bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Golden Ages and welfare alchemists
Authors: Pinker Robert
Published: May 2018

In this chapter, Robert Pinker discusses the idea of ‘Golden Age’ theories in social policy thought and what he calls ‘welfare alchemists’ whose visions these theories encapsulate. According to Pinker, these grand theories are in reality ideologies and can be collectivist or individualist in origin. Regardless of their origins, however, they fail to address the need for the compromises between values which are reached in pluralist and democratic social contexts. Pinker also provides an overview of the influence of classical political economy and the New Right on British social policies under different Conservative governments and goes on to describe socialism as a repository of Golden Age theorizing, along with the concept of community in relation to welfare pluralism. Finally, he examines the institutions of Gesellschaft and Gemeinschaft as well as the traditions of collectivism and individualism, arguing that they should not continue to coexist in democratic societies.
The right to welfare
Authors: Pinker Robert
Published: May 2018

In this chapter, Robert Pinker discusses T.H. Marshall's concern with welfare pluralism, his study of citizenship and welfare, and his contribution to the development of social policy and administration. He begins with an overview of Marshall's achievement in the field of sociology and some of his major works such as Sociology at the Crossroads and Social Policy in the Twentieth Century, along with the essays entitled ‘Value Problems of Welfare-Capitalism’ and ‘Citizenship and Social Class’. Pinker continues by analysing Marshall's thoughts on the relationship between the inequalities of class and the prospective equality of citizenship and his argument that collectivist social services contribute to the maintenance and enhancement of social welfare so long as such interventions do not subvert the operation of the system of competitive markets. Pinker concludes with an assessment of Marshall's views on social and political rights, the problem of poverty, and the concept of ‘democratic-welfare-capitalism’.
On the post-Brexit prospects for social policy in the UK
Authors: Pinker Robert
Published: May 2018

In this afterthought, Robert Pinker reflects on the prospects for social policy in the UK after Brexit. On 23 June 2016. the UK electorate voted to leave the European Union. The process of exiting the EU would commence right after the UK Government declared its intention to leave by triggering Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty. Pinker discusses the debate in the UK regarding the kind of Brexit favoured by those who wanted to leave the EU — a ‘hard’ or a ‘soft’ one. He also considers the legal challenges to a fast-track Brexit, along with the Prime Minister's Lord Mayor's keynote speech promising to adopt a new approach to managing the forces of globalisation and the Chancellor's Autumn Statement on 23 November 2017. Finally, he looks at the funding crisis in UK health and social care services, the government's 12-point Brexit Plan, and the Supreme Court's rulings on Article 50.
Citizens of the future1
Authors: Gillies Val , Edwards Rosalind , Horsley Nicola
Published: May 2018

This chapter explores the history of ideas about intervention in family, highlighting attempts to shape children's upbringing for the sake of the nation's future. A consistent and influential idea has been that undesirable attitudes and actions, and the propensity for deprivation, are transmitted down the generations through the way that parenting shapes children's minds and brains. The chapter considers the relationship between interventions designed to address fears about the state of the nation in the form of poverty, crime, and disorder, and understandings of the role of parents and families as they link to shifting emphasises of the capitalist system across time.
Case studies of interests at play
Authors: Gillies Val , Edwards Rosalind , Horsley Nicola
Published: May 2018

This chapter builds on the review of the interests at play in the early intervention field and examines them through case studies of three high-profile initiatives. The first case study focuses on the Wave Trust, a campaigning and policy advocate organisation that has been highly influential politically in promoting brain-based early intervention in the UK. It claims a ‘business centred’ approach to breaking damaging intergenerational family cycles of abuse and violence. The second case study subjects the origins, delivery, and evidence claims of the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) early intervention programme to scrutiny. The third case study explores the nodal network position of Parent Infant Partnership UK, which advocates for an emphasis on attachment between primary caregivers and babies.
A history of fundraising in the UK
Authors: Breeze Beth
Published: May 2018

Chapter 1 reviews the historical roots and development of fundraising in the UK, highlighting important milestones and key issues that have emerged over time and that remain contentious today. Noting that asking is as old as giving, the standard origin myth of fundraising - which states that fundraising began in the US in the late 19th/early 20th century - is rejected as a-historical, overly-reliant on a ‘Great men’ explanation, and relevant only for explaining how for-profit consultancy came into being in specific countries. An alternative approach to charting the history of fundraising, focused on purpose and impact rather than people and processes, is illustrated with ten examples of the outcomes of fundraising over the centuries.
The art of fundraising
Authors: Breeze Beth
Published: May 2018

