This is the first book to examine the views of a number of theorists from ancient times to the 19th century on a range of welfare issues: wealth, poverty and inequality; slavery, gender issues, and the family; child rearing and education; crime and punishment; the role of government in society; and, the strengths and weaknesses of government provision vis a vis market provision. The book also looks at the values of the various theorists as well as their perception of human nature for these tend to underpin their welfare views. The book will make essential reading for students of social policy, gender issues, community care, social work, and sociology.

The expansion of the European Union (EU) has put an end to the East-West division of Europe. At the same time it has increased the cultural heterogeneity, social disparities and economic imbalances within the EU, exemplified in the lower living standards and higher unemployment rates in some of the new member states. This important new reference work describes the education systems, labour markets and welfare production regimes in the 10 new Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) countries. In three comparative chapters, discussing each of these domains in turn, the editors provide a set of theory-driven, comprehensive and informative indicators that allow comparisons and rankings within the new EU member states. Ten country-specific chapters follow, each written by experts from those countries: Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. These chapters provide detailed information on each country's education and training systems, labour market structure and regulations, and its provision of formal and informal welfare support. An important component of each country chapter is the explanation of the historical background and the specific national conditions for the institutional choices in the transitional years. The handbook provides policy makers with the tools to assess the institutional changes in CEE countries, and scholars with ways to apply the proposed indicators to their analytic research. It will be a vital resource that no major research library should be without.

This book analyses the circular migration of care workers in Central Europe using the example of Slovak carers in 24-hour care provision for the elderly in Austria. Challenging analyses that focus primarily on care drain and care regimes, Bahna and Sekulova supplement quantitative methodology with qualitative fieldwork to demonstrate the importance of the sending country's economic context. The authors discuss the dynamics of economic differences between Austria and its post-communist neighbors as preconditions of the crossborder care provision, bridging analyses of policy and legal frameworks with approaches from labor migration study. Even as they scrutinize the relevance of care drain-based analyses, Bahna and Sekulova bring to the fore the interplay of economic differences, social policies, gender and migration regimes with geographic proximity to study long-term impacts of care work, including an analysis of employment after care work.

This innovative book addresses the historical development of social and fiscal policies from the late 1970s to the present day by asking what has changed, how these changes have affected the lifecourse and what the potential lifetime impacts of policy change are. This book provides an overview of the development of policy change over the period and uses an innovative and unique lifetime approach "from the cradle to the grave" to put it into perspective. The authors begin by reviewing the political changes and policy story since the 1970s and demonstrate the economic and social changes that have occurred alongside. The book then takes an innovative approach in looking at specific programmes about crucial aspects of the lifecycle - from maternity and childhood, through to adult events and risks before finally looking at retirement, survivorship and death. Finally, profiles of three hypothetical "families" - the Meades, who are median earners, the Moores, high earners and the Lowes who are low paid - are developed for 1979, 1997 and 2008 to provide a comprehensive discussion of policy change and make innovative insights for the future. This is the first book to join up the history of policy direction with an analysis of outcomes over the whole period. It will therefore be ideal for students of social policy and attract a wide readership interested in pensions, children's support and related issues.

In 2008, sociologist Peter Townsend celebrated his 80th birthday. It has been 60 years since his first published work. The range of his work is exceptional, including research on the UK's inner city deprivation; older people contemplating retirement; exclusion on the basis of class, race, gender, age, and disability; individual versus state responsibility for health; the social purposes and viability of residential institutions and hospitals; child and extended family development; and persistent poverty. This reader is a collection of his most distinctive work. The Peter Townsend Reader looks at the changes in social policy that have taken place in the UK, as well as internationally, over the past six decades. Each section of the book is introduced by an editor who is acquainted with Peter Townsend's work. It provides insight into the development of one social scientist's entire intellectual approach, particularly in choosing to place social policy at the center of social theory. The b

