Download or read book Critical Realism for Welfare Professions written by Monica Kjørstad and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-08-15 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a discipline, social work needs an inclusive metatheory for both research and practice that goes beyond positivism and constructivism. This is the first book to present and discuss how critical realism can contribute to a more useful and realistic approach to both research and practice in social work. As a theory of science that includes normative theories and emphasises method-pluralism and holistic thinking, critical realism is applicable to a world of poverty, global health problems and social conflicts. Contributors to this book present a realist perspective on social work. The connection between critical realism and social work is illuminated through a theoretical introduction in Part 1. Part 2 covers the specific topics of normativity, interdisciplinarity and education. Part 3 presents practical/empirical examples from contemporary research in social work, using different approaches based on critical realism. As critical realism can contribute to a useful and realistic approach to research and practice, this book is essential reading for professionals, academics and students working in different fields of social work and health care.

Download or read book Working with Critical Realism written by Alpesh Maisuria and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-12-30 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This international and interdisciplinary collection gathers stories from researchers and research students about their methodological encounters with critical realism. Whether the contributors are experienced or novice researchers, they are predominantly new to critical realism. For various reasons, as the contributors’ detail, they have all been drawn to critical realism. It is well known that critical realism can be bewildering and even overwhelming to newcomers, especially to those unfamiliar with language of, and without a grounding in, philosophy. While there are now numerous and important introductory and applied critical realist texts that make critical realism more accessible to a broader audience, stories from newcomers have been absent – especially as part of a single collection. The significance and uniqueness of this collection lies in its documentation of first-hand reflective insights on the practical use and implementation of critical realism. The contributors feature critical realist inspired research journeys in Australia, England, Scotland, Belgium, Sweden, and Spain. The hope of this book is that the stories and accounts presented in it will inspire – or at least sufficiently arouse – the curiosity of others to explore critical realist possibilities, which we believe offer enormous value to serious researchers across and within all disciplines and subjects who are interested in rigorous intellectual work with a socially progressive purpose.

Download or read book Critical Realism for Health and Illness Research written by Alderson, Priscilla and published by Policy Press. This book was released on 2021-02-11 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical realism, as a toolkit of practical ideas, helps researchers to extend and clarify their analyses. It resolves problems arising from splits between different research approaches, builds on the strengths of different methods and overcomes their individual limitations. This original text draws on international examples of health and illness research across the life course, from small studies to large trials, to show how versatile critical realism can be in validating research and connecting it to policy and practice. To meet growing demand from students and researchers, this book is based on the course at UCL, first taught by Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical realism.

Download or read book Crisis System written by Petter Naess and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-06-17 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book throws light onto the nature and causes of three different but strongly interconnected crises in contemporary societies worldwide: an economic crisis, an ecological crisis and a normative (moral and political) crisis. These crises are reflected in the profoundly inequitable distribution of wealth, resources and life opportunities around the world. If we follow the causal roots of these crises, we are led back to an inherent dynamic in the capitalist economic system itself, discursively expressed as neoclassical, mainstream economics. For instance, by conflating human needs with market demand, mainstream economics disregards the needs of those who do not have sufficient purchasing power, as well as any needs that cannot be quantified or monetised in some way. Mainstream economics also ignores the notion of natural limits. Furthermore, it seems that everything that is quantifiable is potentially for sale and this results in the substitution of nature, indigenous cultural traditions and various life forms with commodities and ‘human capital’. The latter is defined as the skills instrumental for continual economic growth. Besides critiquing the academic discipline of economics, this book also points to a number of dysfunctional and crisis-prone structures and practices of substantive economic life. It will be of interest to students and scholars working in philosophy, economics and environmental studies.

Download or read book Studying Organizations Using Critical Realism written by Paul K. Edwards and published by Oxford University Press (Us). This book was released on 2014 with total page 417 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book provides a practical guide to the application of Critical Realism (CR), an increasingly popular philosophy of social science, in empirical research projects. Each purpose-written chapter reviews major social science research methods and contains extended illustration of how to conduct inquiry using CR.

Download or read book Education Policy and Realist Social Theory written by Robert Archer and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-05-04 with total page 425 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Europe welfare state provision has been subjected to 'market forces'. Over the last two decades, the framework of economic competitiveness has become the defining aim of education, to be achieved by new managerialist techniques and mechanisms. This book thoughtfully and persuasively argues against this new vision of education, and offers a different, more useful potential approach. This in-depth major study will be of great interest to researchers in the sociology of education, education policy, social theory, organization and management studies, and also to professionals concerned about the deleterious impact of current education policy on children's learning and welfare.

