A provocative and shocking look at how western society is misunderstanding and mistreating mental illness. Perfect for fans of Empire of Pain and Dope Sick. In Britain alone, more than 20% of the adult population take a psychiatric drug in any one year. This is an increase of over 500% since 1980 and the numbers continue to grow. Yet, despite this prescription epidemic, levels of mental illness of all types have actually increased in number and severity. Using a wealth of studies, interviews with experts, and detailed analysis, Dr James Davies argues that this is because we have fundamentally mischaracterised the problem. Rather than viewing most mental distress as an understandable reaction to wider societal problems, we have embraced a medical model which situates the problem solely within the sufferer and their brain. Urgent and persuasive, Sedated systematically examines why this individualistic view of mental illness has been promoted by successive governments and big business - and why it is so misplaced and dangerous.

This book examines a familiar and contemporary social policy issue-the crisis besetting social care-but differs from usual accounts by including additional perspectives (philosophical, ethical and political) not often raised but nonetheless crucial to understanding the issue. Its central argument is that while a health/care divide dates back to legislative separation at the inception of the welfare state in the 1940s, the major cause of the current crisis has been the slow but insidious ideological and practical splitting off and fracturing of social care from other state welfare institutions, notably the NHS, and its consequent entrapment in the treacherous straits of 'profit and loss', self-interest and individualism. These issues and others, the book argues, contribute to the building of a strong case for bringing social care into the public sector. Towards the end, the book goes on to consider the impact, from 2020, of the Covid 19 pandemic on a caring crisis that was already well-established. The consequences of this global shock are still working through and are likely to be profound. Solutions, as the book describes, which were already being formulated prior to the arrival of the pandemic, are even more salient now. The book will therefore be of interest to students and researchers of social policy and public policy, health and social care professionals and policymakers - and users of social care themselves.

Ilan Stavans has amassed a collection of cutting-edge articles that inform readers about how Latinos navigate both the mainstream medical arena and culturally specific healing traditions. This work highlights the myriad problems Latinos face in becoming fully acculturated consumers of health care. Its series of chapters by expert contributors bridges the communication gap between mainstream medical professionals who need to understand the Latino worldview and Latinos that need to adapt to the puzzling complexity of providers and insurers that make up the American health care system. Backed by research using quantitative methods and other techniques, Health Care's seven chapters cover topics ranging from infant care to teenage dating and sexual mores to prescription medication use by older adults. Much of the coverage focuses on problems of access and the ways in which Latinos move between mainstream health care, and the world of traditional remedies provided by botanicas (shops specializing in herbs and other healing items) and curanderos (folk healers). Includes seven chapters on the major issues concerning Latino access to quality health care in the United States 18 contributors-noted scholars providing their insights under the editorial direction of Ilan Stavans

In Well-Being and Fair Distribution: Beyond Cost-Benefit Analysis, author Matthew D. Adler provides readers with a comprehensive philosophically grounded argument for the use of social welfare functions as a framework for governmental policy analysis. Well-Being and Fair Distribution addresses a range of relevant theoretical issues, including the possibility of an interpersonally comparable measure of well-being, or "utility" metric; the moral value of equality, and how that bears on the form of the social welfare function; social choice under uncertainty; and the possibility of integrating considerations of individual choice and responsibility into the social-welfare-function framework. Adler's book also deals with issues of implementation, and explores how survey data and other sources of evidence might be used to calibrate both a utility metric and a social welfare function, and whether distributive goals are ever best pursued through regulation rather than the tax system. In working through this range of theoretical and practical issues, Well-Being and Fair Distribution draws from a wide variety of literatures, including philosophical scholarship on equality, responsibility, the nature of well-being, and personal identity over time; the social choice literature within economics; applied economic literatures concerning the measurement of inequality and poverty; legal and policy-analysis scholarship on cost-benefit analysis, environmental justice, and the choice between regulation and taxation; and the burgeoning field of "happiness studies."

