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The focus of this thematic issue is on migrants' experiences of belonging and non-belonging, and how communities are constructed in the destination country. It includes a group of international scholars across disciplines who are studying migration in a range of different contexts. Migration spans multiple disciplines and encompasses a variety of epistemological, ontological and methodological orientations. Despite such divergent approaches and positions however, there is consensus across the social sciences that understanding the dynamics of migration and mobilities is central to illuminating social relations within societies.

Cover -- Contents -- Notes on the Contributors -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- 1 Diversity and exclusion in context -- Introduction -- Theoretical and conceptual frameworks -- The practice framework -- The policy framework -- The legislative framework -- Conclusion -- Recommended reading -- Relevant web links -- References -- 2 Identity, difference and the meaning of 'culture' in health and social care practice -- Introduction -- Concepts of difference, identity and 'culture' -- Culture and cultural competence -- Consequences for practice -- Alternative ways of viewing difference for practitioners -- Working with difference in health and social care case studies -- Interrogating the practitioner's assessment -- Problematising this assessment -- Consequences -- Alternative ways of understanding -- Interrogating the practitioner's assessment -- Problematising the assessment -- Consequences -- Alternative ways of understanding -- Key messages for health and social care practice -- Conclusion -- Recommended reading -- Relevant web links -- References -- 3 Young people as carers and young users of mental health services: from policy to practice -- Introduction -- Young people and mental health problems -- Young carers -- Synopsis of the adult service user and carer movement -- Extending the movement to young people -- The nuances of involving young people in education, practice and research -- Concerns and possible (im)practicalities -- Conclusion -- Recommended reading -- Relevant web links -- References -- 4 Marginalised children and young people with autism spectrum disorders -- Introduction -- The global context -- Associated comorbidities of ASD and medical interventions -- Economic impact and resources -- Equality in accessing healthcare -- Barriers to health and diagnostic treatment -- Reasonable adjustments.

This article explores the confluence of trans identity and sexuality drawing on the concept of translocational positionality. In this discussion, a broad spectrum of gendered positionalities incorporates trans identity which, in turn, acknowledges normative male and female identities as well as non-binary ones. It is also recognised, however, that trans identity overlaps with other positionalities (pertaining to sexuality, for example) to shape social location. In seeking to understand subject positions, a translocational lens acknowledges the contextuality and temporality of social categories to offer an analysis which recognises the overlaps and differentials of co-existing positionalities. This approach enables an analysis which explores how macro, or structural, contexts shape agency (at the micro-level) and also how both are mediated by trans people's multiple and shifting positionalities. In this framing, positionality represents a meso layer between structure and agency. Four case studies are presented using data from a qualitative study which explored trans people's experiences of family, intimacy and domestic abuse. We offer an original contribution to the emerging knowledge-base on trans sexuality by presenting data from four case studies. We do so whilst innovatively applying the conceptual lens of translocational positionality to an analysis which considers macro, meso and micro levels of influence.

There is scant theoretical and empirical research on experiences of trans1and its significance for social work practice. In this paper, we premise that research on trans identity and practice needs to be located in particular temporal, cultural, spatial/geographical contexts and argue that a structural narrative analytical approach centring on plot, offers the opportunity to unravel the 'how' and 'why' stories are told. We posit that attending to narrative structure facilitates a deeper understanding of trans people's situated, lived experiences than thematic narrative analysis alone, since people organise their narratives according to a culturally available repertoire including plots. The paper focuses on the life and narrative of Polly, a male-to-female trans woman, and her gender migration journey using the plot typology 'the Quest'. We are cognisant of the limitations to structural narrative analysis and Western conventions of storytelling, and acknowledge that our approach is subjective; however, we argue that knowledge itself is contextual and perspective ridden, shaped by researchers and participants. Our position holds that narratives are not – and cannot – be separated from the context in which they are told, and importantly the resources used to tell them, and that analysing narrative structure can contextualise individual unique biographies and give voice to less heard communities.

In this article – a review article preceding a series of articles in this themed section considering specific aspects of the impacts and implementation processes of the Welsh legislation – we contextualise the introduction of the prevention agenda in Wales by defining homelessness and highlighting the shift towards prevention policy in an international context. We consider the nature of prevention, and examine related theoretical debates, critiques and the cost/benefits of prevention. We conclude by offering some reflections on the progress of homelessness prevention since the Act's implementation drawing on data from the longitudinal post-implementation evaluation of the Housing Act (Wales) 2014.

Purpose
The purpose of this paper is twofold: to explore the existing evidence around dementia services and interrogate the overarching UK policy development relating to service inclusion of black and minoritised groups. The paper will go on to identify the implications for the dementia wellness pathway and make recommendations regarding how services can be more inclusive.


Design/methodology/approach
This paper examines the policy/practice landscape around dementia care provision and observes if lessons can be learnt to improve health outcomes for people living with dementia from black and minoritised communities.


Findings
A review of dementia policy demonstrates how opportunities to improve the awareness, diagnosis and post-diagnostic support for minoritised communities are being missed. The outcomes of this mean that individuals are denied vital treatment and support, which could enhance quality of life and delay the progression of dementia.


Practical implications
The authors' premise is that not meeting the dementia support needs of less-heard communities has negative financial as well as social and health-related outcomes and has wider resonance and implications for all stages of the dementia wellness pathway. Moreover, there is a legal responsibility for public services to provide culturally sensitive, responsive, appropriate and available care, to all people, without discrimination.


Originality/value
This paper offers a valuable review of policy and practice around dementia care in the UK and makes recommendations to improve health outcomes for people living with dementia from black and minoritised communities.

education; policy; poverty; aid; development; Africa

Homelessness is largely understood as an urban issue and so rural homelessness is to a large extent invisible in both academic literature and in policy and practice discussions, just as it is often invisible in discourses of everyday rural life. This article draws on extensive interviews with homeless service users and providers in three rural authorities in Wales to give a clearer sense of the nature and challenges of rural homelessness. The article documents and explores the very different strategies employed by those facing homelessness in the rural context, as well as those of rural local authorities providing them preventative and person-centred support. Analysis of the struggle of many rural households to remain in place, often at the cost of homelessness and lowered ability to access services, will have resonance in a range of contexts and have implications for policy makers and practitioners in rural contexts beyond Wales.

Devolution presented an opportunity for the Welsh Government to introduce changes to housing and homelessness policy, and the subsequent homelessness reforms are seen as one of the best examples to date of the Welsh Government using its powers. However, devolved governments in small countries face a number of challenges in terms of realising their housing policy ambitions. In this article we argue that there is inevitable dissonance between the policy behind the Welsh Government legislation (prevention) and practice (implementation) associated with structural challenges (for example, austerity and budget restrictions, Welfare Reform and the availability of affordable accommodation). In response we propose a number of actions the Welsh Government might undertake to attempt to mitigate such structural challenges which also resonate in the English context where welfare retrenchment and homelessness prevention policies operate simultaneously.

Part 2 of the Housing Act (Wales) 2014 and its implementation has been keenly observed by governments outside of Wales, as they continue to search for policy solutions to help address the homelessness crisis. This article examines the extent to which there has been policy transfer from Wales to other national contexts and the potential for such transfer to occur in the future. It is identified that some transfer has already taken place within the UK and there is the potential for future policy transfer both within the UK and internationally. Adaptation to each of the new contexts is necessary to underpin successful transfer of provisions of the Act; however, outside of the UK this will need to be more extensive and include the introduction of a right to housing.