Sociology: work and labour Books
Princeton University Press The Last Human Job
Book Synopsis
£21.25
Bristol University Press The Class Ceiling
Book SynopsisThis important book takes readers behind the closed doors of elite employers to reveal how class affects who gets to the top. Drawing on 200 interviews across four case studies - television, accountancy, architecture, and acting - it explores the complex barriers facing the upwardly mobile.Trade Review"The Class Ceiling blows apart the myth of our supposed meritocracy." The National (Scotland) Recommended for all levels from upper-division undergraduates to faculty by CHOICE Connect. "An excellent, mixed-methods, Bourdieu-driven study of how privilege creates a "following wind" that helps push people to the top of elite professions... An important innovation of this study is that the authors use ethnographic interviews and observations in four work settings to see how privilege helps not only with "getting in" but also the even more consequential steps of "getting on," of rising to the elite levels." "Marshals a wide range of data, analysis and experience in an accessible and readable manner... makes the continued existence of class bias in occupational and public life more difficult for cheerleaders of meritocracy to deny, and - crucially - offers ways to end it." New Humanist "One of the most insightful works on the dynamics of inequality since Pickett and Wilkinson's The Spirit Level a decade ago" Herald Scotland "Reading The Class Ceiling hit home in so many places I felt bruised by the end. " The Guardian "A well-conceived and important study which makes a significant contribution to knowledge about social mobility, and an important intervention into broader political debates" Selina Todd, University of Oxford "This compelling book offers a fresh approach to understanding how social class matters. Easy to read, Highly recommended!" Annette Lareau, University of Pennsylvania "Without question this is the most outstanding study of social mobility in the UK to have appeared in the past 20 years. Using a brilliant mixed method design, Friedman & Laurison trace the long shadow of class privilege in driving career prospects even in the supposedly dynamic sectors of today's knowledge economy. Anyone who thinks Britain is a meritocracy needs to ponder the lessons of this wonderful book." Mike Savage, LSE "This stunning book provides a panoramic overview of class inequality in the UK labour market with a forensic scrutiny of the ways in which privilege works to keep the class ceiling firmly in place." Diane Reay, University of Cambridge "Friedman and Laurison show how it can possibly be that upwardly mobile executives and professionals earn less than those raised in the upper classes. Everybody in The Class Ceiling has a desirable job, but even in the upper reaches of British society, class roots matter." Mike Hout, New York UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction Getting in Getting on Untangling the class pay gap Inside elite firms The bank of Mum and Dad A helping hand Fitting in View from the top Self-elimination Class ceilings: A new approach to social mobility Conclusion Epilogue: 10 ways to break the class ceiling
£9.99
Pan Macmillan The Geek Way
Book SynopsisFinancial Times Business Books of the MonthEconomist Best Books of 2023 With a foreword by Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn'A handbook for disruptors' - Eric Schmidt, former CEO of GoogleWe’re living in a time of amazing innovation, but we’re not paying enough attention to one of the most important of all: the innovation to the company itself. Now, bestselling author of The Second Machine Age, Andrew McAfee, explains how engineers and geeks are changing the world of business – with extraordinary results.A new model is being pioneered by geeks; a radical new mindset that has shifted the paradigm entirely on what a business can – and should – be. They do not follow the rules of the Industrial era, with their hierarchies and bureaucratic ways of thinking. They do not follow the principles preached in business schools since the dawn of time. They have all dedicated themselves to appTrade ReviewAndy understands that we geeks haven’t just been creating new technologies in Silicon Valley — we’ve also been creating new and improved ways to run a company in a world permeated by tech. Here he distills what we’ve come up with. This book is a handbook for disruptors -- Eric Schmidt, former CEO of GoogleThe Geek Way makes a fascinating case that the most important technological revolution of our time isn't what companies make, but how they're managed. Andrew McAfee is a world-class intellectual provocateur - he never ceases to challenge my assumptions and sharpen my thinking - and reading this book will do the same for you. It's the most compelling analysis I've seen of what Silicon Valley has learned about building more effective organizations, and what they still have to learn -- Adam Grant, host of the TED podcast Re:Thinking and #1 New York Times bestselling author * Think Again *By combining management theory, competitive strategy, the science of evolution, psychology, military history and cultural anthropology, McAfee has produced a remarkable work of synthesis that finally explains within a single unified theory — The Geek Way — the reasons why the tech startup approach has taken over so much of the world -- Reid Hoffman, co-founder of LinkedIn and New York Times bestselling author * The Start-Up of You *The chapter titles alone — which intrigue and baffle in equal measure — should compel you to read this smart, irreverent, informative guide to navigating the future of work. Companies that don’t follow The Geek Way will fall behind. And it’s all about creating the right culture — a culture of speed, ownership, science, and openness. Each of these simple words contains more than you can know. Read this remarkable book -- Amy C. Edmondson, Professor of Leadership & Management, Harvard Business School and bestselling author * Right Kind Of Wrong *In industry after industry, corporate boards are asking management what their plan is to thrive in an unsettled, fast-changing environment. The Geek Way contains among the best answers I've seen to this critical question -- Dambisa Moyo, Member of the House of Lords and bestselling author * Dead Aid *I've worked closely with Andy for more than a decade. I'm blown away by this book. It's bold and original, relevant and rigorous, and immediately useful for any restless, curious innovator. In other words, for any geek -- Erik Brynjolfsson, Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab and New York Times bestselling author * The Second Machine Age *Andrew McAfee's The Geek Way? outlines what has become a critical advantage for the United States, for Silicon Valley, and for many companies. If you wish to understand the last twenty years of life, and probably the next twenty as well, this book is essential reading -- Tyler Cowen, author of Big BusinessA valuable guide for would-be economic, technical, and cultural disruptors -- KirkusMcAfee embraces the definition of geekiness as obsessive and celebrates the burning curiosity that drives inquiry into both the how and the why of solutions. This...will be a welcome addition to business collections in academic and public libraries -- BooklistFor leaders wondering how to build a 21st-century organisation, The Geek Way encourages readers to rethink their notions of what is possible, and to reorient their thinking about what a company can — and should — be. -- The Financial Times book review
£20.90
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC StartUp Century
Book Synopsis
£11.69
C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our
Book SynopsisWhether it’s working for free in exchange for ‘experience’, enduring poor treatment in the name of being ‘part of the family’, or clocking serious overtime for a good cause, more and more of us are pushed to make sacrifices for the privilege of being able to do work we enjoy. Work Won’t Love You Back examines how we all bought into this ‘labour of love’ myth: the idea that certain work is not really work, and should be done for the sake of passion rather than pay. Through the lives and experiences of various workers—from the unpaid intern and the overworked teacher, to the nonprofit employee, the domestic worker and even the professional athlete—this compelling book reveals how we’ve all been tricked into a new tyranny of work. Sarah Jaffe argues that understanding the labour of love trap will empower us to work less and demand what our work is worth. Once freed, we can finally figure out what actually gives us joy, pleasure and satisfaction.Trade Review‘Sarah Jaffe is a rarity in the US. Not only is she one of the few journalists still reporting on the labour movement, but she sits on an even shorter list of writers intent on covering the everyday stories of working people through a lens of dignity and empowerment. […] Work Won’t Love You Back is ambitious in breadth [while] also reach[ing] for impressive theoretical depth.’
