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Transport, Travel and Later Life (Transport and Sustainability #10)
by Professor Charles MusselwhiteThis book, set within a social gerontology and transport behaviour studies paradigm, examines current debates and issues around transport for older people and its relationship to health and wellbeing for individuals and society as a whole. This timely title explores transport and travel needs and motivations of older people, barriers older people face using public and community transport, difficulties in accessing public spaces for walking and cycling. The safety of older drivers and recent advances in technology are also investigated. Concluding by looking to the future in addressing digital cities, driverless cars and other changes in ICT that may affect older people and their travel behaviour, a variety of global perspectives examine the social aspects of mobility and transport from a psychological, sociological, and geographical perspective. This title will be of interest to those working with older people in the health and wellbeing sector, those involved in transport and town and country planning and academics examining gerontology and associated social science subjects.
Orphans: A History
by Jeremy SeabrookOrphans have often been beneficiaries of charity and compassion--but society has also punished, abused and ill-treated them. Attitudes behind this maltreatment are rooted in ideas that those without parents are disruptive, malevolent, and in need of discipline. Drawing on historic documents, interviews and memoirs, Jeremy Seabrook charts history's changing and often loose definitions of "orphans," and explores their many "makers"--from natural or man-made catastrophes to the State, charity, and other social forces that have separated children, especially the poor, from their close kin. But this history is not only one of suffering: Orphans also reveals the uncounted millions taken in and loved by relatives, neighbors or strangers. Freed from constraints and driven by insecurity, many orphans--including Nelson Mandela, Marilyn Monroe and Steve Jobs--have led remarkable lives.
Orphans: A History
by Jeremy SeabrookOrphans have often been beneficiaries of charity and compassion--but society has also punished, abused and ill-treated them. Attitudes behind this maltreatment are rooted in ideas that those without parents are disruptive, malevolent, and in need of discipline. Drawing on historic documents, interviews and memoirs, Jeremy Seabrook charts history's changing and often loose definitions of "orphans," and explores their many "makers"--from natural or man-made catastrophes to the State, charity, and other social forces that have separated children, especially the poor, from their close kin. But this history is not only one of suffering: Orphans also reveals the uncounted millions taken in and loved by relatives, neighbors or strangers. Freed from constraints and driven by insecurity, many orphans--including Nelson Mandela, Marilyn Monroe and Steve Jobs--have led remarkable lives.
Sweden's Dark Soul: The Unravelling of a Utopia
by Kajsa NormanReporter Chang Frick grew up dark-haired in a nation of blonds. Ostracized as a child, in adulthood he set out to expose the hypocrisy of Swedish society. When he revealed the cover-up of mass sexual assaults on teen girls at a 2015 music festival, he provoked a chain reaction that rattled the nation. Sweden's elites shirked responsibility and rushed to discredit him. Although Sweden boasts the world's oldest free press, its history of homogeneity and social engineering has created a culture where few dare dissent from consensus, those who do are driven to extremes, and there is no place for outsiders--even those who conform. In this groundbreaking book, investigative journalist Kajsa Norman turns her fearless gaze on the oppressive forces at the heart of Sweden's 'model democracy'. Weaving the history of its social politics with the stories of Frick and other outcasts, Norman exposes the darkness in the Swedish soul.
Sweden's Dark Soul: The Unravelling of a Utopia
by Kajsa NormanReporter Chang Frick grew up dark-haired in a nation of blonds. Ostracized as a child, in adulthood he set out to expose the hypocrisy of Swedish society. When he revealed the cover-up of mass sexual assaults on teen girls at a 2015 music festival, he provoked a chain reaction that rattled the nation. Sweden's elites shirked responsibility and rushed to discredit him. Although Sweden boasts the world's oldest free press, its history of homogeneity and social engineering has created a culture where few dare dissent from consensus, those who do are driven to extremes, and there is no place for outsiders--even those who conform. In this groundbreaking book, investigative journalist Kajsa Norman turns her fearless gaze on the oppressive forces at the heart of Sweden's 'model democracy'. Weaving the history of its social politics with the stories of Frick and other outcasts, Norman exposes the darkness in the Swedish soul.
