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This book, the second title in the Rethinking Community Development series, starts from concern about increasing inequality worldwide and the re-emergence of community development in public policy debates. It argues for the centrality of class analysis and its associated divisions of power to any discussion of the potential benefits of community development. It proposes that, without such an analysis, community development can simply mask the underlying causes of structural inequality. It may even exacerbate divisions between groups competing for dwindling public resources in the context of neoliberal globalisation. Reflecting on their own contexts, a wide range of contributors from across the global north and south explore how an understanding of social class can offer ways forward in the face of increasing social polarisation. The book considers class as a dynamic and contested concept and examines its application in policies and practices past and present. These include local/global and rural/urban alliances, community organising, ecology, gender and education.

This publication explores the legal, media and social constructions of coercion as a pathway into crime for some co-offending women. Coercion has been increasingly acknowledged as a pathway into crime for female offenders, particularly those whose relationship with their male partner/ co-offender is characterised by abuse, control and/or obsession (Barlow, 2015; Jones, 2008; Richie, 1996; Welle & Falkin, 2000). However, the construction of such women within the law and media and the consequential ways in which they are understood is often limited to over-simplistic explanations and dichotomies, which are usually rooted in gendered assumptions and expectations. Informed by newspaper articles and materials accessed via case and court files, this publication will analyse four cases of co-accused women, all of which utilised the notion of ‘coercion’ (by their male partner/ accomplice/s), albeit to differing levels, as part of their defence. These case studies are used as a tool to understand how media and legal institutions and society more broadly attempt to make sense of coerced women. The alternative, feminist conceptual framework of a ‘continuum of coercion’ is also introduced, to develop a more nuanced conceptual and theoretical framework of coercion as a pathway into crime. The publication also considers the extent to which criminology currently contributes to this discussion and more specifically, what it fails to say about coerced women.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the NHS reforms ushered in by UK Coalition Government under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, arguably the most extensive reforms ever introduced in the NHS. Contributions from leading researchers from the UK, the US and New Zealand examine the reforms in the contexts of national health policy, commissioning and service provision, governance and others. Collectively, the chapters presents a broader assessment of the trajectory of health reforms in the context of marketisation, the rise of health consumerism and the revelation of medical scandals. This is essential reading for those studying the NHS, those who work in it, and those who seek to gain a better understanding of this key public service.

The purpose of this edited book is to make the case for why the social sciences are more relevant than ever before in helping governments solve the wicked problems of public policy. It does this through a critical showcase of new forms of discovery for policy-making drawing on the insights of some of the world’s leading authorities in public policy analysis. The authors have brought together an expert group of social scientists who can showcase their chosen method or approach to policy makers and practitioners. These methods include making more use of Systematic Reviews, Random Controlled Trials, the analysis of Big Data, deliberative tools for decision-making, design thinking, qualitative techniques for comparison using Boolean and fuzzy set logic, citizen science, narrative from policy makers and citizens, policy visualisation, spatial mapping, simulation modelling and various forms of statistical analysis that draw from beyond the established tools. Of course some of the methods the book refers to have been on the shelves for a number of decades but the authors would argue that it is only over the last decade or so that increased efforts have been made to apply these methods across a range of policy arenas. Other methods such as the use of analysis of Big Data or new fuzzy set comparative tools are relatively more novel within social science but again they have been selected for attention as there are growing examples of their application in the context of policy making.

Housing has been labelled a ‘wicked’ problem: complex, territorial, open-ended and intractable. This book underscores the role of politics in generating this ‘wickedness’, highlighting the ‘actors’ engaged in the process within their political institutions and the entrenched territorial electoral politics involved in the ‘housing question’. It concentrates on the preparing, disputing and implementing policy rather than on policy outcomes and the social and economic determinants ― industrialisation, capitalism, globalisation ― of continuity and change. The major theoretical approaches framing its content are the ‘new institutionalism’, social constructionism and public choice theory. The sub-title reflects the book’s themes. Power is acquired formally through the electoral system but is exercised through a variety of mechanisms including ‘governmentality’ ― the techniques that regulate and order behaviour. Planning draws attention to attempts to modify the role of markets in housing outcomes and includes land use planning and the influence of alleged ‘rational’ solutions applied to ‘the housing problem’ manifest in housing design and specific interventions aimed at mitigating housing problems. Protest concerns the ‘outsiders’ in the political system and their attempts to secure a voice often outside the normal institutional channels approved by authorities and perhaps eventually become the power holders.

