Franco Ferrarotti examines the ways in which we have come to cope with the problems unforeseen by the early idealists of the industrial age. Beginning with a detailed critique of the Enlightenment concept of the individual and how it compares to present day values, beliefs, and attitudes, he proceeds to demonstrate how current technology influences the lives of individuals in the work place and in the community at large. The influence of science and industrial progress on our development as human beings is critically analyzed. Finally, Ferrarotti gives some suggestions as to how we may find a way out of the dilemmas facing modern society and speculates on the fates of those societies currently in transition. While many writers have dealt with specific aspects of the modern industrial age, Ferrarotti faces squarely the general problem of the social and political impact of technologically based life.

Gambling has become ubiquitous in North American culture. This book contributes to the sociology of gambling, and offers a variety of sociological approaches to the subject areas, ranging from classical sociological analyses of gambling to contemporary sociological approaches to risk.

Every week thousands of people in Europe and the USA consult psychic practitioners. Communication is crucial to the performance of psychic powers in a range of settings. Psychic practitioners use language to demonstrate their powers, whether they are reporting the words of their spirit contacts or interpreting the spread of Tarot cards. Their clients also accept or reject this information through talk. This book presents the first sustained study of the verbal interaction between the various kinds of psychic practitioners and their clients. Using conversation analysis, Robin Wooffitt examines the structure of the interaction, focusing on the ways in which psychic practitioners and their clients establish the authenticity of the claimed paranormal powers. Adopting a neutral standpoint towards the status of the claims of psychic practitioners, the book raises important issues about the role of social science in understanding the activities of psychic practitioners and other kinds of parapsychological phenomena. This highly original study will appeal to students and scholars of discourse studies, and to sociologists interested in conversation analysis. It is written in a style accessible to non-specialists, and will also interest parapsychologists and social scientists studying psychic phenomena and the paranormal.

While successive moral panics have cast working class mothers - associated by the tabloids with social problems as diverse as crime, underachievement, unemployment and mental illness - as a threat to civilization, the voices and experiences of these women are remarkably absent from discussions.
The book attempts to address this gap by examining how such mothers make sense of their lives with their children and families, how they position themselves within a context of inequality and vulnerability, and how they resist, subvert and survive material and social marginalization. By focusing specifically on working class mothers and their opportunities and choices, Val Gillies challenges common assumptions about "good parenting." She draws on her findings to make their implications clear and to give practical advice to professionals who work with children and families. The themes addressed in the book will include:
- children's poor academic performance
- truanting
- conduct disorder
- juvenile delinquency
- teenage pregnancy.
This controversial text provides a detailed insight into the experiences of mothers who are so often the focus of public concern and intervention. It will be of interest to students and researchers in sociology, social work and social policy, as well as social workers, health professionals and social policy-makers.

While the international mobility of students is a well-established feature of higher education, the international mobility of institutions and courses on a large scale is a more novel phenomenon. Transnational education is at the leading-edge of the most fundamental changes taking place in higher education today. Topics discussed in this new volume include: the extent and form of offshore activity the pedagogical and cultural controversies that have plagued transnational education the challenges it presents to governments, educators and HE managers how governments are developing forms of regulation to integrate cross-border programs and branch-campuses into their strategic planning for the sector the new opportunities for students and institutions. Transnational Education presents a global perspective on the development of international online education, partner-supported transnational programs and international branch campuses. It provides a comprehensive and analytical account of the active role some universities are playing on the international stage and offers valuable guidance on future trends in the sector.

This set of monographs presents a broad and comprehensive overview of European views on Weber's relevance to twentieth-century sociology. A combination of translations and original writings in English, they represent a sophisticated and contemporary cross-section of comment on his analysis of modern institutions. A common theme to all of these works is a concern for Weber's relevance to the study of industrial and capitalist civilization. There is also a strong focus on political and economic issues in his sociology. Many of these volumes are, in themselves, individual classics. As a whole these represent one of the best collections on Weber in English and offer a fundamental research archive and library resource. They are available as a set or as individual volumes. Contents: From History to Sociology, Antoni (1940): 0-415-17452-X: Max Weber: An Intellectual Portrait, Reinhard Bendix (1966): 0-415-17453-8: The Sociology of Max Weber, J. Freund (1966): 0-415-17454-6: Max Weber and German Politics, J.P. Mayer (1955): 0-415-17455-4: 0 Max Weber and Modern Sociology, A. Sahay (1971): 0-415-17456-2: Weber and Islam, B. Turner (1974): 0-415-17458-9: Weber and the Marxist World, J. Weiss (1981): 0-415-17457-0:

