In the early 1980s it was fashionable to suggest that marriage as an institution was in trouble, but there were widely differing views as to whether or not this was really so. Originally published in 1982, this title started as a small-scale exploratory study of clients with marital problems and how they came to seek help. Using a sociological approach to marriage, the authors compare the medical and non-medical settings the clients attended and looks at their social networks as a way to see how people view and conduct their marital relationships. It also looks at the broader concept of marriage and how it came to be seen as problematic in our society and became part of wider public discourse at the time. Today, reissued with a new preface, it can be read in its historical context.

Originally published in 1987, now with a new preface, the focus of this book is the distribution of material resources, notably money, work, care and food, within and between households. Hitherto, social policy research had tended to roll households and families into one and consider them as ‘private’ spheres which only connected with society via the male head of household – the ‘breadwinner’. Examination of resource distribution had stopped short at the door of the household. The contributors to Give and Take in Families open up the ‘Black Box’ of the family and explore the assumption that resources are equitably distributed between household members. A dominant concern is with gender relations. Each study attempts to make women – as resources in caring for other people, as providers of income, as transformers of income into goods and services – visible in the household unit. Findings from nine empirical studies are presented, examining resource distribution in relation to the composition of households, and the life cycles and life experiences of household members. A wide variety of household types is considered, and attention is given to households undergoing changes (such as divorce and unemployment) that are likely to have major implications for household structure and resources. The implications of these innovative and thought-provoking studies for social policy are considerable, with relevance to the fields of inequality and income support, the provision of care for children and the elderly, the labour market and divorce law. This book will still appeal to practising researchers and students in the social sciences, particularly women’s studies.

From the vantage point of forty years in social research and the study of families, Julia Brannen offers an invaluable account of how research is conducted and 'matters' at particular times. This fascinating work covers key developments in the field that remain of vital concern to society and demonstrates how social research is an art as well as a science - a process that involves craft and creativity.

Based on extensive interviews with young people between the ages of 18 and 30 in six countries across Europe, this source shows how rapid global economic and employment change, together with shifts in family structure and the gendering of work and home life, shape young people's orientations to work, the family and their combination.
It looks at young people in a range of socio-economic groups and at various points in the world of work, from the unemployed through those in education or training, to those with steady jobs.

eBook available with sample pages: 0203471857

Connecting Children focuses on children's understandings of care and their views of different family lives. It portrays the lives of children aged 11-12 and shows how families connect children in different ways both in the household but also in their wider kinship networks. The children studied reflect upon family life and especially upon situations where their own family lives change dramatically, such as when parents divorce or are unable to care for them.
This book will be of interest to those working in education, social work, child care, counselling, social policy and childhood studies.

First Published in 1996. Research on childhood is a growing area of interest in social policy. Covering both familial and institutional settings, this book explores relevant issues, including the female workforce and changing family forms.

First Published in 1996. Research on childhood is a growing area of interest in social policy. Covering both familial and institutional settings, this book explores relevant issues, including the female workforce and changing family forms.

Much academic work on families and households has focused in the past on the adult members. However, a surge of interest in children's issues has occurred recently in the social sciences. A key theoretical assumption in this area of research is that children's relationships and cultures are worthy of study in their own right and that children play an active part in the construction of these cultures and relationships.; This work provides perspectives on children in their family contexts. It shows that children's needs and wishes have often been neglected in the social sciences, especially in the areas of law, social policy and sociology. The authors present empirical research on children and young people in contemporary family settings and offer theoretical insights which challenge existing thinking on modern childhood. They draw on international comparisons between the condition of childhood and children's welfare, putting forward an argument for future research and policy initiatives needing to concentrate on, and even privilege, children.

Much academic work on families and households has focused in the past on the adult members. However, a surge of interest in children's issues has occurred recently in the social sciences. A key theoretical assumption in this area of research is that children's relationships and cultures are worthy of study in their own right and that children play an active part in the construction of these cultures and relationships.; This work provides perspectives on children in their family contexts. It shows that children's needs and wishes have often been neglected in the social sciences, especially in the areas of law, social policy and sociology. The authors present empirical research on children and young people in contemporary family settings and offer theoretical insights which challenge existing thinking on modern childhood. They draw on international comparisons between the condition of childhood and children's welfare, putting forward an argument for future research and policy initiatives needing to concentrate on, and even privilege, children.

