S. Lovell – författare

The concept of generation is ubiquitous in common parlance and public discourse: it is used to explain family relationships, consumer preferences, political change, and much else besides. But how can generation be used by historians? Do generations 'really' exist, or are they constructed and manipulated by social and cultural elites?

Of all of Soviet cultural myths, none was more resilient than the belief that the USSR had the world's greatest readers.

For several centuries, the Russians have been famous (or notorious) for the number of transactions they conduct through unofficial channels. This text, an attempt to explain and analyze Russian society's heavy reliance on unofficial "give and take", focuses especially on two key practices: bribery (the use of public office for private gain) and "blat" (the informal exchange of favours). It brings together specialists from a wide range of disciplines (history, literary and cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, psychology, politics).

Of all of Soviet cultural myths, none was more resilient than the belief that the USSR had the world's greatest readers.

First published in 1979, this volume presents an elementary and, as far as is practicable, non-mathematical introduction to radiation dosimetry. Where it proved necessary to use mathematical notation, it was kept to a simple level. The volume treats dosimetry from first principles, dealing with the interaction of the various radiations with matter, then defining dosimetric quantities and units and showing how the more important ones are measured. It concludes with a brief chapter on radiation protection. Although a number of dosimetric systems are described in some detail the treatment is by no means encyclopaedic. SI units appear throughout, including some which were not yet in universal use when the book was first published. Where it was considered necessary, the older non-SI units were also defined and conversion factors were given.