Discussion of John Stuart Mill's ethics has been dominated by concern with right and wrong action as determined by the principle of utility. Colin Heydt's book unearths the rich context of moral and socio-political debate that Mill did not have to make explicit to his Victorian readers, in order to enrich the philosophical analysis of his ethics and to show a famous and misunderstood moralist in a new light.
The empirical study of individuals' life-course is one of the most promising areas of research within sociology today. Increased availability of large-scale longitudinal data and improved statistical methods have made it possible to address theoretically relevant questions about events such as entrance into the labour market, job mobility, divorce and death. This book consists of studies capturing the life-course from the cradle to the grave. The research questions include long-term consequences of childhood conditions; family formation and school-careers; work and parental leave; gender discrimination in job promotion; divorce and occupational career; persistence in poverty; and the intriguing question of why the highly educated tend to survive everyone else. The studies shed light on the relation between family and work, on gender inequality, social class differences, welfare state redistribution, and labour market processes. They do this in a particular context, namely Sweden in the post-war period that is, during the decades that formed one of the most advanced welfare states in modern history. One chapter provides a descriptive account of institutional and life-course change in Sweden during that period. Most authors use the Swedish level-of-living surveys, a unique data set providing ample opportunity to study social processes in a longitudinal perspective. The book will, therefore, be of relevance to those with interests in the Swedish welfare state as well as those with theoretical and reseacrh interests in the reproduction of inequality
This book is a comprehensive study into and about consultants doing consultancy, and having influence in ways that generate concerns about an emerging ‘consultocracy’, with privileged access to governments and public services. It presents a detailed mapping of consultants and consultancy in education as a site of change and modernisation in public sector service provision. It considers consultancy at a macro-level of globalised policy, at a meso-level of national government policy, and at a micro level with vivid descriptions and analyses of consultants at work. The rapid rise of ‘edubusinesses’, combined with the restructuring of public services in western style democracies, has generated new types of ‘knowledge actors’ within education policy. Three main developments that have led to this change are: the entry of education policy and service consultants from within major companies into the public education market place; the emergence of ‘celebrity’ entrepreneurial actors and private businesses who make interventions into Universities and schools; and the rapid growth of small businesses based on individuals who have relocated their work from the public to the private sector. Such knowledge actors and the complexities they bring to public education are as yet under described and largely un-theorized. Based on current research and drawing upon a range of theoretical tools, this book fills the gap. Gunter and Mills provide an invaluable contribution to scholarship on the neoliberal restructuring of public education by mapping and analyzing the under-examined yet central role of corporate education consultants. Their thoughtful and thorough discussion expands our understanding of how consultants promote and trade in the ideologies of corporate culture. Gunter and Mills show how consultants are integral to both knowledge making practices in schools and a radical reform agenda for schools in the UK and around the globe. This is an accessible and important volume for not just policy and politics scholars but anyone concerned about defending public forms of education and associated living at a moment when they are increasingly being positioned for pillage by profiteers. Kenneth J. Saltman, University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, USA
Much of the received wisdom about the world of work emphasizes the marketization of the employment relationship; the decline of class-based forms of inequality, and the individualization of employment relations. Non-standard forms of employment, the delayering of organizational hierarchies, and the use of individual performance-based payment systems are all held up as examples of a new neo-liberal order in which employers and employees no longer feel a sense of obligation to each other. Drawing on a range of employee and employer surveys, including the authors own Working in Britain 2000 survey, this ambitious study presents a comprehensive examination of the conditions, attitudes, and experiences of British employees from the mid-1980s to the early years of this century. The authors' analyses provides a compelling critique of the received wisdom, while also providing an original, alternative account of recent developments in work and labour markets. Along the way, the book covers such topical issues as the changing nature of trade union membership, the consequences of Britain's 'long hours' culture', and the apparent inability of women to ask for pay rises. Significantly, the authors seek to reposition debates about the future of work by restoring the concepts of contracts and social class to the analysis of the employment relationship. Based on the ESRC funded Future of Work research programme this book is destined to shape our understanding of employment in Britain for the foreseeable future.
