One claim made for the policy of care in the community was that it would rescue people with intellectual disabilities from social marginality. To what extent has this promise been fulfilled and their lives transformed? David May presents the lives of people from this group as a series of transitions and offers us a view of the world that is as complex and changeable as any other. Each section covers a different aspect of choice, opportunity and transition on the lifepath, for example, * moving from home to school * leaving school * employment * living independently and * growing old The contributors have extensive research experience in the field of intellectual disabilities and provide a comprehensive review of this research, drawing out the implications for policy and practice. This book will be an invaluable resource for professionals and carers working with those with intellectual disabilities, as well as their families.

The volume explores the central themes in Iván Szelényi’s sociological oeuvre comprising of empirical explorations and their theoretical refinement. The contributors have been asked to take interpretive and critical stances, and to clarify the relevance of his insights.

This study offers an interpretation of the origins of the T'ang-Sung intellectual tradition.

Utilizing a new and original framework for examining the role of intellectuals in countries transitioning to democracy, Bozóki analyses the rise and fall of dissident intellectuals in Hungary in the late 20th century. He shows how that framework is applicable to other countries too as he forensically examines their activities. Bozóki argues that the Hungarian intellectuals did not become a ‘New Class’. By rolling transition, he means an incremental, non-violent, elite driven political transformation which is based on the rotation of agency, and it results in a new regime. This is led mainly by different groups of intellectuals who do not construct a vanguard movement but create an open network which might transform itself into different political parties. Their roles changed from dissidents to reformers, to movement organizers and negotiators through the periods of dissidence, open network building, roundtable negotiations, parliamentary activities, and new movement politics. Through the prism of political sociology, the author focuses on the following questions: Who were the dissident intellectuals and what did they want? Under what conditions do intellectuals rebel and what are the patterns of their protest? This book will be of interest to students, researchers, and public intellectuals around the world aiming to promote human rights and democracy.

Zhidong Hao's fascinating book, Intellectuals at a Crossroads, examines groups of contemporary Chinese intellectuals, their successes, failures, identity contradictions, and ethical dilemmas. Three categories of intellectuals are studied: organic intellectuals who serve specific interests, from government and business to working class movements; critical intellectuals who defy authority with continued social criticism; and "unattached" intellectuals who are fast being professionalized. Using a historical-comparative approach enhanced with demographic and rare interview data, the book bridges the traditional with the modern and the Chinese with the foreign by exploring how these intellectuals are adapting to their roles and influencing political, economic, and social change in the "new" China.

Die Resultate der dazu durchgeführten empirischen Untersuchungen dokumentieren die Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede in der Rekrutierung und in den Charakteristika der Business-Eliten in den inzwischen drei neuen EU-Mitgliedsstaaten. Sie sind ein repräsentatives Zeitdokument zu den drei Ländern, aber zugleich ein Anschauungsmaterial für die generell in Osteuropa inzwischen etablierten kapitalistischen Business-Eliten. Sie bilden zugleich eine geeignete Bezugsbasis für darauf aufbauende weiterführende Forschungsarbeiten über die sich aktuell fortsetzende Ausdifferenzierung von staatlichen und privaten Managern, selbständigen Unternehmern und verschiedenen Typen von Aktionären in der osteuropäischen Kapitalistenklasse. Eine von mir für den gleichen Zeitraum durchgeführte Analyse entsprechender offizieller Statistiken und Forschungsergebnisse aus Russland erweitert den Blickwinkel auf den wichtigsten Nachfolgestaat der UdSSR und den sich damit verbindenden Vergleichsrahmen bezüglich der Gemeinsamkeiten und Unterschiede mit den drei neuen EU-Staaten. Der an der Bremer Universität lehrende Wesolowski-Schüler Zdzislaw Krasnodebski zeigt an Hand einer deutsch-polnischen Einzelfall-Studie die Einflüsse unterschiedlicher nationaler Herkunftsmuster bei den Wirtschaftsmanagern und zugleich deren zunehmende Verzahnung im beiderseitigen wirtschaftlichen Handeln