The research and theoretical contributions of international and multidisciplinary scholars have advanced our understanding of the role of play in evolution and behavior. The diverse articles in this volume range from theoretical and conceptual advances, scientific investigations, to discourse about applied issues and different dimensions of play. The authors provide excursions into the adaptive, cultural, and social significance of play. The databased papers fall into four categories: the role of age, gender, and ethnicity in play participation, social-cognitive connections to play, fighting and play fighting, and play and process in adulthood. Play is defined as behavior that is not necessary to survival and yet is undertaken voluntarily as a method by which to improve the quality of life. This study, addressing the definition, role, and characteristics of play, falls within the research of education, psychology, anthropology, sociology, leisure studies, and primatology. The play of humans and nonhumans takes a variety of forms and serves multiple purposes within mental and emotional states of being. The motivation and impact of play behavior varies with the type of play performed. The studies included in this volume address simple games, more complex creative activities, the emotional implications of play throughout adult life, and the role of play in human social construction.

Peter Trudgill looks at why human societies at different times and places produce different kinds of language. He considers how far social factors influence language structure and compares languages and dialects spoken across the globe, from Vietnam to Nigeria, Polynesia to Scandinavia, and from Canada to Amazonia. Modesty prevents Pennsylvanian Dutch Mennonites using the verb wotte ('want'); stratified society lies behind complicated Japanese honorifics; and a mountainous homeland suggests why speakers of Tibetan-Burmese Lahu have words for up there and down there. But culture and environment don't explain why Amazonian Jarawara needs three past tenses, nor why Nigerian Igbo can make do with eight adjectives, nor why most languages spoken in high altitudes do not exhibit an array of spatial demonstratives. Nor do they account for some languages changing faster than others or why some get more complex while others get simpler. The author looks at these and many other puzzles, exploring the social, linguistic, and other factors that might explain them and in the context of a huge range of languages and societies. Peter Trudgill writes readably, accessibly, and congenially. His book is jargon-free, informed by acute observation, and enlivened by argument: it will appeal to everyone with an interest in the interactions of language with culture, environment, and society.

The contributions to this series consist of original research papers from an international community of specialists on race and ethnic relations. The purpose of this series is to explore recent theoretical and empirical developments in the field.
*Contains original research from international authors who are specialists in race and ethnic relations
*Explores recent theoretical and empirical devleopments in the field
*Oriented towards graduate students and scholars in sociology who focus on race and ethnic relations

While scholarship on the education of youth behind bars has largely focused on boys, more than one in three youth arrests in the USA is female, and Girls Behind Bars sets out to address this imbalance. The book offers autobiographies, life-stories, and counter-stories in order to challenge simplistic generalizations and empirical prescriptions. Girls Behind Bars provides the educational community with critical perspectives that examine empiricist epistemologies and positivist methodologies that label certain groups of girls as delinquent and mark them for punitive and corrective treatment behind bars. Sharma opens up the discussion on girls' gender, desire, and sexuality by offering a language for these issues absent in educational discourse. Finally, the book supports calls for educators and practitioners in their desire to envision and create transformative spaces that enable young girls behind bars to reclaim their education. Including a foreword by William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn, this important and powerful book gives voice to a neglected, silenced, and misrepresented population - young girls behind bars.

People often see nonhuman agents as human-like. Through the processes of anthropomorphism and humanization, people attribute human characteristics, including personalities, free will, and agency to pets, cars, gods, nature, and the like. Similarly, there are some people who often see human agents as less than human, or more object-like. In this manner, objectification describes the treatment of a human being as a thing, disregarding the person's personality and/or sentience. For example, women, medical patients, racial minorities, and people with disabilities, are often seen as animal-like or less than human through dehumanization and objectification. These two opposing forces may be a considered a continuum with anthropomorphism and humanization on one end and dehumanization and objectification on the other end. Although researchers have identified some of the antecedents and consequences of these processes, a systematic investigation of the motivations that underlie this continuum is lacking. Considerations of this continuum may have considerable implications for such areas as everyday human functioning, interactions with people, animals, and objects, violence, discrimination, relationship development, mental health, or psychopathology. The edited volume will integrate multiple theoretical and empirical approaches on this issue.

The American court system is making increasing use of sociologists as expert witnesses. From toxic torts to religious cults and brainwashing, sociological knowledge is becoming increasingly more commonplace in the legal arena. This edited volume is a collection of the experiences of sociologists who have appeared as expert witnesses in a variety of court cases. Many of the cases covered in this book revolve around central issues of murder, self-defense, religious cults, battered women, child pornography, environmentalism, and homelessness. This volume is unique in its breadth of topics and contributions.

