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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social welfare & social services
Nutrition Economics: Principles and Policy Applications establishes
the core criteria for consideration as new policies and regulations
are developed, including application-based principles that ensure
practical, effective implementation of policy. From the economic
contribution of nutrition on quality of life, to the costs of
malnutrition on society from both an individual and governmental
level, this book guides the reader through the factors that can
determine the success or failure of a nutrition policy. Written by
an expert in policy development, and incorporating an encompassing
view of the factors that impact nutrition from an economic
standpoint (and their resulting effects), this book is unique in
its focus on guiding other professionals and those in advanced
stages of study to important considerations for correct policy
modeling and evaluation. As creating policy without a comprehensive
understanding of the relevant contributing factors that lead to
failure is not an option, this book provides a timely reference.
We are witnessing the development of new technologies that could
have a dramatic impact on markets for both skilled and unskilled
labour, including the use of Big Data. In addition, many welfare
states have once again been restructured, sometimes weakening
states? protection of employees. This timely book provides a
systematic and vigorous analysis of the impact of new technology on
the labour market and different kinds of welfare states. The book
offers a novel contribution to the discussion of how welfare states
can be maintained and developed to support groups in society who
often need aid from a welfare state system. It also highlights the
risk of increased social division as a consequence of these
developments, and considers whether or not our response to this
divide will have negative repercussions on the way societies
function. With comprehensive analysis of the sharing and platform
economies as well as new types of inequality, Technology and the
Future of Work will appeal to academics and graduate students of
social policy and readers interested in societal change more
broadly.
Restorative justice is a conceptual and practical framework for
repairing any harm that may have been caused either to people,
property, or things. It is essential to investigate examples,
scenarios, perspectives, strategies, and implications for the use
of restorative justice in diverse settings, including K-12
settings, colleges and universities, the workplace, and within
public safety organizations and departments. Emphasis must also be
placed on diversity, equity, belonging, and inclusion and how
restorative practices foster the use of inclusive practices and
accessibility for all persons. Restorative Justice and Practices in
the 21st Century offers broad perspectives across numerous
disciplines and professions and provides restorative practitioners
with a timely account of what restorative justice and practices may
offer to their respective organizations, school, or agency. It
provides possible strategies and actions to implement restorative
practices as well as how restorative practices can provide
different strategies and methods in handling conflict, disputes,
and discipline. Covering topics such as equity and inequalities,
pedagogical reflection, and indigenous roots, this premier
reference source is an essential resource for administrators and
educators of both K-12 and higher education, public safety
officials, law enforcement, corrections officers, students of
higher education, librarians, researchers, and academicians.
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."
After two decades of feminist challenges to mainstream theorising,
gender has become a central element of social policy and the
welfare state. A new literature has widened the focus of social
policy from state and economy to a three-sided discourse
encompassing the state, the market and the family. The Handbook on
Gender and Social Policy provides a comprehensive introduction to
this field with up-to-date accounts of debates and innovative
original research by leading international authors. The Handbook
covers the key areas of social policy that relate to the
inequalities between men and women in the developed and developing
world. It presents original research on contemporary issues at
national and transnational levels across the central policy terrain
of income, employment, care and family policy, including family
policy models, same-sex marriage and child protection. It features
chapters on key perspectives on gender and policy and six original
studies of the state of play in different regions of the world. The
Handbook on Gender and Social Policy is an excellent resource for
advanced students and postgraduate students of sociology, political
science, women?s studies, policy studies and related areas. It will
also be of interest for practitioners and scholars of social policy
seeking up-to-date coverage of how gender affects the contours of
social policy and politics. Contributors include: E. Adamson, C.
Arza, D. Balkmar, M. Bernstein, M. Blaxland, M. Brady, D. Brennan,
R. Daiger von Gleichen, M. Daly, A.L. Ellingsaeter, V. Esquivel, H.
Figueiredo, K.R. Fisher, L. Foster, J. Ginn, S. Harkness, B.
Harvey, J. Hearn, B. Hewitt, J. Jenson, T. Knijn, R. Mahon, L.
Marg, J. Martinez Franzoni, J. McCoy, S. Meyer, J. Outshoorn, K.
Pringle, S. Razavi, E. Reese, J.l. Rubery, M. Seeleib-Kaiser, X.
