Computer Technology - 1984 and Beyond

Authors

Terry Holbrook, Rochester Psychiatric Center

Abstract

This article examines the impact of computerization on record keeping. Particularly important about automated records is that their content becomes reified, thereby distorting the nature of client data. Because the technical side of documenting a client's activities is stressed, the existential nature of behavior is obscured. As a result, a practitioner may not gain much insight into the motives and social situation of a client. Yet without this information, irrelevant advice may be prescribed by a social worker. Accordingly, technology must not be allowed to alter the existential process of creating a client's biography in a record.

Recommended Citation

Holbrook, Terry (1986) "Computer Technology - 1984 and Beyond," The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare: Vol. 13: Iss. 1, Article 9.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.1738
Available at: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/jssw/vol13/iss1/9