Podgorecki presents his own participant observation of the political and organizational pressures that were exerted upon sociologists to produce dogmatically proper results to give a false diagnosis of social reality. He analyzes the roles of Polish sociologists as dissenters, observers, conformists, or eager agents of the rapid and imposed changes designed to bring about an alien communist utopia. Podgorecki synthesizes data pertinent to social changes during the period of real socialism and the new system of formal and informal stratification mainly based on the access to formal power and its shadow counterparts.

Finally, he discusses the social stratum of the intelligentsia, considered to be the vital link between the worker-based phenomenon of Solidarity and the traditional Polish ethos, and their intricate alliance that generated the sparks of the inflammatory revolution that changed the face of Europe. Recommended for scholars and students of sociology, political science, and East European studies.

The social sciences are still predominantly modernist disciplines and, as such, products of the Enlightenment. Recent challenges to Enlightenment thinking thus carry with them the potential or threat to transform the social sciences radically. Postmodernism and the Social Sciences examines the nature and potential of this postmodernist challenge in each of the major social sciences. Starting with the practices of particular disciplines and proceeding to matters of shared concern, the essays provide an accessible discussion of the contemporary impact of postmodernism on social scientific thought.

Organizational change is becoming increasingly complex, challenging and difficult to handle as technology advances. And there is a need to discuss how it can be both more effectively managed by large and small organizations, while at the same time the strategies for changes are based on ethical notions of democracy and participation. Redesigning Human Systems assists those interested in and responsible for the management of major change within organizations, and provides the theories and values that should be adhered to in order to achieve that change successfully and effectively.

Justice-a word of great simplicity and almost frightening scope. When we were invited to edit a volume on justice in law, we joked about the small topic we had been assigned. Often humor masks fear, and this was certainly one of those times. Throughout the project, we found daunting the task of covering even a fraction of the topics that usually fall under the umbrella of justice research in law. Ultimately, the organization of the book emerged from the writing of it. Our introductory chapter provides a road map to how the topics weave together, but as is so often the case it was written last, not ?rst. It was only when we had chapters in hand that we began to see how the many strands of justice research might be woven together. Chapters 2-4 on the basic forms of justice-procedural, retributive, and distributive-are the lynchpin of the volume; they provide the building blocks that permit us to think and write about each of the other substantive and applied chapters in terms of how they relate to the fundamental forms of justice. In the large central section of the volume (Chapters 5-9), the contributors address many ways in which the justice dimensions relate to one another. Most important for law is the relationship of perceptions of procedural justice and the two types of substantive justice-retributive and distributive.

"A fascinating theory about the origins of the witch hunt that is sure to influence future historians. . . . a valuable probe of how myths can feed hysteria." --The Washington Post Book World "An imaginative reconstruction of what might have been Tituba's past." --Times Literary Supplement "A fine example of readable scholarship." --Baltimore Sun In this important book, Elaine Breslaw claims to have rediscovered Tituba, the elusive, mysterious, and often mythologized Indian woman accused of witchcraft in Salem in 1692 and immortalized in Arthur Miller's The Crucible. Reconstructing the life of the slave woman at the center of the notorious Salem witch trials, the book follows Tituba from her likely origins in South America to Barbados, forcefully dispelling the commonly-held belief that Tituba was African. The uniquely multicultural nature of life on a seventeenth- century Barbadan sugar plantation--defined by a mixture of English, American Indian, and African ways and folklore--indelibly shaped the young Tituba's world and the mental images she brought with her to Massachusetts. Breslaw divides Tituba's story into two parts. The first focuses on Tituba's roots in Barbados, the second on her life in the New World. The author emphasizes the inextricably linked worlds of the Caribbean and the North American colonies, illustrating how the Puritan worldview was influenced by its perception of possessed Indians. Breslaw argues that Tituba's confession to practicing witchcraft clearly reveals her savvy and determined efforts to protect herself by actively manipulating Puritan fears. This confession, perceived as evidence of a diabolical conspiracy, was the central agent in the cataclysmic series of events that saw 19 people executed and over 150 imprisoned, including a young girl of 5. A landmark contribution to women's history and early American history, Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem sheds new light on one of the most painful episodes in American history, through the eyes of its most crucial participant. Elaine G. Breslaw is Adjunct Professor of History at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and author of the acclaimed Tituba, Reluctant Witch of Salem: Devilish Indians and Puritan Fantasies (also available from NYU Press).

