Foot and mouth disease and BSE have both had a devastating impact on rural society. Alongside these devastating developments, the rise of the organic food movement has helped to revitalize an already politicized rural population. From fox-hunting to farming, the vigour with which rural activities and living are defended overturns received notions of a sleepy and complacent countryside. Over the years "rural life" has been defined, redefined and eventually fallen out of fashion as a sociological concept--in contrast to urban studies, which has flourished. This much-needed reappraisal calls for its reinterpretation in light of the profound changes affecting the countryside. First providing an overview of rural sociology, Hillyard goes on to offer contemporary case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for a reinvigorated rural sociology. Tackling a range of contentious issues--from fox-hunting to organic farming--this book offers a new model for rural sociology and reassesses its role in contemporary society.

Many researchers in recent years have begun to reflect on their gender identity and how this impacts on the research process and discuss how this helps build rapport with participants and creates successful or unsuccessful pieces of qualitative research. However, how does this intersect with other forms of identity, such as class, ethnicity, disability, age, sexuality? In this volume contributors explore these issues by reflecting on their own studies and research careers and address how important or unimportant gender has been in building research relationships. While the gender identity of the respondent/researcher relationship is undoubtedly important, what must also be acknowledged are the attributes which create a good fieldworker and competent social science researchers capable of understanding and engaging in different social situations and thought interaction with different participants.

This volume seeks to address the emerging relationships between qualitative research and digital data. At the present time, ubiquitous digital data is altering the foci of research, the contexts in which research takes place, and the methods and tools available for qualitative research. Alongside new challenges and opportunities, there are many ways in which established qualitative methods are being used to situate and interpret digital phenomena. This book examines and engages with the ambivalence of digitization, illuminating the diverse ways in which researchers approach, negotiate, understand and interpret objects and practices of digital research. The chapters in this volume are organized around four key themes: researching impacts of digitization on social worlds; researching uses of digital data within social worlds; researching digital visualization of social worlds; researching with digital data and methods. The volume is designed to appeal to qualitative researchers seeking to study processes of digitization, adjust existing methodologies for digital worlds, and develop new ways of examining and using digital research.

This volume seeks to address continuities and innovations within the ethnographic canon. It uses Hammersley's (1991) book "What's Wrong with Ethnography" to open and situate the debate, but then moves to engage with contemporary debates and arguments on both sides of the Atlantic. Today, ethnography has matured to become the dominant research paradigm in some sub-disciplines, but it has also been forced to adapt in response to the theoretical challenge of post-structuralism. The book examines in detail the way some more innovative and problematic ways ethnographers have reacted. Throughout, the book seeks to present a critical, realised evaluation of the strength and limitations of ethnography for the future, by celebrating recent innovations, unusual applications or instances of ethnographic practice. Like Hammersley's book in 1991, it faces and challenges fundamental questions regarding ethnography's very contribution to knowledge. The chapters in this volume are designed to appeal to the novice and the experienced ethnographer; for those embarking on ethnographic work for the first time as well as those looking to move into new methodological directions.

In this ethnographic study of the rural idyll, Broadlands explores rurality and the pace of rural life. In sharp contrast to the urban analytical emphasis upon speed, it gives careful thought to stasis, as rural places offer everyday opportunities for very different social situations and behavioural interactions. Based on new and extensive RCUK-funded primary research, Sam Hillyard generates an original, rigorous and thoughtful understanding of everyday rural life in the 21st century. Taking the principles of dramaturgy and rural studies scholarship, Broadlands provides a toolkit to make sense of rural change. It uses ethnography to enhance interactionist dramaturgy via cross-references with new theoretical orientations that emphasise the temporal dynamics of space in a 'knowing capitalism'. Where early dramaturgy stressed formal organisations in shaping roles and identity, Broadlands expands these concepts to include informal and transient organisations and associations. Ultimately, the book advances a new model for grasping the complexity of the rural. For researchers and students ofrural and urban sociology, this is an engaging text that reframes our understanding of rurality.

"This is not yet another step-by-step guide to research methods. Rather, Pole and Hillyard draw the reader into fieldwork as a form of living and lived research. They take key threads of research practices and processes and weave them into a holistic approach to fieldwork. Doing Fieldwork is a must read for new researchers planning a journey into the immersion of 'being there' that is field work." - Professor Garry Marvin, University of Roehampton Fieldwork is central to Sociology, but guides to it often treat the real questions invisibly or over-load the reader with micro-details. This refreshing, authoritative volume, written by two experienced, highly respected fieldworkers, provides a one-stop, engaging guide. The book: Clearly explains fieldwork methods Shows how to locate a field and map it Covers common problem areas and ethical considerations Provides a ready reckoner of time management issues Helps with analysis of findings. Doing Fieldwork is an invaluable teaching and research resource. It should be in every student's backpack and part of every researcher's tool kit. Professor Chris Pole is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Brighton. His long-standing research interests are in social research methodology, especially Ethnography and in the Sociology of Education and Childhood. Dr Sam Hillyard is a Reader in Sociology at Durham University. Her research interests are in qualitative research methods, interactionist social theory and rural studies.