'Could there be a more relevant book for our times? Vengoechea implores us to truly hear other people (maybe for the first time) and is the perfect author of a book on why we should listen like we mean it' - Nir Eyal, bestselling author of Hooked and Indistractable Hear me out. Does this sound like you? You end a team meeting and can't recall a single thing that was said. You leave a conversation with a friend feeling disconnected and unfulfilled. You think you and your boss are on the same page, only to find out you haven't been meeting expectations. Fortunately, listening, like any communication skill, can be improved, and Ximena Vengoechea can show you how. As a user researcher, she has spent nearly a decade facilitating hundreds of conversations at LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest. It's her job to uncover the truth behind how people use, and really think about, her company's products. In Listen Like You Mean It, she reveals the tips and tricks of the trade, including: - How to quickly build rapport with strangers - Which questions help people unlock what they need to say - When it's time to throw out the script entirely - How to recover from listener's drain

This book examines the institutional racism and language discrimination that Black Francophones a " who constitute a racial minority situated within a linguistic minority a " face and identifies the strategies of resistance Black Francophones invent to gain access to power structures. The book is written to cover an area of research (Black Francophones) that is largely understudied. The book deals with the areas of immigration, race and anti-racism, gender, multiculturalism, linguistic minorities and francophone studies. It brings together multidisciplinary sociological and sociolinguistic theories and methodologies and sheds light on the discourse of institutional racism and resistance.

There have been striking increases in both long-distance travel and in communications through mobile phones, text messaging, emailing and videoconferencing. Such developments in communication, along with a similar increase in physical travel and movement of goods around the globe, reconfigure social networks by disconnecting and reconnecting people in new ways. This original book puts forward one of the first social science studies of the geographies of social networks and related mobilities of travel, communications and face-to-face meetings. The book examines five interdependent mobilities that form and reform these geographies of networks and travel in the contemporary world. These are: physical travel of people for work, leisure, pleasure, migration and escape; physical movement of objects delivered to producers, consumers and retailers; imaginative travel elsewhere through images and memories seen on texts, TV, computer screens and film; virtual travel on the internet; and communicative travel through letters, cards, telegrams, telephones, faxes, text messages and videoconferences. In the book the authors examine the interconnections between these different mobilities. They research how travel and social meetings require systems of coordination using virtual and communicative travel in-between physical travel and meetings. They argue that, while it might be imagined that there would be less need of physical meetings with improved technology, on the contrary, scheduled visits and meetings have become highly significant. The research shows that they are necessary to social life in the contemporary world, both within business and, especially, within families and friendships which are increasingly conducted at a distance.

Hospitality: a social lens follows on from the unique contribution made by In Search of Hospitality: theoretical perspectives and debates. It progresses debate, challenges the boundaries of ways of knowing hospitality, and offers intellectual insights stimulated by the study of hospitality.
The contributing authors provide tangible evidence of continuing advancement and development of knowledge pertaining to the phenomenon of hospitality. They draw on the richness of the social sciences, taking host and guest relations as a means of studying in-group and out-group relations with and between societies. The chapter contributors represent a multi-disciplinary, international grouping of leading academics with expertise in hospitality management and education, human resource management, linguistics, modern languages, gastronomy, history, human geography, art, architecture, anthropology, and sociology. Each lends their expertise to apply as a social lens through which to view, analyse, and explore hospitality within a range of contexts. Through this process novel ways of interpreting, knowing and sense-making emerge that are captured in the final chapter of the book, and have informed future research themes which are explored.
*Promotes debate, challenges boundaries and offers insights into the study of hospitality
*Muli-disciplinary and international contributors
*An excellent reference for researchers interested in the sociology within the hospitality and tourism industries

This book uses case studies and theoretical reflection to contextualize the linkages between collective action theories, social movement practices, and the phenomenon of globalization. The perspectives presented will force a rethinking of the exact meaning of globalization and the way in which such insights can be used to advance understanding of basic transformations occurring in the diverse world of the 21st century.

