Böcker av Graham Allan

Providing an overview of the social network literature with a particular focus on the USA and Britain, this volume reviews the range of social issues and concerns associated with the social network perspective.

Designed for undergraduate courses, this book looks at the sociology of community in contemporary Britain. The book surveys the growing literature on the nature of local social relationships, drawing on a range of empirical and theoretical work.

A timely graduate level text in an active field covering functional analysis, with an emphasis on Banach algebras.

There is no shortage of political and moral commentary on family life. Frequently the underlying theme of these commentaries is the decline of contemporary family commitment, particularly when older people's family experiences are the focus. Family Practices in Later Life challenges many common stereotypes about the nature of family involvement as people age. The book explores diversity and change in the family relationships older people maintain, looking at how family relationships are constructed and organised in later life. It recognises that the emerging patterns are a consequence of the choices and decisions negotiated within family networks, emphasising older people's agency in the construction of their family practices. In exploring such themes as long-term marriage, sibling ties in later life and grandparenthood, the book highlights the continued significance of family connection and solidarity in later life, while recognizing that family relationships are inevitably modified over time as people's social and material circumstances alter. Family Practices in Later Life will be of interest to students, researchers and academics in the fields of social policy, family studies and social gerontology. It provides a valuable contribution to the developing field of critical social gerontology as well as to an understanding of family process.

Patterns of household and family life are changing radically leading sociologists to develop new conceptualizations and understandings of the relationships involved. This book examines the character of these changes, exploring the growing diversity there is in people's domestic circumstances.