Nettle’s book presents the results of five years of comparative ethnographic fieldwork in two different neighbourhoods of the same British city, Newcastle upon Tyne. The neighbourhoods are only a few kilometres apart, yet whilst one is relatively affluent, the other is amongst the most economically deprived in the UK. Tyneside Neighbourhoods uses multiple research methods to explore social relationships and social behaviour, attempting to understand whether the experience of deprivation fo...

What does it mean to be a scientist working today; specifically, a scientist whose subject matter is human life? Scientists often overstate their claim to certainty, sorting the world into categorical distinctions that obstruct rather than clarify its complexities. In this book Daniel Nettle urges the reader to unpick such distinctions—biological versus social sciences, mind versus body, and nature versus nurture—and look instead for the for puzzles and anomalies, the points of connection ...

Basic income can no longer be dismissed as a utopian idea — it’s being tested worldwide. But can it truly transform economies and societies?This book dives into real-world examples, revealing how basic income reshapes lives. It explores the ripple effects of financial security—better health, stronger communities, more education, meaningful work, and engaged citizenship. By breaking the cycle of poverty, basic income unlocks access to essentials like food and housing, empowers peopl...

Few people know that nearly 100 native languages once spoken in what is now California are near extinction, or that most of Australia's 250 aboriginal languages have vanished. In fact, at least half of the world's languages may die out in the next century. What has happened to these voices? Should we be alarmed about the disappearance of linguistic diversity? The authors of Vanishing Voices assert that this trend is far more than simply disturbing. Making explicit the link between...

Everybody wants it. But what exactly is happiness? The pursuit of happiness has been recognized by everyone from poets to politicians as what makes the world go round. The world's largest and fastest-growing industries - alcohol, pharmaceuticals, mind altering drugs, self-help books, counselling, travel and tourism - all profit heavily from our intent to become completely happy with our lives. In the first comprehensive book to address this most basic of human desires, Daniel Nettle explor...

Bringing together the latest insights from psychiatry, psychology, and philosophy, Daniel Nettle sheds light on happiness, the most basic of human desires. Nettle examines whether people are basically happy or unhappy, whether success can make us happy, what sort of remedies to unhappiness work, why some people are happier than others, and much more.The book is packed with fascinating observations. We discover the evolutionary reason why negative thoughts are more powerful than pos...

Written by Daniel Nettle—author of the popular book Happiness—this brief volume takes the listener on an exhilarating tour of what modern science can tell us about human personality. Revealing that our personalities stem from our biological makeup, Nettle looks at the latest findings from genetics and brain science, and considers the evolutionary origins and consequences of different personalities. The heart of the book sheds light on the "big five": Extraversion, Neuroticism, Con...

A FASCINATING INSIGHT INTO WHAT MAKES US TICKThe bestselling Understand Psychology explains basic psychological processes and how they influence us in all aspects of everyday life. It explores why we are the way we are, how we came to be that way, and what we might do to change seemingly fundamental traits. The book puts psychology in context, using non-technical language to analyze everyday situations. It is a comprehensive introduction that shows how huma...

What can psychology offer inclusive education? Traditionally, special education has looked to psychology for many of its theoretical resources and practical strategies. While those seeking to promote more inclusive education have tended to see psychology and psychologists as part of the problem by providing a rationale for segregation. However, in practice many psychologists today are developing inclusive ways of working, and are paying attention to psychological theories that underpin inc...

Psychology is part of everyone's experience: it influences the way we think about everything from education and intelligence, to relationships and emotions, advertising and criminality. People readily behave as amateur psychologists, offering explanations for what people think, feel, and do. But what exactly are psychologists trying to do? What scientific grounding do they have for their approach? This Very Short Introduction explores some of psychology's leading ideas and their p...

Medical competence is a hot topic surrounded by much controversy about how to define competency, how to teach it, and how to measure it. While some debate the pros and cons of competence-based medical education and others explain how to achieve various competencies, the authors of the seven chapters in The Question of Competence offer something very different. They critique the very notion of competence itself and attend to how it has shaped what we pay attention ...

Over the last forty years, the field of disability studies has emerged from the political activism of disabled people. In this challenging review of the field, leading disability academic and activist Tom Shakespeare argues that disability research needs a firmer conceptual and empirical footing.This new edition is updated throughout, reflecting Shakespeare’s most recent thinking, drawing on current research, and responding to controversies surrounding the first edition and the