by Heidi Safia Mirza (1992)
Young black women symbolise the effects of the inequalities of British society. They do well at school and are good, efficient workers, yet as a group they consistently fail to secure the economic status and occupational prestige of their white counterparts. Heidi Safia Mirza, a black woman sociologist, charts the experience of a group of young black women as they leave school and enter the world of work, and investigates why black women suffer these injustices. She challenges the widely-held myth that young black women underachieve both at school and in the labour market, and provides evidence that goes beyond current notions of black female identity. She reveals the processes of inequality that, despite meritocratic ideals, persist in western society, shifting the emphasis from an analysis of identity towards an examination of the central role of the social and economic disadvantages in the education system. Through a comparative study of research and writing from America, Britain and the Caribbean, Young, Female and Black re-examines our present understanding of what is meant by educational underachievement, the black family and, in particular, black womanhood in Britain. A forceful and positive reappraisal of the experience of black women, it will be essential reading for students of sociology, education, social policy, race relations and feminist thought.
Paul Slack
Between the 16th and the 18th centuries, the character of English social policy and social welfare changed fundamentally. From Reformation to Improvement looks at the intellectual and political roots of this change.
Iain Crinson
Providing a critical assessment of developments in health and health-care policy, this book is primarily focused on the UK, covering issues such as the policy-making process, the development of the National Health Service, health-care governance and health promotion.
Kay Redfield Jamison
"The best-selling author of An Unquiet Mind now gives us a groundbreaking life of one of the major American poets of the twentieth century that is at the same time a fascinating study of the relationship between manic-depressive (bipolar) illness, creative genius, and character. In his Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry, Robert Lowell (1917-1977) put his manic-depressive illness into the public domain. Now Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison brings her expertise to bear on his story, illuminating the relationship between bipolar illness and creativity, and examining how Lowell's illness and the treatment he received came to bear on his work. His New England roots, early breakdowns, marriages to three eminent writers, friendships with other poets, vivid presence as a teacher and writer refusing to give up in the face of mental illness--Jamison gives us Lowell's life through a lens that focuses our understanding of the poet's intense discipline, courage, and commitment to his art. Jamison had unprecedented access to Lowell's medical records, as well as to previously unpublished drafts and fragments of poems, and was the first biographer to speak to his daughter. With this new material and a psychologist's deep insight, Jamison delivers a bold, sympathetic account of a poet who was--both despite and because of mental illness--a passionate, original observer of the human condition"--
the Violence Against Children Study Group
"Children, Child Abuse and Child Protection is the second book written by the Violence Against Children Study Group, a multidisciplinary group of researchers and practitioners from a range of professional settings concerned with child protection." "This new volume gives an overview of the complex and uncertain political, moral and social context within which practitioners and managers attempt to work with children, families and others. The authors suggest factors that should be taken into consideration when refining policy and practice." "The book reviews the development of improved policy and practices in child protection, placing children at the centre of policy, practice and discourse. The chapters explore the margins of the child protection system, and in particular how child protection interconnects or overlaps with other systems, such as health, police and education." "Children, Child Abuse and Child Protection is a core text for students studying health, social care, social work and applied social studies. It is essential reading for practitioners and managers with responsibilities for child protection, and a valuable resource for social service and social work departments, local education authorities and welfare agencies."--Jacket.