Society and culture: general Books

Book SynopsisDominant discursive representations of belonging and place have become ever-more politicized, led by narratives of fear, uncertainty and anxiety. Grounded in an interdisciplinary and intersectional perspective, Constructing Realities critically examines contemporary theoretical narratives around English national identity as mediated by place and experience. Providing clear links between politically driven portrayals and specific lived experiences, as well as theory and everyday life, Stuart Cartland unpacks contemporary examples of ongoing sociocultural processes. Using the English context as a case study, Cartland argues that discourses around national identity are dominated by a conservative approach characterised by a sense of defensive exclusivism and insecurity. Employing discourse analysis to critically investigate the characteristics and constructed nature of ideological articulations of identity within the English social and cultural context, the author seeks to empower marginalised experiences such as those of inner-city, working-class and ethnic minority populations while also undermining dominant narratives around Englishness. Situating the English context within a wider ‘culture war’, chapters identify patterns and processes that are applicable to a multitude of other nations within the contemporary era. Considering recent developments and ongoing processes such as globalisation, immigration and multiculturalism to offer a useful illustration of the ideological nature of identity formation, this body of work illuminates the intertwined construction of identity and place.Table of ContentsIntroduction Chapter 1. Discourse, Narrative and National Identity Chapter 2. Globalisation and Discourses of Englishness Chapter 3. The Ideologically Constructed Myth of Englishness Chapter 4. Racialised Discourse and Cosmopolitan Existences Chapter 5. Discourses of Englishness and Multiculturalism Chapter 6. Englishness and Discourses of Europe Chapter 7. Devolution and Discourses of Englishness Conclusion

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Book SynopsisMexicoUS, SerbiaEU Border Lives and Works is an interdisciplinary, accessible study of MexicoUS and Serbia-EU border practices and policies.

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Book SynopsisThis collection of articles by an international group of leading experts has its special focus on the relevance of Karl Jaspers?s philosophy for the social sciences. It also includes classical evaluations of Jaspers?s thinking by renowned authors Talcott Parsons and Jürgen Habermas. Several chapters are devoted to the relationship between Jaspers and his teacher (Max Weber), his famous student (Hannah Arendt) and crucial figures in his intellectual world (Wilhelm Dilthey, Georg Simmel). Others deal with his relevance for disciplines from psychiatry to the study of religion and the historico-sociological research about the Axial Age, a term coined by Jaspers. In his introduction, editor Hans Joas tries to systematise Jaspers?s relevance for the contemporary social sciences and to explain why Parsons had called him a ?social scientist?s philosopher?.The contributions to this volume deal, on one hand, with thematic areas for which Jaspers?s work has been crucial: the Axial Age debate, a non-theological and non-reductive theory of religion; the understanding of psychoanalysis and psychiatry; and the possibilities of a diagnosis of one?s own age. On the other hand, they put Jaspers in contrast with Max Weber, Wilhelm Dilthey, Georg Simmel and Hannah Arendt. The volume also contains important chapters by Talcott Parsons, who called Jaspers ?a social scientist?s philosopher?, and by Jürgen Habermas, who contrasts his own views on the role of communicative ethics in an age of religious pluralism with those of Jaspers.The book promises to become an indispensable source in the re-evaluation of Jaspers?s thinking in the years to come. This collection of articles by an international group of leading experts has its special focus on the relevance of Karl Jaspers?s philosophy for the social sciences. It also includes classical evaluations of Jaspers?s thinking by renowned authors Talcott Parsons and Jürgen Habermas. Several chapters are devoted to the relationship between Jaspers and his teacher (Max Weber), his famous student (Hannah Arendt) and crucial figures in his intellectual world (Wilhelm Dilthey, Georg Simmel). Others deal with his relevance for disciplines from psychiatry to the study of religion and the historico-sociological research about the Axial Age, a term coined by Jaspers. In his introduction, editor Hans Joas tries to systematise Jaspers?s relevance for the contemporary social sciences and to explain why Parsons had called him a ?social scientist?s philosopher?.The book promises to become an indispensable source in the re-evaluation of Jaspers?s thinking in the years to come.