This is the second of two volumes to bear witness to the Cuban experience. Together with its predecessor, "Cuba: Twenty-Five Years of Revolution," it offers a positive account. Yet, it is sensitive to the dilemmas and flawed strategies in Cuba's thirty-year process of transformation. It warns that no preconceived notion of state or of development will help grasp the multifaceted nature of this nation, which reflects aspects of both developed and underdeveloped nations. Seventeen chapters, five of which are from Cuban contributors, thoroughly investigate recent political, economic, and social changes as well as the successes and failures of long-term development policies. Heavy attention is paid to the rectification process launched by Castro in 1986.

This volume portrays a Cuba facing the 1990s with a burst of increased vigor in its efforts to secure continued far-reaching transformation. Seventeen chapters describe major changes in the economic realm caught up in the rectification campaign; a slow process of liberalization in the political sphere; and a Cuba that, in social terms, is far better off than any other Latin American country.

"Studying Society" is an introductory undergraduate level textbook which helps students to develop study skills as well as an understanding of the principles of social research and how these principles link to social theory.
"Studying Society" guides students in learning how to:
- Formulate questions
- Look for answers
- Understand the methods by which information is collected
- Critically evaluate information sources
- Communicate the results of their work to others
"Studying Society" encourages students to recognize that the study of society involves a systematic and considered approach to the collection and generation of knowledge, that a wide variety of sources can be utilized in this process and that each source has a unique part to play. In developing these skills, "Studying Society" explores the use of both traditional media, and new information and communication technologies. Throughout the book there is an emphasis on applying the problems and solutions presented, to "real world" issues. This involves the use of examples and exercises which are immediately relevant to the undergraduate experience, to everyday life and to the contemporary concepts which are studied by the social scientist.
This coherent and up-to-date text will be an invaluable learning tool for students of any discipline which involves the study of human beings and their societies.

In its early years the sociology of education was not clearly distinguished from general social philosophy. Spurred by the publication of John Dewey's School and Society in 1899, widespread interest in the role of the school as a social institution helped to lay the foundation for the development of educational sociology as a separate field of study. This facsimile set of eight books, selected by the editor, presents early contributions to the development of the sociology of education from the 1920s through to the 1950s - the period in which it emerged as an organized and specialized sub-field of sociology, mainly in the USA. Comprehensive and fascinating, the extensive new introduction to this set places these works firmly in the context of current scholarship, while the nature of the facsimile provides a real sense of immediacy and authenticity for both students and scholars alike.

First Published in 2005. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Nationality and citizenship have been subjects of stormy policy debates in many EU countries in recent years. Concerns over the integration of immigrants, but also attempts to forge links with emigrants, have led to changes in the laws regulating loss and acquisition of nationality and citizenship. This title outlines the research conducted by a team of 30 researchers into the nationality laws and their implementation in 15 EU member states. Volume 2 of this study presents detailed studies of each country's nationality laws, their historical background and current provisions. It is a companion to volume 1 which contains comparative analyses based on a novel methodology that permits a detailed comparison how nationality can be acquired or lost across all 15 countries. The results show divergent trends towards liberalization in some countries and new restrictions of access to nationality in others. Volume 1 also examines the impact of international and European law, presents statistical data on naturalisation and assesses administrative practices. Although the European Union has no formal competence in regulating nationality, the nationality laws of member states are linked to each other via the common citizenship of the Union. Member States should therefore agree on common norms for their nationality laws. Volume 1 contains detailed policy recommendations based on the idea that stakeholders in the political community should be given access to nationality. In addition to the two volumes, detailed statistics and further comparative analyses of legal regulations of nationality are available at www.imiscoe.org. Volume 1 & 2 are also available as a set, click here form more information. This is the most comprehensive comparative study of the legal status of nationality so far and it will become an indispensable source of reference for further research. For more information see: http://www.imiscoe.org/natac/

