Books published by Bristol University Press

This book offers a unique analysis of the challenges facing contemporary social work that considers the multi-faceted threats to the profession. It provides in-depth reflections on the future of social care practice and solutions for students and practitioners.

At a time when public education and reform agendas are changing the way we approach education, this book critically examines the key issues facing the public with implications for education policy makers, professionals and researchers. Drawing on empirical evidence gathered over 20 years, Helen Gunter confronts current issues about social justice and segregation. She uses Arendtian ideas to help the reader to 'think politically' about education and how and why public services education can be reimagined for the future.

This edited collection brings together international academics, policy makers and practitioners to examine the social and cultural contexts of breastfeeding and looks at how policy and practice can apply this to women's experiences.

Based on the 'rainbow model' of the social determinants of health, this book examines the key factors which can lead to poor quality of life, homelessness and reduced mortality.

Why is solitary confinement used in today's world? Does it help the rehabilitation of offenders? And how is policy affected by justification for the use of it? This book is the first to consider the history of solitary confinement and how it is experienced by the individuals undergoing it. Using Merleau-Ponty's concept of embodied subjectivity, it provides first-hand accounts of the inhumane experience of solitary confinement to provide a better appreciation of the relationship between penal strategy and its effect on human beings. Drawing on his own experiences as a Psychological Specialist in the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and on those interviewed as part of the Guardian 6x9 project (http://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/apr/27/6x9-a-virtual-experience-of-solitary-confinement), the author focuses on the phenomenology of solitary confinement to consider what the intentional aspect of this almost uninhabitable type of confinement says about a democratic society that continues to justify its use as a correctional strategy. Aiming to influence policy, the book fills the gap between the practice of solitary confinement and its implications, as well as the social attitudes that uncritically condone its use.

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.

Gary Craig and his contributors blend theory and practice-based case studies to review how different community development approaches can empower minority ethnic communities to confront racism and overcome social, economic and political disadvantage.

This book looks at what is needed to prevent the proliferation of harm and the gradual collapse of civil society. A wide range of expert contributors outline what might help to make better societies and which mechanisms, interventions and evidence are needed when we think about a better society.

The second edition of this popular book uses in-depth theoretical study and international case studies to explore new developments in social entrepreneurship, such as the rise of the social investment market and the increasing importance of social impact measurement.

Published in association with the SPA, with specially commissioned reviews of pensions, health care, conditionality and housing and including a themed section on personalised budgets, this book examines important debates in the field.

Universities are increasingly taking an active role as research collaborators with citizens, public bodies, and community organisations but they, their funders and institutions struggle to articulate the value of this work. This book addresses the key challenges in collaborative research in the arts, humanities and social sciences.

This book provides social science researchers with both a strong rationale for the importance of thinking reflexively and a practical guide to doing it. The first book to build on Pierre Bourdieu's reflexive work, it combines academic analysis with practical examples and case studies. The book will be of interest to researchers and students.

This collections showcases contemporary research on multiple youth deprivation of personal isolation, social hardship, gender and ethnic discrimination and social stigma, drawing on findings of empirical studies that seek to explore the critical intersections of social class, gender and ethnic identities.

This text brings together academics, artists, practitioners and 'community activists' to explore the possibilities for and tensions of social justice work under the contemporary drive for community-oriented 'impact' in the academy.

An in-depth analysis of the NHS reforms ushered in by UK Coalition Government under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act. 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.

Through a series of interdisciplinary case studies, this topical collection is the first to focus on protest camps as unique organisational forms that transcend particular social movements' contexts. The book offers a critical understanding of current protest events and will help better understanding of new global forms of democracy in action.

A critical analysis of neighbourhood planning. Setting empirical evidence from the UK against international examples, the Editors engage in broader debates on the purposes of planning and the devolution of power to localities.

This edited book examines why what happens in Detroit matters for other cities around the world. Bridging academic and non-academic voices, contributions from many of the leading scholars on Detroit are joined by some of the city's most influential writers, planners, artists and activists.

The relationship between crime and social media has become an increasingly important topic in a networked world. However, the use of social media in relation to violent crime is little understood. This unique book, by an expert in the field, addresses this gap by analysing what those involved in homicide do with social media. Using three international cases in which perpetrators confessed to homicide on social media, it investigates the practices of those involved, providing a groundbreaking conceptual framework of use to criminologists. It argues that such confessions convey important insights not only into the individual offender but also the social and cultural context of contemporary homicide.

This third edition of the leading textbook on personalisation considers key policy changes since 2009 and new research into the extension and outcomes of personal budgets. It is essential reading for students, practitioners and policy makers in social work and community care services.

This comprehensive yet concise textbook is the first to provide a focused, subject specific guide to planning practice and law. Giving students essential background and contextual information to planning's statutory basis, the information is supported by practical and applied discussion to help students understand planning in the real world. The book is written in an accessible style, enabling students with little or no planning law knowledge to engage in the subject and develop the necessary level of understanding required for both professionally accredited and non-accredited courses in built environment subjects. The book will be of value to students on a range of built environment courses, particularly urban planning, architecture, environmental management and property-related programmes, as well as law and practice-orientated modules.

Taking a transformative approach, this exciting new textbook bridges the gap between the theory and practice of social work with Black and minority ethnic groups. Practice scenarios and case studies encourage students and practitioners to form innovative solutions to service delivery.

This book, the second title in the Rethinking Community Development series, argues for the centrality of class analysis and its associated divisions of power to any discussion of the potential benefits of community development.

The 2008 global economic crisis has led to a new age of austerity, based more on politics than economics, which threatens to undermine the very foundations of the welfare state. However, as resistance to the logic of austerity grows, this important book argues that there is still room for optimism.

This research and practice based book considers the social meaning of women's alcohol use and its treatment, raising concerns about the political role of 'treatment' in making women behave, or to be 'well'. It challenges current policy and practice in the field, and aims to develop a new approach to women's drinking.

Sociologists' Tales brings together the thoughts and experiences of key UK sociologists from different generations of British sociology in reflecting on why they have chosen a career in sociology, how they have managed to do it and what advice they would offer the next generation.

The first ever book on educational work to prevent violence against women and girls, offering insight into the underpinning theoretical debates and key lessons for practice.

This book examines the theory and practice of justice in and of the city through a multi-disciplinary collaboration, which draws on a wide range of expertise. It will be a valuable resource for academic researchers and students across a range of disciplines including urban and environmental studies.