£11.39
HarperCollins Publishers Mother of Invention
Book SynopsisWATERSTONES BEST POLITICAL BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2021LONGLISTED FOR THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDALI am absurdly excited for this book' Caroline Criado PerezBestselling author KatrineMarçalreveals the shocking ways our deeply ingrained ideas about gender continue to hold us back. Every day, extraordinary inventions and innovative ideas are side-lined in a world that remains subservient to menBut it doesn't have to be this way. From the beginning of time, women have been pivotal to our society, offering ingenious solutions to some of our most vexing problems. More recently, it is women who have transformed the way we shop online, revolutionised the lives of disabled people and put the climate crisis at the top of the agenda.Despite these successes, we still fail to find and fund the game-changing ideas that could alter the future of our planet, giving just 3% of venture capital to female founders. Instead, ingrained ideas about men and women continue to shape our economic decisions; favouring men and leading us to the same tired set of solutions.For too long we have underestimated the consequences of sexism in our economy, and the way it holds all of us women and men back. Katrine Marcal's blistering critique sets the record straight and shows how, in a time of crisis, the ingenuity and intelligence of women is that very thing that can save us.Trade ReviewPraise for Mother of Invention ‘A book with a radical agenda … Marçal wants nothing less than a revolution in the way we think about ourselves.’ The Times ‘A smart, witty and fascinating warning from history. I loved this book.’ CAROLINE CRIADO PEREZ, Bestselling Author of Invisible Women ‘wry and witty … it’s high time to put the needs of all people and the planet at the heart of invention.’ KATE RAWORTH, author of Doughnut Economics ‘This is an absolute must-read. Equal parts informative and infuriating.’ DR FERN RIDDELL, author of Sex: Lessons from History ‘From wheeled suitcases to witch trials, Katrine Marçal makes you look again at history in this funny, clever and provocative book’HELEN LEWIS, author of Difficult Women: A History of Feminism in 11 Fights ‘…Infuriating, but always thought-provoking and intriguing. A clearly-needed wake-up call to future innovators not to view the world through a narrowly gendered lens but to pay attention to the skills and lived experiences of all. ‘PROFESSOR GINA RIPPON – bestselling author of The Gendered Brain [Katrine] brilliantly proves how male-driven technology over the ages has limited full human development by neglecting a liberating female narrative and perspective.’ JAN ELIASSON, Former Deputy Secretary-General of the UN ‘Mother of Invention had me nodding along in emphatic agreement. To tackle the substantial problems ahead, we cannot afford to innovate with ‘one hand tied behind our backs.’ IRISH TIMES ‘This second book by the author of Who Cooked Adam Smith’s Dinner? is both bracing and highly entertaining. Marcal’s contention is that while women have been coming up with ingenious inventions since the beginning of time, they are routinely sidelined in a world geared to men.’ THE BOOKSELLER
£9.49
Pluto Press Social Reproduction Theory
Book SynopsisHow do childcare, healthcare, education, family life and the roles of gender, race and sexuality affect our lives under capitalism?Trade Review'Theoretically robust and empirically grounded chapters demonstrate the enduring value of a Marxist feminist approach. A welcome collection!' -- Rosemary Hennessy, L.H. Favrot Professor of Humanities and Professor of English, Rice University, and author of Profit and Pleasure: Sexual Identities in Late Capitalism'The varied and suggestive essays in this rich collection are of great value, not only to newcomers to the field, but also to those already grounded in this rich arena for inquiry and organising' -- Hester Eisenstein, author of Feminism Seduced: How Global Elites Use Women's Labour and Ideas to Exploit the World (2009)'A must read for those who want to go beyond the binaries and the 'social' conceived as an aggregation of intersecting systems or overlapping spheres. It is an ambitious project aiming for epistemologies of resistance' -- Himani Bannerji, author of The Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism, and Gender (2000)'A marvellous new collection' -- Jordy Rosenberg, Los Angeles Review of Books'Every socialist needs to read it now' -- Socialist Action'Feminist thinking about questions of social reproduction offers a much-needed break with the impasse that mainstream feminism finds itself in - and this collection provides a fantastic weapon for that task' -- Red PepperTable of ContentsAcknowledgements Foreword by Lise Vogel 1. Introduction: Mapping Social Reproduction Theory - Tithi Bhattacharya 2. Crisis of Care? On the Social-Reproductive Contradictions of Contemporary Capitalism - Nancy Fraser 3. Without Reserves - Salar Mohandesi and Emma Teitelman 4. How Not to Skip Class: Social Reproduction of Labor and the Global Working Class - Tithi Bhattacharya 5. Intersections and Dialectics: Critical Reconstructions in Social Reproduction Theory - David McNally 6. Children, Childhood and Capitalism: A Social Reproduction Perspective - Susan Ferguson 7. Mostly Work, Little Play: Social Reproduction, Migration and Paid Domestic Work in Montreal - Carmen Teeple Hopkins 8. Pensions and Social Reproduction - Serap Saritas Oran 9. Body Politics: The Social Reproduction of Sexualities - Alan Sears 10. From Social Reproduction Feminism to the Women's Strike - Cinzia Arruzza Notes Index
£17.99
Vintage Publishing Small Is Beautiful
Book SynopsisHow does our economic system impact the way we live? Does it really affect what we truly care about? Oxford economist E. F. Schumacher provides an enlightening study of our economic system and its purpose, challenging the current state of excessive consumption in our society. Offering a crucial message for the modern world struggling to balance economic growth with the human costs of globalisation, Small Is Beautiful puts forward the revolutionary yet viable case for building our economies around the needs of communities, not corporations. One of the 100 most influential books published since World War II' The Times Literary SupplementTrade ReviewA book of heart and hope and downright common sense about the future. -- Peter Lewis * Daily Mail *
£9.45
Faber & Faber The Other Side of Eden Huntergatherers Farmers
Book SynopsisHugh Brody has an international reputation as an anthropologist and documentary film-maker of the Inuit peoples. This book is a marvellous account of hunter-gatherer culture, gleaned from years of living and hunting with the Inuits of the Arctic and the salmon-fishing tribes in the Canadian Northwest. Brody explores the frontiers between hunters and farmers, and shows us how the encounter between radically different ways of being in the world is at the core of human history. He travels through exquisite landscapes of ice and snow, with people who know the land as part of their selves. Posing the question, ''Why did the farmer triumph over the hunter-gatherer?'', Brody finds answers in a variety of places, among them the Book of Genesis, the great creation myth at the centre of the agriculturalist view of the world.This is a book that invites the reader to embark on a series of expeditions, into the territories of hunter-gatherers, and into radical ideas about what itTrade Review'Often eloquent, sometimes moving, and always fascinating... Brody's gripping book brings the resourceful intelligence and courage of hunter-gatherers vividly to life.' New Scientist 'The case for the hunter's ethic has never been more persuasively argued than in this wide-ranging, eloquent book.' TLS
£11.69
Atlantic Books Sedated: How Modern Capitalism Created our Mental
Book SynopsisA provocative and shocking look at how western society is misunderstanding and mistreating mental illness. Perfect for fans of Empire of Pain and Dope Sick.In Britain alone, more than 20% of the adult population take a psychiatric drug in any one year. This is an increase of over 500% since 1980 and the numbers continue to grow. Yet, despite this prescription epidemic, levels of mental illness of all types have actually increased in number and severity.Using a wealth of studies, interviews with experts, and detailed analysis, Dr James Davies argues that this is because we have fundamentally mischaracterised the problem. Rather than viewing most mental distress as an understandable reaction to wider societal problems, we have embraced a medical model which situates the problem solely within the sufferer and their brain. Urgent and persuasive, Sedated systematically examines why this individualistic view of mental illness has been promoted by successive governments and big business - and why it is so misplaced and dangerous.Trade ReviewSedated is a polemic of great clarity that will make you feel at once angry and reassured. * New Statesman *A wonderful, moving and truly life-changing book. Sedated is an urgent intervention for post-pandemic society, written with expertise and clarity. Warning: it will cause irritation to powerful interests who fear us all becoming better informed about the root causes of so much human suffering. * Baroness Shami Chakrabarti, former Director of Liberty *James Davies is one of the most important voices on mental health in the world. This is a beautiful and deeply sane book. Everyone who's suffering - and wants to know how to make it stop - should read it right away. * Johann Hari, author of Lost Connections *An intelligent and powerfully argued book... a rich seam of empathy runs through Davies's narrative. * The Herald *Essential and Enlightening... Davies shows how we can re-connect our personal troubles to our political contexts, and in doing so, find better ways forward * Lucy Johnstone, consultant clinical psychologist *In this game-changing polemic, James Davies leaves us in no doubt: to tackle the mental health crisis we need major social and economic reform. * Nathan Filer, author of This Book will Change Your Mind about Mental Health *A marvellous book. Critics of traditional psychiatry will relish its clear-sighted exposure of a failing system. Defenders of traditional psychiatry may well be infuriated. But everyone should read it. * Peter Kinderman, professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Liverpool *An excellent entry-point... this book is written clearly and concisely, without being patronising or watering anything down. Such a welcome departure from what I've come to expect from the genre means that Sedated will be able to reach and be read by those who need it most: all of us. * British Journal of Sports Medicine *Table of Contents1: An Economic Prelude 2: The New Culture of Proliferating Debt and Drugs 3: The New Dissatisfactions of Modern Work 4: The New Back-to-Work Psychological Therapies 5: The New Causes of Unemployment 6: Education and the Rise of New Managerialism 7: Deregulating the So-Called Chemical Cure 8: Materialism No More 9: Dehumanising Productivity 10: You Only Have Yourself to Blame 11: The Social Determinants of Distress 12: Conclusion
£10.44
HarperCollins Publishers Attention Span
