A continual problem in modern societies is how housing of a good standard can be provided for all those who need it. Some countries, and some local areas within any one country, have clearly succeeded better than others. Originally published in 1985, Housing, States and Localities shows how and why success and failure in housing provision come about. It does this using comparative analysis of two countries – Britain and Sweden – and four localities within Britain – Sheffield, rura...

Single mothers caring for dependent children are an important and increasing population in industrialized countries. In some, single mothers are seen primarily as mothers and few have paid work; in others, they are regarded as workers and most have paid work; and sometimes they are seen as an uneasy combination of the two with varying proportions taking up paid work.; This edited collection explores these variations, focusing on the interaction between dominant discourses around single mot...

This book presents a new approach to understanding contemporary personal life, taking account of how people build their lives through a bricolage of ‘tradition’ and ‘modern’. The authors examine how tradition is used and adapted, invented and re-invented; how meaning can leak from past to present; the ways in which people’s agencies differ as they make decisions; and the process of bricolage in making new arrangements. These themes are illustrated through a variety of case studies, ranging...

While the family and its role continues to be a key topic in social and government policy, much of the literature is concerned with describing the dramatic changes that are taking place. By contrast, Analysing Families directly addresses the social processes responsible for these changes - how social policy interacts with what families actually do. Topics covered include:* the relationship between morality and rationality in the family context* the variety of contemp...

Providing a comprehensive analysis of comparative gender difference in the EU, this book addresses a spectrum of gender issues. From employment and households, to culture, sexuality and male violence, the book transcends any 'economy/culture' divide. This wide coverage is placed within a conceptual view of structured 'gender cultures' which vary spatially and historically. Individual chapters are written around this common theme by an expert board of international contributors, drawn from ...

Welfare is an important concept in the social sciences. It is also challenged and contested not only by alternative concepts but also as a political goal in itself. Using a multi-disciplinary approach, this book takes a fresh look at the continuing relevance of welfare in the context of public policy, recent scholarly developments and changes in popular attitudes and behaviour.The book connects theory and practice. Tracing the concept's background in economics, political science an...

For every group that is oppressed, another group is privileged. In Undoing Privilege, Bob Pease argues that privilege, as the other side of oppression, has received insufficient attention in both critical theories and in the practices of social change. As a result, dominant groups have been allowed to reinforce their dominance.Undoing Privilege explores the main sites of privilege, from Western dominance, class elitism, and white and patriarchal privilege to the less-examined sites...

Social Policy: Themes and approaches is a fully revised, updated and extended edition of a bestselling social policy textbook, extensively reworked and adapted to meet the needs of its international readership. The book lays out the architecture of social policy as a field of study, providing a sense of the scope, range and purpose of the subject while developing critical awareness of problems, issues and common fallacies.

Community development emerged as a recognisable occupational activity in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Since then, whilst struggling to remain true to its basic values it has often been manipulated to serve differing policy and political purposes. This unique Reader traces its changing fortunes through a selection of readings from key writers. It will be invaluable to those pursuing community development careers, for activists, and for all those teaching, training and practising communi...

Crime and Social Policy provides an invaluable examination of the relationship between social policy and crime. It draws on recent empirical research to offer important insights into the impact of current social policy trends on the lives of offenders.Provides an invaluable examination of the critical relationship between social policy and crime managementIncludes illuminating case studies on the impact of social policies on offendersReviews curre...

This book combines the two most important typologies of capitalist diversity; Esping-Andersen's welfare regime typology and Hall and Soskice's 'Varieties of Capitalism' typology, into a unified typology of capitalist diversity. The author shows empircally that certain welfare states bundle together with certain production systems.

‘For geographers across the globe this book provides the arguments for a return to the teaching of geography and why they should reject the politicisation of the subject by education policy makers and politicians. Standish’s careful critique shows the necessity of a depoliticised geography curriculum the irony of which would be that it would ensure that every child could point to Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan on a map.’Prof. Dennis Hayes – Oxford Brookes University, UK