Many adolescents in the United States are at risk from substance abuse, unsafe sexual practices, academic underachievement, crime and violence. What can be done to tackle these growing problems? The author of this thought-provoking book suggests the need to focus on young people's development in relation to specific features of the individual's environmental 'context' such as family, neighbourhood and culture. By effecting changes in these contexts, in the form of community programmes, researchers can test for differences in children's behaviour and development.
What is Japan's political role in the world? Over the past decade, Japan has been increasingly pressured to assume more financial and political burdens globally. This book represents the first private and non- governmental indigenous effort to stimulate public debate of Japanese foreign policy.
The 1980s saw official crime policy in the United States shifting its focus from crime and criminals to victimization and victims. In this thought-provoking book, Robert Elias evaluates the effectiveness of this shift in policy and argues that victims have been politically manipulated for official objectives. From a thorough examination of victim legislation, get-tough crime policies, media crime coverage, the victim movement, and the wars on crime and drugs, Elias concludes that little victim support has actually occurred and that victimization is, in fact, escalating. He argues for a change in the structural sources of crime and proposes a `new culture' that could lead to substantially less crime.
Little noticed by much of the world, France, during the 1960s and 1970s, developed into one of the most generous welfare states in the world. This book describes and explains this spectacular growth, and examines some of the problems that have emerged in its wake.
A study of the basic tenets and ideologies behind America's policy towards Latin America during the Reagan-Bush administrations. Wiarda's insider account of this era serves as a link between the scholarly and policy-making communities. He supplements his analysis with various case studies.
A host of misconceptions about single parenting are explored in this volume. Topics examined include the interface between the family and the external environment, transitional stages in the life of the family and support from the extended family. Attention is also paid to special categories of families: families of ethnic minorities, father-headed families, adolescent parents and non-custodial parenting.
In the last 35 years, health care in the US has grown into a multi-billion dollar industry. Americans view access to health care as important and take pride in their excellent medical care technology. However, there is growing consensus that the US health care system is in crisis - but there is far less agreement on what to do about it. This book examines the major controversies confronting American society, health care professionals and policy makers: access to health care, costs and financing health care and the quality of health care. Kronenfeld discusses whether the system can solve these problems or whether there is a health care system at all.