This book is a new and outstanding contribution to understanding the working life of junior doctors. Here Dr Haida Luke uses a medical sociological framework to help us understand how young doctors fresh out of medical school enter the medical culture as junior doctors and begin the rapid professional education and intense enculturation processes. What sets Medical Education and Sociology of Medical Habitus apart from other works in this area is that it opens out the field of research in sociology and inserts junior medical doctor culture right into medical sociology and professional medical education. Central to this analysis are Dr Haida Luke's innovative use of Pierre Bourdieu's sociological framework and the concept of habitus. This volume challenges many of the myths of the medical cultural experiences and socialising forces that are an integral part of early medical training.

How can the sociology of science relate to issues of science policy? And how can both attend to new institutional and cultural shifts in the character of science itself? These two questions lie at the heart of this new introduction to the sociology of science and technology. Balancing an analysis of contemporary debates in the field with an exploration of science policy questions the book provides a fresh approach to today's key issues.

Research in the Sociology of Health Care covers health, health care services, and sociological concerns. Each volume addresses an issue of importance in both the US health care system and health care systems across the world. Previously covered topics include: Research on social inequalities Social disparities Chronic diseases Population health Research on access, quality and utilization of health care services Theoretical, qualitative and quantitative papers deal with complex understandings of macro system issues in the following areas: The impact of the patient and individual factors on health and health care The impact of the provider and interaction between providers and patients Gender, race and poverty as sources of inequality in modern societies Articles vary greatly in their coverage, with some focusing on the US as a whole, and others on specific sections of the US or subgroups within the population such as African American women or the elderly. Other articles focus on issues from an international or comparative perspective. Each volume includes information that is essential reading for medical sociologists and people working in other social science disciplines studying health-related issues. The volume also provides vital information for health services researchers, policy analysts and public health researchers.

We all are growing older. "A Heart of Wisdom "shows us how to understand and meet the challenges of our own process of aging and the aging of those we care about from a Jewish perspective, from midlife through the elder years.

How does Jewish tradition influence our own aging? What are the tasks and the meaning of aging? How does being Jewish inform our relationships with the elderly? How does living, thinking and worshipping as a Jew affect us as we age? How can Jewish tradition help us retain our dignity as we age?

Over 40 contributors people who themselves are dealing with the unique life passages that aging brings; their loved ones; and the rabbis, social workers, and other professionals who assist them offer their insights about the changes and new perspectives that come with aging, retiring, growing, learning, caring for elderly parents, living, and dying. By sharing experiences in direct and personal narratives, poems, ceremonies, and stories, they help us explore: What traditional religious texts have to teach us about aging. Ways to cherish the integrity of the aging process. Women's unique roles as they age in our changing society. Advice for all generations on how to meet the opportunities and difficulties of aging. Creative ceremonies to mark milestones in our lives and in the lives of senior citizens.

Offering enlightenment from Jewish tradition, " A Heart of Wisdom" is not just for the middle-aged, the old or the soon-to-be old. It is for all of us.

This book examines a range of current health care issues affecting Asian Americans and explores ways to improve the quality of their health care. The author covers a variety of topics, including sociocultural approaches to health, illness, and health care; clients' experiences in accessing health care services; the important role of alternative practices in primary health care; and limitations on the professional development and practice of Asian health care providers. The book concludes with a look at challenges, implications, and research directions for Asian American health care improvements in the 21st century.

Health and illness always have multiple cultural and social dimensions that affect medical practices. Because we face rapidly evolving health care choices, it is important to understand the influence of sociocultural factors on health, illness, and health care.

The author emphasizes the cultural and socioeconomic factors that are shaping health-seeking behaviors of Asian Americans and the interrelationships among health service providers within the Asian American community. The book criticizes U.S. health care policy for discouraging the immigration of foreign medical-school graduates and limiting the number of language-competent physicians who have dual training in Western and traditional healing techniques. The book provides insights into the important role of traditional medicine in primary health care and also offers a critical analysis of managed care and its implications for Asian American health care in the 21st century.

