LESSON 9: THE CLIENTELE AND AUDIENCES OF Clients of social work are distinguished by one to four

SOCIAL WORK levels where social work can happen.

Lesson 9: The Clientele and Audiences of Social THE INDIVIDUAL AS CLIENT OF SOCIAL WORK
Work demonstrates an understanding of this aspect focusing on a specific person’s concern
of social work whereas the clientele and audiences
are being described and the needs of individuals, generally work on an individual who has to be assisted to
groups, organizations, and communities are fit in a larger environment or someone who has been
distinguished. deprived space by the larger environment calling for
change in the very environment or simply improving one’s
Starting points - like marginalization, social justice, ability to cope with it.
universal human rights and dignity - displays the several
THE GROUP & ORRGANIZATION AS CLIENT OF
classes of people to qualify as clientele and audience of
SOCIAL WORK
social work right away. Such as the minorities, elderly,
women, children, the poor, people with disabilities and grouped as having similar or common identity as they
mental health issues and all or further on which may form collectives in terms of the level of services, they have
constitute the social work’s clientele and audience. to receive
CHARACTERISTICS OF CLIENTELE AND gay men and lesbians, migrants, women, abused or
AUDIENCES OF SOCIAL WORK neglected children, elderly, pensioners, veterans, military
service men and women, people in conflict with the law,
All people with various social concerns (in terms of being
unemployed, people with substance abuse and addiction
marginalized or experiencing social injustice or having
their rights violated or disrespected) share common as well as members of an organization, place of
characteristic qualities of the clientele and audience of employment, or students in school set up
social work:
THE COMMUNITY AS CLIENT OF SOCIAL WORK
Individuals, families, groups, and communities
experiencing being left out largest share in the clientele and audience of social work
because individuals and families are essentially members
Having some personal social problems like loss of job, of the community and everything happens in a community
getting sick, becoming terminally ill ~ and all those as everyone claims membership in the community
deserving of social welfare benefits.
A community may exist as a marginalized sector, and in
Its not just being old and retired, being employed, being which case, the social work services may gear toward
in a health care facility, home for the elderly, home for their emancipation and empowerment.
street children, drug rehabilitation center, mental health
facility; In some cases, they may constitute the majority imposing
general norms that seek to marginalize minorities and
But there are also concerns that characterize one as a those different from them;
clientele and audience of social work such as being a
minority, a migrant, a divorced woman, neglected child, In this case, social work may focus on community
sexually, physically, or mentally abused child, and transformation to cause environmental change so as to
suffering discrimination of any kind. make it possible for individuals and groups on the minority
to achieve social well-being or social justice and respect
NEEDS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF CLIENTELE AND for their rights.
AUDIENCS OF SOCIAL WORK

The needs of its various types are generally that of

wanting to be empowered, to be socially included by way
of insuring that one receives what is legally due him/her
and receives the necessary care he/she deserves.

Some need their rights to be respected, to fight for justice,

and others need social welfare help to put them on their
feet.

Each context of social work discussed in this book reflects

a unique type of clientele and audience. However,
commonalities do exist.
 LESSON 10: THE SETTINGS, PROCESSES, CIVIL SOCIETY SETTING
METHODS, AND TOOLS OF SOCIAL WORK
Sees itself as a champion of the people for their regard to
ensuring accountability in government services; hence,
Lesson 10: The Settings, Processes, Methods and
social workers under this setting tend to work for
Tools of Social Work delivered how social work works
advocacies of human rights and social justice.
in different settings, where all of which involves
various range of social work services or areas that
social workers specialize in.
SCHOOL SETTING

School social workers acts as a liaison between the

GOVERNMENT SETTING school and students’ families, sustainer of effective
communication among parents, teachers, and students,
Offers the widest space for a variety of social work and essentially bridging the children’s personal lives and
services whereas the range that they practice in includes education to ensure that students’ needs are being met.
agencies, health-care settings, schools, federal, state, or
local correctional facilities, nursing homes, and military.