The Japanese geisha is the ultimate erotic icon -- the courtesan par excellence -- and this is her definitive book. The life of the geisha is the most secret and traditional in Japan and today remains largely unchanged and unknown behind the teahouse doors. This remarkable work was the first to reveal the hidden world of the geisha of the famous Yoshiwara quarter of Tokyo, the "nightless city," and it has never been surpassed. Written over a hundred years ago, it is a meticulous description of every aspect of geisha life, including the history of the geisha, life stories of famous geisha, the decoration of the teahouses, the different grades of courtesans, their costumes and hairstyles, the instruction of young girls brought to the teahouses, the art of selecting a geisha for the evening, proper conduct on the morning after, erotic practices, and charms used by geisha to attract lovers. The vibrant life of the Yoshiwara quarter is evoked with finesse, portraying the procurers and madames, the festivals and geisha processions, even the menus of the teahouses, along with such matters as forms of contracts between brothels and courtesans. Profusely illustrated with photographs, prints, and drawings, this is an essential volume for all who are fascinated by the sophisticated sensuality of the willow, the cherry blossom, and the silken kimono.

This is the 5th volume in the series Cultural Studies, edited by Norman K. Denzin

A sequel to the classic Chinese novel "Chin Ping Mei," this book details the lives, fates, and afterlives of the wealthy businessman Hsi Men and his six wives. Readers will be drawn into the exciting story and fascinated by the dramatic historical background of twelfth-century China. Intriguing chapter headings include "Frightened by a bad Dream, Moon Lady sacrifices her Pearls. The Abbess Pi has an amorous Relationship with a Monk disguised as a Nun" and "A white Eyeball looks down upon the forlorn little Boy; no one takes Pity on him. Four Lives are sacrificed to Greed for yellow Gold."

Helping athletes to learn, and through this learning to improve their performance, is the essence of sports coaching. In the context of new government-led initiatives to invest in and develop coaching, "The Sports Coach as Educator "expands current conceptualizations of coaching, encouraging a view of coaches as professionals with a primary role as educators. With contributions from leading international scholars in the fields of sports coaching and education, this book provides the first introduction to pedagogical theory for coaching.
The text draws on theoretical concepts from a critical pedagogical paradigm to show how attention to educational theory can enrich the practices of coaches and coach educators, increasing opportunities for coaches and enabling them to approach their work in new and inventive ways. The text explores:
- Educational concepts in coaching
- Coaching, teaching and leadership
- Athlete learning
- Coaching communities and the social process
- Reflective practice
- Mentoring
- Developing expert coaches
"The Sports Coach as Educator "will help coaches to understand the nature of coaching, and assist students and researchers to better theorize and explain it.

Continuing a life-long study, this latest work by Melville Branch describes planning as an essential element in all human activity, a principal determinant of the current condition as well as the future of society and the survival of the species. He explains planning as a primary force in the development, prospects, and continuation of human society. He defines the crucial role of the mass media in the types and success of planning. In clear, nontechnical language, Branch investigates the primary problems confronting human society; individual characteristics and societal features that affect planning, the types and applications of planning, advanced planning education and knowledge, and the societal situation and planning.

This book treats planning from a broader, more fundamental perspective than other studies in the field: as a process inherent in human activities, critical to societal success, and a distinct intellectual discipline and managerial method. It will primarily be of interest to planners in civil government, business, and the military. And to those who are active and concerned with the role of the mass media--particularly television--in our future.

One of the key concerns of all social scientists is inequality. It is not only one of the central problems of human existence, but an enormously complex phenomenon that is continuously changing. Using an interdisciplinary framework, Fragments of Inequality answers the most fundamental questions on inequality and income distribution. Author Chakravorty argues that social fragmentation and spatial fragmentation are the principal sources of income inequality, and shows how these factors change and thereby effect changes in distributional patterns. The first book-length treatment of a social theory of income distribution and an evolutionary approach to distributional analyses, Chakravorty's work shifts the discourse from a historical linear to historicized punctuated equilibrium models, from individuals to groups, and from abstract to fragmented space in order to culminate in a fundamental shift from economic to social theories of inequality.