This bestselling text enables beginning researchers to organise and evaluate the research they read, and to plan and implement small scale research projects of their own. It gives structured, practical guidance on: the development of a research question techniques of data collection qualitative and quantitative forms of analysis the writing and dissemination of research. The authors present research as a principled activity that begins with the establishing and structuring of theoretical and empirical fields and research findings as serving to ask questions of educational practice rather than directing it. This revised and updated second edition includes a new chapter dealing with the complex issue of research ethics. It also includes consideration of digital technologies and new media, both as settings of research and research tools, the chapters on qualitative and quantitative analysis have been expanded and the annotated bibliography updated. The authors have been active researchers in educational studies for more than twenty years. They have also supervised numerous doctoral and masters dissertations and taught research methods programmes in various higher education institutions around the world as well as in the Institute of Education, University of London.

As the twenty-first century unfolds, computers challenge the way in which we think about culture, society and what it is to be human: areas traditionally explored by the humanities. In a world of automation, Big Data, algorithms, Google searches, digital archives, real-time streams and social networks, our use of culture has been changing dramatically. The digital humanities give us powerful theories, methods and tools for exploring new ways of being in a digital age. Berry and Fagerjord provide a compelling guide, exploring the history, intellectual work, key arguments and ideas of this emerging discipline. They also offer an important critique, suggesting ways in which the humanities can be enriched through computing, but also how cultural critique can transform the digital humanities. Digital Humanities will be an essential book for students and researchers in this new field but also related areas, such as media and communications, digital media, sociology, informatics, and the humanities more broadly.

Most studies of political participation among young people focus on formal political arenas and conclude that young people are politically apathetic. In contrast, this book aims to establish how young people understand and live politics, using innovative research methods. As such, it treats age, class, gender and ethnicity as political 'lived experiences'. It concludes that young people are alienated, rather than apathetic, and that their interests and concerns are rarely addressed within mainstream political institutions.

'Identity' and 'selfhood' are terms used routinely throughout the human sciences that seek to analyze and describe the character of everyday life and experience. Yet these terms are seldom defined or used with any precision, and scant regard is paid to the historical and cultural context in which they arose or to which they are applied.
This innovative book provides fresh historical insights in terms of the emergence, development, and interrelationship of specific and varied notions of identity and selfhood, and outlines a new sociological framework for analyzing.
This is the first historical/sociological framework for discussion of issues which have till now, generally been treated as 'philosophy' or 'psychology', and as such it is essential reading for those undergraduates and postgraduates of sociology, philosophy and history and cultural studies interested in the concepts of identity and self. It covers a broader range of material than is usual in this style of text, and includes a survey of relevant literature and precise analysis of key concepts written in a student friendly style.

Health service policy and health policy have changed considerably over the past fifteen years and there is a pressing need for an up-to-date sociological analysis of health policy. Not only have policies themselves changed but new policy themes ? such as evidence-based policy and practice, an increasing focus on a primary care led health service, a growing recognition of the need to address inequalities through public health policies and a focus on the views and the voice of the user and the public? have emerged alongside some of the old.

Following up the very successful The Sociology of the Health Service, this all-new volume covers a broad range of key contemporary health services issues. It includes chapters on consumerism, technology, evidence-based practice, public health, managerialism and social care among others, and incorporates references to new developments, such as regulation and incentivization, throughout.

The New Sociology of the Health Service provides a vital new sociological framework for analyzing health policy and healthcare. It is an important read for all students and researchers of medical sociology and health policy.

Written originally for a special issue of The New Yorker and reissued here with a new forward by the author, Within the Context of No Context is George W. S. Trow's brilliant exposition on the state of American culture and twentieth-century life. Published to widespread acclaim, Within the Context of No Context became an immediate classic and is, to this day, a favorite work of writers and critics alike. Both a chilling commentary on the times in which it was written and an eerie premonition of the future, Trow's work locates and traces, describes and analyzes the components of change in contemporary America -- a culture increasingly determined by the shallow worlds of consumer products, daytime television, and celebrity heroes. "This elegant little book is essential reading for anyone interested in the demise, the terminal silliness, of our culture." -- John Irving, The New York Times Book Review; "In this elegant, poignant essay, written with the grace of a master stylist, George Trow articulates the accelerated impermanence of American culture with a precision that is both flaunting and devastating." -- Rudy Wurlitrer; "Within the Context of No Context is a masterpiece of the century that belongs on a shelf next to Theodore Adorno's Minima Moralia and Guy Debord's The Society of the Spectacle." -- Michael Tolkin; "Within the Context of No Context may appear to be a book of the mind, for it is suffused with such a keen intelligence, but it is actually a book of the heart -- passionate, brave, and stirring." -- Sue Halpern.

