Political Science : Social Services & Welfare

America's war on drugs. It makes headlines, tops political agendas and provokes powerful emotions. But is it really worth it? That’s the question posed by Steven Duke and Albert Gross in this groundbreaking book. They argue that America’s biggest victories in the war on drugs are the erosion of our constitutional rights, the waste of billions of dollars and an overwhelmed court system. After careful research and thought, they make a strong case for the legalization of drugs. It’s a radical idea, but has its time come? more...

Price: $12.99

Community Bushfire Safety brings together in one accessible and comprehensive volume the results of the most important community safety research being undertaken within the Australian Bushfire Cooperative Research Centre (CRC). Using perspectives deriving from social science, economics and law, it supports the increasing emphasis on community safety and the vital role it has to play in Australian bushfire management. The wide range of issues covered in this volume include research into gender and vulnerability; the law and its implications for public/fire agency interactions; the arsonist’s rationale; the influence of the media; the role of economics in bushfire management and decision-making; understanding declines in fire brigade volunteerism; bushfire safety policy and its implementation; the effectiveness of community education and risk reduction schemes; and modes of building ignition. more...

Price: $44.95

Despite various reform efforts, Mexico has experienced economic stability but little growth. Today more than half of all Mexican workers are employed informally, and one out of every four is poor. Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes argues that incoherent social programs significantly contribute to this state of affairs and it suggests reforms to improve the situation.Over the past decade, Mexico has channeled an increasing number of resources into subsidizing the creation of low-productivity, informal jobs. These social programs have hampered growth, fostered illegality, and provided erratic protection to workers, trapping many in poverty. Informality has boxed Mexico into a dilemma: provide benefits to informal workers at the expense of lower growth and reduced productivity or leave millions of workers without benefits. Former finance official Santiago Levy proposes how to convert the existing system of social security for formal workers into universal social entitlements. He advocates eliminating wage-based social security contributions and raising consumption taxes on higher-income households to simultaneously increase the rate of growth of GDP, reduce inequality, and improve benefits for workers.Good Intentions, Bad Outcomes considers whether Mexico can build on the success of Progresa-Oportunidades, a targeted poverty alleviation program that originated in Mexico and has been replicated in over 25 countries as well as in New York City. It sets forth a plan to reform social and economic policy, an essential element of a more equitable and sustainable development strategy for Mexico. more...

Price: $27.95

Johntson, Roseby, and Kuehnle take you behind the child's eyes, into their heads...[they] flesh out the familial context, and bring it all back into the larger social world....When you are done reading, you know who these families are, what the children need, and -- as a clinician -- how you can help them. -- Marsha Kline Pruett, PhD, MSL. Maconda Brown O'Connor Professor. Smith College School for Social Work. The fully updated and revised edition of In the Name of the Child examines both the immediate and long-term effects of high-conflict divorce on children. By combining three decades of research with clinical experience, the authors trace the developmental problems affecting very young children through adolescence and adulthood, paying special attention to the impact of family violence and the dynamics of parental alienation. The authors present clinical interventions that have proven to be most effective in their own clinical work with families. With a new emphasis on the need for prevention and early intervention, this edition examines how defensive strategies and symptoms of distress in children can consolidate into immutable, long-standing psychopathology in their adult lives. This book contains the policies and procedures that can preempt these high-conflict outcomes in divorcing families. Key Features:.: Contains a new chapter examining the effects of violent divorce on a sample of young adults, tracking their developmental changes from adolescence through adulthood; Discusses the developmental threats to both boys and girls of different ages and stages, along with therapeutic interventions and guidelines for parenting plans; Proposes principles and criteria for decision-making about custody, visitation, and parenting plans based on individual assessment of the developing child within his or her family. Mental health professionals, educators, family lawyers, judges, and court administrators will find this book to be an essential read, with all the more...

Price: $64.00

Provides a theoretical and empirical examination of government privatization of national old-age pension systems. more...

Price: $24.00