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 addresses a different area of policy, describing the context for the intervention, examining key themes and issues and assessing the likely effectiveness of policies. The final chapter asks the question: how should we assess the impact of policy to address social exclusion? and then provides a possible framework for evaluation. Policy Responses to Social Exclusion is recommended reading for advanced undergraduates and post-graduates on social policy, social administration and public policy courses. It will also be of interest to a wide range of policy makers and practitioners in local government, central government and voluntary agencies, involved in developing and implementing policy responses to social exclusion.

This text explores the issue of social exclusion, considering its measurement, main determinants, and ways in which it may be reduced. The editors show how a focus on the topic may alter the relevant policy questions by fostering debate in government.

This timely book examines current policy responses to social exclusion. Each contribution addresses a different area of policy, describing the context for the intervention, examining key themes and issues and assessing the likely effectiveness of policies.

People with mental health conditions are among the most socially excluded groups in society. Mental health conditions are influenced by the social environment, which in turn shapes our social and cultural responses to the people who experience them. Much of what mental health practitioners do is 'essentially social' and the effects of their interventions are hampered by the marginalised status of many of the people that they see. This book documents the ways in which people with mental health conditions are excluded from participating in society and offers some pointers as to how this may be reversed. It highlights the need to reduce mental health inequalities and to consider the importance of material inequalities and social injustices faced by people experiencing mental ill-health. Whilst the challenges are considerable and the solutions wide-ranging, mental health practitioners can play a significant role in facilitating the social inclusion of those with mental health conditions.

Global processes have an increasing influence on local contexts and the nature and distribution of opportunities among populations across the globe. While capital and population mobility, advances in information and communications technology, and economic liberalization have fostered economic development, industrialization, and wealth for some, they have also engendered growing inequalities in income, prosperity, well-being, and access. Those left behind by these global transformations often experience not only material deprivation, but broader dislocation from the contexts, institutions, and capabilities that provide access to social and economic opportunity. The concept of "social exclusion" has been widely adopted to describe the conditions of economic, social, political, and/or cultural marginalization experienced by particular groups of people due to extreme poverty, discrimination, dislocation, and disenfranchisement. This book explores the dynamics of social exclusion within the context of globalization across four countries--China, India, South Korea, and the United States. In particular, it examines how social exclusion is defined, manifested, and responded to with regard to diverse social arenas and processes, varying mechanisms and scales, and a range of impacted populations. Based on collaborative research activities and in-depth deliberation among leading scholars from major academic institutions in each of the four aforementioned countries, the volume provides a rich account of the interplay between globalization and social exclusion, while highlighting the ways in which responses may be more or less effective in different contexts. Its insights will be of particular interest to academics, researchers, and students across diverse social science disciplines.

The need for public libraries to tackle social exclusion and engage in social justice becomes ever more urgent as the gap between rich and poor continues to widen, and the very survival of public libraries in the heart of the community is open to debate. If public libraries are to develop and grow in the future and become relevant to the majority of their local communities, then they need to abandon outmoded concepts of 'excellence' and fully grasp the 'equity' agenda. This book examines the historical background to social exclusion and the strategic context in terms of government and professional policy. The authors propose a compelling manifesto for change and outline practical ways in which public libraries can be transformed into needs-based services.

Available online via SciVerse ScienceDirect, or in print for a limited time only, The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home, Seven Volume Set is the first international reference work for housing scholars and professionals, that uses studies in economics and finance, psychology, social policy, sociology, anthropology, geography, architecture, law, and other disciplines to create an international portrait of housing in all its facets: from meanings of home at the microscale, to impacts on macro-economy. This comprehensive work is edited by distinguished housing expert Susan J. Smith, together with Marja Elsinga, Ong Seow Eng, Lorna Fox O'Mahony and Susan Wachter, and a multi-disciplinary editorial team of 20 world-class scholars in all. Working at the cutting edge of their subject, liaising with an expert editorial advisory board, and engaging with policy-makers and professionals, the editors have worked for almost five years to secure the quality, reach, relevance and coherence of this work. A broad and inclusive table of contents signals (or tesitifes to) detailed investigation of historical and theoretical material as well as in-depth analysis of current issues. This seven-volume set contains over 500 entries, listed alphabetically, but grouped into seven thematic sections including methods and approaches; economics and finance; environments; home and homelessness; institutions; policy; and welfare and well-being. Housing professionals, both academics and practitioners, will find The International Encyclopedia of Housing and Home useful for teaching, discovery, and research needs. International in scope, engaging with trends in every world region The editorial board and contributors are drawn from a wide constituency, collating expertise from academics, policy makers, professionals and practitioners, and from every key center for housing research Every entry stands alone on its merits and is accessed alphabetically, yet each is fully cross-referenced, and attached to one of seven thematic categories whose ‘wholes' far exceed the sum of their parts

This book explores local partnership-based initiatives to tackle European-wide problems of poverty and social exclusion. A major comparative study of the fast developing theme of social exclusion, the contributors look at its causes, effects and at the ways it might be combatted. Based on in-depth, cross-national research from areas across Europe it provides a uniquely authoritative account of the complexities of policy development in the EU, and will be invaluable to researchers in European studies, politics, and economics.

This Combat Poverty research study examines the role of local partnerships in promoting social inclusion in Ireland. Ireland is among the EU countries who have a strong model of local partnership. The book assesses the application of the partnership model in tackling social exclusion, canvasses the views of various stakeholders as to its policy impact, and makes recommendations for the continued operation of local partnerships as an instrument of social inclusion.

This book analyses the dichotomy between the goal of social inclusion and the effect of social exclusion through over-indebtedness since 2008 in Europe. Filling a vital gap in the current literature on the effects of the financial and economic crisis, this volume puts into context academic discussion with the real-life dimension of over-indebtedness. Reports from six European countries provide socio-economic and legal information on over-indebtedness as well as the regulatory and judicial responses to the problems entailed by over-indebtedness. They form the empirical background for five analyses of different aspects of the inclusion-exclusion dichotomy. It becomes clear that in the context of credit expansion, individual over-indebtedness has turned into a social issue, which the current design of the consumer credit and mortgage system in Europe has helped to produce while disregarding the consequential danger of social exclusion.