The author's unique record of the mills of Preston will enthral those who worked in the mills and is a rich source of information for anyone interested in cotton mills and steam power. This invaluable book is the product of the author's passionate interest in the mills which forested Preston's skyline until the latter half of the last century. Colin Dickinson has always been fascinated by the mills, and more specifically the engines which powered them. Without these astonishing machines, mass production of cotton would not have been possible. Many years of meticulous research, supported by visits to mills and interviews with mill workers, has resulted in a book which no-one else could have written in this way. Mill after mill was demolished when King Cotton died, but the author had the foresight to photograph large numbers of them before they disappeared from view. His images stand as a permanent record of an industry and way of life that survive only in the memories of the thousands of Preston folk who worked in the mills. Decade by decade this book charts the role of steam power in the great mills of Preston during the century-and-a-half of their operation.In chronological order it lists every cotton factory to appear on the scene, presenting building dates, site layouts, constructional details, spindleage, loomage, ownerships and final closure dates. Cotton Mills of Preston: The Power Behind the Thread' will enthral those who worked in the mills and is a rich source of information for anyone interested in cotton mills and steam power.
Some people at some time in their lives wake up. They realise that the life that they are living is not the life they want, but to change it needs to come from within - through understanding and awareness. Happiness - Who Wants It? is a user friendly guide to a happier life by helping us understand more about how we become the way we are and how to deal with the consequences of this. The more we understand why we behave the way we do the more control we have over our lives. But just as important is to understand what others are doing, their hidden agendas and the effects they create on us. If we understand ourselves better the chances are we will also treat our children differently - with more love and understanding - and isn't that something worth while to work towards?
Have you reached a point in your career where your role as a C-Suite Executive just isn't working for you anymore? Executive Freedom lays out a clear path to a highly engaging and rewarding portfolio lifestyle. Ironically, this approach gives you greater financial security than working for a single employer.
Another title in GMM's highly successful QBase series, this time focusing on the Primary FRCA (Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists) with sets of examination papers the candidate can use to revise and practice their MCQ technique. As always, the self-learning experience is greatly enhanced by the free CD-ROM containing the QBase examination software. This powerful program allows the user to sit the pre-set exams as printed in the book, or to create their own exams using questions drawn from the total pool available on the CD-ROM. The program can either generate these exams randomly (maintaining the same proportions of each subject as the 'pre-set' exams), or the user can select any number of questions in any subject area, to create their very own exam. However the user chooses to set an exam, they can then mark, analyse and store each attempt, and review and re-sit the same exam at a later date, comparing their scores with previous attempts. When re-sitting an exam, the user can also choose to 'shuffle' the question stems A-E, so that they cannot simply remember patterns of true and false answers. A final unique aspect of the program is that it allows the user to select how confident they are of their answer, and the program can then provide feedback on a user's 'guessing strategy'.
Discussion of John Stuart Mill's ethics has been dominated by concern with right and wrong action as determined by the principle of utility. Colin Heydt's book unearths the rich context of moral and socio-political debate that Mill did not have to make explicit to his Victorian readers, in order to enrich the philosophical analysis of his ethics and to show a famous and misunderstood moralist in a new light.
Popular television programmes highlight the satisfaction that can be gained from investigating the history of houses, and there is always plenty of interest in the subject, with archives becoming ever more accessible with access to the internet. As the subject covers a broad field, the authors have set out to include advice on those aspects that usually apply to a project and others that will be of particular use for beginners. The reader is guided through every stage of research, from the first exploration of the archives to the completion of the task. Suggestions are also included on how to present the findings – a house history makes a very attractive gift. The authors describe how to deduce the age of a property (it is very seldom directly recorded when a house was built) and characteristics of research on particular types of property – such as cottages, manor houses, inns, mills, former church properties, and farms – are discussed. In one example, research demonstrated that a farm was likely to have been a Domesday manor – a fascinating discovery achieved using records accessible to any beginner.
