Sociology and Social Theory

This is the first book to take a sociological approach to grandparenting across diverse country contexts and combines new theorising with up-to-date empirical findings to document the changing nature of grandparenting across global contexts.

In the second, revised edition of this indispensable book, the author looks behind 'the mirror of power' to discover the reality of civil society - or 'Big Society', as it has become known.

This exciting and innovative book fills a gap in the growing area of discourse analysis within the social sciences. It provides the analytical tools with which students and their teachers can understand the complex and often conflicting discourses across a range of social science disciplines.

New Labour has concentrated many of its social policy initiatives in reinvigorating the family, community and work. But just how 'new' are the ideas driving policy and practice?

This book shows how New Labour has drawn on the ideas and premises of functionalism, which dominated British and American sociological thought from the 1940s to the 1960s.

A substantial, authoritative, third edition of this important textbook about the impact of economic priorities and pressures on social policies at a time when neo-liberal arguments for reducing the burden of welfare are more dominant than ever before.

An exploration the phenomena of contemporary fatherhood, this book presents the current state of knowledge on father involvement with young children in six countries: Finland, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, the UK and the USA.

Focusing on a range of welfare issues this book examines the views, values and perceptions of a number of theorists from ancient times to the 19th century, including Plato, St Aquinas, Hobbes, Wollstonecraft and Marx.

This exciting book challenges many common stereotypes about the nature of family involvement as people age. The book explores diversity and change in the family relationships older people maintain, looking at how family relationships are constructed and organised in later life.

Around 1 in 10 children born in the UK are fathered by men under the age of 25, and this book tackles the overlooked views and needs of these young fathers. Challenging negative popular and media discourses, this book showcases future policy and practice directions designed to nurture the potential of these young men and their children.

Leading experts explore current strategies and thinking in relation to prevention of sexual violence in this timely collection

With psychological, sociological and legal perspectives, it addresses longstanding and contemporary themes including sexual harassment and working with offenders, and maps new approaches to practice and prevention.

This book explores the politics of modernisation and transformation of probation in the criminal justice system. It draws upon innovative social theories and moral perspectives to analyse changes in the probation service and makes a timely contribution to criminal justice and probation theory.

This book provides social science researchers with both a strong rationale for the importance of thinking reflexively and a practical guide to doing it. The first book to build on Pierre Bourdieu's reflexive work, it combines academic analysis with practical examples and case studies. The book will be of interest to researchers and students.