To help researchers and students make the transition from the classroom and laboratory to research in the `real world', the authors reveal the pitfalls and suggest strategies to overcome problems in the design and planning of applied research. With a focus on how to refine research questions as real world events force deviations from the original research plan, they discuss how to study and monitor programme implementation and statistical power analysis. They also explore how to assess the human and material resources that will be needed at different times while conducting an applied research design to facilitate the management of data collection, analysis and interpretation.
"Changing Human Reproduction" demonstrates that conception and birth are as much social as biological events. The authors stress the importance of viewing human reproduction not only as a biological event but also as social reproduction. The book argues that systematic research into the social aspects of reproduction is possible, and is being done; that the neglect of social research has led to the failure to make necessary provisions for the social consequences of new reproductive techniques. The plight of the involuntarily childless who, having been helped to conceive, find themselves with three, four or more babies illustrates this point clearly. Drawing on methods from history, sociology and anthropology, the contributors analyze the changes which have been initiated by the new reproductive techniques. Our understanding of how babies are conceived, and what it means to be a parent or a relative, have all become more complex.
This book introduces the reader to the social and behavioural foundations for a `sense of justice' - the form of equilibrium which individuals and legal systems seek to achieve and maintain in a changing and complex world. The contributors draw upon new discoveries and insights from the biologically-based behavioural sciences that are critical to a more informed understanding of legal phenomena, particularly those dealing with complex social and political relationships.
Intended for students, academics and researchers in organization studies, management and sociology, this book argues that organizational structure is primarily determined by environment as opposed to technology. The essays consider the place of organizations within a wide institutional framework, focusing on educational systems and medical services. "Organizational Environments" is an explication of the author's theoretical positions and has an impact on organizational theory.
The move from an industrial to a post-industrial society has been documented by many, as has the impact of this new order on the macro-level institutions of society - government, the workplace and the economy. But what does post-industrial life mean to the individual and for relationships between people? Hage and Powers examine that question, linking global changes in the work patterns, information flow and knowledge to the practice of everyday life. Their answer is that the complexification of society requires a different kind of person. Creativity, flexibility and emotional astuteness will become the watchwords of the future, personality traits that will enable people to successfully adapt to the ever-changing swirl of workplace, familial, personal and leisure roles. Based on the tenets of social theory, the authors present both a vision of the future and a plan for personal and interpersonal action.
The topic of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing encompasses issues related to sexual activity, development and parenting, each with its own consequences. This volume integrates these issues by examining research from diverse perspectives: the authors discuss the biological, sociocultural and interpersonal forces that impinge on adolescents. The volume focuses on patterns of sexual activity, contraceptive use, abortion, single-parenthood, adolescent relationships, prenatal care and interventions to prevent unwanted adolescent pregnancies.
Small Enterprise Development bridges the gap between research and public policy in the fast changing field of small business development. The thirteen chapters have been written by some of the UK's leading and emerging small business researchers. They present findings from current and on-going research studies in a number of current areas of small business development. They identify the application of their findings for policymakers, who are involved in both the design and delivery of small business policy at national and local levels.
In this volume, Thomas unites two traditions in social science - critical theory and qualitative research - in an attempt to apply a critical world view to the conventional logic of cultural inquiry. Rather than standing in opposition to traditional ethnography, it offers a style of considering the direct relationship between knowledge, society and political action. Thomas addresses the question: if the duty of the researcher entails the righting of social wrongs as well as producing valid research results, how is it possible to juxtapose the two goals? He defines the rules and guidelines for a praxis-oriented ethnographic tradition, one both ideologically engaged and scientifically valid. In addition, he outlines the various types of critical ethnography, explaining the tenets of each and how research can be carried out under these frameworks.
In the 1960s many sociologists proclaimed traditional religion to be in its death throes. But, just as secularization gained nearly universal acceptance among scholars, religious resurgence burst forth from many directions - new religious movements and the growth of Islamic fundamentalism for example. In A Future for Religion?, contributors ask whether, if such dynamic forces are at work, is religion really dying? They discuss issues usually excluded from books on the sociology of religion - including religious experience, emotional renewal, religion and the body.