Drawing on international comparisons of data on happiness, this book offers both general and academic audiences a simple, deep, and honest answer to the timeless question: "What makes people happy"? The conventional recipe for happiness has long included money, marriage, and parenthood as basic ingredients. What research is telling us, however, is that these elements don't relate to happiness in quite the way we might expect them to. Redistributing Happiness: How Social Policies Shape Life Satisfaction explores the factors that determine "life satisfaction" and demonstrate how an individual's happiness is largely shaped by social context-by where they live and local policies, norms and attitudes about religious beliefs, economic and political security, income redistribution, and more. The book begins with a review of the contributions of other disciplines-such as economics, psychology, and political science-to common explanations of the sources of happiness. Next, the authors offer an international comparison based on their own research on what makes people happy, taking into consideration factors such as marriage, children, money, and job status. Most importantly, special attention is paid to how social policies and social context directly affect people's happiness. All readers high school age and up will enjoy the book's comprehensive-and fascinating-answer to the happiness question because of how the authors connect an individual's experience to the broader environment of the social system and situation in which that person resides. Coalesces survey data from 29 countries and highlights country-specific examples and cases to offer readers an insightful global perspective grounded in high-quality social science Addresses the age-old question of "Does money buy happiness?" and offers an original and surprising answer Delivers the takeaway message that social context is more powerful than any one determinant of individual happiness (such as economics or psychology) Presents a hopeful prognosis for future generations: that key decisions societies make as a whole-about issues like inequality, public policy, and family-serve to shape happiness

This open access edited volume introduces the concept of causal mechanisms to explore new ways of explaining the global dynamics of social policy, and shows that a mechanism-based approach provides several advantages over established approaches for studying social policy. The introductory chapter outlines the mechanism-based approach, which stands out by modularisation and a clear focus on actors. The mechanism-based approach then guides the twelve chapters on social policy developments in different Asian, African, European and Latin American countries. Based on these findings, the concluding chapter provides a structured compilation of causal mechanisms and outlines how a mechanism-based approach can further strengthen research on the global development of social policies, especially in a comparative perspective. The edited volume is highly relevant for social policy scholars from a variety of disciplines, as well as for scholars interested in strengthening explanation in the social sciences.

This book explores the Afro-diasporic experiences of African skilled migrants in Australia. It explores research participants' experiences of migration and how these experiences inform their lives and the lives of their family. It provides theory-based arguments examining how mainstream immigration attitudes in Australia impact upon Black African migrants through the mediums of mediatised moral panics about Black criminality and acts of everyday racism that construct and enforce their 'strangerhood'. The book presents theoretical writing on alternate African diasporic experiences and identities and the changing nature of such identities. The qualitative study employed semi-structured interviews to investigate multiple aspects of the migrant experience including employment, parenting, family dynamics and overall sense of belonging. This book advances our understanding of the resilience exercised by skilled Black African migrants as they adjust to a new life in Australia, with particular implications for social work, public health and community development practices.

"Welfare politics" have now been part of American life for four centuries. Beyond a persistent general idea that Americans have a collective obligation to provide for the poorest among us, there has been little common ground on which to forge political and philosophical consensus. Are poor people poor because of their own shortcomings and moral failings, or because of systemic societal and econonomic obstacles? That is, does poverty have individual or structural causes? This book demonstrates why neither of these two polemical stances has been able to prevail permanently over the other and explores the public policy--and real-life--consequences of the stalemate. Author Greg M. Shaw pays special attention to the outcome of the 1996 act that was heralded as "ending welfare as we know it." Historically, people on all sides of the welfare issue have hated welfare--but for different reasons. Like our forebears, we have constantly disagreed about where to strike the balance between meeting the basic needs of the very poor and "creating dependency," or undermining individual initiative. The shift in 1996 from New Deal welfare entitlement to "workfare" mirrored the national mood and ascendant political ideology, as had welfare policy throughout American history. The special contribution of this book is to show how evolving understandings of four key issues--markets, motherhood, race, and federalism--have shaped public perceptions in this contentious debate. A rich historical narrative is here complemented by a sophisticated analytical understanding of the forces at work behind attempts to solve the welfare dilemma. Chapters cover: BLThe Early American Roots of Welfare BLControlling the Poor in19th-Century America BLFrom Mothers' Pensions to a Troubled Aid to Dependent Children Program BLThe Rise and Fall of the Great Society BLThe 1970s and 1980s: Backlash and an Emerging Conservative Consensus BLThe End of Welfare Entitlement BLA New World of Welfare How should we evaluate the current "welfare-to-work" model? Is a precipitous decline in state welfare caseloads sufficient evidence of success? Success, this book finds, has many measures, and ending welfare as an entitlement program has not ended arguments about how best to protect children from the ravages of poverty or how to address the plight of the most vulnerable among us. Series features: BLTimeline anchoring the discussion in time and place BLBibliography of print and Internet resources guiding further exploration of the subject BLCharts and tables analyzing complex data, including survey results