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Book SynopsisThis Handbook provides a comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date source of information and analysis about all aspects of the work of the Probation Service.It takes full account of the many changes that the Probation Service has undergone over the last few years, and is currently undergoing as probation becomes part of the broader National Offender Management Service. Contributors to the book are drawn from leading academics and practitioners in the field, drawing upon the best expertise available. Running through the book is a concern with a range of key current issues such as addressing the diversity of offenders and creating effective links with other criminal justice agencies, and it includes perspectives from both probation service staff and from offenders and victims. This book is an essential text for practitioners, trainees and students of probation and those studying it as part of a wider criminology or criminal justice course.Trade Review'The year 2007 marks the centenary of the statutory inauguration of the probation service in England and Wales, but it also sees the presentation to Parliament of a Bill that will − in the name of contestability − radically alter the organizational arrangements for delivering the traditional tasks of the service. In this turbulent context, the appearance of an authoritative and comprehensive Handbook of Probation, edited and written by acknowledged experts, is most timely and relevant.' − Sir Anthony Bottoms Emeritus Wolfson Professor of Criminology, Cambridge University'The distinguished editors have assembled a team of distinguished contributors to produce a substantial and authoritative collection. It will quickly become, and should remain, an indispensable resource for anyone interested in the present state of probation services in the United Kingdom, and in how they might develop.' − Professor David Smith, University of LancasterTable of ContentsPreface by (Chief Executive, NOMS) Introduction Part 1: The Story of Probation in England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Introduction 1. Humanising justice: the English Probation Service up to 1972 2. Towards a correctional service 3. Probation, governance and accountability 4. The Probation Service as Part of NOMS in England and Wales: fit for purpose? 5. Probation in Scotland: past, present and future 6. Probation, the state and community 'delivering probation services in Northern Ireland Part 2: Probation Services - Impact, Prospects and Potential in Everyday Practice Introduction 7. Services before trial and sentence:achievement, decline and potential 8. Assessment, supervision and intervention: fundamental practice in probation9. Sentencing, community penalties and the role of the Probation Service 10. Youth justice 11. Dealing with diversity in probation 12. Prolific/persistent offenders and desistance 13. High-risk offenders and public protection 14. The resettlement of ex-prisoners Part 3: What Works in Probation? Introduction 15. Effectiveness: who counts what? 16. Past, present and future sentences: what do we know about their effectiveness? 17. Probation values and human rights 18. Working for and with victims of crime 19. Partnerships in probation 20. Community penalties, sentencers, the media and public opinion

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Book SynopsisThis book is a thoroughly updated version of the popular first edition of The Prison Officer. It incorporates the significant increase in knowledge about the work of prison officer since the first edition was published and provides a live account of prison work and ways of understanding the role of the prison officer in the late-modern context. Few detailed narratives exist of prison work and the sort of role the prison officer occupies; this book addresses the gap. Using a range of quantitative and qualitative data and drawing on available theoretical literature it explores the role of the prison officer in an ‘appreciative’ way, taking into account the little-discussed issues of power and discretion. It provides a single accessible guide to the world and work of the prison officer, looking in detail at the present role of the prison officer in Britain and demonstrating the centrality of staff-prisoner relationships to every operation carried out by officers. This book will be of relevance to anyone with an interest in the work of a prison officer; students and others looking for an introductory survey of the literature and essential reading for any established and aspiring officers.Trade Review'...this book deserves to be considered a timeless classic.''The work is particularly distinguished by its ability to bring the emotional texture of prison work into the light. Prison officers are shown to be thinking, feeling agents, who experience joy, sadness, dejection, satisfaction, fear and excitement. This rounded and human portrait has been too rarely part of academic or popular representations. The affective nature of the work is also illuminated, showing how relationships, sensitivity and human interaction are all central. It is this connection with people and the intimacy of their lived experience where this book comes most vibrantly to life.'-Jamie Bennett, Governor, HMP Grendon and Springhill, in the Prison Service Journal no 200 Mar 2012Comments on the first edition'The most important book for the prison service of the past 30 years.' – Phil Wheatley, Director General of the Prison Service'This outstanding book will be a constant source of reference.' – Martin Narey, Former Director General of the Prison ServiceTable of Contents1. Introduction: Prison Officers at Their Best 2. Who is the Prison Officer? 3. Understanding Prison Officers and Their Role 4. The Complexities of Role 5. Staff–Prisoner Relationships: The Heart of Prison Work 6. The Centrality of Discretion in the Work of Prison Officers 7. Prison Officer Culture and Unionisation 8. The Prison Officer in a Modern Bureaucracy 9. Conclusions

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Book Synopsis"Militant Modernism" argues for a Modernism of everyday life, immersed in questions of socialism, sexual politics and technology. It features new readings of some familiar names - Bertolt Brecht, Le Corbusier, Vladimir Mayakovsky - and much more on the lesser known, quotidian modernists of the 20th century. The chapters range from a study of industrial and brutalist aesthetics in Britain, Russian Constructivism in architecture, the Sexpol of Wilhelm Reich in film and design, and the alienation effects of Brecht and Hanns Eisler on record and on screen. Against the world of 'there is no alternative', this book talks about things we haven't done yet, in the past tense.Trade ReviewWith svelte prose, agile wit, and alarming erudition, Owen Hatherley pries open the prematurely closed case of early 20th Century modernism. This slim and shapely, ideas-packed and intensely-felt book is neither a misty-eyed memorial nor a dour inquest, but a verging-on-erotic mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Rediscovering the enchantment of demystification and the sexiness of severity, Hatherley harks forward to modernism's utopian spirit: critical, radically democratic, dedicated to the conscious transformation of everyday life, determined to build a better world. Simon Reynolds, Author of Rip It Up and Start Again - Postpunk 1978-84"A call to have the courage to be modern against all the current postmodern pieties of exhaustion and fragmentation, Owen Hatherley's brilliant reactivation of the utopian impulses of the modernist avant-garde is Brecht meeting Ballard to create the science-fiction of socialism." Benjamin Noys, Author of Georges Bataille and The Culture of Death

