This book is a collection of multi-sectoral social work research studies carried out by the College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan, India. It exemplifies how research is used as a tool for social work intervention with multiple issues of social justice. For researchers, voluntary organisations and laypersons, it offers an example of how to study social issues scientifically. These studies bring together essential data on topics as wide-ranging as education, health and criminal justice. Simple in structure and relatable in its findings, this book brings us a step closer to development for all.

A unique and comprehensive study on social science research, this book highlights the status, issues, roadblocks and challenges of the field in India and certain select nations of the world. It conducts key cross-comparisons with existing literature in the area, and discusses aid policies and decisions, funding dynamics and quality of research as well as assessment systems in social science research.

"Abstracts were prepared under the general supervision of Dr. D. Narain, University of Bombay."

First published in 1962, this seminal work is an introduction to sociology in a world context, and a sophisticated guide to the major themes, problems and controversies in contemporary sociology. The book remains unique in its organisation and presentation of sociological ideas and problems, in it s lack of insularity (its wide coverage of diverse types of society and of sociological thought from various cultural traditions), and in its systematic connection of sociology with the broad themes of modern social and political thought.

This book proposes an original critical theory of environmental sociology which is verified through actual projects relating to infrastructure development. The author locates each development project in its social, institutional and historical contexts, and explains their outcomes as the consequence of the actions of various individuals and groups, each acting rationally to optimise their own interests. Six infrastructure development projects are covered, ranging from eco-tourism and amusement parks to power and mining projects, abatement of industrial pollution, and urban transportation. Interactions between project affected persons (PAPs), the promoters of each project and government agencies are analysed at different stages of the projects. This book is an important contribution to assessing the socio-cultural and environmental impacts of development projects.

This book addresses the ethical and methodological issues that researchers face while conducting cross-cultural social research. With globalization and advanced means of communication and transportation, many researchers conduct research in cross-cultural, multicultural, and transnational settings. Through a range of case studies, and drawing on a range of disciplinary expertise, this book addresses the ethics, errors, and ethnocentrism of conducting law and crime related research in settings where power differences, as well as stereotypes, may come into play. Including chapters from scholars across cultures and settings – including Greece, Canada, Vienna, South Africa, India, and the United States – this book provides an invaluable survey of the issues attending cross-cultural social justice research today. Engaging issues confronted by all cross-cultural researchers this book will be invaluable to those working across the social sciences as well as professionals in criminal justice and social work.

Series: Wageningen University Water Resources Series. This book analyses the struggle over water in a large-scale irrigation system in Raichur District, Karnataka, South India. It looks at water control as a simultaneously technical, managerial and socio-political process. The triangle of accommodation of different categories of farmers, irrigation department officials and local politicians, involving water, votes, money, employment, credit and harassment, is documented. The book shows that the physical infrastructure, notably the division structures, are signposts of struggle, expressing the balance of power between farmers and the irrigation department, and that between head- and tail-end farmers. It concludes with a discussion of irrigation reform efforts in India: reasons for the very slow transformation of the sector, and how a more integrated perspective on irrigation could provide directions for the way forward.