In-depth study of the origins and the trajectories of the law governing social policies in the Global South: Brazil, China, India, and South Africa. Adds a new dimension to the existing accounts on welfare state building which, so far, are dominated by European narratives and by scholars with a background in sociology, political science, and development studies. Will be of interest to scholars and students as well as political actors in the fields of comparative and international social security law, human rights law, comparative constitutional law, constitutional history, law and development studies, comparative social policies, global social policies, social work, and welfare state theory.

Inequality has been rising in advanced industrialised countries. At the same time, increased immigration has accentuated the ethnic diversity of those countries. Both developments have created challenges for advanced industrialised countries to integrate immigrants into the country. Immigration and Poverty examines how advanced industrialised countries integrate immigrants into the labour market and welfare state and how this influences immigrant poverty. The main argument draws on insights from two research strands, the comparative welfare state and the migration literature. In brief, this book argues that a country's labour market and welfare system does not directly influence immigrants' poverty but is conditional on immigrants' social rights, here understood as their labour market and welfare state access. Immigration and Poverty argues and shows that it is crucial to embed migration-specific policies within a country's prevailing institutional setting to understand why immigrants fare better in some countries as compared to others.

This book analyzes national anti-poverty measures at a local level via a set of unique and up-to-date empirical studies of minimum income support schemes and activation measures in five European cities. In examining this 'local welfare system' approach, it investigates the role that civil society organizations play, and the governance arrangements that prevail in contacts between public and civil society actors in local anti-poverty strategies. The current financial and economic crisis has caused increasing levels of poverty and unemployment, and put national minimum income protection schemes under severe strain. Combating Poverty in Local Welfare Systems therefore represents a timely and important intervention in the political and scientific debates as to whether more 'local welfare' is the solution to the challenges facing European welfare states.

This book presents insights on Singapore's politics and governance from leading thinkers, based on selected commentaries from Singapore Perspectives conference series co-published by Institute of Policy Studies and World Scientific. Contributed by the who's who of Singapore's government, business and academia circles, they provide diverse viewpoints over state-society relations, governing principles, electoral politics, foreign policy, among other important issues.Will consensus or contest secure Singapore's future? Should pragmatism be retained as Singapore's governing philosophy? What if the nation-state is no longer the key organisational unit of the international community? What if Singapore has to choose between China and the United States? What if Singapore becomes a two- or multi-party system? This volume explores a range of possible answers to these questions and more.

After reviewing related theories on stigmatisation of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA), this book applies social exclusion theory, actor theory and stigma theory to the study of social mechanisms of stigmatisation of PLWHA in China to show the influence and mechanism of stigmatisation on them, and tries to construct the policy framework to tackle stigmatisation from the perspective of welfare pluralism. Qualitative analysis was used and data was obtained during the field interview. Thirty PLWHA and seventeen healthy people (non-infected people and staff of ASO Service Organizations) were selected by using random sampling and snowball sampling for semi-structured depth interviews. The research examines the treatments and living conditions of those PLWHA, aiming to explore the influence of HIV on them in education, employment, medical care, economy, welfare and social relations. The book is intended for graduate students, researchers interested in this field and relevant policymakers.

Including up-to-date details about Medicare in light of the 2010 Health Care Reform bill, this book will help readers understand past concerns about the program, as well as current issues and ways to address them. Medicare is an important source of health-care coverage for almost all Americans aged 65 and over. It can also be one of the most confusing subjects with which citizens must contend. Among the first books to examine the impact of the 2010 health-care reforms on the program, Medicare reviews Medicare's history, explores its current coverages and problems, and takes a look at its probable future. Readers will learn about attempts to pass Medicare legislation, as well as about many of the important changes that have occurred since 1965. They will read about continuing cost concerns over the years and about modifications in both hospital and physician payment approaches. Critically for today's readers, the book examines current issues, such as drug coverage, HMO/managed care options, long-term-care coverage, the demographic-based funding crisis, Medicaid, and the impact of recent health-care reforms. The goal throughout is to help consumers understand Medicare so we can insure that the program remains strong. Primary documents detailing parts of the legislation A timeline of events in the history of Medicare

This book discusses the issues of inequality and marginalization in India. The first section of the book contextualizes sociological traditions for the scrutiny of subaltern discourse on discrimination. The chapters in the section explore self-identity, 'margins' in sociological traditions, subalternity and exclusion, citizenship issues of de-notified tribes, the role of religion for scheduled tribe Dalits and Ambedkar's ideas on tribes. The second section deals with the political economy of higher education, health and employment. The efforts of BR Ambedkar and the consequences of those efforts, his critique of education policies during British time and its alteration for independent India have been meticulously dealt with. The third section illustrates an application of theoretical understanding through narratives of labour bondage in Varanasi, sanitation workers in Mumbai and rickshaw pullers in Delhi. The last section establishes that unequal access to resources is a consequence of discrimination and marginalization induced by social identities. The book argues for equitable access to resources and opportunities to ensure health equity. The audience for this publication includes academics, researchers, health professionals, policymakers engaged with discrimination, exclusion, marginalization and inequity in health.