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Book SynopsisHas material civilization spun out of control, becoming too fast for our own well-being and that of the planet? This book confronts these anxieties and examines the changing rhythms and temporal organization of everyday life. How do people handle hurriedness, burn-out and stress? Are slower forms of consumption viable? This volume brings together international experts from geography, sociology, history, anthropology and philosophy. In case studies covering the United States, Asia and Europe, contributors follow routines and rhythms, their emotional and political dynamics and show how they are anchored in material culture and everyday practice. Running themes of the book are questions of coordination and disruption; cycles and seasons; and the interplay between power and freedom, and between material and natural forces. The result is a volume that brings studies of practice, temporality and material culture together to open up a new intellectual agenda.Trade Review"Every now and then a book appears which can truly be counted as an original. This is one of those books. Each chapter produces a different kind of sparkle but the overall effect is clear: to shine a light into a series of different kinds of social fractures and crevices that make up the use of time, thereby giving the lie to the idea of anything as simple as a notion like routine. The diversity of the book makes it a constant delight to read, the theme will surely be a stimulus to further work. Terrific. - Nigel Thrift, University of Warwick. Co-Author of Times, Spaces and Places and Shaping the Day The book is arranged around a number of case studies from different cultures, including a comparative analysis in the UK between 1937 and 2000 and seasonal and commerical rhythms of domestic consumption in Japan. The reader comes away with a much more subtle understanding of the topic. - The Scientific and Medical Network The book is well presented, a strongly bound paperback, with acceptable price. The content has very strong value as teaching material as well as building further research. - Nancy J. Pollock, Victoria University (New Zealand)"Table of ContentsList of Tables and Figures, List of Contributors, Acknowledgements, Introduction, Section I: Time, Space and Practice, 1. Everyday Practice and the Production and Consumption of Time, 2. Timespace and the Organization of Social Life, 3. Re-ordering Temporal Rhythms: Coordinating Daily Practices in the UK in 1937 and 2000, Section II: Pace and Scale: Temporal Order and Disruption, 4. Disruption is Normal: Blackouts, Breakdowns and the Elasticity of Everyday Lif, 5. My Soul for a Seat: Commuting and the Routines of Mobility, 6. Routines Made and Unmade, Section III: Rhythms, Patterns and Temporal Cycles of Consumption, 7. Calendars and Clocks: Cycles of Horticultural Commerce in Nineteenth-Century America, 8. Fads, Fashions and 'Real' Innovations: Novelties and Social Change, 9. The Edge of Agency: Routines, Habits and Volition, Section IV: The Temporalities of Stuff, 10. Buying Time, 11. Seasonal and Commercial Rhythms of Domestic Consumption: A Japanese Case Study, 12. Special and Ordinary Times: Tea in Motion, 13. Making Time: Reciprocal Object Relations and the Self-legitimizing Time of Wooden Boating, 14. The Ethics of Routine: Consciousness, Tedium and Value, Index

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Book Synopsis'Lucy Kerbel's work has become increasingly pivotal in helping the entire industry raise its game... this illuminating book answers the cynic, informs the impartial, converts the supporter into an activist and equips them all; not in a rallying cry of anger-fuelled idealism, but in a calm, pragmatic and clear-eyed way.' Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre, from his Foreword Theatre needs to change. Everywhere – in its boardrooms, on its stages, throughout its repertoires – it could be so much more successful at reflecting the gender balance of the world it seeks to represent. This is a book about why change matters, its benefits – artistic, commercial, ethical and social – and how, with everyone's help, we can actually achieve it. From small shifts, such as how you run your meetings, or what's on the shelves of your school library, to rethinking concepts as huge as the art we inherit, how we attribute excellence, and the constraints we unwittingly pass on to the next generation, there are things we can all do to bring about change. In this book, you'll find provocations to help you consider your current practices and their effects, challenge unconscious biases and identify opportunities for change, plus strategies and tools to help you decide where best to focus your efforts, to convince others why change matters, and to achieve meaningful, lasting success. Eye-opening, empowering and inspiring, All Change Please is a book for anyone who loves theatre. Whether you make it, teach it, watch it or study it, everyone has their own unique part to play in helping refresh, reshape and re-imagine the industry as truly diverse, equal and inclusive. 'We are the industry. If things will shift it is down to us, all of us, to make that happen. We all need to reflect on how we work, how we think, and how we make choices. That's what will drive the greatest change.' Since 2011, Lucy Kerbel and her organisation Tonic Theatre have been working with companies and individuals across the theatre industry to support them in achieving greater gender equality in their work and workforces. Her first book, 100 Great Plays for Women, is also published by Nick Hern Books.Trade Review'Well-informed and clearly written, accessible and engaging… the chapter on Young People would be an inspiring and provocative starting point for a debate with GSCE or A-level students... this brilliant book will help us get towards realising a vision of equality' * Drama Magazine *'Relevant and useful to people at all levels and in all parts of the creative industry, from youth-group leaders to executive producers... already it has altered the way I think about the issue and its possible solutions' * Teaching Drama *'An accessible and enjoyable read which I finished feeling motivated, inspired and informed... reminds us that we each have a role to play in making change happen regardless of how much power we think we have' * Youth Theatre Ireland *'Eminently practical... Kerbel makes her case in calm yet resolute fashion, busting common myths and giving readers the tools to spot and combat imbalances - both collectively and individually... Kerbel's belief in the industry's ability to change, the benefits it will bring, and the joy we can find in advancing that change is much-needed inspiration. We so often despair at the negative; here is a brisk spur to take action and create the positive' * Broadway World *'[Kerbel's] evidence is watertight, well conveyed and successfully highlights the issues facing gender equality in today’s industry… all of us need to take note, take it seriously and take action' * Ink Pellet *'A great guide for anyone thinking about gender equality… gives people the tools to create their own change' * WhatsOnStage *'An empowering read that leaves you feeling both able and ready to take some form of action... there is still a huge amount of work to do, but Kerbel breaks it down, making equality feel a little closer to our grasp' * LGBTQ Review *'A fantastic starting point for anyone looking to help achieve real lasting change in gender equality in theatre, at any level... definitely one for the bookshelf' * Female Arts *

