1st Edition

Lives in Time and Place The Problems and Promises of Developmental Science

By R. A. Settersten Copyright 1999
    328 Pages
    by Routledge

    328 Pages
    by Routledge

    Time and place are of the greatest significance for scientific inquiry about human lives. As we seek to better understand the nature and rhythm of the life course in modern societies, its effective analysis and explanation simultaneously becomes more pressing and more complicated. This information is crucial for developing and reforming social policies, services, and interventions aimed at improving human development and welfare. Yet as our scientific treatments have become more elaborate, they have also become more fragmented within and between academic disciplines, across the study of specific life periods, and by method.


    Introduction
    Lives in Time and Place. Describes the aims of the volume and outlines each chapter.

    Chapter One
    The Study of Lives: Emerging Propositions and Controversies. Discusses propositions related to the study of lives from the standpoints of different disciplines, and explicates debates about the nature and rhythm of  the life course in modern societies.

    Chapter Two
    Challenges Posed by Age and Age Structuring. Explores the meanings of age for individuals, groups, and societies, and the  uses and measurement of age in developmental theory and research.
     
    Chapter Three
    Challenges Posed by Generation and Cohort. Discusses the significance of the concepts of generation and cohort, and strategies for handling them, in developmental scholarship.

    Chapter Four
    Challenges to Understanding Lives the Long Way. Introduces central concepts and parameters for describing the life course, and discusses the theoretical and methodological challenges associated with analyzing lives in and through time.

    Chapter Five
    Challenges Posed by Place and Other Issues. Addresses the significance of social contexts in shaping lives, and how social contexts might be better incorporated into developmental scholarship. Also introduces other important strategies for analyzing lives.

    Chapter Six
    An Agenda for Developmental Science. Highlights the most pressing challenges that must be confronted to usher in an exciting new era of theory and research on human development.

    References

    Index
    Name Index, Subject Index 

     

    Biography

    R. A. Settersten