In an ideal world, shouldn't everyone have the security of owning their own home? Doesn't owning one's home improve housing stock, financial security, and civil society? If all this is true, why, in Britain, is the "Right to Buy" the Conservatives' effort to bring the opportunity of homeownership to a large number of people living in social housing such a contentious and vilified policy? Housing Policy Transformed is the first book in ten years which covers the ideological and conceptual issues around owner occupation and the continuance of the Right to Buy in Britain's post-Thatcher era. The book explores Britain's social, economic, and cultural peculiarities that led to the Right to Buy policy, and how it has managed to survive for 30 years. It looks at why there has been such a harsh critique of the Right to Buy policy from the Left and the negative effects that the Right to Buy policy (combined with Britain's Housing Benefit and the Homelessness Act) have had on social housin

Young people in Europe have been disproportionally affected by unemployment as a result of the economic crisis and a large number of the most disadvantaged are migrant youth, or those of a different ethnic origin, living in deprived city neighbourhoods. This book examines the need for more appropriate interventions aimed at improving the inclusion of young people in the labour market, bringing together theoretical reflections and empirical evidence on emerging innovative policies and practices. Using case studies from across Europe, it asks how effectively innovative interventions respond to the specific needs, motivations, aspirations and strategies of unemployed and vulnerable youth within the contextual conditions of the welfare state and locality. It also provides a new theory of the effectiveness of interventions. As social exclusion remains high among young people in Europe, Effective Interventions for Unemployed Young People in Europe is essential reading for policymakers and practitioners. This book demonstrates where we can look for effective innovative interventions and how these can potentially add up to large-scale social innovation. It is also a crucial resource for academics and students interested in social and labour inclusion measures.

In The Rise and Fall of Moral Conflicts in the United States and Canada, sociologist Mildred A. Schwartz and political scientist Raymond Tatalovich bring their disciplinary insights to the study of moral issues. Beginning with prohibition, Schwartz and Tatalovich trace the phases of its evolution from emergence, establishment, decline and resurgence, to resolution. Prohibition's life history generates a series of hypotheses about how passage through each of the phases affected subsequent developments and how these were shaped by the political institutions and social character of the United States and Canada. Using the history of prohibition in North America as a point of reference, the authors move on to address the anticipated progression and possible resolution of six contemporary moral issues: abortion, capital punishment, gun control, marijuana, pornography, and same-sex relations. Schwartz and Tatalovich build a new theoretical approach by drawing on scholarship on agenda-setting, mass media, social movements, and social problems. The Rise and Fall of Moral Conflicts provides new insights into how moral conflicts develop and interact with their social and political environment.

This history of one particular place for "madness" covers changing approaches to insanity and treatments over two centuries. The Norfolk Lunatic Asylum opened in 1814 as a pioneer county pauper institution and in 1998 St Andrew's featured among the last of the large psychiatric hospital closures. This history of one particular place for "madness" coverschanging approaches to insanity and treatments over two centuries. It draws extensively upon archival sources to examine the use of buildings and environments; the regimes of long-serving masters, superintendents and medical superintendents; the patients' own experiences; and the rationales, including cultural and gender issues, which informed therapies, relationships and hospital life. However, the contexts of national policies and economic constraints, professional and therapeutic developments, local economy and society, and current research findings are also acknowledged. Chapters dealing with the asylum's transformation as the 1915-19 Norfolk War Hospital and 1940-47 Emergency Hospital have disturbing revelations concerning wartime mental health care: similarly with the loss of local accountability and the experience of resource control under the National Health Service. Interviews with former staff and current personnel recall first-hand experiences of hospital life since the 1920s, the privations of wartime and the early NHS, hopes for new medications and conflicting views surrounding the closure of St Andrew's and thedelivery of community mental health care. STEVEN CHERRY is senior lecturer in history, Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine, University of East Anglia.

Gender equality is often seen as a hallmark of the Nordic countries. This book explores this notion by examining the meanings of gender that underpin policies in the Scandinavian welfare states, historically and today. The book focuses on three Scandinavian countries - Denmark, Norway and Sweden - and explores the policy reforms that have occurred relating to family and care. Beginning with the radical marriage reform carried through in all the three countries in the early decades of the 20th century, the book progresses to explore contemporary challenges to the traditional model of equality, including equal rights for fathers, multiculturalism and a critical young generation. The book focuses on differences as well as similarities between the countries and discusses the relevance of talking about a Nordic model. Stressing the importance of viewing the concept of equality in its historical context, the book critically investigates and discusses the Scandinavian 'success story' portrayed in normative political theory and presents an historical analysis of the development of gendered citizenship rights. It will be a valuable collection for researchers, lecturers and graduate students who work with historical and contemporary studies on welfare state and gender models from different disciplinary or interdisciplinary perspectives.