Anna Kassulke provides a penetrating scrutiny of the most globally important concept of our time: money. Dr. Kassulke has gathered together a rich selection of money stories and characters, and shows how they function in terms of both our social relations as well as our psychological and cognitive makeup.

Money was invented when human beings minted coins. Then we printed paper money, and now we have e-cash. Or so the fiction of money's origins would have it. Dr. Kassulke unveils the purely mythological status money has in contemporary Western societies. She presents a wide range of concepts attached to money in its various forms, from coins to paper to e-cash. Examples are drawn from children's literature, popular novels, films, advertising, biographies, financial journalism, political-economic theory, and sociology.

With considerable sensitivity to both textual analysis and historical context, Kassulke provides a penetrating scrutiny of the most globally important concept of our time: money. She pinpoints how money's mythologies determine social relations as well as subjectivity. Perceptive, lucid, and elegant, "Cooking the Books" exposes an important area of cultural activity that will be of great interest to scholars and students in cultural studies, communications studies, and comparative literature.

This is the first systematic book-length examination of the meaning and influence of world opinion. Using media content analyses, survey data, documentary evidence, and comparative theory, it analyzes how world opinion influences the construction of national identity, the growth of global markets, and the emergence of an imagined international community to rival the influence of the nation-state. Using newspaper content analyses, survey research data, documentary evidence, and comparative theory, this book examines the meaning, influence, and structure of world opinion in the emerging international order. It begins by analyzing the construction of individual identity in the presence of the Other and then describes the influence of opinion processes upon this construction at all levels, including familial, religious, national, and ethnic. Subsequent chapters deal with the effects of a global public on the construction of individual identity and the role of world opinion in this process; the definition of world opinion and its component parts; the effects of world opinion on nations' behavior in times of crisis; the role world opinion plays in the construction of national identity and the manner in which this prompts a resurgence of nationalism in the post-Cold War era; the relationship between world opinion and the global market; the search for an attentive public to link elites and mass publics in world opinion; and the appearance of an imagined international community in the post-Cold War era based around the concept of world opinion. The final chapter discusses the effects of world opinion on our vision of history and evaluates the significance of the nation-state in an international environment increasingly governed by global forces and world public opinion. A major study for researchers, scholars, and students involved with international relations, public opinion, and international communications.

"The stories people tell about themselves are interesting not only for the events and characters they describe but for something in the construction of the stories themselves. The ways in which individuals recount their histories-what they emphasize and omit, their stance as protagonists or victims, the relationship the story establishes between teller and audience-all shape what individuals can claim of their own lives. Personal stories are not merely a way of telling someone (or oneself) about one's life; they are the means by which identities may be fashioned."-from the Introduction In this provocative book, psychologists, anthropologists, and sociologists analyze interviews with a range of subjects-a minister who uses the death of his son to reaffirm his identity as a man of God, women who have given up their children at birth for adoption and who blame society for their action, Holocaust survivors, a victim of marital rape, and many others. Together these studies suggest a new way of thinking about autobiographical narratives: that these life stories play a significant role in the formation of identity, that the way they are told is shaped (and at times curtailed) by prevalent cultural norms, and that the stories-and at times the lives to which they relate-may be liberated from their psychic and social constraints if the social conditions of story telling can be critically engaged. Presenting a wide range of life stories, these studies demonstrate how "telling one's life" has the potential to clarify or mystify one's commitments and to animate or encumber one's future development.

Although there are many pamphlets and monographs that cover specific aspects of the European Community, the literature seems to lack a single, scholarly reader that gives a complete account of the many dimensions of European integration. This volume, written by a distinguished group of international specialists, seeks to fill this void by pulling together a broad collection of papers focusing on the political, sociological, and economic issues surrounding the European Union. Beginning with a historical look at the genesis, evolution, and theoretical interpretation of the historical process of European integration, the book goes on to analyze the socio-economic structure of the European community and the social forces operating within it. Students and scholars will find this a valuable, flexible, and versatile text for manifold courses in the social sciences; policymakers and general readers will find this a highly informative and readable evaluation of the current state of the European Union.

