To examine government policy and state practice on housing, welfare, mental health, disability, prisons or immigration is to come face-to-face with the harsh realities of the 'punitive state'.But state violence and corporate harm always meet with resistance. With contributions from a wide range of activists and scholars, Resist the Punitive State highlights and theorises the front line of resistance movements actively opposing the state-corporate nexus. The chapters engage with dif...

Social work is often presented as a benevolent and politically neutral profession, avoiding discussion about its sometimes troubling political histories.This book rethinks social work’s legacy and history of both political resistance and complicity with oppressive and punitive practices. Using a comparative approach with international case studies, the book uncovers the role of social workers in politically tense episodes of recent history, including the anti-racist struggle in the...

In this timely analysis, Rich Moth assesses mental health services in a period of major change.Based on extended fieldwork in community mental health services, he explores the many impacts of policy reform, marketisation and austerity on NHS mental health provision, and positions developments in the contexts of neoliberalism and an increased emphasis on individual responsibility.Firmly rooted in the lived experiences of people using mental health services and the everyday p...

Bringing together international case studies, this book offers theoretical and empirical insights into the interaction between social work and social policy.Moving beyond existing studies on policy practice, the book employs the policy cycle as a core analytical frame and focuses on the influence of social work(ers) in the problem definition, agenda setting, policy formulation and implementation of social policy. Twenty-three contributors offer examples of policy making from seven ...

It is essential that social work students understand the lasting impact political decision making can have on service users, yet little guidance exists on this subject. This valuable book provides a comprehensive introduction to politics in social work, unifying the themes of political ideology and social construction across several areas of social work practice, including emerging areas of practice. The book:• Introduces the dominant political ideologies in the UK;• Examin...

All social work students study theory and undertake practice placements. Integrating the two – so that each informs the other – is both essential and notoriously tricky. This accessible book demystifies the process and offers helpful evidence-based strategies for doing it successfully.Structured around different approaches to learning, Integrating Social Work Theory and Practice covers:Adult and student centred learningLearning a...

This Open Access book aims to find out how and why states in various regions and of diverse cultural backgrounds fail in their gender equality laws and policies. In doing this, the book maps out states’ failures in their legal systems and unpacks the clashes between different levels and forms of law—namely domestic laws, local regulations, or the implementation of international law, individually or in combination. By taking off from the confirmation that the concept of law that is to be us...

This Open Access book examines the implications of welfare policy for energy poverty and engages with key conceptual debates at the forefront of energy demand research. Academic work on energy poverty has rarely been brought into conversation with practice-theory-based approaches to energy use and sustainability. This book reveals how novel insights can be made visible through combining these different ways of thinking about energy demand issues. It presents a distinctive approach to energ...

Exam Board: OCRLevel: A-levelSubject: SociologyFirst Teaching: September 2015First Exam: June 2016Build students' confidence to tackle the key themes of the 2015 OCR A-Level Sociology specification with this clear and accessible approach delivered by a team of leading subject authors.- Develop knowledge and understanding of key Year 1 concepts in...

Every subject has its history, including the Social Determinants of Health. It is a subject that investigates differences in human health that occur because of social life, from income and class to family life and neighbourhood. Social determinants can have very large effects on longevity, just as do other determinants, such as the provision of medical care or clean drinking water. A Commission to study the social determinants of health and to propose ways of improving health based upon their...

Exam Board: AQALevel: AS/A-levelSubject: SociologyFirst Teaching: September 2016First Exam: June 2017Build students' understanding with this concept-driven approach to the 2015 AQA A-level Sociology specification, written by a team of leading subject authors and approved by AQA.- Develop the knowledge required to master Year 2 topics with clear a...

This popular book provides a compelling introduction to thinking about childhood in rigorous and critical ways. Karen Wells offers a unique global perspective on children’s lives, showing how the notion of childhood varies widely and is continuously being radically re-shaped.Taking children seriously as active participants in society, the book explores key social issues such as how children are constituted as raced, classed and gendered subjects; how school and work operate as site...