Social work is present almost everywhere, from social COMMUNITY SETTING

policy formation and analysis, advocacy, and
It consists and represents all kinds of social work services
implementation to enhance the well-being of societal
as it is referred to as the locus of social work challenges.
members to providing social services through appropriate
government departments and agencies. Social work in community settings is essentially defined
by social policy and realities; therefore, it primarily calls
The government as an employer needs occupational
for generalist social work practitioners who possess a
social workers.
broad range of training and employ their skills to guide
In US, social workers are considered key employees in and coordinate services for the clientele.
the federal, state, and local government agencies. They
This setting orients social work to a generalist framework
may work on-sit at a government or non-government
that divides work into: micro-practice, where services are
agency.
targeted at individuals, families, and small groups; and
Throughout the parts of the government, there are over macro-practice, where services are focused on changing
thousands of social work positions (National Association larger environments in ways that benefit individuals,
of Social Workers, 2011 – 8,000) where in all these families, and groups.
agencies and programs, social workers perform a variety
of professional tasks and functions that vary from agency
to agency.

Especially with the DSWD, where professional work tends

to be most associated with the welfare field.

This has to do with its inception where social work is used

to implement government initiatives to provide public
welfare assistance to economically deprived individuals,
families, and groups.

To date, DSWD does a lot of work mostly in the areas of

women and child welfare.

Still, there are many other areas in which they play a vital
role like in the implementation and monitoring of social
welfare and social development projects under DSWD.

PRIVATE SECTOR SETTING

Social work is particularly set in practicing more corporate

occupational social work. This typically has five structures
within which it generates interventions: employee
assistance programs, human resource management
offices, community relations, and more.
 LESSON 11: THE SOCIAL WORK SERVICES, This is accompanied by monitoring, a detailed process of
PROCESSES, AND METHHODS documentation to be able to explain what is happening on
both sides, the social work, and on the recipients of
services.
Lesson 11: The Social Work Services, Processes and
Methods presents how the needs assessment for Then, after a certain period of implementation or
individuals, groups, organizations, and communities accumulating of services, the evaluation now comes in.
are conducted. As well as how the monitoring and Evaluating is the comprehensive examination of the
evaluating of social work is done effectively. impacts and influence of the services offered to the
recipients.

This is essential in determining the efficacy and

To gain understanding of the settings, processes,
effectiveness of the program and services.
methods, and tools in social work, it is impetus to learn
about how these came to that first, particularly what for?
DuBois and Miley (2008) argue that the purpose of social
work services, processes and methods is wide:

Primarily, they enhance social functioning of individuals,

families, groups, organizations, and communities; they
serve to link the service recipient systems with the needed
sources; they seek to improve operation of social service
delivery network and systems; and they strive to promote
respect through social policy developments and
legislation.

To attain success in these endeavors, social work sets

goals that generally includes the enhancement of their
services.

Of course, social work services aren’t launched without

careful and proper planning; hence, in guaranteeing
effective and efficient delivery of social work services, the
anticipation of needs and the scale as well as allocating
necessary resources takes part.

CONDUCTING NEEDS ASSESSMNT FOR

INDIVIDUALS, GROUPS, ORGANIZATIONS AND
COMMUNITIES

Needs assessment for individuals, groups, organizations,

and communities is taken to systematically identify their
actual needs - which is done through interviews,
observation, and surveys.

The results of analysis from the collected information then

serves as the basis for planning and identifying the kinds
of social work needed.

After the needs assessment has been taken, it ends in the

planning phase; with which the phases that come after
would be the implementation and post-implementation
phases.

MONITORING AND EVALUATING SOCIAL WORK

EFFECTIVELY

Now that needs are assessed and social work

intervention is planned, the implementation then takes
part.
LESSON 12: THE DISCIPLINE OF COMMUNICATION BASIC CONCEPTS OF COMMUNICATION

Context is among the most essential aspects in human

To start with, we have Lesson 12: The Discipline of
communication. It is the context that gives meaning to the
Communication that gives an understanding about
communication process.
the definition, basic concept, goals, basic elements,
and levels of communication. The discipline of Many communication scholars and experts affirm that it is
communication deals with how humans use verbal the context of what is done or said that determines how
and non-verbal messages to create meaning in that message is interpreted.
various contexts. This discipline of communication is
very broad; however, it provides us with Intercultural communication researchers, using the
understanding of how we construct the world of concept of context to understand people, have identified
meanings and be able to both send and receive the several “frames of reference” within which people
same. This dynamic process of sending and receiving construct and interpret ‘reality’ and communicate or
information or messages, and the meanings that they interact with others; thus, presenting its basic concepts.
contain needs to be understood. A frame of reference is a lens through which reality is
perceived and filtered to create meaning.