Engaging systematically with severe forms of poverty in Europe, this important book stimulates academic, public and policy debate by shedding light on aspects of deprivation and exclusion of people in absolute poverty in affluent societies. It examines issues such as access to health care, housing and nutrition, poverty related shame, and violence. The book investigates different policy and civic responses to extreme poverty, ranging from food donations to penalisation and "social cleansing" of highly visible poor and how it is related to concerns of ethics, justice and human dignity.

Across Europe the importance of reconciling paid work and family life is increasingly recognised by a range of diverse government regulations and organisational initiatives. At the same time, employing organisations and the nature of work are undergoing massive and rapid changes, in the context of global competition, efficiency drives, as well as social and economic transformations in emerging economies. "Work, families and organisations in transition" illustrates how workplace practices and policies impact on employees' experiences of "work-life balance" in contemporary shifting contexts. Based upon cross-national case studies of public and private sector workplaces carried out in Bulgaria, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, the Netherlands and the UK, this innovative book demonstrates the challenges that parents face as they seek to negotiate work and family boundaries. The case studies demonstrate that employed parents' needs and experiences depend on many layers of context - global, European, national, workplace and family. This book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of organisational psychology, sociology, management and business studies, human resource management, social policy, as well as employers, managers, trade unions and policy makers.

Coming to Care offers an original contribution to the understanding of care and care work in children's services in Britain in the early twenty first century. It provides fascinating insights into the factors that influence why people enter and leave care work, their motivations and the intersection of their work with their family lives. Focusing on four diverse groups of workers - residential social workers, foster carers, family support workers and community childminders - who take on the care of vulnerable children and young people in the context of relatively low levels of qualifications, the book examines their life course as care workers. It explores: the range of factors that attract people into care work, including the biographical circumstances and the serendipitous factors that propel them into the work; their understandings of and commitment to the work; and how their identities as care workers are created and sustained. The book is highly relevant to current policy debates about the development of children's services and reforming the childcare workforce and offers a range of practical recommendations. It should provide interesting reading to policy makers and service providers, as well as academics and students in the childcare and social care fields.

This book focuses on a key issue in the methodology of the social and behavioural sciences: the mixing of different research methods. The extent to which qualitative and quantitative research differ from one another has long been a subject of debate. Although many methodologists have concluded that the two approaches are not mutually exclusive, there are few books on either the theory or the practice of mixing methods. Mixing Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Research presents a comprehensive discussion of the theoretical, methodological and practical issues. It also covers a number of case studies of research which have successfully combined qualitative and quantitative approaches. Contributors include sociologists who have written extensively on the methodology of the social sciences and researchers who have concerned themselves with important social policy issues in the fields of further education, community services and household finances.

This edited book guides students and researchers through the processes of researching everyday stories about families. Showcasing the wide range methods and data sources currently used in narrative research, it features: Examples of real research into historical and contemporary family practices from around the world. Coverage of both traditional and cutting-edge topics, like multi-method approaches, online research, and paradata. Practical advice from leading figures in the field on how to incorporate these methods and data sources into family narrative research. With accessible language and features that help readers reflect on and internalize key concepts, this book helps readers navigate researching family lives with confidence and ease.

From the vantage point of forty years in social research and the study of families, Julia Brannen offers an invaluable account of how research is conducted and 'matters' at particular times. This fascinating work covers key developments in the field that remain of vital concern to society and demonstrates how social research is an art as well as a science - a process that involves craft and creativity.

This book takes a life course perspective, analysing and comparing the biographies of mothers and fathers in seven European countries in context. Based on an innovative, cross-national EU study, it examines the ways in which working parents negotiate the transition to parenthood and attempt to find a 'work-life balance'. Using in-depth qualitative biographical data, the book offers a deep understanding of working parents' real lives by locating them within diverse national, workplace and family contexts. It provides rich insights into how policies and practices at the institutional level play out in individual and family lives, how they shape the decisions during both transition phases and in parents' daily experiences of juggling work and family life. It highlights some difficult and complex issues about the sustainability of contemporary working practices for bringing up children that are highly relevant in times of economic retrenchment. 'Transitions to parenthood in Europe' will be of interest to an academic readership at all levels of the social sciences, as well as employers, managers, trade unions and policy makers.

