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In the author's opinion, the `big question' now facing sociologists derives from the evident contrast between, on the one hand, work situations and the problems found there (e.g. poor working conditions), and on the other, the way in which research programmes focus on very similar issues in countries with very different social, economic and cultural situations. Researchers appear to be obsessed with what are mistakenly seen as cosmopolitan issues.The author identifies a number of different perspectives from which one can explore the possible future of the sociology of work: the organization of the profession, its academic-scientific structure, and trends in work and in social demand for the discipline.The author argues that to ensure a positive future for both the sociology of work and the societies in which it is practised, sociology must regain its role in the definition of sociological problems and so prevent the conscious ideological trivialization of the discipline. He also argues the case for continual theoretical reconstruction and epistemological vigilance so that sociology can define its theoretical field and identify possible paths towards a greater social role for the discipline.

In the last decade, research on the nature, impact and prospect of meaningful work has flourished. Despite an upsurge in scholarly and practitioner interest, the research field is characterized by a lack of consensus over how meaningful work should be defined and whether its ingredients are exclusively subjective perceptions or solely triggered by objective job characteristics. The disconnection between objective and subjective dimensions of meaningful work results in a hampered understanding of how it emerges in relation to the interplay of workplace, managerial, societal and individual relations. The article addresses this gap and introduces a novel sociological meaningful work framework that features the objective and subjective dimensions of autonomy, dignity and recognition as its key pillars. In this way, a framework is offered that analyses how meaningful work is experienced at the agent level, but shaped by wider dynamics at the structural level.

Cover -- Contents -- List of Figures and Tables -- Acknowledgements -- Preface -- Chapter 1 Sociology Matters: Sociological Perspectives and Young People -- Introduction -- A Brief History -- Becoming (and Remaining) Part of the Social -- Youth, Sociology and Young People -- Summary and Conclusions -- Chapter 2 Growing Up in the Present: From 1945 to the 2000s -- Introduction -- The Post-War Period and 'Political Consensus' -- Challenges to the Settlements: Emerging Neoliberalism -- The New Service and Knowledge Economy -- Feminizing the Labour Force -- Flexible Labour Markets -- The Social Geography of the Labour Market -- Youth Labour Markets and the Transition from School to Work -- Between the Market and the State: Third Way Politics -- Summary and Conclusions -- Chapter 3 Growing up in Public and Private: Youth, Transition and Identity-Making -- Introduction -- Identity, Youth and Transitions -- Youth as Transition -- Sociology and Youth Transition -- Private and Public Worlds -- Summary and Conclusions -- Chapter 4 Being Similar and Different: Youth and Social Difference -- Introduction -- Youth Social Difference and Inequality -- Social Class -- Social Class, Identity and Youth -- Gender, Sexuality and Youth -- Race, Ethnicity and Youth -- Summary and Conclusions -- Chapter 5 Being Social: Complying and Transgressing -- Introduction -- Youth Culture in Modernity: Youth and Subculture -- British Youth Research -- The Concept of Youth Subculture -- Criticizing Subculture -- Deviance, Youth and Transgression -- Summary and Conclusions -- Chapter 6 Being Somewhere: Youth, Space and Place -- Introduction -- Youth Space and Place -- Youth, Identities, Virtual Space and Place -- Summary and Conclusions -- Chapter 7 Living in a World of Change and Constancy: Globalization, Citizenship and Youth -- Introduction -- Globalization.

In the last decade, research on the nature, impact and prospect of meaningful work has flourished. Despite an upsurge in scholarly and practitioner interest, the research field is characterized by a lack of consensus over how meaningful work should be defined and whether its ingredients are exclusively subjective perceptions or solely triggered by objective job characteristics. The disconnection between objective and subjective dimensions of meaningful work results in a hampered understanding of how it emerges in relation to the interplay of workplace, managerial, societal and individual relations. The article addresses this gap and introduces a novel sociological meaningful work framework that features the objective and subjective dimensions of autonomy, dignity and recognition as its key pillars. In this way, a framework is offered that analyses how meaningful work is experienced at the agent level, but shaped by wider dynamics at the structural level. ; Output Status: Forthcoming/Available Online