Social Welfare Scholars Research Articles

Death, social reform and the scrutiny of social welfare provision: the role of the contemporary inquest

ABSTRACTSuggesting there is an emerging and important focus on social welfare in inquests into death, this article argues that there is value for both social welfare and inquest scholarship in examination of links between the two. Emphasising the process of investigation, it aims to introduce the inquest to social welfare scholars, and proposes an agenda for research. The discussion examines a range of inquests in which questions of social welfare (understood broadly) were examined, including inquests into the death of Jackie Maguire in a care home (see R (Maguire) v. HM Senior Coroner for Blackpool & Fylde [2023] UKSC 20), the death of Jodey Whiting after her welfare benefits were stopped (in a case brought by her mother, Joy Dove, see Dove v. HM Assistant Coroner for Teesside and Hartlepool [2023] EWCA Civ 289), the death of Awaab Ishak due to mould in his housing association home, and the death of Ella Kissi-Debra which suggested a link between traffic, air pollution and asthma, as well as other cases, including the inquest into the death of Molly Russell which focused on the role of social media.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 93, Number 2June 2019 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/703528 Views: 31Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Social Welfare Discourses and Scholars’ Ethical-Political Dilemmas in the Crisis of Neoliberalism

ABSTRACTDiscourse is central in promoting – or hindering – social change. This paper discusses the ethical-political dilemmas that academics face in developing progressive discourses on social welfare in the hegemonic crisis of neoliberalism. A central dilemma concerns the (implicit or explicit) target of their discourse. Speaking to elites reproduces dominant values and interests, reinforcing central elements of neoliberalism such as economisation and de-politicisation. Moreover, this approach remains technocratic (i.e. academics act as experts), thereby failing to address citizens’ distrust towards ‘scientific evidence’ that characterises the hegemonic crisis of neoliberalism. A possible alternative is to work together with civil society and marginalised groups for promoting an oppositional discourse. In this way scholars may contribute to the democratisation of the public sphere but may fail to influence the content of policies, remaining trapped in marginal political positions. The paper illustrates this tension focusing on ‘social investment’. This discourse – which is today the most important framework for welfare reform among academics – emphasises the economic benefits of social policy for promoting alternatives to welfare retrenchment. Building on a research project aimed at re-thinking social investment from Sen's capability perspective, the paper discusses the conditions for developing a post-neoliberal discourse on social welfare.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 93, Number 1March 2019 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/702762 Views: 25Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 92, Number 3September 2018 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/699278 Views: 29Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 92, Number 2June 2018 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/697957 Views: 34Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 92, Number 1March 2018 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/697188 Views: 34Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous articleNext article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 91, Number 4December 2017 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/695410 Views: 37Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous articleNext article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 90, Number 4December 2016 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/689776 Views: 34Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 90, Number 3September 2016 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/688682 Views: 51Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Brief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare Scholars

Previous article No AccessBrief Notices: New and Upcoming Titles of Interest to Social Work and Social Welfare ScholarsPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Social Service Review Volume 90, Number 1March 2016 Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/686702 Views: 75Total views on this site PDF download Crossref reports no articles citing this article.

Comparative social welfare: the existential humanist perspective and challenge

Brij Mohan's legacy to comparative social welfare is his centering of the person rather than social welfare institutions and programs. This follows his commitment to the principle that the public social welfare provision should always seek to improve the existential human condition. The existential humanist proposition is that, in a very real sense, public social welfare provision impacts on the way welfare recipients think about themselves and others, behave, and socially interact, and thus impacts on their capacity and motivation to begin or further their search for their authentic selves (for self-actualization). Indeed, the cognitive and behavioral changes induced by public social welfare provision are the causal link between that provision and the observed levels of poverty, deprivation, income inequality, social exclusion, and quality of life. This neglected social welfare perspective creates daunting challenges for comparative social welfare scholars.

DAVID WAGNER. The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institution. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield. 2005. Pp. xi, 179. Cloth $60.00, paper $22.95

The social control thesis, a child of 1960s' suspicions about elites and the purposes of their institutions, has held powerful sway over social welfare scholarship for more than a generation. The argument—that welfare institutions served to secure an orderly working class, regulate the labor force to the advantage of capitalists, and impose middle-class values on workers—has been challenged and refined, debated and bemoaned. But even after four decades, social welfare scholars still have to wrestle with the issue of social control. David Wagner, who acknowledges the tutelage of Frances Fox Piven and Richard Cloward, is no exception. He dutifully surveys the past debates about social control and humanitarianism, grounds his project in this mix, and then tries to turn the discussion away from this dichotomous stranglehold. He challenges historians to compare the poorhouse of the past to the homeless shelter of the present (and finds current provision for the homeless poor to be inferior even to the dreaded poorhouse of old). Much of the subject matter in this book is familiar to social welfare historians. The origins of the almshouse, the debates over indoor versus outdoor relief, the attempts to remove certain categories of the poor (children, the insane) from the poorhouse, the professionalization of social work, and the twentieth-century demise of the almshouse are topics well known to the field and need not be described here. But within this familiar outline, Wagner offers up several very original ideas.