Bringing together a team of global experts, this is the first volume to focus on the ways in which meanings are ascribed to actions in social interaction. It builds on the research traditions of Conversation Analysis and Pragmatics, and highlights the role of interactional, social, linguistic, multimodal, and epistemic factors in the formation and ascription of action-meanings. It shows how inference and intention ascription are displayed and drawn upon by participants in social interaction. Each chapter reveals practices, processes, and uses of action ascription, based on the analysis of audio and video recordings from nine different languages. Action ascription is conceptualised in this volume as not merely a cognitive process, but a social action in its own right that is used for managing interactional concerns and guiding the subsequent course of social interaction. It will be essential reading for academic researchers and advanced students interested in the relationship between language, behaviour and social interaction.

Written in 1954 and published here for the first time, The Social Background of Delinquency deals with the social climate in which juvenile delinquency crops up time after time. It examines ‘bad’ behaviour among people who could otherwise be classed as ‘normal’ members of ordinary English society. It attempts to explore certain aspects of the sub-cultures within respectable society which appear to breed behaviour officially classed as ‘delinquent’. The research is based on a working-class town in the Midlands with a high proportion of miners and observes a pair of similar streets in five areas of the town. Each pair of streets containing one delinquency-free and one with a history of trouble. Not content with a mere survey, the research design is multifaceted and includes ethnographic observations, key informant interviews, personal history analyses and 'the playroom method' explicitly designed to ascertain children's views. The findings are reported here and represent a snapshot of life in the 1950s.

During the long eighteenth century the moral and socio-political dimensions of family life and gender were hotly debated by intellectuals across Europe. John Millar, a Scottish law professor and philosopher, was a pioneer in making gendered and familial practice a critical parameter of cultural difference. His work was widely disseminated at home and abroad, translated into French and German and closely read by philosophers such as Denis Diderot and Johann Gottfried Herder. Taking Millar's writings as his basis, Nicholas B. Miller explores the role of the family in Scottish Enlightenment political thought and traces its wider resonances across the Enlightenment world. John Millar's organisation of cultural, gendered and social difference into a progressive narrative of authority relations provided the first extended world history of the family. Over five chapters that address the historical and comparative models developed by the thinker, Nicholas B. Miller examines contemporary responses and Enlightenment-era debates on polygamy, matriarchy, the Amazon legend, changes in national character and the possible futures of the family in commercial society. He traces how Enlightenment thinkers developed new standards of evidence and crafted new understandings of historical time in order to tackle the global diversity of family life and gender practice. By reconstituting these theories and discussions, Nicholas B. Miller uncovers hitherto unexplored aspects of the Scottish contribution to European debates on the role of the family in history, society and politics.

"The Richardson boys ganged up with two other big families in their buildings and, at various ages, had tried out most of the local youth organisations. Bert Richardson with a suitable set of brothers and mates, was in the Scouts, but they got ejected. Later, at thirteen, he joined a boys' club for its boxing and football, and belonged on and off till he was sixteen. Then he suddenly dropped out." Why did Bert drop out? Originally published in 1954, the answer forms the substance of Some Young People, the report of an inquiry into adolescents' reactions to their local youth groups. Besides answering the question "Who joins what?" (and two thirds of these thousand youngsters of 14 to 17 were not members of any youth organisation) the book describes some of the hopes, pleasures and difficulties of such people as Frances, the chocolate packer, who has ambition to marry before long; and John, the carpenter's apprentice, whose passions are autocycling, pigeons and pigs. It also throws light on problems such as those presented by gangs; and suggests the importance of "my friends," the closely-knit set who mean so much to the adolescent.

From Revolution to Revolution (1973) examines England, Scotland and Wales from the revolution of 1688 when William became King, to the American Revolution of 1776. In this period lies the roots of modern Britain, as it went from being underdeveloped countries on the fringe of European civilization to a predominating influence in the world. This book examines the union of the island, development of an organized public opinion and national consciousness, as well as Parliament and its factions, the landed and business classes. Views on religion, art, architecture and the changing face of the countryside are also examined, as is the tension between London and the rest of the island. The important issues of colonial expansions in Ireland, America, India and Africa are also analysed.

The Court and the Country (1969) offers a fresh view and synthesis of the English revolution of 1640. It describes the origin and development of the revolution, and gives an account of the various factors - political, social and religious - that produced the revolution and conditioned its course. It explains the revolution primarily as a result of the breakdown of the unity of the governing class around the monarchy into the contending sides of the Court and the Country. A principal theme is the formation within the governing class of an opposition movement to the Crown. The role of Puritanism and of the towns is examined, and the resistance to Charles I is considered in relation to other European revolutions of the period.

A Nation of Change and Novelty (1990) ranges broadly over the political and literary terrain of the seventeenth century, examining the importance of the English Revolution as a decisive event in English and European history. It emphasises the historical significance of the English Revolution, exploring not only its causes but also its long term consequences, basing both in a broad social context and viewing it as a necessary condition of England's having nurtured the first Industrial Revolution.

