The cost of competence

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Rebecca Kay

"Rebecca Kay assesses how men in post-Soviet Russia are represented through media and popular discourses. Using case studies she explores the challenges which have arisen for men since 1991 and the ways in which their responses are shaped by and viewed through the prism of widely accepted attitudes towards gender." "The lives and concerns of men in provincial Russia are examined through ethnographic fieldwork, combining extensive participant observation with in-depth interviews. The book reveals how individual men strive to maintain a sense of equilibrium between the activities in which they are engaged and the ways in which they are perceived, both by others and by themselves." "The findings of the research have produced significant areas of contrast and comparison with the author's earlier work on women. This is drawn out throughout the book, placing the study of Russian men in a broader gendered context. The issues raised by the men mirror concerns discussed in men's studies literature and popular discourse beyond Russia. The book is therefore of interest to a wider international audience as well as contributing to ongoing interdisciplinary debates, in Russian Studies, Anthropology, Sociology and Human Geography, addressing the need for new approaches to understanding post-Socialist change."--BOOK JACKET.

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Mario A. Tovar

"Providing in-depth coverage of the Mexican American population from social, cultural, and psychological (clinical) perspectives, this book promotes the understanding of cultural practices and sociological characteristics of this important ethnic group. There are now more than 32 million Mexican Americans living in the United States. As a result, the odds that a clinician will work with a member of this population--one of the fastest-growing minority groups in the United States--is extremely high. Understanding the culture, society, psyche, acculturation, assimilation, and linguistics specific to Mexican Americans, as well as their crises and appropriate interventions, is imperative to provide counseling/therapy services and culturally sensitive assessments. In this book, author Mario Tovar explains how Mexican American history and society affects the needs of this group and how services to Mexican Americans require adjustments as a result. Tovar documents significant differences among Mexican Americans depending on whether they are documented or undocumented immigrants, and on their place of origin--rural versus urban areas of Mexico, and northern versus southern Mexico, for example. Readers will understand how the region of the United States in which Mexican Americans settle can influence the development of certain traits for them and learn about mental and physical health care practices common to Mexican Americans, including folk medicine and 'healers' who often include grandmothers and elder neighbors. This book addresses the characteristics of members of this large and growing group of Americans as distinct from the generalized ethnic group of 'Latino Americans;' covers long-time U.S. residents and recent immigrants from Mexico as well as second and later generation Mexican Americans; provides extensive information about the Mexican American population from different perspectives that gives readers better insight and understanding about this important ethnic group; promotes cultural sensitivity when working with Mexican Americans in different settings; and describes specific clinical strategies that can be effective when working with Mexican Americans"--Provided by publisher.

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Elaine Beale

In 1970s Northern England, thirteen-year-old Jesse Bennett struggles to come to terms with her attraction to girls while dealing with her mother's mental illness.

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Lesley Cotterill and Wally Barr

Mental health reforms continue the trend in targeting people with severe and enduring mental illness (SEMI) for specialist intervention. No book has focused exclusively on this topic - until now.