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Find out moreFor more than fifteen years, Allan Brown, 44, was chief writer on the Scottish edition of The Sunday Times, and its restaurant critic. A former Journalist of the Year in the Scottish Press Awards, he is the author of Inside The Wicker Man (Sidgwick and Jackson, 2000/Polygon 2010), and Nileism: The Strange Course of The Blue Nile (Polygon 2010). He lives in Glasgow.
To be Scottish is to have a lot to live down, and as Allan Brown shows, this lot do the job superbly. Whether it be Robert Burns, indecipherable bard of rustic gibberish or Sean Connery, die-hard advocate of a country he refuses to live in. Or, Alex Salmond, the chortling bullfrog of separatism or Tommy Sheridan, the sexy socialist hardliner. They're all here, and many others; a veritable embassy of bad ambassadors. 50 People Who Screwed Up Scotland is a humorous and chronologically-sequential series of essays, histories and anecdotes that consider those episodes and occurrences in Scotland's political, cultural and social story where, against all odds, defeat was plucked from the jaws of victory.
To be Scottish is to have a lot to live down, and as Allan Brown shows, this lot do the job superbly. Whether it be Robert Burns, indecipherable bard of rustic gibberish or Sean Connery, die-hard advocate of a country he refuses to live in. Or, Alex Salmond, the chortling bullfrog of separatism or Tommy Sheridan, the sexy socialist hardliner. They're all here, and many others; a veritable embassy of bad ambassadors. 50 People Who Screwed Up Scotland is a humorous and chronologically-sequential series of essays, histories and anecdotes that consider those episodes and occurrences in Scotland's political, cultural and social story where, against all odds, defeat was plucked from the jaws of victory.
Next year sees the 30th anniversary of The Blue Nile's first work together. Four albums - containing a total of just 33 songs - have followed since. Yet scarcity has served only to intensify love for the band's intensely romantic songs. The Blue Nile are one of modern music's greatest mysteries, as secretive about their plans and status as they are about their painstaking methods. For the first time Allan Brown, a fan from the time of the band's first album in 1983 and friend of the band's composer Paul Buchanan, gets behind the veil to analyse the band's appeal through personal memoir, critical study, access to unreleased recordings and encounters with those who have been central to the strange romantic, melancholy course of The Blue Nile.
This highly successful book on groupwork practice, first published in 1979, has become a standard introductory text on most social work training courses. It is very popular with social workers, whatever their agency setting, and is also used by health visitors, youth workers and the voluntary sector. This new enlarged and revised third edition includes two new additional chapters. The first of these addresses the issue of groupwork in day and residential centres where special kinds of group skills are required in addition to those already well established for fieldwork groups. The second new chapter attempts to understand the significance of race and gender in groupwork and to begin to develop a framework for anti-discriminatory practice. All key sections from previous editions have been retained and updated, while those on group composition, open groups, co-working and consultation have been extended and revised to give more comprehensive coverage. The bibliography has also been developed to include the most recent additions to the groupwork literature, including many articles from the journal Groupwork for which Allan Brown is co-editor.
To be Scottish is to have a lot to live down, and as Allan Brown shows, this lot do the job superbly. Whether it be Robert Burns, indecipherable bard of rustic gibberish or Sean Connery, die-hard advocate of a country he refuses to live in. Or, Alex Salmond, the chortling bullfrog of separatism or Tommy Sheridan, the sexy socialist hardliner. They're all here, and many others; a veritable embassy of bad ambassadors. 50 People Who Screwed Up Scotland is a humorous and chronologically-sequential series of essays, histories and anecdotes that consider those episodes and occurrences in Scotland's political, cultural and social story where, against all odds, defeat was plucked from the jaws of victory.
Few cities can rival Glasgow for their contribution to the history of British humour. From the gladiatorial atmosphere of the old Empire Theatre,dubbed the 'graveyard of English comics', to the front-page controversies of Frankie Boyle today, the city and its citizens have trademarked their own two-fisted brand of confrontational, but always hilarious, comedy. In this, the first dedicated overview, Allan Brown gives a historical,kaleidoscopic and encyclopedic account of the people, places, performers and procedures that have made Glasgow a by-word for a certain kind of rough, tough quick-wittedness. Every facet of Glaswegian life is considered, viewed through the prism of the city's sense of humour; from the showbiz renown of Billy Connolly and Chic Murray, Kevin Bridges and Boyle, to the occasions the lighter side was seen in Glasgow's history of television, film, literature, football,law, science, academe, crime and art. Through profiles, criticism, tales and anecdotes, The Glasgow Smile - fittingly also the term for infamousGlasgow gang punishment - is a treasury of the city's past and present, and of its own very particular approach to the absurd.
