Developing Age-Friendly Cities: Case Studies From Brussels and Manchester and Implications for Policy and Practice

Developing environments responsive to the aspirations of older people has become a major concern for social and public policy. Policies and programs directed at achieving “age-friendly” communities are considered to require a wide range of interventions, including actions at the level of the social and physical environment. This article compares the age-friendly approaches of two European cities, Brussels and Manchester, with a particular focus on policies and initiatives that promote active aging in an urban context. The article examines, first, the demographic, social, and multicultural contexts of Brussels and Manchester; second, the way in which both cities became members of the World Health Organization Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities; third, similarities and differences in the age-friendly approaches and actions adopted by both cities; and fourth, opportunities and barriers to the implementation of age-friendly policies. The article concludes by discussing the key elements and resources needed to develop age-friendly cities.     

Qualitative exploration of supporting figures in the lives of emerging adults who left care compared with their noncare‐leaving peers

Studies on youth leaving care have emphasized their limited social support and their need for continuing support after emancipation. However, less is known about the nature of their existing social networks after emancipation and their roles during their transition to adulthood compared with their noncare‐leaving peers. With this in mind, 32 young adults aged 18 to 25 participated in semi‐structured interviews regarding their current support figures in order to learn whether they were congruent with their needs after emancipation. Thematic analysis revealed four main features of the two groups' social networks: (a) stability versus uncertainty as to the lasting presence of the supportive figure, (b) reliance on parents as main supportive figures versus relying on different supportive figures, (c) confidence versus uncertainty in the supportive figures' ability to help, and (d) holistic versus fragmented support of the young adults' needs. The discussion addresses the unique characteristics of care leavers in emerging adulthood and the implications of their social networks' features for their adjustment after emancipation. One of the study's recommendations is to proactively connect them to new supportive figures such as professionals or mentors by offering them mentoring programs cognizant of the instrumental and developmental tasks of emerging adulthood.     

A SIMPLE SEQUENTIAL WILCOXON TEST

A simple sequential non-parametric test for the two-sample problem is proposed. A method of deriving its O.C. and A.S.N. funtions is given, and their adequacy confirmed by simulation. The test is found to require about 10 percent more observations than an optimal rank test; however it is much easier to apply. The test is found to be relatively robust.     

A conceptual framework for understanding the outsourcing decision

Outsourcing is an increasingly important initiative being pursued by corporations in North America and Europe in pursuit of improved efficiency. This paper provides a conceptual framework to assist managers in identifying and implementing outsourcing decisions. In particular, the framework suggests a way for managers to identify the pre- and post-contractual risks associated with outsourcing decisions along with strategies that can be implemented in the pre-contractual stage in order to mitigate those risks. Empirical findings from the ‘transactions cost' literature are referenced to illustrate elements of our conceptual framework.     

Left behind: How to encourage biological parents' involvement in their children's group homes

This paper addresses the challenges and benefits of involving biological parents in group homes in Israel and presents various means to encourage their involvement in care. Using family systems theories and the concept of co‐parenting, it analyses the fragile and complex relationship caseworkers and foster parents have with biological parents. The paper presents four components that might play a role in encouraging parental involvement to benefit their children's adjustment. The components are demonstrated through case studies and include assessing the family profile; addressing the family's needs within the child's intervention plan; training biological and foster parents; and building co‐parenting between biological and foster parents.     

Parental Investments in College and Later Cash Transfers

Parents often provide generous financial transfers to their adult children, perhaps assisting with college expenses, recognizing major life course events, or cushioning against negative financial shocks. Because resources are limited, a transfer made to one child likely affects transfers made to others in the family. Despite such possibilities, data limitations have led previous authors to focus almost exclusively on a single type of transfer made at a single point in time. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study, we examine the relationships among parental transfers for college and later cash transfers to all children within a family. We find that parents typically spend differentially on the postsecondary schooling of their children but find no evidence that this differential spending is offset by later cash transfers.     

Knowing ‘how to go on’: structuration theory as an analytical prism in studies of intercultural engagement

Accelerated rates of global migration over the past 20 years have seen dramatic increases in demographic, cultural and social diversity in the world's most developed countries. Scholars of migration are faced with the challenge of understanding a society that consists of countless socio-cultural frontiers, along which the contrasting and often conflicting practices and values of diverse populations collide. These circumstances require the development of a theoretical framework that elucidates the practices through which these cultural collisions and conflicts are actualised and addressed, illuminating the day to day challenges of living with difference. This article proposes structuration theory as an insightful analytical prism that can afford new in-depth perspectives into intercultural engagements. By exploring the confluence between structural factors and the actions of individual agents, structuration theory illuminates the choices made by members of migrant groups regarding socio-cultural affiliations, as well as highlighting the strategic processes and behaviours through which these choices are actualised. A discussion of empirical research with Muslim youth in the west of Ireland illustrates the analytical clarity that structuration theory can offer to debates on integration and interculturalism.