The book fills an important gap in understanding the process of economic transformation by providing a comprehensive and in-depth micro-level analysis of industrial transition. . . The book is highly recommended for those who are working on or studying the Chinese economic transformation focusing especially on industry and its transition. Ligang Song, Economic Record As the authors admit, the wool industry may seem a rather obscure choice (p. 23). Yet this is a book of interest to a much wider relationship than agro-business specialists. It provides a meticulous case-study of one industry which illuminates a number of broader issues currently under discussion in the China studies field. . . As the Chinese economy becomes more variegated, economists and political scientists trying to understand the Chinese economic reform experience will increasingly have to rely on such studies. They bring out the intricacies of this process and help us to move from across-the-board generalizations on property rights reform to more nuanced analyses of economic transition. Björn Alpermann, The China Journal China defies generalizations, and the only way that we can hope to obtain a clear idea of the process of reform is through detailed studies, that trace the complex ebb and flow of reforms, including the interactions between centre and locality, and between the stages of the processing. This is a valuable study that will stand the test of time. Will Martin, The World Bank, US This book is more than yet another industry report . This is a book on transition. It describes the mega-forces privatization; state-owned enterprise reform; internationalization; increasing competition and their mega-consequences the proliferation of small, private traders; the diversification of the process sector; the disintegration of government agencies and private initiatives that had been in charge of coordinating and managing quality that not only affected the wool sector, but are literally re-defining the fabric of China s economy. For those interested in trying to better understand the fastest growing economy in the world, this is a must read. Neither the authors competence in wool technology nor their description of the institutional details of the wool economy gets in the way of their main message. Powerful economic forces are at work in China. In some cases there are positive benefits through competitive and improved incentives. In other cases, however, there is a cost in terms of rising transaction costs, imperfect information and the inability to rationalize the evolving supply chains. Scott Rozelle, University of California, US China is the world s largest producer and consumer of wool textiles but the structure of its industry remains confusing and complex to many. While China offers the most important growth opportunity in the world today, the transition from a centrally planned to a market economy has compounded the difficulties and risks for many traders and investors wishing to deal with and in this market. This publication makes a major contribution towards unravelling the complexity of Chinese industrial structures through its review of recent changes to one of China s oldest but still significant manufacturing sectors, the wool textile industry. The lessons learned through this study will be relevant to anyone wishing to understand China s industrial modernization processes. Barry White, Chief Executive Officer, International Fibre Council (IFC) Ltd, Director, Australia China Business Council Exposed to powerful new economic forces, and undergoing dramatic ownership reforms and technological changes, China s industries are modernizing at a breakneck pace. In many industries, the outcomes have been chaotic and poorly aligned with societal objectives. This book analyses the transformation and modernization of China s industries through a detailed investigation of the wool and wool textile industries. The authors argue that to remai
The landscape of the north-east of Scotland ranges from wild mountains to undulating farmlands; from cosy, quaint fishing coves to long, sandy bays. This landscape witnessed the death of MacBeth, the final stand of the Comyns earls of Buchan against Robert the Bruce and the last victory, in Britain, of a catholic army at Glenlivet. But behind these momentous battles lie the quieter histories of ordinary folk farming the land - and supping their local malts. Colin Shepherd paints a picture of rural life within the landscapes of the north-east between the 13th and 18th centuries by using documentary, cartographic and archaeological evidence. He shows how the landscape was ordered by topographic and environmental constraints that resulted in great variation across the region and considers the evidence for the way late medieval lifestyles developed and blended sustainably within their environments to create a patchwork of cultural and agricultural diversity. However, these socio-economic developments subsequently led to a breakdown of this structure, resulting in what Adam Smith, in the 18th century, described as 'oppression'. The 12th-century Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation and the Industrial Revolution are used here to define a framework for considering the cultural changes that affected this region of Scotland. These include the dispossession of rights to land ownership that continue to haunt policy makers in the Scottish government today. While the story also shows how a regional cultural divergence, recognized here, can undermine 'big theories' of socio-political change when viewed across the wider stage of Europe and the Americas.
This fifth volume abridgement of Joseph Needham's monumental work is concerned with the staggering civil engineering feats made in early and medieval China.
The harrowing story of the Allied airmen who experienced the true horrors of Nazism firsthand. It was the summer of 1944 as liberating Allied forces surged towards Paris following the D-Day landings. For a large group of downed airmen being held in that city’s infamous Fresnes Prison, they were about to face evacuation into the blackest, bloody heart of Germany and experience the most acute evil of the war. Amid great secrecy, those 168 airmen – including several from Australia and New Zealand – were transported on a filthy, overcrowded nightmare train journey which ended at the notorious Buchenwald concentration camp, accompanied by orders for their execution. At Buchenwald they witnessed extreme depravity that would haunt them to the end of their days. Yet, on returning home, they were confronted by decades of denials from their own governments that they had ever been held in one of Hitler’s most vile concentration camps. In conducting his original deep research for this book – now completely expanded and updated – Colin Burgess personally interviewed or corresponded with dozens of the surviving airmen from a number of nations, including their valorous leader, New Zealand Squadron Leader Phil Lamason. Destination Buchenwald tells a compelling story of extraordinary bravery, comradeship and endurance, when a group of otherwise ordinary servicemen were thrust into an unimaginable Nazi hell. 'This was the first book to provide an insight into our experiences as a group of captured allied airmen, betrayed to the Gestapo, tortured and deported to Buchenwald concentration camp. I consider it to be one of the best interpretations of the events as it reflects the voices of the survivors and their challenges to stay alive in such dehumanising circumstances.' Sqn Ldr Stanley Booker, RAF (Rtd.), MBE, Légion D'Honneur: Last surviving member of the Buchenwald airmen
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