First published in 1952, this is a full-scale and definitive account of the life and work of Sir Edwin Chadwick. Among the sources used are the Chadwick Papers, the Peel, Place, Russell and Gladstone Papers, the Home Office, Treasury and Ministry of Health papers and the minutes and documents of the Metropolitan Commission of Sewers. Centred on this mass of material, this book demonstrates that the great social reforms of the Victorian age should be attributed, not so much to the Cabinets, but to the labours of a handful of civil servants. It also argues that Edwin Chadwick was the most influential of these civil servants and through this illuminating biography, Professor Finer gives an account of early Victorian administration as seen from inside. This book will be of interest to those studying Victorian social reform, the history of the welfare state and social policy.

This book provides the definitive account of the making of the 1942 Beveridge Report and its influence on wartime and post-war social policy. The Beveridge Report: Blueprint for the Welfare State aims to offer a definitive analysis of the famous document, so influential in the founding of the Welfare State and the National Health Service, which still resonates in current debates about 'getting back to Beveridge' and a 'Beveridge for the 21st Century'. It is based on extensive research into the papers of the Beveridge Committee, official Government archives and the papers of contemporary politicians and groups. Published to coincide with the Report's 80th anniversary, the book is treated as a case study in policy formulation during the 1940s. Key features of the book include The first systematic review and assessment of the work of the Beveridge Committee and the evidence submitted to it Detailed analysis of the enthusiastic reception of the Report and the government's lukewarm attitude A full survey of the detailed planning for welfare reform and Beveridge's role when excluded from it An assessment of the influence of Beveridge upon the creation of the Welfare State by Attlee's Labour Government This important book will be of interest to scholars of twentieth-century British, social history, political history and contemporary politics and comparative health and education systems. Derek Fraser is Emeritus Professor at the University of Teesside, where he served as Vice-Chancellor for 11 years.

This book examines critically how the Chinese government has proactively engaged the nine cities and two special administrative regions in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in Southern China for deeper collaborations in order to transform the country from the "World Factory" to become a leading world economy in innovation and entrepreneurialism. While most of the existing research related to China's GBA development offers the economic and technological advancement perspectives, this book focuses on critical reflections upon how the call for megacity development and deeper regional collaborations in the Bay Area will affect people's livelihoods, social integration and urban governance. The central theme of this book builds around "Cities, Social Cohesion and Governance." Based upon policy and document analysis, first-hand fieldwork and surveys, and intensive interviews with major stakeholders responsible for pushing the Greater Bay Area development, this book offers not only regional perspectives in analyzing the Greater Bay Area development through comparing and contrasting development experiences within the country's different bay economies like the Shanghai and Zhejiang Bay Area and Beijing and Bohai Bay Area. The present book also draws comparative and international insights from other well- established bay economies like Tokyo Bay, Florida Bay and New York Bay Areas when analyzing the development in the GBA in China.

A "New York Times" Notable Book
"Casts a searing eye on the labyrinth that is the American foster care system." -- NPR's "On Point"
Who are the children of foster care? What, as a country, do we owe them? Cris Beam, a foster mother herself, spent five years immersed in the world of foster care looking into these questions and tracing firsthand stories. The result is "To the End of June," an unforgettable portrait that takes us deep inside the lives of foster children in their search for a stable, loving family.
Beam shows us the intricacies of growing up in the system--the back-and-forth with agencies, the rootless shuffling between homes, the emotionally charged tug between foster and birth parents, the terrifying push out of foster care and into adulthood. Humanizing and challenging a broken system, "To the End of June" offers a tribute to resiliency and hope for real change.
" A] powerful . . . and refreshing read." -- "Chicago Tribune"
"A sharp critique of foster-care policies and a searching exploration of the meaning of family." -- "Publishers Weekly," starred review
"Heart-rending and tentatively hopeful." -- "Salon"

This book analyzes housing policy in terms of the quality of housing, theoretically and empirically. The analysis is prompted by the Japanese government's success in increasing the volume of housing through interest rate policy, as is shown by Vector Autoregession (VAR) analysis in this book; consequently, the focus of housing policy in Japan is now the quality of housing. This is the first book to analyze and propose housing monetary policy and housing subsidy policy to improve the quality of housing, which increase the number of houses that are barrier-free and earthquake resistant. This book is also the first to focus on appropriate valuation of housing using hedonic price function and the quality of houses. Using the method of valuation developed and proposed in this book, market clearing prices of houses can be calculated without analytical and theoretical error. Toward this end, the disclosure of information - the offer prices and attributes - of houses is proposed as a housing policy. In addition, in this research the author has developed a method to estimate the hedonic price index and rent index using the quality of houses for the first time in Japan. With hedonic price and rent functions, the author shows the extent to which differences in home ownership investment are caused by differences in information about the property. This finding shows the need to explore an appropriate method of valuation of houses. The propositions of this book can help companies benefit from the use of the hedonic housing valuation and hedonic price and rent indexes.

