Collection: Bristol University Press and Policy Press comprehensive eBook and Journals collection

 

If you are an institution that prides itself on having a comprehensive bank of the latest social science research, then access our entire eBook and journals list. It is a wonderful opportunity to provide a truly unique collection of award-winning research from one of the UK's leading social science publishers.  

You can have instant access to over 2,000 eBooks and 8,000 journal articles from our incredible range of 21 journals including 50 years of Policy & Politics. This collection gives you full DRM-free access to a vast range of the research we have been publishing since 1996 and is a truly premium collection with access to the full Policy & Politics archive (1972–present). 

Journals included in this collection include: Consumption and Society; Critical and Radical Social Work; Emotions and Society; European Journal of Politics and Gender; European Social Work ResearchEvidence & Policy; Families, Relationships and Societies; Global Discourse; Global Political Economy; International Journal of Care and Caring; Journal of Gender-Based Violence; Journal of Global Ageing; Journal of Poverty & Social Justice (2002–present); Journal of Psychosocial Studies; Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice (2018–present); Justice, Power and Resistance; Longitudinal and Life Course Studies; Policy & Politics (2000–present); Voluntary Sector Review; Work in the Global Economy.

Within our eBook collection, you will find a complete range of our monographs, muti-authored and edited works including peer-reviewed, original scholarly research across the social sciences and aligned disciplines. We publish long- and short-form research and you can browse the complete Bristol University Press and Policy Press archive of over 2,000 titles. Policy Press also publishes policy reviews and polemic work which aim to challenge policy and practice in certain fields. These books have a practitioner in mind and are practical and accessible in style, as well as being academically sound and referenced. 

This collection also means you will never miss a journal article, eBook or Open Access publication because your content will be refreshed as part of an ongoing renewal process. We will update the collection on an annual basis which includes over 220 new books and 450 new journal articles a year. 

Bristol University Press and Policy Press Complete eBooks and Journals Collection

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 2,095 items

Processes, Places and the Past

Institutions play a crucial role in shaping experiences of end-of-life care, dying, death, body disposal and bereavement. However, there has been little holistic or multidisciplinary research in this area, with studies typically focusing on individual settings such as hospitals and cemeteries, or being confined to specific disciplines.

This interdisciplinary collection combines chapters on process, place and the past to examine the relationships both within and between institutions, institutionalisation and death in international contexts.

Of broad appeal to students and academics in areas including social policy, health sciences, sociology, psychology, anthropology, cultural studies, history and the wider humanities, this collection spans multiple disciplines to offer crucial insights into the end of life, body disposal, bereavement, and mourning.

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Affective Geographies in Violent Times
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“Banal warfare” describes the ways in which the vision of the city perpetually ridden with conflicts, terrorist attacks, and disease infuses everyday urban life to the point of becoming invisible or taken for granted. The book is situated within decolonial urbanism as, to understand the urban geopolitical struggles in western Europe, it employs the conceptual framework developed in relation to cities conventionally considered war cities in the global east and south. In “reversing the gaze” on urban warfare, the focus is on the impact of framing different public emergencies and incidents of violence in Paris and Brussels as acts of war and how this contributes to the normalization of militarism within urban contexts traditionally viewed as “non-war zones.” From lockdowns to states of emergency, the book addresses how this process shapes urban governance agendas, constructs the notion of the “enemy within,” and conditions the everyday affective atmospheres of urban dwellers in Paris and Brussels. These citizens are not presented as passive victims of military urbanism, but as active subjects in the doing and undoing of notions of cities at war. The book highlights the politics of affective atmospheres in an effort to “make feminist sense” of urban warfare, drawing attention to the processes that sustain social inequalities and deepen urban geographies of exclusion while, at the same time, rethinking notions of urban peace.

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The Case of the Hormonal Female
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In this book, Sally King interrogates the diagnostic label of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) to expose and challenge sexist assumptions within medical research and practice. She powerfully demonstrates how the concept of the ‘hormonal’ premenstrual woman is merely the latest iteration of the ‘hysterical’ female myth. By blaming the healthy reproductive body (first our wombs, now our hormones) for the female-prevalence of emotional distress and physical pain, gender myths appear to have trumped all empirical evidence to the contrary.

The book also provides a primer on menstrual physiology beyond hormones, and a short history of how hormonal metaphors came to dominate medical and popular discourses. The author calls for clinicians, researchers, educators, and activists to help improve women’s health without unintentionally reproducing damaging stereotypes.

