Social Development Routledge Revivals

Originally published in 1924, Professor Hobhouse's theories and commentaries upon social development are an important milestone in the history of sociological thought. Of particular interest to the modern sociologist is his delineation of the struggle of the human mind towards rationality in thought and action and his insistence on the principle that in all social investigations it is necessary to distinguish between questions of fact and questions of value.

First published in 1985, this book provides a comprehensive reappraisal of the diverse Communist development strategies that shaped the twentieth century. Robert Bideleux emphasises the appalling human and economic costs of the most widely adopted ‘Stalinist’ strategies of forced industrialisation and rural collectivisation. He also reconsiders the powerful arguments in favour of the most feasible and cost-effective alternatives to Stalinism, including ‘village communisms’ and ‘market socialisms’. A highly readable and challenging study, this reissue will be of particular value to students with research interests in Development Studies, East European History and Politics.

Over the past few decades, relationships between social workers and the media have become increasingly challenging. Social workers feel aggrieved by media reporting of their profession and believe that journalists lack sufficient knowledge and experience of the social services to report matters adequately and sensitively, whilst some journalists have urged social workers to adopt a more proactive public relations strategy. This book, first published in 1991, analyses the causes and consequences of the negative portrayal of social work within the media and considers various ways in which this image might be improved. The authors consider a variety of developments during the 1990s designed to redress imbalances in media reporting and present a more accurate picture of social workers and the people with whom they work. This title remains very relevant in light of the high profile cases related to the social service that continue to feature in the British press, and will be of particular value to students and researchers with an interest in the relationship between the media and social policy.

First published in 1988, this book provides students with a way to increase their understanding of the role of science and technology in society. Steven Yearley draws on and develops ideas from research in the sociology and politics of science to address, in particular: the nature of scientific knowledge and the authority it commands; the political and economic role of science in the West; the relationship between science, technology, and social change in underdeveloped countries. Examples used range from nineteenth-century brain science to the strategic defence initiative, and from hugely expensive experiments in nuclear physics, to proposals for inexpensive boat-building programmes in the Sudan. Overall, this reissue provides a comprehensive and stimulating account of the role played by science and technology in contemporary social change.

First published in 1989. The Pacific Islands are amongst the poorest countries of the developing world. The special problems of their small size, immense distance from major centres and, for many, very poor agricultural possibilities make development extremely difficult. However, recent new advances in maritime technology in a wide range of different areas present substantial new opportunities. This book surveys the new developments — including extended maritime boundaries; giant clam farming; increased exploitation of ocean minerals and new fisheries techniques — and demonstrates the potential for far-reaching economic and social development.

First published in 1987, Common Knowledge offers a radical departure from the traditionally individualistic psychologies which have underpinned modern approaches to educational theory and practice. The authors present a study of education as the creation of ‘common knowledge’ or shared understanding between teacher and pupils. They show the presenting, receiving, sharing, controlling, negotiating, understanding and misunderstanding of knowledge in the classroom to be an intrinsically social communicative process which can be revealed only through close analysis of joint activity and classroom talk. Basing this analysis on a detailed examination of video-recorded school lessons with groups of 8 to 10-year-olds, they show how classroom communications take place against a background of implicit under-standing, some of which is never made explicit to pupils, while there develops during the lessons a context of assumed common knowledge about what has been said, done, or understood. This wide-ranging study makes an important contribution to the current debate about both teaching methods and the structure of education. It is essential reading for educationalists and developmental psychologists and has a clear practical relevance to teachers and teacher trainers.

First published in 1989. The Pacific Islands are amongst the poorest countries of the developing world. The special problems of their small size, immense distance from major centres and, for many, very poor agricultural possibilities make development extremely difficult. However, recent new advances in maritime technology in a wide range of different areas present substantial new opportunities. This book surveys the new developments -- including extended maritime boundaries; giant clam farming; increased exploitation of ocean minerals and new fisheries techniques -- and demonstrates the potential for far-reaching economic and social development.