Adoption, Race, and Identity examines the innovative placement of nonwhite (predominantly black) adoptees with white parents. In addition to reviewing recent court decisions involving race as a factor in child custody, authors Rita Simon and Howard Altstein examine the research to date on this topic, including adoption policy and practice as carried out by some adoption agencies. Although there are a few anecdotal portraits of typical situations, the work is almost exclusively devoted to actual responses to questions about the experiences of these families based on a longitudinal study that began in 1971. The authors conclude that the majority of families and their adopted children are well integrated into society and that the adoptees now, as adolescents, do not see themselves as any less black than their in-racially raised peers.

Chapters 1 and 2 examine the historical and legal background of transracial adoption. The authors discuss numbers and trends, founding social movements, agency practices, and the legal status of transracial adoption over the past forty years. They present the arguments by the National Association of Black Social Workers against the practice, and responses offered by various adoption networks. Chapter 3 details the authors' research method for the study of families and their transracial adoptees, and integrates a review of the research literature. The following chapter provides demographic and social psychological data on the 200 families involved in the study, and examines their stated reasons for adopting. Chapters 5 and 6 evaluate the responses to the study by parents and by adoptees and their siblings. Chapter 7 reviews the families' experiences from both the parents' and children's perspectives, and Chapters 8 and 9 discuss problem families and ordinary families, respectively. The work closes with an examination of alternative forms of child placement, a discussion of social policy, and suggestions for future research and practice. This study will prove valuable to social workers, adoption agencies, and scholars and practitioners in related fields.

Based on internationally discussed theories and worldwide social research on the conceptualisation and implementation of children's rights, this book gives an insight into new perspectives on the different concepts of children's rights in a contextualised and localised manner.

The second and fully revised edition of James and Prout's acclaimed seminal work on the study of childhood.

Challenges the conventional wisdom that media creates a toxic environment for America's youth, diverting us from the real origins of problems affecting children today. Are school shootings the result of violent video games? Do sex-laden movies lead to promiscuity? Can Goth music create alienation? Repeatedly we are told the answer to these and similar questions is a resounding yes. But is this the right answer? It's Not the Media considers why media culture is a perennial target of both fascination and concern, and why we are so often encouraged to believe it is the root of many social problems. A look beyond the attention-grabbing headlines and political stumping reveals that fearing media feels right because media represents what we fear. And changes in media culture are easier to see than the complex economic, social, and political changes we have experienced over the past few decades. Digging deeper into the historical and societal trends of the past century and drawing from the most current social science research on the effects of media on children, Sternheimer presents a compelling argument that fear of social change, and what it means to be a kid in a today's media-saturate

This ground-breaking work provides the first history of ideas about the sexual child in modernity. Beginning with twenty-first century panics about sexualization, the authors address why the sexual child excites such powerful emotions in the Anglophone west. Historical analysis of the past two centuries offers some challenging and insightful answers. Drawing on a wide range of different materials from enlightenment philosophy, medicine, social purity sexual hygiene, psychoanalysis and child development, this book illustrates that current panics have a consistent and fascinating history. Egan and Hawkes strive to progress beyond the current impasse of fear and anxiety.

Divided into six parts, this substantive reference work charts how childhood studies has moved beyond developmental issues to focus on broader issues of children in society, as actors and agents, and as subjects of policy intervention. It is a comprehensive overview of key theoretical and empirical work in the field of childhood studies.

