Ethnography
Behind the Science
The Invisible Work of Data Management in Big Science
Available Open Access digitally under CC-BY-NC-ND licence
Examining the data processes at the European Spallation Source facility in Sweden, this book sheds light on the often underestimated, yet essential, contributions of those involved in the design and development of data management systems.
Single Mothers and the Welfare Trap
Work, Care and Civil Society
Drawing on interviews with welfare-reliant single mothers living in the South Wales Valleys, this original book charts their interactions with the labour market and welfare state. It challenges current understandings of welfare eligibility and dependency and provides valuable new policy insights for welfare reform.
Sound, Order and Survival in Prison
The Rhythms and Routines of HMP Midtown
The soundscape of prison life is that of constant clangs, bangs and jangles. What is the significance of this cacophonous din to those who live and work with it? This book is the story of a year spent with a UK prison community, bringing its social world vividly to life through aural ethnography.
Gangs and Minorities in Singapore
Masculinity, Marginalization and Resistance
This book is a unique ethnographic study of a racially exclusive Malay Muslim gang, Omega, which has its roots in Singapore’s prisons. In demonstrating that gang involvement can be an adaptive strategy for marginalized groups, this book promotes a more inclusive and restorative justice model for people with repeat convictions.
Contested Civil Society in Myanmar
Local Change and Global Recognition
ePDFs of chapters 4, 5 and 7 are available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence
This book illustrates the ways in which contestations in Myanmar society are reflected in civil society. It provides an up-to-date overview of the main identities and contestations in Myanmar society as a whole.
Prisoners' Families, Emotions and Space
This original study of the lives of prisoners’ families adds a feminist perspective on the understanding of carceral geography. She relates the testimonies of families as they navigate new challenges, and measures the impact of imprisonment on their emotions, relationships, identities and experiences of spaces, both inside and outside prison.
Gangs, Drugs and Youth Adversity
Continuity and Change
Revisiting the young men interviewed in Deuchar’s original fieldwork in Glasgow, this dynamic book explores the evolving nature of gangs and the contemporary challenges affecting young people, including drug distribution, football-related bigotry and the mental health repercussions emerging from social media.
Surviving Everyday Life
The Securityscapes of Threatened People in Kyrgyzstan
Moving beyond state-centric and elitist perspectives, this volume examines everyday security in the Central Asian country of Kyrgyzstan. Based on ethnographic fieldwork and written by scholars from Central Asia and beyond, it shows how insecurity is experienced, what people consider existential threats, and how they go about securing themselves.
Gangs, Drugs and (Dis)Organised Crime
Drawing upon unique empirical data based on interviews with high-profile ex-offenders and experts in the field, this book sheds new light on drug markets, organised crime and gangs in the UK. McLean sparks new debate on the subject, offering solutions and alternatives for how to best tackle gang violence.
Experiences in Researching Conflict and Violence
Fieldwork Interrupted
This collection explores the roles of emotion, violence, uncertainty, identity and positionality in doing research in and on conflict zones, as well as the complexity of methodological choices. It presents a nuanced view of conflict research that addresses the uncomfortable spaces of conflict research and the need for reflection on these issues.
Contesting County Lines
Case Studies in Drug Crime and Deviant Entrepreneurship
Combining a compulsive read with rigorous academic analysis, this book tells the real-life stories of drug dealers involved in county lines networks. This myth-busting, accessible book offers a new way of thinking about drug crime prevention, intervention and enforcement.
University Audit Cultures and Feminist Praxis
An Institutional Ethnography
Drawing on an unprecedented institutional ethnography of UK universities, this book uses feminist and gender lenses to critique the power, culture and structure of Higher Education institutions. Challenging the myths of how academia is governed by audit processes, it provides an opportunity to re-read and re-write these institutions from within.