Social media has come to deeply penetrate our lives: Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and many other platforms define many of our daily habits of communication and creative production. The Culture of Connectivity studies the rise of social media in the first decade of the twenty-first century up until 2012, providing both a historical and a critical analysis of the emergence of major platforms in the context of a rapidly changing ecosystem of connective media. Such history is needed to understand h...

Winner of the James Coleman Award for Best Book from the Rationality and Society section of the American Sociological Society Winner of the Outstanding Recent Contribution from the Social Psychology section of the American Sociological Association. Winner of the Best Publication Award from the Mental Health section of the American Sociological Association Honorable Mention, PROSE Book Award, Cultural Anthropology and Sociology, from the Association of American Publishers. When people are faci...

This highly original and sophisticated look at architecture helps us to understand the cultural significance of the buildings that surround us. It avoids the traditional style-spotting approach in favour of giving an idea of what it is about buildings that moves us, and what it is that makes them important artistically and culturally. The book begins by looking at how architecture acquires meaning through tradition, and concludes with the exoticism of the recentavant garde.

Illustrations of p...

Edited by Catherine Barnard and Steve Peers, European Union Law draws together a range of perspectives from experienced academics, teachers and practitioners to provide a comprehensive introduction. Each chapter has been written and updated by an expert in the field to provide students with access to a broad range of ideas while offering a solid foundation in the institutional and substantive law of the EU. Written by experts, designed for students; every chapter ensures a balance of accessib...

Make discussion work easy for students with Bookworms Club. These collections of graded short stories have been specially selected for Reading Circles - small groups of students who meet to talk about stories. With role sheets to help students prepare for the discussions, and stimulating graded stories, Bookworms Club provides the magic formula for getting students to talk in English.

In religious studies, theory and method research has long been embroiled in a polarized debate over scientific versus theological perspectives. Ronald L. Grimes shows that this debate has stagnated, due in part to a manner of theorizing too far removed from the study of actual religious practices.

A worthwhile theory, according to Grimes, must be practice-oriented, and practices are most effectively studied by field research methods. The Craft of Ritual Studies melds together a systematic the...

The human body is a complicated and beautiful machine, governed by the laws of physics and chemistry. By understanding its physiology - how it performs its varied functions - it is possible to build strategies for diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease. In this latest edition, expanded and restructured coverage of sensory physiology and the respiratory system, a new comprehensive glossary of key terms, and additional online learning resources make Human Physiology even more student-f...

One of the most notable trends in biomedical science in recent years has been the increasing use of molecular techniques as part of the diagnosis of disease. As such, there is a growing need for students to understand the technological basis of molecular analysis and to have a comprehensive appreciation of their use in diagnosis. Combining coverage of molecular techniques with their application to diagnostic pathology, this book provides students with a thorough andup to date appreciation of ...

The Directions series has been written with students in mind. The ideal guide as they approach the subject for the first time, this book will help them: - Gain a complete understanding of the topic: just the right amount of detail conveyed clearly- Understand the law in context: with scene-setting introductions and highlighted case extracts, the practical importance of the law becomes clear - Identify when and how to evaluate the law critically: they'll be introduced to the key areas of debat...

With unrivalled coverage of a wide range of issues - from terrorism, inter-state conflict and nuclear deterrence, to environmental security, health, and transnational crime - Contemporary Security Studies is the definitive introduction to Security Studies. Bringing together contributions from leading scholars, it provides a student-friendly guide to traditional and critical theoretical approaches, as well as the most important contemporary issues that dominate the modern security field. The s...