The paper explores the evolution of the medical profession's autonomy in the second half of the twentieth century. It highlights reflexivity in the changing relationship between professions and organisations and how physicians are becoming "managers of expertise" who are important for both the hospital organisation and the state.

Archetype-theory gained prominence in the literature dealing with the ‘‘managerialization’’ of professional organizations. However, this theory has been criticized. Due to its functionalist legacy it underplays the role of agency in the organizational structure or in its change. Following this critique we develop a political perspective on the relation profession — management. Such a view stresses the interlocking of organization and domination. However, control does not just apply to workers and work, a ‘rule by rules’ implies rulers are also object of regulation. Agency will be directed at having an impact on rule creation. In the end organizational structure is designed to control the agency of both profession and management. The elaboration of structure is not to be seen as a function of the qualities of work, or of organizational performance. Rather our analysis of the genesis of the medical council in Belgian hospitals suggest that it results out of agency within a specific policy process.

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to how children themselves define a 'proper' and 'satisfying' family life (p. 70) is a salient point from this section.Chapter 10, The Rapidly Changing Context of the External World, is an invaluable contribution to this text. This chapter offers an overview of the effects on children's lives of the political, social and cultural environments, which moves the reader from a local to a global perspective. It focuses on the inequalities within the nations of the world, illustrating that in the 21st century the number of children living in extreme poverty continues to increase (p. 218). Anything that challenges much of the ethnocentrism that exists and opens up the student mind to other cultures and wider global social and economic contexts can only be a good thing. The final chapter, Toward a World Fit for Children, offers a useful overview of some of the strategies discussed in previous chapters that may truly offer all (rather than some) children better childhoods by creating new communities or societies.A source of niggling unease arose with the title and the use of the word 'kids' throughout the book, an unease that did not dissipate with having read the book. While the authors of this book undoubtedly advocate a need for a more inclusive agenda for many children and young people it seemed rather curious to consistently use 'kids', a term which is often used pejoratively. The authors, however, indicate that they use this term because it is the term that children often use to refer to themselves (p. 6). I am not convinced by that argument, and 'children in context' would seem to work as well as 'kids in context'.To summarize, this is a sound and useful resource for students, academics and practitioners alike. The authors clearly convey a passion for children's inclusion in all social agendas, which is sustained throughout the book. The authors have undoubtedly achieved their aim of presenting material in an accessible format for their audience to understand the rapidly changing and complex world children and young people now inhabit. Including the powerful message from the then 13-yearold Gabriela Azurdy Arrieta, the first child to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in 2002, that 'everyone should be concerned with creating a world fit for children because a world fit for children is a world fit for everyone' (p. xiii), is a potent reminder as to why we need a sociology of childhood. We also need authors and a book such as this to offer children and young people a platform from which to voice their experiences to help create that 'world fit for everyone'.

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