Explore the vast range of titles available.

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 wellbeing constructs which would facilitate more transparent discussions. Arguing against a win-win scenario of wellbeing and sustainability, it advocates an approach based on recognising and valuing conflicting views where notions of participation and power are central to discussions. Measuring Wellbeing is divided into two parts. The first part provides a critical review of the field, drawing widely on international research but contextualised within recent UK wellbeing policy discourses. The second part embeds the theory in a case study based on the author's own experience of trying to develop quality of life indicators within a local authority, against the backdrop of increasing national policy interest in measuring 'happiness'. This accessible and informative book, covering uniquely both practice and theory, will be of great appeal to students, academics and policy makers interested in wellbeing, sustainable development, indicators, public policy, community participation, power and discourse.

01 02 Despite plentiful evidence on poverty and reduced health chances and on the benefits of co-operative social networks and social capital, the nature of the relationship between them remains uncertain. Yet an enhanced understanding is needed if we are to gain, not only a more effective purchase on social processes involved in well-being, or on links between poverty and place, but also of the stratagems people adopt to challenge or cope with social and economic difficulties and resist their deleterious effects. Drawing on key concepts and on community studies conducted in East London housing estates, this book brings together diverse strands of influence on participatory community life and individual well-being. Residents' rich narratives are used to emphasize the significance of different social network patterns for mediating disadvantage and happiness. The book makes a timely contribution to post 2010 policy agendas and to current political debates on the 'big society' and the 'good society'. 02 02 If we are becoming increasingly disconnected from our local communities, are there implications for health, well being and happiness, particularly for people on low incomes? This book looks at the interplay between poor people, poor communities and poor health, with a particular focus on social networks as key linkages. 13 02 VICKY CATTELL Honorary Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, UK, and a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at Middlesex University, UK. She has lectured in Sociology, Social Policy and Politics. Her research and publications cover poverty, community and social networks in poor neighbourhoods, health and well being, and public spaces. 31 02 This book explores the role of co-operative social networks in mediating the effects of disadvantage on well being 19 02 Examines how disconnection from communities impacts on health, wellbeing and happiness Focuses on impact of those with low incomes Addresses the post-2010 policy climate and current political ideas on 'the big society' and the nature of 'the good society'    04 02 Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction: Social Murder Utopian Dreams? Researching Poverty, Community and Health Community Resilience Community Demoralisation and Resistance Social Capital in Urban Neighbourhoods: the Potential for Unity and Division Well-being and Happiness: Balancing Community with Independence Social Network Characteristics and Health and Well-Being Conclusions: Poverty, Community and Health in the 'Good Society' Bibliography Index

Policy reforms to children's services in the UK and elsewhere encourage a greater focus on outcomes defined in terms of child well-being. Yet for this to happen, we need not only a better understanding of what child well-being is and how services can improve it, but also the ability to measure child well-being in order to evaluate success. This book investigates the main approaches to conceptualising child well-being, applies them to the child population using household survey and agency audit data, then considers the implications for children's services. The author: provides a clear conceptual understanding of five perspectives on well-being: need, rights, poverty, quality of life and social exclusion demonstrates the value of each perspective charts levels of child well-being in an inner-London community, including violated rights and social exclusion sets out the features that children's services must have if they are to improve child well-being defined in these terms This book should be read by everyone involved in developing, implementing and evaluating children's services, including researchers, policy makers and practitioners.

After a quarter century of almost general condemnation and rebuttal of the entire nationalization experience, it appears that there are second thoughts about governmental direct intervention in the economy. Reappraising State-Owned Enterprise deals with a topic often undervalued in the past decade but which now, with the crisis of 2008-2009, calls for greater attention: the direct intervention of the State as Entrepreneur. The collection of essays in this volume - prepared by some of the leading authorities in the field - offers a contribution to this debate by providing a balanced assessment of two of the most relevant experiences of mixed economies, the United Kingdom and Italy. In this respect, a comparison between these two countries is very much appropriate since in both nations the State played an important role as \"Entrepreneur\" starting in the early 20th century. In Great Britain and Italy, the heyday of the \"State as Entrepreneur\" was in the years right after WWII when it was used as a tool for promoting a modern society in which citizens acquired a stronger sense of belonging to their nations. The UK and Italy saw the State take on a too-pervasive role in the 70s; the two nations responded in different ways. In the 1980s Great Britain embarked on a harsh process of privatizations while Italians struggled on until finally submitting to privatizations in their nation in the following decade. The deep crisis of the final years of the 21st century forced both nations to reconsider State interventions as an appropriate tool in order to protect the wellbeing of the national economy.