Chapter 4 focuses on the ‘art’ or the non-technical aspects of fundraising, exploring how the social and personal skills of fundraisers enable them to succeed. Drawing on interviews with 50 successful fundraisers, this chapter highlights the metaphors that fundraisers use to describe their work, the importance of skills such as reading body language, and exercising good judgments about how, and how fast, to progress relationships with donors. The importance of seemingly trivial decisions, such as the precise wording of an email or whether or not to send a birthday card, illustrates the difficulty of codifying this knowledge. It is argued that the art of fundraising involves responding creatively to the fact that each unique donor has different intentions, attitudes and aspirations in the context of each giving scenarios. As the language of gift giving is, by convention, oblique, it is also argued that the art of fundraising involves an ability to hear the ‘unsaid’ in order to understand donors’ desires and respond accordingly.
What do fundraisers do?
Authors: Breeze Beth
Published: May 2018

Despite the apparently self-explanatory job title, most fundraisers do not see ‘raising funds’ as their central task. This fifth chapter highlights the diversity and complexity of their work and describes the everyday reality of being a fundraiser. It is suggested that the job involves three sets of tasks: (1) Fostering a philanthropic culture within the charity and in wider society, as well as amongst potential supporters and donors; (2) Framing of needs in order to establish the legitimacy of the cause and educate potential donors about the existence of credible voluntary solutions; and (3) Facilitating donations by enabling people to act on their altruistic intentions through trusted and, where possible, enjoyable ways for donors to become engaged and involved in the cause. Successful fundraisers are engaged in emotional work (in the sense defined by Arlie Hochschild) within an emotional business. Their time is spent on fostering, framing and facilitating philanthropy by creating conducive contexts in which philanthropy can thrive, by inspiring and educating both colleagues and donors, and by setting the stage for effective asking and giving. None of these are straightforward activities, and thus require the ‘art’ and the ‘science’ described in the preceding chapters.
What kind of job is fundraising?
Authors: Breeze Beth
Published: May 2018

Chapter 6 draws together the findings of the previous chapters to explore the status of fundraising work: is it a profession, a job, a calling or a vocation? This chapter begins by reviewing the debate on professionalism, exploring the different ways this concept is defined and why professional status matters, before discussing claims for and against counting fundraising as a profession. In the absence of defining traits of a profession (such as a verifiable, agreed body of knowledge and formal qualifications after extended study), and the absence of a public consensus that the value and caliber of fundraising expertise deserves the status of a profession, it is suggested that fundraising is instead best understood as a ‘creative profession’. As contemporary fundraising involves a combination of creative innovation and managerial skills, and as fundraisers possess many of the traits commonly found in the creative class such as passion, openness, ability to synthesise, non-conformity and internal motivation, it is argued that fundraisers can accurately be described as a type of creative professional.
From ‘happy slapping’ to ‘Facebook murder’: networked media in violent crime
Authors: Yardley Elizabeth
Published: May 2018

This book offers an analysis of three cases in which perpetrators confessed on social media to committing homicides: the murders of Jennifer Alfonso and Charles Taylor, and the Janzen familicide. The confessions included text-based content justifying the killings and, in two cases, images of the victims' dead bodies. The book also explores the role of networked media in violent crime from a criminological perspective and shows how networked media are being used in relation to homicide. In particular, it considers the phenomenon called ‘happy slapping’, which is essentially a crime enacted for the camera — a concept that has recently been termed ‘performance crime’ — and ‘Facebook murder’. This introductory chapter explains how the author was drawn to topic of media in homicide, discusses the foundations of her research, and provides an overview of the chapters that follow.
Media in homicide: from consumption to participation
Authors: Yardley Elizabeth
Published: May 2018

This chapter examines the extent to which criminologists have addressed issues relating to media representation of homicide. It first considers the shifts in media and the degree to which criminologists have accommodated these changes in their work. In particular, it discusses one strand of the mediatisation literature that focuses on the concept of ‘media logic’ and draws on the criminological literature around school shootings to address the question of how homicide is portrayed in media. It then explores cultural criminology's concern with the superficial nature of wider criminological sense making around media. It also looks at several studies that focus on homicide perpetrators' use of media, noting that some scholars have pointed to the killer's pursuit of celebrity status. The chapter concludes by calling on criminologists to push the boundaries and engage with questions of media as practice.
Enabling conditions for communities and universities to work together: a journey of university public engagement
Authors: Chang Marina , Moore Gemma
Published: May 2018