Download or read book Revitalising Critical Reflection in Contemporary Social Work Research Practice and Education written by Christian Franklin Svensson and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2022-12-09 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Globally, social work faces increasingly complex cultural, political, economic, legal, organisational, technological and professional conditions. Critically reflecting on the subject, this book heightens critical consciousness among social work researchers, educators, practitioners and students about the structural dimensions of social problems and human suffering; it highlights the inter-relationship between agency and structure and discusses strategies to challenge and change both individual and societal consciousness. Offering the reader an opportunity to gain in-depth understanding of how critical reflection is possible in contemporary social work research, practice and education, it will be required reading for all social work scholars, students and professionals.

Download or read book Critical Realism and Housing Research written by Julie M. Lawson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2006 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First Published in 2006. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Download or read book What s Critical About Critical Realism written by Frédéric Vandenberghe and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What's Critical About Critical Realism?: Essays in Reconstructive Social Theory draws together 4 major articles that are situated at the intersection of philosophy and sociology. Preceded by a general presentation of Bhaskar ́s work, critical realism is used to reconstruct the generative structuralism of Pierre Bourdieu, warn about the dangers of biocapitalism, theorize about social movements and explore the hermeneutics of internal conversations. Together, the essays form a logical sequence that starts with a search for a solid conception of social structure through a realist critique of Bourdieu ́s rationalist epistemology, proceeds to an ideology critique of posthumanism through an investigation of Actor-Network Theory, extends critical realism to social movements through an investigation of the constitution of collective subjectivities and engages in a sustained dialogue with Margaret Archer through an attempt to reconnect hermeneutics and pragmatism to critical realism. The result is an ongoing dialogue between British critical realism, French historical epistemology, German critical theory and American pragmatism. As suits a collection of essays in social theory, this book will address a broad audience of sociologists, philosophers, social psychologists and anthropologists who are interested in contemporary social theory at the cutting edge. Academics and advanced students who relate to critical realism and critical theory, epistemology and philosophy of the social sciences, hermeneutics and pragmatism, or anyone else who follows the work of Roy Bhaskar, Pierre Bourdieu, Bruno Latour or Margaret Archer will find a keen interest in some of the theoretical questions the book raises.

Download or read book Shaping a Science of Social Work written by John S. Brekke and published by . This book was released on 2019 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shaping a Science of Social Work provides a basic framework for a social work science in terms of basic constructs, domains, and characteristics, considered within the context of academic disciplinarity and professional identity. Centered on the formation of social work science from a realist/critical-realist position, contributions from eminent scholars offer detailed and rigorous analyses of various essential issues.

Download or read book Critical Realism and Housing Research written by Julie Lawson and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013-01-11 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the nineteenth century various housing solutions have evolved, such as sprawling Australian home ownership and compact Dutch social rental housing. This phenomenon cannot be adequately explained with simple descriptions of key events, politics and housing outcomes. Critical Realism and Housing Studies pushes debate forward, arguing that a new ontological perspective is required to address fundamental issues in housing and comparative research. This book is clearly organized into three parts which: evaluate ontological and methodological alternatives for comparative housing research provide two historical case studies inspired by critical realist ontology compare the causal tendencies that explain diverging housing pathways in Australia and the Netherlands. Lawson proposes that we turn to critical realism for the solution. From this perspective the causal tendencies of complex, open and structured housing phenomena are highlighted. With this insight we are able to extract the key social arrangements which promote different housing solutions from the historical case studies. Social arrangements which are found to influence alternative pathways in housing history concern the property rights, circuit of savings and investment, as well as labour and welfare relations. As they develop differently over time and space they affect where, when and how housing solutions develop.

Download or read book Social Work written by Jan Fook and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2012-04-05 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Social work is a human profession founded on social justice. It is difficult however to negotiate this in the constantly-changing context of the twenty-first century. Now in it's Second Edition, this book considers the critical tradition of social work and updates it with postmodern thinking. Jan Fook draws on critical reflection to help social workers deliver flexible, responsible and responsive practice and to celebrate the ageless ideals of the profession. Jan Fook draws on her own experiences to relate theoretical ideas to real life. Summaries, exercises and further reading are also included in each chapter.

Download or read book Organisations and Management in Social Work written by Mark Hughes and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2016-10-29 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Providing a comprehensive and critical examination of the complex issues involved in the management and organisational contexts of social work practice, this book will help readers to: - Critically evaluate organisational theory, managerial techniques and organisational structures. - Develop strategies for ethical and reflective organisational practice. - Understand how to plan and manage change in learning organisations. - Unpick important themes such as leadership, supervision, risk, decision making, and accountability. - Explore the potential for increasing service user and worker participation in organisations.

