In this absorbing collection Eric Miller draws on the experience of three decades as organizational consultant to various sorts of institutions, employing approaches drawn from psychoanalysis, systems theory and the group relations movement. He has worked and is esteemed throughout the world. Since all his work has been conducted in the midst of ongoing and temporary institutions, it is all 'action research'. Among the sites analysed in these papers are an airline; hospitals for incurables, the elderly, the mentally ill; a diocese; a prison; a diplomatic mission; manufacturing companies and rural sites. Throughout his case studies he addresses issues of dependence, independence and counterdependence. In all of the settings his aim has been to help people to gain greater influence over their environments. In the concluding chapters he lifts his eyes from small groups and society in microcosm to address society as an intelligible field of study. Throughout the book he focuses constantly on values and concepts in action.

What are the effects of employment on women’s well-being and social position in a Third World city? Until recently before publication, Calcutta (now Kolkata) had been notable for having one of the lowest rates of female employment in India. This had been largely determined by strong cultural beliefs that a woman’s place is in the home. However, in recent years, the growth of ‘female’ jobs in the small-scale industry and service sectors, combined with an increase in male unemployment had resulted in a sudden increase in the numbers of women entering the labour force. Originally published in 1991 and based on Hilary Standing’s extensive fieldwork within Bengali households, Dependence and Autonomy considers the effects of women’s employment on the labour market, the household, and the women themselves. Particular attention is paid to the role of the life cycle and of class position in determining the impact of employment, and the work is set within a historical perspective on gender and employment in Bengali society. This book is a re-issue originally published in 1991. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

An exposé of flaws in American policies regarding the self-reliance of families argues that policymakers have compromised the well-being of everyday individuals by limiting the definition of acceptable family units and placing unrealistic responsibilities on contemporary families, presenting a model for "caretaking relationships" that provides extra support for children and the elderly. Reprint.

This book is an example of an international editorial enterprise. The two editors, located in the United States and Singapore, coordinated a team of authors in ten countries. Linked by common concerns, the lengthy process of preparing such a complex volume proved to be a pleasantly cooperative task - proof that there is a kind of invisible college of colleagues working on similar topics in different countries. This book is also an indication that scholars from the Third World and the industrialized nations can work together in a spirit of equality and understanding. This project has an interesting origin. It was first discussed at a conference on ASEAN - American higher education held in Malaysia in 1985, sponsored by the Regional Institute for Higher Education and Development, then headed by V. Selvaratnam and funded by the Asia Foundation and the Lee Foundation. At the time, geographical coverage was to be limited to the ASEAN nations. We also sought external funding, without success, to assist us in developing the project. Due to lack of funding, the project languished for a year. When one of our original participants, Andrew Gonzales of the Philippines, produced an essay, we decided to proceed without funding. We also decided to add several additional key Asian nations that we felt would provide additional analytic scope to the book. The result of this somewhat unusual collaborative effort is this volume.

The final volume in this significant series, this publication mirrors the broad scientific attention given to ideas and issues associated with the life-span perspective: constancy and change in human development; opportunities for and constraints on plasticity in structure and function across life; the potential for intervention across the entire life course (and thus for the creation of an applied developmental science); individual differences (diversity) in life paths, in contexts (or the ecology) of human development, and in changing relations between people and contexts; interconnections and discontinuities across age levels and developmental periods; and the importance of integrating biological, psychological, social, cultural, and historical levels of organization in order to understand human development.

Respecting the autonomy of disabled people is an important ethical issue for providers of long-term care. In this influential book, George Agich abandons comfortable abstractions to reveal the concrete threats to personal autonomy in this setting, where ethical conflict, dilemma and tragedy are inescapable. He argues that liberal accounts of autonomy and individual rights are insufficient, and offers an account of autonomy that matches the realities of long-term care. The book therefore offers a framework for carers to develop an ethic of long-term care within the complex environment in which many dependent and aged people find themselves. Previously published as Autonomy and Long-term Care, this revised edition, in paperback for the first time, takes account of recent work and develops the author's views of what autonomy means in the real world. It will have wide appeal among bioethicists and health care professionals.

The Sourcebook gives special attention to the complexity of the social support construct, expanding the field's theoretical base by reappraising social support research in the context of findings from other fields of psychology & related disciplines.

Asking for help does not mean we are helpless. This is one of the main principles of what the authors call ''connection-based thinking'' - the most important Healthy Dependency skill, which will help us better to meet life's challenges. In this groundbreaking book, the authors clearly lay out the priniciples and hte four-step action program they developed to help us grow stronger by reaching out to others. They write that it's time to move beyond society's not-so-subtle message that depending on people is wrong - that ''mature'' adults somehow manage everything on their own in a complex, challenging world. Their more than twenty years of research and study prove that too much dependency in our relationships - whether with family, friends, lovers, or co-workers - can be a bad thing, but too little dependency is just as bad. To achieve a balance and better define this flexible middle ground between rigid independence and unhealthy overdependence, Dr. Bornstein coined the phrase ''Healthy Dependency'' and, with his colleague and wife, has written the definitive book on the subject. Laced with case studies, anecdotes, and questionnaires, Healthy Dependency gives us the skill-building tools to help us change the way we think about ourselves and others. Among the benefits are increased satisfaction in love relationships, greater likelihood of academic and career success, better family communication, improved parenting skills, and enhanced physical and psychological health.