Linda McKie – författare

Interdependency and Care over the Lifecourse draws upon theories of time and space to consider how informal care is woven into the fabric of everyday lives and is shaped by social and economic inequalities and opportunities. The book comprises three parts. The first explores contrasting social and economic contexts of informal care in different parts of the world. The second looks at different themes and dynamics of caring, using fictional vignettes of illness and health, child care, elderly care and communities of care. The book examines the significance to practices of care throughout the lifecourse of: understandings and expectations of care emotional exchanges involved in care memories and anticipations of giving and receiving care the social nature of the spaces and places in which care is carried out the practical time-space scheduling necessary to caring activities.Finally the authors critically examine how the frameworks of caringscapes and carescapes might be used in research, policy and practice. A working example is provided. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of care work, health and social care, geography, sociology of the family and social policy as well as those in business and policy communities trying to gain an understanding of how work and informal care interweave.

Interdependency and Care over the Lifecourse draws upon theories of time and space to consider how informal care is woven into the fabric of everyday lives and is shaped by social and economic inequalities and opportunities. The book comprises three parts. The first explores contrasting social and economic contexts of informal care in different parts of the world. The second looks at different themes and dynamics of caring, using fictional vignettes of illness and health, child care, elderly care and communities of care. The book examines the significance to practices of care throughout the lifecourse of: understandings and expectations of care emotional exchanges involved in care memories and anticipations of giving and receiving care the social nature of the spaces and places in which care is carried out the practical time-space scheduling necessary to caring activities.Finally the authors critically examine how the frameworks of caringscapes and carescapes might be used in research, policy and practice. A working example is provided. This book will be of interest to students and researchers of care work, health and social care, geography, sociology of the family and social policy as well as those in business and policy communities trying to gain an understanding of how work and informal care interweave.

Research data are everywhere. In our everyday interactions, through social media, credit cards and even public transport, we generate and use data. The challenge for sociologists is how to collect, analyse and make best use of these vast arrays of information.The chapters in this book address these challenges using varied perspectives and approaches:The economics of big data and measuring the trajectories of recently arrived communitiesSocial media and social researchResearching 'elites', social class and 'race' across space and placeInnovations in qualitative research and use of extended case studiesDeveloping mixed method approaches and social network analysisFeminist quantitative methodologyTeaching quantitative methodsThe book provides up to date and accessible material of interest to diverse audiences, including students and teachers of research design and methods, as well as policy analysis and social media.

Research data are everywhere. In our everyday interactions, through social media, credit cards and even public transport, we generate and use data. The challenge for sociologists is how to collect, analyse and make best use of these vast arrays of information.The chapters in this book address these challenges using varied perspectives and approaches:The economics of big data and measuring the trajectories of recently arrived communitiesSocial media and social researchResearching 'elites', social class and 'race' across space and placeInnovations in qualitative research and use of extended case studiesDeveloping mixed method approaches and social network analysisFeminist quantitative methodologyTeaching quantitative methodsThe book provides up to date and accessible material of interest to diverse audiences, including students and teachers of research design and methods, as well as policy analysis and social media.

"I don't know how often I've wished for an introductory text on family life which encompassed critical contemporary sociological thinking alongside the basic information students need, and have only found fossilised thinking on a stodgy subject. But now all that has changed. McKie and Callan have achieved what I thought was almost impossible in Understanding Families - a textbook which provides unrivalled foundations for a critical understanding of contemporary families and relationships."- Carol Smart, The Morgan Centre, University of Manchester"This excellent, innovative, comprehensive and easy to read text should be essential reading for everyone keen to understand families across the globe... It will make an outstanding contribution to family studies and is highly recommended."- Janet Walker, Newcastle University"Easy to read text, which debates current thinking surrounding modern families. Case studies and questions for the reader throughout the text help traslate theory into practice."- Justine Gallagher, Northumbria University

Families are the core building blocks of society. Our experience of them affects many aspects of our everyday lives shaping our expectations and future plans.

Written by experts in family studies and family policy, this clear, engaging book adopts a global perspective to usefully examine how modern families can be explored and understood in research, policy and practice. Packed with critical pedagogy, including case-studies, think points, key words and a glossary, it guides students through topics such as relationships, sexualities and paid and unpaid work, continually returning to its central themes of process and structure. The book also:

Applies key social theories to contemporary analysisExamines key studies on researching families and family lifeExplores the role of government policies and practices

This comprehensive introduction to the study of families and relationships is a timely resource for students and lecturers working across the social sciences, particularly students of family studies, the sociology of the family, family policy, and social work and the family

Linda McKie is Professor of Sociology, Glasgow Caledonian University; Samantha Callan is based at the Centre for Social Justice. They are both affiliated to the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh.

 

"I don't know how often I've wished for an introductory text on family life which encompassed critical contemporary sociological thinking alongside the basic information students need, and have only found fossilised thinking on a stodgy subject. But now all that has changed. McKie and Callan have achieved what I thought was almost impossible in Understanding Families - a textbook which provides unrivalled foundations for a critical understanding of contemporary families and relationships."- Carol Smart, The Morgan Centre, University of Manchester"This excellent, innovative, comprehensive and easy to read text should be essential reading for everyone keen to understand families across the globe... It will make an outstanding contribution to family studies and is highly recommended."- Janet Walker, Newcastle University"Easy to read text, which debates current thinking surrounding modern families. Case studies and questions for the reader throughout the text help traslate theory into practice."- Justine Gallagher, Northumbria University

Families are the core building blocks of society. Our experience of them affects many aspects of our everyday lives shaping our expectations and future plans.

Written by experts in family studies and family policy, this clear, engaging book adopts a global perspective to usefully examine how modern families can be explored and understood in research, policy and practice. Packed with critical pedagogy, including case-studies, think points, key words and a glossary, it guides students through topics such as relationships, sexualities and paid and unpaid work, continually returning to its central themes of process and structure. The book also:

Applies key social theories to contemporary analysisExamines key studies on researching families and family lifeExplores the role of government policies and practices

This comprehensive introduction to the study of families and relationships is a timely resource for students and lecturers working across the social sciences, particularly students of family studies, the sociology of the family, family policy, and social work and the family

Linda McKie is Professor of Sociology, Glasgow Caledonian University; Samantha Callan is based at the Centre for Social Justice. They are both affiliated to the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships at the University of Edinburgh.