Suchergebnisse

This article examines the moral politics of state organised social control in bolstering racialisation in Singapore after the 2013 disturbances in 'Little India', when agencies mobilised morally charged discourses regarding alcohol consumption amongst low-income South Asian migrants. Appealing to moral constructions of the 'riots' discredited socio-political analyses of the events, after which the state developed a mass architecture of alcohol-related 'governing through crime', placing migrant lives under permanent and constant surveillance. The piece contributes to debates about moral economy approaches by connecting the strategic deployment and justification of crime control underpinning racial regimes and reveals inadequacies in critical thinking around 'race' in Singapore, most notably a preoccupation with interactional accounts of racism rather than institutional state power.

The last two years have seen a small but significant increase in the level of resistance by service users and practitioners to the coalition government's policy of austerity and neoliberal restructuring of mental health services in England. This article provides an overview and analysis of these developments by examining four recent campaigns that feature alliances between service users, workers, trade unionists and anti-cuts activists. It considers both challenges faced and successes achieved by campaigners.

Abstract Background Men continue to have a lower life expectancy in most countries compared to women. Explanations of this gendered health inequality tend to focus on male risk taking, unhealthy lifestyle choices and resistance to seeking help from health services. In the period 2005–2008 the Scottish Government funded a nationwide community health promotion programme aimed at improving men's health, called Well Men Service Pilots (henceforth WMS). Method This paper explores WMS programme users' perspectives and experiences of health help-seeking against theories of hegemonic masculinity as explanatory frameworks for men's behaviour around health and illness, and their views on a male-specific focus of the programme. It is based on a secondary analysis of 43 semi-structured interviews with men who engaged with this programme. Results We challenge the commonly held notion of men as being disinterested in their health, and point to their heterogeneity in relation to their views about health and notions of health seeking. Moreover, men in our study were largely ambivalent about the need for gender specific services, despite their positive reactions to the programme in general. Conclusions Our findings question the utility of some theories of masculinity that posit somewhat simplistic explanations for men's reluctance to seek help from formal healthcare services. They also suggest that providing male-specific health services may not significantly address men's supposed reluctance to seek help from formal health services. Essentially, age seemed to be more important than gender. All encompassing health programmes are likely to fail to meet their health improvement objectives if they attempt to engage with men on the simple basis that they are male.

Background: Men continue to have a lower life expectancy in most countries compared to women. Explanations of this gendered health inequality tend to focus on male risk taking, unhealthy lifestyle choices and resistance to seeking help from health services. In the period 2005–2008 the Scottish Government funded a nationwide community health promotion programme aimed at improving men's health, called Well Men Service Pilots (henceforth WMS). Method: This paper explores WMS programme users' perspectives and experiences of health help-seeking against theories of hegemonic masculinity as explanatory frameworks for men's behaviour around health and illness, and their views on a male-specific focus of the programme. It is based on a secondary analysis of 43 semi-structured interviews with men who engaged with this programme. Results: We challenge the commonly held notion of men as being disinterested in their health, and point to their heterogeneity in relation to their views about health and notions of health seeking. Moreover, men in our study were largely ambivalent about the need for gender specific services, despite their positive reactions to the programme in general. Conclusions: Our findings question the utility of some theories of masculinity that posit somewhat simplistic explanations for men's reluctance to seek help from formal healthcare services. They also suggest that providing male-specific health services may not significantly address men's supposed reluctance to seek help from formal health services. Essentially, age seemed to be more important than gender. All encompassing health programmes are likely to fail to meet their health improvement objectives if they attempt to engage with men on the simple basis that they are male.

Without a doubt, structural and institutionalised racism is still present in Britain and Europe, a factor that social work education and training has been slow to acknowledge. In this timely new book, Lavalette and Penketh reveal that racism towards Britain's minority ethnic groups has undergone a process of change. They affirm the importance of social work to address issues of 'race' and racism in education and training by presenting a critical review of a this demanding aspect of social work practice. Original in its approach, and with diverse perspectives from key practitioners in the field, the authors examine contemporary anti-racism, including racism towards Eastern European migrants, Roma people and asylum seekers. It also considers the implications of contemporary racism for current practice. This is essential reading for anyone academically or professionally interested in social work, and the developments in this field of study post 9/11

Published in association with the SPA, Social Policy Review 27 draws together international scholarship at the forefront of addressing concerns that emphasise both the breadth of social policy analysis, and the expanse of issues with which it is engaged. Contributions to this edition focus on the effects of financialisation on services and care provision, policies to address deficiencies in housing and labour markets, and ways in which the study of social policy may need to develop to respond to its changing material concerns. A themed section explores the place of comparative welfare modelling in the context of change over the last quarter of a century to consider where scholarship has been and where it might be going

Social policy is often constructed and implemented by people who have little experience of its impact as a service user, but there has been a growing interest in greater public, patient and service user involvement in social policy as both political activity and academic discipline. Social Policy First Hand is the first comprehensive international social policy text from a participatory perspective and presents a new service user-led social policy that addresses the current challenges in welfare provision. A companion volume to Peter Beresford's bestselling All our welfare, it introduces the voices of different groups of service users, starting from their lived experience. With an impressive list of contributors, this important volume fills a gap in looking at social policy using participatory and inclusive approaches and the use of experiential knowledge in its construction. It will challenge traditional state and market-led approaches to welfare