Ethical responsibility has intellectual and practical implications for social researchers. This book explores a range of issues, theories and questions, enabling readers to reflect upon, understand and critique these with confidence. With helpful examples and a glossary of terms, it is essential reading for new and experienced researchers alike.

Treating social theory as an exciting intellectual journey in its own right, this new introductory-level textbook presents the key ideas and concepts in social theory together with an account of the intellectual background from which they emerged. Aimed at first-year undergraduates studying sociology and all related disciplines in the social sciences and humanities, it provides an introduction to the major questions and debates facing social theorists and sociologists. Clearly designed presentation and layout features help readers navigate their way around the material thus giving them the best chance of finding what they need quickly and easily. The book is supported by a companion website, containing additional materials for both students and lecturers using the book, which is available from the link above

Treating social theory as an exciting intellectual journey in its own right, this new introductory-level textbook presents the key ideas and concepts in social theory together with an account of the intellectual background from which they emerged. It provides an introduction to the major questions and debates facing social theorists and sociologists, and it relates social theory to examples from contemporary culture that will appeal to young undergraduates. The clearly designed presentation and layout features help readers navigate their way around the material, thus giving them the best chance of finding what they need quickly and easily, offering a much needed alternative to the complex, and oftentimes dull, social theory textbooks that are currently available.

First published in 1999, this book adopts an explicitly forward-looking and dynamic approach in trying to understand not only where the sociology of work has come from but of where it is likely to go next. For the first time in a single volume, it reviews the continuing usefulness of the 'classical' accounts of Karl Marx, Max Webster and Emile Durkheim, the post-industrial accounts of the 1960s and 1970s and the post-Fordist accounts of the 1980s and 1990s. It provides specific treatment of key topics such as technological change and 'flexibility', the impact of gender on work, the changing nature of the relationship between work and personal identity and the possible emergence of economic globalization, all of which are currently receiving much academic and popular attention. The treatments of gender, identity and globalization are challenging and innovative in that they go beyond simply describing current debates, and question the validity of some of the premises on which they are based. For example, that it is not possible to provide a 'unifying' explanation of gender inequality at work because its causes are multiple rather than singular; that it is wrong to imply that work will cease to be an important basis of personal identity; and that evidence of economic globalization is far too patchy to justify the claim that we are living in a 'global economy.' The text combines theoretical analysis with clear descriptions of the key arguments and tests these against current empirical data.

First published in 1999, this book adopts an explicitly forward-looking and dynamic approach in trying to understand not only where the sociology of work has come from but of where it is likely to go next. For the first time in a single volume, it reviews the continuing usefulness of the 'classical' accounts of Karl Marx, Max Webster and Emile Durkheim, the post-industrial accounts of the 1960s and 1970s and the post-Fordist accounts of the 1980s and 1990s. It provides specific treatment of key topics such as technological change and 'flexibility', the impact of gender on work, the changing nature of the relationship between work and personal identity and the possible emergence of economic globalization, all of which are currently receiving much academic and popular attention. The treatments of gender, identity and globalization are challenging and innovative in that they go beyond simply describing current debates, and question the validity of some of the premises on which they are based. For example, that it is not possible to provide a 'unifying' explanation of gender inequality at work because its causes are multiple rather than singular; that it is wrong to imply that work will cease to be an important basis of personal identity; and that evidence of economic globalization is far too patchy to justify the claim that we are living in a 'global economy.' The text combines theoretical analysis with clear descriptions of the key arguments and tests these against current empirical data.

Ethical responsibility has intellectual and practical implications for social researchers. This book explores a range of issues, theories and questions, enabling readers to reflect upon, understand and critique these with confidence. With helpful examples and a glossary of terms, it is essential reading for new and experienced researchers alike.

The central question in Work, Consumption and Culture is whether consumption has now displaced production as the defining factor in the lives of those in the industrialized West. This book offers a comprehensive review of the key issues in the production/consumption debate, and where it might lead in the future.

Key to Paul Ransome s argument is the hypothesis that affluence is the crucial factor in the shift away from work and towards consumption. Uniquely emphasizing the links between work, consumption and culture, rather than keeping each element separate, the author looks at:

- the changing significance of work in society

- the meaning, growth and significance of affluence

- the growing importance of consumption as a source of identity and its implications

the impact of the shift to consumption on work/life balance

Work, Consumption and Culture engages the reader with its lively debating style. It is an essential introduction for sociology and cultural studies students on courses relating to consumption and the role of work in contemporary society.

This book offers a balanced account of the changing importance of work and consumption in contemporary industrial society. Clearly written, the author identifies the central role that affluence plays in the relationship between work and consumption, and in the development of social life and individual identity' - "Professor Paul Blyton, Cardiff Business School""