DEFINITION OF COMMUNICATION The six commonly identified frames of reference includes:

psychological, one’s mental schema; cultural, one’s
Communication, in the sense that it is a process, serves cultural bias; social, one’s social bias; spatial, set of
as the foundation of what binds humans together. egocentric experience, environmental, and geographical
With this, communication is defined as essentially parameters defining one’s interpretation of reality;
transactional - giving and receiving content - which may temporal, set of transient parameters such as space and
take a wide variety of forms. It constitutes both the range of experience types underlying immediate
construction of meaning and the exchange of meaning. representation defining one’s interpretation of reality; and
historical, set of parameters defining one’s historical bias.
Its process is all formed by context, culture, relationship,
society, message, and medium. Alberts, Nakayama, and To put it simply, we make meaning of facts by placing
Martin (2007) define communication as a “transactional them in some context or a frame of reference which
process.” shapes the communicators’ actions and words.

Whereas culture provides patterns of perceptions, values,

GOALS OF COMMUNICATION
and behavior that the group transmits and makes a
shared heritage. We communicate with a variety of people, for a variety of
reasons, in a variety of ways, every day. We have defined
While, context tends to be culturally defined so much that
communication as a meaning-making system that follows
the individual is made to discern from the given options
the goal of conveying messages to parties involved
available to society; hence, it provides the strongest fabric
through different mediums.
to societal forces.
Such goals of communication are to strengthen
The human communication factors include the important
relationships, to allow people with opposing views to
role of individual and societal forces, contexts, and culture
communicate, to disseminate information, and
that shape and give coherence to the communication
furthermore.
process.
This, however, has the potential to either create harmony
With this, it is possible and common to analyze its
or to result in dissonance.
processes on: a technical level or the extent to which the
intended meaning of the message is clearly or not clearly
transmitted; semantic level or extent to which the intended BASIC ELEMENTS OF THE COMMUNICATION
meaning of the message being transmitted is understood PROCESS
or misunderstood; and pragmatic level or the extent of the
Communication, as a process where people share
actual impact, effect, or outcome of the communication
information, feelings, and ideas, consists of four basic
process.
elements: the message, medium, sender, and reliever.
As a transaction, communication going by the said
Basically, communication happens when a message is
definition, requires a more comprehensive consideration
conveyed, and in the process, there are the means by
for the specific context, the individual and society forces,
which such a message is conveyed, the generator and
and the culture itself as a semantic unit.
communicator of the message, and the recipient to whom
that message is intended.
Another modified and detailed way of elements to explain LESSON 13: COMMUNICATORS AND JOURNALISTS
how communication interaction unfolds is presented by
Alberts et al. (2007): the setting, participants, message Lesson 13 focuses on communicators and journalists,
creation, channels, noise, and feedback. particularly their roles, functions, and competencies;
areas of specialization; career opportunities; rights,
Other writers, though, put it as follows: sender-receiver,
responsibilities and accountabilities; and code of
message, channel, noise, feedback, and setting (Bovee &
ethics. The discipline of communication is populated
Thill 1992 & 1998; Burnett & Dollar 1989; Gibson &
by a wide variety of professionals. These
Hodgetts 1990).
professionals are bound together by a desire and
The sender-receiver is the participant involved in the drive to send and receive messages and make an
communication process because they have ideas and impact on their audience. They specialize to serve the
feelings to share. general public and the publics of their choices.

