Who should bear the financial and social costs of the consequences of crime? In answer to this question, this book offers a comprehensive review of the public and private benefits currently available to compensate victims for the losses suffered as a result of crime. The author analyzes the social philosophy and legislative policy behind such remedies as restitution, private insurance, and civil litigation, notes their histories and their limitations, and makes recommendations for ways that each can be improved.

The innovative character of the battered women's movement is evident in countries around the world. Providing an integrated and balanced view of the many facets of this international problem, Future Interventions with Battered Women and Their Families critically examines the progress made and assesses the strategies for the future. This much-needed volume addresses the surge of efforts in the battered women's movement while challenging the reader to reflect, assimilate, and take action. An outstanding group of experts from around the globe studies important features of the movement, including --the way in which different societies define the problem --global organizing efforts to end violence against women --innovative strategies to organize informal social networks --new interventions to assist victims/survivors, perpetrators, and their children --practice research that informs intervention Future Interventions with Battered Women and Their Families provides diverse perspectives and directions for the movement that will influence a wide range of professionals serving battered women and their families, including medical and mental health professionals, battered women's advocates, legal and law enforcement professionals, policymakers, and students in social work, psychology, counseling psychology, and women's studies.

Few American social programs have been more unpopular, controversial, or costly than Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). Its budget, now in the tens of billions of dollars, has become a prominent target for welfare reformers and outraged citizens. Indeed, if public opinion ruled, AFDC would be discarded entirely and replaced with employment. Yet it persists. Steven Teles's provocative study reveals why and tells us what we should do about it. Teles argues that, over the last thirty years, political debate on AFDC has been dominated by an impasse created by what he calls "ideological dissensus"-an enduring conflict between opposing cultural elites that have largely disregarded public opinion. Thus, he contends, one must examine the origins and persistence of elite conflict in order to fully comprehend AFDC's immunity to the reform it truly needs-the kind that unites the elements of order, equality, and individualism central to the American creed. One of the first studies to analyze AFDC from a "New Democrat" position, Whose Welfare? sheds new light on the controversial role of the courts in AFDC, the rise of welfare waivers in the mid 1980s, the failure of the Clinton welfare plan, and the victory of block-granting over policy-oriented welfare reform. Teles, however, goes beyond mere critical analysis to advocate specific approaches to reform. His thoughtful call for compromise built around the centrality of work, individual responsibility, and opportunity offers a means for dissolving dissensus and genuine hope for changing an outdated and ineffectual welfare system. Based on interviews with participants in the AFDC policymaking process as well as an unparalleled synthesis of the voluminous AFDC literature, Whose Welfare? will appeal to a wide array of welfare scholars, policymakers, and citizens eager to better understand the tumultuous history of this problematic program and how it might fare in the wake of the fall elections.

Social security has proven to be one of the most successful programs in the United States. No other program has done more to transform old age or to protect family incomes against economic risks arising from the disability or death of a working family member. Polls consistently show strong support for Social Security, but these same polls also show that the public, especially the young, is skeptical about whether Social Security will be able to meet its obligations. The program's harshest opponents call it a "Ponzi scheme." Arguing that the young will be left "holding the bag," they call for a shift towards greater personal savings or means-testing. Experts agree that the aging of the baby boom, longer life expectancies, and a changing economy will impose new challenges. But seeing no impending disaster, they point to reforms that leave intact basic Social Security commitments and structure. Not surprisingly, the public is confused and has many unanswered questions.
Social Security in the 21st Century offers an introduction to the basic economic, demographic, and political aspects of social security, and addresses the questions most often asked regarding this subject. Featuring nationally recognized experts, the book presents clear, authoritative, and balanced discussions of contemporary Social Security issues, offering the historical background, concepts, statistics, and options necessary to make informed judgments about the program. These issues include the program's financial viability, its effects on the economy and the federal deficit, its consonance with American values, the adequacy of benefits for today's and tomorrow's old, its fairness to women and the young, disabilityreform and generational equity. It explains both the social insurance principles and political history related to the development of Social Security in the United States. The book avoids using technical jargon, making it ideal for a wide ranging audience including policymakers, teachers, journalists, students, and the general public. Special attention is given to the future and how Social Security can be changed to respond to the needs of generations to come.

