Joel Fischer (PhD, University of California, Berkeley; MSW, University of Illinois, Chicago; DSW, University of California, Berkeley) is professor at the University of Hawaii. He has been visiting professor and delivered lectures and workshops in the United States, Canada, The Republic of South Africa, Hong Kong, Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, and France. Professor Fischer has published 30 books and some 150 articles, reviews and papers on topics including human sexuality, social work evaluation, and social work practice.

This book contributes to capturing the history of the relationship between practice and research in social work by a key social work scholar in this area. It is a testament to the myth that the date of a publication necessarily means that it is unimportant." - Eileen Gambrill, University of California, Berkeley