'Charming, touching and very very funny' Jenny Colgan 'Simply too good' Daily Mail From the author of the Times bestselling A Chip Shop in Poznan ONE HOUSE. TWO HOUSEMATES. THREE REASONS TO WORRY: WINNIE AND BEN ARE SEPARATED BY 50 YEARS, A GULF IN CLASS, AND MAJOR DIFFERENCES OF OPINION. When hunting for a room in London, Ben Aitken came across one for a great price in a lovely part of town. There had to be a catch. And there was. The catch was Winnie: an 85-year-old widow who doesn't suffer fools. Full of warmth, wit and candour, The Marmalade Diaries tells the story of an unlikely friendship during an unlikely time. Imagine an intergenerational version of Big Brother, but with only two contestants. One of the pair a grieving and inflexible former aristocrat in her mid-eighties. The other a working-class millennial snowflake. What could possibly go wrong? What could possibly go right? Out of the most inauspicious of soils - and from the author of The Gran Tour - comes a book about grief, family, friendship, loneliness, life, love, lockdown and marmalade.

This book provides a timely overview of the impacts of digitalization from the perspective of everyday life, and argues that one central issue in digitalization is the development of new types of services that digitalization enables, but which are often overlooked due to the focus on new technologies and devices. The book summarizes the past 20 years of research into the relationship between information and communications technology (ICT) and service innovation, and reveals that the ongoing digitalization is a qualitatively different phenomenon and represents a true paradigm shift. The all-encompassing integration and distribution of data raises critical issues such as preserving human dignity and individual autonomy; moreover, interaction practices that foster broad participation, trust, learning, and a willingness to share knowledge are called for. Citizen empowerment and multi-actor co-creation have become central to using digitalization to support the development of wellbeing and sustainability. Further, the book shows how employees and professionals can and should be involved in designing their future work, and in evaluating it. Proactiveness and participation in innovation endeavours are ways to guarantee meaningful work in an age of socio-technical transition. The book employs a variety of theoretical approaches and perspectives from diverse disciplines to illustrate these needs. In addition to theoretical analyses, some specific application areas are examined, e.g. services in health and social care, and problems linked to robots in elderly care. Given its scope, the book is highly recommended to all readers seeking an overview of the current understanding of the human side of digitalization and searching for concrete cases from different countries to illustrate the topic.

One of the primary advances for the 21st century is progress beyond the need to defend the findings of behavioral genetic investigations of intelligence. With the advent of developmental behavioral genetics and molecular genetics researchers have taken their discoveries far beyond simple nature/nurture constructs to a finer understanding of how genes and environment intersect to affect cognitive function.

"Behavior Genetics of Cognition across the Lifespan" presents the state of the field in well-documented detail as noted experts examine gene-environment interactions in cognitive function from childhood into old age. Fluidity is at the heart of this coverage: normative and non-normative brain development get equal attention, and statistical, molecular, biological, brain imaging, and neurobiological approaches contribute separately and in combination to the findings.

All major life stages are examined as periods of gene-based cognitive change, including midlife, which until recently has been considered a period for marking time until "real" age-related change occurs. And the book is written so that individual chapters can be as useful on their own as the volume is as a whole. Among the topics covered in depth:

Cognitive abilities in childhood and adolescenceGenetic and environmental influences on intellectual disabilities in childhoodCognition in middle adulthoodGene by environment interplay in cognitive agingDementia: genes, environments, interactionsBrain imaging and cognition

By synthesizing where the field is today--and identifying issues that need further attention--"Behavior Genetics of Cognition across the Lifespan" is a bedrock text for behavioral geneticists, cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists."

This volume presents a ground-breaking collection of interdisciplinary chapters from international scholars which complicate, and offers new ways to make sense of, children's sexual cultures across complex political, social and cultural terrains.

Through a rich ethnography of street and working children in Calcutta, India, this book offers the first sustained enquiry into postcolonial childhoods, arguing that the lingering effects of colonialism are central to comprehending why these children struggle to inhabit the transition from labour to schooling.

Over several generations villagers of Dominica have been shifting from Patwa, an Afro-French creole, to English, the official language. Despite government efforts at Patwa revitalization and cultural heritage tourism, rural caregivers and teachers prohibit children from speaking Patwa in their presence. Drawing on detailed ethnographic fieldwork and analysis of video-recorded social interaction in naturalistic home, school, village and urban settings, the study explores this paradox and examines the role of children and their social worlds. It offers much-needed insights into the study of language socialization, language shift and Caribbean children's agency and social lives, contributing to the burgeoning interdisciplinary study of children's cultures. Further, it demonstrates the critical role played by children in the transmission and transformation of linguistic practices, which ultimately may determine the fate of a language.

