Andrew Whittaker – författare

Professional judgement and decision making are central to social work, both in everyday professional practice and in public perceptions of social work as a profession. This book examines key issues that are relevant today. The chapters cover child protection, mental health, and elder care settings in Europe, Australia and Canada. They discuss organisational and cultural contexts for professional judgement; the role of experience in the development of expertise and professional discretion; understanding variability in decision making; and the role of legal frameworks in decision making. This book will enable practitioners, managers, policy makers, and researchers to appreciate the complexities of professional judgement and decision making in different social work settings and to apply this understanding to their own practice. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice.The book is linked to sister text Risk in Social Work Practice: Current Issues, which examines key debates around the understanding of risk in contemporary social work practice.

The study of ‘risk’ in social work involves complex interplay between human behaviour, emotion, evidence of fact, professional values and organisational systems. This book brings together contributions from key social work researchers and theorists from the UK, USA, New Zealand and Italy, writing with a focus on aspects of risk within social work. It examines key debates concerning risk in contemporary social work practice, including ethical dilemmas, approaches to decision-making and the challenges of ignorance and errors. Contributions range from the perennial challenges of how one uses formal knowledge when assessing risk to emerging risks arising from the counterterrorism agenda. This book will enable practitioners, policy makers and researchers to appreciate the complexities of risk in different settings and apply this understanding to their own practice. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice.

Professional judgement and decision making are central to social work, both in everyday professional practice and in public perceptions of social work as a profession. This book examines key issues that are relevant today. The chapters cover child protection, mental health, and elder care settings in Europe, Australia and Canada. They discuss organisational and cultural contexts for professional judgement; the role of experience in the development of expertise and professional discretion; understanding variability in decision making; and the role of legal frameworks in decision making. This book will enable practitioners, managers, policy makers, and researchers to appreciate the complexities of professional judgement and decision making in different social work settings and to apply this understanding to their own practice. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice.The book is linked to sister text Risk in Social Work Practice: Current Issues, which examines key debates around the understanding of risk in contemporary social work practice.

Social Work students often find research an intimidating and complex area of study, with many struggling to understand the core concepts and their application to practice. This book presents these concepts in an accessible and user-friendly way. Key skills and methods such as literature reviews, interviews, and questionnaires are explored in detail while the underlying ethical reasons for doing good research underpin the text. For this second edition, new material on ethnography is added.

The most complete, step-by-step guide to the ACFS qualification The Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist Handbook is the only guide designed to support all mandatory elements of the ACFS qualification, in-depth and step-by-step. Written by recognized industry leaders, this book focuses specifically on the practitioner's role in fraud investigation in England and Wales, providing complete information about each stage in the investigative process. Readers gain access to all of the information needed to successfully complete the ACFS qualification, and to develop an awareness of the key skills required to undertake efficient, legally compliant, professional investigations. The book includes a Directory of Useful Information, featuring legislation, codes of practice, model forms, and more.As incidence of fraud continues to rise, many organisations are recruiting more Counter Fraud Specialists, and mandating Continuous Professional Development for established CFSs. The Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist (ACFS) is a recognized qualification in the field, and is mandatory for investigators in many organisations throughout the public and private sectors. The Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist Handbook is a complete guide to the qualification, both for CPD and first-time qualifiers. Gain a deeper understanding of the legislation related to fraud and investigationLearn the surveillance and intelligence gathering techniques that build a solid caseReview the rules of evidence and statement taking guidelinesFollow courtroom procedures and prepare a thorough prosecution fileThe professional qualification of ACFS, which is endorsed by the Counter Fraud Professional Accreditation Board, requires both practical and written assessments that demonstrate successful knowledge transfer and understanding of all key concepts of the investigative process. For anyone tasked with the responsibility of countering fraud, The Accredited Counter Fraud Specialist Handbook is a comprehensive guide to the investigative process.

Social workers work with people at all stages of life, tackling a multitude of personal, social, health, welfare, legal and educational issues. As a result, all social work students need to understand human growth and development throughout the lifespan.This fully revised and expanded second edition of this introductory text for social workers provides a knowledge base about human development from conception to death. It is designed to encourage understanding of a wide range of experiences: from the developmental trajectories of children in care, to adult mental distress and the experiences of people with dementia, to bereavement. Using engaging narratives to illustrate each topic, the authors clearly introduce and analyse different theoretical approaches, and link them to real-life situations faced by social workers.Packed with case studies, this student-friendly book includes overviews, summaries, questions and further reading in each chapter, as well as a ‘Taking it further’ section providing greater depth on key theoretical issues. A reference section contains a glossary and overviews of the principal theories discussed throughout the book. It is an essential read for all social work students.