Polarized And Demobilized (PDF): Legacies Of Authoritarianism In Palestine
by Dana El KurdAfter the 1994 Oslo Accords, Palestinians were hopeful that an end to the Israeli occupation was within reach, and that a state would be theirs by 1999. With this promise, international powers became increasingly involved in Palestinian politics, and many shadows of statehood arose in the territories. Today, however, no state has emerged, and the occupation has become more entrenched. Concurrently, the Palestinian Authority has become increasingly authoritarian, and Palestinians ever more polarised and demobilised. Palestine is not unique in this: international involvement, and its disruptive effects, have been a constant across the contemporary Arab world. This book argues that internationally backed authoritarianism has an effect on society itself, not just on regime-level dynamics. It explains how the Oslo paradigm has demobilised Palestinians in a way that direct Israeli occupation, for many years, failed to do. Using a multi-method approach including interviews, historical analysis, and cutting-edge experimental data, Dana El Kurd reveals how international involvement has insulated Palestinian elites from the public, and strengthened their ability to engage in authoritarian practices. In turn, those practices have had profound effects on society, including crippling levels of polarisation and a weakened capacity for collective action.
The State In North Africa (PDF): After The Arab Uprisings
by Luis Martinez Cynthia SchochEver since independence, revolts and riots in North Africa have structured relations between society and the state. While the state has always managed to restore order, the unexpected outbreak of the Arab Spring revolts has presented a real challenge to state stability. Taking a long-term historical perspective, this book analyses how public authorities have implemented policies to manage the Maghreb's restive societies, viewed at first as 'retrograde' and then as 'radicalised'. National cohesion has been a major concern for post-colonial leaders who aim to build strong states capable of controlling the population. Historically, North African nations found colonial oppression to be the very bond that united them, but what continues to hold these communities and nation-states together after independence? If public interest is not at the heart of the state's actions, how can national loyalties be maintained? Luis Martinez analyses how states approach these questions, showing that the fight against jihadist groups both helps to reconstruct essential ties of state belonging and also promotes the development of a border control policy. He highlights the challenges posed by fragile political communities and weak state instruments, and the response of leaders striving to build peaceful pluralistic nations in North Africa.
Global Sufism: Boundaries, Narratives and Practices
by Francesco Piraino and Mark SedgwickSufism is a growing and global phenomenon, far from the declining relic it was once thought to be. This book brings together the work of fourteen leading experts to explore systematically the key themes of Sufism's new global presence, from Yemen to Senegal via Chicago and Sweden. The contributors look at the global spread and stance of such major actors as the Ba 'Alawiyya, the 'Afropolitan' Tijaniyya, and the G?len Movement. They map global Sufi culture, from Rumi to rap, and ask how global Sufism accommodates different and contradictory gender practices. They examine the contested and shifting relationship between the Islamic and the universal: is Sufism the timeless and universal essence of all religions, the key to tolerance and co-existence between Muslims and non-Muslims? Or is it the purely Islamic heart of traditional and authentic practice and belief? Finally, the book turns to politics. States and political actors in the West and in the Muslim world are using the mantle and language of Sufism to promote their objectives, while Sufis are building alliances with them against common enemies. This raises the difficult question of whether Sufis are defending Islam against extremism, supporting despotism against democracy, or perhaps doing both.
Reflections on Sociology of Sport: Ten Questions, Ten Scholars, Ten Perspectives (Research in the Sociology of Sport #10)
by Kevin YoungIn this tenth and celebratory volume in the Research in the Sociology of Sport series, ten recognized and influential sport scholars from around the world reflect on their respective academic journeys. They each address ten salient questions summarizing their career and their view of the current and future status of the sociology of sport. Each chapter addresses four main themes: About the author: who are your mentors and influential figures? What is your research trajectory? About sport: why does sport matter? How should sport be studied? Is sport a panacea for social problems? About practising sociology of sport: is teaching sociology of sport easy? Do sociologists like sport? Is the sociologist of sport a ‘public intellectual? About sociology of sport in the academy: does sociology of sport face institutional or industry barriers? What is the future of the sociology of sport? While the ten questions are salient for everyone in the academy irrespective of field of study, they seem particularly trenchant for sociologists of sport as the subfield reaches a chronological milestone and continues to undergo its own ‘growing pains’ and maturation. Following quickly on the heels of, and conceptually tied to, Volume 9 (Sociology of Sport: A Global Subdiscipline in Review), Volume 10 now completes the ‘double celebration’ of this book series as the sociology of sport subfield turns 50.