"This is not yet another step-by-step guide to research methods. Rather, Pole and Hillyard draw the reader into fieldwork as a form of living and lived research. They take key threads of research practices and processes and weave them into a holistic approach to fieldwork. Doing Fieldwork is a must read for new researchers planning a journey into the immersion of 'being there' that is field work." - Professor Garry Marvin, University of Roehampton Fieldwork is central to Sociology, but guides to it often treat the real questions invisibly or over-load the reader with micro-details. This refreshing, authoritative volume, written by two experienced, highly respected fieldworkers, provides a one-stop, engaging guide. The book: Clearly explains fieldwork methods Shows how to locate a field and map it Covers common problem areas and ethical considerations Provides a ready reckoner of time management issues Helps with analysis of findings. Doing Fieldwork is an invaluable teaching and research resource. It should be in every student's backpack and part of every researcher's tool kit. Professor Chris Pole is Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the University of Brighton. His long-standing research interests are in social research methodology, especially Ethnography and in the Sociology of Education and Childhood. Dr Sam Hillyard is a Reader in Sociology at Durham University. Her research interests are in qualitative research methods, interactionist social theory and rural studies.

The nature of Higher Education in the UK has changed over the last three decades. Academics can no longer be said to carry out their work in "ivory towers," as increasing government intervention and a growing "target culture" has changed the way they work. Increasingly universities have transformed from "communities of scholars" to "workplaces." The organization and administration of universities has seen a corresponding prevalence of ideas and strategies drawn from the "New Public Management" ideology in response, promoting a more "business-focussed" approach in the management of public services.
This book examines the issues that academics now face as a result of these changes, both as the "knowledge-workers" managed, and the "manager-academic." It draws on a detailed study of academics holding management roles ranging from Head of Department to Vice Chancellor in sixteen UK universities, exploring their career histories and trajectories, and providing extensive accounts of their values, practices, relationships with others, and their training and development as managers.
Drawing on debates around "New Public Management," knowledge management, and knowledge workers, the wider implications of these themes for policy innovation and strategy in HE and the public sector more generally are considered, developing a critical response to recent approaches to managing public services, and practical suggestions for improvements which could be made to the training and support of senior and middle managers in universities.
The book will be of interest to all teaching, researching, or managing in Higher Education, Education policy-makers, and academics and researchers concerned withPublic Management, Knowledge Management, or Higher Education.

The nature of Higher Education in the UK has changed over the last three decades. Academics can no longer be said to carry out their work in 'ivory towers', as increasing government intervention and a growing 'target culture' has changed the way they work. Increasingly universities have transformed from 'communities of scholars' to 'workplaces'. The organization and administration of universities has seen a corresponding prevalence of ideas and strategies drawn from the 'New Public Management' ideology in response, promoting a more 'business-focussed' approach in the management of public services. This book examines the issues that these changes have had on academics, both as the 'knowledge-workers' managed, and the 'manager-academic'. It draws on a detailed study of academics holding management roles ranging from Head of Department to Vice Chancellor in sixteen UK universities, exploring their career histories and trajectories, and providing extensive accounts of their values, practices, relationships with others, and their training and development as managers. Drawing on debates around 'New Public Management', knowledge management, and knowledge workers, the wider implications of these themes for policy innovation and strategy in HE and the public sector more generally are considered, developing a critical response to recent approaches to managing public services, and practical suggestions for improvements which could be made to the training and support of senior and middle managers in universities. The book will be of interest to all teaching, researching, or managing in Higher Education, Education policy-makers, and academics and researchers concerned with Public Management, Knowledge Management, or Higher Education.

Foot and mouth disease and BSE have both had a devastating impact on rural society. Alongside these devastating developments, the rise of the organic food movement has helped to revitalize an already politicized rural population. From fox-hunting to farming, the vigour with which rural activities and living are defended overturns received notions of a sleepy and complacent countryside. Over the years "rural life" has been defined, redefined and eventually fallen out of fashion as a sociological concept--in contrast to urban studies, which has flourished. This much-needed reappraisal calls for its reinterpretation in light of the profound changes affecting the countryside. First providing an overview of rural sociology, Hillyard goes on to offer contemporary case studies that clearly demonstrate the need for a reinvigorated rural sociology. Tackling a range of contentious issues--from fox-hunting to organic farming--this book offers a new model for rural sociology and reassesses its role in contemporary society.