An established introductory textbook that provides students with a full overview of British social policy and social ideas since the late 18th century. Derek Fraser's authoritative account is the essential starting point for anyone learning about how and why Britain created the first Welfare State, and its development into the 21st century. This is an ideal core text for dedicated modules on the history of British social policy or the British welfare state - or a supplementary text for broader modules on modern British history or British political history - which may be offered at all levels of an undergraduate history, politics or sociology degree. In addition it is a crucial resource for students who may be studying the history of the British welfare state for the first time as part of a taught postgraduate degree in British history, politics or social policy. New to this Edition: - Revised and updated throughout in light of the latest research and historiographical debates - Brings the story right up to the present day, now including discussion of the Coalition and Theresa May's early Prime Ministership - Features a new overview conclusion, identifying key issues in modern British social history

"Cash Not Care will make you feel angry, sad and inspired in equal measures. This is a book that needs to be widely read and talked about." Dr Kayleigh Garthwaite ~ Postdoctoral Research Associate Centre for Health and Inequalities Research, the University of Durham "Government is entitled to ensure that benefits are given to those with a genuine entitlement and to assess people. But the process must be professional and honest. In this book Mo Stewart peels back the layers of deception, and the confused thinking that underpins the destruction of social support for disabled people... Some of those assessed as fit for work died just afterwards. Others died later and some committed suicide. Stewart names names. She shows where and how the policies originated. She destroys all claims that they were based on solid research. To understand what is happening and why, this is the book to read and I thank Mo Stewart for writing it." Sir Bert Massie CBE, DL ~ Chair, Disability Rights Commission 2000 - 2007 "When the history of the persecution of disabled people in the name of welfare reform in Britain finally gets written for mainstream audiences, Mo Stewart's evidence will form the starting point. Read it here first." Catherine Hale ~ Independent Researcher Author of: `Fulfilling Potential? ESA and the Fate of the Work-Related Activity Group' "Mo Stewart's ground-breaking and tenacious research has led the way in exposing the destructive force of the corporate state on the concept of welfare. It has exposed the duplicity, harm and abuse these actions have caused to disabled people with the courage of truth. Its value cannot be overestimated and its worth must not be ignored." Debbie Jolly ~ Co-founder, Disabled People Against Cuts The Author Mo Stewart is a former healthcare professional, a disabled female veteran and an independent researcher. This book is the culmination of six years of self-funded research and the evidence exposes the influence of corporate America, since 1992, with the future welfare reforms of the UK. The impact of the enforced austerity measures of the UK government is identified, as they negatively affect the welfare and the survival of the chronically sick and disabled population in receipt of welfare benefits when unfit to work. The research has informed welfare reform debates in the House of Lords and the House of Commons since 2011 and contributed to the evidence used by the United Nations to investigate the UK government for breaches of the Human Rights of sick and disabled people. Endorsed by the disabled community and by academics, the research has identified the adoption of lethal social policies, copied from American social security policies, and linked to the death of thousands of the most vulnerable of all, as the UK welfare state is systematically demolished as all planned over thirty years ago by a previous Conservative government. www.researchgate.net/profile/Mo_Stewart/publications