Search results for ""Author Alan White""

‘Outsourcing’ ­– when will the horror stories stop coming? Every year the government gives private companies like G4S, Serco, Capita and ATOS £80 billion of taxpayers’ money to handle some of our most sensitive and important services – but where is their transparency? Immigration is perhaps the most challenging and divisive issue of our time ­– so why has our government abdicated responsibility? As privatisation looms over an NHS in crisis, how do we hold these companies to account? Now, White speaks to campaigners, Whitehall insiders – and the companies themselves. Who Really Runs Britain? is a shocking compendium of what happens when outsourcing goes wrong – and what we do now.

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The Worcester and Birmingham Canal, some thirty miles long, was created from 1791, when it was authorised by Act of Parliament, to 1815 when it was completed 24 years later. Although intended as a broad canal for barges and having five broad tunnels, it was eventually completed with narrow locks due to financial difficulties. From Gas Street Basin at the Birmingham end it passes through the suburbs of Edgbaston, Selly Oak and Kings Norton, then through the long West Hill Tunnel and via Hopwood and Alvechurch through countryside to Tardebigge, all this section being on the Birmingham Level. Then it descends in stages via fifty-six narrow locks and two barge locks to the River Severn at Diglis via Stoke Prior, Hanbury Wharf, Dunhampstead, Oddingley, Tibberton, Blackpole and the eastern suburbs of Worcester City. The earlier chapters of this book trace in detail the successive stages reached in making the canal and the reservoirs needed to safeguard the water supplies of millowners, the financial and other problems faced, and the saga of the Tardebigge Boat Lifi. Later chapters cover the history of the canal following its completion, its use for both commercial and pleasure purposes, its administration and management, its upkeep and maintenance, its involvement with railways, and the various industries and amenities which were established beside it, Three of the final chapters feature past and present places and items of interest located along the canal from Birmingham to Worcester. Of special interest throughout is the impact the canal had upon the lives of countless people, those involved in its construction, those who lived and worked on the boats, those who were employed by the Canal Company as engineers, lock-keepers and maintenance men, people who worked in canalside factories, shops, public house, boatyards, and on wharves, and those concerned for the welfare of canal boat families and their animals.

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This work includes Foreword by Ian Banks - President, Men's Health Forum. Traditionally, men have been seen as reluctant to access health services, but getting men to engage with their health isn't an impossible task once you're equipped with a few tricks of the trade. This concise, easy to read guide offers a no-nonsense, practical approach to the development and implementation of men's health programmes. Based on years of wide-ranging experience, the book is designed for anyone who is involved in service delivery for men and boys, and demonstrates what can be achieved with adequate resources, a flexible approach and a sound understanding of men's needs. It is ideal for all healthcare professionals and managers, and medicine and nursing students undertaking specialist men's health and health promotion courses. It is also of great interest to teachers and youth leaders, including school nurses. Healthcare policy makers and shapers will find it enlightening reading. 'This book is for anyone who wants to find out how to successfully set up and deliver health services aimed at men and boys. Traditionally, men have been seen as reluctant to access health services, but getting men to engage with their health isn't an impossible task once you're equipped with a few tricks of the trade. Although this is primarily intended to be a practical guide, much of the book will also be of interest to academics, policy makers and managers. It demonstrates what can be achieved with adequate resources, a flexible approach and a sound understanding of men's needs.' - David Conrad and Alan White, in the Preface. 'As an issue men's health is plagued by myth, ignorance and inequality, but most of all by a lack of solid research based on evidence-based work with men themselves. Lofty academics pontificate endlessly on the meaning of 'masculinity' yet never get their invariably white Caucasian, middle class hands dirty on what really impacts on Y chromosome owners. The Bradford team didn't just wonder about masculinity and scratch male pattern baldness, they did something measurable about men's health and ethnicity so other workers could use their evidence base to actually change the dreadful health status quo. An excellent and unique "Dirty Hands Manual".' - Ian Banks, in the Foreword.

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This book includes a foreword by Peter Baker, Chief Executive, The Men's Health Forum. Male weight problems are a serious public health issue and can lead to hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, diabetes and cancer. If current trends continue, the prospect of the majority of men becoming overweight is a very real one, and urgent action is imperative. The middle-aged spread that most men 'expect' to develop as they enter into their thirties and forties is now occurring much earlier with boys and young men developing life limiting weight problems. This multidisciplinary guide provides a gender sensitive approach to weight issues. Men need to be targeted specifically and in a male-focused manner, in order to overcome the multitude of contributing factors in their weight gain; social influences, dietary restrictions, education, cultural expectations, psychological considerations and exercise regime. This book takes a balanced approach, offering practical guidance as well as evidence-based research, academic perspectives and personal experiences. The advice is easy to implement and has been proven in real-life settings. All healthcare professionals, nutritionists and dieticians will find the assistance invaluable. It is also highly recommended for psychologists, counsellors and therapists, particularly those working with men. Healthcare policy makers and shapers too, will find much of interest. 'A definitive and seminal book that will change the way male weight problems are tackled in the UK and beyond.' - Peter Baker, in the Foreword.

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Every year the British government spends £80 billion outsourcing public services. Today, private companies are responsible for fulfilling some of the most sensitive and important roles of the state – running prisons and providing healthcare, transport, legal aid, even child protection. These organizations have been handed enormous amounts of power and yet for the most part they operate with no transparency or accountability. From deportations to NHS cutbacks, Alan White exposes what goes wrong when the invisible hand of the market is introduced into public services. Informed by exclusive interviews with senior managers, campaigners and whistle-blowers, Shadow State is the first book to examine the controversial phenomenon of government outsourcing. Not only does White provide the full story behind scandals involving G4S, Serco and ATOS, but he also reveals previously unknown cases of system failure in areas such as social care, welfare and justice. The picture that develops is deeply troubling.

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