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      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        November 2009

        Has devolution worked?

        The verdict from policy-makers and the public

        by John Curtice, Bed Seyd

        Devolution to Scotland and Wales represented the most fundamental reform of the British state for almost a century. Ten years on, how successful has the reform been? Drawing on the views of citizens, elected representatives and interest groups in Scotland and Wales, this book provides an answer. The book is based on a wide ranging programme of research, involving dedicated surveys and interviews across Scotland, Wales and England. The results provide important new evidence on how devolution has been seen to have performed. What are its perceived achievements? What are its shortcomings? Is the new devolution 'settlement' stable, or is there a demand for further reform? By bringing together perspectives from the public, members of the devolved legislatures and representatives of civil society, the book establishes a unique picture of where devolution in Britain stands today. The book is accessibly written, and contains a wide range of useful primary data. It is ideal for undergraduate and postgraduate students studying devolution in Britain, as well as for general readers with an interest in constitutional reform and territorial politics. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Care of the elderly
        December 2014

        The politics of old age

        Older people's interest organisations and collective action in Ireland

        by Martha Doyle

        The politics of old age in the twenty first century is contentious, encompassing ideological debates about the rights and welfare entitlements of individuals in later life. An important aspect is the manner in which older people and their representative groups are given the opportunity to articulate their interests in the policy-making process. Drawing upon key literature in political science, social gerontology and cultural sociology, The politics of old age explores the relationship between ageing, politics and representation. It reveals the complexity of older people's representation and how the power the organisations exercise, their legitimacy and existence remain highly contingent on government policy design, political opportunity structures and the prevailing cultural and socioeconomic milieu. This book is essential reading for policymakers and organisations interested in ageing, policy and the political process and for students of ageing, social policy and political sociology.

      • Trusted Partner
        Literature & Literary Studies
        June 2017

        Dissolute Characters

        by Bill McCormack

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        November 2010

        Devolution and the governance of Northern Ireland

        by Colin Knox

        This book offers the first account of what the First Minister, Peter Robinson, describes as the most settled period of devolution in Northern Ireland for almost forty years. It traces the tortuous path to devolved government, the political instability which constantly threatened the institutions, and since May 2007 the bedding down of devolution and its impact so far on the people of Northern Ireland. The book parallels accounts of devolved government in Scotland and Wales. For years Northern Ireland has been the subject of academic enquiry relating to political, constitutional and security issues. Now as a post-conflict society political parties which for years engaged in the politics of antagonism must now redirect their efforts to delivering public policies that will improve the quality of people's daily lives. This has not come easily to them. This book is therefore the first study which looks at devolved power sharing governance arrangements in Northern Ireland and a sequel to Derek Birrell's book Direct Rule and the Governance of Northern Ireland. Manchester: Manchester University Press (2009) The book contains chapters on the key governance institutions: the civil service, local government, non-departmental public bodies, and the vibrant third sector in Northern Ireland. It examines in some detail the major review of public administration ongoing since 2002 and the more recent public services modernising agenda. Importantly, given the sectarian divisions which have segregated every aspect of life in Northern Ireland, the book asks the key question whether it is possible to reconcile the two communities or are they destined to live 'separate but equal' lives. Finally, the book considers topical issues which are at the early stages of implementation: community planning and central-local relations. This book will be of interest to students of devolution across the UK and beyond. It will also be relevant for those researchers working in the area of post-conflict societies. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Horticulture
        July 2014

        Fruit Ripening

        Physiology, Signalling and Genomics

        by Edited by Pravendra Nath, Mondher Bouzayen, Autar K. Mattoo, Jean Claude Pech.

        Fruit ripening is an important aspect of fruit production. The timing of it affects supply chains and buying behaviour, and for consumers ripeness not only affects perceptions of health but has nutritional effects too. Ripeness is closely related to spoilage which has a major financial impact on agricultural industries. Currently there are fast moving developments in knowledge of the factors affecting fruit ripeness, and this up-to-date monograph seeks to draw together the disparate research in this area. The aim of the book is to produce a comprehensive account covering almost every area related to fruit ripening including the latest molecular mechanisms regulating fruit ripening, its impact on human nutrition and emerging research and technologies.

      • Trusted Partner
        Science & Mathematics
        September 2019

        Fruit Ripening

        Physiology, Signalling and Genomics

        by Pravendra Nath, Mondher Bouzayen, Autar K. Mattoo, Jean Claude Pech

        Fruit ripening is an important aspect of fruit production. The timing of it affects supply chains and buying behaviour, and for consumers ripeness not only affects perceptions of health but has nutritional effects too. Ripeness is closely related to spoilage which has a major financial impact on agricultural industries. Currently there are fast moving developments in knowledge of the factors affecting fruit ripeness, and this up-to-date monograph seeks to draw together the disparate research in this area. The aim of the book is to produce a comprehensive account covering almost every area related to fruit ripening including the latest molecular mechanisms regulating fruit ripening, its impact on human nutrition and emerging research and technologies.