This chapter provides a context for the evolution of the concept of public engagement within the UK higher education sector focusing on a specific initiative: the Beacons for Public Engagement programme at University College London. Moreover, the chapter exposes the enabling conditions for communities and universities to work together; it recommends the five conditions to generate effective engagement, particularly through nuanced evaluation and support. In this case, evaluation and support can be seen as a pathway — bridging the gaps between theory and reality of engagement, between strategy and practice, and between the communities and academia — to ensure communities and universities to work together to create an impact on the university, research practice, communities, and ultimately, society.
Understanding impact and its enabling conditions: learning from people engaged in collaborative research
Authors: Haynes Alex
Published: May 2018

This chapter illustrates two examples of collaborative research with women's groups, from an Australian research study, exploring how people make their lives in new places. It draws attention to some of the challenges and opportunities of collaborative social research. This analysis draws from the extensive body of theoretical work on social, participatory and activist research, community engagement and development practice, and the ongoing critique of these endeavours. Equally, this examination can be informed by the direct experiences of people engaging in collaborative social research and the impact and value they identify. As with much community development practice, collaborative social research seeks to make a positive difference in people's lives, and generate change or support social action so the drive for impact is embedded in the research intent.
Emphasising mutual benefit: rethinking the impact agenda through the lens of Share Academy
Authors: Willcocks Judy
Published: May 2018

This chapter examines the relationship between universities and museums in the UK. By focusing on two case studies, namely, Peckham Cultural Institute and the ‘Local roots/global routes: the legacies of British slave-ownership’ project, it illustrates some of the challenges and opportunities Share Academy has experienced. The early 21st century brought considerable changes to the way museums and universities were constituted and understood. Initiatives like the UK government-funded Renaissance in the Regions programme encouraged museums to broaden their audiences and think of themselves as lifelong educators, situating learning at the centre of museum practice. However, the chapter shows ongoing funding problems within the museum sector continued to contribute to an erosion of curatorial skills as specialist roles were replaced with more general posts.
Participatory mapping and engagement with urban water communities
Authors: Edizel Özlem , Evans Graeme
Published: May 2018

This chapter focuses on the application of cultural ecosystems mapping as a participatory, co-produced visualisation and engagement method. Using a case study of the Lee Valley in London, it investigates how local communities relate to and engage with urban water environments using arts and humanities methodologies. Engaging people with issues around cultural ecosystem services through the interaction with large-scale maps of the local area helps to ground the more abstract issues of identity, connectivity, sense of place, emotional attachment, and spirituality, as well as overcome the traditional barriers to participation and inclusion at various spatial scales. Cultural mapping in particular helps to articulate the spatial and historical relationships and triggers debate over connectivity, governance, environmental justice, and both environmental and social change.
Hacking into the Science Museum: young trans people disrupt the power balance of gender ‘norms’ in the museum’s ‘Who Am I?’ gallery
Authors: McSweeney Kayte , Stewart Jay
Published: May 2018

This chapter reflects on the partnership between Gendered Intelligence and the Science Museum and highlights the importance of gender diversity in collaborative projects. It discusses how co-produced research impacts both organisations and conversations through the ways in which museums posit particular values and ‘norms’ around gender identity. The chapter also outlines the ‘Hacking In’ project and the impact it had on the partners involved, and reflects on the potential within collaborative projects to redress and acknowledge the power imbalances that exist within the narratives of cultural institutions. It offers a study about empowerment and the social responsibility to include, listen to, and work with those whose histories, stories, and identities have been marginalised, excluded, or communicated with little, if any, involvement from those communities.
Introduction: social activism, belonging and citizenship in a period of crisis
Authors: Cohen Shana , Bock Jan-Jonathan
Published: May 2018

This chapter introduces the books and the individual chapters, which were written by both academics and practitioners in the field in Germany and the UK. The book reflects an interest in democracy and, more pointedly, in how to express and practice citizenship, particularly in relation to helping others and generating a physical and social space for individual belonging. The book builds a narrative of how policy has failed to account for social belonging and, likewise, provide a framework for social solidarity in welfare reform though in practice the experience of belonging seems critical for instigating changes in individual behaviour and self-confidence. Part I: The Social Consequences of Welfare Policy examines policy attempts to address related aspects of poverty and consolidate a social role for the state through specified responsibilities, whether through providing health services, unemployment insurance, or other benefits. Part II: The Practice of Social Good is comprised of practitioner case studies. The section shows how grassroots activism translates abstract notions of a just society fashioned by policymakers. Part III: Social Change and Neoliberalism returns to the presentation of academic research and Part IV: Situating Solidarity in Perspective continues providing a critical platform to discuss the meaning of citizenship.
Fulfilling basic human needs: the welfare state after Beveridge
Authors: Diamond Patrick
Published: May 2018

