Neil Ballantyne

Supervision in the Network Societyconnecticon or panopticon??

Aims of supervision (Kadushin, 2002)

AdministrativeProvision of oversight of and accountability for practiceDevelopment and maintenance of competenceSafety system for the service

Educational

Professional & educational developmentReflection on practiceApplication of theory to practiceFoster innovative and creative practiceClarification of role and relationshipsClarification of the therapeutic relationshipIncreased beneficial outcome for service users

Supportive

EmpowermentEncouragementSupportManagement of the emotional effects of the workProvision of a safe place to explore ethical and safety issuesManagement of wider organisational or team issuesPromotion of job satisfactionManagement of stress and prevention of “burn out”Enhancing welfare and well-being

Adapted by: McKenna, Thom, Howard & Williams (2008).

Sociological perspectives

Network Society (Castells, 199, 1997, 1998) A new social morphology for society

Risk Society (Beck, 1992) & the “safety state” (Raab, 2005) see also Beddoe (2010)

professional supervision for risk management: surveillance

professional supervision for learning & development: reflection

Surveillance Society (Lyons, 1994, 2003)

The panopticon

Panoptic power built into the architecture of Benthams’ prison

Prefigured what some refer to as the “electronic panopticon” or “surveillance society” which includes:

the mass surveillance & collection of data by government on populations;

the surveillance & collection of data on consumers for marketing purposes;

the management surveillance & control of the workforce by industry.

The connecticon (Rennie & Mason, 2004)

The use of networks to connect people to: explicit knowledge & information tacit knowledge & other people communities of practice sources of advice & support

Can be interactive involving contributing knowledge and support

Synchronous or ansynchronous

One to one, one to many, or many to many

Text based or multimedia

Supervision technology examples

Surveillant Reflective

Keystroke capture Online evidence base

CCTV monitoring Audio/video case capture

GPS monitoring of movements Online discussion groups

Internet use filtering & monitoring Specialist knowledge networks

Call monitoring Tele & video conferencing

Electronic case recording

Technology implementation

Issues of access, reliability & media literacy

Supervision practice & Media Naturalness theory

Social construction of technology embedded in particular practice situations practitioners construct – and sometimes subvert –

intended technology use

Some issues

Do surveillance technologies have a place in the professional workplace and should we welcome their use to make business processes safe?

What is the role of the professional supervisor in an increasingly networked world?

Why is workplace privacy important, and how can it be secured?

How can technology best support reflective practice & professional development?

neil@neilballantyne.org