Message is made up of the ideas and feelings that the

senders/receivers want to share that are represented by
ROLES, FUNCTIONS AND COMPETENCIES OF
symbols - verbal or nonverbal.
COMMUNICATORS AND JOURNALISTS
Channels are routes traveled by a message.
In defining the roles, functions, and competencies of
Feedback is a response of the receiver to the sender and communicators and journalists, their foremost important
vice versa. role is to make available information and evidence to
inform the public about the issues that matter to them in
Noise keeps a message from being understood or the most neutral way possible.
accurately interpreted that may be external or internal
interference. They provide facts for the public to form judgement and
decisions.
Setting is essentially the context where communication
occurs. Their functions follow naturally: to collect and document
facts and opinions, and present them for public analysis
In this communication process, the six elements can be and deepening to the root of reality.
summed up as who, the source (sender); what, the
message; how, the medium; to whom, the recipient To communicate is to deliver truth and facts. professional
(receiver); why, the influence, impact, world view; and communicators and journalists are at the service of truth.
where, the context. the competencies of communicators and journalists are
along their delivery of roles and functions.
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION They need to have listening, reading, writing and
speaking skills.
Communication involves the interactions between and
among people; which is why there are certain levels of
communication from intrapersonal to mass
communication. AREAS OF SPECIALIZATION OF COMMUNICATORS
AND JOURNALISTS
Intrapersonal communication refers to communication
that occurs within us. Communicators and journalists can work in a number of
areas of specialization: speech writing, advertising,
Interpersonal communication occurs one-to-one basis communication education, electronic media, radio,
usually in an informal unstructured setting. television, broadcasting, public relations, journalism,
theater, public communication and opinion management,
Intercultural communication occurs between or among
internal relations management and negotiations.
members of different cultures or people who are
enculturated differently. As journalists, they can also specialize in field reporting,
news editing, news casting, author, copywriting, script
Interviewing makes use of a series of questions and
writing, publishing, news service research, technical
answers usually involving two people or groups with the
writing, acquisition editing, and interviewing.
purpose to obtain information on a particular subject.
The field of communication is wide and almost every
Small Group communication occurs when a small group
aspect of business and human organization has
of people meets to solve a problem.
communication specialists or roles.
Lastly, Mass communication is when the sender-receiver
sends a message to an audience in a highly structured
manner where additional visuals may be used.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES OF COMMUNICATORS The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural
AND JOURNALISTS Organization (UNESCO) considers the code of ethics as
being the heart of good communication and journalism for
Professionals pursuing careers in communication have it fosters professional self-censorship among
many options. professionals in the industry.
Communicators and journalists have career opportunities The code of ethics contributes to the accuracy, fairness
in advertising and marketing, professional blogging, and reliability of information.
communication educators, broadcasting, and
international relations and negotiations. Therefore, also benefiting the general public as
consumers of information which form part of the basis of
RIGHTS, RESPONSIBILITIES AND individual family community corporate and national
ACCOUNTABILITIES OF COMMUNICATORS AND decisions.
JOURNALISTS In 1936, an example of a code of ethics was given by the
Communicators’ and Journalists’ rights, responsibilities National Union of Journalists (NUJ).
and accountabilities have to be established to safeguard
the integrity of media and protection of the general public
in the form of accountability.

In the name of freedom of expression, abuses that

happen in certain aspects remain largely unaccountable.

Accountability is a necessity for communicators and

journalists.

The responsibility is to ensure that citizens are able to

originate content and contribute to the media content, and
not just remain passive consumers of media output.

Communicators and journalists have rights,

responsibilities and accountabilities to exercise and live
by and which must provide guarantees against
censorship and protection of freedom of expression,
safeguarding the confidentiality of journalistic sources,
and ensuring that information held by the government can
be timely and easily accessed by the public.

There are also general media laws and regulatory

frameworks at both national and international level to
comply with.

It is their responsibility to ensure that citizens have

convenient access to all media which is subject to just and
fair law and universally recognized principles of human
rights.

Developing self-regulatory mechanisms across the

communication and journalism sector can help ensure a
more comprehensive approach to developing and
upholding media ethics

CODE OF ETHICS OF COMMUNICATORS AND

JOURNALISTS

Communicators and journalists have code of ethics and

professional standards based on self-regulation.

The general rule lies in respect for truthfulness and

respect for people's rights.
 LESSON 14: THE CLIENTELE AND AUDIENCES IN Looking at the April 30, 2015 Mary Jane Veloso case as
COMMUNICATION a communication context, we can explore how various
types of clientele and audience of communication may be
Lesson 14: The Clientele and Audiences in represented.
Communication discusses its characteristics, various
types, as well as the individual, group and THE INDIVIDUAL AS A CLIENT
organization, and the community as a client. To make
communities effective and attainable, specific or As an individual, you want to be the first to know about
intended clientele and audience in an instance of all matters that pertain to you.
communication need to be properly understood. This Hodgetts (2002) presents four major barriers to
means that the method of communication is carefully communication that can make things more dramatic to an
selected as most effective for the target audience. individual: perception, inference, language, and status.

For an individual as a client of communication, these

CHARACTERISTICS OF CLIENTELE AND barriers need to be well-managed. One has to have a way
AUDIENCES OF COMMUNICATION to overcome them to achieve effective communication.

All people are clientele and audience in communication.