Traditional welfare states with their origins in the Beveridge report of 1942 have struggled to respond adequately to new structural pressures and challenges that have arisen in the advanced economies over the last seventy years, especially in Britain. These include changes in demography and the structure of family life, alongside the emergence of a post-industrial economy marked by the loss of skilled manufacturing employment and regions of the UK adversely impacted by the process of deindustrialisation. As the pressures on the welfare state have increased, so existing social security systems have struggled to address a diversity of unmet human needs. The purpose of this chapter is to consider the implications of these changes for contemporary social policy in the developed capitalist countries, paying particular attention to the policy landscape in the UK in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis and austerity. The chapter addresses why the crisis and great recession have not led to a more radical recalibration of policy, and examines the emerging models of ‘relational welfare’ that seek to respond to a series of criticisms of the role of states and markets in welfare provision.
Breaking the hold of debt: Cambridge Money Advice Centre
Authors: Morris John
Published: May 2018

This chapter explores the work of the Cambridge Money Advice Centre, a faith-based debt advice charity located 80 km north of London that has been serving local people for eleven years. In that time it has witnessed (i) a period of growing economic prosperity accompanied by an increase in the availability of credit, (ii) the financial crisis of 2008 resulting in the withdrawal of some forms of credit, (iii) the introduction of austerity measures in 2010 causing personal financial hardship and thus making debt repayments more painful, and (iv) a subsequent slow growth in the economy only helping those who are not adversely affected by austerity. The implications for this see-saw variation in the UK’s economic performance for both a middle class and working class population are described in terms of the general accessibility of credit and individuals’ ability to meet debt repayment obligations. The debt advice process and clients’ attitudes and practical responses to being in stressful, unmanaged debt are illustrated by eight case studies. The Christian motivation of volunteer advisers to support others is also examined. Finally, in an era of intense stigma surrounding debt and reliance on welfare benefits, the isolation suffered by debtors in their communities is noted. The nature of the client-adviser relationship, which often bridges social boundaries, is also strained by professional boundaries and clients’ ambivalence towards engaging with the emotionally draining process of getting their debts under control. Ironically, community-building is best seen between advisers themselves and their partners in other welfare services.
Addressing food poverty in the UK
Authors: Greenwood Sarah
Published: May 2018

The foodbank network The Trussell Trust does not only give emergency food supplies, but also offers emotional support and a growing range of practical projects via the More Than Food programme to help tackle poverty-related issues. The mission is to bring communities together to end hunger and poverty in the UK by providing compassionate, practical help while challenging injustice. This chapter details the different programmes The Trussell Trust have devised and thereby examines some external challenges the London network faces. The chapter concludes that poverty and hunger are often amplified through social isolation. It suggests that more work needs to be done in order to increase collaboration across sectors, and specifically between the government, third sector, and businesses. There is increased need for more community life, and the fostering of social relations appears ever greater.
Social initiatives and social solidarity under austerity
Authors: Fuhr Christina
Published: May 2018

The 2008 financial crisis resulted in a protracted recession in Europe of a kind not seen since the Great Depression. Austerity policies in both countries have increased the presence of and need for social initiatives such as foodbanks and, with them, civic engagement. Foodbanks are often viewed as social solidarity organisations that usually distribute donated food among people in need. Considering that Germany and the UK have both seen a considerable expansion of foodbanks in recent years, this chapter, using the method of ethnography, examines to what extent and thereby how foodbanks in Germany and the UK can construct social solidarity under austerity. The chapter argues that while foodbanks can create a societal representation of solidarity, they can also reproduce social stratification and segregation on the ground. It shows that foodbanks can generate a public image of solidarity on the macro-level, meaning on the societal level, but may struggle to do so on the micro-level, in other words in the interactions between service providers and recipients.
Aiming for reconnection: responsible citizenship
Authors: Baker Christopher
Published: May 2018

This chapter examines, via two-faith based case studies of welfare provision and social justice (a food project and a local currency initiative), emerging performative practices of responsible citizenship and explores their implications for public policy and political philosophy. Key concepts framing this debate include ideas of postsecularity, spiritual capital, progressive localism, moral pluralism and spaces of convergence. The chapter argues that we are in the process of shifting from a Rawlsian framed understanding of responsible citizenship to a post-Rawlsian one. The former framework proposed an expectation of rational citizenship in the form of individualised cognitive assent to universalist conceptual frameworks based on notions of justice, equality and liberty. The new post-Rawlsian framework is based on more affective and performative ideas or subjectivities of citizenship, based on the desire for a re-connectivity after 40 years of neo-liberalised imaginaries and assumptions. This desire to reconnect at both a community and an ethical level is driven both by deepening inequality and lack of hope in several localities, but also a complex framing of macro drivers including the re-emergence of religious and non-religious beliefs in public sphere, and the realisation of the depth of the moral as well as political crisis presented in current modernity. The author refers to these faith-curated case studies as new spaces of convergence that express a radical hospitality and commitment to practically living out an ethic of care and dignity. The clear moral religious frameworks characterising these spaces attracts other social actors from a variety of political, epistemological and ontological positions which creates added value in terms of problem solving capability, insight and shared resources.
Systems thinking in practice: mapping complexity
Authors: Lane Andy , Reynolds Martin
Published: May 2018

