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Published with the support of the Academy for Social Sciences, this volume provides an illuminating look at topics of concern to everyone at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Leading social scientists tackle complex questions such as immigration, unemployment, climate change, war, banks in trouble, and an ageing population.

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Foreword; Howard Newby Introduction and Overview; Jonathan Michie, Cary L Cooper 1. Social Science, Parenting and Child Development; Pasco Fearon, Chloe Campbell, Lynne Murray 2. Health and Wellbeing; James Campbell Quick, Robert J Gatchel, Cary L Cooper 3. Climate Change and Society; John Urry 4. Waste, Resource Recovery and Labour: Recycling Economies in the EU; Nicky Gregson, Mike Crang 5. Poverty and Inequality; Rod Hick 6. The Economy, Financial Stability and Sustainable Growth; Jonathan Michie 7. Food Security, Rural Life and the Fate of Agriculture; Camilla Toulmin 8. Numbers and Questions: The Contribution of Social Science to Understanding the Family, Marriage, and Divorce; Mavis Maclean and Ceridwen Roberts 9. Crime, Policing and Compliance with the Law; Mike Hough 10. Understanding the Arab Spring; Stuart Croft, Oz Hassan 11. International Migration; Cathy McIlwaine

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"This book powerfully demonstrates that if some of the planet´s most urgent problems are to be solved, then the social sciences are not just necessary but are in fact indispensable. Humanity today needs high-quality social science more than ever - this book brilliantly shows why and how this is so." - David Inglis, University of Exeter, UK

"Eminent social scientists Professors Jonathan Michie and Cary Cooper have drawn together a distinguished group of world experts who document the enormous contributions that the social sciences can offer us all for a healthy, sustainable and peaceful future." - Julian Barling, Queen´s School of Business, Canada

"While numbers are at the center of great natural science that can launch rockets, human hearts are the pulse of great social science. Private trouble and personal suffering spill over into the public domain, addressed in the collective ills of this volume. Our great hope is that we can solve these problems that we have created. The solutions lie within this volume and the social sciences." - James Campbell Quick, University of Texas at Arlington, US

´This excellent and thought-provoking book deserves to be widely read by policy-makers as well as by students and others who think about our futures. The book makes great contributions to society.´ - Greg Bamber, Monash University, Australia

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Chloe Campbell, University College London, UK Cary L Cooper, Lancaster University, UK Michael A Crang, Durham University, UK Stuart Croft, University of Warwick, UK Pasco Fearon, University College London, UK Robert J Gatchel, University of Texas at Arlington, US Nicky Gregson, Durham University, UK Oz Hassan, University of Warwick, UK Rod Hick, Cardiff University, UK Mike Hough, Birkbeck, University of London, UK Mavis Maclean, University of Oxford, UK Cathy McIlwaine, Queen Mary, University of London, UK Jonathan Michie, University of Oxford, UK Lynne Murray, University of Reading, UK James Campbell Quick, University of Texas at Arlington, US Ceridwen Roberts, University of Oxford, UK Camilla Toulmin, International Institute for Environment and Development, UK John Urry, Lancaster University, UK

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