Bringing together researchers from the fields of social policy, economics, sociology and clinical psychology, this book offers new evidence on the inter-related problems faced by disability claimants, and identifies important lessons for policy. * Explores how reducing the level of UK benefit claiming among those with health limitations has been a priority for successive governments * Argues that current policy fails to reflect the evidence that people on long-term disability benefits face a complex combination of barriers to work and social inclusion * Demonstrates that there is a need for continuing inter-disciplinary research on the nature of the 'disability benefits problem' and the efficacy of current policy solutions and public services

\"Bennett and Holloway'sUnderstanding Drugs, Alcohol, and Crimeisthe best, most up-to-date and comprehensive examination for theUnited Kingdom of interactions among drugs, alcohol, and crime. Theauthors exhaustively and authoritatively survey current knowledge inthe UK, and from many other countries, on drug and alcohol use ascause, and consequence, of crime, and the effects of law enforcementand treatment responses. Clearly written, unfailingly lucid, andadmirably accurate, this book will be the indispensable work onBritish drug policy for many years to come.\" Professor Michael Tonry, University of Minnesota Law School, USA \"What makes this book particularly interesting is the refreshingly non judgmental presentation which conveys the essence of very important issues in contemporary society. Therefore, this is an ideal text not only for students but also for policy makers, drugs and alcohol counsellors, treatment agencies and everyone interested in doing research on drugs, alcohol and crime.\" Nicoletta Policek, University of Abertay, Dundee \"The publication is not only an excellent summary of the existing research in Great Britain, and to a lesser extent from other jurisdictions, it is a foundation for future research by evoking , and at times provoking, questions and offering a variety of possible responses.\" Hirsch Greenberg, University of Regina What is the connection between drugs, alcohol and crime? What works in reducing drugs and alcohol-related crime? The book provides a succinct overview of current theory and research on the links between drugs, alcohol use and crime. It discusses the legal and social context of drug and alcohol use and identifies current levels of consumption. Focusing on the UK context, it also takes into account international research where appropriate. Detailed review of the research literature on the connections between drug use and crime Examines the current government anti-drugs policy and assesses the effectiveness of programmes that have been used to reduce drug and alcohol-related crime. The book concludes that future government drugs policy should pay particular attention to the lessons learned from research on the connection between drug and alcohol use and crime. Ideal for criminology, criminal justice, social policy and social work students, this book will also be a useful source of information for policy makers, the police, probation workers, social workers, drugs and alcohol counsellors, treatment agencies, sentencers, voluntary agencies, Drug Action Teams, and others with an interest in research on drugs and crime.

Current social policy recognises that older people should be treated as experts in their own lives and be actively involved in their care. This book explores what can be learned from older people's experiences of managing ageing. Direct connections are made between the everyday experiences and perspectives of older people, related research and theoretical perspectives. This yields an engaging and informative analysis of how older people manage the ageing experience and what this means for policy and practice directed at promoting older people's wellbeing. The book will be of value to undergraduate and postgraduate students in health and social care and practitioners in these fields.

This paper reviews the relationship between Labour's economic policy and the third sector. Since 1997, the third sector has received significant government support and has gradually moved from the economic periphery towards the centre such that it is now instrumental in the delivery of a range of government policies. It operates alongside both the private and public sectors in delivering employment, education, health and social care, housing and environmental policies. The impact of this has been seen in measures of social exclusion, poverty, the environment, social capital, as well as GDP and employment. Future policies should strive to maintain and develop the distinctive capabilities of third sector organisations and the balance between economic, social and environmental objectives.