Interest in the contribution narrative can make across many disciplines has been booming in recent years, but its impact in social work has been limited. It has mainly been used in therapeutic intervention such as narrative therapy, social work education or personal accounts. This is the first book to extend the narrative lens to explore the contribution of narrative to social work values and ethics, social policy and our understanding of the self in social, cultural and political context. The book firstly sets out theoretical concerns and then applies them to specific areas of social work, including child protection, mental health and disability. The author argues that narrative is a richly textured approach to social work that can enhance both theory and practice. As such the book will be of interest to social work students, practitioners and educators, policy makers and those interested in the application of narrative to professional practice.

"The book will be valuable for undergraduate and postgraduate students, researchers and lecturers involved in the field of dementia care and the health-care sciences. Furthermore, it provides a useful resource for clinicians who wish to explore their understanding of 'personhood', person-centred care and the nature of Kitwood's critical appraisal of how 'care' should be constructed and delivered." Ageing and Society"Baldwin and Capstick have produced an honest appraisal that is undeniably a reader and critical commentary, and have not shirked from any responsibilities. ... This paperback would serve two distinct strands of readership equally well - those coming afresh to dementia care, or practitioners steeped in the concepts, who are looking to reanalyse and consider future developments. As such, it is difficult to underestimate its value." Nursing in Practice How does Kitwood's work contribute to our understanding of 'the dementing process' and the essentials of quality care?How was Kitwood's thinking about dementia influenced by the wider context of his work in theology, psychology and biochemistry?What is the relevance today of key themes and issues in Kitwood's work? Tom Kitwood was one of the most influential writers on dementia of the last 20 years. Key concepts and approaches from his work on person-centred care and well-being in dementia have gained international recognition and shaped much current thinking about practice development. The complexities of Kitwood's work and the development of his thinking over time have, however, received less attention. This Reader brings together twenty original publications by Kitwood which span the entire period of his writing on dementia, and the different audiences for whom he wrote.Almost ten years after Kitwood's death, it is now timely to review his contribution to the field of dementia studies in the light of more recent developments and from a critical and interdisciplinary perspective. The introduction to this Reader summarises and problematises some of the key characteristics of Kitwood's writing. Each of the four themed sections begins with a commentary offering a balanced consideration of the strengths of Kitwood's work, but also of its limitations and oversights. The Reader also includes a biography and annotated bibliography.Tom Kitwood on Dementia: A Reader and Critical Commentary is key reading for students of social work or mental health nursing, with an interest in dementia care. Professionals working with people with dementia will also find it invaluable.Additional Contributors: Habib Chaudhury, Deborah O'Connor, Alison Phinney, Barbara Purves, Ruth Bartlett.

Christopher Watkin provides the first comprehensive introduction to Serres' thought from The System of Leibniz (1968) through to his final publications in 2019. Working from the original French, he engages with both translated and major untranslated texts, providing a true overview of Serres' thinking.Using diagrams to explain Serres' thought, the first half of the book carefully explores Serres' 'global intuition' how he understands and engages with the world and his 'figures of thought', the repeated intellectual moves that characterise his unique approach. The second half explores in detail Serres' revolutionary contributions to the areas of language, objects and ecology.Watkin shows that Michel Serres has produced a cross-disciplinary body of work that provides a crucial and as yet under-exploited reference for current debates in post-humanism, object oriented ontology, ecological thought and the environmental humanities.

Focusing on a complex and contentious period that was formative in shaping American society and culture in the twentieth century, this book sheds new light on the ways in which fiction engaged with contemporary notions of masculinity. It draws on gender theory and analysis of writers from diverse backgrounds of race, class and sexuality to provide rich comparative insights into the constitution of American masculinity in fiction. The extensive range of novels considered includes fresh analyses of key authors such as James Baldwin, Truman Capote, Patricia Highsmith, Jack Kerouac, Norman Mailer, Ann Petry, J. D. Salinger and Gore Vidal.

Interest in the contribution narrative can make across many disciplines has been booming in recent years, but its impact in social work has been limited. It has mainly been used in therapeutic intervention such as narrative therapy, social work education or personal accounts. This is the first book to extend the narrative lens to explore the contribution of narrative to social work values and ethics, social policy and our understanding of the self in social, cultural and political context. The book firstly sets out theoretical concerns and then applies them to specific areas of social work, including child protection, mental health and disability. The author argues that narrative is a richly textured approach to social work that can enhance both theory and practice. As such the book will be of interest to social work students, practitioners and educators, policy makers and those interested in the application of narrative to professional practice.

Bradford Dementia Group Good Practice Guides There are always difficult day to day decisions to be faced when caring for a person with dementia - from knowing how to deal with wandering to end of life decisions. Many of these decisions are underpinned by value judgments about right and wrong and reflect a particular view of dementia. This book considers these ethical decisions in the context of relationships, treatment, safety and quality of life, offering practical guidance and advice. It draws on the experiences of family carers as well as on existing research and emphasizes the importance of empathy and the need to acknowledge different perspectives in order to reach the best decision for the person with dementia. In particular the authors discuss the way that decision makers are themselves changed by the decisions they make, and the impact of this on the decision-making process. This book should be read by all those who work caring for people with dementia.