Recent reports predict that, barring any changes, the Social Security program will become insolvent--no longer able to pay promised benefits in full--around the year 2030, well within the retirement years of the baby boom generation. They also predict that the trust fund will stop being a net contributor and become instead a net claimant on the federal budget in the year 2013--much earlier than previously thought. With the world population aging, the increasing number of dependent senior citizens in all countries will become a major public policy issue that will have to be addressed continually over the next fifty years.

Social Security: What Role for the Future? takes a fresh look at the questions essential to understanding the future of old-age protection under Social Security. Experts in economics, actuarial science, and public policy examine such front-burner issues as the effects that variables such as mortality, births, inflation, wage levels, and pension benefits will have on the income of future retirees; the implications and effects of alternative levels of funding and financing on Social Security; and the prospects for publicly and privately financed income programs. The authors conclude with an examination of social security programs around the world and pose critical questions about the future direction of Social Security in the United States--questions that Congress and the American public will have to address in the coming years.

The contributors include Robert H. Binstock, Barry P. Bosworth, Robert Brown, Gary Burtless, David M. Cutler, Jagadeesh Gokhale, Edward Gramlich, Stephen Goss, Robert Hagemann, Dalmer Hoskins, Estelle James, Diane Macunovich, David Mullins, Alicia H. Munnell, Robert J. Myers, Martha Phillips, Sylvester Schieber, Margaret Simms, C. Eugene Steuerle, and Carolyn Weaver.

Copublished with the National Academy of Social Insurance

Help teens who are at risk of experiencing or perpetuating abuse with The Youth Relationships Manual. Designed to build strengths, resilience, and coping, this manual, field-tested with the Youth Relationships Project, presents proactive, competency-building approaches to promoting nonviolent relationships and preventing cycles of violence. Based on the premise that the best window of opportunity for developing healthy relationships is in adolescence, the model guides teens to positive roles in dating, peer interactions, and interpersonal style. David A. Wolfe and his associates detail a carefully developed and tested curriculum for an 18-session group training program that includes three principal sections: informational, skills building, and social action learning opportunities. As a part of the program, teens learn new communication and conflict resolution skills and practice those skills by going out into the community to solve a hypothetical problem situation. Innovative and easy to follow, The Youth Relationships Manual provides mental health professionals, school counselors and administrators, community agency workers and administrators, and students in the helping professions with a vital tool for helping teens at risk develop healthy relationships.

The ideal of equality constitutes a criterion for assessing current practice through attention to differences among individuals and groups. Inequality occurs when irrelevant differences are invoked in order to secure power or advantages over others. This book examines health care issues from an egalitarian perspective, focusing particularly on those that affect the lives of women and children. These are some of the most hotly debated, controversial, yet genuinely humanitarian issues of our time. They include gender stereotypes in medicine and in adolescent socialization, fertility curtailment and enhancement, coercive treatment during pregnancy, fetal tissue transplantation, decisions regarding newborns, decision-making by minors, the feminization of poverty and its impact on women's and children's health, and the meaning and role of "family" in health care decisions. The book describes a case-based or "feminine" model of reasoning as appropriate to the health care setting, but also as a possible rationale for exploitation of women. Different versions of feminism are clearly explained and specifically related to care-based reasoning. To overcome the pitfalls of paternalism and excessive stress on patient autonomy, a concept of "parentalism" is defended. An egalitarian perspective, the author claims, involves use of one's power to empower others. Because of the timeliness of the topics discussed, and the depth of detail, this book will be necessary reading for all bioethicists, health-care analysts and policy-makers, and women's studies researchers.

Social security systems throughout the world are faced with unprecedented challenges in response to growing criticisms about unacceptable expenditures for government programs and questions about the appropriate role of government in providing social protection through social insurance and social assistance programs. The challenges are also a result of dramatic demographic, social, and cultural changes around the world. A variety of radical and modest reform measures are currently being discussed which have the potential of significantly impacting the means of income and health care for the elderly, children, and families.