Public health in the early 21st century increasingly considers how social inequalities impact on individual health, moving away from the focus on how disease relates to the individual person. This 'new public health' identifies how social, economic and political factors affect the level and distribution of individual health, through their effects on individual behaviours, the social groups people belong to, the character of relationships to others and the characteristics of the societies in which people live. The rising social inequalities that can be seen in nearly every country in the world today present not just a moral danger, but a mortal danger as well. "Social inequality and public health" brings together the latest research findings from some of the most respected medical and social scientists in the world. It surveys four pathways to understanding the social determinants of health: differences in individual health behaviours; group advantage and disadvantage; psychosocial factors in individual health; and healthy and unhealthy societies, shedding light on the costs and consequences of today's high-inequality social models. This exciting book brings together leaders in the field discussing their latest research and is a must-read for anyone interested in public health and social inequalities internationally.

Across the world governments in mature industrial and post-industrial economies are concerned about the ageing population. Dealing directly and exclusively with the issue of older workers, this book brings together up-to-the-minute research findings by many of the leading researchers and writers in the field. The duration and quality of working lives and the timing and circustances of retirement are of growing concern, especially in those cases where employers' demands and imperatives clash with employees' wishes. The contributions in this volume focus upon various measures taken by the state and employers to foster the employment of older workers in Britain, mainland Europe, the US and Japan. The authors address key issues that will influence public policy, exploring what workers over 50 want, the impact of the ageing workforce on employer policies and the implications for governments in promoting and supporting extended working lives. The book is aimed at academics, students, policy makers and other professionals (such as training managers, HR professionals and trade unionists) interested in contemporary issues within social policy, the sociology of ageing, and human resource and diversity management. It wil also be of interest to older workers themselves.

'Street capital' introduces the worlds of young black men dealing cannabis at a drug scene called The River in Oslo, Norway. The lives of these men are structured by a huge and complex cannabis economy and they are involved in fights, robberies and substance abuse. They lack jobs and education, and many of them do not have family or close friends, yet they do have 'street capital': the knowledge, skills and competence necessary to manage life on the streets. Centred on this concept of 'street capital', this unique book presents a new theoretical framework - inspired by and expanding on the work of Pierre Bourdieu, the French sociologist - for understanding street cultures. It is based on extensive fieldwork and repeated in-depth interviews with dealers aged between 15 and 30, which explore themes including marginalisation, discrimination, cannabis dealing and drug use, violence, masculinity, hip-hop culture, experiences with the welfare system, and issues of immigration and racism. The book also analyses the discursive practice of marginalised people on the street and identifies the narratives by which these young men live.

This book draws on the latest social science to explain how and why social policy change occurs. Built on core concepts of policy analysis, it offers a robust framework for understanding policy change that can be applied to any aspect of welfare or social policy. Unlike most work in this field, the book deftly mixes theory and practice even including discussions of key theorists. This third edition brings the book fully up to date and will ensure that it remains the standard textbook in the field for years to come.

Everyone will experience a number of transitions throughout their life. Many of these will be positive, others may present challenges. This book addresses significant transitions relevant to policy and practice, covering key transition points in social care from childhood to old age. Drawing on the best available research evidence, Managing transitions highlights issues common to all experiencing transition as well as the dilemmas specific to particular situations. Individual chapters explore what we know about how transition is experienced by young people leaving care and by those with learning disabilities and mental health problems. For young people seeking asylum there are multiple transitions, of age, of country and of culture. Further contributions address the current transformation from service provision to self directed support, the major transition for older people who move to supported living, and the enduring challenges that surround the transition from hospital to community.

