The study examines a variety of topics - from the 'generation gap' to begging, from the environment to English national identity, from the media's portrayal of sex to politics - to see how much different groups in Britain differ from one another in their attitudes, values and perspectives. The results show large differences on some issues - permissiveness about sex, for example, or views about Europe - but also show that consensus is often more common than division, for example, on the countryside and transport. The National Centre's British Social Attitudes surveys have been conducted annually since 1983. Each survey consists of over 3,000 interviews with a representative, random sample of people in England, Scotland and Wales. It is funded by charitable and government sources and is now the primary source of independent information and commentary on Britain's changing social values. Later this week, MrWeb looks at some of the major findings of the survey. British Social Attitudes: focusing on diversity is published by Sage priced at £35.00. For further information, contact Sage on +44 20 7330 1234 (telephone) or +44 20 7374 8741 (fax) or via www.sagepub.co.uk