Social workers work with people at all stages of life, tackling a multitude of personal, social, health, welfare, legal and educational issues. As a result, all social work students need to understand human growth and development throughout the lifespan.This fully revised and expanded second edition of this introductory text for social workers provides a knowledge base about human development from conception to death. It is designed to encourage understanding of a wide range of experiences: from the developmental trajectories of children in care, to adult mental distress and the experiences of people with dementia, to bereavement. Using engaging narratives to illustrate each topic, the authors clearly introduce and analyse different theoretical approaches, and link them to real-life situations faced by social workers.Packed with case studies, this student-friendly book includes overviews, summaries, questions and further reading in each chapter, as well as a ‘Taking it further’ section providing greater depth on key theoretical issues. A reference section contains a glossary and overviews of the principal theories discussed throughout the book. It is an essential read for all social work students.

The study of ‘risk’ in social work involves complex interplay between human behaviour, emotion, evidence of fact, professional values and organisational systems. This book brings together contributions from key social work researchers and theorists from the UK, USA, New Zealand and Italy, writing with a focus on aspects of risk within social work. It examines key debates concerning risk in contemporary social work practice, including ethical dilemmas, approaches to decision-making and the challenges of ignorance and errors. Contributions range from the perennial challenges of how one uses formal knowledge when assessing risk to emerging risks arising from the counterterrorism agenda. This book will enable practitioners, policy makers and researchers to appreciate the complexities of risk in different settings and apply this understanding to their own practice. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice.

Social Work students often find research an intimidating and complex area of study, with many struggling to understand the core concepts and their application to practice. This book presents these concepts in an accessible and user-friendly way. Key skills and methods such as literature reviews, interviews, and questionnaires are explored in detail while the underlying ethical reasons for doing good research underpin the text. For this second edition, new material on ethnography is added.

Now in it's fourth edition and thoroughly updated to ensure all content is mapped to the new 2018 NMC standards, this book is a practical and readable guide to undertaking a research project plan or a literature review for final year assessment. The book guides readers from start to finish, beginning with choosing a nursing topic and developing questions about it, then accessing and critically reviewing research literature, considering ethical issues, proposing research where applicable, and finally, writing up and completing the literature review or research proposal. The authors also explore how to translate evidence into practice and how this can improve day to day decision-making, as well as feeding into assessments.

Mapped to the 2018 NMC Standards and written directly for nursing students, this practical and straightforward book covers everything you need to know when conducting a literature or research project plan. Why do you need this book?- A clear and straightforward guide to support you throughout your final year assessment- Updated to include additional types of assessment including service improvement project plans- Takes you step-by-step through the process, from choosing a topic and research question, using and critiquing research, all the way to writing up and completing your project- Case studies and activities hone the critical thinking and decision-making skills you will need to secure top marks 

Mapped to the 2018 NMC Standards and written directly for nursing students, this practical and straightforward book covers everything you need to know when conducting a literature or research project plan. Why do you need this book?- A clear and straightforward guide to support you throughout your final year assessment- Updated to include additional types of assessment including service improvement project plans- Takes you step-by-step through the process, from choosing a topic and research question, using and critiquing research, all the way to writing up and completing your project- Case studies and activities hone the critical thinking and decision-making skills you will need to secure top marks 

The SAGE Handbook on Decision Making, Assessment and Risk in Social Work provides a comprehensive overview of key strands of research and theoretical concepts in this increasingly important field. With 49 chapters and four section summaries, this Handbook describes the ‘state of the art’; discuss key debates and issues; and gives pointers on future directions for practice, research, teaching, management of services, and development of theoretical understandings.

A key aim of this Handbook is to support the development of sound, applied knowledge and values to underpin reasoned professional judgement and decision making by social workers in practice and those in management and regulatory roles.

With contributions from a global interdisciplinary body of leading and emerging scholars from a wide variety of roles, this handbook has been designed to be internationally generalisable and applicable to all major areas of social work.

This Handbook provides a field-defining account of decision making, assessment and risk in social work which is unrivalled for its diversity and strength of coverage, and will be of value to social work researchers, teachers and practitioners, as well as to those in allied fields such as health care.

 

Section 1: Professional Judgement

Section 2: Assessment, Risk and Decision Processes

Section 3: Assessment Tools and Approaches

Section 4: Developing and Managing Practice

Section 5: Concluding Section / Afterword