Written in a clear and accessible style, this book presents a broad ranging enquiry into various methodological issues associated with contemporary youth research. Chapters cover a variety of topical areas, including youth transitions, youth in care, drugs, consumption and music. Featuring studies by new and established youth researchers, this book will be an invaluable resource for undergraduate and postgraduate students, and also those carrying out more advanced research, in the fields of sociology, social policy, health studies, cultural and media studies.

This book explores the relationship between embodiment and the production of the key structures which frame agency to map out potential for social change. It uses modalities of ageing embodiment in the context of sport participation in later life, specifically Master athletics, including barriers, opportunities and physiological dimensions.

The essays in this collection represent a major contribution to our understanding of youth and transitions to key areas of adult citizenship, including employment, independent living arrangements and political participation. The education of children and young people in 'citizenship' usually emphasizes either rights or responsibilities, through the concept of 'active citizenship'. The central concern of the book is to address the tensions and contradictions between the teaching of active citizenship and the real life difficulties many young people face in the practical transition to being adult citizens in modern life.

This work features writings by death-row inmates, family members of victims and perpetrators, religious and political figures, journalists, criminologists, and legal experts, along with information on programs designed to help young people who have gone astray. Intimate personal accounts reveal the fear and regret of death-row inmates as well as the horror and anxiety of their loved ones. In one moving chapter, a mother speaks candidly about the murder of her daughter and how she feels toward the murderer. Alternately grief-stricken and angry, she concludes that it is up to every citizen to play a part in helping our troubled children before they grow up to become gun-toting hoodlums. The book advocates rehabilitation programs, a new national emphasis on broken families and the problems of youth, child care for single mothers, and an overhaul of the juvenile-justice system. Dicks calls for a distinction between justice and revenge, and offers a provocative, wrenching, yet realistic look at a problem that threatens the future of our society.

Friendship and Educational Choice provides a unique insight into how young people go about making decisions about their educational options and the subtle, yet crucial, influence of friends and peers on these processes. It argues that focusing on both the impact of friends on educational decisions and the reciprocal influences that such decisions may exert on young people's friendships helps us to understand the significance and impact of educational choice in the wider lives of young people.

There is widespread and growing concern about the use of alcohol in society, especially by young people. Although overall volumes of alcohol consumption may be levelling off, the occurrences of excessive or 'binge' drinking, especially among teenagers and young adults, are increasingly commonplace. Tackling irresponsible drinking, which is linked to other antisocial behaviour and health problems, has focused attention on the promotion of alcohol by its producers as an important causal factor. This has led to calls for tougher regulation of alcohol marketing, including restrictions on where it can occur and the form it is allowed to take. Empirical research evidence, often emanating from government funded enquiries and endorsed by health lobbies, has been cited in support of an allegedly primary role played by advertising in triggering interest in and the onset of alcohol consumption among young people and in encouraging regular and heavy drinking. Close examination of this evidence, however, reveals that the research is not always as cut and dried as it may first appear. Methodological weaknesses abound in studies of the purported effects of alcohol advertising and other forms of marketing and the significance specifically of advertising as an agent that shapes young people's alcohol consumption could be weaker than often thought. This book sets out a review and critique of the evidence on alcohol advertising and marketing effects on young people and considers this evidence in relation to codes of advertising and marketing practice.

This book is the result of the first comprehensive research, carried out within the framework of Islamic Studies, on childhood in medieval Muslim society. It deals with the images of children, with adults' attitudes towards them, and with concepts of childhood as reflected in legal, theological, philosophical, ethical and medical writings as well as works of belles lettres. The studies included in this volume are based on the historical-philological methodology enriched by a comparative approach towards the subject.

