Kirjahaku

A basic motivation for social and cultural life is the problem of death. By analysing the experiences of dying and bereaved people, as well as institutional responses to death, Clive Seale shows its importance for understanding the place of embodiment in social life. He draws on a comprehensive review of sociological, anthropological and historical studies, including his own research, to demonstrate the great variability that exists in human social constructions for managing mortality. Far from living in a ‘death denying’ society, dying and bereaved people in contemporary culture are often able to assert membership of an imagined community, through the narrative reconstruction of personal biography, drawing on a variety of cultural scripts emanating from medicine, psychology, the media and other sources. These insights are used to argue that the maintenance of the human social bond in the face of death is a continual resurrective practice, permeating everyday life.

A basic motivation for social and cultural life is the problem of death. By analysing the experiences of dying and bereaved people, as well as institutional responses to death, Clive Seale shows its importance for understanding the place of embodiment in social life. He draws on a comprehensive review of sociological, anthropological and historical studies, including his own research, to demonstrate the great variability that exists in human social constructions for managing mortality. Far from living in a ‘death denying’ society, dying and bereaved people in contemporary culture are often able to assert membership of an imagined community, through the narrative reconstruction of personal biography, drawing on a variety of cultural scripts emanating from medicine, psychology, the media and other sources. These insights are used to argue that the maintenance of the human social bond in the face of death is a continual resurrective practice, permeating everyday life.

`This book appears to fill a substantial gap in the literature at present. There are, quite simply, no books available which engage seriously and competently with the presentation of health issues in the media, and certainly none which focuses on representations of health and illness in as thematically coherent a manner as Seale proposes to do' - Richard Gwyn, University of Cardiff `This is an excellent resource for students. It provides a comprehensive review of secondary literature in the field and is very well researched. Students of sociology of health and illness and in media and communication studies will find the book invaluable' - David Oswell, Goldsmiths College, University of London `This is a comprehensive work on media health, providing an invaluable "toolkit" for understanding health and the media in contemporary society. Seale goes further than previous textbooks, critiquing the "lament" of media health promoters in order to explore the moralisation and commercialisation of media health' - Dr Annette Hill, University of Westminster How are health matters presented by the mass media? How accurate are the messages we are receiving? This book demonstrates how health messages in popular mass media are important influences in our lives, and that they are not neutral, being subject to many determining influences. It demonstrates the importance of mass media for understanding the experience of illness, health and health care, bringing together the latest thinking in the field of media studies and the sociology of health and illness. This book provides a thorough review of research literature on media representations of health, illness and health care, covering their production, characteristic forms and relationships with the everyday lives of media audiences. It brings together both well known and lesser-known studies in the context of an integrated, sociological argument about media and health. Media producers are subject to a variety of influences, from medical lobbies, scientific organizations, and not least the commercial pressure to satisfy media-saturated audiences. These mean that aims of health promoters are not always easily achieved, leading to considerable tensions that require a deeper understanding of media health than has hitherto been applied to them. This book will be essential reading for health educators and promoters, as well as health care providers interested in the cultural aspects of health, sociologists of health and illness, and students and academics of media studies.

`This book appears to fill a substantial gap in the literature at present. There are, quite simply, no books available which engage seriously and competently with the presentation of health issues in the media, and certainly none which focuses on representations of health and illness in as thematically coherent a manner as Seale proposes to do' - Richard Gwyn, University of Cardiff `This is an excellent resource for students. It provides a comprehensive review of secondary literature in the field and is very well researched. Students of sociology of health and illness and in media and communication studies will find the book invaluable' - David Oswell, Goldsmiths College, University of London `This is a comprehensive work on media health, providing an invaluable "toolkit" for understanding health and the media in contemporary society. Seale goes further than previous textbooks, critiquing the "lament" of media health promoters in order to explore the moralisation and commercialisation of media health' - Dr Annette Hill, University of Westminster How are health matters presented by the mass media? How accurate are the messages we are receiving? This book demonstrates how health messages in popular mass media are important influences in our lives, and that they are not neutral, being subject to many determining influences. It demonstrates the importance of mass media for understanding the experience of illness, health and health care, bringing together the latest thinking in the field of media studies and the sociology of health and illness. This book provides a thorough review of research literature on media representations of health, illness and health care, covering their production, characteristic forms and relationships with the everyday lives of media audiences. It brings together both well known and lesser-known studies in the context of an integrated, sociological argument about media and health. Media producers are subject to a variety of influences, from medical lobbies, scientific organizations, and not least the commercial pressure to satisfy media-saturated audiences. These mean that aims of health promoters are not always easily achieved, leading to considerable tensions that require a deeper understanding of media health than has hitherto been applied to them. This book will be essential reading for health educators and promoters, as well as health care providers interested in the cultural aspects of health, sociologists of health and illness, and students and academics of media studies.

This textbook is designed to help students and practicing researchers to improve the quality of their research. Practical examples and exercises demonstrate how to evaluate qualitative research, how to plan and collect good quality data, how to do thoughtful analysis, and how to write and report on qualitative research. "Apart from its inherent readability, I found three other attractive features about the book: First is the use of exemplars based on case studies from qualitative studies, including Whyte's Street Corner Society; second, is the quotes from key methodological texts reflecting on a range of qualitative research traditions; and third, is the use of philosophical argument and reference in the book which provided an added depth to the debate, often lacking in more practically oriented books. These deliberations take readers to a higher plane, whilst still allowing the novice to philosophy to gain an insight into theory." —Forum for Qualitative Research "Seale steers a dispassionate course - both pragmatic and thoughtful - through the sometimes stormy waters of qualitative analysis. Anyone wanting an up-to-date picture of qualitative analysis will benefit from this book. It is truly a quality contribution to the field." —Nigel Fielding, University of Surrey "Clearly and engagingly written, this book covers crucially important issues such as the generalisability of findings, the grounding of theory and the validity and reliability of research reports. With frequent summaries of key points, criteria for evaluating research reports and discussions exercises, this is an extremely useful text for students and professionals alike." —Derek Layder, University of Leicester "This is a brilliant, carefully crafted, even-handed, comprehensive analysis of the multiple ways in which quality is assessed in contemporary qualitative inquiry. Clive Seale provides a balanced, subtly nuanced treatment of this key problem." —Norman Denzin, University of Illinois, Urbana-Chanpaign "The coverage is impressive and the depth of scholarship impeccable. Both students and seasoned investigators will find the author's pragmatic approach refreshing and helpful. It will appeal to the naturalistic researcher as well as to empirically-oriented scholars smitten by postmodern questions. I would definitely recommend it to my students. A splendid leading text for classroom adoption." —Jaber F Gubrium, University of Florida "Clive Seale has performed an important service for social science researchers by finding a sane middle ground between the twin fanaticisms of radical interpretivism and quantiative scientism. His book is practical, telling people who want to get research done how to do that in an effective and reasonable way. His explanations are clear and concise, his examples well chosen, and the practices he recommends are doable. You can learn a lot about how to approach research from this book." — Howard S Becker, University of California, Santa Barbara "For the undergraduate, or postgraduate looking for a comfortable drive through an increasingly unmanageable literature, this book provides an outstanding introduction." —Qualitative Research

This text advises researchers and students how to go beyond traditional measures of reliability and validity to achieve quality research. The author sets out a series of standards by which to judge quality of research, and shows how to plan and collect good quality data.