Inside The Wicker Man is a treat for all cinemagoers, exhaustively researched and achieving a near-perfect balance between history, trivia and serious analysis. Allan Brown describes the filming and distribution of the cult masterpiece as a 'textbook example of How Things Should Never Be Done'. The omens were bad from the start, and proceeded to get much, much worse, with fake blossom on trees to simulate spring, actors chomping on ice-cubes to prevent their breath showing on film, and verbal and physical confrontations involving both cast and crew. The studio hated it and hardly bothered to distribute it, but today it finds favour with critics and fans alike, as a serious - if flawed - piece of cinema. Brown expertly guides readers through the film's convoluted history, attempting along the way to explain its enduring fascination, and providing interviews with the key figures - many of whom still have an axe to grind, and some of whom still harbour plans for a sequel.
BERKELEY DAZE: Memoir of a Frat Boy is the journey of a fraternity boy from the smug, late 1950s to the beginnings of the sexual, political and social revolution of the early 1960s at the University of California in Berkeley. Frat boy's journey is by turns clueless, bewildering, ribald, raunchy, politically incorrect, but also transformative and ultimately serious. It will be read and enjoyed by anyone who has lived through those times and by those who are interested in pivotal moments in student and social history at UC Berkeley.
Digital technology for the production, transmission, and reception of television is expected to replace analogue transmission throughout the world. The timetable for this transition is uncertain and different projections have been made for virtually every country in the world. This book gives the exhaustive details of the issues of this changeover in Europe and elsewhere. The details are placed within the context of the massive changes, which the television industry has been subjected to over the past 25 years. The rollout of digital terrestrial television (DTTV) in Europe is a significant issue for every country included in this survey. It is of such importance because DTTV is the centerpiece of many governments' policies toward making Europe the world leader in new information and communication technologies. These same governments are all wrestling with the issues of how to use the technology in ways that create both commercial and non-commercial value. European perspectives on the social, cultural, and political nature of broadcasting vary significantly from those in other parts of the world and require that the introduction of DTTV should be handled differently to its introduction elsewhere. There are enormous technical, political, and economic aspects to be considered and these vary from country to country in Europe. The two editors bring a perspective to this study as media economists who come to the European scene from other parts of the world. The book covers DTTV in depth, and it also includes discussions of cable, satellite, broadband, and Internet technology for comparison.
Digital technology for the production, transmission, and reception of television is expected to replace analogue transmission throughout the world. The timetable for this transition is uncertain and different projections have been made for virtually every country in the world. This book gives the exhaustive details of the issues of this changeover in Europe and elsewhere. The details are placed within the context of the massive changes, which the television industry has been subjected to over the past 25 years. The rollout of digital terrestrial television (DTTV) in Europe is a significant issue for every country included in this survey. It is of such importance because DTTV is the centerpiece of many governments' policies toward making Europe the world leader in new information and communication technologies. These same governments are all wrestling with the issues of how to use the technology in ways that create both commercial and non-commercial value. European perspectives on the social, cultural, and political nature of broadcasting vary significantly from those in other parts of the world and require that the introduction of DTTV should be handled differently to its introduction elsewhere. There are enormous technical, political, and economic aspects to be considered and these vary from country to country in Europe. The two editors bring a perspective to this study as media economists who come to the European scene from other parts of the world. The book covers DTTV in depth, and it also includes discussions of cable, satellite, broadband, and Internet technology for comparison.
The Social Work Supervisor is the first comprehensive British text on supervision of staff in social work, community care and social welfare settings. It examines the changing social work scene of the 1990s, and breaks new ground in areas such as: *anti-oppressive supervision *supervision of post-traumatic stress *group supervision The Social Work Supervisor is a comprehensive text for the social work supervisor, and for all supervisors in social welfare and community care settings. It includes new material not found in other books on supervision. The authors emphasise the importance of the supervisory relationship, regular skilled supervision and a clear value base in the provision of good quality services. This book provides a clear theoretical framework, bringing theory and practice together through numerous practical examples of supervision in action. One major chapter examines a range of typical supervision situations, and provides suggestions for possible supervisor responses. The Social Work Supervisor will be invaluable reading for new and experienced supervisors; practice-teachers supervising students; trainers of supervisors; and social work managers.
This highly successful book on groupwork practice, first published in 1979, has become a standard introductory text on most social work training courses. It is very popular with social workers, whatever their agency setting, and is also used by health visitors, youth workers and the voluntary sector. This new enlarged and revised third edition includes two new additional chapters. The first of these addresses the issue of groupwork in day and residential centres where special kinds of group skills are required in addition to those already well established for fieldwork groups. The second new chapter attempts to understand the significance of race and gender in groupwork and to begin to develop a framework for anti-discriminatory practice. All key sections from previous editions have been retained and updated, while those on group composition, open groups, co-working and consultation have been extended and revised to give more comprehensive coverage. The bibliography has also been developed to include the most recent additions to the groupwork literature, including many articles from the journal Groupwork for which Allan Brown is co-editor.
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