Social work

This text offers a new concept of Social Work that is an inspiring and practical vision of what Social Work is and should be, placing rights at the heart of practice, enabling students and workers to become more confident dealing with the uncomfortable realities of practice.

What does it mean to be a volunteer in the UK today? This book adds new insights into volunteering from the perspective of the individual, the organisation and the community .

Lessons from child protection errors and mistakes in 11 countries in Europe and North America are drawn together in a stimulating study from leading researchers in the field. By comparing and contrasting impacts, responses and responsibilities, it deepens understanding of how child protection systems fail and points to ideas for risk reduction.

Ethics has been addressed in health care, but relatively little attention has been paid to the subject in the social care sector. This book redresses the balance by examining theory, research, policy and practice in both fields. The importance of this approach is reflected in the growing emphasis on ethical issues in research and practice.

Sarah Banks emphasises the importance of reclaiming professional ethics for social work, and outlines a preliminary framework for a situated ethics of social justice.

This edited book provides a hard-hitting and deliberately provocative overview of the relationship between evidence, policy and practice, how policy is implemented and how research can and should influence the policy process.

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.

This unique study of social work provides a bold and challenging view of the subject from an anthropological perspective. Combining research and personal reflection, it explores cultural and symbolic representations of social work, evolving identities of social work practitioners and the ways in which they and society now view one another.

This interdisciplinary book draws on the perspectives of forty authors from four continents to explore the dynamics of ethical dilemmas using theory, research and practice-based examples.

The UK government has identified Faith communities as important players in community development and regeneration. But religion is also associated with conflict and division. How far is this faith in 'Faith' justified? How far should Faith communities comply? This report assesses the debate and the evidence. Free PDF available at www.jrf.org.uk

Community involvement is seen as essential for urban regeneration, but it often proves elusive. The UK government has identified 'faith communities' as an important resource. This report explores the present and potential contribution of religious communities and their members, and the tensions and controversies involved in engaging with 'faith'.

This insightful book discusses the origins and theoretical underpinnings of family led decision making and brings together the current research on the efficacy and limitations of family group conferences into a single text.