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Book SynopsisChild protection systems differ across the four countries of the United Kingdom, and understanding the differences provide important opportunities for learning and improving day-to-day practice. This authoritative book compares UK child protection systems with other systems world-wide as well as scrutinising and comparing the systems in different parts of the UK. Reflecting on the impact of devolution, the authors consider and critically analyse the way child protection systems are being developed, thought about and put into practice in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. An intra-country comparative approach is applied to the main features making up child protection including: policy frameworks, inter-agency guidance, the role of Local Safeguarding Children Boards and Area Child Protection Committees, child deaths and Serious Case Review processes, and vetting and barring legislation and systems. The authors also consider the unique position occupied by England and explore future directions for child protection across the UK.This important book will be of considerable interest to child welfare policy makers, academics, researchers, practitioners and students.Trade ReviewVery impressive book. It is certainly a book that should be read by those who are involved in the studying of child protection or involved in its practice... It is a very readable book took with the text written in a way that allows the reader to follow the logic of the authors. I certainly recommend its reading. -- Journal of Social Welfare & Family LawThe book... sets out how, despite ever deepening devolution, England continues to set the context within which the developed nations operate. In essence, apart from the Scottish children hearings system, there is little to differentiate child protection policy and practice across the UK, though this may well change. As with all of Nigel Parton's work, this is an interesting and informative read. -- Professional Social Work.It aims to provide insights that will help safeguard vulnerable children from abuse and neglect. (This) well-written book provides significant insights into selected child protection systems around the world... not only for policy makers by also for academics, researchers, child protection workers, and students. -- Bernadette J Saunders, Department of Social Work, Monash University, Australia * International Journal of Children's Rights *Table of Contents1. Introduction: About this Book. Part 1. Introduction and Context. 2. Contexts and Drivers of Policy Change in Child Protection across the UK. 3. Child Protection across the UK in an International Context. 4. Learning by Comparing: Some Conceptual and Methodological Issues in Conducting Comparative Research. Part 2. Child Protection Processes and Structures. 5. Policies and Procedures to Protect Children across the UK. 6. Managing Individual Cases where there are Child Protection Concerns. 7. Assessment Frameworks. 8. Child Death Review Processes. 9. Child Protection and Offender Management Systems across the UK.10. Summary and Conclusion: Child Protection across the UK. Appendix. References. Index.

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Book SynopsisTowards the end of the 18th century the attention of mapmakers, explorers and travellers turned to the north of Scotland. The mountains that rise north of Stirling formed a formidable barrier for anyone wanting to visit the Highlands, and travellers to the Far North were even rarer: there were no roads at all into most of Sutherland, and Ross and Cromarty until the early years of the 19th century. Who did go there, and why? This book follows the early mapmakers who gradually revealed the area, including Timothy Pont and Alexander Bryce who published the first accurate map of the north coast. General Roy covered the whole of Scotland for his remarkable 'Great Map', and later, the indomitable and energetic General Colby dragged his reluctant Ordnance Survey team across much of the north, as documented by Robert Kearsley Dawson. Meanwhile, Culloden led to increased interest in the area, as is evident not only from the visit of Dr. Johnson, but also those from Thomas Pennant, Bishop Pococke and the Rev. Charles Cordiner, all of whom managed to reach the far north-west and leave fascinating accounts of what they found. The poverty that was apparent to these visitors from the south led to action from the British government, not least an important road-making scheme under Thomas Telford which is documented in this book using not only the official reports, but also an enthusiastic account left by the Poet Laureate of the time, Robert Southey. With the new roads came the tourists, flocking to sites like Loch Katrine, in search of signs of Sir Walter Scott's heroes and heroines. But it was only the bolder few who made it to the far north-west, men like the Rev. James Hall, 'making love' under the table at Caithness, or James Hogg, ever the ladies' man at Lochs Duich and Maree. The book follows this story, which has barely been mentioned in popular literature, and delights in choice anecdotes from all these accounts, touching on a number of disciplines: cartography, early geology and botany. But above all, it gives a picture of this unknown region, as it seemed to those exploring it, an area of astonishing beauty, with inhabitants that showed notable warmth and generosity in spite of their poverty. The book ends with an account of the Highlands Controversy, a debate that divided the geological community for much of the 19th century, culminating in discoveries that revealed that the area contained some of the most remarkable geology not just in Britain, but in the whole world. Thus recognition was at last achieved for a region that contains some of the most striking scenery in the United Kingdom.