Institutionalized racism adversely affects the health of African Americans, and it operates through multiple institutions, e.g., the medical system, the criminal justice system, and families. This book looks at the historic origins of the black health deficit and how it is perpetuated by health policies and interactions. High rates of poverty, joblessness, and neighbourhood segregation also foster poor health among black people, and are associated with a range of health issues. These social conditions are related to illicit drug use and mass incarceration, both of which have significant health implications. This book also explores how the fragility of black families and high rates of non-marriage affect adults and the health consequences of these family patterns for children.

This book examines British Islamophobia both in the cyber and physical world. Drawing from qualitative data elicited through a national UK-based study, this text considers the online and offline experiences of ‘visible’ Muslim men and women as victims of Islamophobia and the impacts of these attacks upon victims, their families and wider communities. Key themes that emerge from the research findings include ‘trigger’ events of local, national and international significance. Accordingly, terrorist attacks carried out by individuals who identify themselves as being Muslim or acting in the name of Islam – such as the Woolwich attack, the atrocities committed by ISIS and attacks around the world such as Sydney, the Charlie Hebdo and Bataclan attacks in Paris, as well as attacks in Copenhagen and Tunisia – increase Muslims’ vulnerability to Islamophobic attacks, both online and offline. The book highlights the multidimensional nature of Islamophobia, and recognises the fact that there is a relationship between online and offline Islamophobic attacks, especially in the globalised world. The Short concludes with recommendations for preventing and responding to Islamophobia, both online and offline.

Desistance is one of the big news stories of the criminological world. Research suggests that, as ‘offenders’ turn their backs on crime, they often change their identities as well as their behaviour. Yet we know much less about how reforming or transforming identity might be affected by gender, age or ethnicity. This book focuses on diversity and showcases research from a wide range of authors in the field. It considers the similarities and differences between desisting from crime and recovering from addiction. Taking the desistance and recovery debates in unfamiliar directions, it examines the experiences of change for individuals seeking healthier and more successful futures.

Once considered the preserve of the wealthy, nanny care has grown in response to changes in the labour market, including the rising number of mothers with young children, and increases in non-standard work patterns. This book examines the place of in-home childcare, commonly referred to as care by nannies, in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada since the 1970s. In contrast to childminding or family day care provided in the home of the carer, in-home care takes place in the child’s home. The research extends beyond the early childhood education and care domain to consider how migration policy facilitates the provision of childcare in the private home. New empirical research is presented about in-home childcare in Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada, three countries where governments are pursuing new ways to support the recruitment of in-home childcare workers through funding, regulation and migration. The compelling policy story that emerges illustrates the implications of different mechanisms for facilitating in-home childcare - for families and for care workers. It proposes that these differences are shaped by both structural and normative understandings about appropriate forms of care that cut across gender, class/socioeconomic status and race/migration. Overall, it argues that greater attention needs to be given to the way childcare work in the private home is situated across ECEC and migration policy.

This book analyses the social, political and economic reasons behind parenting trends. It shows how broader social changes, including neoliberalism, feminism, the collapse of the social democratic ideal, and the 'new behaviourism', have led to the rise of the narcissistic parent. The book charts the shift from the liberal and progressive parenting styles of the 1940-1970s, to the more 'behavioural', punitive and managerial methods of child rearing today, made popular by 'tough love' experts, and by New Labour's parent education programmes. The book argues that this trend is symptomatic of the sour, mean-spirited and vindictive social norms found throughout society today, which undermine the better instincts of parents and damage parent-child relations. The book urges parents to focus on helping and understanding their children as they work at growing up.