THE GROUP AND ORGANIZATION AS A CLIENT
However, communication can only be effective when
Groups and organizations tend to have communication
communicators take into consideration the characteristics
needs that are specific to them. An example would be like
of the intended clientele and audience.
the aforementioned 2015 Veloso case.
The certain characteristics that are worth considering are
The groups and organizations may be identified as family
as follows:
and friends, migrant organizations, the legal team, media,
Social position is the status that a person enjoys in a and the Philippine government.
communication context.
Their communication needs had to do with wanting to
Education level may suggest the reading skills and convince the Indonesian government to stop the pending
healthy literacy and the ability to engage with more execution of Mary Jane Veloso.
complex topics - new and even unfamiliar.

Age range can affect choice of communication format or THE COMMUNITY AS A CLIENT
distribution. When a community is the client of communication, the
Race and ethnicity are an important consideration in message has to be responsive to the need and the
communication particularly in deciding on graphics and channel has to be appropriate, and the subject to be
photos as communication materials. communicated has to be relevant to the community.

Primary language has to be considered for the message

to be effective. LESSON 15: THE SETTINGS, PROCESSES,
Health status matters a lot as it dictates people's METHODS, AND TOOLS IN COMMUNICATION
disposition to listening and responding and the ability to
make meaning out of the communicated material. Lesson 15: The Settings, Processes, Methods, and
Tools in Communication delivers topics identifying the
Job type of the audience can affect the format of materials
settings in which communicators and journalists are
and the distribution methods to be used.
found, along with the different processes and
Lastly, information sources matter for they affect the methods involved in undertaking communication. As
format and distribution of the communication materials well as the appropriate communication media
and also the medium they trust. channels to use in different settings and situations

NEEDS OF VARIOUS TYPES OF CLIENTELE AND The settings of communication may be defined as the
AUDIENCES OF COMMUNICATION physical surrounding of a communication event (Alberts,
Nakayama, & Martin 2007). What is critical regarding the
Different individuals, groups, and communities have setting is to know the audience and understand what they
distinct communication needs. need to hear and how they need to receive information.
The process of communication accounts for what SCHOOL SETTING
happens between the source of message and the
recipient, the skills employed in giving and receiving Schools are educational and social institutions. Their
information, and conveying ideas and opinions with those participation in communication is to deliver educational
around us. goods to the public and engage communities in agenda
setting regarding educational goals and means.
The methods of communication involve the verbal, oral,
non-verbal, written, and visual ways of sending a Communication in a school setting tends to be very formal
message. and academic.

Through the emergence of new media there is more

While, tools in communication include all that we used in
both communicating with others and interpreting the exchange of information and documents among students
information received from others. and the traditional group work has become virtual
teamwork where students learn together and accomplish
tasks without physically being together.
GOVERNMENT SETTING

The government deals with citizens and particularly COMMUNITY SETTING

delivers social and public services that ensure peaceful
The community is where all sectors interact: government,
and orderly living.
business, civil society, and just about all individuals and
The purpose of communication becomes more of public groups.
to government and government to public.
In general, communication with communities has
With this, the government setting draws on a variety of developed to favor one directional pattern of mass media;
communication methods and tools depending on the where various tools and methods are appropriately drawn
subject and intent. to achieve community setting communication goals.

Traditionally, the government relied on mass media to

disseminate public information and propaganda; now, the
government has also incorporated much of new
technological tools and the use of social media.

PRIVATE SECTORS SETTING

The private sector refers to the business community,

where people involved in the delivery of public services
that include job creation and employment provision aren't
necessarily under the government. Essentially, this sector
exists for profit.

CIVIL SOCIETY SETTING

The civil society sees itself as the “third force.” It comes to

complement government and business action.

They do not exist to make profit or to serve as government

but they do perform a number of functions that belong to
the government.

Communication in this sense is defined by the mission

and actions chosen by the civil society.

They can draw almost all forms and tools available in

communication.

To highlight issues, they do produce documentaries and

even inspire movies, along with the use of social media to
bring their case to a wide audience.
 LESSON 16: THE COMMUNICATION MEDIA TELECOMMUNICATION
CHANNELS
Telecommunication refers to the transmission of
information by electromagnetic means; in the form of
Lesson 16: The Communication Media Channels
electromagnetic signals by telegraph, telephone, radio, or
delivers topics of mass media, new and social media,
television.
telecoms, needs assessments, and monitoring and
evaluating communication effectiveness that gives us The term covers a vast range of information-transmitting
knowledge on how to distinguish appropriate technologies such as mobile phones, landlines, VoIP, and
communication media channel(s) to use in different broadcast networks (Telecommunication 2015;
settings and situations. Techopedia.com 2016).