The contributors to this volume explore the close relationship between education and the molding of modern immigrant societies through case studies of either Asian migrants or Asian immigrant societies. This volume will be especially useful for researchers, educators, and students intent on understanding some of the critical challenges faced by a globalizing world.

A study of social assumptions, specific events, medical categories, distinct groups and ideas of control in health research. This book examines presumptions about gender, race and age with particular reference to the "biological clock" and notions of "civilized countries" and "primitive races." The volume is divided into three sections. The first section spells out the author's new theory of medicalism - a co-emergent process of health care which puts health-care consumers on an equal causal footing with health-care providers. The second section takes up each of the issues of age, sex and race in turn and looks at the particular consequences of these assumptions for specific health events. With age, fertility is the focus. With sex and race, the focus is on cancer. The third section deals with action both in terms of doing better research and making informed choices about health care.

The 30th Anniversary volume of Research in the Sociology of Health Care looks at the important links between major social factors and health and health care. The four main factors examined in the book are race/ethnicity, immigration, Socioeconomic Status (SES) and gender. Starting with an introductory chapter which reviews some of the important sociological literature on these social factors as linked to health, the book goes on to cover various key issues, including obesity, ageing, immigration and racial segregation.

Even today, many people think of social problems as involving poor and powerless individuals in society. Research in Social Problems and Public Policy seeks to improve the balance by adding a focus on important and powerful institutions. Such organizations often play key roles in managing, and mismanaging, the ways in which some of today's most important social problems are handled by the public policy system. Research in Social Problems and Public Policy is now available online at ScienceDirect - full-text online of volumes 8 onwards. Elsevier book series on ScienceDirect gives multiple users throughout an institution simultaneous online access to an important compliment to primary research. Digital delivery ensures users reliable, 24-hour access to the latest peer-reviewed content.

Roberta J. Park has been throughout her distinguished career a scholar with a mission - to win academic recognition of the significance of the body in culture and cultures. Her scholarship has earned her global esteem in the disciplines of Physical Education and Sports Studies for its penetrating insights. This selection of her writings is a well-deserved tribute to her interpretive originality, her intellectual acuity and her ability to inspire colleagues and students. To explore unexplored patterns has been her extraordinary strength. The result has been continual originality of insight. These writings are thus a unique compilation of scholastic creativity of major interest to scholars and students in Sports Studies, Physical Education, Health Studies, Sociology and Social Psychology. This book was published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

Originally published in 1986. All students of social science must confront a number of important philosophical issues. This introduction to the philosophy of the social sciences provides coherent answers to questions about empiricism, explanation and rationality. It evaluates contemporary writings on the subject which can be as difficult as they are important to understand. Each chapter has an annotated bibliography to enable students to pursue the issues raised and to assess for themselves the arguments of the authors.

Originally published in 1974.

Scientific Knowledge and Sociological Theory centres on the problem of explaining the manifest variety and contrast in the beliefs about nature held in different groups and societies. It maintains that the sociologist should treat all beliefs symmetrically and must investigate and account for allegedly correct or scientific beliefs just as he would incorrect or unscientific ones. From this basic position a study of scientific beliefs is constructed. The sociological interest of such beliefs is illustrated and a sociological perspective upon scientific change is developed.

Family Fictions explores images and narratives of the family in recent Hollywood cinema. This is the first in-depth analysis of this important topic which explores how problematic representations of the family were in a period when the family was a pivotal political and social issue. Through close textual analysis of the biggest box-office hits of recent years, this book demonstrates the volatility of family representations and the instability of its narrative and ideological functions. Well-known films discussed, include Kramer versus Kramer , E.T. and Look Who's Talking.

Religious social action groups are emerging as key movers in sweeping sociopolitical changes world-wide. Although their inspiration is religious, their goals are secular. This volume considers the role of such groups by examining regions and nations where change has been most dramatic. Areas researched include: Western Europe, North America, the Amazonian rain basin, Malaysia, Japan, Russia, Northern Ireland, and Israel. The movements studied are as diverse as Conservative Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, the New Christian Right, and Indonesian Muslims. In each case social action groups are studied to understand how they evolve within the current political context in order to change it.