This chapter provides an overview of systems thinking in practice, the key concepts involved in it, and in particular the role of mapping in addressing complex situations. While the chapter touches on all four themes of the book, it focuses mainly on the systems thinking philosophy that underpins the work of nearly all the authors in this book; how that philosophy relates to the use of diagramming to capture systemic thinking; and how to engage research participants in trying to think more systemically. It concludes finishes with some more practical advice on the use of diagrams in general and within participatory and action-oriented modes of research in particular.
Researching agri-environmental problems with others
Authors: Oreszczyn Sue , Levidow Les , Wield Dave
Published: May 2018

This chapter focuses on agri-environmental projects (those concerned with the environment but carried out in agricultural contexts) that involve controversial issues, such as the introduction and development of genetically modified crops; the potential power of large biotechnology companies; and the increased use of biofuels, water, and intensification of agriculture. It discusses the use and value of mapping techniques in these highly contested environmental research contexts. The processes and mapping techniques were chosen for specific purposes, according to the needs of the different projects, the context and type of participants involved, and their strategic aims. They also represent the development of the authors' approaches to engaging with people and demonstrate the way that the approach has changed over time as they have sought ways to enable participants to engage in the research process more fully.
Mapping muck: stakeholders’ views on organic waste
Authors: Lane Andy , Slater Rachel , Oreszczyn Sue
Published: May 2018

In this chapter, the authors explore stakeholders' understanding of what to do with organic waste within the UK. They discuss two projects that were both commissioned and funded under the same government research program specifically to support policymaking. Although looking at the same broad environmental sustainability issue of how to treat organic waste as a resource to be exploited rather than a waste product to be disposed of, the two projects use mapping and involve participants in different ways. Both projects also highlight how the use of quantitative survey data is informed by, and in turn informs, the use of diagrams within the overall methodology. The authors also look at these projects through the different ways diagrams can be used that were discussed in Chapter Two.
Evaluating diagramming as praxis
Authors: Reynolds Martin
Published: May 2018

In this chapter, the author addresses failures with interventions addressing complex issues of sustainability and the need, at all levels, for evaluation of interventions. He notes the lack of adoption of new ideas in this area and the way that stakeholders are often talking past each other. He considers how diagramming can address this by making space for conversations (between thinking and practice) in disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary research practice. Drawing on the ideas introduced in Chapter Two the chapter explains the use of a particular systems-based influence diagram the author has developed and adapted over the past 15 years, and discusses diagramming as both a means of praxis (the braiding of thinking and practice) generally, and more specifically, as a means for evaluating environmental sustainability as praxis.
Which men and women are poor? Gender, poverty and social exclusion
Authors: Dermott Esther , Pantazis Christina
Published: May 2018

This chapter makes the case for reasserting the importance of gender to poverty and social exclusion.We argue that gender matters to understanding poverty, given the continued relevance of gender to involvement in paid and unpaid work, and caring responsibilities, across the lifecourse. However, academics and policy makers need to reconfigure gendered poverty as more than simply studying ‘poor women’. Our analysis explores the circumstances of both women and men, and how gender intersects in significant ways with age and household type. We also show that gender differences emerge not in relation to deprivation but also in economising practices that men and women adopt to protect their living standards with women more like to cut back than men. Finally, our work highlights the need for poverty researchers to acknowledge the importance of both household and individual level measures.
Improving lives? Child poverty and social exclusion
Authors: Main Gill , Bradshaw Jonathan
Published: May 2018

This chapter details findings on child poverty and social exclusion from the 2012 UK Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey (PSE2012).It details the turbulent policy context in relation to child poverty in the years between the PSE1999 and PSE2012.It details the stability in perceptions of child necessities over time, and adult perspectives on children’s needs in 2012.The use of adult respondents in research on child poverty, and the implications of this in relation to how data can be interpreted, are detailed – and we recommend the inclusion of children in future similar studies.Findings indicate disturbingly high levels of child poverty in the UK, within a policy context which is likely to exacerbate this even further.Contrary to policy and popular rhetoric, we find no support for the idea that parental behaviours rather than ‘genuine’ poverty are the cause of children going without.Rather, parents are making substantial and personally detrimental sacrifices to ensure that their children are provided for.
The cost of children: parents, poverty, and social support
Authors: Dermott Esther , Pomati Marco
Published: May 2018

