First Published in 2015. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

The study of various types of programming is essential for critical analysis of the media and also offers revealing perspectives on society's cultural values, preoccupations, behavior, and myths. This handbook provides a systematic, in-depth approach to the study of media genres - including reality programs, game shows, situation comedies, soap operas, film noir, news programs, and more. The author addresses such questions as: Have there been shifts in the formula of particular genres over time? What do these shifts reveal about changes in culture? How and why do new genres - such as reality TV shows - appear? Are there differences in genres from one country to another? Combining theoretical approaches with concrete examples, the book reinforces one's understanding of the importance of genre to the creation, evolution, and consumption of media content. Each chapter in this reader-friendly book contains a detailed discussion of one of the theoretical approaches to genre studies, followed by Lines of Inquiry, which summarizes the major points of the discussion and suggests directions for analysis and further study. Each chapter also includes an example that illustrates how the particular theoretical approach can be applied in the analysis of genre. The author's careful linkage of different genres to the real world makes the book widely useful for those interested in genre study as well as media and culture, television studies, film studies, and media literacy.

First Published in 2015. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an Informa company.

Since the formal raising of the Iron Curtain, there has been much interest in post-socialism and the process of post-socialist transition. This timely book provides a systematic review and analysis of the process of ‘transition’. Herrschel: explores recent theories, concepts and debates on post-socialism and the notion of transition provides a systematic, topical account of post-socialist transitions around the world, as evidence by social, economic, and political processes examines case studies of post-socialist transition in east and Central Europe, the former Soviet Union, Asia and South-East Asia, and Africa and Latin America brings together theoretical and practical aspects by examining what lessons can be learned from recent experiences. Global Geographies of Post-Socialist Transition provides a truly global comparative account of the meaning and processes of post-socialist transition and will be an invaluable resource for all those interested in this area.

Transnational Social Policy highlights the changing face of social policy and social work against the background of accelerating transnationalization of economies, labour markets, education, social services, and care. The contributions of this book provide unique case examples on the interplay of social policies, mobile populations, and travelling knowledge about welfare within an increasingly asymmetrical global context. This innovative volume also includes historical studies on the transformations of social policies during the last century and reflects the developments of social welfare across the Global North and the Global South. With its emphasis on theoretical assumptions of policy translation, the case studies show the importance of adjustments, negotiations, and participation of various actors in the transnational social field of welfare production. Thus, within ever-shifting contexts of new political agendas promoting the free play of the market and a neoliberal agenda of competition and austerity, this insightful book reveals new transnational forms of social exclusion that function within, across, and in-between nation-states. Presenting a major and much needed addition to current discussions on globalization and the increasing complexity of worldwide social relations, this volume will be of interest to scholars and graduate students interested in fields such as Social Policy, Social Work, Public Administration, Development Studies, Political Science, and Sociology, as well as many interdisciplinary fields including Global Studies, International Development Studies, and Immigration and Settlement Studies.