With new devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, this book makes a comprehensive assessment of the impact of devolution on social policy. It provides a study of developments in the major areas of social policy and a full comparison between Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. To what extent is it valid to speak of agendas for government driven by social policy? With new governments in each country, has a fresh dynamic been given to the emergence of distinct social policies? The impact of devolution on social policy uses a framework of analysis based on the nature and scope of social policies, ranging from major innovations and policy distinctiveness, to differences in implementation, policy convergence and areas of overlap with UK policies. This framework facilitates an integrated analysis and comparison of social policy developments and outcomes between the four UK nations. An assessment is also made of the ideas and values which have driven the direction of social policy under devolution. With devolution becoming increasingly important in the study of social policy, the book will be of key interest to academics and students in social policy, public policy and politics, and will also be a valuable resource for practitioners involved in policy making.

This innovative book addresses the historical development of social and fiscal policies from the late 1970s to the present day by asking three major questions: What has changed? How have these changes affected the lifecourse? What are the potential lifetime impacts of policy change? This book provides an overview of the development of policy change over the period and uses an innovative and unique lifetime approach 'from the cradle to the grave' to put it into perspective. The authors begin by reviewing the political changes and policy story since the 1970s and demonstrate the economic and social changes that have occurred alongside. The book then takes an innovative approach in looking at specific programmes about crucial aspects of the lifecycle - from maternity and childhood, through to adult events and risks before finally looking at retirement, survivorship and death. Finally, profiles of three hypothetical 'families' - the Meades, who are median earners, the Moores, high earners and the Lowes who are low paid - are developed for 1979, 1997 and 2008 to provide a comprehensive discussion of policy change and make innovative insights for the future. This is the first book to join up the history of policy direction with an analysis of outcomes over the whole period. It will therefore be ideal for graduate and post-graduate students of social policy and attract a wide readership with interested in pensions, children's support and related issues.

Social protection serves as an important development tool, helping to alleviate deprivation, reduce social risks, raise household income and develop human capital. This book brings together an interdisciplinary team of international experts to analyse social protection systems and welfare regimes across contemporary Latin America. The book starts with a section tracking the expansion of social assistance and social insurance in Latin America through the state-led development era, the neoliberal era and the pink-tide. The second section explores the role played by local and external actors modelling social policy in the region. The third and final section addresses a variety of contemporary debates and challenges around social protection and welfare in the region, such as gender roles and the empowerment of CCT beneficiaries, and welfare provision for rural outsiders. The book touches on key topics such as conditional cash transfer programmes, trade union inclusionary strategies, transnational social policy, state-led versus market-led welfare provision, explanatory factors in the emerging dualism of social protection institutions, social citizenship rights as a consequence of changing social policy architecture and different poverty reduction strategies. This interdisciplinary volume will be of interest to economists, political scientists, sociologists, anthropologists and historians working on social protection in Latin America, or interested in welfare systems in the global south.

Anyone working, or planning to work, as an advocate for people who need help in dealing with public services will want to read this book. Advocacy is an area of increasing importance in service provision, especially in the voluntary sector. New ways of working have to be found that increasingly create an enabling, rather than a providing, state and advocacy has an important part to play in this shift. Based on the experience of real advocates and using case studies based on real practice issues, "Speaking to power" is written in a vivid, jargon-free style that will make it an enjoyable read for professionals, students and lay people alike. As well as practical chapters on 'what advocates do', using case studies from Scotland where important developments are taking place, the book discusses how advocacy fits into the broader scheme of things. It describes and discusses examples of advocacy, both for individuals and for groups, with chapters dealing with management, training and evaluation of the work. It concludes with a thought-provoking discussion of various strategies which help vulnerable people speak to power on more equal terms. "Speaking to power" will be particularly helpful to advocates working with people who have mental health difficulties or learning difficulties, for doctors, nurses and social workers involved in this work, and for students preparing to enter those professions. It will also be of interest to students of social policy and other readers concerned about Britain's broader social and political development.

