Brian Taylor

Drugs are substances that lead men to carelessness about their own bodies. These become sick and degenerate. Judgement is impaired and men make mistakes in their work, their driving, their relationships wih others. Their families and dependents too are affected by the errors of judgement which result from their carelessness. The Buddha pinpoints that it is the carelessness resulting from taking drugs that causes errors in our thinking and behaviour. This carelessness is avoided if the cause, the drugs themselves are given up. (14 pages)

A semi-biographical account and a research analysis of current voting trends. With a look back at the 2008 Presidential Election. Information about the three major political parties of the United States.

POCKET BOOK. GNOMON The shadow of the gnomon slides at a steady rate. Even if the dial is ancient, the time itself is up to date. Though the train sleeps in the station, the sun just will not wait. And the ever-moving sun and the clocks that tick and chime are the chains we use to bind our minds and imprison them in Time. Time has no bird, no scythe, no power over man or Fate. Having wanted to be early, we decide that we are late. (122 pages)

These poems cover over forty years. Writing them is like collecting the bubbles which stream away from the stern of a small boat crossing a vast ocean. They are all different. They are all the same. Fragile, inconsequential bubbles of livingness. The subject matter ranges from Oxford, its colleges and ghosts, to the Far East with its temples, its hunger for life (and cncrete jungles),and its two and a half thousand year old Buddhism. Here, Theravada monks still proclaim, in the Buddha's own language, that "all things are suffering, all things are impermanent, all things are not self. Nibbana is the Highest Happiness." Here is the teeming multiplicity of life and the utter freedom and stillness of the Unconditioned State which runs like a cack through the universe. Through this crack beings escape from the burden of becoming. Through it they return again. From one lifetime to the next. From one moment to the next.

Responding to Men in Crisis is based on new research looking at gendered assumptions about rationality and men's mental health. It looks at postmodern theory in relation to masculinities and madness, and discusses key contemporary debates in political uses of risk, dangerousness and so on. The author relates this to a discussion of current policy and practice responses to men within the mental health system. It offers the reader a theoretical exploration of a topically and politically sensitive issues and is relevant to service user involvement and survivor movements, making it essential reading for academics and students of sociology and allied disciplines.

This important book provides an invaluable guide to the establishment of Scotland's Parliament. First published in 1999, this revised and updated edition follows the road to devolution - with fresh detail of the obstacles which stood in the way. In a separate, companion book, Scotland's Parliament: The Story So Far Brian Taylor analyses how the Scottish Parliament has worked in practice. With his unique insight, gained in twenty-five years of covering Scottish politics as a journalist, Taylor offers an analysis of the background to the most monumental political change in Scotland since the Union. In this book, Taylor examines the popular motivation for devolution - and traces the practical steps which led to the establishment of Scotland's new Parliament. In addition, he provides a challenging assessment of Scotland's political future: tackling the issue of whether devolution will content the Scots. There is substantial analytical coverage of the Referendum, the Scotland Act and the establishment of the Parliament, following the elections in May 1999. Written in an entertaining and accessible style, this book is ideal for all those requiring an insight into the underlying issues which drive Scotland's new politics.

The assessment of needs and the process of planning care are central issues in modern social work practice. Skilled assessment of client needs and strengths is essential to effective planning and efficient provision of quality social work services including both counselling and personal care. The focus of this book is on the development of the skills required at each stage of the social work process: assessment, care planning, implementation and evaluation. Throughout the book a balance is maintained between the focus on client involvement and the role of the social worker in an agency. The latter part of the book addresses practical issues in developing new approaches to assessment and care planning: primary workers, individual support and managing change. Social work practitioners, managers and trainers and students on qualifying and pre-qualifying training will find this an invaluable aid to the development of sound and yet creative practice.