Growing up as an Indian American immigrant in white Southern culture, Prasanta Verma unpacks the exhausting effects of cultural isolation and marginalization as well as the longing to belong and the hope of finding safe friendships in community. Our places of exile can become places of belonging–to ourselves, to others, and to God.
Social isolation and loneliness are serious yet underappreciated public health risks that affect a significant portion of the older adult population. Approximately one-quarter of community-dwelling Americans aged 65 and older are considered to be socially isolated, and a significant proportion of adults in the United States report feeling lonely. People who are 50 years of age or older are more likely to experience many of the risk factors that can cause or exacerbate social isolation or loneliness, such as living alone, the loss of family or friends, chronic illness, and sensory impairments. Over a life course, social isolation and loneliness may be episodic or chronic, depending upon an individual's circumstances and perceptions. A substantial body of evidence demonstrates that social isolation presents a major risk for premature mortality, comparable to other risk factors such as high blood pressure, smoking, or obesity. As older adults are particularly high-volume and high-frequency users of the health care system, there is an opportunity for health care professionals to identify, prevent, and mitigate the adverse health impacts of social isolation and loneliness in older adults. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults summarizes the evidence base and explores how social isolation and loneliness affect health and quality of life in adults aged 50 and older, particularly among low income, underserved, and vulnerable populations. This report makes recommendations specifically for clinical settings of health care to identify those who suffer the resultant negative health impacts of social isolation and loneliness and target interventions to improve their social conditions. Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults considers clinical tools and methodologies, better education and training for the health care workforce, and dissemination and implementation that will be important for translating research into practice, especially as the evidence base for effective interventions continues to flourish.
In recent years its medical implications have brought loneliness to the centre of attention of mass media, government agents, and the general public. However, as this volume demonstrates, loneliness is not merely a psychological, individual, or health issue. In multiple ways, it is a serious social problem as well. Yang urges fellow researchers and scientists to broaden the existing definition and classification of loneliness, to measure loneliness with greater accuracy, and to establish more specifically the connection between loneliness and particular illness. Drawing on vast sources of data including literary works, case studies, and large-scale sample surveys covering a broad spectrum of countries (Europe and beyond), the empirical research of this study produces and presents simple but effective evidence for the social nature and variations of loneliness. Examining loneliness at higher levels, including ethnic groups, classes, national cultures, and societies, Loneliness will appeal to students and researchers interested in areas such as sociology, pyschology, and mental health.
You are not alone. Larry Yeagley takes you beyond the pat answers and clichés so often offered to the lonely and provides real ways to build a meaningful life and satisfying relationships. You will learn how to use your loneliness as a tool to create positive new experiences and exciting personal growth. "How to Get Beyond Loneliness" will help you: Understand the Causes of Loneliness; Find Solutions and Put Them Into Action; Break Alienation with God, Self, and Others; Learn to Enjoy Creative Solitude; Bridge Expectations and Reality; Lessen Loneliness in Adolescents and the Elderly; Combat Loneliness in Marriage and Divorce; Follow Jesus' Example for Dealing with Loneliness.
We have struggled to effectively address racial tension in the United States. While colorblindness ignores our history of injustice, antiracism efforts have often alienated people who need to be involved. In his model of collaborative conversation and mutual accountability, sociologist George Yancey offers an alternative to racial alienation where all seek the common good for all to thrive.
The Black Student’s Pathway to Graduate Study and Beyond: The Making of a Scholar is an informative and ambitious book designed to help Black prospective and current graduate students pursue graduate degrees successfully. The book covers broad topics ranging from admissions policies, standardized tests, networking, mentorship, financial options, qualifying and comprehensive exams, proposal and dissertation writing, publishing, gender and race, socialization, and campus culture. This volume is organized into five graduate pathways: Pathway I: Embarking on the Graduate Admissions Process; Pathway II: Confronting Race and Gender Disparities in Graduate Education; Pathway III: Persevering to the Graduate Degree; Pathway IV: Adjusting to the Socialization of Graduate Education; and Pathway V: Preparing for Success Beyond Graduate Education. The book calls Black students’ attention to some of the barriers they may encounter along the pathway to a graduate degree. The pathway to success can be linear or nonlinear since students travel different journeys and are at different vectors on the continuum. The primary audience for this book consists of Black prospective and current graduate students, graduate deans, admissions counselors, recruiters, and faculty advisors in both black and white higher education institutions. The secondary audience includes high school students, guidance counselors, and social and religious organizations. Furthermore, this book can serve as a handy resource for undergraduates who are interested in pursuing a graduate degree. ENDORSEMENTS: "This book will be helpful not only for students seeking a meaningful experience in graduate and professional school, but perhaps more importantly, institutions that desire to create productive pathways for Black students to the advanced-degree workplace. The chapters unpack important lived experiences that should be carefully considered." — Jerlando F. L. Jackson, University of Wisconsin-Madison "The Black Student’s Pathway to Graduate Study and Beyond: The Making of a Scholar makes key contributions to the extant literature. By underscoring Black graduate students’ engagements with Academe, the scholars provide nuanced perspective through an array of contextual lenses (e. g. admissions; race and gender; socialization; transition) that are endemic to higher education in general, and the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) setting in particular. Critical Race Theory is the theoretical framework that provides scaffolding upon which the volume’s scholars theorize best practices, strategies, and solutions that are authentic representations of their experiences. The pathway is an appropriate metaphor for this book—the scholars have provided illumination; it is incumbent upon us to initiate the journey." — Fred A. Bonner II, Prairie View A&M University
In 1977, when Kerry Max Cook was just 21 years old, he was tried, convictednd sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a young woman he had metasually at a pool a few days before her death. He spent 22 years in prison,ost of that time on death row. "Chasing Justice" is nothing less than a rawondemnation of the American criminal justice system and capital punishmenty a person who has experienced the worst effects of its corruption. It isure to spark debate on this controversial topic and garner enormous mediattention. This is also a story of triumph over adversity and a survival tale:lmost 1,000 people were executed in the time Cook spent on death row.
Cultural identity matters—to us and to Jesus. Culture is all around us. Nothing we think, do, or say exists outside of it. But the story of God is clear: We are all made in God’s good image, and God’s people are meant to be a diverse community. Looking to the example of Jesus, author J. W. Buck offers practical insights into how cultural identity fits into our walk as Christians. No matter where we come from and no matter how complex our cultural narratives, the Scriptures point to the One who embodied a particular identity—of a Jewish man in first-century Palestine—in order to shape our own. Jesus teaches those formed by majority culture to humbly embrace their identity as they foster space for others. And he empowers those from minority cultures to resist pressure to assimilate in unhealthy ways and instead live into their God-given identity. God dignifies our culture and wants us to shape it to look more like Jesus. We are meant to be like Jesus in our home culture, in our heart language, and throughout our collective journey to understand how our diversity points us to a better expression of God’s good image.