Information: Author: www.sociology.org.uk

Author

Some basic historical / biographical detail is useful as a way of demonstrating the reliability of the resources contained on this this site (it might be helpful to know that I have, for example, higher level qualifications in sociology from reputable Universities). As is the way of the Interweb I could, of course, be making that up, but sometimes you just have to take things on trust (or search the records of said universities if you can be bothered).

I started Sociology Central around 12 years ago (the exact date of its birth is shrouded in mystery, compounded by two connected facts: Firstly, I can't actually remember when I first began the site for the deceptively simple reason that it didn't seem to matter at the time. Secondly, one reason for this is that the early incarnations of the site involved me messing around with html and so the site underwent frequent changes. In 1998 the URL www.sociology.org.uk was first registered (prior to this there had been a "virgin.freespace" URL). All-in-all, therefore Sociology Central is probably one of - if not the - oldest Sociology sites on the web (which may or may not be worth knowing).

My main academic qualifications are:

BA (Hons) Sociology: Lancaster University
MSc (Econ): London School of Economics

In terms of teaching I spent 15 (long, hard) years lecturing A-level Sociology at a Further Education college.

My main publications include:

AS Sociology for AQA
AS Sociology for AQA [2nd edition]
A2 Sociology for AQA
The Joy of Murder
Sociology in Focus for AQA AS Teacher Guide

My forthcoming publications include:
Sociology in Focus for AQA A2 Teacher Guide (2009)

Copyright

The resource material files you can download from this site are free (as in "you pay no money"), but I would like you to note that I still retain the copyright on them (call me sentimental if you want, but they did take me a long time to produce). What this means, if you are in any way unsure, is:

1. I have made files (Word, Pdf, PowerPoint etc.) available for any teacher / student to download, copy and use for teaching purposes.

You may amend the materials as you see fit for the purpose of tailoring the materials to the needs of your students.

2. You may not charge anyone (students, other teachers or whoever) for the use of the materials.

3. You may, if you so desire, make printed copies of the materials and use them in your teaching / learning. You may also, if you so desire, copy the files or printed materials to give to other teachers / students to use in their teaching / learning.

4. You may not post these materials to another Web site (either your own or a third party's), nor may you publish any of the materials electronically (such as an Intranet) or physically without first gaining my written agreement (it's unlikely to be withheld if you ask nicely, but you never know...).

This is not exactly a watertight legal document (but I do have to put this type of statement on the site just to let you know where you stand). It does, however, reflect the basic spirit in which these materials are made available to you.

Referencing

If you need to add a reference to my work (in essays, books, websites and so forth), please feel free to use the following as the basis for your reference: