Substantial claims are made about the extent and impacts of volunteering, often characterised by limited engagement with research evidence. Volunteering is highly stratified, so whether it can bridge social divisions in an unequal society is questionable. Volunteering may have some benefits for individuals and communities, but these impacts are often marginal; volunteering is not a treatment that can be prescribed with certainty. There is certainly a strong ‘spirit of service’ evident in t...

The human geography of the UK is currently being reshaped by a number of forces - such as globalisation, transition in the organisations of production, the changing character of state intervention, and changing relationships with Europe. A consideration of the impacts of these forces on economic, social and political landscapes is, therefore, an urgent task. At the same time, enduring institutional features of the British economy and polity are also having important influences on socio-eco...

Mutualism and health care, newly available in paperback, presents the first comprehensive account of a major innovation in hospital funding before the NHS. The voluntary hospitals, which provided the bulk of Britain’s acute hospital services, diversified their financial base by establishing hospital contributory schemes. Through these, working people subscribed small, regular amounts to their local hospitals, in return for which they were eligible for free hospital care.The book ev...

This important book is the first edited collection to provide an up to date and comprehensive overview of the third sector’s role in public service delivery. Exploring areas such as social enterprise, capacity building, volunteering and social value, the authors provide a platform for academic and policy debates on the topic. Drawing on research carried out at the ESRC funded Third Sector Research Centre, the book charts the historical development of the state-third sector relationship, an...

There are great expectations of voluntary action in contemporary Britain but limited in-depth insight into the level, distribution and understanding of what constitutes voluntary activity. Drawing on extensive survey data and written accounts of citizen engagement, this book charts change and continuity in voluntary activity since 1981.How voluntary action has been defined and measured is considered alongside individuals’ accounts of their participation and engagement in volunteeri...

Improving access to hospital services has been a goal of public policy in Britain for over seventy years, but the means by which this goal is to be attained have changed significantly over time. Drawing substantially on original research, lanning, Markets and Hospitals represents a systematic attempt to access the strengths and weaknesses of different forms of planning and coordination of hospital development. The period covered includes: services prior to 1948; wartime hospital policy; th...

Around the world, countries are searching for ways of making their schools more effective for all children and young people. This book offers a new way of thinking about how to address this challenge. It sees improvement as requiring a collective effort that involves contributions from all members of a school community. Crucial to this is the idea of ethical leadership.Promoting Equity in Schools is written by a team of academic researchers who had a most unusual opportuni...

Time poverty is a problem for many Australian households and work is the main culprit. Australians start work young, and we are working more, and longer into old age. While maximising our productivity and enhancing our professional skills, we must also raise our children well, care for our aged, be involved in our community and shrink our carbon footprint a footprint shaped by the patterns and habits of our work, social obligations and households. What is it costing Australians to try and ...

At a time of profound change in the economic, social, political and sporting landscape, sport development faces important challenges. Now in a fully revised and updated third edition, Sport Development: Policy, Process and Practice is still the most detailed, authoritative and comprehensive guide to all aspects of contemporary sport development.This book examines the roles of those working in and around sport development and explores the most effective methods by which pro...

Those who speak up about poor, corrupt or unethical practice often do so at a great personal cost. This timely book explores our understanding of the ethics of whistleblowing and shows how managers and organisations can support individuals speaking out.While some professional guidelines formalize duties to speak out where there are concerns about poor or harmful practice, workplace cultures often do not encourage or support this, and individuals frequently find themselves victims o...

Improving wellbeing and sustainability are central goals of government, but are they in conflict? This engaging new book reviews that question and its implications for public policy through a focus on indicators.It highlights tensions on the one hand between various constructs of wellbeing and sustainable development, and on the other between current individual and societal notions of wellbeing. It recommends a clearer conceptual framework for policy makers regarding different well...

Despite consistent improvements in the school systems of over recent years, there are still too many children who miss out. It is not only children from disadvantaged backgrounds attending hard-pressed urban schools that the system is failing - even in the most successful schools there are often groups of learners whose experience of schooling is less than equitable.As a result of their close involvement with a group of schools serving a predominantly working-class community over f...