This book takes a life course perspective, analysing and comparing the biographies of mothers and fathers in seven European countries in context. Based on an innovative, cross-national EU study, it examines the ways in which working parents negotiate the transition to parenthood and attempt to find a 'work-life balance'. Using in-depth qualitative biographical data, the book offers a deep understanding of working parents' real lives by locating them within diverse national, workplace and family contexts. It provides rich insights into how policies and practices at the institutional level play out in individual and family lives, how they shape the decisions during both transition phases and in parents' daily experiences of juggling work and family life. It highlights some difficult and complex issues about the sustainability of contemporary working practices for bringing up children that are highly relevant in times of economic retrenchment. 'Transitions to parenthood in Europe' will be of interest to an academic readership at all levels of the social sciences, as well as employers, managers, trade unions and policy makers.

With dual-working households now the norm, Food, Families and Work is the first comprehensive study to explore how families negotiate everyday food practices in the context of paid employment. As the working hours of British parents are among the highest in Europe, the United Kingdom provides a key case study for investigating the relationship between parental employment and family food practices. Focusing on issues such as the gender division of foodwork, the impact of family income on diet, family meals, and the power children wield over the food they eat, the book offers a longitudinal view of family routines. It explores how the everyday meanings of food change as children grow older and negotiate changes in their own lives and those of their family members. Drawing on extensive quantitative data from large-scale surveys of food and diet - as well as qualitative evidence - to emphasise the larger global context of social and economic change and shifting patterns of family life, Rebecca O'Connell and Julia Brannen present a holistic overview of food practices within busy contemporary family lives. Featuring perspectives from both parents and children, this innovative approach to some of the most hotly-debated topics in food studies is a must-read for students and scholars in food studies, sociology, anthropology, nutrition and public health.

With dual-working households now the norm, Food, Families and Work is the first comprehensive study to explore how families negotiate everyday food practices in the context of paid employment. As the working hours of British parents are among the highest in Europe, the United Kingdom provides a key case study for investigating the relationship between parental employment and family food practices. Focusing on issues such as the gender division of foodwork, the impact of family income on diet, family meals, and the power children wield over the food they eat, the book offers a longitudinal view of family routines. It explores how the everyday meanings of food change as children grow older and negotiate changes in their own lives and those of their family members. Drawing on extensive quantitative data from large-scale surveys of food and diet - as well as qualitative evidence - to emphasise the larger global context of social and economic change and shifting patterns of family life, Rebecca O'Connell and Julia Brannen present a holistic overview of food practices within busy contemporary family lives. Featuring perspectives from both parents and children, this innovative approach to some of the most hotly-debated topics in food studies is a must-read for students and scholars in food studies, sociology, anthropology, nutrition and public health.

* What is it like to be a teenager today? * How do parents and teenagers experience their roles and responsiblities? * And how does the problem of health - a major cultural goal of the twentieth century - figure in the perspective and priorties of young people and their parents This book seeks to answer these questions in a unique study of over 800 16-year-olds. Taking family life as the focus, the book explores a critical moment in teenagers and parents lives with respect to the transition to adulthood, a point a which young people and parents take important decisions about the future, especially concerning education, training and the labour market.

This edited book guides students and researchers through the processes of researching everyday stories about families. Showcasing the wide range methods and data sources currently used in narrative research, it features: Examples of real research into historical and contemporary family practices from around the world. Coverage of both traditional and cutting-edge topics, like multi-method approaches, online research, and paradata. Practical advice from leading figures in the field on how to incorporate these methods and data sources into family narrative research. With accessible language and features that help readers reflect on and internalize key concepts, this book helps readers navigate researching family lives with confidence and ease.

The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods is a must for every social-science researcher. It charts the new and evolving terrain of social research methodology, covering qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods in one volume. The Handbook includes chapters on each phase of the research process: research design, methods of data collection, and the processes of analyzing and interpreting data. The volume maintains that there is much more to research than learning skills and techniques; methodology involves the fit between theory, research questions research design and analysis. The book also includes several chapters that describe historical and current directions in social research, debating crucial subjects such as qualitative versus quantitative paradigms, how to judge the credibility of types of research, and the increasingly topical issue of research ethics. The Handbook serves as an invaluable resource for approaching research with an open mind. This volume maps the field of social research methods using an approach that will prove valuable for both students and researchers.

Connecting Children focuses on children's understandings of care and their views of different family lives. It portrays the lives of children aged 11-12 and shows how families connect children in different ways both in the household but also in their wider kinship networks. The children studied reflect upon family life and especially upon situations where their own family lives change dramatically, such as when parents divorce or are unable to care for them.
This book will be of interest to those working in education, social work, child care, counselling, social policy and childhood studies.