By David Grant

We see the modern State as the most rational form of governing yet devised, and one which properly recognises our inherent individual rights. However, as the histories of colonialism and imprisonment reveal, it is also an intruder into the lives of generally unwilling individuals, constraining rights.

This book looks beneath the contradiction to see an entity willingly sustained by all individuals and for which we forgo our responsibility to and for ourselves. We place ourselves in the hands of those interests that promise to deal with our fears and desires the best.

Probing the work of political thinkers from Hobbes to Rawls, the book discovers a State that is a real, mythological entity, spreading across social and geographic space and concerned first with satisfying our two passions. Understanding this mythology may allow reason to emerge from its service to fear and desire, so that the modern State could become truly modern.

This book will be of interest to scholars in Sociology, Politics, Philosophy, and Law.

ISBN: 9780415988759

Published August 19 2008 by Routledge.

From the Methodological Doctrine to Research Practice

By Edmund Mokrzycki

Originally published in 1983. This book concentrates on the impact of philosophy of science on sociology and other disciplines. It argues that the impact of the philosophy of science on sociology from the rise of the Vienna Circle until the mid-1980s resulted in a deep-reaching and, in the author’s view, undesirable methodological reorientation in sociology.

ISBN: 9780415474924

Published August 18 2008 by Routledge.

An Inter-disciplinary Approach

Edited by Gerald Studdert-Kennedy

Originally published in 1975. The main concern of this book is the nature of the gap between the theoretical issues, raised at an abstract level by social scientists, and their facts, the material organized in an empirical analysis. The author draws on material from several disciplines to explore the contributions of social science theory to historical insight.

ISBN: 9780415474993

Published August 18 2008 by Routledge.

Reconsidering the prospect of sanction

By David M. Kennedy

Deterrence is at the heart of the preventive aspiration of criminal justice. Deterrence, whether through preventive patrol by police officers or stiff prison sentences for violent offenders, is the principal mechanism through which the central feature of criminal justice, the exercise of state authority, works – it is hoped -- to diminish offending and enhance public safety. And however well we think deterrence works, it clearly often does not work nearly as well as we would like – and often at very great cost.

Drawing on a wide range of scholarly literatures and real-world experience, Kennedy argues that we should reframe the ways in which we think about and produce deterrence. He argues that many of the ways in which we seek to deter crime in fact facilitate offending; that simple steps such as providing clear information to offenders could transform deterrence; that communities may be far more effective than legal authorities in deterring crime; that apparently minor sanctions can deter more effectively than draconian ones; that groups, rather than individual offenders, should often be the focus of deterrence; that existing legal tools can be used in unusual but greatly more effective ways; that even serious offenders can be reached through deliberate moral engagement; and that authorities, communities, and offenders – no matter how divided – share and can occupy hidden common ground.

The result is a sophisticated but ultimately common-sense and profoundly hopeful case that we can and should use new deterrence strategies to address some of our most important crime problems. Drawing on and expanding on the lessons of groundbreaking real-world work like Boston’s Operation Ceasefire – credited with the "Boston Miracle" of the 1990s – "Deterrence and Crime Prevention" is required reading for scholars, law enforcement practitioners, and all with an interest in public safety and the health of communities.

ISBN: 9780415774154

Published August 15 2008 by Routledge.

By Barry Barnes

Originally published in 1974.

Scientific Knowledge and Sociological Theory centres on the problem of explaining the manifest variety and contrast in the beliefs about nature held in different groups and societies. It maintains that the sociologist should treat all beliefs symmetrically and must investigate and account for allegedly "correct" or "scientific" beliefs just as he would "incorrect" or "unscientific" ones. From this basic position a study of scientific beliefs is constructed. The sociological interest of such beliefs is illustrated and a sociological perspective upon scientific change is developed.

ISBN: 9780415474375

Published August 15 2008 by Routledge.

Studies in the Sociology of Science

By Stephen and Steven Cotgrove & Box

Originally published in 1970. Two major changes have characterised science in the twentieth century. Firstly, there has been its rapid growth. Secondly, and central to the theme his book – science is no longer mainly an academic activity carried on in universities. Industry will soon be the largest employer of scientists. This book deals with issues of bureaucracy in science threatening its creativity and the failure of industry to recruit the best graduates, as well as what attracts people to study science.

