social work as symbolic interaction; (ii) social work as care; (iii) social work as respect; and (iv) social work as validation. It is argued that this constellation of practices poses a direct and necessary challenge to a social work of personalization.

The relationship between the recognition of facial expressions and self-reported anger in people with intellectual disabilities

Background This study aims to examine the relationship between how individuals with intellectual disabilities report their own levels of anger, and the ability of those individuals to recognize emotions. It was hypothesized that increased expression of anger would be linked to lower ability to recognize facial emotional expressions and increased tendency to interpret facial expressions in a hostile or negative manner. It was also hypothesized increased levels of anger may lead to the altered perception of a particular emotion.

Method A cross-sectional survey design was used. Thirty participants completed a test of facial emotion recognition (FER), and a self-report anger inventory (Benson & Ivins 1992) as part of a structured interview.

Results Individuals with higher self-reported anger did not show significantly reduced performance in FER, or interpret facial expressions in a more hostile manner compared with individuals with less self-reported anger. However, they were less accurate in recognizing neutral facial emotions.

Conclusions It is tentatively suggested that individuals with high levels of anger may be likely to perceive emotional content in a neutral facial expression because of their high levels of emotional arousal.

Reconstructing the dynamics of a movable mirror in a detuned optical cavity

We consider the dynamics of a movable mirror in a Fabry-Perot cavity coupled through radiation pressure to the cavity field and in contact with a thermal bath at finite temperature. In contrast to previous approaches, we consider arbitrary values of the effective detuning between the cavity and an external input field. We analyse the radiation-pressure effect on the Brownian motion of the mirror and its significance in the density noise spectrum of the output cavity field. Important properties of the mirror dynamics can be gathered directly from this noise spectrum. The presented reconstruction provides an experimentally useful tool in the characterization of the energy and rigidity of the mirror as modified by the coupling with light. We also give a quantitative analysis of the recent experimental observation of self-cooling of a micromechanical oscillator.

The human prion protein residue 129 polymorphism lies within a cluster of epitopes for T cell recognition.

T cell immune responses to central nervous system-derived and other self-antigens are commonly described in both healthy and autoimmune individuals. However, in the case of the human prion protein (PrP), it has been argued that immunologic tolerance is uncommonly robust. Although development of an effective vaccine for prion disease requires breaking of tolerance to PrP, the extent of immune tolerance to PrP and the identity of immunodominant regions of the protein have not previously been determined in humans. We analyzed PrP T cell epitopes both by using a predictive algorithm and by measuring functional immune responses from healthy donors. Interestingly, clusters of epitopes were focused around the area of the polymorphic residue 129, previously identified as an indicator of susceptibility to prion disease, and in the C-terminal region. Moreover, responses were seen to PrP peptide 121-134 containing methionine at position 129, whereas PrP 121-134 [129V] was not immunogenic. The residue 129 polymorphism was also associated with distinct patterns of cytokine response: PrP 128-141 [129M] inducing IL-4 and IL-6 production, which was not seen in response to PrP 128-141 [129V]. Our data suggest that the immunogenic regions of human PrP lie between residue 107 and the C-terminus and that, like with many other central nervous system antigens, healthy individuals carry responses to PrP within the T cell repertoire and yet do not experience deleterious autoimmune reactions.

Dissonances in self-reported health and mortality across denominational groups in Northern Ireland

Measures of self-reported health status are increasingly used in research and health policy. However, the inherent subjectivity of the responses gives rise to lingering concerns about their utility, especially across national and cultural boundaries. In this study we use religious denomination as a proxy for Scottish ancestry within Northern Ireland and demonstrate significant differences in levels of self-reported ill-health that are not fully reflected in mortality risks. These findings mirror the differences between Scotland and Northern Ireland previously shown in ecological studies and provide more definitive evidence that even within the United Kingdom factors other than morbidity levels influence the perception and reporting of health status. Possible explanations for the dissonance between morbidity and mortality levels are discussed and the reasons for a preference for socio-economic rather than cultural factors are described. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Moments of Recognition:The Four Semester Studio in QUB

It is a legitimate assertion that the common ground of work of worth in architecture, whether theoretical or built comes from a firmly held position on the part of the author. In addition to delivery key competencies architectural education should act to support the formation of such a position in the student, or to make students aware of the possibility of holding such a position.

It is with this in mind perhaps that intensive unit-based diploma and masters structures are increasingly becoming the standard structure for for schools of architecture across the UK. The strengths of such a structure are most evident when the school, either by virtue of financial strength or geographic location is able to attract a diverse range of contrasting positions to bear in the formation of these units. In effect the offering to the student is a short, intensive immersion into a clear line of thought based on the position of those running the unit. Research is channeled by those running the unit to the work of the students. A single cohort of students therefore is able to observe and understand a wide range of ways of thinking about the subject whether or not they are participants in a unit or not. It is axiomatic that where this structure is applied in the absence of these resources the result can be less helpful, individual units are differentiated not to reflect the interests of those running the unit but for the sake of difference as its own end.

