What is the relation between social class and social justice? This is currently a matter of public as well as academic controversy. While nobody would deny that the distribution of rewards in industrial societies is unequal, there is sharp disagreement about whether this inequality can be justified. Some see existing patterns of social mobility as evidence of inequality of opportunity. Others regard them as meritocratic, simply reflecting the distribution of abilities among the population. This fascinating, interdisciplinary study brings together recent developments in normative thinking about social justice with new empirical findings about educational attainment and social mobility. The result is a path-breaking contribution to our thinking about issues of class and justice, one that will be of interest to both sociologists and political theorists for many years to come.

This book studies the relationships between economic growth and social welfare and the policy implications of these relationships for development. Understanding the relationships between economic growth and social welfare is an enduring issue within contemporary development economics and welfare economics. These relationships are analysed in this book by operationalising normative social choice theory. Normative social choice theory is an appropriate approach as it explicitly incorporates society's preferences, values and choices in determining how social welfare should be defined and measured. Two approaches, aggregate and hierarchical, are developed and empirically applied to Thailand for a twenty-five year period 1975-1999. This book concludes that in terms of social welfare, economic growth cannot always be assumed desirable. What is needed is social welfare enhancing economic growth. A review of the policy implications of this finding is also undertaken.

The economic crises of the 1970s marked the end of the 'Golden Age' of the welfare state and triggered a broad range of cost containment measures in OECD countries. In the healthcare sector the difficulties of cutting back state involvement are largely caused by the fact that the legitimacy of health systems is based on their capability to provide a satisfactory standard of healthcare for all citizens, irrespective of their ability to pay for it. Hence, the divergent healthcare system types of the heydays of the welfare state which were characterized by the distinct role of the state have now changed profoundly. Combining cross-sectional studies on healthcare financing, provision and policy values with in-depth country studies of Britain, Germany and the US, this volume argues that divergent healthcare system types are now converging toward hybrid forms.

This textbook offers students and practitioners an accessible introduction to strengths-based approaches in Social Work and Social Care practice. Covering the theory and research in support of these approaches, and packed full of case studies, the book will allow readers to develop a critical understanding of how strengths-based approaches work, and how they can be successfully applied in order to improve outcomes for people with lived experience. Covering the five main models of strengths-based practice, the text presents international research and evidence on the efficacy of each approach, enabling students and practitioners to apply the benefits in their own social work practice. The guide features the perspectives of people with lived experience throughout and includes the following key learning features: * case studies of best practice; * points for practice: succinct tips for practitioners and students on practice placement; * further reading list and resources; * glossary.

This book explores the complex relationship between social security and economic development, arguing that social security contributes positively to economic development by promoting social investments that not only foster economic growth but enhance social welfare for all. The contributors analyse the various forms of social security, and, through comprehensive analysis of country experiences, demonstrates that the relationship between social security and economic development defies the simplistic interpretations currently popular in literature on the subject. A variety of country case studies are explored including Britain, Chile, China, India, Korea, Norway, Singapore, South Africa and the United States. This topical volume is a vital companion for all interested in the dynamics of the relationship between social security and the economy.

Motherhood Interrupted: Stories of healing and hope after abortion. Sixteen women come together to offer their personal experiences on how abortion affected their lives. These revealing stories underscore the impact of abortion on the individual, relationships and families. These courageous women overcome their shame and guilt to witness to the devastating aftermath of their choice. Through their stories readers will understand that abortion is not the answer for women or society. Motherhood Interrupted is a journey through acceptance, forgiveness and healing arriving at mercy and hope. Empowered and unified voices of experience speak dismissed truth into the darkest moments of child loss through choice. Forgiveness from the guilt of sin has birthed a new day of victory in secluded grief. Motherhood Interrupted is a "must read" for individual and corporate living beyond America's secret sorrow, abortion. Joyce Zounis, mom of 12, seven lost through abortion. Featured in the internationally released documentary, "I was wrong." View trailer at www.IwasWrong.info

Social policy has become an increasingly prominent component of the European Union's policy-making responsibilities. Today, for example, a highly developed body of law regulates equal treatment in social security and co-ordinates national security schemes; national health services have opened up to patients and service providers from other states; and rules govern the translation of educational and vocational certificates across member states. This state of affairs is all the more remarkable given the relatively limited resources at the EU's disposal and the initial intentions of its founders. During negotiations for the Treaty of Rome in the 1950s, social policy was viewed as the exclusive provenance of the member states. There were to be provisions to facilitate labour mobility within the common market, but until the 1970s social policy making at the EU-level was modest. However, plans for the internal market moved social policy on the EU's decision-making agenda. The Social Chapter was adopted in 1989, and the Single European Act expanded EU competencies in social policy. The Treaties of Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice all expanded competencies further, so that by the time the heads of government met in Lisbon in 2007 to sign the EU's latest treaty, the extent of supranational control over important aspects of social policy making was quite impressive. This important book provides a full account of the evolution of social policy in the EU and of its current reach. It examines the reasons for the increased role of the EU in the area, in spite of formidable obstacles, and details its effects in member states, where social provision is often the biggest item in government budgets and a crucial issue in national elections. Drawing on research done on welfare states around the world and on European integration, this book provides a distinctive and sophisticated account of social policy in Europe, showing how it must now be understood in the context of multi-level governance in which EU institutions play a pivotal role.