There is more to retirement than just having enough money. Many older Americans dream for years about what they'll do once they retire - catch up on their reading, complete projects around the house, take up gardening, travel - only to find that six months later they have accomplished most of their goals Now what?
With people living longer or retiring earlier, the post-retirement period can extend to 25, or even 35 years. Those extra eight hours a day, every day, add up to as many as 50,000 hours of unplanned time The constant "togetherness" of spouses after retirement can put a severe strain on relationships, and often exposes conflicts that have been hidden by the demands of childrearing and work routines. Many people have their personal identity tied up with work, or in a profession, and they discover that the dismanteling of the social and business structure of a career is more difficult than expected.
It is important that people plan for this new and exciting phase of their life just as seriously as they prepared for a career. In The Adventure of Retirement, consultant and researcher Guild A. Fetridge explores those frequently overlooked behavioral, emotional, and lifestyle issues that are vital to a fulfilling retirement. He includes questionnaires and a unique checklist to help readers gauge their attitudes and progress toward retirement; important diet and exercise information; and a guide to some uncommon travel ideas, projects, learning opportunities, events, and associations that can help retirees enjoy life and leisure more. Also included are an extended bibliography and a variety of forms to assist in the retirement planning process.

That children need nature for health and well-being is widely accepted, but what type of nature? Specifically, what type of nature is not only necessary but realistically available in the complex and rapidly changing worlds that children currently live in? This book examines child-nature definitions through two related concepts: the need for connecting to nature and the processes by which opportunities for such contact can be enhanced. It analyses the available nature from a scientific perspective of habitats, species and environments, together with the role of planning, to identify how children in cities can and do connect with nature. This book challenges the notion of a universal child and childhood by recognizing children's diverse life worlds and experiences which guide them into different and complex ways of interacting with the natural world. Unfortunately not all children have the freedom to access the nature that is present in the cities where they live. This book addresses the challenge of designing biodiverse cities in which nature is readily accessible to children.

Providing a comprehensive analysis of the increasingly common phenomenon of child migration, this volume examines the experiences of children in a wide variety of migratory circumstances including economic child migrants, transnational students, trafficked, stateless, fostered, unaccompanied and undocumented children.

This text explores and celebrates imaginative and creative approaches to youth research, showcasing a wide range of innovative methods including music elicitation, mental mapping, blog analysis and mobile methods.

What does it mean to be a young undocumented immigrant? Current public debate on undocumented immigration provokes discussion worldwide, and it is estimated that there are more than 11.1 million undocumented immigrants in the US, yet what it really means to be an undocumented immigrant appears less explicitly delineated in the debate. This interdisciplinary volume applies theories from Media, Cultural, and Literary Studies to investigate how undocumented immigrant youth in the United States have claimed a public voice by publishing their video narratives on YouTube. Case studies show how political protest significantly shapes these videos as activists narrate and perform their 'dispossession', redefining their understanding of the mechanisms of immigration in the Americas, and of home, belonging, and identity. The impact of the videos is explored as the activists connect them to Congressional bills and present their activities as a continuation of the legacy of the civil rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s. This book will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and students involved in debates on migration, communication, new media, culture, protest movements and political lobbying.

Surprisingly little research has been carried out about how Australian Aboriginal children and teenagers experience life, shape their social world and imagine the future. This volume presents recent and original studies of life experiences outside the institutional settings of childcare and education, of those growing up in contemporary Central Australia or with strong links to the region. Focusing on the remote communities - roughly 1,200 across the continent - the volume includes case studies of language and family life in small country towns and urban contexts. These studies expertly show that forms of consciousness have changed enormously over the last hundred years for Indigenous societies more so than for the rest of Australia, yet equally notable are the continuities across generations. Ute Eickelkamp is ARC Future Fellow in Anthropology at the University of Sydney."