This chapter provides an overview of the relationship between parenting and poverty in the UK. We focus on the economising practices couple and particularly lone parents resort to in order to reduce living costs and the extent to which poorer parents are likely to engage in widely promoted parent-child activities. We find that despite engagement in the labour market as well as support from state, family and friends, parenting remains expensive and for those on low income associated with self-sacrifice and prioritisation of children’s material, social and educational needs. We also find that most parents, regardless of their income, have similar levels of engagement in parenting activities, casting doubts over political claims of widespread ‘poor parenting’.
Devolution and North/South division: poverty and social exclusion in the countries and regions of the UK
Authors: Tomlinson Mike
Published: May 2018

The chapter presents a spatial analysis of poverty and social exclusion using data from the Poverty and Social Exclusion survey 2012 based on the countries of the UK and the North and South of England. The PSE-UK survey results are discussed in the context of the geography of income inequalities within EU countries and recent shifts in inequalities within the UK. The PSE-UK survey data reveal that the North of England is the most socially excluded part of the UK. The capacity of regional economic development policies, UK and EU, to address the UK's territorial inequalities is discussed. The chapter argues that current forms of devolution are very limited in what they can do to compensate for the lack of economic development and powers to address poverty and social exclusion through income redistribution and service provision remain marginal.
More similarities than differences: poverty and social exclusion in rural and urban locations
Authors: Bailey Nick , Gannon Maria
Published: May 2018

Urban and rural locations may have different levels of poverty or social exclusion but also different combinations of problems or forms of exclusion. Understanding these differences is important both for the allocation of resources but also for the development of appropriate policies or interventions. Overall, this chapter argues that the similarities between urban and rural areas are greater than the differences. There are substantial levels of poverty in urban and rural locations although most measures show higher levels in more urban locations. There are notable differences between measures, however, with low income measures inflating estimates of poverty in more rural locations compared with other measures, notably those based on deprivation. Contrary to expectations in much of the literature, we do not find strong differences in the forms of exclusion in different areas: some aspects are worse in urban locations (notably neighbourhood problems and subjective well-being), while others are worse in rural places (notably transport and access to services). The experience of poverty is equally shaming in urban and rural locations. The main message for policy is the need to focus on core national policies to tackle poverty and exclusion in rural and urban locations alike.
Conclusion: innovating methods, informing policy and challenging stigma
Authors: Main Gill
Published: May 2018

The preceding chapters of this volume have detailed the ways in which poverty and social exclusion are very real and large-scale problems in the UK today. They have also examined the subtle variations in vulnerability to poverty and the impact poverty has on different groups within society. But the aim of this book – and of the 2012 Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey (...
Introduction and overview
Authors: Deeming Christopher , Smyth Paul
Published: May 2018

Neoliberalism, based on laissez-faire market ideas, had reached its social policy limits long before the financial crises of 2008. The ‘new social risks’ faced by citizens in post-industrial society led policymakers to rethink what social and economic relations should look like in the 21st century. In this volume we argue that new ideas about social investment and inclusive growth could mark a turning point in social policy.
Social investment, inclusive growth that is sustainable and the new global social policy
Authors: Deeming Christopher , Smyth Paul
Published: May 2018

The chapter will examine the strengths and weaknesses of the social investment approach before looking at how it can be enhanced by the inclusive growth framework which has been the subject of a major dialogue between the OECD itself with the World Bank. This chapter reflects on how well the social policy discipline is responding to the challenge of reintegration with economic policy identifying the key challenges which lie ahead for developed economies.
Measuring and monitoring inclusive growth in developing and advanced economies: multiple definitions, open questions and some constructive proposals
Authors: Klasen Stephan
Published: May 2018

Inclusive growth has been proposed as another approach to ensuring that economic growth promotes well-being for all. At the same time, the precise definition of inclusive growth, its relation to related concepts, such as pro-poor growth, social exclusion, or inequality, is not very clear. This chapter proposes a way to define inclusive growth, differentiate from related concepts, and propose particular indicators that can be used to monitor inclusive growth in developing and developed countries.
Education and skills for inclusive growth
Authors: Busemeyer Marius R.
Published: May 2018

High investment in human capital is the signature of the social investment approach embracing both education and skills. This chapter expands the conventional perspective taken up in the social investment literature by systematically discussing the potential contribution of vocational education and training and lifelong learning to promoting inclusive growth and social investments.
Foreword
Authors: Berman Sheri
Published: May 2018