ISBN: 9780415474467

Published August 15 2008 by Routledge.

The biography of the enterprise-wide system or how SAP conquered the world

By Neil Pollock, Robin Williams

This is the first book that addresses the genesis and career of the modern day enterprise system in a comprehensive and robust manner. It does so through setting out a new approach for the study of packaged solutions and presents novel empirical studies based on in-depth ethnographic and longitudinal research conducted within supplier organisations and other relevant sites. The authors shift the debate within the social study of information systems, from one that is primarily focused on ‘implementation studies’, to one that follows software as it evolves, matures and crosses organisational boundaries. Through tracing and comparing the ‘biography’ of a number of software systems the authors develop a new vocabulary for the dynamics that surround standardised software.

Original in its approach, this book draws on a number of ethnographic studies in supplier organisations, user settings, user forums, and applies theories from the Sociology of Technology, Technology Studies, Innovation Studies, and beyond. As such it will be of interest across all of these subject areas and to researchers from the wider fields of Information Systems and Business Studies.

ISBN: 9780415403979

Published August 14 2008 by Routledge.

By Ronald H. Heck, Scott L. Thomas

This comprehensive, applied approach to multilevel analysis is distinguished by its wide range of applications relevant to the behavioral, educational, organizational, and social sciences. Univariate and multivariate models are used to understand how to design studies and analyze data. Readers are encouraged to consider what they are investigating, their data, and the strengths and limitations of each technique before selecting their approach. Numerous examples and exercises allow readers to test their understanding of the techniques. Input programs from HLM and Mplus demonstrate how to set up and run the models.

A latent variable conceptual framework is emphasized to show the commonality of the approaches and to make each technique more accessible. The first section is devoted to conceptual issues underlying multilevel modeling, while the second section develops several types of multilevel analyses including univariate regression, structural equation, growth curve and latent change, and latent variable mixture modeling. The new edition features:

• New chapters on multilevel longitudinal and categorical models.
• 80% new exercises and examples.
• website at www.psypress.com/multilevel-modeling-techniques providing datasets and program setups in HLM, SPSS, Mplus, and LISREL.
• Increased emphasis on how multilevel techniques are used to examine changes in individuals and organizations over time.

Ideal for introductory graduate level courses on multilevel and/or latent variable modeling, this book is intended for students and researchers in psychology, business, education, health, and sociology interested in understanding multilevel modeling. Prerequisites include an introduction to data analysis and univariate statistics.

ISBN: 9781841697550

Published August 12 2008 by Routledge.

Edited by Michael Hviid Jacobsen

The sociology of Erving Goffman has inspired generations of sociologists throughout the world. Students and scholars alike have in Goffman’s unsurpassable and generous ability to capture the world of everyday life discovered an emporium of useful, incisive and quite often humorous analyses, concepts and ideas. The Contemporary Goffman highlights the continued relevance of Goffman to sociology and related disciplines – to theoretical discussions as well as to substantive empirical research – through contributions dealing with a variety of topics and themes. Some contributions concentrate on locating or reinterpreting Goffman’s work as a special kind of sociology (as is found in his literary sensibilities or his fieldwork strategies). Others focus on overlooked aspects and neglected potentials of his sociology (by applying his perspective to studies of gender, emotions and violence), while others still relate his concepts and ideas to substantive research areas (such as the media, mobile telephones, hospitals, surveillance technologies and tourism).

ISBN: 9780415996815

Published August 11 2008 by Routledge.

Nations of Flesh and Blood

By Jackie Hogan

All nations construct stories of national belonging, stories of the nation’s character, its accomplishments, its defining traits, its historical trajectory. These stories, or discourses of national identity, carry powerful messages about gender and race, messages that reflect, reproduce and occasionally challenge social hierarchies.

Gender, Race and National Identity examines links between gender, race and national identity in the US, UK, Australia and Japan. The book takes an innovative approach to national identity by analyzing a range of ephemeral and pop cultural texts, from Olympic opening ceremonies, to television advertisements, letters to the editor, broadsheet war coverage, travel brochures, museums and living history tourist venues. Its rich empirical detail and systematic cross-national comparisons allow for a fuller theorization of national identity.

ISBN: 9780415384766

Published August 05 2008 by Routledge.