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Political power and professionalisation
Published in Geraldine Lee-Treweek, Tom Heller, Hilary MacQueen, Julie Stone, Sue Spurr, Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Structures and Safeguards, 2020
Mike Saks, Geraldine Lee-Treweek
Early work in the sociology of professions, particularly in health work, was based on the functionalist approach of Talcott Parsons (1951). Advocates of this approach believed that the leading professions such as medicine and law were distinguished from other occupations by the positive and significant part they played in society (Millerson, 1964). Functionalist authors focused on the elements of a profession that they believed were of functional significance for the wider society and/or their individual clients — such as their specialist knowledge. These theorists can be said to have a positive attitude to professions, seeing them as necessary groups contributing to the benefit of society. By using their distinctive expertise non-exploitatively for the public good, they earned their privileged financial and social status (Goode, 1960; Barber, 1963). Their position is explained in Box 4.1 (overleaf).
Studying aging in families
Published in George E. Dickinson, Brenda S. Sanders, Aging in the Family, 2018
George E. Dickinson, Brenda S. Sanders
Turning now to macro theories, structural functionalism is one that views society as a social system of interrelating parts. Emile Durkheim’s work (1964) serves as the primary foundation for theoretical frameworks relating to group actions and societal structures. The social system is not unlike the human body, an organism, which is made up of parts, each functioning on behalf of the other: an organism with parts making up the whole. If something happens to one of the parts (e.g., an individual breaks a leg), then the movement of the entire body is impaired. Or one could liken this to an automobile that is made up of parts. One assumes that most, if not all, of the parts are working at any given time. With the impairment of any one part, say a flat tire, the vehicle will cease to function effectively.
Introduction to sociology
Published in Patricia Lindsay, Ian Peate, Introducing the Social Sciences for Midwifery Practice, 2015
The two main structural theories are functionalism and Marxism. Functionalism is a branch of sociology that emphasises how different elements of society work harmoniously as a series of interconnected parts that together form a whole (Haralambos and Holborn, 2013). Social institutions such as the family are therefore analysed as a whole rather than as isolated components and it is believed that in order for such institutions to survive within society, there must be the fulfilment of necessary conditions of existence called functional prerequisites (Haralambos and Holborn, 2004). These functional prerequisites are based upon the socialisation of shared customs and values and various approaches have been used to identify what these are and the factors that different societies have in common. Thus functionalists focus on how social systems are maintained by the contribution of the specified prerequisites.
Finding meaning and purpose: a framework for the self-management of neurological conditions
Published in Disability and Rehabilitation, 2022
Stephanie Kılınç, Hannah Erdem, Rebecca Healey, Joanne Cole
Aligned with this, participants discussed understanding and becoming more aware of the needs and experience of their body, in order to effectively manage day-to-day activities. Although the impact of a neurological condition on physical functioning has been examined [29], participants often have more severe and disabling forms of conditions and thus adopt a more functionalist approach to the impact on the body, focusing on the effect on a person’s ability to function within society. However, the current study identified that regardless of the nature and severity of the neurological condition, energy conservation was important in leading a meaningful life and was discussed as a commodity which could be saved and traded; their passport to a life with meaning and purpose. Central to this was engaging in planning and pacing. Although such strategies are advocated for managing chronic conditions [67], it was noted that they could take time to learn. Certainly, energy conservation is an established method of fatigue management in neurological conditions [68,69], however, the process of engaging with energy conservation strategies is complex and can be impeded by a person’s sense of self and acceptance of their condition [70]. Indeed, there were parallels between this sub-theme (embracing my body) and sub-theme two (my condition and me), whereby adjusting their expectations of themselves could extend to expectations of their body’s capabilities.
Narrative histories of physiotherapy in Colombia, Ecuador, and Argentina
Published in Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 2021
Alexandra Giraldo-Pedroza, Aydee Luisa Robayo-Torres, Alma Viviana Silva Guerrero, David A. Nicholls
To understand the evolution of physiotherapy across the countries, it is important to define profession from occupation. The traditional functionalist analysis of professions states that they can be distinguished from occupations by their preferential traits. Professional autonomy, appeals to altruism, control labor activities, formalization of teaching, recognition by peers and the public, legal regulation, and accreditation by the state were considered defining characteristics of professions in the middle of the 20th century (Parsons, 1937). Following the work of Eliot Freidson (1986), Terry Johnson (1972), Anne Witz (1992) and others after the 1970s, trait-based theories came in for strong criticism (Freidson, 1986). Over the last 50 years, a number of more complex analyses of professions have emerged, including Marxist, Neo-Weberian, gendered, and postmodern readings. Central to most of these accounts is the realization that profession histories are contingent on the socio-political and cultural contexts in which they operate.
Critical dialogical approach: A methodological direction for occupation-based social transformative work
Published in Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 2019
Lisette Farias, Debbie Laliberte Rudman, Nick Pollard, Sandra Schiller, Ana Paula Serrata Malfitano, Kerry Thomas, Hanneke van Bruggen
Several scholars have argued that frameworks such as social transformation belong to a different paradigm than the contemporary positioning of occupational therapy and science within health sciences and biomedicine [1,4,30,31]. Fransen and colleagues [28] argue that even within an occupational therapy practice that promotes a client-centred approach, there is often a reliance on a functionalist paradigm that tends to be mechanistic. Yet, in practices that aim to be transformative, there is a need for reflecting on why things are done (e.g. what conditions (re)create injustices) rather than just learning how to do [28]. As such, critical reflexivity is central to the critical dialogical approach forwarded in this paper due to its potential to problematize the paradigms or set of assumptions underlying the practices that are focusing on social issues that (re)create occupational injustices [1,6,24,32].