Reflections on the Puritan Revolution (1986) examines the damage done by the Puritans during the English Civil War, and the enormous artistic losses England suffered from their activities. The Puritans smashed stained glass, monuments, sculpture, brasses in cathedrals and churches; they destroyed organs, dispersed the choirs and the music. They sold the King's art collections, pictures, statues, plate, gems and jewels abroad, and broke up the Coronation regalia. They closed down the theatres and ended Caroline poetry. The greatest composer and most promising scientist of the age were among the many lives lost; and this all besides the ruin of palaces, castles and mansions.

A History of Political Thought in the English Revolution (1954) examines the large range of political doctrines which played their part in the English revolution - a period when modern democratic ideas began. The political literature of the period between 1645, when the Levellers first seized upon the revolution's wider implications, and 1660, when Charles II restored the monarchy to power, is here studied in detail.

One of the most groundbreaking sociology texts of the 20th century, Howard S. Becker's Outsiders revolutionized the study of social deviance. Howard S. Becker's Outsiders broke new ground in the early 1960s-and the ideas it proposed and problems it raised are still argued about and inspiring research internationally. In this new edition, Becker includes two lengthy essays, unpublished until now, that add fresh material for thought and discussion. "Why Was Outsiders a Hit? Why Is It Still a Hit?" explains the historical background that made the book interesting to a new generation coming of age in the 60s and makes it of continuing interest today. "Why I Should Get No Credit For Legalizing Marijuana" examines the road to decriminalization and presents new ideas for the sociological study of public opinion.

Exploring Instagram’s public pedagogy at scale, this book uses innovative digital methods to trace and analyze how publics reinforce and resist settler colonialism as they engage with the Trans Mountain pipeline controversy online. The book traces opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline in so-called Canada, where overlapping networks of concerned citizens, Indigenous land protectors, and environmental activists have used Instagram to document pipeline construction, policing, and land degradation; teach using infographics; and express solidarity through artwork and re-shared posts. These expressions constitute a form of “public pedagogy,� where social media takes on an educative force, influencing publics whether or not they set foot in the classroom.

After 20 years of freedom in South Africa we have to ask ourselves difficult questions: are we willing to perpetuate a lie, search for facts or think wishfully? Freedom has been enabled by apartheid's end, but at the same time some of apartheid's key institutions and social relations are reproduced under the guise of 'democracy'. This collection of essays acknowledges the enormous expectations placed on the shoulders of the South African revolution to produce an alternative political regime in response to apartheid and global neo-liberalism. It does not lament the inability of South Africa's democracy to provide deeper freedoms, or suggest that since it hasn't this is some form of betrayal. Freedom is made possible and/or limited by local political choices, contemporary global conditions and the complexities of social change. This book explores the multiplicity of spaces within which the dynamics of social change unfold, and the complex ways in which power is produced and reproduced. In this way, it seeks to understand the often non-linear practices through which alternative possibilities emerge, the lengthy and often indirect ways in which new communities are imagined and new solidarities are built. In this sense, this book is not a collection of hope or despair. Nor is it a book that seeks to situate itself between these two poles. Instead it aims to read the present historically, critically and politically, and to offer insights into the ongoing, iterative and often messy struggles for freedom.

Persistent unemployment and rising wage differences at the expense of low-skilled workers has characterized the labor market in most developed countries. Since the last economic crisis, unemployment rates and pay inequalities have increased among workers under 25 years of age, thus creating an ever-widening financial gap for an entire generation. Those who do not have a qualification or post-secondary diploma often find themselves in precarious jobs at minimum wage. Countries are now working to adopt reforms to improve the situation of young people in the labor market. International Perspectives on the Youth Labor Market: Emerging Research and Opportunities provides emerging research exploring the theoretical and practical aspects of financial inequality and applications within global economics. Unlike literature that focuses only on developed countries, this book also addresses emerging economies whose labor market is often characterized by a dualism that makes the situation of young workers worse. Featuring coverage on a broad range of topics such as unemployment rate, labor reform, and job insecurity, this book is ideally designed for economists, government officials, policymakers, executives, managers, business professionals, researchers, academicians, and students.

Cromwell and Communism (1930) examines the English revolution against the absolute monarchy of Charles I. It looks at the economic and social conditions prevailing at the time, the first beginnings of dissent and the religious and political aims of the Parliamentarian side in the revolution and subsequent civil war. The various sects are examined, including the Levellers and their democratic, atheistic and communistic ideals.

Allegiance in Church and State (1928) examines the evolution of ideas and ideals, their relation to political and economic events, and their influence on friends and foes in seventeenth-century England - which witnessed the beginning of both the constitutional and the intellectual transition from the old order to the new. It takes a careful look at the religious and particularly political ideas of the Nonjurors, a sect that argued for the moral foundations of a State and the sacredness of moral obligations in public life.