Rethinking the Colonial State (Political Power and Social Theory #33)
by Dr Søren Rud Dr Søren IvarssonStudies of colonialism and empire have increasingly drawn attention to the problem of conceptualizing the political logic of colonial projects and the circumstances of state formation in colonial contexts. However, the nature and workings of the colonial state remains under-theorized and under-analysed. This volume addresses the analytical challenges of the colonial state from a variety of theoretical and thematic angles, and across a range of empirical cases that stretch over a vast span historically and geographically, to provide a new approach to analyzing the colonial state and its governmental practices.
Theoretical Times
by Steve RedheadIn Theoretical Times, Steve Redhead describes the post-crash economic, environmental, political and cultural condition we live in today. As the rise of the international right - Donald Trump, Brexit, Marine Le Pen - swarms the globe, a new global battle within the right is developing: the globalists and neo-liberals versus the economic nationalists and protectionists. What then are the prospects for a resurrected theoretical politics of the left? Theoretical Times considers the work of theorists such as Alain Badiou, Slavoj Žižek, Jean Baudrillard and Paul Virilio, in this innovative reinvention of theory and the politics of theory. After the global financial crash the world is being hollowed out and we find ourselves in what Žižek calls a desperate state of hopelessness, the “new dark ages”. Accelerated culture sees us digitally entertaining ourselves to death but leaves us exhausted and frightened waiting for World War Three. Theoretical Times offers new theoretical resources as a way out of the quicksand.
Education, Migration and Family Relations Between China and the UK: The Transnational One-Child Generation
by Mengwei TuMigration, Education and Family Relations between China and the UK: The Transnational One-Child Generation provides a fresh perspective on the understanding of transnational families, examining the one-child generation of Chinese migrants who came to the UK to study, and their parents who remain in China, separated from their only child. As these highly-educated, capital-bearing Chinese migrants continue to pursue their careers and establish families in the West, a deeply significant dilemma emerges: as the only child in the family, how do they balance their personal aspirations with responsibilities to their parents? This study is based on interviews conducted with the one-child generation of Chinese migrants in the UK and their parents in China. It charts the life course of these migrants, from their upbringing in China, to their decision to study overseas, and establish their lives abroad. Both children and parents reveal the human complexity that lies behind these choices regarding transnational mobility and immobility, temporal and spatial changes that have challenged the basis of traditional Chinese family values, which dominated intergenerational relations in China for more than two thousand years. Ultimately, this fascinating book demonstrates that the shifting multidimensional nature of an individual’s identity demands a re-examination of definitions of international students, migrants, and family.
Understanding Brexit: Why Britain Voted to Leave the European Union (SocietyNow)
by Graham TaylorOn 23rd June 2016 the United Kingdom shocked the world by voting to leave the European Union. In this clear and concise book, Graham Taylor argues that the result is the most visible tip of an iceberg of social change that has been decades in the making. Hidden from view are a matrix of economic, socio-cultural and political dynamics that have wrought fundamental changes to the British state and society and the relationship between the UK and the rest of the world. These dynamics include the development of an increasingly financialized economy, de-industrialization and an increasing polarization of power and wealth, the resurgence of nationalism and sub-nationalisms and the realignment of electoral politics and emergence of political populism. This book highlights the historical and multifaceted nature of Brexit and its significance for Britain’s future, providing a rigorous and forensic analysis of the most dramatic event to confront contemporary British society since the Second World War.
