Barry Cooper

Social work practice with children, young people and families is complex, highly skilled - and fascinating. Writing about social work increasingly acknowledges the complexities and uncertainties of practice but rarely features the voice of the social worker themselves. This book takes a different approach, that of Critical Best Practice: a constructive, realistic and strengths-based approach that takes as its starting point the telling and analysing of in depth stories about 'live' practice. The reader is encouraged to join the social work practitioner or manager as they engage with the everyday dilemmas and uncertainties of 21st century practice. Ten narratives, based round the themes of relationships, risk, and negotiation & problem solving provide varied opportunities for critical reflection and learning about social work in different contexts. Insights are offered into social work with children, from young babies to adolescents, and families with differing needs in different parts of the UK: England, Scotland and Wales.

Modern Auditing & Assurance Services, 6th edition, is written for courses in auditing and assurance at undergraduate, postgraduate and professional levels. The practice of auditing is explained in the context of auditing theory, concepts and current practice, with appropriate reference to the Australian auditing standards and the respective international standards on auditing. Auditors play a vital role in the current economic environment, with increasing responsibility for ensuring market integrity. The development of auditing practice reflects how the accounting profession responds to the complex demands of information, competition, corporate failures and technology. Auditing continues to evolve in response to the changing business and regulatory landscape to maintain its relevance and importance. This book is a comprehensive guide to the development and practice of audits of a financial report, with an authoritative insight into the fundamental role of auditors, the influences on audits, and related issues.

The Bible makes big claims for itself. But do those claims stand up? Aren't the stories just legends? Hasn't the information been corrupted over time? Isn't the Bible full of mistakes? And isn't it culturally outdated? In this absorbing little book, Barry Cooper explores these questions - and many others - with warmth, wit and integrity. Part of the Questions Christians Ask series: a range of short, simple books designed to help Christians understand what God has said about these questions and many more in the Bible.

In this, the fifth biography in our 'Extraordinary Lives' series, Beethoven expert Professor Barry Cooper provides a fascinating and compact summary of the key moments in Beethoven's life. In exploring crucial documents, Cooper provides fresh insights into Beethoven's personality and motivations whilst challenging much of the prevalent 'mythology' that surrounds him.

This title offers an exploration of case-focused methods as a means of bridging the quantitative-qualitative divide and the key methodological issues. This book challenges the divide between qualitative and quantitative approaches that is now institutionalized within social science. Rather than suggesting the 'mixing' of methods, "Challenging the Qualitative-Quantitative Divide" provides a thorough interrogation of the arguments and practices characteristic of both sides of the divide, focusing on how well they address the common problems that all social research faces, particularly as regards causal analysis. The authors identify some fundamental weaknesses in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and explore whether case-focused analysis - for instance, in the form of Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Analytic Induction, Grounded Theorising, or Cluster Analysis - can bridge the gap between the two sides.

This book offers an exploration of case-focused methods as a means of bridging the quantitative-qualitative divide and the key methodological issues. This book challenges the divide between qualitative and quantitative approaches that is now institutionalized within social science. Rather than suggesting the 'mixing' of methods, "Challenging the Qualitative-Quantitative Divide" provides a thorough interrogation of the arguments and practices characteristic of both sides of the divide, focusing on how well they address the common problems that all social research faces, particularly as regards causal analysis. The authors identify some fundamental weaknesses in both quantitative and qualitative approaches, and explore whether case-focused analysis - for instance, in the form of Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Analytic Induction, Grounded Theorising, or Cluster Analysis - can bridge the gap between the two sides.

In Child Composers and Their Works: A Historical Survey, Barry Cooper examines over 100 composers born before 1900 who wrote substantial musical works before age 16. The book provides a general overview of the subject, examining the ways and identifying possible reasons these works have been marginalized in the general literature. The book also contains an annotated checklist of over 100 notable child composers, presenting a valuable and handy reference of these creators and their early works. The annotated checklist presents a chronological listing of child composers born before 1900 and features a descriptive list of what they wrote, often including analytical commentary and offering occasional music examples for illustration. The list also includes a select catalog of works, suggestions for further reading, and recordings when available. Complete with a bibliography and an index of composers, this resource is invaluable to scholars and historians.

Social work has laboured too long under a 'deficit' model that focuses on failings and problems of practice. Emphasising best practice, strengths and collaborative partnership this ambitious book seeks to redress the balance. Undergraduate and post-qualifying social work students alike will find it a useful resource.

