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Lookup NU author(s): Dr Graeme Mearns, Ranald Richardson, Liz Robson
This is the authors' accepted manuscript of an article that has been published in its final definitive form by Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd, 2015.
For re-use rights please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions.
Recognising their growing role in public services, this article draws on the notion of ‘enactment’ to argue that the internet and social media (I&SM) need to be understood in particular insti- tutional, organisational and social contexts. Focusing on street- level bureaucrats who deliver frontline services, we explore efforts to integrate I&SM into youth work with clients who are thought to be ‘digitally savvy’ but also in need of protection from the ‘online world’. As clients can be vulnerable and trust is a key relational component, organisation–practitioner–client boundaries are complex and under continuous renegotiation. However, the layering of new virtual channels of interaction adds extra complexity. This change necessitates the develop- ment of innovative routines, practices and protocols, but these are being developed in a wider social context where the norms of using social media have not caught up with practice and the use of these tools is still often surrounded by moral panic.
Author(s): Mearns GW, Richardson R, Robson E
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: New Technology, Work and Employment
Year: 2015
Volume: 30
Issue: 3
Pages: 190-208
Print publication date: 01/11/2015
Online publication date: 09/12/2015
Acceptance date: 01/11/2015
Date deposited: 13/01/2016
ISSN (print): 0268-1072
ISSN (electronic): 1468-005X
Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.12054
DOI: 10.1111/ntwe.12054
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