Book SynopsisAS SEEN ON ARMCHAIR EXPERT WITH DAX SHEPARD AND IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, NEW YORK TIMES AND THE TIMES**A COSMOPOLITAN BEST NEW NON-FICTION BOOK TO ADD TO YOUR TBR IN 2023****A NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB MUST-READ**Rediscover your ability to pay attention with this groundbreaking new approach from the definitive expert on distraction and multitasking' (Cal Newport).We spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting our attention. It takes 25 minutes to bring our attention back to a task after an interruption. And we interrupt ourselves more than we''re interrupted by others.In Attention Span, psychologist Gloria Mark reveals these and more surprising results from her decades of research into how technology affects our attention. She shows how much of what we think we know is wrong, including insights such as: Why multitasking hurts rather than helps productivity How social media and modern entertainment amplify our short attention spans What drains our mental resources and Trade Review‘Solutions to the mania of modern life’ The Times ‘In focusing on practical strategies rather than silver-bullet or short-term solutions like “digital detoxes”, Attention Span is a valuable guide to how to balance work and well-being in a world increasingly dependent on tech.’ New Scientist ‘In Attention Span, Mark makes the case for a new, evidence-based approach to attention, one that works with our tech-riddled modern world and tendencies towards distraction, instead of trying to squeeze the genie back in the bottle.’ Guardian ‘Gloria Mark is the definitive expert on distraction and multitasking in our increasingly digital world. Her book is a must-read for anyone concerned about our diminishing attention span’ Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of A World Without Email and Deep Work ‘This book covers decades of Gloria Mark’s fascinating research journey into how the rise of computing has affected our personal lives: how we are overstressed, we multitask too much, we are constantly interrupted even by ourselves, and our attention spans have declined to an astonishing 47 seconds. If you are interested in your well-being and how to gain agency in this digital age then you need to read this book.’ Susan David, bestselling author of Emotional Agility ‘Gloria Mark's book is a thorough review of the impact interruptions have on our lives and mental health. Some interruptions are welcomed, deliberately self-created. Most, however, are not. All interruptions impact the focus of attention, and attention is a critically limiting aspect of human cognition. Don't be distracted by my review – go read the book. It is an important and valuable contribution to living in this world of interruptions.’ Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things
£10.44
Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd Organizations Evolving: Third Edition
Book SynopsisOrganizations Evolving offers a unique theoretical framework for understanding organizational emergence, persistence, change, and decline. Synthesizing and integrating six paradigmatic approaches to organization theory, this updated and revised third edition presents an evolutionary view that provides a unified understanding of modern organizations and organization theory. Key features of the third edition include: A sophisticated analytic comparison of six major approaches to understanding modern organizations and their evolution An interdisciplinary focus, drawing extensively from sociology, social psychology, economics, history, management and entrepreneurship research Supplementary materials from academic journals and the popular press, and multi-media resources in an online companion Extensive case examples that illustrate key evolutionary processes Study questions designed for extended and reflective learning. Offering key insights and critical learning opportunities, this book is crucial reading for classes covering macro-organizational behaviour and the sociology of organizations. Students of management studies and entrepreneurship, particularly those with a focus on organization theory, will also benefit from its interdisciplinary approach.Trade Review'Organizations Evolving is an instant classic. The go-to book for information about the future, as well as what s current in organizations studies. It follows Aldrich's pioneering work on entrepreneurship, with great cases, on-line supplements, and updates on digital technology and inequality. For the best primer on the study of organizations, Organizations Evolving is the clear winner.' --Paul M. Hirsch, Northwestern University, USOrganizations evolve and emerge. Aldrich, Ruef and Lippmann introduce a generic framework for understanding organizational and social change. The authors are in this third edition informatively and beautifully integrating evolving knowledge about organizations. The previous edition of Organizations Evolving was my favorite book about organization. This edition is even better.' --Morten Huse, BI Norwegian Business School, Norway'Organizations Evolving synthesizes in an excellent way the evolution of organizations, and clarifies the elegance of the evolutionary approach in using a few distinct concepts to explain broad and complex phenomena. In the third edition of the book, the authors have significantly updated the book, and made it more teaching friendly, which makes it a great textbook for understanding entrepreneurship and organizations.' --Hans Landström, Lund University, SwedenTable of ContentsContents: 1. Introduction and Themes PART I AN EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE ON THEORIES OF ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 2. The Evolutionary Approach 3. How the Evolutionary Approach Relates to Other Approaches PART II CONCEPTUALIZING ORGANIZATIONAL EMERGENCE 4. Entrepreneurs and the Emergence of New Organizations 5. Organizational Boundaries 6. Organizational Forms PART III TRANSFORMATION AT THE ORGANIZATIONAL AND POPULATION LEVELS 7. Organizational Transformation 8. Organizations and Social Change PART IV POPULATION-LEVEL DYNAMICS 9. Emergence of New Populations of Organizations 10. Reproducing Populations: Foundings and Disbandings 11. Community Evolution References Index
£37.00
Intellect WellBeing and Creative Careers
Book SynopsisThere is a well-documented mental health crisis among media professionals worldwide - in journalism, advertising/PR/marketing, film and TV, games, music, and social media. This book offers an analysis of systemic issues throughout the media industries, explains what is particular about well-being in media work, and shows what can be done.
£23.70
Edward Elgar Publishing The Labour Market Myth
Book SynopsisIn this incisive book, Paul de Beer interrogates the concept of the labour market and its theoretical shortcomings in treating labour as a commodity. He argues that to offer people a real chance of a satisfactory work life, the idea of the labour market must be replaced with a focus on long-term employment relationships.
£75.00
HarperCollins Publishers Mother of Invention How Good Ideas Get Ignored in
Book Synopsis
£14.24
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Work: A History of How We Spend Our Time
Book Synopsis_______________ ‘A fascinating exploration that challenges our basic assumptions of what work means' - Yuval Noah Harari 'There is eminently underlinable stuff on most pages ... Fascinating' - The Times 'One of those few books that will turn your customary ways of thinking upside down' - Susan Cain 'Illuminating' - New Statesman _______________ A revolutionary new history of humankind through the prism of work, from the origins of life on Earth to our ever more automated present The work we do brings us meaning, moulds our values, determines our social status and dictates how we spend most of our time. But this wasn’t always the case: for 95% of our species’ history, work held a radically different importance. How, then, did work become the central organisational principle of our societies? How did it transform our bodies, our environments, our views on equality and our sense of time? And why, in a time of material abundance, are we working more than ever before?Trade ReviewAs automation threatens to completely disrupt the global job market, it is urgent to rethink the economic, psychological and even spiritual importance of work. By examining the lives of hunter-gatherers, apes and even birds, Suzman highlights that what we consider “natural” is often just the questionable legacy of industrial gurus and agricultural religions. Knowing the history of how we have spent our time in the past will hopefully enable us to make more sensible choices in the future -- Yuval Noah HarariThere is eminently underlinable stuff on most pages . . . Fascinating * The Times *In this illuminating “deep history”, the anthropologist James Suzman interrogates mainstream economic assumptions about human nature and argues that to make sense of our modern culture of rising inequality we must first understand our past * New Statesman *For too long, our notions of work have been dominated by economists obsessed with scarcity and productivity. As an anthropologist, James Suzman is here to change that. He reveals that for much of human history, hunter-gathers worked far less than we do today and led lives of abundance and leisure. I’ve been studying work for two decades, and I can’t remember the last time I learned so much about it in one sitting. This book is a tour de force -- Adam Grant, bestselling author of 'Give and Take' and 'Originals'A groundbreaking history of work, which exposes the productivity-at-all-costs mindset to strike a blow at the myth of the economic problem. I learned something new on every page -- Grace BlakeleyBrilliant … I thought I had read enough by now to know what work is and why we so often feel compelled to work – but I was wrong -- Danny DorlingDeeply researched, broad in scope and filled with insight, this is a modern classic. Every page brings something worth thinking hard about -- Seth Godin, author of 'Survival is Not Enough'Automation of all kinds looms on the horizon. Luckily, James Suzman is here with a revelatory new history that makes a persuasive case: that human industry can light a path forward, even in a future where we’re put out of work by our own inventions -- Charles DuhiggChronicles how much humankind can still learn from the disappearing way of life of the most marginalised communities on earth -- Yuval Noah Harari on 'Affluence without Abundance'Elegant and absorbing … Rich with ethnographic detail, stylish, perceptive, compassionate and, ultimately, tragic -- Financial Times on 'Affluence without Abundance'Here is one of those few books that will turn your customary ways of thinking upside down. An incisive and original new history that invites us to rethink our relationship with work - and to reimagine what it means to be human in an ever-more automated future -- Susan Cain
£11.69
Princeton University Press Data Driven
Book Synopsis
£16.19
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC The Refusal of Work
Book SynopsisDavid Frayne is a sociology teacher and social researcher, based at Cardiff University, UK. You can follow him @theworkdogma.Trade ReviewWhere other writers elaborate the scourge of neoliberalism—surely an important and pressing topic—they are less clear about how we, as individuals and political movements, might begin to build alternatives. Addressing this lacuna, Frayne’s approach is a refreshing addition to the conversation. * Contrivers' Review *A well-written romp through theory and critiques of work… Amid the hard-work rhetoric, this book feels liberating and a worthy provocation. * Financial Times *Leads the reader to question if the growing disillusionment with work could blossom into a political alternative and create change on a societal level. * Impakter *Rigorous arguments for the desirability of an end – or a radical reduction – to the amount of work we do, and searching analyses of how this might be achieved. * LSE Review of Books *Provides an easily understood theoretical framework which legitimates the feelings of discomfort, dissatisfaction — or worse — which many encounter in the course of their working life. * The Morning Star *Frayne has accomplished something worthy of admiration. He has written the best primer and introduction to the anti-work philosophy; a fascinating ethnography of people who actively try to resist work. * The New Rambler *The best primer and introduction to anti-work philosophy. * The New Rambler *A humane reassessment of the ethics of work which will appeal to anyone who has wondered whether the job they are fighting so hard to get, or to hold on to, really is worth the struggle. At its heart lies the provocative and sometimes poignant accounts of those individuals who may be showing the way towards an engagement with work which is better for all of us. * Ralph Fevre, author of The Demoralization of Western Culture and Trouble at Work *A fascinating book…a very concise run down of philosophical ideas and accounts around work, and the possibility for resistance and change….What I enjoyed most was the notion of freedom and the elevation and championing of leisure time. * Reflections on Learning blog *This is the most engaging and comprehensive book I’ve ever read about how work dominates our lives. It is insightful and inspiring and should be read by everyone who goes to work every day, if they can find the time. * Sharon Beder, author of Selling the Work Ethic *Table of ContentsIntroduction: The Work Dogma 1. A Provocation 2. Working Pains 3. The Colonising Power of Work 4. The Stronghold of Work 5. The Breaking Point 6. Alternative Pleasures 7. Half a Person 8. From Escapism to Autonomy