The decline of the centre-left over the past years is one of the most alarming trends in Western politics. During the latter part of the 20th century such parties either ran the government or led the loyal Opposition in virtually every Western democracy. Germany’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), once the most powerful party of the left in continental Europe, currently polls in high 20s or 30s. The French Socialist Party was eviscerated in the 2017 elections, as was the Dutch Labour Party. Even the vaunted Scandinavian social democratic parties are struggling, reduced to vote shares in the 30 per cent range. The British Labour Party and the US Democrats have been protected from challengers by their country’s first-past-the-post electoral systems, but the former has recently taken a sharp turn to the hard-left under Jeremy Corbyn, while the latter, although still competitive at the national level, is a minority party at the state and local levels, where a hard-right Republican Party dominates the scene....
Electoral competition in Canada among centre-left parties: liberals versus social democracts
Authors: McGrane David
Published: May 2018

This chapter discusses the electoral competition in Canada among centre-left parties. In Canada, the concept of ‘centre-lefts’ has been particularly pertinent over the last decade. Roughly two-thirds of Canadian voters have values and policy positions that could be broadly defined as ‘left-of-centre’ or ‘progressive’ in Canadian parlance. Unlike other Western countries, where there is a more distinct left/right polarisation in party systems, Canada has two relatively large centre-left parties: the centrist Liberals, that has won successive majority governments during the 20th century, and the fledgling New Democratic Party (NDP), that often comes third in Canadian federal elections. The other two centre-left parties are the social democratic Bloc Québécois, who advocate for the separation of Québec from Canada, and run candidates only in that province, and the Canadian Greens, who run candidates in all constituencies but routinely struggle to elect even one MP and win more than 5 per cent of the national vote.
Between a rock and a hard place in Spain: the PSOE
Authors: Kennedy Paul
Published: May 2018

This chapter discusses the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE), which remains Spain's most electorally successful political party. Although the PSOE has avoided the fate of its Greek sister party, PASOK (Panhellenic Socialist Movement) at the hands of the radical-left Syriza, it has struggled to cope with the emergence of Pablo Iglesias's Podemos (‘We can’) in 2014. The dilemmas faced by the PSOE are hardly unique. With a significant proportion of the electorate having lost confidence in both the way it is governed and in the traditional parties of government, the PSOE has struggled to maintain its credibility, regarded as being stale, irrelevant, and incapable of responding to the sense of insecurity felt by many at a time of economic uncertainty. The alternative offered by a new attractive, media-savvy Podemos, capable of appealing to sections of the electorate that have deserted the PSOE, poses a very real threat.
Why the welfare state matters
Authors: Powell Fred
Published: May 2018

This chapter explores the ideal of the welfare state with particular reference to Ireland and why it matters to us as European citizens. It discusses the origins of the welfare state, the relationship between welfare and citizenship, Ireland's position within welfare state frameworks, Irish social policy, and the crisis of legitimacy in the welfare state. It is argued that in the reconstructed reality of postmodern society, the challenge of social policy is to respond reflexively to changing needs and demands. The challenge to a universalist welfare state based on social obligation, common citizenship and human rights is manifest. If populism is to be the shape of things to come, where does that leave the welfare state? Is it possible to have a welfare state in a polarised and fragmented social order? This is the great social, political and intellectual challenge of postmodernity.
Welfare in the Free State
Authors: Powell Fred
Published: May 2018

This chapter analyzes the meaning and content of welfare in the Free State. It argues that independence did not bring about a social revolution in Ireland. On the contrary, the political gains achieved prior to decolonisation in the context of the growing labour ferment and the widening of the franchise were eroded. The People's Budget (1909) was replaced by a taxation policy which redistributed wealth to the middle classes. Pensions were cut. Home assistance, which grew in line with burgeoning unemployment, was a source of concern to the new administration. Despite changes in nomenclature and cuts in the level of provision, the Poor Law remained in its degrading form. The promise of the Democratic Programme 1919 to further extend social rights had fallen on barren ground in the new nationalist state.
The welfare state debate
Authors: Powell Fred
Published: May 2018

This chapter analyses the post-war evolution of a welfare state in Ireland. It explores the tension between traditionalist influences (clientelism, localism, and religion) and the modernising forces of social democracy that were reshaping civic culture and the idea of citizenship into what T. H. Marshall (1950) has called a ‘three-legged stool’ of civil rights, political rights, and social rights. The Irish welfare state is often categorised as belonging to the Anglo-Saxon model. However, Ireland's ideological orientation (driven by Catholic social teaching in the form of the principle of subsidiarity) and an informal Church–State alliance suggests the Irish welfare state had more in common with the Mediterranean countries (Spain, Portugal, Italy), Nonetheless, a shared language and popular culture did influence the public imaginary concept of the ideal of a welfare state and similarly shape public demands for higher levels of social expenditure.
Referendums from below: an introduction
Authors: Porta Donatella della , O’Connor Francis , Portos Martín , Ribas Anna Subirats
Published: May 2018