Social policy and political theory are based upon rationalist models of the human subject. Drawing particularly upon contemporary Kleinian and feminist political theory the author explores the powerful role that emotions such as love, hate and fear play in the development of the human subject. From this base the book then examines a range of contemporary issues such as employment, dependency, care and generosity, conflict and oppression which are relevant to struggles around the welfare state.

This set of 25 volumes, originally published between 1805 and 1992, amalgamates original nineteenth-century material and more recent research and analysis on the development of social welfare in Britain and Europe. From Elizabethan poor relief, through the Poor Laws of the nineteenth-century, to the establishment of the British National Health Service in the mid twentieth-century, this set provides a comprehensive overview of the germination and establishment of modern social welfare. Although the set mainly focuses on social welfare in Britain, it also contains some work on welfare in Europe. This set will be of keen interest to those studying the history of social welfare, social policy, poverty and class.

Social pedagogical work is a field of practice that is indebted to and illuminated by aspects of knowledge from sociology and psychology, but many practitioners feel that social pedagogical theories are too abstract and distant from the challenges faced in practice. In Practical Social Pedagogy Jan Storo shows the reader for the first time how the theories and practices of social pedagogy interlock. The book combines social pedagogy theories, psychology, sociology and social work with a social constructionist perspective to help practitioners guide children and young people to cope better with the challenges they face as they grow up. The author emphasises that the actualities of practice are first disclosed in the meeting between the professional practitioner and the client. The book uses many practical examples to help make the application of social pedagogy more accessible, and is ideal for students on courses covering work with children and young people.

First Published in 1993. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This groundbreaking book provides a new perspective on equality by highlighting and exploring affective equality, the aspect of equality concerned with relationships of love, care and solidarity. Drawing on studies of intimate caring, or "love laboring," it reveals the depth, complexity and multidimensionality of affective inequality.

Sub-Saharan Africa is at the centre of the debate about development. However, much of the argument is based on very poor data, so that we actually know very little. Much of what is presented is based on extrapolation from World Bank data on economic growth.;The purpose of this book is to present a critical examination of the data which is available to comment upon the state of human welfare. In the first part of the book the author demonstrates the importance of first defining the components of human welfare independently of economic growth. The second part of the book is constituted by an examination of the data that is available. Separate chapters consider food, fuel and water, health and education, and then three cross-cutting issues: urbanization, women and human rights. The final part of the book considers the problem of developing a system of social statistics which will reflect the state of human and social welfare.

Children Moving, introduces a process of teaching that provides a background for adapting, adjusting, and modifying lessons so they are interesting and worthwhile for all children - from the lowest to the highest skill and fitness levels. The ultimate goal is to guide youngsters in the process of becoming physically active for a lifetime. Rather than simply describing games and activities, Children Moving emphasizes the importance of children learning to move by focusing on developmentally appropriate skill themes that are used in virtually all sports and physical activities. The intended result is children becoming skillful movers and eager participants in physical activity.

This is the first book to challenge the concept of paid work for disabled people as a means to 'independence' and 'self determination'. Recent attempts in many countries to increase the employment rates of disabled people have actually led to an erosion of financial support for many workless disabled people and their increasing stigmatisation as 'scroungers'. Led by the disability movement's concern with the employment choices faced by disabled people, this controversial book uses sociological and philosophical approaches, as well as international examples, to critically engage with possible alternatives to paid work. Essential reading for students, practitioners, activists and anyone interested in relationships between work, welfare and disability.

This is a multi-authored volume addressing the topical subjects of event analysis and the learning organisation within the context of safety management systems.

When an accident occurs, we respond in a number of ways: we look for someone to blame, we try to understand why it happened, we seek to learn and take precautions for the future and we may breathe a sigh of relief and try to forget the accident as quickly as possible.
This book is about how to manage these various responses to an accident. It addresses the question of how to manage the stages of learning from disasters and other accidents and of:
- how data could be collected and analysed to derive the lessons
- how and how far the different and conflicting objectives of judicial procedures and organisational learning could be reconciled.

In the past decade, the issue of organisational shortcomings has emerged as a central focus, but there have been few, if any, proven techniques or management systems for coping with such issues. We are still discovering how to ensure organisations learn and change when faced with accidents. At a wider level we need to address how society learns, how to regulate industry, how to co-ordinate the activities of the many various people responsible for safety within given contexts (eg within transport networks). We must take necessary action, but avoid knee-jerk, expensive and ineffective reactions fuelled by the heat of emotions.

This book focuses on the relationship between European integration, its outputs and national institutional and political settings. It explores the political mechanisms through which the EU plays a role in domestic social policy changes.

Everywhere one travels in the world, people are excited about the new high technology production system. But the global villagers are also perplexed about the new social service needs that seem to accompany the high-tech economy; child care needs for working couples, elder care facilities for infirm senior citizens, burgeoning health care costs accompanying high-tech medicine, nusery school and college tuition costs, and more. There has been a global response to these social service needs, and this book will present and analyze that response. For, a new phenomenon may be emerging and as contradictory as it may appear, a kind of 'caring capitalism' may arise, worldwide. This book explores the various attempts around the globe to create a system of "caring capitalism"—and why modern nations have been pressured by "the new middle class" to do so.