What happens when a new social technology is imposed on the established social technology of the school? This book presents an unusual application of critical cultural analysis to a series of empirical case studies of educational uses of information and communication technologies (ICTs). Drawing on research conducted over a ten-year period in three different regions of the Anglo-American “developed” world, it examines themes arising from the struggle for the social spaces and emerging cyber spaces of schooling; the role of identity projects in educational change; and the paradoxes which arise from these processes. The resulting analysis offers a rich--and sobering--perspective on the rush to technologize classrooms.

Based on a four-year longitudinal study of urban adaptation in Lusaka, Zambia, this book offers both a theoretical analysis and a case study of African urbanization as a social process. The author's unique approach to this topic lies in her exploration of city-life adjustment through the subjective perception of the new urbanites themselves. The book contains the original interview material and numerous photos of the extensive fieldwork.

This book is a selection of edited papers, most of which were initially presented at an international conference held under the auspices of the Ad Hoc Committee on Housing and the Built Environment of the International Sociological Association. It represents a relevant sample of the literature on recent developments in and current research on housing and neighborhoods. It focuses attention on the nature of housing and urban research at present and gives a sense of the directions in which the field is evolving.

Ethnicity plays a vital role in contemporary world politics. This collection of essays documents the international dimensions of ethnic identity by examining the interaction between ethnicity and the actions of modern nation-states in a variety of global, regional, and urban settings throughout the world. The editor, John F. Stack, Jr., provocatively argues that the dynamics of ethnicity in the contemporary world are best examined from the perspective of primordial attachments--those "givens" of social existence based on family ties, race, custom, language, religion, and region. This perspective is disputed by a number of the contributors who see ethnicity as the result of instrumental forces--state building, socioeconomic class, modernization, political development, and the transformation of the global political economy.

This volume of "Studies in Law, Politics, and Society" presents a diverse array of articles by an interdisciplinary and international group of scholars. Their work spans the social sciences, humanities, and law. It examines new perspectives on political relationships, politics and legal reform, and law and the family. The articles published here exemplify the exciting and innovative work being done in interdisciplinary legal scholarship.

Food and agricultural standards have recently risen to the top of both national and international agendas. Popular concerns about the power of the World Trade Organization focus on the intertwined relationships between environmental protection, labor and human rights, and the standards used to produce and supply our food and fiber globally. In the developing world, agricultural grades and standards are an important part of the reconfiguration of roles and responsibilities between various public and private actors in market reform. This original and informative collection of studies of agri-food standards in the modern economy addresses these and helps to define the scope of the emerging study of the politics of standards setting. Following an overview essay dealing with the multiple ways of thinking about, approaching and defining food and agricultural standards, eleven case studies offer a rich body of evidence that assesses the processes, dynamics and potential consequences of global agri-food standards. For all interested in the strategic use of food and agricultural standards - from those in national and international governmental agencies, researchers and others in the academic and private sector to those in the private business sector - this volume offers a broader perspective on and will serve as an important resource.

Football constitutes a vivid public ritual in contemporary European culture through which emergent social solidarities and new economic networks have come into being. This fascinating and unique volume traces the transformation of European football from the 1950s to the present, focusing in particular on the dramatic changes that have occurred in the last decade and linking them to the wider process of European integration. The examination of football illuminates how the growing dominance of the free market has changed European society from an international order in which the nation-state was dominant to a more complex transnational regime in which cities and regions are becoming more prominent than in the past. The study is supported by detailed ethnographic accounts emerging from the author's fieldwork at Manchester United and interview data with some of the most important figures in European football at clubs including Juventus, Milan, Bayern Munich, Schalke and Barcelona. It also includes a highly topical examination of racism in European football.

One of Max Weber's contemporaries described him as "a child of the Enlightenment born too late" whose work is a "vitriolic attack on religion." Subsequent Weber scholarship has largely affirmed this valuation of Weber and characterized his scholarship as a manifestation of the very disenchantment that Weber describes. In "The Postmodern Significance of Max Weber's Legacy," Basit Koshul challenges this idea by showing Weber to be a postmodern thinker far ahead of his time. Koshul's reading demonstrates that Weber implicitly bridged the religion vs. science divide and offers us new directions in Weber scholarship.

Since its sovereign debt crisis in 2009, Greece has been living under austerity, with no apparent end in sight. This volume explores the effects of policies pursued by the Greek state since then (under the direction of the Troika), and how Greek society has responded. In addition to charting the actual effects of the Greek crisis on politics, health care, education, media, and other areas, the book both examines and challenges the "crisis" era as the context for changing attitudes and developments within Greek society.

View the Table of Contents. Read the Preface.