This book examines these challenges from the perspective of local analysts in both industrial and economically developing nations. The purpose of the analysis is to promote a better understanding of the integral role that social security plays in the social and economic development of diverse societies. The chapters examine the wide range of challenges to social security in Britain, Egypt and Turkey, the Netherlands, Poland, the United States, Uruguay, and Zimbabwe. An overview of the most prevalent issues are discussed, including fiscal viability, economic development, equity, administration, public confidence, and the role of social security as the primary government instrument for social protection against the loss of income and health. Essential reading for students and researchers in social policy, gerontology, and comparative social welfare.

"An excellent historical resource on the American birth control movement." --POPULATION TODAY

This is an ethnographic study of predominantly Puerto Rican low-income people on the Lower East Side of Manhattan who have been involved in the rehabilitation of abandoned buildings through sweat-equity urban homesteading from 1978 to 1993. The study combines a portrait of homesteading in a contemporary urban environment with an analysis of homesteading in the context of economic and political developments at the local, state, and national levels. As participant-observer of the rehabilitation efforts, von Hassell was impressed with the ingenuity and initiative of poor and working-class people. She came to the conclusion that housing as a central factor in poverty amelioration must be interpreted with other factors such as labor, education, and health care, and that despite internal conflicts the project could have been more successful if it had received local political, governmental, and social services support.

With poverty, unemployment, and one-parent families on the rise in most Western democracies, government assistance presents an increasingly urgent and complex problem. This is the first study to explore Canada's family policies in an international context. Maureen Baker looks at the successes and failures of social programs in other countries in search of solutions that might work in Canada.

Baker has chosen seven industrialized countries for her comparative study: Australia, France, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These countries experience social and economic strains similar to those felt in Canada, and though they share certain policy solutions, major differences in policy remain. Baker considers which of the policies in these countries are most effective in reducing poverty, enhancing family life, and improving the status of women, then applies her findings to the Canadian situation.

Bringing together research and statistics from the fields of demography, political science, economics, sociology, women's studies, and social policy, this rich, multidisciplinary study provides a unique resource for anyone interested in Canadian family policy.

Since the Garden of Eden, humanity has been concerned with shelter. Yet housing means different things to different people. This work is a comprehensive, historical reference guide that reviews housing concepts and issues. It introduces the reader to the current body of literature and seminal work in housing from a multidisciplinary perspective. The nature of the topic is multifaceted, fragmented, and demanding of serious study from diverse disciplines-this study spans the broad domains of housing knowledge in architectural history and theory; environment and behavior; design process and methods; and building and environmental technology. The book begins with a discussion of vernacular housing and American culture and makes the case that dwellings reflect the people of different regions, materials, techniques, and design traditions of an earlier time. The history of American housing is reviewed with biographies and bibliographies, setting the stage for the environmental and social science perspective of housing. Residential environments are then considered in the broad sense of home and housing. Neighborhood and community are examined with a special focus on people, behavior, and the physical setting. The arts and popular media chapter presents American popular housing as image and icon, focusing on the arts and popular media as channels of visual and symbolic information or communication. These channels include painting, prints, pattern books, photography, music, film, television and video, literature, how-to manuals, and newspapers and magazines. Taking a macro-level perspective, direct and indirect programs of public administration and policy for housing are discussed. Then, the complex systems of financing, and the prevalance and mechanisms for matching buyers with sellers is considered in the chapter that considers housing finance, marketing, economics and management. The chapter on environmental design, construction process, and technology reviews the professional disciplines and their perspectives on housing, special populations and accessibility needs, descriptions of building trades, terms, materials, construction processes and past industrial housing experiments, as well as issues of energy management, computer technology, futuristic housing, air quality and household hazards. Using current technology to conduct research, the final chapter breaks from the conventional ways of locating hard-copy, copyrighted references to a seemingly endless potential of electronic communication systems such as data tapes; on-line databases; other electronic databases; electronic mail; listserves, chat, and on-line communities; libraries; on-line electronic texts; software; and news and journals including electronic journals.