      • Trusted Partner
        Children's & YA

        Silver Flood (1). The Mystery of Ray´s Rock

        by Alex Falkner/ Torben Weit

        The seven children are completely cut off from civilisation, mobile phones don’t work anymore and there’s no sign of help. Strange things happen on the island. Plants and animals grow unnaturally fast, their supplies are raided ... And as other groups of school children emerge, a life and death race begins for Eddie, Milla and their classmates to be rescued from the island. The first instalment of the ‘Silver Flood’ duology: a dangerous adventure with exciting plot twists and scare-factor. For all readers of survival and adventure stories aged 10+. Fast-paced reading for boys and girls, for outdoor kids and all those on their way! The final volume 2, GONE MISSING ON RAY’S ROCK, will be published on 7th April 2020!

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        March 2017

        Sex, politics and empire

        A postcolonial geography

        by Richard Phillips

        Colonial governments, institutions and companies recognised that in many ways the effective operation of the Empire depended upon sexual arrangements. For example, nuclear families serving agricultural colonization, and prostitutes working for single men who powered armies and plantations, mines and bureaucracies. For this reason they devised elaborate systems of sexual governance, such as attending to marriage and the family. However, they also devoted disproportionate energy to marking and policing the sexual margins. In Sex, Politics and Empire, Richard Phillips investigates controversies surrounding prostitution, homosexuality and the age of consent in the British Empire, and revolutionises our notions about the importance of sex as a nexus of imperial power relations.

      • Trusted Partner
        June 2021

        Fast ein Vater

        by Alejandro Zambra, Susanne Lange

        Als er nach neun Jahren seine erste Liebe wiedersieht, erhält Gonzalo eine zweite Chance. Und mit ihr eine Aufgabe: Vater sein. Denn während er sich in all der Zeit mit Haut und Haaren der Poesie verschrieb, bekam Carla einen Sohn. Der ist jetzt sechs, liebt Katzenfutter und wirkt mindestens genauso überrumpelt. Nicht nur deshalb will Gonzalo es besser machen als all die nichtsnutzigen Männer aus seiner Familie, sondern auch um seinem eigenen Scheitern endlich etwas entgegenzusetzen. Doch trotz allem bleibt er immer nur fast ein Vater. Und als er mit seiner Poesie eine zweite Chance erhält, scheint nichts naheliegender als der Verrat an sich und seinen Idealen. Ein Roman über das Gewicht der Liebe, über Vaterschaft und die tragischen, die komischen Befreiungskämpfe eines Mannes, der etwas anderes erwartet hat. Alejandro Zambra ist der große Virtuose der lateinamerikanischen Literatur, Fast ein Vater sein unbestrittenes Meisterwerk.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        June 2024

        Politicising and gendering care for older people

        Multidisciplinary perspectives from Europe

        by Anca Dohotariu, Ana Paula Gil, Lubica Volanská

        This book offers a new critical framework for understanding the processes of politicising and gendering care for older people and their manifestations in several European contexts. It interrogates how care for older adults varies across time and place while searching for an in-depth comprehension of how it becomes an arena of political struggle and the object of public policy in different countries and at various societal and political levels. It brings together multidisciplinary contributions that examine the issue of care for older people as a political concern from many angles, such as problematising care needs, long-term care policies, home care services, institutional services and family care. The contributions reveal the diversity of situations in which the processes of politicising and gendering care for older adults overlap, contradict or reinforce each other while leading to increased gender (in)equalities on different levels.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        April 2024

        Ideas of poverty in the Age of Enlightenment

        by Niall O’Flaherty, Robin Mills

        This collection of essays examines the ways in which poverty was conceptualised in the social, political, and religious discourses of eighteenth-century Europe. It brings together experts with a wide range of expertise to offer pathbreaking discussions of how eighteenth-century thinkers thought about the poor. Because the theme of poverty played important roles in many critical issues in European history, it was central to some of the key debates in Enlightenment political thought throughout the period, including the controversies about sovereignty and representation, public and private charity, as well as questions relating to crime and punishment. The book examines some of the most important contributions to these debates, while also ranging beyond the canonical Enlightenment thinkers, to investigate how poverty was conceptualised in the wider intellectual culture, as politicians, administrators and pamphlet writers grappled with the issue.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        October 2006

