In 1968, aged 21, John Western left England, not realising that he might never bother to return. The boy who had always loved maps, trains and travel to new places was posted by Voluntary Service Overseas to a missionary school in rural Burundi, Central Africa. From the world’s longest-industrialised country, he pitches into what was probably then its least industrialised nation. For two years, Western experiences life in an ‘overwhelmingly illiterate subsistence economy of material povert...

The past hundred years of Europe are distilled in the experiences of the citizens of Strasbourg. From the turn of the twentieth century until 1945, Europe's ruling idea of nationalism rendered Strasbourg/Straßburg the prize in a tug-of-war between the two greatest continental powers, France and Germany. Then, in the immediate post-war period, ideals for European unity set up various European institutions, some headquartered in Strasbourg, which have gradually created a partially supranati...

This title was first published in 2000: This text presents the results of a three-year study in social research, which aimed to measure and explain anomie in different parts of the world with different cultures and different socio-political and economic conditions. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were applied, and the book not only represents the projects in juxtaposition, but also attempts to show how they relate to each other. The project elaborated instruments for practical us...

For over 50 years, the mission of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has been to conduct and support basic and applied research to better understand, treat, and prevent infectious, immunologic, and allergic diseases with the ultimate goal of improving the health of individuals in the United States and around the world. As part of its mission to foster biomedical discovery and to reduce the burden of human disease, NIAID is committed to encouraging the acceler...

This title was first published in 2003. Adolescence is popularly understood as a transitional phase of turbulence and extremes. It is also often associated with 'trouble'. Criminal justice statistics, however, reveal that youth criminality remains a relatively rare phenomenon, less than one percent of the total adolescent population in any given year. This exceptional book is based upon a major Australian research programme to consider the key social factors impacting upon the lives of you...

'John Macdonald once again turns the traditional approach to health care on its head. Instead of merely diagnosing and managing disease, he urges health services � and indeed society � to foster health ... and articulates a vision of a health promoting � a salutogenic � society'.Dimity Pond, School of Medical Practice and Population Health, University of Newcastle, AustraliaThe vast proportion of cash spent on health care by governments and individuals in the world is spent ...

First published in 1997, this study reports on a study of 221 sex workers in Queensland, Australia. The workers were interviewed by an interviewer with experience in the industry. They were asked a variety of questions relating to how they came to enter the industry, their knowledge of and attitudes towards safe sex, and a variety of other questions to do with lifestyle, service use and sexual health, and contact with the police and legal system. Sex work emerges as an activity which has a...

Cultural Evolution argues that people's values and behavior are shaped by the degree to which survival is secure; it was precarious for most of history, which encouraged heavy emphasis on group solidarity, rejection of outsiders, and obedience to strong leaders. For under extreme scarcity, xenophobia is realistic: if there is just enough land to support one tribe and another tribe tries to claim it, survival may literally be a choice between Us and Them. Conversely, high levels of existent...

This book brings together academics, practitioners and experts in the field of forensic psychology to demonstrate the scope of the discipline and push its parameters. Its aim is to go beyond introductory texts to challenge perceptions, to raise questions for research and to pose problems for practice. The editors hope to inspire and stimulate debate about how forensic psychology can aid the practice of justice.The book is divided into six sections, addressing key topics from the di...

When Daily Telegraph correspondent Tim Butcher was sent to cover Africa in 2000 he quickly became obsessed with the idea of recreating H.M. Stanley's famous expedition - but travelling alone.Despite warnings that his plan was 'suicidal', Butcher set out for the Congo's eastern border with just a rucksack and a few thousand dollars hidden in his boots. Making his way in an assortment of vessels including a motorbike and a dugout canoe, helped along by a cast of characters f...

The fully revised and updated new edition of this textbook continues to provide the most accessible overview of the main approaches in the study of public policy. It seeks to review the most common and widely used frameworks in the study of policy analysis:institutionsgroups and networkssociety and the economyindividual interestsideas.The book explains each one, offers constructive criticisms and explores their ...

Tired of tragic stories, Chris Harvie sets out to see the positive side of the ‘Dark Continent’ and to enjoy its life and laughter. Do Not Take This Road to El-Karama is the entertaining account of an epic road trip that takes him from his home outside the Kruger National Park to the banks of the Nile in Uganda – and back again. In his haphazard and somewhat eccentric travels, Harvie encounters missionaries and mechanics, locals and ex-pats, rascals and rogues. Delving into his own mixed B...