An edited collection exploring divisions and changes within and between the spheres of consumption and production. Topics include: the relationship between consumption and production; the social construction of consumers; housing and social class mobility; health provision; the role of the 'service class'; and access to higher education. Peter Saunders' work provides the initial stimulus for many of the papers, but all go beyond his narrow conception of a sociology of consumption and his liberal analysis of patterns of social inequality.

The idea of the 'enterprise culture' has been much vaunted over the last few decades: the growth of self-employment and small business ownership has been an important feature of the restructuring of the British economy. Because it is a concept that is difficult to evaluate, controversial and politically sensitive, social scientists were slow to analyse it. Consequently, it had been caricatured and many questions about its impact on society and the economy had been left unanswered. This collection, which was first published in 1991, presents a critical analysis of the various manifestations of the enterprise culture. Drawing upon a range of research, it deals with a number of related topics. The result is a powerful analysis of the material and ideological role of the petty bourgeoisie in contemporary capitalism. Its multidisciplinary approach, which contributions from leading scholars in the field, makes this book of interest to anyone wanting to make sense of the socio-economic restructuring of Britain.

The idea of the 'enterprise culture' has been much vaunted over the last few decades: the growth of self-employment and small business ownership has been an important feature of the restructuring of the British economy. Because it is a concept that is difficult to evaluate, controversial and politically sensitive, social scientists were slow to analyse it. Consequently, it had been caricatured and many questions about its impact on society and the economy had been left unanswered. This collection, which was first published in 1991, presents a critical analysis of the various manifestations of the enterprise culture. Drawing upon a range of research, it deals with a number of related topics. The result is a powerful analysis of the material and ideological role of the petty bourgeoisie in contemporary capitalism. Its multidisciplinary approach, which contributions from leading scholars in the field, makes this book of interest to anyone wanting to make sense of the socio-economic restructuring of Britain.

How can we interpret cyberspace? What is the place of the embodied human agent in the virtual world? This innovative collection explores the emerging arena of cyberspace and the challenges it presents for the social and cultural forms of the human body. Cyberspace/Cyberbodies/Cyberpunk shows how changing relationships between body and technology offer new arenas for cultural representations. At the same time, the contributors consider the realities of human embodiment and the limits of virtual worlds. Topics examined include technological body modifications, replacements and prosthetics, bodies in cyberspace, virtual environments and cyborg culture, cultural representations of technological embodiment in visual and literary productions, and cyberpunk science fiction as a prefigurative social and cultural theory. Academics and students in cultural studies, popular culture, communication, sociology of culture, philosophy will appreciate this intriguing volume, as will general readers with an interest in the Internet.

The problem of homelessness is deeply emblematic of the sort of society Britain has become. What other social phenomena could better epitomize the end of the modernist project than our seeming inability to adequately respond to the most basic needs - shelter, warmth, food - of substantial numbers of our "citizens"? This text offers a dispassionate analysis of the problem of homelessness and the policy responses it has so far invoked. Derived from work carried out at the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York during the 1990s, the text reviews theoretical and legal conceptualizations of the problem, considers the impact of the experience of homelessness and offers evaluations of various policy responses. Chapters include considerations of: the social distribution of homelessness; health and homelessness; the impact of mortgage repossession; social theory and the law; homelessness amongst ex-servicemen and ex-prisoners; evaluation of access schemes, rehousing strategies, hostels; and the use of the private rented sector to house homeless households.

The problem of homelessness is deeply emblematic of the sort of society Britain has become. What other social phenomena could better epitomize the end of the modernist project than our seeming inability to adequately respond to the most basic needs - shelter, warmth, food - of substantial numbers of our "citizens"? This text offers a dispassionate analysis of the problem of homelessness and the policy responses it has so far invoked. Derived from work carried out at the Centre for Housing Policy at the University of York during the 1990s, the text reviews theoretical and legal conceptualizations of the problem, considers the impact of the experience of homelessness and offers evaluations of various policy responses. Chapters include considerations of: the social distribution of homelessness; health and homelessness; the impact of mortgage repossession; social theory and the law; homelessness amongst ex-servicemen and ex-prisoners; evaluation of access schemes, rehousing strategies, hostels; and the use of the private rented sector to house homeless households.

"The Sociology of Health Promotion" offers analyses of contemporary public health policy, lifestyle, consumption, risk and health. It also examines socio-political critiques of health promotion and reflects upon their implications for policy and practice. Topics include: the institutional emergence of health promotion at both global and national levels; issues of gender and race in health promotion; accidents and the risk of society; smoking; HIV and AIDS; aging; and the body and health related consumption. A key theme of the collection is that health promotion is emblematic of wider socio-cultural changes such as the demise of institutional forms of welfare and social control, a blurring of "expert" and lay knowledge, a heightened collective perception of uncontainable risks, and a shift to a consumer rather than a producer driven economy.