Today women find themselves playing an ever-increasing role in caring for older family members who are frail, developmentally disabled, or suffering from serious mental illness. While this has role of women as caregivers has been documented, the actual impact on the lives of women has remained largely unstudied. In this volume, the authors examine caregiving as a central feminist issue, looking at its impact on women socially, personally, and economically. The authors review how changing family structures, the changing economy and workforce, and the changing health care demands of needy adults have impacted on women's lives. They critique existing public and private policies, demonstrating a need for fundamental structural changes in social institutions and attitudes to improve the lives of women. Finally, they propose a social model of care that is oriented toward gender justice--recognition of the work of caring and its impact upon women socially, personally, and economically. For students, scholars and practitioners in the field of gerontology, gender studies, and social work, this book is a must.

Preface by Hugh McIsaac Family mediation has quickly become a significant means of legal dispute resolution, recognized in most North American jurisdictions as a relief to already overburdened judicial systems. Using an innovative practical approach, the authors of Family Mediation incorporate the pivotal principles of family therapy into this new context--the judicial realm of family mediation. The practice model--therapeutic family mediation--thoroughly treats history, specific issues, and practice in an ecosystemic approach and responds to feminist critique of mediation. In addition, the authors offer important perspectives on mediating with multicultural populations and the role of the mediator in child custody disputes and child protection cases. Through examination of family mediation research as well as helpful case history vignettes, the authors of this volume take action to fill significant gaps between family therapy and mediation. Family Mediation provides a new take on family mediation that will benefit not only professionals and researchers in family studies, social work, clinical psychology, and sociology but also professional and volunteer mediators, conciliation court personnel, and family law specialists. "Family Mediation is an excellent blend of scholarship and practice, and it is the best of the books I have read on family mediation. First, it is clear and well written. Second, it provides an in-depth, current review of the divorce literature. The literature on divorce is large, uneven, and difficult to interpret. The authors have done a service to the profession by skillfully reviewing and integrating this literature." --Stephen J. Bahr, Brigham Young University "This book is one of the most comprehensive and well-researched texts on mediation to date. The authors have compiled an immense array of information regarding the history of family mediation, the practice and knowledge base, a review of literature regarding divorce, the principles of mediation, gender and cultural issues, elements in a child custody dispute, sharing parenting, cultural issues, and the use of mediation in dependency, and they include an excellent summary of research conducted. . . . Of particular value is the enormous scope of the review of literature and the work of others, not only in Canada but also the United States, Australia, and Great Britain, underscoring the international nature of this transformation. What Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have done is chart a major shift in the handling of conflict and they have done it very well." --Family and Conciliation Courts Review "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have surveyed and summarized an immense amount of material within the covers of this volume, presenting it in a clear, readable style. It is one of the rare texts on mediation that does justice to the complexity of families generally and families in North America particularly--to their diversity of culture, to the scope of feminist thought and gender differences, and to the ranges of social class. Their attention to divergent forms of mediation and differences in practice across jurisdictions is broadly sighted. An excellent choice for a text in mediation." --Mary A. Duryee, Family Court Services, Alameda County, Oakland, CA "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin grapple with what is the most difficult event that confronts almost half of all modern families--divorce. Historically, the developmental issues and problems surrounding divorce have been solved in the courts. But modern-day courts are overwhelmed by an avalanche of divorce cases, more than a million a year, and are unable to meet the needs of separating parties. Family Mediation offers a fundamentally different approach from the conventional legal system. The empirical research and clinical experience Irving and Benjamin bring to bear on this subject have resulted in the seminal work in this area. This delightful and thoughtful book is a must for the modern mediation practitioner who works with families and children." --Duncan Lindsey, Professor, UCLA, and Editor-in-Chief, Children and Youth Services Review "This book is unique in providing a complete overview of relevant subject areas for family mediation under one cover. Its writing is timely because it dispels some of the myths in the rapidly expanding field of family mediation. . . . Family Mediation is a comprehensive text that follows the development of family mediation through the present and concludes with the predictors of future directions. It is perhaps the most thorough critical review of the literature pertaining to family mediation and develops an inclusive practical model of practice for practitioners. The book is readable . . . responsible, and of interest to family mediators and the family law lawyers who work closely with them. It may become a must as a background for the novice family mediator about to embark on a course of training." --Laurel Pearson, McWhinney, Metcalfe, and Associates, Toronto, Canada