£18.99
Taylor & Francis Architecture for the Commons Participatory
Book SynopsisArchitecture for the Commons dives into an analysis of how the tectonics of a building is fundamentally linked to the economic organizations that allow them to exist. By tracing the origins and promises of current technological practices in design, the book provides an alternative path, one that reconsiders the means of achieving complexity through combinatorial strategies. This move requires reconsidering serial production with crowdsourcing and user content in mind. The ideas presented will be explored through the design research developed within Plethora Project, a design practice that explores the use of video game interfaces as a mechanism for participation and user design. The research work presented throughout the book seeks to align with a larger project that is currently taking place in many different fields: The Construction of the Commons. By developing both the ideological and physical infrastructure, the project of the Commons has become an antidote to current economic practices that perpetuate inequality. The mechanisms of the production and governance of the Commons are discussed, inviting the reader to get involved and participate in the discussion. The current political and economic landscape calls for a reformulation of our current economic practices and alternative value systems that challenge the current market monopolies. This book will be of great interest not only to architects and designers studying the impact of digital technologies in the field of design but also to researchers studying novel techniques for social participation and cooperating of communities through digital networks. The book connects principles of architecture, economics and social sciences to provide alternatives to the current production trends.Table of ContentsIntroduction - A Call for a Post-2008 Architecture 1. Architectural Progress 2. The Coalescence of Parts 3. In Defense of Parts 4. Immaterial Architectures 5. Reconstruction through Self-Provision Index
£35.14
Bristol University Press The Class Ceiling
Book SynopsisThis important book takes readers behind the closed doors of elite employers to reveal how class affects who gets to the top. Drawing on 200 interviews across four case studies - television, accountancy, architecture, and acting it explores the complex barriers facing the upwardly mobile.Trade Review"A landmark text…without a doubt the most wide-ranging and envelope-pushing representation of the new Bourdieu-inspired work on social mobility" Sociology“The Class Ceiling blows apart the myth of our supposed meritocracy.” The National (Scotland)“This seminal work has updated our understanding of both modern Britain and the nature of class itself. It fuses theoretical prowess, revelatory data, gripping narrative and clear prose. All of us interested in meritocracy, whether real or imagined, owe the authors an enormous debt of gratitude.” Amol Rajan, BBC Media EditorRecommended for all levels from upper-division undergraduates to faculty by CHOICE Connect. "An excellent, mixed-methods, Bourdieu-driven study of how privilege creates a “following wind” that helps push people to the top of elite professions… An important innovation of this study is that the authors use ethnographic interviews and observations in four work settings to see how privilege helps not only with “getting in” but also the even more consequential steps of “getting on,” of rising to the elite levels."“Marshals a wide range of data, analysis and experience in an accessible and readable manner... makes the continued existence of class bias in occupational and public life more difficult for cheerleaders of meritocracy to deny, and – crucially – offers ways to end it.” New Humanist"Reading The Class Ceiling hit home in so many places I felt bruised by the end. " The Guardian"A well-conceived and important study which makes a significant contribution to knowledge about social mobility, and an important intervention into broader political debates" Selina Todd, University of Oxford"This compelling book offers a fresh approach to understanding how social class matters. Easy to read, Highly recommended!" Annette Lareau, University of Pennsylvania“One of the most insightful works on the dynamics of inequality since Wilkinson and Pickett’s The Spirit Level a decade ago” Herald Scotland“Friedman and Laurison show how it can possibly be that upwardly mobile executives and professionals earn less than those raised in the upper classes. Everybody in The Class Ceiling has a desirable job, but even in the upper reaches of British society, class roots matter.” Mike Hout, New York University"Without question this is the most outstanding study of social mobility in the UK to have appeared in the past 20 years. Using a brilliant mixed method design, Friedman & Laurison trace the long shadow of class privilege in driving career prospects even in the supposedly dynamic sectors of today’s knowledge economy. Anyone who thinks Britain is a meritocracy needs to ponder the lessons of this wonderful book." Mike Savage, LSE"This stunning book provides a panoramic overview of class inequality in the UK labour market with a forensic scrutiny of the ways in which privilege works to keep the class ceiling firmly in place." Diane Reay, University of CambridgeTable of ContentsIntroduction Getting in Getting on Untangling the class pay gap Inside elite firms The bank of Mum and Dad A helping hand Fitting in View from the top Self-elimination Class ceilings: A new approach to social mobility Conclusion Epilogue: 10 ways to break the class ceiling
£18.99
Pluto Press Dark Academia
Book SynopsisBestselling author Peter Fleming uncovers the dark underbelly of the modern university to reveal cracks in the ivory towerTrade Review'Fleming's books are sparklingly sardonic and hilariously angry' -- Guardian'Our foremost critic of management ideology, Peter Fleming, turns his talents to the corporate university and what he rightly calls its authoritarian turn, and he does so with devastating results' -- Stefano Harney, Honorary Professor, Institute of Gender, Sexuality, Race and Social Justice, University of British Columbia'A brilliant exposé of the scourge of neoliberalism and its dark transformation of higher education into an adjunct of sordid market forces. This is a book that should be read by anyone concerned with not only higher education but the fate of critically engaged agents, collective resistance and democracy itself' -- Henry Giroux, McMaster University Chair for Scholarship in the Public Interest & The Paulo Freire Distinguished Scholar in Critical Pedagogy‘An excellent and important book’ -- ‘Journal of Education, Innovation, and Communication’Table of ContentsIntroduction: Infinite Hope … But Not for Us 1. Dark Academia 2. La La Land 3. Welcome to the Edu-Factory 4. The Authoritarian Turn in Universities 5. You’re Not a Spreadsheet With Hair 6. The Demise of Homo Academicus 7. High Impact … 8. The Academic Star-Complex 9. Student Hellscapes 10. How Universities Die Conclusion: Are Some Lost Causes Truly Lost? Notes Index
£14.99
Beacon Press The Only Woman in the Room
Book SynopsisONE OF WASHINGTON POST''S NOTABLE NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE YEAR“Beautifully written and full of important insights,” this is a bracingly honest exploration of why there are still so few women in the hard sciences, mathematics, engineering, and computer science (Washington Post)In 2005, when Lawrence Summers, then president of Harvard, asked why so few women, even today, achieve tenured positions in the hard sciences, Eileen Pollack set out to find the answer. A successful fiction writer, Pollack had grown up in the 1960s and ’70s dreaming of a career as a theoretical astrophysicist. Denied the chance to take advanced courses in science and math, she nonetheless made her way to Yale. There, despite finding herself far behind the men in her classes, she went on to graduate summa cum laude, with honors, as one of the university’s first two women to earn a bachelor of science degree in physics. And yet, i
£15.29
Princeton University Press Very Important People
Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership""Honorable Mention for the Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award, Consumers and Consumption Section of the American Sociological Association""Fascinating."---Helen Rosner, New Yorker"The most colourful investigation into nightlife and gender politics since Gloria Steinem went incognito as a Playboy Bunny in 1963."---Mark Smith, The Times"Riveting. . . . The results of her investigation are astonishing. Mears has amassed pages of enthralling, richly human testimony. . . . The anecdotes are hugely entertaining, in a throw-up-in-your-mouth way. . . . Mears’s thesis—that nightclubs aren’t exceptions to ‘real life,’ but a distilled, brutal caricature of it—gathers strength as the details accumulate. . . . Elegantly written and genuinely page-turning, with revelations about life that go far beyond nightclubs."---Iona McLaren, Daily Telegraph"Mears is a very good reporter. . . . A fascinating read."---Lynn Barber, The Spectator"Riveting. . . . Mears is an excellent storyteller, resulting in a book that’s well-informed and critical but also animated and engaging." * Tatler *"Very Important People was written before the coronavirus pandemic, but Covid-19 makes it more relevant. Lockdown has widened inequality as poorer households lose jobs and rely on their savings. Meanwhile, the rich are getting richer, leading to pent up demand for parties, girls and bottle trains among those who have already missed a season of it."---Ollie Williams, Forbes"Very Important People depicts a complex world of exchange and exploitation, and warrants praise for doing so without passing predictable moral judgement. More than offering a mere window into the exotic lives of others, Ashley Mears emphasizes themes that should resonate with us all: the labour of marginalized others that lurks behind so much status-seeking consumption, the risks of conflating work with fun and friendship, and the sad fact that 'girl power' remains as oxymoronic as ever."---Alice Bloch, Times Literary Supplement"Enlightening. . . . A fascinating glimpse into life behind the velvet rope."---Matthew Partridge, Money Week"Compelling, vivid and curiously poignant. . . . Very Important People succeeds in exposing the intriguing and often distressing realities of a culture whose values seem both alien and unpleasantly persistent."---Lisa Hilton, The Critic"Mears takes her readers inside the exclusive global nightclub and party circuit, from New York City to Miami and Saint-Tropez, in order to reveal a world constituted by spectacular displays of wealth."---Laurie Taylor, BBC Radio 4, Thinking Allowed"Throughout the seven chapters of the book, Mears dissects the economy of “ models and bottles ” (p. 17), or the formula by which we designate those parties in which the super rich display their power by attending models and making flaunting their wealth by wasting money and buying many bottles at exorbitant prices.”"---Giulia Mensitieri, La Vie Des Idees
£12.99
Spokesman Books Architect or Bee The Human Price of Technology
Book Synopsis
£13.93
Columbia University Press Production Power and World Order
Book SynopsisIn this seminal study, Robert Cox offers a new approach to the study of power by identifying the connections between production, the state, and world order.
