This book describes the ways in which politicians, church leaders, generals, leaders of national movements and others try to influence our use of language. Professor Cooper argues that language planning is never attempted for its own sake. Rather it is carried out for the attainment of nonlinguistic ends such as national integration, political control, economic development, the pacification of minority groups, and mass mobilization. Many examples are discussed, including the revival of Hebrew as a spoken language, feminist campaigns to eliminate sexist bias in language, adult literacy campaigns, the plain language movement, efforts to distinguish American from British spelling, the American bilingual education movement, the creation of writing systems for unwritten languages, and campaigns to rid languages of foreign terms. Language Planning and Social Change is the first book to define the field of language planning and relate it to other aspects of social planning and to social change. The book is accessible and presupposes no special background in linguistics, sociology or political science. It will appeal to applied linguists and to those sociologists, economists and political scientists with an interest in language.

Adolescent Socialization in Cross-Cultural Perspective: Planning for Social Change presents a theory of socialization and explains how the theory was formed, developed, and changed. This book describes a cross-sectional research project that uses innovative research methods for comparing people from vastly different cultures. Organized into seven chapters, this book begins with an overview of the premise that the better one learns how to solve problems in one's environment, the better one is able to cope with a rapidly changing society as one grows older. This text then proposes that the family provide an initial arena within which the needs of the individual and the rudiments of the social structure are confronted. Other chapters consider the approach to solving the methodological problems posed by attempting to test the theory by means of a cross-national study. The final chapter deals with the results of the cross-national study. This book is a valuable resource for sociologists.

Offers an approach to solving a range of social problems - drug use, smoking, unsafe sex, and overpopulation - by applying marketing techniques and concepts to change behaviour. This book shows that effective social change starts with an understanding of the needs of the target consumer.

"David Stroh has produced an elegant and cogent guide to what works. Research with early learners is showing that children are natural systems thinkers. This book will help to resuscitate these intuitive capabilities and strengthen them in the fire of facing our toughest problems."—Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline Concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning—for everyone! Donors, leaders of nonprofits, and public policy makers usually have the best of intentions to serve society and improve social conditions. But often their solutions fall far short of what they want to accomplish and what is truly needed. Moreover, the answers they propose and fund often produce the opposite of what they want over time. We end up with temporary shelters that increase homelessness, drug busts that increase drug-related crime, or food aid that increases starvation. How do these unintended consequences come about and how can we avoid them? By applying conventional thinking to complex social problems, we often perpetuate the very problems we try so hard to solve, but it is possible to think differently, and get different results. Systems Thinking for Social Change enables readers to contribute more effectively to society by helping them understand what systems thinking is and why it is so important in their work. It also gives concrete guidance on how to incorporate systems thinking in problem solving, decision making, and strategic planning without becoming a technical expert. Systems thinking leader David Stroh walks readers through techniques he has used to help people improve their efforts on complex problems like: ending homelessness improving public health strengthening education designing a system for early childhood development protecting child welfare developing rural economies facilitating the reentry of formerly incarcerated people into society resolving identity-based conflicts and more! The result is a highly readable, effective guide to understanding systems and using that knowledge to get the results you want.

Community Development for Social Change provides a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of community development and associated activities, discusses best practice from global experience and links that to the UK context. The book integrates the realities of practice to key underpinning theories, human rights, values and a commitment to promoting social justice. A range of practice models are described and analysed, including UK models, popular education and community organising, as well as a range of practice issues that need to be understood by community development workers. For example, strategies to promote individual and community empowerment, challenging discrimination, building and sustaining groups, and critical reflection on practice. Finally, a range of case studies from the UK and overseas illustrates good practice in diverse contexts. These case studies are analysed with reference to the values of community development, the promotion of social justice and the underpinning theories. It is an essential text for those on community development courses as well as for a range of workers, including local government, national and local voluntary agencies, and community-based organisations.

The Second Edition of this popular textbook has been conceptually reworked to take account of the instabilities underlying the project of global development. While the conceptual framework of viewing development as shifting from a national, to a global, project remains, new issues such as the active engagement in the development project by Third World elites and peoples are considered. The first four chapters cover the rise and fall of the "development project" around the world. The next three cover the period of globalization, from the mid 1980s onwards. The final two chapters rethink globalization and development for the 21st century. Throughout, extensive use is made of case studies.