Preface by Hugh McIsaac Family mediation has quickly become a significant means of legal dispute resolution, recognized in most North American jurisdictions as a relief to already overburdened judicial systems. Using an innovative practical approach, the authors of Family Mediation incorporate the pivotal principles of family therapy into this new context--the judicial realm of family mediation. The practice model--therapeutic family mediation--thoroughly treats history, specific issues, and practice in an ecosystemic approach and responds to feminist critique of mediation. In addition, the authors offer important perspectives on mediating with multicultural populations and the role of the mediator in child custody disputes and child protection cases. Through examination of family mediation research as well as helpful case history vignettes, the authors of this volume take action to fill significant gaps between family therapy and mediation. Family Mediation provides a new take on family mediation that will benefit not only professionals and researchers in family studies, social work, clinical psychology, and sociology but also professional and volunteer mediators, conciliation court personnel, and family law specialists. "Family Mediation is an excellent blend of scholarship and practice, and it is the best of the books I have read on family mediation. First, it is clear and well written. Second, it provides an in-depth, current review of the divorce literature. The literature on divorce is large, uneven, and difficult to interpret. The authors have done a service to the profession by skillfully reviewing and integrating this literature." --Stephen J. Bahr, Brigham Young University "This book is one of the most comprehensive and well-researched texts on mediation to date. The authors have compiled an immense array of information regarding the history of family mediation, the practice and knowledge base, a review of literature regarding divorce, the principles of mediation, gender and cultural issues, elements in a child custody dispute, sharing parenting, cultural issues, and the use of mediation in dependency, and they include an excellent summary of research conducted. . . . Of particular value is the enormous scope of the review of literature and the work of others, not only in Canada but also the United States, Australia, and Great Britain, underscoring the international nature of this transformation. What Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have done is chart a major shift in the handling of conflict and they have done it very well." --Family and Conciliation Courts Review "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin have surveyed and summarized an immense amount of material within the covers of this volume, presenting it in a clear, readable style. It is one of the rare texts on mediation that does justice to the complexity of families generally and families in North America particularly--to their diversity of culture, to the scope of feminist thought and gender differences, and to the ranges of social class. Their attention to divergent forms of mediation and differences in practice across jurisdictions is broadly sighted. An excellent choice for a text in mediation." --Mary A. Duryee, Family Court Services, Alameda County, Oakland, CA "Howard H. Irving and Michael Benjamin grapple with what is the most difficult event that confronts almost half of all modern families--divorce. Historically, the developmental issues and problems surrounding divorce have been solved in the courts. But modern-day courts are overwhelmed by an avalanche of divorce cases, more than a million a year, and are unable to meet the needs of separating parties. Family Mediation offers a fundamentally different approach from the conventional legal system. The empirical research and clinical experience Irving and Benjamin bring to bear on this subject have resulted in the seminal work in this area. This delightful and thoughtful book is a must for the modern mediation practitioner who works with families and children." --Duncan Lindsey, Professor, UCLA, and Editor-in-Chief, Children and Youth Services Review "This book is unique in providing a complete overview of relevant subject areas for family mediation under one cover. Its writing is timely because it dispels some of the myths in the rapidly expanding field of family mediation. . . . Family Mediation is a comprehensive text that follows the development of family mediation through the present and concludes with the predictors of future directions. It is perhaps the most thorough critical review of the literature pertaining to family mediation and develops an inclusive practical model of practice for practitioners. The book is readable . . . responsible, and of interest to family mediators and the family law lawyers who work closely with them. It may become a must as a background for the novice family mediator about to embark on a course of training." --Laurel Pearson, McWhinney, Metcalfe, and Associates, Toronto, Canada