This best-selling text has been used by countless students, practitioners and researchers as a key reference on child protection issues. The book demystifies this complex and emotionally-charged area, outlining research, history, social policy and legislation, as well as the theory and practice underpinning child protection work. Written by influential academics and practitioners, this updated edition looks at child protection practices in a global context and provides: * The latest research and thinking on the causes and consequences of child abuse, including new insights about the relationship between deprivation, poverty and abuse and neglect * An overview of child protection practices, ranging from the 19th Century to recent policy and practice changes, including the widespread adoption of practice models and attempts to improve the quality of social work services Using examples to highlight key discussions and points, this book will enhance the confidence, knowledge and skills of practitioners, supervisors and managers. "This is an important, varied, well-structured, and interesting academic contribution to the area of child protection, neglect, and child abuse. The authors draw on a range of literature, theories, and the extant evidence-base to present a breadth of chapters, from global perspectives on child abuse, to the history of child abuse, to reflections for the future of child protection work. This book will add value to a wide range of professionals in this important field." Dr Karen Treisman, Clinical Psychologist, Trainer "This is an important addition to the child abuse and child protection literature. Drawing from a variety of current research carried out by professionals and academics from a range of disciplines, this book will be an excellent companion for students, academics and practitioners working in this challenging but important area of work." Dr Elena Martellozzo, Online child protection expert. Middlesex University, UK "This is a comprehensive text which explores the legislative, cultural and historic context in which today's child protection has been shaped. Building on previous editions, it provides a valuable and up-to-date insight into contemporary child protection practice." Rebecca Avery, Education Safeguarding Advisor (Online Protection), The Education People "How did we get to where we are in our response to child abuse - and what might the future hold? This book provides a timely, comprehensive and thoughtful response to this question; demonstrating the importance of understanding our journey to present day practices if we are to improve the protection of children in the future. Integrating historical, sociological, psychological and biological perspectives, and grappling with the ethical as well as practical challenges of child abuse responses, the authors provide us with an overview upon which we must learn from past successes, as well as tragedies, as we utilise and further build an evidence base for confident social work practices around the world. " Dr Carlene Firmin, Principal Research Fellow in Contextual Safeguarding, University of Bedfordshire, UK

Transformative Learning in Healthcare and Helping Professions Education: Building Resilient Professional Identities is a co-edited book (Carter, Boden, and Peno) with invited chapters from educators who share our passion for learning in healthcare and the helping professions. The purpose of the book is to introduce professional learners (students, residents, and others in professional training) to transformative learning for building resilient professional identities amid practice environments that include widespread burnout and compassion fatigue. With a diverse set of authors engaged in clinical and educational practice in academic medicine, nursing, dentistry, physical therapy, mental health counseling, science education, psychology, social work, and inter-professional collaborative practice, we offer strategies for building resilience throughout the years of professional training and into professional practice. We do so through the experiences of authors involved in healthcare and the helping professions to illustrate how some are coping with the challenges of burnout and compassion fatigue through learning that can be transformative. This book explores the nature of professional identity formation by examining ways that professionals in training can thrive amid the challenges of today's stressful practice environments. First-hand stories of resilience illustrate how learners, as well as educators in these professions, are addressing adversity, career decision-making, service to the underserved, and the self-care needed to provide excellent care for others. The prominence of transformative learning within adult learning theory is illustrated for its potential to revise the meaning that learners make of their experiences and open up new possibilities for renewed vitality in professional education and practice environments. The book has two primary audiences: professional learners in healthcare and helping professions education, and their educators who are often professional practitioners themselves. These educators have a significant role in influencing the next generation of professionals by serving as mentors, role models, and teachers. The importance of fostering learning that is transformative has never been more important than it is today for those who will work in these demanding professions. We invite readers to discover experiences and strategies for achieving individual wellbeing, as well as opportunities for building a culture within professional education and practice settings that will foster resilience.

Changes in the international environment, from the stagflation of the 1970s to the globalization of capital markets in the 1990s, have challenged the ability of all advanced welfare states to maintain postwar achievements of full employment, social security and social equality. Nevertheless, national responses and actual performance differed greatly. This two-volume study examines the adjustment to external economic challenges over three decades in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom Volume I presents comparative analyses of differences in the vulnerabilities and capabilities of these countries, in the effectiveness of their policy responses, and in the role of values and discourses in the politics of adjustment Volume II presents in-depth analyses of the experiences of the countries, including special studies on the participation of women in the labour market, early retirement, the liberalization of public services and international tax competition.