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Book SynopsisWhat are the possible future worlds of social science? How do these prospects compare with recent conclusions that social science is generally a non-factor in policy debates and irrelevant to the lives of a host of real-world people, as a well-known sociologist reported in the centennial volume of the American Sociological Association? This substantial study covers history, art and aesthetics, identity and the self, in seeking an answer to the question of Future Worlds .

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Book Synopsis"...a very attractive seasonable title..." --Books Ireland. A lavishly illustrated book. Everything you need to know about Christmas. With over 700 illustrations--25 in colour--from the first century to the twenty-first century. The forgotten Seasons of Christmas--the 40 days, the 20 days, the 12 (or is it 13?) days; Christmas and War; Christmas and the Movies; Christmas and the Industrial Revolution--the force that almost killed it; Christmas and Religion--when and where was it illegal to celebrate Christmas? Christmas food--Brawn, Boar's head, Plum pudding, Cookies, etc.; and Christmas drink--from Wassail to the Tom and Jerry; Why was Christmas traditionally celebrated until February? Who was Mithras? Why did the New York Santa come on New Year's Eve rather than Christmas Eve? Who really wrote " 'Twas the Night before Christmas"? All the Scrooge Movies, and Christmas Movies you might not be aware of. A richly illustrated Question-and-Answer Guide on 282 pages. (General) at: http://www.phaeton.ie Book video at: http://www.youtube.com/embed/UPpVPV7miiY?rel=0Trade Review"... Charming, with illustrations galore... A good guide to the festive season, raising a few laughs and managing to evoke some old-fashioned nostalgia for a time of year swamped by commercialism." --Books Ireland [2012] "...The book is very entertaining both in its array of miscellaneous facts about the season of the Nativity, and in its wide array of illustrations, many drawing on the rich traditions left us by the Victorians. The aim of the author is to entertain and to enlighten in a gentle way--and she achieves both, making this a Christmas present which will amuse for years to come." --The Irish Catholic Journal.Table of ContentsPART I -- MAKERS & MILESTONES OF CHRISTMAS: (i) Charles Dickens & Washington Irving; (ii) Robert Seymour; (iii) Pagan Rome & its Empire; (iv) Saint Nicholas; (v) Saint Francis of Assisi; (vi) Martin Luther; (vii) Marchmont Nedham, 1600s England; (viii) Edmund Andros, 1600s New England; (ix) Henry Livingston Jr., Clement C. Moore, & Don Foster; (x) 'The Children's Friend' 1821; (xi) Prince Albert & Mr Mike Carr; (xii) Thomas Nast; (xiii) Ulysses S. Grant; (xiv) Valentine Davies; (xv) Col. Harry Shoup, USAF; (xvi) The Year 1958; (xvii) Unknown author of 'Dan d'Oidhche Nodlag.' -- -- -- PART II -- A QUESTION-&-ANSWER GUIDE TO THE SEASON OF CHRISTMAS: [Chapter 1] The Merry Christmas -- where it came from; [Chapter 2] Christmas Calendar -- the 40 Days of Christmas; [Chapter 3 -- Interlude] The Tom & Jerry; [Chapter 4] Christmas Calendar -- The 12 Days of Christmas; [Chapter 5 -- Interlude] Scrooge Movies; [Chapter 6] Christmas Calendar -- The 20 Days of Christmas; [Chapter 7 -- Interlude] Christmas Movies; [Chapter 8] The Vigils of Christmas (day begins at night); [Chapter 9] The Banning of Christmas (in Geneva, England, Scotland, & the U.S.); [Chapter 10 -- Interlude] More Christmas Movies; [Chapter 11] The Resurgent Christmas of the English-speaking World; [Chapter 12] The Street Carnival -- Mumming, Wassail, & Waits; [Chapter 13] Other Days & Seasons Around Christmas; [Chapter 14 -- Afters] Notes on Four Christmas foods; Christmas Cookies; & 'A Visit from St Nicholas' 1823. [Sources & Bibliography].

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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a huge range and FREE tracked UK delivery on ALL orders.