£32.30
The Merlin Press Ltd Comrades and Cousins Workers and the Politics of
Book SynopsisThis cross-national comparative labor history examines the movement's attitudes toward class, race, and politics in Britain, Australia, and the United States during the era of New Imperialism, 1880 to 1914.Table of ContentsIntroduction - Labour in an International Context. - Chapter One: The Rule of Class and the Power of Race: Socialist Attitudes to Class, Race and Empire. - Chapter Two: Transatlantic Connections and America 'Peculiarities': Labour Politics in the USA and Britain. - Chapter Three: The Australian 'Workman's Paradise' in Comparative Perspective. - Conclusion: Summary of key themes and findings, especially labour's inclusive and exclusive approaches to class and race. Plus the implications of these approaches for the role of labour in today's globalised world.
£15.15
Vintage Publishing Can't Even: How Millennials Became the Burnout
Book SynopsisAn incendiary examination of burnout - what got us here, the pressures that sustain it and the need for drastic changeAre you tired, stressed and trying your best but somehow it's never enough?Does your job seep into your evenings and your home life creep into your work? Does the bottom half of your To Do list feel unreachable?This is burnout and it is affecting how we work, parent, socialise and live.Through her own experience, original interviews and detailed analysis, Anne Helen Petersen traces the institutional and generational causes of burnout. And, in doing so, she helps us to let go of our guilt and imagine a possible future.'Genuinely enlightening... Can't Even is a reminder to the burned out generation that things can be different' ObserverTrade ReviewMeticulously researched... astutely observed... extremely enlightening * Guardian *Urgent and insightful book... Read this and get a much-needed perspective * Stylist *An intelligent and well-researched analysis... To those born into the same generation, its truth is searing * Sunday Times *A readable, well-researched guide to a generation * The Times, *Book of the Week* *Relevant to everyone living under capitalism * New Statesman *
£10.44
John Wiley and Sons Ltd The New Boss
Book SynopsisAny organization, no matter how stolid, may be unsettled by the news that a new boss is about to take over. Talk in the hallways increases, staff worry about their jobs, uncertainty grows. Even when the change has happened, problems emerge when the boss who was hired to manage “from above” has to learn about the organization “from below.” In this book, Niklas Luhmann scrutinizes the relationship and shows how it is stretched to its limit by communication difficulties, demands for self-presentation, and disagreements concerning fundamental values. Many of the tensions crystallize around the question “who has the power?” It isn’t necessarily the boss, provided the employees are well versed in the art of directing their superiors. “Subtervision” is Luhmann’s term for this state of affairs, and tact is the most important means to this end. Yet caution is advised: whoever achieves mastery in subtervision may well become the new boss. This slim and thought-provoking book from one of the most influential sociologists of the twentieth century will be of great interest to anyone seeking to understand the dynamics and machinations of the workplace.Trade Review"While many know Niklas Luhmann in his capacity as a systems theoretician, few are aware that he has also written a number of important essays in organization theory. The New Boss represents an excellent introduction to this part of Luhmann's work: it is bristling with interesting ideas about leadership, formal organizations, groups and much more."—Richard Swedberg, Cornell UniversityTable of ContentsIntroduction: "The Same Boss as the Old Was?" Andreas Hess The New Boss The Spontaneous Creation of Order Subtervision or The Art of Directing Superiors AfterwordJürgen Kaube Sources of the Texts Notes
£9.99
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC How to Resist
Book SynopsisThis extraordinary book is the roadmap for a new kind of effective activism.'' -- Brian EnoThis book is for people who are angry with the ways things are and want to do something about it; for people who are frustrated with the system, or worried about the direction the country is going. Maybe they''ve been on a march, posted their opinions on social media, or shouted angrily at something they''ve seen on the news but don''t feel like it''s making any difference. It is for people who want to make a change but they''re not sure how. -- Matthew BoltonTrade ReviewAn amazingly inspiring book coming at just the right moment. A leading light in an invaluable organisation, Matthew Bolton really knows how to make stuff happen - and he wants you to know too. You might have heard that things don't have to be this way - here's the official guidebook to changing them -- Marina HydeMatthew is one of the great thought and action leaders of his generation. This book will give people the power to change their communities -- Tessa JowellPopulism is the most important political development of our time and How to Resist makes a powerful call for a populism of mass democratic participation. We've got to put power back in people's hands and this vital guide tells us how. It's a must-read -- Steve HiltonIf anyone knows how to do social change, it's Matthew Bolton who has been at the heart of London Citizen's successful Living Wage campaign. He's a smart, sophisticated operator and his book imparting nuggets on how to take on the system will be eagerly pored over by people who are keen to make a difference but don't quite know how to go about it -- David Cohen, Campaigns Editor and Chief Feature Writer, London Evening StandardWith expertise and a track record that is compelling, Matthew offers tools for citizens to become more powerful and stand up to vested interests of the market and state. This book offers a vision and a method to revitalise our democracy -- Philip Blond, Director of Res Publica, author of 'Red Tory'The Living Wage is perhaps the most successful grassroots campaign of the last decade and in How to Resist, Matthew gives us the key lessons and tactics behind the impact. This vital book will help turn the political energy of today into lasting change in communities and constituencies up and down the country -- Polly Toynbee, GuardianThere’s a huge appetite right now for radical change and How to Resist can equip a generation of politically engaged young people with the practical tools to organise and campaign -- Paul MasonI want to congratulate you on the brilliant way, and the ruthless way, that you bend us politicians to your will, and you get us to deliver -- Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London, to Citizens UKI talk about the Big Society; you are the Big Society -- David Cameron, then Leader of the Conservative Party, to Citizens UKIf you’re worried about the state of the world, Matthew Bolton’s brilliant How to Resist shows how each of us can do our bit to fight populism -- Rohan Silva * Observer *If there’s anyone worth listening to about the politics and strategy of protest, it’s Matthew Bolton. After all, this is the man who led the hugely effective campaign for the living wage, and here he sets out a persuasive case for being proactive, rather than moaning about the state of the nation on social media. How to Resist is genuinely a “how to” guide … inspiring stuff * Observer *[Bolton’s] pragmatism is welcome … Democracy is too important to leave to other people * Evening Standard *Perhaps it isn’t you that needs to change but the world. Matthew Bolton, who led the campaign for a living wage, here lists seven principles for those who want to do more than just rant on twitter, showing how to transform from armchair warrior to activist -- Five Books to Solve All Your Problems * Evening Standard *
£9.49
Bristol University Press Menopause Transitions and the Workplace:
Book SynopsisThe symptoms of menopause transitions have profound implications for work and are, in turn, affected by work. Despite this, the topic is rarely discussed in management and organization studies. Providing an overview of existing knowledge in the field of menopause in the workplace, this collection re-theorizes the management of human resources as it relates to the connections between gender, age and the body in the workplace environment with an intersectional analysis. Offering theoretical frameworks from experts as well as possible practical approaches that can be implemented in workplaces to support women transitioning through menopause, this is a go-to reference for academics and policy makers working in the field.Table of Contents1. Introduction - Vanessa Beck and Jo Brewis 2. Bodies of Change: Menopause as Biopsychosocial Process - Karen Throsby and Celia Roberts 3. Exploring Menopause Transition in the Workplace - Carol Atkinson, Jo Duberley and Catrina Page 4. Workplace Policies, Menopause and Flexible Working: The Need for a More Collective Approach - Jane Parry 5. Menopause and Trade Unions - Vanessa Beck 6. Spatial (In)justice and Hot Flushes in the Workplace: Some Musings and Provocations - Jo Brewis 7. Menopause and the Possibilities of Male Allyship - Hannah Bardett, Kathleen Riach and Gavin Jack 8. Conclusion - Vanessa Beck and Jo Brewis
£67.99
University of California Press Unsustainable
Book SynopsisFrom famously humble origins, Amazon has grown to become one of the most successful businesses in history. In its effort to provide its trademark fast and convenient Prime delivery, the company built a vast worldwide network of fulfillment centers and warehouses. Unsustainable looks inside the company's warehouses to reveal that the rise of Amazon is only made possible by the exploitation of workers' labor and communities' resources. Juliann Emmons Allison and Ellen Reese expose the real-world repercussions of these pernicious strategies through a chilling case study of the socioeconomic and environmental harms associated with the largely unchecked growth of warehousing in Inland Southern California, one of the nation's largest logistics hubs, where Amazon is the largest private-sector employer. Tracing the rise of grassroots resistance to the warehouse industry by workers and communities across this region, the country, and the globe, Unsustainable provides fresh insight into one of tTrade Review"The book develops a broad and insightful analysis of the human and environmental costs that flow from Amazon’s virtually unchecked domination of local communities, low-wage labor markets, and the workers whose labor it exploits." * Social Forces *
£21.25
Atlantic Books Lab Rats: Why Modern Work Makes People Miserable
Book SynopsisGuardian's Best Non-Fiction, 2019The Tablet's Highlights of 2019Personality tests. Team-building exercises. Forced Fun. Desktop surveillance. Open-plan offices. Acronyms. Diminishing job security. Hot desking. Pointless perks. Hackathons.If any of the above sound familiar, welcome to the modern economy. In this hilarious, but deadly serious book, bestselling author Dan Lyons looks at how the world of work has slowly morphed from one of unions and steady career progression to a dystopia made of bean bags and unpaid internships. And that's the 'good' jobs...With the same wit that made Disrupted an international bestseller, Lyons shows how the hypocrisy of Silicon Valley has now been exported globally to a job near you. Even low-grade employees are now expected to view their jobs with a cult-like fervour, despite diminishing prospects of promotion. From the gig economy to the new digital oligarchs, Lyons deliciously roasts the new work climate, while asking what can be done to recoup some sanity and dignity for the expanding class of middle-class serfs.Trade ReviewFascinating, thought-provoking, hilarious and sometimes harrowing. * Gretchen Rubin, bestselling author of The Happiness Project *A lively and spirited takedown... Its core argument is surely irrefutable. * Guardian *Entertaining * The Economist *Lyons is very funny journalist... Much of his polemic rings true. * Financial Times *Lab Rats defies easy description. I sputtered laughing and choked crying (literally, not figuratively) as I read it. Yes, Lyons gives Silicon Valley the thrashing that it, alas, largely deserves. But in the final third of the book, he offers us an effectively illustrated way out - an approach to work and business that puts people first. * Tom Peters, bestselling author of In Search of Excellence *Entertaining... A worthwhile and disturbing read. * Sunday Business Post *Funny and frightening. * The Sunday Post *Skewering corporate jargon, management science and, worst of all, enforced fun, Lyons' waggish jeremiad lays out how the world of work has changed for the worse. * Tatler *Laugh-out-loud funny * Newsweek on DISRUPTED *Table of Contents1: Unhappy in Paradise 2: The New Oligarchs 3: A Very Brief History of Management Science (and Why You Shouldn't Trust It) 4: Who's Afraid of Silicon Valley? 5: Building the Workforce of the Future (or: Sorry, You're Old and We'd Like You to Leave) 6: Money: "Garbage at the Speed of Light" 7: Insecurity: "We're a Team, not a Family" 8: Change: "What Happens if You Live Inside a Hurricane that Never Ends?" 9: Dehumanization: "Think of Yourself as a Machine Within a Machine" 10: The Battle for the Soul of Work 11: Basecamp: Back to Basics 12: Managed by Q: "Everybody Cleans" 13: Kapor Capital: Conscious Capitalists 14: The Social Enterprise Movement Epilogue: Can Zebras Fix What Unicorns Have Broken?