Download or read book Rehabilitation Work written by Hannah Graham and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-26 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conversations about rehabilitation and how to address the drugs-crime nexus have been dominated by academics and policymakers, without due recognition of the experience and knowledge of practitioners. Not enough is known about the cultures and conditions in which rehabilitation occurs. Why is it that significant numbers of practitioners are leaving the alcohol and other drugs field, while disproportionate numbers of criminal justice practitioners are on leave? Rehabilitation Work provides a unique insight into what happens behind the closed doors of prisons, probation and parole offices, drug rehabs, and recovery support services drawing on research from Australia. This book is among the first to provide a dedicated empirical examination of the interface between the concurrent processes of desistance from crime and recovery from substance misuse, and the implications for rehabilitation work. Hannah Graham uses practitioner interviews, workforce data and researcher observations to reveal compelling differences between official accounts of rehabilitation work, and what practitioners actually do in practice. Practitioners express a desire to be the change rather than being subject to change, actively co-producing progressive reforms instead of passively coping with funding cutbacks and interagency politics. Applied examples of how practitioners collaborate, lead and innovate in the midst of challenging work are complemented with evocative illustrations of insider humour and professional resilience. This book is a key resource for students, academics and practitioners across fields including criminology and criminal justice, social work, psychology, counselling and addiction treatment.

Download or read book Medical Professionals written by Kathleen Montgomery and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2018-09-05 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Medical Professionals: Conflicts and Quandaries in Medical Practice offers a fresh approach to understanding the role-related conflicts and quandaries that pervade contemporary medical practice. While a focus on professional conflicts is not new in the literature, what is missing is a volume that delves into medical professionals’ own experience of the conflicts and quandaries they face, often as a result of inhabiting multiple roles. The volume explores the ways in which these conflicts and quandaries are exacerbated by broader societal forces, including changing scientific and technological paradigms, commercialization, and strengthened consumer movements, which simultaneously expand the scope of roles and responsibilities that medical professionals are expected to fulfill, and make it more difficult to do so. Several empirical chapters analyze data from qualitative interview studies with clinicians and other stakeholders. The studies highlight the burdens on clinicians who are expected to make informed and justified judgments and decisions in the midst of competing pressures; authors describe the methods that clinicians use to address the associated tensions within specific contexts. Two conceptual chapters follow and offer some innovative ways to think about the challenges facing medical professionals as they strive to make sense of the changing landscape within healthcare. The first reflects on the challenges to clinical practice in the midst of shifting and often competing definitions of disease and associated ideologies of care. The second reflects more broadly on the utility of value pluralism as a framework for conceptualizing and working through moral and professional quandaries. The book concludes with a chapter containing suggestions for how members of the medical profession might reframe their thinking about their roles, responsibilities, and decision-making in the midst of inevitable quandaries such as those presented here. This book will be of vital reading for academics, researchers, educators, postgraduate students, and interested health care practitioners and administrators.

Download or read book Critical Ethics of Care in Social Work written by Bob Pease and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-10-06 with total page 429 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that the concept of care is a political and a moral concept. As such, it enables us to examine moral and political life through a radically different lens. The editors and contributors to the book argue that care has the potential to interrogate relationships of power and to be a tool for radical political analysis for an emerging critical social work that is concerned with human rights and social justice. The book brings a critical ethics of care into the realm of theory and practice in social work. Informed by critical theory, feminism, intersectionality and post-colonialism, the book interrogates the concept of care in a wide range of social work settings. It examines care in the context of social neglect, interdisciplinary perspectives, the responsibilisation agenda in social work and the ongoing debate about care and justice. It situates care in the settings of mental health, homelessness, elder care, child protection, asylum seekers and humanitarian aid. It further demonstrates what can be learnt about care from the post-colonial margins, Aboriginal societies, LGBTI communities and disability politics. It demonstrates ways of transforming the politics and practices of care through the work of feminist mothers, caring practices by men, meditations on love, rethinking self-care, extending care to the natural environment and the principles informing cross-species care. The book will be invaluable to social workers, human service practitioners and managers who are involved in the practice of delivering care, and it will assist them to challenge the punitive and hurtful strategies of neoliberal rationalisation. The critical theoretical focus of the book has significance beyond social work, including nursing, psychology, medicine, allied health and criminal justice.

Download or read book Reciprocal Relationships and Well being written by Maritta Törrönen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-14 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A sense of participation and opportunities to share and participate in activities or groups that are important to them are crucial factors in human wellbeing. This book provides a robust empirical and theoretical analysis of reciprocity and its implications for social work and social policy practices by discussing how ideas of reciprocity can be understood and applied to welfare policy and social care practices, as well as how the act of reciprocity supports the wellbeing of citizens. Contributions from Finland, Germany, Russia, the UK, the USA and Canada illuminate the ways in which socio-political contexts influence the power relations between citizens, practitioners and the state, and the potential (or otherwise) for reciprocity to flourish. It will be essential reading for social care practitioners, researchers and educationalists as well as postgraduate students in social work and related social care and community-oriented professions and social policy makers.