Shang, S. Shaver, S. Staab, C. Valiente, F. Williams, A. Yeatman
Welfare State, Universalism and Diversity is a thought-provoking
book dealing with key ideas, values and principles of social
policies and asking what exactly is meant by universal benefits and
policies? Is the time of post-war universalism over? Are
universalism and diversity contradictory policy and theory
framings? Well-known scholars from different countries and fields
of expertise provide a historically informative and comprehensive
view on the making of universal social policies. Universalism is
defined and implemented differently in the British and Scandinavian
social policies. Service universalism is different from
universalism in pensions. The book underlines the multiple and
transformative nature of universalism and the challenge of
diversity. There certainly is need for a greater diversity in
meeting citizen s needs. Yet, universalism remains a principle
essential for planning and implementing sustainable and legitimate
policies in times characterized by complex interdependences and
contradictory political aims. This impressive book is an attempt to
untangle the multiple meanings of universalism and clarify the
concept's relevance to contemporary policy debates. It will prove
invaluable for students, researchers and practitioners in social
policy, public policy, social administration, social welfare,
social history, social work, sociology and political sciences.
Policy makers and administrators involved with social and public
policies, social services, social welfare, and social work will
also find this book groundbreaking. Contributors: A. Anttonen, A.
Borchorst, J. Clarke, J. Goul Andersen, L. Haikio, B. Hvinden, M.
Kautto, J. Newman, J. Sipila, K. Stefansson, M. Szebehely, M. Vabo
This volume provides an exciting introduction to social wellbeing
and different epistemological standpoints. Targeted at researchers,
students, academics, policy makers, practitioners and activists,
the volume allows stakeholders to collectively problematise and
address marginalised populations' social wellbeing, providing
perspectives and applications from various disciplines such as
education, health, public policy and social welfare. Chapters
continue to debate social wellbeing within their disciplines, and
challenges practitioners' and researchers' experience, particularly
interactions between individual and social aspects of wellbeing.
Contributors provide practical and academic discussions, drawing
upon different cultural, historical, political and social
paradigms, putting forward available empirical data. Contributors
are: Andrew Azzopardi, Amanda Bezzina, Trevor Calafato, Joanne
Cassar, Marlene Cauchi, Carmel Cefai, Marilyn Clark, Maureen Cole,
Katya De Giovanni, Melanie E. Demarco, Andreana Dibben, Ruth
Falzon, Marvin Formosa, Natalie Kenely, Dione Mifsud, Brenda
Murphy, Claudia Psaila, Sandra Scicluna, Anabel Scolaro, Miriam
Teuma, Anna Maria Vella, Sue Vella and Carla Willing,
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 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.
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
India is home to the world's largest hungry population and has a
long way to go before it is anywhere near the mammoth task of
achieving the United Nations' goal of ending hunger in 2030. It is
ironic that this book raises the issue of "Hunger" in a state where
it is least expected. Punjab is a state with mountains of food
grains and overflowing godowns, with highest yields, and largest
area under irrigation. Not only that, it is the Green Revolution
state of India, that has played the most prominent role in helping
India achieve its goal of food self-sufficiency. By investigating
the hydra-headed concept of food security in Indian Punjab, this
book brings to fore the different dimensions of the deprivation of
human capabilities and the intricate relationship between food
security and economy, ecology, and state policy. Moreover, it is a
wakeup call for India; for if, this is the state of affairs in one
of the more prosperous primarily agrarian states, what would be the
situation in the poorer ones? The primary objective is to divert
urgent attention to the issue of food security, as an important
ingredient of human resource development. With a strong commitment
to achieving the primary goal of human resource development,
India's biggest burden could well become India's greatest asset in
the path to inclusive development.
Governance is now a major topic in political science. To date,
analysts of governance have paid scant attention to social policy
or welfare state reform. In this book, the concept of governance is
used to analyse the outgoing variety of the welfare mix as well as
shifting responsibilities and modes of interaction. This unique and
path-breaking work analyses the governance of welfare state reform
in the areas of health, pensions, labour market and education
policy. The authors compare both the different processes of reform
(politics) and the change of policies in different welfare state
regimes. They question if the change of regulatory structures
results in growing convergence or ongoing divergence of welfare
states. Governance of Welfare State Reform will be essential
reading for researchers and students interested in social policy
and governance studies. Political scientists, sociologists and
social policymakers will also find this book an invaluable read.