£9.49
Manchester University Press Culture is Bad for You: Inequality in the
Book SynopsisCulture will keep you fit and healthy. Culture will bring communities together. Culture will improve your education. This is the message from governments and arts organisations across the country; however, this book explains why we need to be cautious about culture.Offering a powerful call to transform the cultural and creative industries, Culture is bad for you examines the intersections between race, class, and gender in the mechanisms of exclusion in cultural occupations. Exclusion from culture begins at an early age, the authors argue, and despite claims by cultural institutions and businesses to hire talented and hardworking individuals, women, people of colour, and those from working class backgrounds are systematically disbarred.While the inequalities that characterise both workforce and audience remain unaddressed, the positive contribution culture makes to society can never be fully realised.Trade Review'If you’ve ever felt on shaky ground describing your experience of inequality in the arts, if you’ve ever wondered if it’s really true that some people are excluded from participation in cultural production and representation, if you’d like something to wave in the face of naysayers who think the cream always rises to the top, this is it. Culture is bad for you. This book does more than it says on the tin.'Kit de Waal, author of My Name is Leon'The Janus-faced character of culture lies at the core of this wonderful new text. The big and diverse world of culture and entertainment brings joy, health, connection and catharsis to billions, but often at the expense of the talented few who labour to produce it. Culture is bad for you is a sweeping, empirical investigation of what it takes to “make it” as a British culture producer, but also of the forces that “break it”: unequal access for people with fewer resources. Essential reading for citizens, policy makers, employers, artists and fans – and for those who study them.'Jennifer C. Lena, Columbia University'As Raymond Williams long ago argued, culture is all around us, and it is ordinary. Brook, O'Brien and Taylor show us that ordinary culture is bad for us. It is bad for us as workers, as consumers, and as a society. This excellent book will be the go-to source on the extraordinary inequality in the creation and consumption of ordinary media for a long time to come.'Clayton Childress, University of Toronto Scarborough'Provocatively titled, carefully argued, and accessibly written, Culture is bad for you demolishes our cherished myths about culture. The vaunted cultural industries are not open or egalitarian. Culture has never been meritocratic, neither today nor in some mythical golden age. Culture excludes, pop culture as much as posh culture. An enlightening read for all producers and consumers of culture – that is: all of us.'Giselinde Kuipers, Catholic University Leuven, Belgium‘If we truly believe that culture is a force for good in our communities and our lives, we need to urgently address our own shortcomings when it comes to inequality around who gets to experience, and who gets to make, art in this country. The data and testimonies in this important book are just the ammunition we need.’ James Graham, playwright and screenwriter‘Vital reading for anyone working in culture and interested in equality – this book gives us the reasons to make change, the actions are up to us. Take action.’ Stella Duffy, Co-Director Fun Palaces‘Culture is bad for you is a sobering, enraging picture of the creative industries and the inequalities at their heart. Using data, case studies and sharp analysis, the result holds to account a culture that isn’t just a reflection of a rigged society – but an engine of it. For anyone who works in British culture, or cares who does, or simply values true equality of opportunity, this is essential reading.’ Danny Leigh, journalist for the Financial Times and the BBC 'There really is an arts emergency, the reality of the class crisis is shocking, but this book shows how we can do something right now to change things.' Josie Long, writer and stand-up comedian'Culture is Bad for You is a welcome and necessary addition to the literature on cultural production and consumption. In a period when there is growing interest in inequality in the creative sector and beyond, it provides both an accessible and comprehensive overview of what inequality looks like in cultural fields.'Patricia A. Banks, Journal of Cultural Economy'This is the most vital book in cultural affairs I have read in years.'Michael Rushton, The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society -- .Table of Contents1 Introduction2 Is culture good for you?3 Who works in culture?4 Who consumes culture?5 When does inequality begin in cultural workers’ lives?6 Is it still good work if you’re not getting paid?7 Was there a golden age?8 How is inequality experienced?9 Why don’t women run culture?10 What about the men?11 ConclusionIndex
£11.99
WW Norton & Co The Corrosion of Character
Book SynopsisA Business Week Best Book of the Year.... "A devastating and wholly necessary book."—Studs Terkel, author of Working
£12.34
Princeton University Press Very Important People
Book SynopsisTrade Review"One of Amazon's Best Books of 2020 in Business and Leadership""Honorable Mention for the Distinguished Scholarly Publication Award, Consumers and Consumption Section of the American Sociological Association""Fascinating."---Helen Rosner, New Yorker"The most colourful investigation into nightlife and gender politics since Gloria Steinem went incognito as a Playboy Bunny in 1963."---Mark Smith, The Times"Riveting. . . . The results of her investigation are astonishing. Mears has amassed pages of enthralling, richly human testimony. . . . The anecdotes are hugely entertaining, in a throw-up-in-your-mouth way. . . . Mears’s thesis—that nightclubs aren’t exceptions to ‘real life,’ but a distilled, brutal caricature of it—gathers strength as the details accumulate. . . . Elegantly written and genuinely page-turning, with revelations about life that go far beyond nightclubs."---Iona McLaren, Daily Telegraph"Mears is a very good reporter. . . . A fascinating read."---Lynn Barber, The Spectator"Riveting. . . . Mears is an excellent storyteller, resulting in a book that’s well-informed and critical but also animated and engaging." * Tatler *"Very Important People was written before the coronavirus pandemic, but Covid-19 makes it more relevant. Lockdown has widened inequality as poorer households lose jobs and rely on their savings. Meanwhile, the rich are getting richer, leading to pent up demand for parties, girls and bottle trains among those who have already missed a season of it."---Ollie Williams, Forbes"Very Important People depicts a complex world of exchange and exploitation, and warrants praise for doing so without passing predictable moral judgement. More than offering a mere window into the exotic lives of others, Ashley Mears emphasizes themes that should resonate with us all: the labour of marginalized others that lurks behind so much status-seeking consumption, the risks of conflating work with fun and friendship, and the sad fact that 'girl power' remains as oxymoronic as ever."---Alice Bloch, Times Literary Supplement"Enlightening. . . . A fascinating glimpse into life behind the velvet rope."---Matthew Partridge, Money Week"Compelling, vivid and curiously poignant. . . . Very Important People succeeds in exposing the intriguing and often distressing realities of a culture whose values seem both alien and unpleasantly persistent."---Lisa Hilton, The Critic"Mears takes her readers inside the exclusive global nightclub and party circuit, from New York City to Miami and Saint-Tropez, in order to reveal a world constituted by spectacular displays of wealth."---Laurie Taylor, BBC Radio 4, Thinking Allowed"Throughout the seven chapters of the book, Mears dissects the economy of “ models and bottles ” (p. 17), or the formula by which we designate those parties in which the super rich display their power by attending models and making flaunting their wealth by wasting money and buying many bottles at exorbitant prices.”"---Giulia Mensitieri, La Vie Des Idees
£21.25
HarperCollins Publishers WILLING SLAVES How the Overwork Culture is Ruling Our Lives
Book SynopsisA hard-hitting exposé of the overwork culture and modern management techniques that seduce millions of people to hand over the best part of their lives to their employer.Trade Review‘Brilliantly thorough and thoroughly brilliant attack on the contemporary work ethic.’ Guardian ‘Excellent.’ Suzanne Moore, Mail on Sunday ‘Highly readable and informative. ’ TLS
£12.34
HarperCollins Publishers Attention Span
Book SynopsisAS SEEN ON ARMCHAIR EXPERT WITH DAX SHEPARD AND IN THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, NEW YORK TIMES AND THE TIMES**A COSMOPOLITAN BEST NEW NON-FICTION BOOK TO ADD TO YOUR TBR IN 2023****A NEXT BIG IDEA CLUB MUST-READ**Rediscover your ability to pay attention with this groundbreaking new approach from the definitive expert on distraction and multitasking' (Cal Newport).We spend an average of just 47 seconds on any screen before shifting our attention. It takes 25 minutes to bring our attention back to a task after an interruption. And we interrupt ourselves more than we''re interrupted by others.In Attention Span, psychologist Gloria Mark reveals these and more surprising results from her decades of research into how technology affects our attention. She shows how much of what we think we know is wrong, including insights such as: Why multitasking hurts rather than helps productivity How social media and modern entertainment amplify our short attention spans What drains our mental resources and Trade Review‘Solutions to the mania of modern life’ The Times ‘In focusing on practical strategies rather than silver-bullet or short-term solutions like “digital detoxes”, Attention Span is a valuable guide to how to balance work and well-being in a world increasingly dependent on tech.’ New Scientist ‘In Attention Span, Mark makes the case for a new, evidence-based approach to attention, one that works with our tech-riddled modern world and tendencies towards distraction, instead of trying to squeeze the genie back in the bottle.’ Guardian ‘Gloria Mark is the definitive expert on distraction and multitasking in our increasingly digital world. Her book is a must-read for anyone concerned about our diminishing attention span’ Cal Newport, New York Times bestselling author of A World Without Email and Deep Work ‘This book covers decades of Gloria Mark’s fascinating research journey into how the rise of computing has affected our personal lives: how we are overstressed, we multitask too much, we are constantly interrupted even by ourselves, and our attention spans have declined to an astonishing 47 seconds. If you are interested in your well-being and how to gain agency in this digital age then you need to read this book.’ Susan David, bestselling author of Emotional Agility ‘Gloria Mark's book is a thorough review of the impact interruptions have on our lives and mental health. Some interruptions are welcomed, deliberately self-created. Most, however, are not. All interruptions impact the focus of attention, and attention is a critically limiting aspect of human cognition. Don't be distracted by my review – go read the book. It is an important and valuable contribution to living in this world of interruptions.’ Don Norman, author of The Design of Everyday Things