This book examines how social movements exploited windows of opportunity offered by institutions of direct democracy, in particular through referendums ‘from below’, and the ways in which the socioeconomic and political crisis of neoliberalism affected the referendums' dynamics and results. It considers events that have been either promoted or appropriated by social movements, such as the referendums in Scotland, Italy, Iceland, and Greece, and the consultation on independence in Catalonia. It also discusses the transformative impact of participation from below on the organisational strategies as well as the framing of the referendum campaigns. This chapter provides an overview of normative conceptions of democracy, social movements, and referendums; how referendums presented opportunities for movements; contentious referendum campaigns; issues surrounding the framing of referendum campaigns; and two cases of consultations that involved social movements in Scotland and Catalonia.
The context of the referendums from below: a tale of three crises
Authors: Porta Donatella della , O’Connor Francis , Portos Martín , Ribas Anna Subirats
Published: May 2018

This chapter examines the context in which the Catalan and Scottish campaigns for independence developed. It explains how the referendum campaigns were initiated and by whom, arguing that both cases unfolded as the result of a concatenation of three coexisting crises: territorial, democratic and socioeconomic. First, Catalonia and Scotland suffered from a long-term crisis of territorial consolidation. Second, the Great Recession has brought about austerity policies, tightened government budgets, cuts in public spending, and dramatic increases in unemployment, inequality and poverty, while working conditions have worsened. Third, a crisis of democratic legitimacy has developed hand in hand with the socioeconomic turmoil. These three dimensions have resulted in two parallel mobilisation campaigns due to two key mechanisms: grievance formation and appropriation of opportunities. The chapter shows how electoral de-alignment and availability of allies facilitated the transformation of latent potential into concrete actions in the Catalan and Scottish referendums from below.
The organisational strategies of movements in referendums from below
Authors: Porta Donatella della , O’Connor Francis , Portos Martín , Ribas Anna Subirats
Published: May 2018

This chapter examines the organisational aspects of the referendums from below in Scotland and Catalonia and the participation of various social movements in those campaigns. It first considers the role of pro-independent political parties and their interactions with the relevant movements before looking at some of the most significant movement organisations active in campaigns around the issue of referendums in the Catalan and Scottish cases. In particular, it discusses the organisational structures and repertoires of contention of the Radical Independence Campaign (RIC) and Women for Independence (WFI) in Scotland, and the Plataforma pel Dret a Decidir/Platform for the Right to Decide (PDD), the Assemblea Nacional Catalana/National Catalan Assembly (ANC), and the Òmnium Cultural in Catalonia. The chapter shows that two factors impinge on the nature of the organisational strategies adopted by movements in referendum campaigns: the issue of time and the prevailing political culture in the two nations.
Expanding the comparison: the water referendum in Italy
Authors: Porta Donatella della , O’Connor Francis , Portos Martín , Ribas Anna Subirats
Published: May 2018

This chapter examines the 2011 water referendum in Italy, focusing on the appropriation of opportunities, resource mobilisation, and the framing of the campaign by social movements and civil society organisations. It shows that some of the characteristics of the referendums from below that were observed in Scotland and Catalonia also fit the Italian case. In terms of appropriation of opportunities, the referendum against the privatisation of water supply was far from a single-issue campaign, instead emerging from long-lasting struggles that made use of a multiple and varied repertoire of contention, including institutional and unconventional forms of action. The chapter also discusses how the closing down of opportunities at the national level and the availability of political allies at the local level prompted the use of forms of direct democracy. Finally, it demonstrates how the provision of water became a symbol of resistance to neoliberalism and austerity policies in Italy.
Introduction
Authors: Craig Gary
Published: May 2018

This introductory chapter first sets out the book's aims, which are to help to fill a substantial gap in the literature on community development work; to outline the history and theory of community development work with minority groups; to explore, through case studies from different parts of the world, how different approaches to community development work can empower minority ethnic communities to overcome social disadvantage; and to encourage a wider debate and writing about this area of work. The chapter then provides an overarching historical, theoretical, and political context for the detailed analyses and accounts of local work that follow. This is important because community workers are now increasingly struggling at the local level against political, social, and economic trends generated at the global level, making their work more difficult but more urgent than ever before.