Social Work - Research

'Community' is a much used yet little understood term. Through a set of detailed case studies of communities in action this book examines the sources of community activism, the ways in which communities define themselves, and are defined by outsiders, and the nature of the interface between communities and public agencies via partnerships.

Based on extensive research on primary sources and interviews, this book explores the changing perceptions of the needs of elderly people. It considers the extent to which they have been a priority for resources and looks at the possibilities of policy that combines respect for elderly people with an avoidance of the exploitation of relatives.

Cultures of care uses an innovative biographical case study approach to compare caring situations and caring strategies in Britain and East and West Germany. The findings underline the significance of caring within social policy agendas and the need to change the parameters of comparative social policy.

This book examines the contribution of the NHS to the multi-agency and inter-professional child protection process. It examines the roles played by health professionals within child protection and investigates the nature and operation of the central policy community and local provider networks.

This study focuses on the contribution that studies of the post-war 'welfare state' can make to debates about welfare. Drawing on community care debates from 1971 to 1993, it illuminates contemporary concerns about issues as rationing care, the health and social care divide, residential care and growing emphasis on provider competition.

Throughout Europe, standardised approaches to social policy and practice are being radically questioned and modified. Beginning from the narrative detail of individual lives, this book re-thinks welfare predicaments, emphasising gender, generation, ethnic and class implications of economic and social deregulation.

This is the first in-depth study of children and young people caring for parents affected by severe and enduring mental illness. Drawing on primary research data collected from 40 families, the book presents the perspectives of children (young carers), their parents and the key professionals in contact with them.

Recent urban disturbances, concerns about the fate of asylum seekers and renewed debates about the nature of ethnic identity and citizenship have all combined to give ethnic differences a high public and policy profile. This book explores the diverse experiences of ethnic disadvantage and challenges common assumptions.

The turn to biographical methods in social science is invigorating the relationship between policy and practice. This book shows how biographical methods can improve theoretical understanding of professional practice, as well as enrich the development of professionals, and promote more meaningful practitioner - service user relationships.

Dominant social work and social care discourses on 'race' and ethnicity often fail to incorporate an Irish dimension. This book challenges this omission and provides new insights into how social work has engaged with Irish children and their families, historically and to the present day.

This report presents the findings from the first national, representative survey of public attitudes to youth crime and youth justice in England and Wales. It carries clear policy implications in relation to both public education and reform of the youth justice system.

This book offers a new approach to scrutinising the co-existence of both care and abuse in relationships. Discourse analysis is introduced as a method of investigating relationships, policy and literature in informal care and analytic tools are considered alongside case-studies to illustrate how both parties construct their relationship.