£13.49
Random House Live Working or Die Fighting
Book SynopsisGlobalisation has created a whole new working class - and they are reliving stories that were first played out a century ago. In Live Working or Die Fighting, Paul Mason tells the story of this new working class alongside the epic history of the global labour movement, from its formation in the factories of the 1800s through its near destruction by fascism in the 1930s and up to today''s anti-globalisation movement.Blending exhilarating historical narrative with reportage from today''s front line, he links the lives of 19th-century factory girls with the lives of teenagers in a giant Chinese mobile phone factory; he tells the story of how mass trade unions were born in London''s Docklands - and how they''re being reinvented by the migrant cleaners in skyscrapers that stand on the very same spot. It is a story of urban slums, self-help co-operatives, choirs and brass bands, free love and self-education by candlelight. And, as the author shows, in the developingTrade ReviewVividly accessible... required reading for the Seattle brigade * Guardian *Mason, using an impressive range of primary sources, recounts nine of the great stories of working-class revolts * Irish Times *This book tells stories of our past that are indispensable to understanding the present. it is a good answer to all who ask where the working class has gone. Brilliant -- Ken Loach'Don't die stupid. If you haven't read Mason's book, you know nothing about how this planet works... breathtaking, fascinating, perceptive... Damn, I wish I'd written this book -- Greg Palast, author of the New York Times bestseller Armed MadhouseThis is micro-historical writing at its best -- Walden Bello, author of Dilemmas of Domination
£13.85
Taylor & Francis Organizations
Book SynopsisBased upon classical and contemporary theory and empirical research, this text forms a sociological analysis of organizations, focusing on the impacts that organizations have upon individuals and society.Table of ContentsPart I. Introduction 1. Thinking About Organizations Part II. Organizational Structure 2. Organization Structure. Key Dimensions 3. Organization Structure. Explanations Part III. Organizational Processes 4. Power and Power Outcomes 5. Leadership 6. Decision Making 7. Communication 8. Managing Organizational Environments. Conceptualizing the Environment 9. Managing Environments. Contemporary Paradigms Part IV. Outcomes 10. Organizational Performance and Change
£82.64
Penguin Books Ltd Bullshit Jobs
Book SynopsisTrade ReviewSpectacular and terrifyingly true. David Graeber's theory of the broken capitalist workforce is right - work has become an end in itself. A timely book from the most provocative anthropologist and thinker of our time. -- Owen JonesEqually explosive, my anarchist friend, David Graeber, yet again has thrown a hand grenade into the political economy debate with his Bullshit Jobs (Allen Lane), a call to strike out for freedom from meaningless work. -- John McDonnell * New Statesman, Books of the Year *Here's a gift for a friend working in PR or HR. David Graeber's thesis is that they are working in"bullshit jobs". A bullshit job, he says, is one that its holder knows to be pointless or pernicious even though they must pretend otherwise. There are five sorts: flunkies (commissionaires, receptionists), goons (lobbyists, lawyers), duct tapers (who sort out problems others have created), box tickers, and taskmasters (management). It's a provocative case ... but you get the feeling he is on to something; there do seem to be a lot of pointless jobs in the modern economy -- Robbie Millen * The Times, Books of the Year *Anthropologist David Graeber embarks on a provocative quest to find and explain the existence of countless mindless and pointless roles. He divides them into "flunkies", "goons", "duct-tapers", "box-tickers", and "taskmasters". It is an entertaining, if subjective study of a problem and an examination of potential answers, including a universal basic income. -- Andrew Hill * Financial Times, Business Book of the Year *Anthropology professor and colourful anarchist David Graeber has opened a Pandora's box of the modern era by questioning the relevance of the swollen ranks of middle management and bullshit jobs that have cropped up across a variety of industries. A controversial but thought-provoking endeavour * City AM Book of the Year *An LSE anthropologist with a track record of countering economic myths through a mix of anecdote, erudition, and political radicalism, Graeber is as good an analyst of the increasingly cowpatted field of modern employment as one could wish. And entertaining and thoroughly depressing read... it is extremely thought-provoking -- Tim Smith-Laing * Telegraph *A provocative, funny and engaging book... that captures the imagination and deserves our attention * Financial Times *
£10.44
Oxford University Press Inc The Stigma Trap
Book SynopsisAn eye-opening look at how all American workers, even the highly educated and experienced, are vulnerable to the stigma of unemployment. After receiving a PhD in mathematics from MIT, Larry spent three decades working at prestigious companies in the tech industry. Initially he was not worried when he lost his job as part of a large layoff, but the prolonged unemployment that followed decimated his finances and nearly ended his marriage. Larry''s story is not an anomaly. The majority of American workers experience unemployment, and millions get trapped in devastating long-term unemployment, including experienced workers with advanced degrees from top universities. How is it possible for even highly successful careers to suddenly go off the rails? In The Stigma Trap, Ofer Sharone explains how the stigma of unemployment can render past educational and professional achievements irrelevant, and how it leaves all American workers vulnerable to becoming trapped in unemployment. Drawing on in
£21.84
Oxford University Press Inc PartTime for All
Book SynopsisAn innovative view of how everyone doing part-time work and part-time caregiving would promote flourishing families, free time, equality, and the true value of care.The way that Western countries approach work and care for others is fundamentally dysfunctional. The amount of time spent at work places unsustainable stress on families, particularly in the face of rising inequality, while those who perform care are underpaid and their labor undervalued.In Part-Time for All, Jennifer Nedelsky and Tom Malleson propose a plan to radically restructure both work and care. As such, they offer a solution to four pressing problems: the inequality of caregivers; family stress from competing demands of work and care; chronic time scarcity; and policymakers who are ignorant about the care that life requires--the care/policy divide. Nedelsky and Malleson argue that no capable adult should do paid work for more than 30 hours per week, so that they can contribute substantial amounts of time to unpaid cTrade ReviewPart-Time for All makes a powerful argument for a deep and revolutionary new ideal-one toward which we all should strive. * Jane Mansbridge, Charles F. Adams Professor of Political Leadership and Democratic Values, Emerita, Harvard Kennedy School *As Nedelsky and Malleson state: 'Deep structural changes for all will be needed to redress the long-standing devaluation of care.' Their proposals to restrict everyone's full-time work and to insist that everyone devote time to care is nothing short of revolutionary. * Joan C. Tronto, Professor Emerita of Political Science, University of Minnesota *In this timely book, Jennifer Nedelsky and Tom Malleson shed light on the paradox that while we all are aware of the importance of the social organization of care, it tends to be relegated to the shadows of exploitative work. Anyone who thought that empirical, structural realism and normative, utopian thinking are opposites, will know better after reading this manifesto. As the authors show powerfully, deeply rooted problems require radical thinking, grounded and humane. * Rainer Forst, Professor of Political Theory and Philosophy, Goethe University Frankfurt *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Preface Introduction Chapter 1: Care Chapter 2: Work Chapter 3: Transitioning Chapter 4: Feasibility Conclusion Works Cited Index
£19.99
Oxford University Press Temporary and Gig Economy Workers in China and