During the first half of the twentieth century, out-of-wedlock pregnancy came to be seen as one of the most urgent and compelling problems of the day. The effort to define its meaning fueled a struggle among three groups of women: evangelical reformers who regarded unmarried mothers as fallen sisters to be saved, a new generation of social workers who viewed them as problem girls to be treated, and unmarried mothers themselves. Drawing on previously unexamined case records from maternity homes, Regina Kunzel explores how women negotiated the crisis of single pregnancy and analyzes the different ways they understood and represented unmarried motherhood. Fallen Women, Problem Girls is a social and cultural history of out-of-wedlock pregnancy in the United States from 1890 to 1945. Kunzel analyzes how evangelical women drew on a long tradition of female benevolence to create maternity homes that would redeem and reclaim unmarried mothers. She shows how, by the 1910s, social workers struggling to achieve professional legitimacy tried to dissociate their own work from that earlier tradition, replacing the reform rhetoric of sisterhood with the scientific language of professionalism. By analyzing the important and unexplored transition from the conventions of nineteenth-century reform to the professional imperatives of twentieth-century social welfare, Kunzel offers a new interpretation of gender and professionalization. Kunzel places shifting constructions of out-of-wedlock pregnancy within a broad history of gender, sexuality, class, and race, and argues that the contests among evangelical women, social workers, and unmarried mothers distilled larger generational and cross-class conflicts among women in the first half of the twentieth century.

First, let me say that this edition is a wonderful expansion and thus an improvement on the first edition. The comprehensiveness of this new edition makes it a worthy addition to the literature and enables it to be the basis for an entire course. . . . I especially like the organization of the chapters vis-a-vis each other. Chapters 2, 3, and 5 will be especially beneficial to me and my students. They cover material that I covered in the past but I couldn''t do a good job without having something for the students to read. I think this [focus and integration] is a strength of the book especially in chapters 2-7. Chapter 7 really ties things up nicely. Another strength of the book is its use of examples from recent policy debates to illustrate the concepts being discussed. In general, the text does a good job here [implications and applications] especially as the health care reform and welfare reform examples are included. --Ray Forgue, Chairman, Family Studies Department, University of Kentucky "I like this updated version of Understanding Family Policy and would definitely use it. . . . The approach taken in this edition has a more `universal'' appeal in that it lays good groundwork to understanding family policy. . . . An excellent addition is the question section at the end of each chapter. It will help the student highlight important concepts covered and also provide a good start for discussion. . . . I think Dr. Zimmerman has done a great job of integrating the concepts, referring back to points made earlier, summarizing previous thoughts, and moving on to new ones. . . . The examples to illustrate points are good. . . . I have used Understanding Family Policy . . . and plan to use the new edition." --Catherine A. Solheim, Department of Family and Child Development, Auburn University "In the author''s words, ''this is a book about family policy and different ways of thinking about and its effects on families.'' In this second edition, Shirley L. Zimmerman introduces new theoretical frameworks and applications that reinforce the link between family theory, policy, and practice. Also new to this edition are a glossary and a listing of study questions at the end of each chapter intended to stimulate discussion and to be adapted to readers'' situations and work settings. The book, geared toward students in social work and family and policy studies, also provides examples from recent policy debates to illustrate its concepts." --Journal of Social Work Education Highly successful in its first edition, Understanding Family Policy, Second Edition introduces new theoretical frameworks as well as applications of theory. Shirley L. Zimmerman has incorporated the recent history of family policy and reinforced the link between theory and the everyday life experiences people have with the policy process. Also new to this volume are a glossary and study questions at the end of each chapter, useful for stimulating reflections and discussion on the book''s twin subjects--families and family policy. Personal examples of policy research have been replaced with more generic and less time-bound examples. New topics include overriding issues: gender, race, ethnicity and culture, interest group theory, and other family frameworks for assessing family well-being including symbolic interaction, family stress, conflict, feminist and cultural theories. An excellent resource for offering conceptual tools for analyzing family problems, policies, and consequences, this second edition is essential for students and individuals in the areas of social work and family and policy studies.