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How do we conceive of policy and political studies? To what extent should our science be ‘normative’ or ‘objective’ or ‘positive’? Who are our audiences and how do we engage them? Whose knowledge matters and how does it accumulate? How should we advance the study of policy and politics?

First published as a special issue of Policy & Politics, this book makes a statement about the study of policy and politics: what it is, how it is done, where it has been and where it is going. It comprises scholarship that has rarely been combined to explore several fundamental challenges about research in policy and politics. It concludes by challenging the field to consider different ways of thinking about what we can discover and construct in the world and how we can conduct our science.

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The Role of the Family Mediator in Contemporary Times
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Over several decades, policies have made mediation a key part of the English and Welsh family justice system. As the process faces increasing demand from a diverse and complex client base, some argue for a return to a fully funded court system. However, this dominant view overlooks the longstanding problems with the court process, as well as the potential value of mediation.

This book, based on original research, highlights the evolving role of mediators who assist families without legal support. By doing so, it reveals a contemporary vision of family justice that addresses some of the challenges in today’s landscape.

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Important Perspectives

Illuminating the often-overlooked perspectives of marginalised groups, this essential textbook offers a transformative exploration of health law and ethics.

Designed as a replacement for (or complement to) foundational health law texts, the book amplifies the voices of those frequently silenced in teaching materials: racialised communities, ethnic minorities, women, disabled individuals, LGBTQI+ people and those disadvantaged by socio-economic and structural factors.

Chapters cover key topics such as abortion, medical negligence, and public health, scrutinising how traditional legal narratives can neglect the nuanced impacts on these diverse groups. Contributors challenge readers to reflect on the production and perpetuation of health inequalities, enriching the curriculum with critical viewpoints.

Teaching tools include:

- accessible summaries throughout the chapters;

- critical reflection questions at the end of each chapter for students and teachers;

- further reading lists and links to external resources.

This is an invaluable text that encourages students and academics to engage deeply with the intersections of law, health(care) and social justice. It is an indispensable companion for any health law course, fostering a more inclusive and well-rounded approach to legal and medical education and practice.

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Many planning systems are currently locked into growth-dependence, encouraging market-led development which can widen social inequalities and produce adverse environmental outcomes.

This accessible book introduces students to the debates around growth and planning and sets out the solutions to promote genuinely sustainable communities. It includes:

  • a positive proposal for reform of the planning system;

  • focussed discussions from the UK and Europe providing lessons for future planning;

  • analysis of the challenges of implementing reform.

Covering chapters on cooperatives, community land trusts, local economic development and community assets and infrastructure, as well as commoning, it provides a roadmap for planning system reform with social justice and sustainability at its heart.

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In this clear and concise primer, Deirdre Heenan and Jennifer Betts lay out key concepts and debates in the field of mental health.

With overviews of recent developments and stakeholder perspectives, the book introduces contemporary themes in policy and practice. It explores the prevalence, cost and social determinants of mental illness, the changing attitudes and stigma around them, and the roles of the state, voluntary and community sectors in designing and delivering services. Assuming no prior knowledge of the subject, the guide includes:

• text boxes and figures to illustrate key points;

• end of chapter summaries;

• international case studies;

• further reading guides.

For students, practitioners, policy makers and newcomers alike, this is an accessible and comprehensive guide to an increasingly prioritised and debated topic.

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This book examines the evolving value of caregiving in Britain, from the welfare state’s inception to the present day. It explores the shifts in discourse surrounding care, charting key social, demographic, economic, political and cultural changes which have led to the current ‘care crisis’.

The author examines five key themes: the tension within institutional Christianity between caring for the marginalized versus maintaining ‘respectability’; the secularization of the value of care and its interaction with emerging social divisions; the persistent expectation that women bear the caregiving burden; the economic and social undervaluation of emotional and practical care work; and the challenges facing the care and health sectors. The author suggests that recalibrating the tax system to shift the burden from incomes to profits may be necessary for the survival of welfare systems under these new conditions.

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Why It Rules the Global Economy and How to Challenge It

In a world shaken by crises, why does the dollar continue to dominate? In this book, Photis Lysandrou explores the interaction between global instability and the enduring strength of the dollar. Drawing on examples from the 2008 Great Financial Crisis to the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the author reveals how uncertainty and instability in global trade, production and politics drives investors towards the safety of the dollar, reinforcing its dominance over other currencies.

With clear and insightful analysis, Lysandrou reveals the true global financial foundations of dollar dominance, and lays out what it would take for other currencies such as the Euro to challenge its position.

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