Written by the founding father of media studies, this book offers a unique analysis of the dynamics and wider implications of communications inequality.

Welfare Words analyses a number of keywords and phrases commonly used by policy-makers, news-outlets and wider society, when referring to social policy, welfare reform and social work in the present-day culture of neoliberal capitalism.

Discover everything you’ve ever wondered about the legendary spirits, creatures, and figures of Japanese folklore including how they have found their way into every corner of our pop culture from the creator of the podcast Uncanny Japan.

Welcome to The Book of Japanese Folklore: a fascinating journey through Japan’s folklore through profiles of the legendary creatures and beings who continue to live on in pop culture today.

From the sly kitsune to the orgrish oni an...

The indispensable guide to understanding the world we make and the lives we lead. This thoroughly revised and updated ninth edition remains unrivalled in its vibrant, engaging and authoritative introduction to sociology. The authors provide a commanding overview of the latest global developments and new ideas in this fascinating subject.

Classic debates are also given careful coverage, with even the most complex ideas explained in a straightforward way. Written in a fluent, easy-to-follow sty...

A student guide to developing a strong relationship with counselling clients

John McLeod's book is the only comprehensive guide to the range of qualitative methods used in counselling and psychotherapy. This timely new edition incorporates the last decade of developments in qualitative research methods with eight new chapters, new case studies and enchanced pedagogy throughout.

Offering a concrete framework and practical methods for working from an existential perspective, the bestselling Existential Counselling and Psychotherapy in Practice is now in its third edition.

A timely student-orientated textbook introducing the main concepts, theories and research methods needed to study the family. Adopting a global perspective and containing plenty of critical pedagogy (case-studies, think points, key words, glossary) it's ideal for courses studying the family across the social sciences.

Afghanistan is often viewed as a failing state. The international intervention, following 9/11, could fit with the country’s domestic modernisation efforts, King Ammanullah’s in the 1920s and Zahir Shah’s in the 1960s. Yet, such developments had been stalled time and again, first due to conservative resistance, then the 1979 Soviet occupation, and the subsequent rise of Mujahidin and Taliban. The post-2001 overhaul remained an outsider’s enterprise and lacked proper connection to Afgh...

Written by a scholar with firsthand experience as a police officer, military officer, and fire service commander, this book offers a rare and compelling combination of academic insight and operational expertise. It provides a unique perspective for professionals and researchers working in the domains of use of force, public order, and high-risk operations within both military and policing contexts – as well as for those involved in the training, education, and leadership of personnel operat...