The data is transmitted in the form of electrical signals,

modulated into analog or digital signals for transmitting
MASS MEDIA information; i.e., analog modulation used in radio
All forms of communication that are devoted to broadcasting are amplitude modulation and digital
transmitting standardized messages to widespread modulation.
audiences are called mass media; whereas, much of it The United Nations specialized agency for information
has become electronic media. and communication technologies (ICT) administered
It covers radio, television, media technology, and web telecommunication and broadcasting worldwide; global
design with streaming audio and video. satellite orbits, develop technical standards that ensure
networks and technologies seamlessly interconnect, and
Communication is essentially a two-way process, strive to improve access to ICTs to underserved
comprising the elements of the sender, message, communities worldwide.
channel, receiver, feedback, and context. Mass media
does not consist much of these. At present, The International Telecommunication Union
(ITU) has a Membership of 193 countries and almost 800
It is a one-way system, yet the emergence of new media private-sector entities and academic institutions.
and social media has transformed it to become more of a
dialog, making a typical two-way system. In the Philippines, the National Telecommunications
Commission (NTC) is the nation's regulatory agency
However, the audience is not obliged to pay attention or responsible to steer the telecommunication sector as a
give feedback. primary engine for national progress and development.

There is also a private sector, the Kapisanan ng mga

NEW MEDIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP), organized in 1973 to
Under new media and social media, communication is not provide mechanism for self-regulation in the broadcasting
necessarily relational but issue- and interest-based industry.
instead.

In this type of media, people forge a conversational NEEDS ASSESSMENT FOR INDIVIDUAL, GROUPS,
community driven by common interest and focus ORGANIZATIONS AND COMMUNITIES
generally on a single issue that can be virtually located.
Under these media channels, conducting needs
The most prominent forms of social media are blogging assessment is essentially the same;
and social networking that tend to resemble a typical
mass media but it has the provision for concerned people the communicator wants to know the purpose of
to respond and sustain a discussion and exchange views communicating that may include considering the five
in a two-way communication style. essential elements:

New media and social media also challenge the the sender, the message being transmitted, the medium
profession of communication and ethics of used to carry the message, the receiver of the message,
communication; as it is regulated by the discourse of and the interpretation given to the message (Hodgetts,
participants not the members of the profession. 2002).

As well as it redefined participatory democracy with new By conducting a needs assessment, the communicator
political implications; open debate and consensus on would be best prepared to contain the meaning to the
issues are increasingly sought and achieved through new receiver; since to communicate effectively means that one
media and social media. has met the needs of the intended individuals, groups,
organizations, and communities in all aspects.
MONITORING AND EVALUATING COMMUNICATION SELF-DEVELOPMENT AND APPLIED SOCIAL
EFFECTIVITY SCIENCES

A logical model in monitoring and evaluating The functions of applied social sciences for self-
communication effectivity involves splitting the variables development have been discussed – counseling, social
into two: work, communication – each of which has a distinct
contribution in services they put out for self-development.
the variables of causes, which includes input, activities,
and outputs that have to be monitored and accounted for; Counseling offers guidance to individuals in varying
and situations of conflict. Social work offers a wide range of
services in the aid of emancipating the marginalized
the variables of effects, which includes initial, individuals and facilitating participation in the public goods
intermediate, and ultimate outcomes that have to be and services necessary for self-development.
evaluated.
Communication empowers the individual with listening
Monitoring traces the plan and documents its and speaking skills in order for them to be effective.
implementation, while evaluation accounts for results
arising from the implementation of the plan.
PERSUASION AND APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES;
Communication is a dynamic process that aims at a
response and through monitoring and evaluating At the heart of persuasion is the ability to understand well
communication, the success and failure of communication one’s audience and its complexity.
can be determined and necessary immediate or future In this kind of communication, the communicator deals
corrective actions can be identified and undertaken with people’s basic attitudes, values, and beliefs on
accurately. issues and how to tailor the message for the audience in
order to convince hem to adopt a particular point of view
through appropriate channels.
LESSON 17: THE DISCIPLINES AND IDEAS OF
APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES Persuasion often consists very few words making sure
each one is very important, simple, specific, and exciting.
We have discussed counseling, social work, and Other than communication and journalism skills,
communication; they help individuals fit well in society counseling and social work skills facilitate the ability to
and challenge the social environment to become a empathize, listen well, and to respond effectively.
better place for all. These sciences cover a broad field
which is discussed here in Lesson 17: The Disciplines Drawing on the skills of applied social sciences,
of Applied Social Sciences; drawing on different persuasion energizes itself to move audiences to desired
social theories and perspectives and it combines and immediate action.
theory and practice to deal with the complexity of
social issues experienced by individuals, groups, and ART AND ENTERTAINMENT AND APPLIED SOCIAL
communities. SCIENCES

Art is a human creativity that involves the perceptions and

FUNCTIONS OF APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES imagination of an artist trying to communicate a selective
Applied social sciences functions as a purveyor of social recreation of reality and giving it form into the immediate
justice, inclusion, and caregiving. perceptual awareness.