In Our Veterans, Suzanne Gordon, Steve Early, and Jasper Craven explore the physical, emotional, social, economic, and psychological impact of military service and the problems that veterans face when they return to civilian life. The authors critically examine the role of advocacy organizations, philanthropies, corporations, and politicians who purport to be "pro-veteran." They describe the ongoing debate about the cost, quality, and effectiveness of healthcare provided or outsourced by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). They also examine generational divisions and political tensions among veterans, as revealed in the tumultuous events of 2020, from Black Lives Matter protests to the Trump-Biden presidential contest. Frank and revealing, Our Veterans proposes a new agenda for veterans affairs linking service provision to veterans to the quest for broader social programs benefiting all Americans.

Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation. How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results. Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert. Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts to end homelessness, improve public health, strengthen education, design a system for early childhood development, protect child welfare, develop rural economies, facilitate the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society, resolve identity-based conflicts, and more. The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.

Just Care is Akemi Nishida's thoughtful examination of care injustice and social justice enabled through care. The current neoliberal political economy has turned care into a business opportunity for the healthcare industrial complex and a mechanism of social oppression and control. Nishida analyzes the challenges people negotiate whether they are situated as caregivers, receivers, or both. Also illuminated is how people with disabilities come together to assemble community care collectives and bed activism (resistance and visions emerging from the space of bed) to reimagine care as a key element for social change. The structure of care, Nishida writes, is deeply embedded in and embodies the cruel social order-based on disability, race, gender, migration status, and wealth-that determines who survives or deteriorates. Simultaneously, many marginalized communities treat care as the foundation of activism. Using interviews, focus groups, and participant observation with care workers and people with disabilities, Just Care looks into lives unfolding in the assemblage of Medicaid long-term care programs, community-based care collectives, and bed activism. Just Care identifies what care does, and asks: How can we activate care justice or just care where people feel cared affirmatively and care being used for the wellbeing of community and for just world making?

Using an approach that combines transnational and comparative social policy analysis with international relations, this book assesses various global social policy actors and compares their ideas and prescriptions about national health care systems. It highlights the importance of considering health policies across multiple scales.

Working in teams sounds simple but the reality is often more difficult within complex health and social care systems. This revised edition of this essential book brings together cutting-edge thinking about teamworking, and considers how this can be turned into practice within the context of interagency settings. It introduces a range of theories, models and research to demonstrate the benefits - and pitfalls - inherent in teamworking in collaborative settings. This is a practical and accessible guide focused on how inter-agency teams may be made to function more effectively, illustrated through real-life examples. Its no-nonsense approach will appeal to students, practitioners, team leaders, managers and policy-makers across the health and social care system.

Austerity as Public Mood explores how politicians and the media mobilise nostalgic and socially conservative ideas of work and community in order to justify cuts to public services and create divisions between the deserving and undeserving. It examines the powerful appeal of these concepts as part of a wider public mood marked by guilt, nostalgia and resentment - particularly around the inequalities produced by global capitalism and changes to the nature of work. In doing so, the book engages with urgent questions about the contemporary political climate. Focusing on the UK, it challenges accounts of neoliberalism which frame it as primarily an individualising force and localist definitions of community as mitigating its damaging effects. Finally, it explores how resistance to austerity can challenge these tendencies by offering a politics of solidarity and hope, and a forum for experimentation with alternative forms of collectivity.

This wide-ranging edited volume provides a state of the art account of theory and research on modern street-level bureaucracy, gathering internationally acclaimed scholars to address the varying roles of public officials who fulfill their tasks while interacting with the public. These roles include the delivery of benefits and services, the regulation of social and economic behavior, and the expression and maintenance of public values. Questions about the extent of discretionary autonomy and the feasibility of hierarchical control are discussed in depth, with suggestions made for the further development of research in this field. Hence the book fills an important gap in the literature on public policy delivery, making it a valuable text for students and researchers of public policy, public administration and public management.

Persistent Disparity provides a comprehensive examination of the magnitude and scope of racial economic disparity in the United States. The authors directly assess the extent of black economic progress in the US since World War II and address the controversy of whether the racial income gap is closing or widening as America approaches the 21st century. Darity and Myers explicitly make the connection between what the theory of racial inequality espouses and corresponding policy recommendations for remedying such disparity such as affirmative action and reparations. The authors challenge the cultural-genetic explanation and advance a new theoretical explanation that incorporates a more expansive characterization of the nature and role of discrimination. They also conclude that conventional anti-discrimination efforts are unlikely to be sufficient to close the gap. This book will be essential reading for anyone interested in US social and economic history, political economy, African-American studies, and public policy.