Stephen Hester gained his PhD from the University of Kent and has held positions at the University of Manchester, Northumbria University, Queens University, and Wilfrid Laurier University. He is presently reader in sociology at the University of Wales, Bangor. His interests are in ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, crime and deviance, and education. In addition to the titles mentioned above, Hesters previously published books include Deviance in Classrooms and Local Education Order: Ethnomethodological Studies of Knowledge in Action.