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Book SynopsisThis book explores why widespread predictions of the radical transformation in the recording industry did not materialise. Although the growing revenue generated from streaming signals the recovery of the digital music business, it is important to ask to what extent is the current development a response to digital innovation. Hyojung Sun finds the answer in the detailed innovation process that has taken place since Napster. She reassesses the way digital music technologies were encultured in complex music valorisation processes and demonstrates how the industry has become reintermediated rather than disintermediated. This book offers a new understanding of digital disruption in the recording industry. It captures the complexity of the innovation processes that brought about technological development, which arose as a result of interaction across the circuit of the recording business – production, distribution, valorisation, and consumption. By offering a more sophisticated account than the prevailing dichotomy, the book exposes deterministic myths surrounding the radical transformation of the industry.Trade Review“This volume is essential reading for anyone wondering how the current state of music access happened.” (Ed Komara, ARSC, Association for Recorded Sound Collections Journal, Vol. 52 (1), 2021)Table of ContentsList of Figures.- List of Tables.- List of Abbreviations.- Chapter 1 Introduction.- Chapter 2 Towards a More Sophisticated Account.- Chapter 3 The History of Technological Development in the Recording Industry.- Chapter 4 Evolution of Digital Music Services.- Chapter 5 Case Study - Spotify.- Chapter 6 Digital Music Distribution Networks.- Chapter 7 Case Study - INgrooves.- Chapter 8 Digital Revolution Tamed in the Recording Industry.- Bibliography.

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Book SynopsisThis book analyzes future directions in the study of expertise and experience with the aim of engendering more critical discourse on the general discipline of science and technology studies. In 2002, Collins and Evans published an article entitled “The Third Wave of Science Studies,” suggesting that the future of science and technology studies would be to engage in “Studies in Expertise and Experience.” In their view, scientific expertise in legal and policy settings should reflect a consensus of formally-trained scientists and citizens with experience in the relevant field (but not “ordinary” citizens). The Third Wave has garnered attention in journals and in international workshops, where scholars delivered papers explicating the theoretical foundations and practical applications of the Third Wave. This book arose out of those workshops, and is the next step in the popularization of the Third Wave. The chapters address the novel concept of interactional experts, the use of imitation games, appropriating scientific expertise in law and policy settings, and recent theoretical developments in the Third Wave.Table of ContentsChapter 1. IntroductionPart One: Law and Policy Studies in ExpertiseIntroduction to Part One.Chapter 2. Twenty-Five Years of Opposing Trends: The Demystification of Science in Law, and the Waning Relativism in the Sociology of ScienceChapter 3. Ignoring ExpertsChapter 4. Recognizing Counterfeit Scientific Controversies in Science Policy Contexts: A Criteria-Based ApproachChapter 5. Judging Social Work Expertise in Care ProceedingsChapter 6. Geographical Expertise: From Places to Processes and Back AgainPart Two: Imitation GamesChapter 7. Bonfire Night and Burns Night: Using the Imitation Game to Research English and Scottish IdentitiesChapter 8. How (Well) Do Media Professionals Know Their Audiences? S.E.E. Meets Media StudiesChapter 9. East German Identity: A Never-Ending Story?Chapter 10. The Game With Identities: Identifications and Categorization as Social PracticePart Three: Interactional ExpertiseChapter 11. The Test of Ubiquitous Through Real or Interactional Expertise (TURINEX) and Veganism as ExpertiseChapter 12. Why They've Immersed: A Framework for Understanding and Attending to Motivational Differences Among Interactional ExpertsChapter 13. Developing a Theoretical Scaffolding for Interactional Competence: A Conceptual and Empirical Investigation into Competence versus ExpertiseChapter 14. Collaboration Among Apparently Incommensurable Expertises: A Case Study of Combining Expertises and Perspectives to Manage Climate Change in Coastal ViginiaPart Four: Conceptual and Theoretical DevelopmentsChapter 15. Trading Zones RevisitedChater 16. Interactional Expertise as Primer of Abstract ThoughtChapter 17. A Scientific Research Program at the U.S.-Mexico Borderland Region: The Search for the Recipe of Maya BlueChapter 18. Conclusion

