Search results for ""author nicholas abercrombie""

Should human organs be bought and sold? Is it right that richer people should be able to pay poorer people to wait in a queue for them? Should objects in museums ever be sold? The assumption underlying such questions is that there are things that should not be bought and sold because it would give them a financial value that would replace some other, and dearly held, human value. Those who ask questions of this kind often fear that the replacement of human by money values – a process of commodification – is sweeping all before it. However, as Nicholas Abercrombie argues, commodification can be, and has been, resisted by the development of a moral climate that defines certain things as outside a market. That resistance, however, is never complete because the two regimes of value – human and money – are both necessary for the sustainability of society. His analysis of these processes offers a thought-provoking read that will appeal to students and scholars interested in market capitalism and culture.

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Sociology is the intellectual discipline that seeks to provide answers to those questions by the deployment of argument and evidence. In doing so it will often question basic assumptions that we all make about our social world and therefore has the capacity to upset settled or conventional opinions. This book is an invitation to engage in this endeavour. concise, accessible introduction to a key discipline in the social sciences; written by an experienced author who is widely respected for his broad and deep understanding of the subject and his ability to write in a clear and compelling way; provides argument and evidence about key sociological questions which will be of help to students approaching the subject for the first time; this is the third book in the Polity Short Introductions series (following Bob Connell's Gender and Stephanise Lawson's International Relations).

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Should human organs be bought and sold? Is it right that richer people should be able to pay poorer people to wait in a queue for them? Should objects in museums ever be sold? The assumption underlying such questions is that there are things that should not be bought and sold because it would give them a financial value that would replace some other, and dearly held, human value. Those who ask questions of this kind often fear that the replacement of human by money values – a process of commodification – is sweeping all before it. However, as Nicholas Abercrombie argues, commodification can be, and has been, resisted by the development of a moral climate that defines certain things as outside a market. That resistance, however, is never complete because the two regimes of value – human and money – are both necessary for the sustainability of society. His analysis of these processes offers a thought-provoking read that will appeal to students and scholars interested in market capitalism and culture.

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Television and Society is a textbook designed to introduce students to the role of television in contemporary society. It explores the structure of the television text, the way in which that text is produced and the way it is consumed. The first section deals with the analysis of television programmes as texts. It covers, for example, the issues of realism, narrative, genre and ideology, the domestication of television programming and the nature of soap opera and news. The section on the production of television deals firstly with the structure of the industry as a whole - the ways in which television is financed and distributed, the globalization of television and media imperialism, and the political economy of television. This is followed by a consideration of the internal workings of television organizations, including the role of the producer, the functioning of the production team, the television personality and the producer's perceptions of the audience. The final section investigates theories of the television audience and combines qualitative and quantitative studies. There is discussion on the history of audience research, methods of measuring the audience, the domestic context of viewing, and television talk. Clearly written, Television and Society will be an ideal textbook for students in media studies, cultural studies and the sociology of culture.

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This exciting new reader brings together some of the best recent sociological writing on British society. The volume features carefully selected extracts from books and journals, which have been chosen for the high quality of their sociological analysis and their relevance to understanding social change. Thematically organized, the volume gives wide coverage to a range of key topics in sociology, including globalization, class and inequality, gender, ethnicity, the media, leisure and consumption. It also provides students with an interesting introduction to a variety of social science research methods, from ethnographies and in-depth interviews to observation and surveys. Most of the chapters are based on recent empirical research, and therefore capture in detail some of the more distinctive features of life in Britain at the turn of the millennium. Read alone, or in conjunction with the third edition of the best-selling textbook, Contemporary British Society, this book provides the newcomer to sociology with a fascinating introduction to social life in Britain and a taste of the excitement and complexity of original research and analysis.

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The third edition of the highly-acclaimed Contemporary British Society is the only textbook to provide comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the social structure of modern Britain. Completely revised and updated, this new edition employs the very latest statistical information and empirical studies, and examines all the new arguments and debates concerning modern British society. Separate chapters explore the major areas of modern life in Britain - economic organization, employment, patterns of inequality, class, gender, ethnicity, family and households, education, health, media, deviance and politics. New to this edition are chapters on globalization, associations, and leisure. The emphasis throughout the book is on an accessible, user-friendly, and non-technical approach. It is written in a jargon-free and approachable style; there is extensive cross-referencing and frequent and clear summarizing of arguments; and numerous photographs, diagrams, graphs, drawings and cartoons complement and illuminate the text. Contemporary British Society is written for students of introductory sociology whether they are taking 'A' level or are in the first year of an undergraduate course in a higher education institution. It will also be useful for those taking courses in other subjects, such as social policy, health and town planning, which demand knowledge of particular aspects of British society. Please visit the accompanying website at: http://www.polity.co.uk/cbs3

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This exciting new reader brings together some of the best recent sociological writing on British society. The volume features carefully selected extracts from books and journals, which have been chosen for the high quality of their sociological analysis and their relevance to understanding social change. Thematically organized, the volume gives wide coverage to a range of key topics in sociology, including globalization, class and inequality, gender, ethnicity, the media, leisure and consumption. It also provides students with an interesting introduction to a variety of social science research methods, from ethnographies and in-depth interviews to observation and surveys. Most of the chapters are based on recent empirical research, and therefore capture in detail some of the more distinctive features of life in Britain at the turn of the millennium. Read alone, or in conjunction with the third edition of the best-selling textbook, Contemporary British Society, this book provides the newcomer to sociology with a fascinating introduction to social life in Britain and a taste of the excitement and complexity of original research and analysis.

Read more less

The third edition of the highly-acclaimed Contemporary British Society is the only textbook to provide comprehensive coverage of all aspects of the social structure of modern Britain. Completely revised and updated, this new edition employs the very latest statistical information and empirical studies, and examines all the new arguments and debates concerning modern British society. Separate chapters explore the major areas of modern life in Britain - economic organization, employment, patterns of inequality, class, gender, ethnicity, family and households, education, health, media, deviance and politics. New to this edition are chapters on globalization, associations, and leisure. The emphasis throughout the book is on an accessible, user-friendly, and non-technical approach. It is written in a jargon-free and approachable style; there is extensive cross-referencing and frequent and clear summarizing of arguments; and numerous photographs, diagrams, graphs, drawings and cartoons complement and illuminate the text. Contemporary British Society is written for students of introductory sociology whether they are taking 'A' level or are in the first year of an undergraduate course in a higher education institution. It will also be useful for those taking courses in other subjects, such as social policy, health and town planning, which demand knowledge of particular aspects of British society. Please visit the accompanying website at: http://www.polity.co.uk/cbs3

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Written by three eminent professors, it has been updated to reflect the shifts of sociological thought in the last five years, making it the most comprehensive, authoritative and up-to-date dictionary available. It is essential reading for all students and teachers of sociology and other related courses - and also the general reader.

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