The interests of the social policy group include both historical and
comparative studies of the development, implementation and evaluation of
social policies.
Professor John Edwards has, for the past few years, been
carrying out research on affirmative action and preferential treatment
policies for racial and ethnic minorities in Great Britain and the United
States. He has also been actively researching inner city policies,
concentrating on the evaluation of public and private sector activities.
Dr John Macnicol has written widely on the concept of the
'underclass' and its use in policy debates in Britain and the United
States. He has also just completed a book on the history of old age
pensions in Britain.
Dr Alan Gordon has an interest in employment and
unemployment policies both within Britain and with the European Union. He
has also been extensively involved in evaluating training and further
education programmes in collaboration with the Host Labour Market
Intelligence Unit.
D. Berry-Lound and A. Gordon Attitudes of Employing Organisations to NTETS, NVQs and MCI, HOST Labour Market Intelligence Unit, Horsham, 1994.
N Deakin and J R Edwards The Enterprise Culture and the Inner City, Routledge 1993.
J R Edwards When Race Counts: Affirmative Action and Preference Policies in America and Britain, Routledge, 1994
A Gordon Adult Guidance and Career Counselling: Mapping TEC/LEC Policy and Provision, HOST Labour Market Intelligence Unit, Horsham, 1994.
J S Macnicol 'Welfare, wages and the family: child endowment in comparative perspective, 1900-1950', in R Cooter (ed) In the Name of the Child: Health and Social Policy, 1880-1950, Routledge, 1992.
J S Macnicol 'Beveridge and old age', in J Hills, J Ditch and H Glennerster (eds) Beveridge and Social Security: An International Retrospective, Oxford University Press, 1994.
Although Medical Sociology is the largest research grouping
within the Department, the research activity of the sociology group covers
many aspects of contemporary cultural and social life, with much work
having a comparative or historical dimension.
Dr Colin Gibson has a particular interest in socio-legal studies
and law and the family and has recently published a major book on divorce.
Dr Raymond Lee has recently published extensively on
research methodology, particularly on researching sensitive topics, the
use of computers in qualitative research and the sociological implications
of new information technologies. He also has research interests in labour
markets and redundancy and the sociology of religion.
Bernice Martin has an international reputation for her work
in the sociology of culture. She is, at present, engaged on collaborative
studies of pentecostalism in Latin America and of new class values in
Europe and North America.
Dr John Mattausch has published widely on the sociology of
peace movements and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. He is now
engaged on a historical study of the Gujarati community in Gujarat, East
Africa and Britain.
Dr Richard Smith has particular interests in the sociology
of rural economic life and environmental issues. He is currently studying
the concept of sustainability in British agriculture.
Dr Ralph Schroeder (incomplete)
N Fielding and R M Lee (eds) Using Computers in Qualitative Research, Sage, 1992. (Revised edition)
C Gibson 'Wealth, inheritance and adultery', in A Van der Wonde (ed) The Role of the State and Public Opinion on Sexual Attitudes and Demographic Behaviour, International Commission of Historical Demography, Madrid, 1990.
C Gibson Dissolving Wedlock, Routledge, 1993.
R M Lee Doing Research on Sensitive Topics, Sage, 1993.
B Martin 'Qualitative market research: a profession at the edge of postmodernity' in F Heuberger and H Kellner (eds) Hidden Technocrats: The "New Class", Transaction Press, 1991.
B Martin 'Whose soul is it anyway? Domestic violence and the suffocated soul' in R K Fenn and D Capps (eds) Lost Souls, New York City University Press, 1994.
J Mattausch A Commitment to Campaign: A Sociological Study of CND, Manchester University Press, 1989.
J Mattausch The Gujaratis and the British, CEMS Occasional Papers No. 1. 1993.
Publications by Ralph Schroeder
R Smith 'Farm household strategies and pluriactivity in Upland Scotland', Journal of Agricultural Economics, vol.42, 1991. (with M Shucksmith)
R Smith 'On the margins: uneven development and rural restructuring in the Highlands of Scotland', in T Marsden et al. (eds) Labour and Locality. David Fulton, 1992.
Last modified: 30.08.95