Book SynopsisBy bridging culture and institutions, this book aims to bring a more integrated and nuanced understanding of unequal work, with a view to casting fresh light on social change in China, Japan, and beyond.Trade ReviewThose of us interested in the direction that labor is heading in China and Japan have long awaited a volume like this. Brimming with historical as well as up to date insights on the nature of precarious work in these two economies, this multidisciplinary book is a must-read to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by a significant portion of the labor force today. * Professor Glenda S. Roberts, GSAPS, Waseda University, Japan *Temporary and Gig Economy Workers in China and Japan tackles a timely topic with big ambitions. From its panoramic view of China and Japan to more intimate portraits of precarious workers, the book glimpses the future of work in the 21st Century. This outstanding collection will transform how we think about temps and giggers in two of the most influential countries in the world economy. * Professor Heidi Gottfried, Department of Sociology, Wayne State University, US *This is an important comparative book. It explores the origins and persistence of insecure work and brings a focus on culture in a search for underlying values within different conditions. Crucially these values are not transhistorical, but remade in different situations and therefore historically conditioned. Both China and Japan have moved away from secure employment in different ways, but with overlaps as well. The book has important chapters on tele-working, gig work, gender, migration, union organising, and forces both producing and challenging insecure work. It is a key reading for comparative understanding of precarious work. * Chris Smith, Emeritus Professor of Organisation Studies and Comparative Management, Royal Holloway University of London *Table of ContentsHuiyan Fu: Introduction: The culture of unequal work: Temps and giggers in China and Japan 1: Huiyan Fu: Old and new inequalities: Citizenly discounting and precarious work in a changing China 2: Saori Shibata: Gender, precarious labour and neoliberalism in Japan 3: Machiko Osawa and Jeff Kingston: Teleworking in pandemic Japan 4: Jude Howell: Organising around precarity in China 5: Arjan Keizer: Precarious work and challenges facing Japanese unionism 6: Akira Suzuki: Organising temporary agency workers in Japan: Two types of inclusive union responses 7: Nana Zhang: Negotiating gender, citizenship and precarity: Migrant women in contemporary China 8: Elaine Jing Zhao: Hierarchies, shadows and precarity: Cultural production on online literature platforms in China 9: Shinji Kojima: Making sense of inequalities at work: The micropolitics of everyday negotiation among non-regular workers in Japan 10: Emma E. Cook: 'I'm not a real freeter': Aspiration and non-regular labour in Japan
£70.00
Oxford University Press Stalins Peasants
Book SynopsisDrawing on newly-opened Soviet archives, especially the letters of complaint and petition with which peasants deluged the Soviet authorities in the 1930s, Stalin''s Peasants analyses peasants'' strategies of resistance and survival in the new world of the collectivized village. Stalin''s Peasants is a story of struggle between transformationally-minded Communists and traditionally-minded peasants over the terms of collectivization: a struggle of opposing practices, not a struggle in which either side clearly articulated its position. But it is also a story about the impact of collectivization on the internal social relations and culture of the village, exploring questions of authority and leadership, feuds, denunciations, rumors, and changes in religious observance. For the first time, it is possible to see the real people behind the facade of the Potemkin village created by Soviet propagandists. In the Potemkin village, happy peasants clustered around a kolkhoz (collective farm) tractTrade Reviewwell-researched and richly detailed ... It adds a great deal of new information on rural conditions and attitudes in the 1930s. No other work comes close to it in recounting the tragedy of collectivization from the peasant's point of view. * Times Literary Supplement *
£49.50
Oxford University Press Unbending Gender
Book SynopsisIn Unbending Gender, Joan Williams takes a hard look at the state of feminism in America. Concerned by what she finds--young women who flatly refuse to identify themselves as feminists and working-class and minority women who feel the movement hasn''t addressed the issues that dominate their daily lives--she outlines a new vision of feminism that calls for workplaces focused on the needs of families and, in divorce cases, recognition of the value of family work and its impact on women''s earning power. Williams notes that good jobs in America are designed for the ideal employee, who works full-time and often overtime, with no career interruptions. Even today, most American mothers do not meet this ideal: a majority do not work full-time, and only a small fraction work overtime. Williams points out that women will never achieve equality until mothers do: she argues that employers need to implement parent-supportive policies--or face liability for sex discrimination. She also maintains Trade Review"This book makes a notable contribution to the feminist literature for its eminently sensible, readable, and thoughtful look into the roots of women's disadvantage in market work...Highly recommended to readers who seek real explanations and solutions to labor market gender discrimination."--Choice"In her thoughtful and thought-provoking book, Williams shows how the cult of domesticity limits both women and men--and how we can restructure the marketplace and the law to reintegrate work and family. Her model of reconstructive feminism promises to end the divisive gender wars between different brands of feminism, between tomboys and femmes, restructuring market work and family work."--Deborah Tannen, author of You Just Don't Understand, Talking from 9 to 5, and The Argument Culture"The only way we Americans can see ourselves plainly in the coming debates over child care and pay equity, private need and public obligation, is with a clear and unsentimental road map. Joan Williams' Unbending Gender is it."--Ray Suarez, host of NPR's "Talk of the Nation""At a time when we are searching for a way to restore meaning and cohesion to family life, Joan Williams has given us all--family workers, market workers, feminists, policy makers, and courts--a beacon on that way."--Zipporah Batshaw Wiseman, University of Texas Law School"In this theoretically sophisticated and thoroughly accessible treatise on gender, work and domesticity, Williams offers a new vision of 'family-friendly' feminism that would support women in all the various roles on the worker-caregiver continuum.... This groundbreaking study presents an important new perspective on this evolving discourse."--Publishers Weekly
£17.09
Oxford University Press Inc Out to Work
Book SynopsisFirst published in 1982, this pioneering work traces the transformation of women''s work into wage labor in the United States, identifying the social, economic, and ideological forces that have shaped our expectations of what women do. Basing her observations upon the personal experience of individual American women set against the backdrop of American society, Alice Kessler-Harris examines the effects of class, ethnic and racial patterns, changing perceptions of wage work for women, and the relationship between wage-earning and family roles. In the 20th Anniversary Edition of this landmark book, the author has updated the original and written a new Afterword.Trade ReviewPraise for the Previous Edition:Impressive and deftly written....An example or two cannot do justice to the variety of materials and ideas the author draws together to explain how women workers have functioned as a low-paid reserve force, and why, as wage work became the rule rather than the exception in the 20th century, they found themselves in marginal jobs stereotyped as feminine. * The New York Times Book Review *Comprehensive and packed with information. * St. Louis Post-Dispatch *Without a doubt the single best survey of transformation of women's paid and unpaid work from the colonial period to the present. * American Historical Review *
£21.59
Oxford University Press Self Help Inc.
Trade Review"Can reading Self-Help, Inc. make you rich, successful and perpetually happy? No, but it'll entertain you and make you a whole lot smarter about American popular culture and the economic forces that shape it."--Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Bait and Switch and Nickel and Dimed"Elegantly written, brilliantly argued, and very important--a must read."--Arlie Russell Hochschild, author of The Time Bind and The Commercialization of Intimate Life"McGee writes clearly and thoughtfully.... She moves seamlessly from high theory to pop psychobabble, using the former to illustrate the powers of the latter. Overall, she offers a compelling argument for resisting the self-improvement genre's worldview. what comes through most clearly to me is a Marxist critique of consumer capitalism--like Raymond Williams for the 21st century."--Wendy Simonds, American Journal of Sociology"McGee has revealed the self-help industry as an obsessional treadmill far more than a path to a better life....Self-Help, Inc. offers a revealing look at the profound dissatisfactions that loiter beneath the topography of our consumer culture."--Stuart Ewen, author of PR!: A Social History of SpinTable of ContentsACKNOWLEDGMENTS ; PROLOGUE COVEYS DAUGHTER AND HER DILEMMA ; INTRODUCTION FROM SELF-MADE TO BELABORED ; APPENDIX SOME NOTES ON METHOD ; NOTES ; BIBLIOGRAPHY
£33.29
OUP Oxford Youth and Employment in Modern Britain
Book SynopsisThis book provides the student with a comprehensive and accessible overview of the role and importance of youth and employment in Britain.Trade Review`Particularly useful for a detailed study of youth training - an in-depth guide, but easy to read.' Alan Robertshaw, University of Lancaster`This book is an excellent expose of issues.' Cyprian Lunga, University of NottinghamA much needed update on the rapidly changing situation of youth and employment ... A highly readable and even-handed assessment of the topic. * NEWI *Useful little book ... this book provides an up-to-date, thorough and accessible overview of empirical evidence on youth and employmeny and an account of the main areas of debate. * Work, Employment and Society *
£52.99
