Michael Bloor

First published in 1997, this self-selection of the writings of Michael Bloor, Reader at the University of Wales Cardiff, embraces papers on qualitative research findings, on qualitative methods, and on empirically-based theorising. It includes some material which is little known (for example, a rare observational study of illness behaviour) as well as some of Bloor’s best regarded papers. This selection from an expert with more than twenty five years of research experience in the field of sociology of health and illness and nearly a hundred previous academic publications will be of interest to students of medical sociology, to methodologists, and to nurses, clinicians, and others interested in qualitative research in health and illness.

A comparative sociological account of eight different therapeutic communities, One Foot in Eden, originally published in 1988, was the first study in this area to compare observational material from such a large number of settings.The communities chosen represent the wide variety of therapeutic community practice at the time: a residential Rudolf Steiner school for mentally handicapped children; two contrasting residential psychiatric units; a community for the treatment of addiction; a communally organised community for mentally handicapped and disturbed young people; a psychiatric day hospital; and two contrasting halfway houses for disturbed adolescents. All these places are recognised therapeutic communities seeking to mobilise the social life of the community as an instrument of therapy, yet, as this study shows, they follow different (and sometimes antithetical) treatment practices.The book also directs new light on other areas, of particular concern to sociologists, such as the general properties of therapeutic work and the socialisation process as it is experienced by new community residents.It will be of special interest to therapeutic community staff, to sociologists of medicine and occupations, and to others involved in the care of disturbed and handicapped people.

First published in 1997, this self-selection of the writings of Michael Bloor, Reader at the University of Wales Cardiff, embraces papers on qualitative research findings, on qualitative methods, and on empirically-based theorising. It includes some material which is little known (for example, a rare observational study of illness behaviour) as well as some of Bloor’s best regarded papers. This selection from an expert with more than twenty five years of research experience in the field of sociology of health and illness and nearly a hundred previous academic publications will be of interest to students of medical sociology, to methodologists, and to nurses, clinicians, and others interested in qualitative research in health and illness.

A comparative sociological account of eight different therapeutic communities, One Foot in Eden, originally published in 1988, was the first study in this area to compare observational material from such a large number of settings.The communities chosen represent the wide variety of therapeutic community practice at the time: a residential Rudolf Steiner school for mentally handicapped children; two contrasting residential psychiatric units; a community for the treatment of addiction; a communally organised community for mentally handicapped and disturbed young people; a psychiatric day hospital; and two contrasting halfway houses for disturbed adolescents. All these places are recognised therapeutic communities seeking to mobilise the social life of the community as an instrument of therapy, yet, as this study shows, they follow different (and sometimes antithetical) treatment practices.The book also directs new light on other areas, of particular concern to sociologists, such as the general properties of therapeutic work and the socialisation process as it is experienced by new community residents.It will be of special interest to therapeutic community staff, to sociologists of medicine and occupations, and to others involved in the care of disturbed and handicapped people.

An essential companion for students across the social and health sciences, this text provides a wide-ranging coverage of qualitative methods complemented by extended illustration from the array of academic disciplines in which qualitative research is found and employed. Written in a lively and reader-friendly style, the guide covers a comprehensive range of topics, including: - a concise definition of the method - a description of distinctive features - examples to convey the flavour of a technique or principle - a critical and reflective evaluation of the method or approach under consideration - cross references to associated concepts within the dictionary - a list of key readings

An essential companion for students across the social and health sciences, this text provides a wide-ranging coverage of qualitative methods complemented by extended illustration from the array of academic disciplines in which qualitative research is found and employed. Written in a lively and reader-friendly style, the guide covers a comprehensive range of topics, including: - a concise definition of the method - a description of distinctive features - examples to convey the flavour of a technique or principle - a critical and reflective evaluation of the method or approach under consideration - cross references to associated concepts within the dictionary - a list of key readings

There is an increasing divergence of focus group practice between social researchers and commercial market researchers. This book addresses the key issues and practical requirements of the social researcher, namely: the kinds of social research issues for which focus groups are most and least suitable; optimum group size and composition; and the designing of focusing exercises, facilitation and appropriate analysis. The authors use examples, drawn from their own focus groups research experience, and provide exercises for further study. They address the three main components of composition, conduct and analysis in focus group research and also acknowledge the increasing impact the Internet has had on social research by covering the role and conduct of `virtual focus groups'.

There is an increasing divergence of focus group practice between social researchers and commercial market researchers. This book addresses the key issues and practical requirements of the social researcher, namely: the kinds of social research issues for which focus groups are most and least suitable; optimum group size and composition; and the designing of focusing exercises, facilitation and appropriate analysis. The authors use examples, drawn from their own focus groups research experience, and provide exercises for further study. They address the three main components of composition, conduct and analysis in focus group research and also acknowledge the increasing impact the Internet has had on social research by covering the role and conduct of `virtual focus groups'.

In this broad-ranging book, Michael Bloor gives an overview of our current understanding of the social conditions and contexts of HIV transmission. The author examines the social epidemiology of HIV transmission in its different manifestations in the developing world and in the West, looking at heterosexual and homosexual transmission, sex tourism and prostitution, injecting drug users, haemophiliacs and transfusion recipients. He goes on to look at reports of sociological studies of risk behaviour among men who have sex with men, among heterosexual and bisexual men and women, and among those who share syringes. Drawing on his own research, Michael Bloor presents a critical examination of the different theoretical models of risk and considers their implications for disease prevention.

In this broad-ranging book, Michael Bloor gives an overview of our current understanding of the social conditions and contexts of HIV transmission. The author examines the social epidemiology of HIV transmission in its different manifestations in the developing world and in the West, looking at heterosexual and homosexual transmission, sex tourism and prostitution, injecting drug users, haemophiliacs and transfusion recipients. He goes on to look at reports of sociological studies of risk behaviour among men who have sex with men, among heterosexual and bisexual men and women, and among those who share syringes. Drawing on his own research, Michael Bloor presents a critical examination of the different theoretical models of risk and considers their implications for disease prevention.