ORGANIZING MADNESS - REFLECTIONS ON THE FORMS OF THE FORM

This paper investigates the form, as a modern and unprecedented textua l device, which embodies a certain combination of writing and space, p oses certain imperative questions, and generates 'information' from th e answers given. It offers a theoretical reflection on what kind of te xt the form is, and a possible history of how the form has been invent ed. It also offers an analysis of how one particular form, a Needs Ass essment Schedule used in mental health care, embodies the complexities of this history, and poses ambiguities and opacities for professional s and clients using the form, or interacting with it. It also attempts an understanding at this micro-level of analysis of how larger entiti es, such as organizations, are constituted out of particular practices .