        Devolution in Britain today

        Second edition

        by Russell Deacon, Bill Jones

        Devolution in Britain today provides a comprehensive analysis of both the historical development and the current state of devolved government. Devolution is now a key element in A-level syllabuses and on most undergraduate politics courses. This book is written in a clear and accessible style for students either encountering devolution for the first time or for those who need to explore the subject area in greater detail. All of the devolved bodies in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales are examined. This book is a thorough update of the first edition, written by Colin Pilkington and published by MUP in 2002. The book explains the concept and background of devolution, and indicates the constitutional implications of political devolution in the United Kingdom before providing a full and considered historical background to devolution, including an explanation of how the United Kingdom came to be united. It then examines the historical and political events that surrounded the preparation of devolution across Britain, before addressing each country in turn, assessing the relative success of devolution in that country. ;

      • Trusted Partner
        Political structure & processes
        May 2007

        Devolution and constitutional change in Northern Ireland

        by Edited by Paul Carmichael, Colin Knox and Robert Osborne

        This edited book, written by a collection of scholars with an interest in Northern Ireland, tracks its uneasy experience with devolution following the optimistic political period associated with the 1998 Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. The volume brings together researchers from the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) 'Devolution and Constitutional Change' Programme and other experts to record four key perspectives on Northern Ireland. First, it considers the inextricable link between devolution and constitutional developments. Second, it examines how the main political parties responded to devolution and the major challenges faced by society in moving beyond conflict (such as political symbolism, the role of women, equality and human rights issues). Third, it attempts to assess some of the workings of devolved government in its short-lived form or those seeded in devolution and carried on by direct rule ministers. Finally, Northern Irelands devolved government and associated institutions are located within the wider relationships with Westminster, the Republic of Ireland and Europe. This edited volume will be of interest to students of Irish politics and public policy, but more generally, from a comparative perspective, those with an interest in devolution and constitutional change. It may even assist politicians in Northern Ireland to reflect on the real potential to restore its devolved institutions and draw back from the brink of permanently copper-fastening 'direct rule' from Westminster.

      • Trusted Partner

        THE POLITICS OF HATE – A Piercing Insight into American Politics

        by HUGO N. GERSTL

        America is being systematically destroyed – not by terrorists from without, but by vested interests from within! It’s being destroyed by politicians, talk show hosts, media moguls, and populist rabble rousers who seek to preserve their “territory” at any cost – by obstructing the passage of beneficial laws, by scandalous lies and accusations, by negative campaigning, and by gratuitous insults. These “saviors” pose absolutely no constructive ideas of their own to resolve the morass in which our country now finds itself. The politicians think no further than getting themselves elected or re-elected. The lure of $100,000 in lecture fees is a powerful aphrodisiac. The lure of power is an even greater aphrodisiac. Politicians, fearmongers, “talking heads,” and captains of industry revel in their fame, their glory, and their self-styled wisdom when the country is in greater debt than any other nation in history, and when we are more and more quickly slipping toward becoming a third world nation each year. If the public starts putting two and two together, the answer should come out “four.” But so far, the “average” American can still be led to believe that 2+2 equals whatever number the spin masters want to make it. What is even worse, more than 40% of Americans are buying into the politics of fear, dissension, and abuse without stopping for even a moment to consider exactly what these political hatemongers are offering in exchange for turning one faction out and securing the benefits of power for themselves. But regardless of political infighting or outfighting, what we are doing is akin to two fleas fighting over who owns the dog. We don’t seem to realize that we have run out of time and money; that we no longer have the luxury of political gamesmanship and needless, stupid bickering. While this timely book points the finger at who’s to blame, it also goes one step further and tells how America, the most powerful nation on earth, can take back control of its destiny and cure its own disease!   HUGO N. GERSTL earned a degree in political science and history at UCLA, then went on to graduate from the UCLA School of Law. He turned down an invitation to run for Congress on the Republican ticket as it meant running against his friend and fellow-lawyer, Leon Panetta, who was just finishing his first term in Congress. Gerstl has been a nationally known trial lawyer for forty-six years and remains eternally optimistic about the resilience of the American people. An English eBook Edition was published in fall 2012 by Samuel Wachtman's Sons  INC., C.A. 454 pages, 15x22.5cm