In structuring the M.Arch programme in Queens University Belfast the reality of our somewhat peripheral location was placed at the forefront of our considerations. A single 4 semester studio is offered. The first three semesters are carefully structured to offer a range of directed and self directed projects to the students. By interrogation of these projects, and work undertaken at undergraduate level the aim is to assist the students to identify a personal position on architecture, which is then developed in the thesis in semester four. Research and design outputs are emergent from the interest of the student body, cultivated by staff who have the time over the four semesters to get to know all aspects of a students interests.

This paper will lay out this structure and some of the projects run within it. Now having delivered two graduating years the successes and challenges of the system will be laid out by reference to several case studies of individual student experiences of the structure.

Is everyone Irish on St Patrick's Day? Divergent expectations and experiences of collective self-objectification at a multicultural parade

We examine experiences of collective self-objectification (CSO) (or its failure) among participants in a ‘multicultural’ St Patrick's Day parade. A two-stage interview study was carried out in which 10 parade participants (five each from ethnic majority and minority groups) were interviewed before and after the event. In pre-event interviews, all participants understood the parade as an opportunity to enact social identities, but differed in the category definitions and relations they saw as relevant. Members of the white Irish majority saw the event as being primarily about representing Ireland in a positive, progressive, light, whereas members of minority groups saw it as an opportunity to have their groups' identities and belonging in Ireland recognized by others. Post-event interviews revealed that, for the former group, the event succeeded in giving expression to their relevant category definitions. The latter group, on the other hand, cited features of the event such as inauthentic costume design and a segregated structure as reasons for why the event did not provide the group recognition they sought. The accounts revealed a variety of empowering and disempowering experiences corresponding to the extent of enactment. We consider the implications in terms of CSO, the performative nature of dual identities, as well as the notion of multicultural recognition.

Oxytocin effects on neural correlates of self-referential processing

Oxytocin (OT) influences how humans process information about others. Whether OT affects the processing of information about oneself remains unknown. Using a double-blind, placebo-controlled within-subject design, we recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) from adults during trait judgments about oneself and a celebrity and during judgments on word valence, after intranasal OT or placebo administration. We found that OT vs. placebo treatment reduced the differential amplitudes of a fronto-central positivity at 220-280 ms (P2) during self- vs. valence-judgments. OT vs. placebo treatment tended to reduce the differential amplitude of a late positive potential at 520-1000 ms (LPP) during self-judgments but to increase the differential LPP amplitude during other-judgments. OT effects on the differential P2 and LPP amplitudes to self- vs. celebrity-judgments were positively correlated with a measure of interdependence of self-construals. Thus OT modulates the neural correlates of self-referential processing and this effect varies as a function of interdependence.

Exploring molecular recognition pathways in one- and two-component gels formed by dendritic lysine-based gelators

This paper provides an integrated overview of the factors which control gelation in a family of dendritic gelators based on lysine building blocks. In particular, we establish that higher generation systems are more effective gelators, amide linkages in the dendron are better than carbamates, and long alkyl chain surface groups and a carboxylic acid at the focal point enhance gelation. The gels are best formed in relatively low polarity solvents with no hydrogen bond donor ability and limited hydrogen bond acceptor capacity. The dendrons with acid groups at the focal point can form two component gels with diaminododecane, and in this case, it is the lower generation dendrons which can avoid steric hindrance and form more effective gels. The stereochemistry of lysine is crucial in self-assembly, with opposite enantiomers disrupting each other's molecular recognition pathways. For the two-component system, stoichiometry is key, if too much diamine is present, dendron-stabilised microcrystals of the diamine begin to form. Interestingly, gelation still occurs in this case, and the systems with amides/alkyl chains are more effective gels, as a consequence of enhanced dendron-dendron intermolecular interactions allowing the microcrystals to form an interconnected network.

'When I Look I am Seen, So I Exist to Change': Supplementing Honneth's Recognition Model for Social Work

The subject of identity continues to attract widespread interest and debate in the social sciences. The nature of who we are, our potential to be different, and our similarity with others, underpins many present-day social issues. This paper contributes to this debate by examining critically the work of Axel Honneth on optimal identity-formation. Although broadly supporting Honneth’s chief construct of inter-personal recognition, a gap in his thinking is highlighted and addressed through proffering a fourth dimension to his tripartite model. This additional dimension requires demonstrations of recognition that instil hope in the face of hardship and empower positive transformations in identity. The implications of this reworked model for social work are then considered in terms of a range of approaches that can be utilised to build flourishing identities characterised by self-esteem, self-confidence, self-respect and self-belief.