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In this article I discuss the affirmation model, initially proposed by Swain and French (2000), as an intervention in an ongoing debate within disability studies around the usefulness of the social model. I consider the purpose of developing models, such as the social and affirmation models, and identify the lack of definitions in Swain and French's original suggestion as an inherent weakness. I then outline my own research, undertaken with the aim of identifying whether useful affirmation model definitions might be fashioned, and relate my conclusions to Freire's idea of critical Praxis. I conclude by proposing the affirmation model as a practical tool for use by social workers to identify the ways in which disabling social relations are reproduced in everyday encounters..

Abstract: We are a group of disabled service users 'whose experiences are semi-visible or semi-acknowledged within normative discourses'. We have conducted research with other disabled service users to circumvent challenges of research co-production and facilitate inclusion in research of ourselves and our disabled peers who are frequently described as 'hard to reach'. We carried out this research in order to enhance our own visibility as researchers and bring our experience as disabled service-user representatives out of the 'half shadows'. In doing this we hoped to expand awareness of the dynamics at play in service user-representation. This research arose directly out of the concerns of the late Patricia Chambers, a disabled woman who expressed deep concern about how her experience as a service user –representative was routinely rendered semi-visible or semi-acknowledged within normative discourses. It begins to explore the extent of our rendition to the half-shadows and to work out strategies for bringing our experience in to the light.Keywords: research access; visibility; service users; user-led research; experience

Cover -- Half Title -- Title -- Copyright -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- About the contributors -- Acknowledgements -- Foreword -- Introduction to the book -- Section 1 Service user involvement in context: theoretical issues -- 1 Critical issues in the development of service user involvement -- 2 Improving understanding of service user involvement and identity: a guide for service providers and practitioners organising involvement activities with disabled people -- 3 Who are the service users? Language, neo-liberalism and social constructions -- 4 Experiential knowledge in mental health services, research and professional education -- 5 Ethical involvement of service users -- 6 A matter of power: relationships between professionals and disabled service users -- 7 The housing campaign - User Involvement in action -- 8 Talking heads: why asylum seeker parents are scared of social workers - mending the gaps between us -- 9 Talking heads: training for the non-disabled -- Section 2 The state of service user involvement in human services involvement in education and research across the globe -- 10 A tsunami of lived experience: from regional Australia to global mental health activism -- 11 The meeting place between service users and students: mediums of learning at the School of Social Work of the University of Sherbrooke -- 12 Talking heads: the non-existence of meaningful service user consultation in Congo Brazzaville -- 13 Service user involvement and gap-mending practices in Sweden -- 14 Challenging racism in Hong Kong: an e-learning approach to social work education -- 15 Lessons learned: the meaning making power of involvement -- 16 Blank page: involvement of expert by experience in social work education in Slovenia -- 17 Emergence and clashes in disabled service user organisations in South Korea.

AbstractWe are researchers and activists working in the field of service user involvement for many years in the UK and internationally who are concerned that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, years of progress in service user involvement have been unravelled by service users being left on the outside of key decisions and matters affecting their lives. Instead, we argue, they have become an afterthought. As authors, we combine both academic and service user experience and have been involved in advancing practice, understanding and guidance about the significant contribution that service users bring to knowledge production. This article examines the issues by focusing on the journey of service user involvement before and during the pandemic, as well as on what should come after. Turning to the experiences of disabled people as a case study example, we argue that going back to 'normal' would be fundamentally flawed, as evidenced by the marginalised way in which service users have been treated during this period of societal crisis. Our article concludes by urging a reflexive stance to ensure service user involvement re-establishes its pivotal position in public policy and practice.

Frontmatter -- CONTENTS -- FIGURES AND TABLES -- ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS -- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS -- ABBREVIATIONS -- PART ONE: INTRODUCTION -- CHAPTER ONE Spreading Fear: The Genesis of Transnational Ethnic Conflict -- PART TWO: THE INTERNATIONAL SPREAD OF ETHNIC CONFLICT -- CHAPTER TWO Ethnic Dissimilation and Its International Diffusion -- CHAPTER THREE Tactical Information and the Diffusion of Peaceful Protests -- CHAPTER FOUR Transnational Ethnic Ties and Foreign Policy -- PART THREE: THE LIMITS TO SPREAD -- CHAPTER FIVE Commitment Problems and the Spread of Ethnic Conflict -- CHAPTER SIX Is Pandoras Box Half Empty or Half Full? The Limited Virulence of Secessionism and the Domestic Sources of Disintegration -- CHAPTER SEVEN The Spread of Ethnic Conflict in Europe: Some Comparative- Historical Reflections -- CHAPTER EIGHT Ethnicity, Alliance Building, and the Limited Spread of Ethnic Conflict in the Caucasus -- PART FOUR: THE MANAGEMENT OF TRANSNATIONAL ETHNIC CONFLICT -- CHAPTER NINE Containing Fear: The Management of Transnational Ethnic Conflict -- CHAPTER TEN Minority Rights and the Westphalian Model -- CHAPTER ELEVEN Ethnicity and Sovereignty: Insights from Russian Negotiations with Estonia and Tatarstan -- CHAPTER TWELVE Transnational Ethnic Conflict in Africa -- CHAPTER THIRTEEN Preventive Diplomacy and Ethnic Conflict: Possible, Difficult, Necessary -- CHAPTER FOURTEEN Putting Humpty-Dumpty Together Again -- PART FIVE: CONCLUSION -- CHAPTER FIFTEEN Ethnic Fears and Global Engagement -- REFERENCES -- INDEX

The increasing impact of neoliberalism across the globe means that a complex interplay of democratic, economic and managerial rationalities now frame the parameters and practices of community development. This book explores how contemporary politics, and the power relations it reflects and projects, is shaping the field today. This first title in the timely Rethinking Community Development series presents unique and critical reflections on policy and practice in Taiwan, Australia, India, South Africa, Burundi, Germany, the USA, Ireland, Malawi, Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazonia and the UK. It addresses the global dominance of neoliberalism, and the extent to which practitioners, activists and programmes can challenge, critique, engage with or resist its influence. Addressing key dilemmas and challenges being navigated by students, academics, professionals and activists, this is a vital intellectual and practical resource

Community development emerged as a recognisable occupational activity in the United Kingdom in the 1950s. Since then, whilst struggling to remain true to its basic values it has often been manipulated to serve differing policy and political purposes. This unique Reader traces its changing fortunes through a selection of readings from key writers. It will be invaluable to those pursuing community development careers, for activists, and for all those teaching, training and practising community development