* What is the relevance of the concept of risk to social policy?* Has risk replaced need as the key organizing principle of welfare provision?* Do current trends support the contention that policy development is risk-based?Traditionally, need has been the major mechanism for allocating resources in …
* What are the strengths and limitations of social surveys?* How can the principles of surveying be put into practice?* How are findings analysed and results presented?The survey has become a widely used technique for gathering information and opinions from individuals, organizations, and other grou…
* What are the social policy processes and outcomes across different societies?* How are these shaped by social and economic conditions? * What are the limitations and potential of cross-national research?Comparative Social Policy explores the new context of social policy and considers how cross-nat…
* What do we mean by discourse?* What are the different conceptions of discourse and methods of discourse analysis in the contemporary social sciences?* How can this concept help to clarify key theoretical problems and illuminate empirical cases?The concept of discourse provokes considerable debate …
* What is ethnography in social research?* To what use can ethnographic data be put?* Who are its fiercest critics?* Does ethnography have a future?Ethnography is one of the principal methods of qualitative research and has a long-established tradition of use in the social sciences. However, the lit…
This timely book examines current policy responses to social exclusion. It begins by asking the questions: what do we mean by social exclusion? What are the dimensions of social exclusion? How is it measured? and what are the common threads that run though contemporary policy? Each contribution a…
What does social and political theory have to say about the role of science in society?Do scientists and other professional enquirers have an unlimited 'right to be wrong'?What are the implications of capitalism and multiculturalism for the future of the university?This ground-breaking text offers a…
Why did orientalism emerge and how has it evolved?Has the theory of orientalism developed by Edward Said and others stood the test of time?What is the significance of postmodernism for the future of orientalism?Orientalism, the theory and practice of representing 'the Orient' in European thought, is…
"This should become a core text for second year courses in sociology and cultural studies... it synthesizes a vast body of literature and a complex range of debates into a text which is at once accessible, engaging and stimulating... it will lead to students seeing and thinking about the material wo…
'The questions are no longer whether to use or make an evaluation, but how well we use one or carry one out.''As both volume and skills in healthcare increase, there is a parallel increase in the need to evaluate the outcomes and the effects of services rendered. In this book John Ovretveit furnish…