Business Welsh is a reference volume for native speakers and second language learners who wish to use Welsh in a business or professional environment. This book comprises a wide range of sample situations in English and Welsh which can be adapted to meet the specific requirements of the user. Business Welsh is: fully bilingual covers 45 business situations comprises letters, faxes, adverts and other essential business documents From letters of complaint to job applications, Business Welsh is the essential handbook for using Welsh in a professional environment.

There is no doubt that significant socio-economic changes have occurred over the last twenty years in the UK and other advanced capitalist societies. Consequently, Fordism, a bureaucratic, hierarchical model of industrial development has matured into Post-Fordism, with its greater emphasis on the individual, freedom of choice and flexibility, generating fresh debate and analysis. Towards a Post-Fordist Welfare State represents leading authors from a number of disciplines - social policy, sociology, politics and geography - who have played a key role in promoting and criticising Post-Fordist theorising and presents a thorough examination of the implications of applying Post-Fordism to contemporary restructuring of the British welfare state.
The work will appeal to a wide-ranging readership providing the first social policy text on Post-Fordism. It will be key reading for undergraduates, postgraduates and lecturers in social policy and administration, sociology, politics and public sector economics

eBook available with sample pages: 0203359844

What do you see? Colour it in! The original 1970s colouring craze pattern pad is back! Enhance your creativity and visual imagination! Learn to conjure epic pictures out of an empty page and develop this useful skill with Altair Design pattern pads. Choose a design. Relax. Look without staring. Slowly, faces, animals, entire scenes, and abstract patterns will appear. Every pattern in this pad is synchronised with every other. Overlay them all to get the pattern shown on the back page! Pattern Pad 1 is based on a square subgrid.

In Britain in the 1990s households containing almost 1.4 million adults and children had their mortgaged home possessed. A far greater number experienced serious mortgage arrears but managed to avoid possession. The emergence of such levels of unsustainable home ownership has consequences for many areas of social and public policy, including: the economy; public health; social security reform; and family policy. This book argues that the emergence of unsustainable owner-occupation is emblematic of broader changes in contemporary society associated with the emergence of what commentators such as Beck and Giddens have characterised as a 'risk society'. Home ownership in a risk society: provides the first systematic overview of the meaning and implications of a body of research work that has hitherto remained largely fragmented; argues that the particular conjunction of events which generated the short-term housing crisis of the early 1990s masked a series of more enduring structural changes which have resulted in unsustainable home ownership becoming a more permanent part of the British socio-economic landscape; uses a wide range of methodological strategies - including in-depth qualitative interviews with adults and children, survey analysis, and the multivariate statistical analysis of large-scale data sets; paints a rich and detailed empirical picture of the causes, socio-economic distribution and social consequences of mortgage arrears and possessions. This broad-ranging book is aimed at students, researchers, policy makers and practitioners with an interest in social policy, sociology, human geography, urban studies, housing studies, public health, economics and finance.

The profound changes in the labour market during the 1980s are examined in this book in relation to the ideas of flexible specialization and the "flexible firm" and Marxist regulation theory, supplemented by fresh empirical evidence concerning changes in the labour process. Three related concepts have emerged around which there has been a dramatic crystallization: Fordism, post-Fordism and, supposedly linking the two, various manifestations of economic flexibility. There has been, it is suggested, a profound change in the labour process towards the "flexible worker" and in the labour market towards a "flexible workforce". Three approaches to explain these changes are especially important and provide the major focus for this book: Marxist regulation theory; the notion of flexible specialization associated with the "new" institutional economics; and the model of the flexible firm derived from the managerialist literature. In the book, the diverse claims made by these three approaches are subject to empirical and theoretical investigation and their wider implications are examined in relation to emerging patterns of work in advanced societies.

Health promotion and the new public health are now central to health policy at local, national and international levels, forming part of global health initiatives such as those endorsed by the World Health Organisation. Issues examined include sociology of risk, the body, consumption, processes of surveillance and normalisation and considerations relating to race and gender in the implementation of health programmes.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415116465 EB:0203429494

How a neighbourhood is viewed can affect the lives of those who live there and the attitudes and behaviour of others towards them. This report examines the increasing use and sophistication of Internet-Based Neighbourhood Information Systems (IBNIS), such as www.upmystreet.co.uk, and considers their potential impact on how neighbourhoods are viewed. Neighbourhoods on the net: * provides in-depth analysis of a number of IBNIS both in the UK and US; * considers their advantages and disadvantages; * reviews the research literature on IBNIS and compares and contrasts this with the perspectives of a number of key stakeholders involved in their development and use; * relates the emergence of IBNIS to broader discussions about the impact of the Internet on every day life, particularly in the context of the growing 'digital divide'; and * points towards a range of possible policy implications. The report is essential reading for those working on: urban and regeneration policy; the application of information and communication technologies to social policy issues; e-commerce; e-government; and social and public policy more generally.