Advances in Global Leadership (Advances in Global Leadership #10)
by Joyce S. Osland Mark E. Mendenhall Ming LiVolume 10 of Advances in Global Leadership continues to advance both global leadership research and practice by bridging and integrating conceptual and practitioner perspectives to provide a deeper understanding of this rapidly growing field of study. This volume contains both innovative foundational research on global leadership processes and new models to advance theoretical work. The 'Practitioner's Corner' section of the volume contains lessons from three experts with decades of experience in developing global leaders from both business and non-profits. This volume also provides detailed descriptions of ground-breaking university global leadership development programs. As always, the editors conclude the volume with an overview of the current state of the field and a summary of the key research needs and directions to guide future scholarship.
From Humility to Hubris among Scholars and Politicians: Exploring Expressions of Self-Esteem and Achievement (Emerald Points)
by Robert A. StebbinsA main theme running through this book is that we cannot understand the virtues of humility and modesty without an equally good understanding of the vices of hubris and conceit. All four attitudes express self-esteem, which flourishes in the soil of achievement. Achievement is valued in any challenging field, be it art, science, sport, entertainment, business, politics, religion, or administration. And it is for this reason alone that achievers are inclined to discuss their excellence or may be forced to discuss it when others inquire about it or remark on it. By these routes achievement and self-esteem surface frequently in the diverse academic and political exchanges that spawn humility/modesty or hubris/conceit.Achievement in a respectable activity can be a wonderful personal milestone bathed in positive emotions, where in the modern world individualism and individuation are widely valued. It may also be wonderful for other people in the achiever’s family, social network, community, or society when they are favorably affected. But in this book, when refracted through three additional analytic lenses – individualism and individuality, big- vs small-picture thinking, and tolerance and compromise – the expression of achievement-based self-esteem takes on some startling new dimensions. One of them is that, at the hubris/conceit end of the continuum of the expression of self-esteem, discussion risks becoming uncivil, owing to the disagreeable ways that achievement is sometimes conveyed (e.g., boasting, name calling, depreciating others’ related achievements). Moreover, such can turn out to be enormously unproductive. Or as Leo Tolstoy once put it: “Conceit is incompatible with understanding.”
Fathers, Childcare and Work: Cultures, Practices and Policies (Contemporary Perspectives in Family Research #12)
by Rosy Musumeci Arianna SanteroThe work-life balance of fathers has increasingly come under scrutiny in political and academic debates. This collection brings together qualitative and quantitative empirical analyses to explore fathers’ approaches to reconciling paid work and care responsibilities. Taking a global perspective, contributors explore how fathers realize and represent their gendered work-care balance and how enterprises and experts, in country specific institutional context, provide formal and informal resources, constrains, expectations and social norms that shape their practices. Chapters explore how fathers from different social and economic backgrounds fullfil their roles both within the family and in the workplace, and what support they rely on in combining these roles. Further, the collection explores an area of research that has been little investigated: the role played by organizational cultures and experts (such as obstetricians, gynaecologists, paediatricians and psychologists) in shaping notions of ‘good’ fatherhood and fathering, to which individuals are required to confirm, and to which they, variously, comply or resist.
Living Alone, Living Together: Two Essays on the Use of Housing (PDF) (Emerald Points)
by Peter KingThis book, from social theorist Peter King, considers how a dwelling can protect and promote both our anxieties and our relationships. Dwelling magnifies our anxieties and allows us to reject the world, yet it is also what we need to form long and lasting relationships. The first essay considers the one truly private space we have: inside our heads. This is the most intimate place we have, yet we are singularly unable to control it or even to know it. This leads to a discussion on anxiety and depression and how the solitude offered by private space – the head and the home – allows for anxiety to take over an individual. But it is also suggested that it is only through the privacy of a dwelling, and the intimacies that can develop here, that anxiety can be assuaged. The second essay is based on the premise that our relationships come out of our private dwelling. We need the protected intimacy, the inclusion and exclusion of private dwelling in order to flourish and to grow, and if we are to live together in a fully committed manner we depend on this enclosed and excluding space. Peter King builds up a new picture of dwelling from first principles. Both essays use a non-traditional literature to explore being alone and being with others, rather than relying on the social science literature, and offer a distinct and original contribution to the housing studies literature. Peter King is a writer and thinker on housing. He is currently Reader in Social Thought at De Montfort University.