Like for a child, applied social sciences services are Through art and entertainment, we are able to see life
indispensable to its full transformation; as they are critical differently. It can provide nurturance and keep
to unblocking all barriers to the individual’s, group’s, and communities mentally and socially healthy.
community’s holistic development. They create a consistent atmosphere of excitement and
They help the society to see beyond the behavior vitality and they bring humor in depressing and stressful
manifestations by looking beneath them. moments; hence, expanding the people's ability to endure
extreme forms of suffering and optimism.
Applied social sciences services help us consider all
helping situations to be multicultural in the sense that In moments of hardships, the arts provide collective
people's uniqueness has to be recognized in the helping resilience among people.
process. The art and entertainment industry offers a wide range of
career opportunities.
The industry requires creativity, adaptability, and offers EDUCATION AND APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES
the opportunity for travel.
The educational process is a well-recognized global
framework and means of socialization and enculturation.
NEWS AND INFORMATION AND APPLIED SOCIAL
SCIENCES Education is an ongoing process of improving knowledge
and skills, and it is an exceptional means of bringing about
The proliferation of news outlets, channels, and purposes personal development and building relationships among
require increased ability for the other and participants in individuals, groups, and nations.
the news making and consumption.
In many instances, education has played a big role in
The new media and social media are providing the reducing poverty, social exclusion, ignorance,
possibility of driving the democratization of information by oppression, and war.
undercutting the agenda setting of large media outlets
and their ability to control news and information flows. From this perspective, the link between education and
applied social sciences can be considered to be highly
The overall information ecosystem has changed. This interwoven.
society is informed by simply reading, listening to, or
watching just about anything. In UNESCO 1972 report, they essentially gave birth to the
four pillars of education that continue to inform and shape
Today, we live in a digitally networked world democrat global education curriculum: learning to know, learning to
democratization of thought, ideas, and flows of do, learning to live together, and learning to be.
information.
It is important to note that the four pillars of learning relate
It has been observed that online audience concentration to all phases, areas, dimensions, and types of education.
has equaled, and in many instances surpassed, what can
be found in most traditional media. Education is preparation for social praxis in the present
and emerging context inasmuch as it is an essential
Social media has the possibility of making accessible and means to economic and human capital development for
driving democratization of information further beyond the individuals and communities.
agenda setting of large media outlets in the relative
control of news and information flows.
SOCIALIZATION AND ENCULTURATION AND
Today, the media landscape is more vibrant in offering APPLIED SOCIAL SCIENCES;
faster and cheaper distribution networks, fewer barriers to
entry, and more ways to consume information. Socialization is the process by which society turns an
individual from being a child into a full-fledged responsible
The new digital tools are providing powerful ways to adult or from being an outsider to becoming an insider.
consume, share, and even report the news.
Enculturation is a process by which a culture of his or her
Applied social sciences in this context can provide environment (Sampa 2008).
encouragement and empowerment to underserved
communities to avail open and free media channels voice Since culture is a meaning-making system, there are five
out and to consume critical information. elements included in the meaning production: symbols,
language, values, norms, ideal-real or worldview-ethos.
We are entering an era where audiences employ self-
censorship and play a bigger role in engaging, remixing, To be enculturated means that one can understand the
commenting, and ultimately filtering what is important. cultural symbols, the language, the values, the norms,
and is capable of negotiating the thin line of meanings
called ideal-real or worldview-ethos.
ORGANIZING ADVOCACY AND APPLIED SOCIAL
SCIENCES Another concept closely associated with enculturation is
acculturation, which refers to the process of acquisition of
In our present day of free speech and democracy, a second culture (Sampa 2008).
organizing advocacy is very much part of social cohesion.
The skills learned in the applied social sciences can
In organizing advocacy for issues of great concern, one enrich and facilitate both socialization and enculturation.
can benefit from core values of applied social sciences;
which foster the common good and inclusion and a Empathy and good listening and speaking skills are
greater sense of life in community. effective tools in the socialization process.