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Book Synopsis#MeToo. Digital networking. Facebook groups. Social media continues to be positioned by social movement scholars as an exciting new tool that has propelled feminism into a dynamic fourth wave of the movement. But how does male power play out on social media, and what is the political significance of women using male-controlled and algorithmically curated platforms for feminism? To answer these questions, Megarry foregrounds an analysis of the practices and ethics of the historical Women’s Liberation Movement (WLM), including the revolutionary characteristics of face-to-face organising and the development of an autonomous print culture. Centering discussions of time, space and surveillance, she utilises radical and lesbian feminist theory to expose the contradictions between the political project of women’s liberation and the dominant celebratory narratives of Web 2.0. This is the first book to seriously consider how social media perpetuates the enduring logic of patriarchy and howdigital activism shapes women’s oppression in the 21st century. Drawing on interviews with intergenerational feminist activists from the UK, the USA, Australia, Canada and New Zealand, as well as archival and digital activist materials, Megarry boldly concludes that feminists should abandon social media and return to the transformative powers of older forms of women-centred political praxis. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of Women’s and Gender Studies, Lesbian and Queer Studies, Social Movement Studies, Critical Internet Studies and Political Communication, as well as anyone with an interest in feminist activism and the history of the WLM.Table of Contents1. A Fourth Wave or a Fools’ Errand?.- 2. Unravelling the Web of Equals.- 3. 'By Women, For Women, About Women': The Women’s Liberation Movement as a Free Space.- 4. 'On the Internet, there is no Women-only space': Male Power in Digital Networks.- 5. 'I don’t see any strategy really, I see more […] personal venting': Consciousness-Raising, Theory-Building and Activism in Digital Space.- 6. 'It just doesn’t feel as transparent and accountable': Social Media and Feminist Ethics.- 7. ‘Female Performers on a Male Stage’.

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Book SynopsisThis book explains that while posthumanism rose in opposition to the biblical contention that ‘Man was created in the image of God’, transhumanism ascertained the complementary view that ‘Man has been assigned dominion over all creatures’, further exploring a path that had been opened up by the Enlightenment’s notion of human perfectibility.It explains also how posthumanism and transhumanism relate to deconstruction theory, and on a broader level to capitalism, libertarianism, and the fight against human extinction which may involve trespassing the boundary of the skin, achieving individual immortality or dematerialization of the Self and colonisation of distant planets and stars.Two authors debate about truth and reason in today’s world, the notion of personhood and the legacy of the Nietzschean Superhuman in the current varieties of anti-humanism.Table of ContentsIntroduction: Humanism and its Discontents - The Rise of Transhumanism and Posthumanism, Paul JorionI. Humanism on the waneStrong Artificial Intelligence and theological anthropology: one problem, two solutions, Marius DorobantuII. Complement and supplementsOn Prosthetic Existence: what differentiates deconstruction from transhumanism and posthumanism, Susanna LindbergIII. Boundaries and frontiersDiscourse between Stefan Lorenz Sorgner and Paul Jorion on Nietzsche, Fascism and Moving Beyond Humanism: From Friedrich Nietzsche to Stefan Sorgner: the short path leading from superhumanism to metahumanism, Paul JorionDignity, Personhood, and the Sacred, Stefan Lorenz SorgnerTruth? Still breathing!, Paul JorionEnlightenment, Truths, and the Sciences, Stefan Lorenz SorgnerWhen skin and technology intertwine, Hélène JeanninIV. The Enlightenment recoveredOn Max More’s extropianism, Salomé BourTranshumanism and Advanced Capitalism: elitist logics and dangerous implications, Alexander ThomasV. The cunning of ReasonPosthumanism, transhumanism, superhumanism and metahumanism from an adaptive standpoint, Paul JorionEthics and Complexity: Why standard ethical frameworks cannot cope with socio-technological change, Clément Vidal & Francis Heylighen

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Book SynopsisThis book is a fresh and readable account of the Covid-19 pandemic and how scientists and medical doctors are helping governments to manage the crisis. The book contains interviews and exchanges with dozens of scientists, doctors, experts, government representatives, and journalists. Why do some of the most scientifically advanced countries have the highest Covid-19 mortality? During the pandemic, the research community has been at the heart of—and actor in—a global scandal. Why has science failed? With the help of numerous testimonies from China, France, the UK and the USA in particular, the book provides an insider’s view on this major crisis. Although the governments of these countries based their Covid-19 strategy on science, scientists failed to have a decisive influence on decision-makers—except in China—, which created genuine “time bombs.” The accelerated development of vaccines does not erase past months’ errors. The crisis led to the development of “science politics” at an unprecedented rate. More worryingly, experts themselves acknowledge that they did not rise to the challenge. Covid-19 also highlighted the weakness of democratic regimes and the power of technocapitalism. Countries pulled down their blinds, locked their doors, and promoted national approaches rather than international cooperation. The author proposes to set up an international framework on health risk to co-construct decision-making. He advocates political distancing in order to put the basics first: develop science, fight ignorance.The author, Michel Claessens on the Science for Policy Podcast from SAPEATable of ContentsA Microscopic Killer.- COVID-19 Diary.- Geopolitics of the Coronavirus.- Political Distancing.