The growing number of homeless people over age 50 has reached epidemic proportions. It is important to recognize that this group has special needs and demands from health factors to safety. This book is a resource for professionals training and working with this homeless contingent.

Why did slums and suburbs develop simultaneously? Did the capitalist system produce these, and were class antagonisms to blame? Why did the Victorians believe there was a housing problem, and who or what created it? What housing solutions were attempted, and how successfully? These are amongst the central questions addressed by social and urban historians in recent years, and their arguments and analyses are reviewed here. The history of housing between 1780 and 1914 encapsulates many problems associated with the transition from a largely rural to an overwhelmingly urban nation. The unprecedented pace of this transition imposed immense tensions within society, with implications for the urban environment and for local and national government. Housing is central to an understanding of the social, economic, political and cultural forces in nineteenth-century history; this book is an ideal introduction to the topic.

Why did slums and suburbs develop simultaneously? Did the capitalist system produce these, and were class antagonisms to blame? Why did the Victorians believe there was a housing problem, and who or what created it? What housing solutions were attempted, and how successfully? These are amongst the central questions addressed by social and urban historians in recent years, and their arguments and analyses are reviewed here. The history of housing between 1780 and 1914 encapsulates many problems associated with the transition from a largely rural to an overwhelmingly urban nation. The unprecedented pace of this transition imposed immense tensions within society, with implications for the urban environment and for local and national government. Housing is central to an understanding of the social, economic, political and cultural forces in nineteenth-century history; this book is an ideal introduction to the topic.

The development of European welfare states in the first half of this century has often been seen as a response to the rise of class politics. This study of social policies in Britain and France between 1914 and 1945 contests this interpretation. It argues, by contrast, that early policymakers and social reformers were responding equally to a perceived crisis of family relations and gender roles. The institutions they developed continue to structure the welfare state as it exists today. This book is innovative in the range and scope of its research, its comparative focus, and its argument, which poses a challenge to older class-based interpretations of the development of the welfare state. It will be of interest to scholars of European history and politics, as well as to those interested in social policy and women's studies.

This is a response to the need for up-to-date information about three major challenges posed by urbanization: buildings, transportation, and land use. Planning the built environment involves integrating all aspects of human life so that an esthetic, economic, and sustainable system is established. There are challenges which arise from this, but the primary goal is to provide adequate, safe, efficient, and affordable housing for the populations. The goal is to convert chaos to order, to make cities workable, to bar bad development, to encourage the building of necessary facilities, and to improve land use.

No other reference provides such a comprehensive and timely overview of theory and research on family relationships, the contexts of family life, and major turning points in late-life families. It includes many suggestions for theoretical and practical applications for future research on a score of important topics. This multidisciplinary survey is an invaluable library reference and teaching resource intended for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students, teachers, and practitioners -- for gerontologists, family scholars, psychologists, sociologists, historians, social workers, health-care providers, and policy makers.

During the depression of the 1930s, both the United States and New Zealand passed a Social Security Act. Both countries were developed nations of the "new world," and each statute was an omnibus measure aimed at protecting citizens from the poverty so visible at the time. The two acts, however, were very different. The New Zealand measure was absolute, promising everyone medical care and a reasonable income in every circumstance. It redistributed income downward. The U.S. act addressed only a handful of risks, and each of its two main programs covered less than half of the population. Its benefits were funded by regressive taxes, and the main programs promised more help, not to persons in greater need, but to those from higher-paying jobs.

Scholars of comparative public policy have tried to account for such differences among welfare states. Their explanations have commonly stressed economic, cultural, bureaucratic, or political differences among countries. The character of life in these two countries makes it possible to conclude simply that the United States and New Zealand passed contrasting acts because their histories were different. Richards argues that this conclusion is too vague. After all, the Social Security Acts did not materialize from national ambiance. He shows that the contrasts between the two systems stemmed from national differences that were inveterate, with the differences between their political systems being the most direct influence. By closely examining the two systems of government, Richards reveals that the U.S. Social Security Act reinforced the country's inequalities while New Zealand's act reflected that nation's legislative and electoral arrangements, which allowed bold policy-making by politicians who knew the pain of poverty.