"This fascinating account, told in relentless detail, deserves a wide readership."--"Choice"

International Acclaim: "Thomas has written a quite enchanting book, magnificently researched, and cleverly and wittily presented. . . . I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Quite outstanding."
--"The Irish Times"

"[This] book is mesmerizing and is an unputdownable and brilliantly researched page-turner. An important and riveting study in social history."
--"The Sunday Times"

"Donald Thomas has chronicled one of the last untold stories of the war, and he does so with scholarship as well as humor."
--"The Spectator"

"Beautifully written, utterly compelling: almost without fault in every respect."
--"The Literary Review"

While the Second World War produced numerous acts of self-sacrifice, it also made many people rich. The criminal activities of the British underworld that extended from the civilian population right through to the armed forces constitute one of the great untold stories of the war. The Blitz of 1940 may have made a nation of heroes, but in the shadows the shelter gangs and looters prowled.

Acclaimed author Donald Thomas draws on extensive archival material for these tales of profiteering. He retells how between 1940 and 1941 a Liverpool ship repairer cheated the government of the modern equivalent of $30 million, while $120 million a month was looted from relief supplies at the port of Trieste. Professional gangs raided British government offices for ration books, and underground presses counterfeited gasoline and clothing coupons by the tens of thousands. Illegal food supplies threatened the nation'shealth--a consignment of black market sausages in Hackney contained tuberculous meat, while the industrial alcohol, or "hooch," served to pilots in London's West End clubs could produce blindness and brain damage.

The Enemy Within also recounts colossal theft within the army. Vehicles would arrive at front line railheads stripped of tools, spare parts, and removable components, and whole consignments of cigarettes and razor blades disappeared.

In addition to these stories, The Enemy Within includes revealing photos of known law-breakers, victims, and illegal transactions. The facts Thomas uncovers are often so preposterous that in a novel they would seem unbelievable. These are the extraordinary and often absurd stories of less-than-heroic Britons.

Arguing that widespread changes in human attitude and behaviour patterns are central to ensuring a more secure and sustainable future on earth, this book focuses on communication processes in development. The authors show how communication can be used to mobilize societies, to facilitate democratic and participatory decision-making, and to help people acquire new knowledge and skills. Among the issues explored are: social mobilization worldwide for child immunization; communication as a means of facilitating rapid advances in family planning; and the use of video to enable peasant farmers to participate in their own development. The book should be of interest to those working in development, both as practitioners and theorists, and to those concerned with politics and society in the developing world.

Expressive Order introduces affect control theory to lay readers of sociology, and additionally guides sociology specialists into the theory's deep structure. Briefly, affect control theory proposes that individuals shape their social interactions so that emerging impressions reinforce sentiments about salient identities, behaviors, and settings. Emotions signal how the process of confirming sentiments is going for each individual. The theory explains behaviors, emotions, social labeling, and personality attributions in a wide variety of social contexts including intimate relations, work-world interactions, courtrooms, and international relations. Part 1 of the book provides a plain-language exposition of the theory, along with numerous interpretive analysis of everyday situations. This is engaging and provocative reading for anyone interested in social relations,

Polls show that 45% of the American public believes that humans were created about 10,000 years ago and that evolution is a fictitious myth. Another 25% believes that changes in the natural world are directed by a supernatural being with a particular goal in mind. This thinking clashes head on with scientific findings from the past 150 years, and there is a dearth of public critical thinking about the natural world within a scientific framework.
Evolution and Religious Creation Myths seeks to educate and arm the public on the differences between myth and science, fiction and theory. The book begins with a whirlwind tour of creation stories from several religions. The authors then explore how certain forms of religious fundamentalism clash with the science of evolution. They review how creationists and intelligent design proponents misuse and misrepresent scientific terminology and conclusions to further their own agendas. How do scientists respond to this threat? Modern science, which includes a level of indeterminacy, or chance, cannot support the premise that a supernatural designer engineered nature for a particular purpose in a deterministic fashion. This holds true for the creation of the universe, the appearance of the first biological molecules, chemical evolution, and the evolution of life forms through mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift. Instead, human biological and cultural evolution is described within a genetic framework. Scientists use a barrage of genetic tests and DNA phylogenies to support the scientific basis for evolution. For anyone who has ever needed to argue why evolution and creationism are not both valid theories that deserve equal attention, this book clearly defines the difference between theory and myth. Scientists, teachers, and defenders of the truth should read this book in preparation for when they are called upon to respond.