People are encouraged to be in solidarity with one another

and very often, go beyond oneself.
 LESSON 18: THE EFFECTS OF THE APPLIED Our lifestyles are as good as they are sustainable and
SOCIAL SCIENCES PROCESSES supported by our life means.

With the applied social sciences processes,

BEHAVIORAL CHANGE
standards in social service delivery are observed. A
set of core values is considered in the delivery of Behavior is acquired or developed slowly and once it's
human and social services with quality. Lesson 18: part of your life, you will learn the difficulty of behavioral
The Effects of the Applied Social Sciences Process change.
focuses on the changes that applied social sciences
services can influence on a person. This is why Achieving this demand multiple solutions and even
integrity and competence are expected of all several different techniques which is why generally,
professionals in the practice of social service. They behavioral change is highly transactional and behavioral
are expected to work within their areas of competence change management is never easy.
and to develop and enhance their professional
However, psychologists, therapists, physicians, and
expertise.
teachers have developed a number of ways to effectively
help people change their behaviors.

SOCIAL AWARENESS, SELF-AWARENESS AND research has produced theories to explain how change
SELF- KNOWLEDGE occurs. The Stages of Change or the Transtheoretical
model (TTM), of James Prochaska and Carlo
Social awareness, self-awareness, and self-knowledge DiClemente, Demonstrates the change is not easy and
are very essential for quality participation and functioning requires a gradual progression of small steps toward a
in society for they incorporate one's appreciation of both larger goal.
the inner-ecology and the social-ecology.
This model has found to be an effective aid in
Social awareness is important for managing your own understanding how people go through change in a
response to change, and it forms an essential part of behavior, whereas there are three most important
intrapersonal intelligence as Incapacitated individuals to elements: (1) readiness to change; (2) barriers to change;
appreciate diverse perspectives, contribute to civil and (3) expect relapse.
society, and understand relationships.
Self-change can be hard and so is changing others.
Self-awareness is an important step toward self- Applied social sciences bring in a wealth of approaches,
understanding and self-mastery and it forms an essential techniques, and tools to facilitate change on the individual
part of intrapersonal and emotional intelligence; meaning and group level.
having the capacity to understand your own personality,
behaviors, habits, and emotions. Behavioral change has been rightly associated with the
role of applied social sciences processes.
A self-aware individual acts with personal and social
capability through recognition of emotions, recognition of The practice and insights from social work and counseling
personal qualities and achievements, understanding are influencing progress in conflict management and
oneself as a learner, and developing a reflective practice. peace building i.e., in Mindanao and across society.

Counselors and social workers are more and more

ATTITUDE AND VALUE CHANGE impacting public response to risk assessment behavior on
individual, group, and community levels.
Tension emanating from technological, social, and
economic change bring about attitude and value change.
STRUCTURAL CHANGE
with all changes happening especially in the climate
change context, social and cultural values that may not be Structural change refers to the radical shift in the way
in support of survival need to give way to those that are reality is organized and does not necessarily include the
life nurturing. substantive change.

Relying isn’t enough so there is a need to have an Evidently, personal and family relations, gender, overseas
attitudinal and value transformation on negative migration of Filipino workers, single parenting, community
inclinations like the “bahala na” attitude; these cannot lead life, criminality, and substance abuse are not only
to individual, group, or community sustainability. changing in structure; they are also becoming more
common and normal.
Our attitudes and values must change with time so as to
allow our new abilities to emerge and survive. Applied social sciences are facilitating much of people's
struggle to live with these changes.
Social work, counseling, and communication are making
common issues more of a public discourse leading to
greater acceptance and better understanding and coping
at an individual, group, and community levels;

with this, social science concepts and theories have

provided the foundation and tools to deal with changes in
a more comprehensive way.

SYNTHESIS OF THE EFFECTS OF APPLIED SOCIAL

SCIENCES

As a synthesis of the effects of applied social sciences:

“social sciences”, in its broadness, provide a huge
theoretical resource to explain much of the social
phenomena that affect individuals, families, groups, and
communities.

Applied sciences raise the ‘social science’ to a ‘practical

science’ that addresses personal, family, group, and
community problems by helping individuals develop their
capacity to fit well in the environment and by challenging
the environment to become better for individuals to
flourish.

Services under applied social sciences provided the

mechanism, tools, methods, and processes to bridge the
individual and his or her community.