It is not lost on commercial organisations that where we live colours how we view ourselves and others. That is why so many now place us into social groups on the basis of the type of postcode in which we live. Social scientists call this practice "commercial sociology". Richard Webber originated Acorn and Mosaic, the two most successful geodemographic classifications. Roger Burrows is a critical interdisciplinary social scientist. Together they chart the origins of this practice and explain the challenges it poses to long-established social scientific beliefs such as: the role of the questionnaire in an era of "big data" the primacy of theory the relationship between qualitative and quantitative modes of understanding the relevance of visual clues to lay understanding. To help readers evaluate the validity of this form of classification, the book assesses how well geodemographic categories track the emergence of new types of residential neighbourhood and subject a number of key contemporary issues to geodemographic modes of analysis.

The geometric foundations, forms and patterns in today's architecture, design and decorative arts have been deeply influenced by past cultures. From humankind's first path-like doodles on cave walls through to the higher abstractions developed to make accurate measurements and predictions, the three-dimensional forms we design and build are dependent upon available materials, human needs and the limitations of our imaginations. This unique sourcebook presents a history of the intimate relationship between geometry, mathematics and manmade design throughout human history, from the Neolithic period through the Indian, Egyptian, Babylonian, Chinese, Greek, Celtic, Islamic and Renaissance cultures, to the present and the possible future. Presenting key principles that can be applied across all design disciplines, Roger Burrows reveals fresh insights and ideas about how geometry as a visual language has evolved to meet our needs, initiated new technologies and changed the way we think about the world around us. With a wealth of original artworks by the author to explain his ideas, this book will be an essential reference resource for inspiration and information for students and design professionals.

325 of the Great Plains most abundant or notable bird species 325 range maps Quick reference guide Map of best birding sites Glossry of terms Color-coded guide to bird groups on back cover

It is not lost on commercial organisations that where we live colours how we view ourselves and others. That is why so many now place us into social groups on the basis of the type of postcode in which we live. Social scientists call this practice "commercial sociology". Richard Webber originated Acorn and Mosaic, the two most successful geodemographic classifications. Roger Burrows is a critical interdisciplinary social scientist. Together they chart the origins of this practice and explain the challenges it poses to long-established social scientific beliefs such as: the role of the questionnaire in an era of "big data" the primacy of theory the relationship between qualitative and quantitative modes of understanding the relevance of visual clues to lay understanding. To help readers evaluate the validity of this form of classification, the book assesses how well geodemographic categories track the emergence of new types of residential neighbourhood and subject a number of key contemporary issues to geodemographic modes of analysis.

Half of those living in poverty in Britain today are home owners. Yet current government policy is not oriented to this reality. Drawing on data from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation's Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey of Britain, this report presents a detailed picture of the realities of home ownership at the margins and provides evidence in support of the need for radical changes in policy towards sustainable home ownership. It: * examines the relationship between poverty and home ownership in contemporary Britain; * analyses the Poverty and Social Exclusion Survey - a data source expressly designed for the purposes of measuring poverty; * concludes that we need to rethink dominant perceptions about poverty and housing tenure; and * makes the case for the need to re-evaluate the role of the state in assisting with housing costs. The report's findings are important reading for housing and social policy academics and analysts, and policy makers working at the interface of housing and social security policy. Mortgage lenders will also find the report valuable reading, as will anyone interested in housing and poverty.

How can we interpret cyberspace? What is the place of the embodied human agent in the virtual world? This innovative collection explores the emerging arena of cyberspace and the challenges it presents for the social and cultural forms of the human body. Cyberspace/Cyberbodies/Cyberpunk shows how changing relationships between body and technology offer new arenas for cultural representations. At the same time, the contributors consider the realities of human embodiment and the limits of virtual worlds. Topics examined include technological body modifications, replacements and prosthetics, bodies in cyberspace, virtual environments and cyborg culture, cultural representations of technological embodiment in visual and literary productions, and cyberpunk science fiction as a prefigurative social and cultural theory. Academics and students in cultural studies, popular culture, communication, sociology of culture, philosophy will appreciate this intriguing volume, as will general readers with an interest in the Internet.