      • Trusted Partner

        Journey in Trumplandia: The Rise of Populism in America

        by Tiberiu Dianu

        The book is a collection of essays about the transformation of America, which has turned from a united nation to one more divided than ever. Some pundits predict that, if things don’t change, another civil war could occur. Have we reached a point of no return? Hopefully, America is mature enough to learn from its mistakes and avoid further scars along its evolving history. "Trumplandia is a welcome addition toward understanding current events, Washington’s international policy, and the present American society; a society polarized and divided as it has not been since the Civil War.” NICHOLAS DIMA, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor and Research Associate, Nelson Institute, James Madison University, Virginia. "The book is fascinating. It provides background to, and insights into [the] current and past political history as well as offering a personal view... of the country and society. Presented in thematic form in chapters and sections, the insights offered provide a suggestive radiography...” Dr. DENNIS DELETANT, OBE, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University, Washington DC. "There has been this backsliding in... what a truly functioning rule-of-law state is, that has proper separation of co-equal powers, which, if you don’t keep working on that, you backslide. And I am even worried about that here, in the United States right now, about backsliding.” OBIE MOORE, Esq., OLM Advisors LLC, Washington DC “Indeed, Trumplandia should be a welcome addition to any scholar, student or layman’s library, especially in its international edition. If anyone loses sleep over its challenging assertions, then it will have been well worth it.” ERNESTO MORALES HIZON, Ph.D. Candidate in American and Comparative Politics at Claremont Graduate University, Member, Integrated Bar of the Philippines ABOUT THE AUTHOR: TIBERIU DIANU has practiced law in Romania (as a corporate lawyer, judge, senior counselor at the Ministry of Justice, university professor and senior legal researcher), and in the United States (as a legal expert for the judiciary). He published several books and a host of articles in law, politics, and post-communist societies. Tiberiu currently lives and works in Washington, DC.

      • Trusted Partner
        Humanities & Social Sciences
        May 2024

        Territorial politics in Catalonia and Scotland

        Nations in flux

        by Paul Anderson

        Nations in flux explores the evolution of territorial politics in Catalonia and Scotland since 2010, offering an in-depth, comparative analysis of developments in both cases and drawing on interviews with political elites whilst providing a compelling snapshot of the growing relevance of nationalism in contemporary society and politics. Empirically, this book analyses the experiences and effects of referendums on independence, Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, and examines some of the most pressing tensions within the existing territorial models. It highlights the need for further reform in both cases and identifies necessary changes to ensure the institutionalisation of more accommodative territorial models and thus, the continuation of political partnership between Catalonia and Spain, and Scotland and the UK. Overall, the book raises important questions about the accommodation of diversity in plurinational states in the twenty-first century.

      • Trusted Partner
        August 2024

        Getting older - without depression

        Uten depresjoner

        by Erik Wibe

        Å bli eldre – uten depresjon by Erik Wibe is an insightful guide that offers practical advice and heartfelt reflections on the journey of aging. Drawing from his own experiences as a 90-year-old, Wibe tackles the challenges and opportunities of growing older, from finding suitable housing and maintaining social connections to embracing new technologies. This book serves as both a manual for those navigating the later stages of life and a source of wisdom for younger generations looking to understand what lies ahead. With warmth and clarity, Wibe reminds us that aging can be a time of joy, learning, and continued personal growth.

      • Trusted Partner

        The Politics of Insanity

        by Hugo N. Gerstl

        America's friends and our enemies alike are scratching their collective heads and thinking, "If you turned the world on its side all of the loose nuts would end up in the United States." The Theater of the Absurd has come to life on every television set, smart phone, and social media outlet around the world. A megawealthy upraised carnival barker, who has systematically alienated every segment of society in the United States, stands poised to become the next president! Candidates deny the signs of global climate change—never mind, God will protect us, and since he's a Christian God, he will help us get rid of the Muslims in the process! Can anyone imagine two serious candidates for the highest office in the United States arguing over the size of their genitals? ("You know what they say about men with small hands...").  Welcome to The Politics of Insanity, a serious look at the newest form of the bizarre "reality TV." Where thoughtful, serious contenders eke out 2% of the vote at best. Where it's acceptable to say, "Would you want to have a president with a face like that?" Where a semi-nude photo of a candidate's gorgeous wife is splashed across a TV ad? But believe it or not, Ecclesiastes 1:9 is accurate: "There is nothing new under the sun." Political insanity did not start in the United States, and even in America we've been down this road before. Hugo N. Gerstl, author of The Politics of Hate (2012), slices into the "American Pie" of 2016 politics with a clear-eyed analytical scalpel, and, despite what appears to be an impenetrable tragicomic maze of craziness, he optimistically concludes, in the words of a former president whose wife is the frontrunner in the race for the White House, "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured with what is right with America." An English-language eBook edition was published in fall 2016 by Samuel Wachtman's Sons, Inc., CA. 250 Pages, 15X22.5 cm

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