These essays offer penetrating insights into the events and controversies that have dominated the news agenda for the last two years. The Hutton and Butler reports lifted the lid on the most intimate working of those who strive to convert information into a weapon - whether they be a Prime Minister in Downing Street, an MI6 agent in the field, an intelligence analyst in Whitehall, or a journalist attempting to fuse fragments into hard copy. The British Academy has brought together a distinguished group of scholars and practitioners to probe the deeper themes at play in the rush of events and...

In this volume, leading experts on the past and present of pensions in Britain debate the present crisis, and the lessons of history for those seeking to craft solutions to it that are both effective and enduring. The volume also contains a number of chapters which draw important lessons from the experience of other European and North American countries over the past few decades.

These eleven essays look at the current state of sociology in Britain from a number of intriguing perspectives. How important is it for British sociologists to be aware of the historical development of their subject in this country? How is British sociology seen by British scholars working in related fields, such as social history, social anthropology and demography? And how are British sociologists perceived by their colleagues working abroad, in particular in continental Europe? A concluding essay by the President of the British Sociological Association identifies the recurring themes in...

In this unique volume, the impact of information technology is reviewed by scholars who are leading pioneers in the application of that technology to research in their disciplines. From both a general appreciation of their fields, and from their own personal research, they discuss whether this impact amounts to a paradigm shift, posing new research themes and new approaches.