This unique book explores a very broad range of ideas and
institutions and provides case studies and best practices in the
context of broader theoretical analysis. The impact global
multilateral institutions such as the World Bank and IMF have on
development is hotly debated, but few doubt their power and
influence. Therefore, the main aim of this book is to examine the
concepts that have powerfully influenced development policy and,
more broadly, look at the role of ideas in these institutions and
how they have affected current development discourse. With the aim,
the objectives, therefore, to enhance the understanding of how the
ideas travel within the systems and how they are translated into
policy, modified, distorted, or resisted. It is not about creating
something fundamentally new, nor is it about completely
transcending the efforts of these global institutions. Rather, it
is about creating effective global institutions at a global level,
that can aid in social and economic development globally. The
scholarly value of the proposed publication is self-evident because
of the increase in the emphasis placed on global institutions and
the role they play for corporate governance, innovation, and
sustainability globally and it is going to be more crucial
post-pandemic when the economies restart and more so in emerging
economies. Moreover, there is a dire need for understanding
comprehensively the complexity in the process of how these global
institutions work multi-laterally.
In a powerful blending of memoir and practical strategies from a
medical doctor's perspective, The Gift of Caring: Saving Our
Parents - and ourselves - from the Perils of Modern Healthcare
reveals the hidden side of modern healthcare practices for aging
Americans. This ground-breaking book, co-written by award-winning
author Marcy Houle and nationally-recognized geriatrician and
public health advocate, Elizabeth Eckstrom MD MPH, sheds new light
on aging by showing it from twin perspectives: the story of a
daughter desperately seeking help for the parents she loves, and a
geriatrician who offers life-changing strategies that can protect
our loved ones and ourselves. Today, for many older adults, the
medical delivery system is confusing, fragmented, and ill-equipped
to provide comprehensive, person-centered care. Under our current
healthcare model, thousands of aging persons face unnecessary
suffering, hospitalizations and nursing home stays, and even
preventable death. Seniors and families often feel powerless as
they travel this sad journey. Not having knowledge of aging's
changes, they resign themselves to believing there is nothing
anyone can do to help, while some health care professionals simply
write off symptoms seniors endure as "just old age." But as Marcy
Houle discovered in caring for her parents, many of the problems
often are not "just old age." Further, the real issue is not that
the answers to ease suffering don't exist. Rather, what we need to
know is generally not available to the general public. Even more
concerning, many health care professionals have had little or no
training in the care of older adults. The Gift of Caring hopes to
change that. It is written to give empowerment to all older adults,
family members, and health care professionals, by sharing much
needed knowledge and practical strategies. The Gift of Caring shows
the best ways to advocate for our parent's health care ... and our
own ... by giving us the tools we need to insist upon the better
way. Your parents and you deserve the best healthcare as you age-
But there are so many reasons why that's not happening.You can
change that.
The 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child has inspired
advocates and policy makers across the globe, injecting children's
rights terminology into various public and private arenas.
Children's right to participate in decision-making processes
affecting their lives is the acme of the Convention and its central
contribution to the children's rights discourse. At the same time
the participation right presents enormous challenges in its
implementation. Laws, regulations and mechanisms addressing
children's right to participate in decision-making processes
affecting their lives have been established in many jurisdictions
across the globe. Yet these worldwide developments have only rarely
been accompanied with empirical investigations. The effectiveness
of various policies in achieving meaningful participation for
children of different ages, cultures and circumstances have
remained largely unproven empirically. Therefore, with the growing
awareness of the importance of evidence-based policies, it becomes
clear that without empirical investigations on the implementation
of children's right to participation it is difficult to promote
their effective inclusion in decision making. This book provides a
much-needed, first broad portrayal of how child participation is
implemented in practice today. Bringing together 19 chapters
written by prominent authors from the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and Israel, the
book includes descriptions of innovating programs that engage
children and youth in decision-making processes, as well as
insightful findings regarding what children, their families, and
professionals think about these programs. Beyond their contribution
to the empirical evidence on ways children engage in
decision-making processes, the book's chapters contribute to the
theoretical development of the meaning of "participation",
"citizenship", "inclusiveness", and "relational rights" in regards
to children and youth. There is no matching to the book's scope
both in terms of the diversity of jurisdictions that it covers as
well as the breadth of subjects. The book's chapters include
experiences of child participation in special education, child
protection, juvenile justice, restorative justice, family disputes,
research, and policy making.
The modern welfare state finds itself in the middle of two major
upheavals: the impact of technology and immigration. Having taken
in more refugees per capita than most other countries, the pillars
of the Swedish welfare state are being shaken, and digital
technologies are set to strengthen already existing trends towards
job and wage polarization. The development of skills to keep pace
with technology will enter into a critical period for the labor
market in which inadequate policy responses could result in further
inequality and polarization. In this regard, a platform-based labor
market could help by opening up a vast range of new work
opportunities. Marten Blix examines the implications of these
trends that drive change in developed economies and, in particular,
the impact that they have on Sweden and other European countries
with rigid labor markets and comprehensive tax-financed welfare
services. Increasing costs from immigration and rising inequality
could further reduce the willingness to pay high taxes and erode
support for redistribution. Failure to address challenges like this
one could herald much more drastic changes down the road. There are
already signs of economic and political tensions and there is a
risk that the social contract could crack. This new discussion on
the future of work and the welfare state will be of interest not
only to scholars but in policy circles and corresponding societies
in sociology, labor relations, political science and public
administration.
