Speaking at her inaugural lecture, Professor Cosis-Brown referenced language, specifically how people refer to each other, and procedures and structures in practice, as key factors in ensuring that intangible barriers do not prevent social workers from being able to ensure welfare and provide care.

“As social workers, and this is often seen working with children and families, we can find ourselves referring to other people, even other professionals, in a way that makes them sound like generic “others”, this in turn creates boundaries between service users and service providers”, said the academic.

In front of an audience of her colleagues, personal guests and members of the public, Professor Cosis-Brown was able to draw from a variety of references to make her point, including Bertolt Brecht, experiences from her time in the field, and stories from her childhood.

“The purpose of my lecture today is to approach some social work ‘truths’ from slightly different angles than you would normally approach them” said the University of Bedfordshire lecturer.

“So I chose to use unconventional, seemingly unconnected and unrelated material to clarify my points”, she continued.

Professor Cosis-Brown’s talk was the latest in a host of inaugural lecture this year, which have covered topics from the use of evidence-based research in the study of dementia, to decrypting the Voynich manuscript, as the University continues to promote academics into professorship.