This work sets out a new approach to understanding society, based on rational choice theory. Starting from a few simple assumptions about the nature and context of human action, this text provides a reinterpretation of our major social institutions. Its central aim is to see how far social relations can be explained on the basis of human beings acting in their own interests rather than under the confines of wider social forces. The institutions examined in this book include households, communities, workplaces, social classes and the state. In each case, it is shown how the institution forms a...
This work sets out a new approach to understanding society, based on rational choice theory. Starting from a few simple assumptions about the nature a...
This topical book transforms the analysis of housing problems into a lively, interesting and contentious subject of social scientific study, addressing themes of residential experience, inclusion/empowerment, sustainability and professionalism/managerialism, which lie at the heart of the housing and social policy debate. Each chapter considers a specific social category - such as class, gender, or disability - and evaluates the experience and understanding of housing and social policy under this category.
With innovative approaches to conceptualising housing and a clear, defined...
This topical book transforms the analysis of housing problems into a lively, interesting and contentious subject of social scientific study, addres...
This topical book links housing issues in other areas of social policy drawing on current themes in the social sciences. It transforms the analysis of housing problems into a lively, interesting and contentious subject of social scientific study. Housing is fundamentally integrated into the welfare system and therefore requires exploration using conceptual ideas drawn from the social sciences. This book aims to encourage those studying and working in both social policy and housing to think refelxively about housing as a central instrument of social policy, rather than considering it to be an...
This topical book links housing issues in other areas of social policy drawing on current themes in the social sciences. It transforms the analysis of...
Understanding Community is a practical guide to understanding policies and underlying theories relating to community. This substantially revised edition draws upon theories from Marx and Bourdieu to offer a clearer understanding of community in capitalist society. Peter Somerville presents a close examination of government policies in areas such as economic development, education, health care, housing, and safety and sets them in the context of our understanding of crucial concepts like community cohesion, social capital, and capacity building. The book also explores the dark side of...
Understanding Community is a practical guide to understanding policies and underlying theories relating to community. This substantially revise...
Understanding Community is a practical guide to understanding policies and underlying theories relating to community. This substantially revised edition draws upon theories from Marx and Bourdieu to offer a clearer understanding of community in capitalist society. Peter Somerville presents a close examination of government policies in areas such as economic development, education, health care, housing, and safety and sets them in the context of our understanding of crucial concepts like community cohesion, social capital, and capacity building. The book also explores the dark side of...
Understanding Community is a practical guide to understanding policies and underlying theories relating to community. This substantially revise...
The British countryside is a national institution; most people aspire to live there, many people use it for leisure and recreation and we can all watch rural life played out on our television screen, read about it in novels or consume its imagery in art and cinematography. The aim of this book is to explore the way that these aspirations and perceptions influence the way that the term "rural" is interpreted across different academic disciplines. Definitions of rural are not exact, leaving room for these interpretations to have a significant impact on the meanings conveyed in different...
The British countryside is a national institution; most people aspire to live there, many people use it for leisure and recreation and we can all w...