Age Diversity in the Workplace: An Organizational Perspective (Advanced Series in Management #17)
by Miguel R. Olivas-Lujan Tanya Bondarouk Silvia Profili Alessia Sammarra Laura InnocentiOrganisations, as well as individuals and societies, continue to struggle with the complexity associated with unprecedented demographic changes. Workforce ageing and increasing age diversity are not transient phenomena, and their implications are compounded by the combination of several global trends like workers' increased mobility and migration, as well as increasing gender and ethnic differences. This demographic pressure compels organisations to question conventional ways of management thinking, doing and being in order to capitalize on the benefits of an age-diverse workforce. This volume bridges theoretical and empirical approaches in order to illuminate the challenges of valuing employees at any point in their professional lives, from youth to retirement. Embracing perspectives that span from the individual to the organisational levels of analysis, the book explores the two distinct but intertwined phenomena of workforce ageing and increasing workforce age diversity. The volume is divided into two parts. Contributions in the first section raise questions about the meanings of age and age diversity, as well as how and when age matters in organisations. The second part of the book examines the role and contribution of HR practices in forging an age-inclusive workplace.
International Business Diplomacy: How can Multinational Corporations Deal with Global Challenges? (Advanced Series in Management #18)
by Huub RuëlMultinational enterprises (MNEs) experienced ‘golden days’ during the 1990s and 2000s, they expanded globally and were major players in globalization. Today they have become powerful actors in the global economy. CEOs of international businesses are welcomed by heads of state as their counterparts, they are invited by governments to help solve global issues such as climate change and poverty, and they are facing dilemmas comparable to those of other international actors. However, MNEs are facing global legitimacy challenges. They are suspected of tax avoidance, using low wage countries for corporate benefits only, disrespecting privacy regulations, abusing consumer data, violating local community rights, exploiting natural resources, ignoring basic human rights, and employing too many lobbyists targeting national and international political decision-making processes for their own corporate interests. Although many of these challenges are not new, they have resurfaced and become more apparent during the past couple of years, partly due to the economic recession that many developed economies have faced and to the broader awareness of increasing global inequality and the importance of sustainability. How can international business respond? Strategic business diplomacy may be the answer. Business diplomacy involves developing strategies for long-term, positive relationship building with governments, local communities, and interest groups, aiming to establish and sustain legitimacy and to mitigate the risks arising from all non-commercial or exogenous factors in the global business environment. Business diplomacy is different from lobbying or strategic political activity; it implies an (strategic / holistic) approach of an international business to look at itself as an actor in the international diplomatic arena. Representation, communication and negotiation are key in such an approach. One of the consequences is that MNEs are able to operate in and show respect for an international business environment that consists of multiple stakeholders. This demands a strategic perspective and vision on the sector and the business environments in which the company wants to operate, and requires a specific set of instruments, skills and competences.
Social Movements and Media (Studies in Media and Communications #14)
by Jennifer S. Earl Deana A. RohlingerSponsored by the Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology section of the American Sociological Association (CITAMS), this volume focuses on media and social movements. Contributing authors draw on cases as diverse as the Harry Potter Alliance to youth oriented, non-profit educational organizations, in order to assess systematically how media environments, systems, and usage affect collective action in the 21st century. The volume demonstrates that the study of media and social movements has developed into a vibrant sub-field stretched across Communication Studies, Political Science, and Sociology, and illustrates the need for serious interdisciplinary research. Chapters in the volume reinforce the need to examine many kinds of media (such as fiction) for social movements, particularly in terms of recruitment and framing. They show the critical importance of connecting classic and contemporary social movement research when trying to understand topics such as recruitment, identity, and discourse, even when these are playing out in the digital world. Chapters explore the difficulties that organizations face in organizing whether or not they are primarily offline or online; the ways that digital media usage affects various organizational functions and effectiveness; and the importance of examining the role of youth in social movements across all of these topics.