Barbara Fawcett is Professor of Social Work (Adults and Communities), Head of the Department of Social Work and Social Care and Director of International Strategic partnerships in the School of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham, UK. Previously she was Professor of Social Work and Policy Studies at the University of Sydney, Australia and the Head of School and Associate Dean (Research). Barbara has been an International member of the editorial boards of the journals Critical Social Policy, Child Care in Practice and the British Journal of Social Work. She has been an Executive Board Member of Barnardos, Australia. Her work has a strong International dimension and collaborations include Hong Kong, China and South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Dr. Zita Weber was an academic at the University of Sydney for 20 years. Prior to entering academia, she was a social work practitioner in mental health, child health and rehabilitation areas. Zita has written numerous academic papers and co-authored several books.

Dr. Helen Bannister has been practising P/T as a counsellor for the last ten years. For over 30 years she has worked as an academic in universities and in research and policy positions in government and the community sector. She has taught in sociology, sociology of education, sociology of health, cultural studies, social policy and youth policy.