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Book SynopsisScience, Technology and Society: An Introduction provides students with an accessible overview of the interdisciplinary field of Science and Technology Studies (STS). The discipline breaks down traditional conceptions of knowledge as universal, neutral and ahistorical, and takes a more critical approach to science and technology as social embedded phenomena. This comprehensive textbook makes use of unique examples and case studies to illustrate theoretical debates and concepts. In addition, the reader acquires a unique vision of contemporary issues (such as the power of algorithms, the mystification of fake news, the role of experts within the decision-making process, for example). Each chapter incorporates pedagogically rich features, including interactive discussion points to be used individually or in class as prompts for debate.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction: Why Do We Need to Rethink Science?.Part One: From The Philosophy Of Science to The Social Studies of Science.Chapter 2: Gnoseology. The Foundations of Human Knowledge.Chapter 3: Epistemology: The fundamental elements of scientific knowledge.Chapter 4: Society In Science.Chapter 5: The Advent of The Studies of Science and of Technology.Part Two: Main Themes In STS.Chapter 6: The Boundaries of Science.Chapter 7: Science Behind The Scenes.Chapter 8: Scientists, Experts And Public Opinion.Chapter 9 Science And Technology: Two Sides Of The Same Coin.Chapter 10: Science, Technology And Gender.Part Three: Contemporary Fields Of InquiryChapter 11: Environment.Chapter 12: Digital Societies.Chapter 13: Medicine And Biotechnology.Chapter 14: Five Challenges For The Future.Chapter 15. Conclusion

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Book SynopsisThe book discusses smart governments and innovation in the public sector. In hopes of arriving at a clear definition of innovation in the field of public administration, the volume provides a wide survey of global policies and practices, especially those aimed at reducing bureaucracy and using information-communication technologies in public service delivery. Chapters look at current applications across countries and multiple levels of government, from public innovation labs in the UK to AI in South Korea. Providing concrete examples of innovation culture at work in public institutions, this volume will be of use to researchers and students studying new public management, public service delivery, and innovation as well as practitioners and professionals working in various public agencies.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Innovation and Government.- Chapter 2: Innovation Practices.- Chapter 3: Smart Cities.- Chapter 4: Artificial Intelligence.- Chapter 5: From Smart State to Smart Citizen.- Chapter 6: Conclusion.- References.- Appendix.

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Book SynopsisThis book analyses the conflict over the release of transgenic soybean in Brazil based on a narrative analysis of political conflict. At the end of the 1990s, the commercial release of Roundup Ready (RR) soybean triggered a heated debate over the introduction of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in Brazilian agriculture, which developed into an open political conflict opposing pro- and anti-GMOs groups in Brazilian society. This volume examines some of the structuring axes of this conflict by applying a narrative analysis of political conflict. In this approach, politics is perceived as a process of interpretive conflict in which participants in the political game seek to establish the lines that delimit the very definition of public issues under debate. The issue of GMOs is understood, from this perspective, as a public controversy whose dynamics are shaped by the discourses that emerge from the dispute itself. To analyze these controversies, the book focuses on three axes of narrative analyses: the conflict over distributives issues associated with the commercial release of RR soy; the conflict over scientific uncertainty associated with the environmental risks of GMOs; and the conflict over labeling policies. Transgenics in Dispute: Political Conflicts in the Commercial Liberation of GMOs in Brazil will be of interest to both social and environmental scientists concerned with the risks produced by the newest technologies that mediate our relationship with the environment and with the public debate that their use tends to provoke.This book is a translation of the original Portuguese edition “Transgênicos em disputa: Os conflitos políticos na liberação comercial dos OGMs no Brasil” by Cristiano Luis Lenzi, published in Brazil by Appris Editora in 2020. The translation was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). The author has subsequently revised the text further in an endeavour to refine the work stylistically. Springer Nature works continuously to further the development of tools for the production of books and on the related technologies to support the authors.Table of ContentsChapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. Environmental Policy Process: from linear to discursive model.- Chapter 3. Brave New World Of Biotechnology: Ethics, science, policy and regulation.- Chapter 4. A Territory Free of Transgenics: the conflict over the release of RR soybean in Southern Brazil.- Chapter 5. Science In Dispute: Sound science and the conflict over risk analysis.- Chapter 6. Labelling as Precaution: Substantial equivalence and the conflict over labelling.- Chapter 7. Regulation Made in USA: Regulatory Polarization and the Brazilian Case.- Chapter 8. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisThis book considers representations of wealth and the wealthy in videogames. The introduction explores the estrangement of wealth from everyday life in the contemporary west, and argues that videogames have contributed to modern life by dramatizing the economic anxieties of our age — in particular, those anxieties that relate to the Global Great Recession. A review of historical titles reveals that such and related efforts draw in significant ways from the literary tradition of sentimental romance, where wealth and the wealthy have long been associated with notions of the underworld or hell. The relevance of this tradition to contemporary titles is explored through a careful analysis of romantic themes and concerns with significance to acts of exchange. The Wealth of Virtual Nations will appeal to students with an interest in narrative theory, game design, literature, economics, and the humanities. It will also be of interest to the videogame industry.Table of ContentsChapter 1: Introduction: Analyzing Wealth in Videogames Chapter 2: Literary Theory for Gamers Chapter 3: The Symbolic Order of Action and Possibility Bearing on Time Chapter 4: Capital and Class Determinations in Videogames Chapter 5: Night World Identify Affirmations Chapter 6: Conclusion: The Wealth of Virtual Nations

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