Contemporary social policy has never been more vigorously contested. Issues range from single-issue campaigns over housing, social care, hospital closures through to organised movements around disability, environment, health and education. However, the historical and contemporary role played by social movements in shaping social welfare has too often been neglected in standard social policy texts. "Understanding social welfare movements" is the first text to bring together social policy and social movement studies. Using actual case studies and written in an accessible and engaging style, it will attract a wide readership of undergraduate and postgraduate students, higher education teachers and researchers, stakeholders and activists. Introductory chapters examine the historical and theoretical relationship between state welfare and social movements. Subsequent chapters outline the historical contribution of various social movements to the creation of the welfare state relating to Beveridge's 'five giants' of idleness, ignorance, squalor, illness and want. The book then examines the contemporary challenge posed by 'new social movements' in relation to the family, discrimination, environment, and global social justice. The book provides a timely and much needed overview of the changing nature of social welfare as it has been shaped by the demands of social movements.

This book presents a novel and accessible way to learn about designing and conducting social research. Unlike traditional social research methods books, it provides a 'real world' account of social researchers' experiences and learning achieved through conducting research in a variety of fields. It contains an eclectic collection of research and advice for conducting research from social researchers with varying backgrounds. Suggestions are made in relation to gaining access to research sites, conducting research on sensitive topics such as suicide, child sexual abuse and homelessness, ensuring the inclusive participation of participants with intellectual disabilities and children. Also included are discussions of conducting practitioner research, conducting research on individual change, psychoanalytically informed research, documentary research and post qualitative research. Other chapters focus on criticality in research on topics that have become politicised and moralised, ensuring that research conducted is credible and how knowledge in research is constructed through both the theoretical framework used and how it is conducted. Bringing together a diverse collection of social research projects, Designing and Conducting Research in Social Science, Health and Social Care will be of interest to students, educators and researchers in the social sciences and professionals in related areas.

A comprehensive and accessible guide to the key themes, issues and debates in global social policy. This Reader collects together key papers by international leaders in the field that cover the emergence of global social policy as a dynamic and expanding field, the transformation of welfare from a predominantly national to a global field of action, and the impact of globalisation on key welfare discourses and governance mechanisms. The global social policy reader will have broad appeal among undergraduate and postgraduate students in a range of social science subjects, including social and public policy, social care and health studies, sociology, politics, economics, international relations and development studies.

Social Policy Review provides students, academics and all those interested in welfare issues with critical analyses of progress and change in areas of major interest during the past year. This year the Review takes the opportunity of the 60th anniversary of the key legislation founding the welfare state in the UK to provide a comprehensive overview of policy developments in the UK and internationally. The first part brings together a selection of papers which have been commissioned to examine historical and contemporary developments in policy tackling Beveridge's five evils of want, idleness, disease, squalor and ignorance, looking at how policy has changed since the aims and ideology of the inception of the post-war welfare state. The second part looks at the issue of the current challenges facing children's welfare services internationally: always a contemporary and contentious issue. The final part brings together a selection of papers looking at the effect of policy development at various governance levels on social policy. The contributions bring together an exciting mix of internationally renowned authors to provide comprehensive discussion of the some of the most challenging issues facing social policy today.

Migrants have organized at all times and in all cities and places. The processes of their accommodation, however, differ, with local authorities and other state institutions playing an important role in these processes. Offering comprehensive empirical insights both from recent sites of immigration in Southern Europe, as well as from places of more established immigration in the north, this book examines the accommodation of migrant organizations in different cities and the factors that affect this process. It thus sheds light on the manner in which the interplay of immigration regime, national integration policy and local responses shape the differing patterns and trajectories observed in the formation and action of migrant organizations across Europe.

Which underlying problems pose the greatest threat to British society in the 21st century? A hundred years after its philanthropist founder identified poverty, alcohol, drugs and gambling among the social evils of his time, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation initiated a major consultation among leading thinkers, activists and commentators, as well as the wider public. The findings have now been brought together in this fascinating book. Individual contributors range across the political spectrum but the book also reports the results from a web survey and consultation with groups whose voices are less often heard. The results suggest that while some evils - like poverty - endure as undisputed causes of social harm, more recent sources of social misery, such as an alleged rise in selfish consumerism and a perceived decline in personal responsibility and family commitment, attract controversy.