Moves to assist or protect the vulnerable now play a crucial role in welfare and criminal justice processes. This distinctive book draws on in-depth research with marginalised young people and the professionals who support them to explore the implications of a 'vulnerability zeitgeist', asking how far the rise of vulnerability serves the interests of those who are most disadvantaged.

This book explores aspects of the social and cultural history of nuclear Britain in the Cold War era (1945–1991) and contributes to a more multivalent exploration of the consequences of nuclear choices which are too often left unacknowledged by historians of post-war Britain. In the years after 1945, the British government mobilised money, scientific knowledge, people and military–industrial capacity to create both an independent nuclear deterrent and the generation of electricity through nuclear reactors. This expensive and vast ‘technopolitical’ project, mostly top-secret and run by small sub-committees within government, was central to broader Cold War strategy and policy. Recent attempts to map the resulting social and cultural history of these military–industrial policy decisions suggest that nuclear mobilisation had far-reaching consequences for British life. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Contemporary British History.

The notion of 'vulnerability' is now a prominent motif in social policy in the UK and beyond, with important implications for those deemed 'vulnerable'. Yet the effects of recalibrating welfare and criminal justice processes on the basis of vulnerability often escape attention. This distinctive book draws together lived experiences of vulnerability with academic and practical applications of the concept, exploring the repercussions of a 'vulnerability zeitgeist' in UK policy and practice. Through a focus on the voices and perspectives of 'vulnerable' young people and the professionals who support them, it questions how far the rise of vulnerability serves the interests of disadvantaged citizens. Illuminating where support shades into more controlling practices, the book is important reading for scholars, students and policy-makers interested in exclusion, precariousness, deviance and youth.

This book explores aspects of the social and cultural history of nuclear Britain in the Cold War era (1945-1991) and contributes to a more multivalent exploration of the consequences of nuclear choices which are too often left unacknowledged by historians of post-war Britain. In the years after 1945, the British government mobilised money, scientific knowledge, people and military-industrial capacity to create both an independent nuclear deterrent and the generation of electricity through nuclear reactors. This expensive and vast 'technopolitical' project, mostly top-secret and run by small sub-committees within government, was central to broader Cold War strategy and policy. Recent attempts to map the resulting social and cultural history of these military-industrial policy decisions suggest that nuclear mobilisation had far-reaching consequences for British life. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of Contemporary British History.

Demonstrating the relevance of theory to political and policy debates and practice, this lively and accessible second edition helps students to grasp the real-life implications of social policy theory. It considers contemporary shifts in welfare ideologies in the context of global austerity and the UK Coalition and Conservative governments (2010 onwards). With a new chapter focusing on critical debates about disability, sexuality and the environment, this textbook also includes fresh reflections on migration, social security conditionality, resilience, social justice and human rights. Key features include: • real-life examples from UK and international politics and policy to explain and illuminate the significance of social policy theory; • key questions for student reflection and engagement; • and bulleted chapter summaries and annotated further readings at the end of every chapter. This new edition is a dynamic, engaging and valuable introduction to the key theoretical perspectives and concepts deployed in social policy.

The Golden Girls made its prime-time debut in 1985 on NBC, and the critically acclaimed show has been a constant television companion through cable reruns and streaming media services ever since. Most people know that The Golden Girls is a sitcom about four feisty, older women living together in Miami who love to eat cheesecake, but Kate Browne argues that The Golden Girls is about so much more. Drawing on feminist literary studies and television studies, Browne makes a case for The Golden Girls as a TV milestone not only because it remains one of the most popular sitcoms in television history but also because its characters reflect shifting complexities of gender, age, and economic status for women in the late twentieth century and beyond. Each chapter is dedicated to exploring what makes these remarkable characters defy expectations of how older women should look, act, and love. Chapter 1 focuses on Dorothy Zbornak's intriguing gender performance and shifting desirability. Chapter 2 digs into Blanche Devereux's difficult relationship with motherhood and aging. Chapter 3 highlights how Rose Nylund made all the "right" choices in life but consistently finds herself disenfranchised by the same social and economic institutions that promised to protect her at midlife. Chapter 4 centers on how Sophia Petrillo drives the action of the show as a trickster-bending plots to her own desires and offering moral lessons to the other characters. The book offers an important analysis of a hugely popular sitcom that extends the boundary of what makes TV groundbreaking and worthy of study. Browne argues that The Golden Girls is a "classic" sitcom in almost every way, which keeps audiences engaged and allows the show to make subversive moves when it matters most. Written with both superfans and scholars in mind, the book invites new, diverse ways of thinking about the show to spark future scholarship and conversation about four of the most beloved characters in sitcom history.

Three short stories, each focusing on the relationship between mother and child. 'The Piper Man' is structured around the legend of The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Marie Nicholls is a single mother bringing up her two boys, who are desperately missing their father. When a strange man arrives on their street, they are inexplicably drawn to him, much to Marie's horror. 'The Cherry Tree' tells the story of a musician, who finds her career at odds with being a mother, while 'Matryoshka' follows a woman's struggle with grief and loss following the death of her baby.

Henri Sings the Blues involves a lonely blue heron who, with the help of a very unlikely source, learns the secret of making new friends and is happily surprised by friends he has.