Power And Poverty Theory And Practice

A new and significant study in the field of community power, presenting a new approach to the analysis and correlates of power.

This publication contains a number of essays and supplementary materials based on a two-day working meeting, held in Washington D.C. in March 2004 and organised jointly by the World Bank and the UK Department for International Development, to consider the relationships between power, rights and poverty reduction issues in theory and practice. Issues addressed include: competing definitions and concepts of power and rights, using experiences drawn from different countries; ways of helping development practitioners to apply these concepts to their work; a summary of the major theoretical conceptualisations of power and a literature review on power and rights.

Offers a look at the causes and effects of poverty and inequality, as well as the possible solutions. This title features research, human stories, statistics, and compelling arguments. It discusses about the world we live in and how we can make it a better place.

"This book sheds a very bright light on poverty as a central experience of the people social workers work with. Research and theories of power, politics and values are thoroughly discussed and provide the basis for a sustained commitment to social justice. The book is a supportive read as it skilfully appreciates the personal challenges that critical and assertive practice entails. It is a book for students, professionals and service leads to keep, re-read and savour." Dr Tillie Curran, Senior Lecturer in Social Work, University of the West of England, UK "By identifying power, poverty, politics and values as core themes in social work, this text offers us a refreshing perspective which will challenge students and practitioners alike to re-evaluate their practice in the light of its wider social, political and philosophical contexts. Through an exploration of issues of power and an interrogation of the real meaning of social work ethics and values, Sheedy motivates and encourages us to reflect on our practice and to ensure that it is truly person-centred." Dr Sue Taplin, University of Nottingham, UK "This book offers a concise and coherent discussion of what should be core themes in thoughtful and careful social work practice. It offers a journey towards rethinking and embracing effective critical practice, which engages with human rights and social justice as much as with empowerment and with individual and interpersonal change. Occasional student accounts, coupled with use of key points and questions for discussion make for accessibility. The book synthesises, summarises and critiques ideas about how to understand and resolve social issues, enabling readers to question how they might work creatively alongside service users. It is a book which invites reflection on policy and practice." Professor Michael Preston-Shoot, Dean, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of Bedfordshire, UK "This excellent text is essential reading for all social workers and students, and a key resource for academics. It highlights - with concern and conviction - the importance of developing an effective critical practice that 'challenges, enhances and broadens the task of conventional social work' in ways that have 'the potential to improve outcomes for service users'. It calls for a social work practice based on an understanding of the issues of power, politics and ideology - and the values and 'world view' held by the worker - linked with concerns raised by the people that social workers regularly encounter and work with. The issues of 'poverty and disadvantage' and their structural causes run throughout this text - issues that have been too long neglected in social work. In this text, Martin Sheedy corrects that neglect by outlining in some detail the impact of poverty on people's lives and life chances whilst at the same time describing how critical practice can be used by social workers to promote social justice and empowerment practices." Dr Pamela Trevithick, Visiting Professor in Social Work, Buckinghamshire New University, UK This engaging book introduces the core themes in social work, and encourages students and practitioners to connect with the important debates surrounding these themes and challenges them to revisit the direction social work is and should be going in. The key contexts of social work are explored using knowledge from the disciplines of social theory, politics, sociology, psychology and ethics. The content is enlivened by: The voices of students, service users and practitioners Current and topical content on social work, poverty, politics, power and values A discussion style format to help readers engage with the topics An extensive range of sources of knowledge and theory Key summary points at the end of each chapter Group discussion questions at the end of each chapter This book will contribute to social work students' and practitioners' thinking about the world in which they live and operate as professionals.

A poverty line helps focus the attention of governments and civil society on the living conditions of the poor. This paper offers a critical overview of alternative approaches to setting poverty lines. In reviewing the methods found in practice, the paper tries to throw light on, and go some way toward resolving, ongoing debates about poverty measurement, emphasizing those debates which would appear to have greatest bearing on policy discussions.

Laura Smith argues that if there is any segment of society that should be concerned with the impact of classism and poverty, it is those within the “helping professions”—people who have built their careers around understanding and facilitating human emotional well-being. In this groundbreaking book, Smith charts the ebbs and flows of psychology’s consideration of poor clients, and then points to promising new approaches to serving poor communities that go beyond remediation, sympathy, and charity. Including the author’s own experiences as a psychologist in a poor community, this inspiring book: Shows practitioners and educators how to implement considerations of social class and poverty within mental health theory and practice.Addresses poverty from a true social class perspective, beginning with questions of power and oppression in health settings.Presents a view of poverty that emerges from the words of the poor through their participation in interviews and qualitative research.Offers a message of hope that poor clients and psychologists can reinvent their relationship through working together in ways that are liberating for all parties. Laura Smith is an assistant professor in the department of Counseling and Clinical Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University. “Gripping, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful, [this]is an impassioned charge to mental health professionals to advocate in truly helpful ways for America’s poor and working-class citizens . . . beautifully written and structured in a way that provides solid information with digestible doses of in-your-face depictions of poverty . . . Smith’s appeal to the healing profession is a gift. She envisions a class-inclusive society that shares common resources, opportunities, institutions, and hope. Smith’s book is a beautiful, chilling treatise calling for social change, mapping the road that will ultimately lead to that change. . . . This inspired book . . . is not meant to be purchased, perused, and placed on a shelf. It is meant to be lived. Are you in?” —PsycCRITIQUES magazine “Smith does not invite you to examine the life of the poor; she forces you to do it. And after you do it, you cannot help but question your practice. Whether you are a psychologist, a social worker, a counselor, a nurse, a psychiatrist, a teacher, or a community organizer, you will gain insights about the lives of the people you work with.” —From the Foreword by Isaac Prilleltensky, Dean, School of Education, University of Miami, Florida “This groundbreaking book challenges practitioners and educators to rethink dominant understandings of social class and poverty, and it offers concrete strategies for addressing class-based inequities. Psychology, Poverty, and the End of Social Exclusion should be required reading for anyone interested in economic and social justice.” —Heather Bullock, University of California, Santa Cruz

Poverty is a serious problem in the United States, more so than commonly imagined, and more so than in other industrialized nations. Most Americans adhere to an individualistic perspective: they believe poverty is largely the result of people being deficient in intelligence, determination, education, and other personal traits. Poverty and Power, Fourth Edition challenges this viewpoint, arguing that poverty arises from the workings of four key structural systems—the economic, the political, the cultural, and the social—and ten obstacles to economic justice, including unaffordable housing, inaccessible health care, and racial and gender discrimination. The author argues that a renewed war on poverty can be successful, but only through a popular movement to bring about significant change in the workings of American economic, political, and cultural institutions. New to this Edition Enhanced conversation on why the cultural theory of poverty has such a strong appeal to the American public develops students’ critical thinking skills (Chapter 3) New segment on the influence of job seekers’ physical appearance on hiring decisions showing that success is not simply a matter of education, skills, and training (Chapter 4) New data on the “job availability problem” explains in detail why the monthly headline unemployment number is misleading, and new content on the 2021 upsurge of quits on the part of American workers portrays efforts on the part of ordinary people to improve their lives (Chapter 5) New content on how corporations have become increasingly assertive political players explores the dramatic increase in corporate lobbying efforts, the rise of billionaire political activists, and the creation of a powerful conservative political infrastructure in the United States (Chapter 6) Greater attention to racially segregated and resource-deprived Black communities covers the extraordinary hardships experienced by the residents of these areas, while a new section on the geographical isolation of the affluent discusses how isolation affects wealthy people’s beliefs and perceptions about poverty and what policies they deem acceptable (Chapter 8)