Social Work and Science in the 21st Century

Social Work and Science in the 21st Century enhances the inclusion of natural science concepts and knowledge into social work education and practice. The book highlights basic scientific theories and ideas in a broad array of natural science fields, including chemistry, physics, astronomy, geometry, numbers, and big data. A number of chapters focus on how knowledge from the natural sciences can enhance social work practice in areas as diverse as medicine, substance abuse, mental health, and intellectual and developmental disabilities, while other chapters on water, human geography, climate change, execution and the death penalty, and the life cycle are designed to highlight the natural science behind social issues. The information presented in the book is complex enough to spark the reader's continued interest in knowing more about the natural sciences, but basic enough to allow readers with limited understanding of the natural sciences--at both the bachelor's and master's levels--to feel comfortable exploring its contents.

Leon Ginsberg, PhD, MSW, is Dean Emeritus of the University of South Carolina College of Social Work. He was Commissioner of Human Services for the state of West Virginia in the administration of Governor John D. Rockefeller IV. He has written and edited books on social work management, social welfare policy and services, rural social work, and aging. He served for two years as interim chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University.

Christopher Larrison, PhD, MSW, is Associate Professor in the University of Illinois School of Social Work. His research and teaching focus on the social determinants of and services for serious mental illness and health. His work has been shaped by a transdisciplinary approach to research and collecting primary data in rural community-based settings from people receiving and providing services. Dr. Larrison's research has been funded by National Institute of Mental Health, and a number of foundations including Center for Economic Progress and Research Retirement Foundation. Several of his peer-reviewed articles have been placed on suggested reading lists by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Government Accounting Office, and the World Bank.

Larry Nackerud, PhD, MSW, is Professor of Social Work in the University of Georgia School of Social Work. He has conducted research on social welfare policy and immigration. Part of his work is in program evaluations, which he has conducted in the U.S. and elsewhere. Dr. Nackerud has also worked in state mental health programs in the U.S. He is the co-author with Drs. Ginsberg and Larrison of Human Biology for Social Workers.

John Barner, PhD, MSW, is on the Public Service Faculty with the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia. Dr. Barner has published work in journals such as the British Journal of Social Work, Social Work Education, and Research on Social Work Practice on data related to higher education and professional development in social work, psychology, and other behavioral sciences.

Lauren Ricciardelli, PhD, MSW, is an Assistant Professor of Social Work at Troy University and is a licensed Master of Social Work in the state of Georgia. In addition to professional social work experience in the area of disabilities, Dr. Ricciardelli's research focuses on the sociology of disability and policy implications for persons with intellectual disability in the social welfare and criminal justice arenas, including implications for death penalty cases.