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. Individual
contributors, ranging across the political spectrum, include Sean
Bailey, Zygmunt Bauman, Anthony Browne, Chris Creegan, A.C.
Grayling, Neal Lawson, Anna Minton, Ferdinand Mount, Julia
Neuberger, Jeremy Seabrook, Matthew Taylor and Stephen Thake. But
the book also reports the results from a web survey of more than
3,500 people and a specially-commissioned consultation with groups
whose voices are less often heard, including care leavers, carers,
people with learning difficulties, ex-offenders, and people with
experience of homelessness or unemployment. The results are
eloquently and passionately expressed. They suggest that while some
evils - like poverty - endure as undisputed causes of social harm,
more recent sources of social misery attract controversy. Not least
among them are an alleged rise in selfish consumerism driven by
economic liberalization, and a perceived decline in personal
responsibility and family commitment.
This book is a reference for administrators and educators at
institutions of higher learning who are thinking about taking
serious steps to link their educational mission to helping their
surrounding communities. Various research findings across the
disciplines in higher education about integrating community
engagement in traditional coursework are presented. This book
provides a multi-disciplinary and multi-method approach to both
incorporating and studying the effects of community engagement
(service learning) in the curriculum. Multiple departments, from
Kinesiology to Sociology, as well as various types of classes
(undergraduate, graduate, online, face-to-face, traditional,
international) are represented here. Both qualitative and
quantitative work is included. Methods involved include interviews,
case studies, reflections, and surveys. One chapter also uses
longitudinal data collection to address the overall effect of
engaging in community engagement during the undergraduate college
experience. If you are not sure how to study the effects of
community engagement on students at your university, this book is
for you.
Inheritances are often regarded as a societal "evil, " enabling
great fortunes to be passed from one generation to another, thus
exacerbating wealth inequality and reducing wealth mobility.
Discussions of inheritances in America bring to mind the
Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and "trust fund babies "--people who
receive enough money through inheritances or gifts that they do not
have any need to work during their lifetime. Though these are, of
course, extreme outliers, inheritances in America have a reputation
for being a way the rich keep getting richer. In Inheriting Wealth
in America, Edward Wolff seeks to counter these misconceptions with
data and arguments that illuminate who inherits what in the United
States and what results from these wealth transfers. Using data
from the Survey of Consumer Finances--a triennial survey conducted
by the Federal Reserve Board that contains detailed information on
household wealth, inheritances, and gifts--as well as the Panel
Study of Income Dynamics and a simulation model over years 1989 to
2010, Wolff reports six major findings on the state of inheritances
in America. First, wealth transfers (inheritances and gifts)
accounted for less than one quarter of household wealth. However,
for persons age 75 and over, the figure was about two-fifths since
they have more time to receive wealth transfers. Indirect evidence,
derived from the simulation model, indicates a figure closer to
two-thirds at end of life - probably the best estimate. Second,
despite prognostications of a coming "inheritance boom, " it has
not materialized yet. Only a small (and statistically
insignificant) uptick in average wealth transfers was observed over
the period, and wealth transfers were actually down as a share of
household wealth. Third, while wealth transfers are greater in
dollar amount for richer households than poorer ones, they
constitute a smaller share of the accumulated wealth of the rich.
Fourth, contrary to popular belief, inheritances and gifts, on net,
reduce wealth inequality rather than raising it. The rationale is
that inheritances and particularly gifts typically flow from richer
to poorer persons, thus lowering wealth inequality. Fifth, despite
a rapid rise in income inequality, the inequality of wealth
transfers shows no discernible time trend from 1989 to 2010,
neither upward nor downward. Sixth, among the very wealthy, the
share of wealth accounted for by wealth transfers is surprisingly
low, only about a sixth, and this share has trended significantly
downward over time. It is true that inheritances and gifts are
unequal, with only one fifth of families receiving wealth transfers
and these transfers benefitting the rich far more than the middle
class and the poor. That, however, is not the whole picture of
inheritances in America. Clearly-written and illuminating, this
books expertly distills an abundance of data on inheritances into
important takeaways for all who wonder about the current state of
inheritances and gifts in the United States.
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