In ""New Political Religions, or an Analysis of Modern Terrorism"", Barry Cooper applies the insights of Eric Voegelin to the phenomenon of modern terrorism. Cooper points out that the chief omission from most contemporary studies of terrorism is an analysis of the ""spiritual motivation"" that is central to the actions of terrorists today. When spiritual elements are discussed in conventional literature, they are grouped under the opaque term religion. A more conceptually adequate approach is provided by Voegelin's political science and, in particular, by his Schellingian term pneumopathology - a disease of the spirit. Cooper concludes with a chapter on the uniqueness of terrorist networks, their limitations, and the means by which they can be dealt with. In the ongoing conversations among specialists in terrorist studies, as well as the ordinary discourse of citizens in western democracies wishing to understand the world around them, this book adds a distinctive voice.

Few books in Canada empirically and systematically examine the role journalists play in the news-making process. While there are several books that look at how journalists do their jobs, and others that examine the political process, none - until now - have analyzed the opinions of journalists and how the news is reported. Focusing primarily on the political orientation of journalists, Miljan and Cooper investigate the link between what journalists believe about politics and how they report political issues. Using data gathered from interviews with over 800 Canadians and some 270 journalists, the authors compare how the attitudes of journalists differ from those of the general population, and how the journalists' opinions influence the daily news. By examining the way they respond to questions on the economy, social issues, and national unity, and comparing these responses with how the stories were reported in Canadian news outlets, the book arrives at the controversial conclusion that journalists, moreso than the owners of the media, are the architects of the news, engineering not only its drama, but also its ideological thrust. A must-read for anyone interested in politics and the media, this book should be read by journalists, politicians, academics, and all Canadians who are concerned about the hidden agendas of journalists.

Few books in Canada empirically and systematically examine the role journalists play in the news-making process. While there are several books that look at how journalists do their jobs, and others that examine the political process, none - until now - have analyzed the opinions of journalists and how the news is reported. Focusing primarily on the political orientation of journalists, Miljan and Cooper investigate the link between what journalists believe about politics and how they report political issues. Using data gathered from interviews with over 800 Canadians and some 270 journalists, the authors compare how the attitudes of journalists differ from those of the general population, and how the journalists' opinions influence the daily news. By examining the way they respond to questions on the economy, social issues, and national unity, and comparing these responses with how the stories were reported in Canadian news outlets, the book arrives at the controversial conclusion that journalists, moreso than the owners of the media, are the architects of the news, engineering not only its drama, but also its ideological thrust. A must-read for anyone interested in politics and the media, this book should be read by journalists, politicians, academics, and all Canadians who are concerned about the hidden agendas of journalists.

This important new work is a major analysis of the foundation of Eric Voegelin's political science. Barry Cooper maintains that the writings Voegelin undertook in the 1940s provide the groundwork for the brilliant book that is one of his best known, The New Science of Politics. At the time of that book's publication, however, few were aware of the enormous knowledge and accomplished scholarship that lay behind its illuminating, although sometimes baffling, formulations. By focusing on several of the key chapters in Voegelin's eight- volume History of Political Ideas, especially the studies of Bodin, Vico, and Schelling, Cooper shows how those studies provide the basis for Voegelin's thought. Investigating Voegelin's study of Oriental influences on Western political "ideas," especially Mongol constitutional law, and his study of Toynbee, Cooper seeks to demonstrate the vast range of materials Voegelin used. Cooper contends that, as with other great thinkers, political crisis, specifically the world war of 1939-1945, stimulated Voegelin's intellectual and spiritual achievement. He provides an analysis of Voegelin's immediate concern with the course of World War II, his ability to understand those dramatic events in a large context, and his ability to provide an insightful account of the causes, the significance, and the consequences of the spiritual and political disorder that was evident all around him. In Eric Voegelin and the Foundations of Modern Political Science, Cooper makes the connection between Voegelin's political writings of the 1940s and the meditative interpretations that began to appear with the publication of Anamnesis and with the later volumes of Order and History much more intelligible than does any existing discussion of Voegelin. Scholars in intellectual history and political science will benefit enormously from this valuable new addition to Voegelin studies.

Beethoven composed far more folksong settings than any other type of composition. Most are British songs, including Auld Lang Syne and the The Miller of Dee, with text by such authors as Burns, Byron and Scott. Yet Beethoven's settings, commissioned by George Thomson of Edinburgh, have been neglected by performers and scholars alike, and nearly all accounts of them are both superficial and startlingly inaccurate. This book is based on a very elablorate study of a wide range of sources, and dispels the many myths that have been circulating about this music. Every one of the 179 settings is dated to within a few weeks and an account is given of the souces of the melodies and texts, the difficulties of sending the music across Europe during the Napoleonic Wars (smugglers were even called upon to assist!), the fees Beethoven received, and when and how the texts were added. By comparing Beethoven's settings with those of his predecessors Pleyel, Haydhn and Kozeluch, the author demonstrates that Beethoven comprehensively transcended the bounds of convention, producing settings of extra-ordinary quality and originality. Suggestions are also made for overcoming the problems of presenting these songs in performance.