Jamie Halsall

University of Huddersfield · Department of Behavioural and Social Sciences

The global financial crisis of 2008 has caused much dialogue within the social policy framework on how to maintain a sustainable elderly health-care system. This coupled with a migrant crisis have created extra social and economic pressures in Europe in particularly. As it has been well documented by social scientists, people are living longer than...

This paper presents a literature review of clinical governance and its impact upon dental health care in the UK. Whilst the value of clinical governance is recognised, the findings illustrate that the concept of clinical governance remains challenging to dental care practitioners, illustrated by lack of knowledge and confidence in its application a...

One of the central themes in the study of population growth has been ageing. Ageing in the world's population has grown into a dominant demographic feature in twenty-first century society. An ageing population is the result of many contributing factors including the improvement of the health care system. The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in r...

The aim of this chapter is to explore the contribution that the voluntary sector makes within society, but more importantly, how the voluntary sector plays a crucial role in the higher education sector today. The chapter is comprised of three parts. The first part will provide a theoretical discussion on the voluntary and community sector organisat...

The aim of the introductory chapter is to set the scene of this volume. This chapter is divided into three parts. The first part of this chapter critically explores the changing discipline of social sciences, within the university sector. Then the chapter moves on to discuss the teaching and learning strategies in higher education. The final sectio...

Recently, within the higher education system in the United Kingdom, there has been close examination of the way institutions teach and assess students. This scrutiny has been intensified by central government with the proposed introduction of the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The anticipated TEF demands that higher education institutions eva...

Over recent years the higher education sector has been encouraged to find different, effective and flexible ways of teaching. This enthusiasm is apparent more than ever before, as the current British Conservative government have produced a white paper on the Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF). The Teaching Excellence Framework intends to measure a...

Fiona Ellwood et al, 2016 explore dental care professionals' (DCPs') awareness of mentorship and clinical governance as part of a local professional development programme

The paper aims to examine the concept of volunteerism in three different case countries namely that of USA, UK and China while highlighting the role of the state, society and social capital. The paper reviews the extant literature on the volunteering traditions in the chosen case study countries highlighting the idiosyncrasies while analysing impli...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the concept of volunteerism in three different case countries, namely, that of USA, UK and China while highlighting the role of the state, society and social capital. Design/methodology/approach – The paper reviews the extant literature on the volunteering traditions in the chosen case study coun...

As noted in the introduction, Japan is one of the wealthiest countries in our sample; it is also demographically one with the oldest inhabitants, a country where ‘super aging’ is found. The combination of wealth, notwithstanding the fact that some Japanese are poor, plus high levels of aging, produces a fascinating mix of issues.

Arguably, South Africa was, until relatively recently, home to the most unsociable society on earth, dominated by a racist apartheid system that actively discriminated against non-White people and used corruption and extreme violence to suppress Black people in particular. But even then, when apartheid was at its height, sociability could still be...

In these early years of the twenty-first century, it can often seem that across the globe we are living in a world of crisis. When we began this book, there were bombings at the end of the Boston Marathon of 2013, an army coup in Egypt that overthrew the first democratically elected government, an armed conflict in Syria, the President of North Kor...

The Netherlands (also commonly referred to as Holland or, along with Belgium and Luxembourg, as the Low Countries because much of their territory is below sea level) is one of the most prosperous countries in the world and according to a quality of life survey in 2011 also the happiest. Arguably, this happiness is a reflection of liberal views on s...

The research for this book has taken the authors on a revealing, analytical journey, examining community engagement in eight countries, paying particular reference to their application to public health. This concluding chapter seeks first to draw together the common threads of each case study, then the weaknesses and strengths of community interven...

When considering India, with regard to the study of sociability and related concepts, the influential and inspirational example of M. K. Gandhi—who became better known as ‘Mahatma’ Gandhi, meaning ‘great soul’ comes to mind. Gandhi spent some of his working life in South Africa and will also therefore be briefly discussed in Chap. 5 . However it wa...

The economic and social situation in China makes a fascinating contrast to most of the other countries discussed in this book. Table 4.1 sets out the key economic and social position in China. The country has been well researched in terms of economic rise and urbanisation.

Writing at the end of the 1980s, at a time of Thatcherite dominance of state policy in the UK and Reaganite dominance in the USA, Professor David Smith (Social problems and the city: new perspectives, 2nd ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, p. 391, 1989) noted that: “While the emphasis in this book is on the British experience, it should be noted...

The voluntary sector, or the 'third sector,' as it is frequently known in social policy circles has been at the centre of social action in the UK for many years. When the New Labour Government came into power back in 1997 the third sector had become more visible and the government of the day had great expectations of the positive impact that the th...

Institutions, at state and local level, have been perceived as a mechanism of supporting the vulnerable within society. The processes of globalisation within an economic, political and social context have played a fundamental role in institutions. The 'State' that administers institutions has experienced involvement and adjustment by central govern...

In 1971, Bangladesh came into being as a state. This was when the independence movement of the Awami League, led by Sheik Mujibur (Mujib) Rahman, was backed by Indian military forces against the invading forces of West Pakistan. These combined forces sought to ensure that the country remained East Pakistan, as it had been since the partition of the...

Befitting the UK’s status as an advanced capitalist society notwithstanding the current problems of national debt and cost-cutting of public services in particular, there are a wide range of local, regional, and national initiatives from agencies that are rooted in altruistic beliefs.

This book provides a critical understanding of contemporary issues within global society and how these relate to six case study examples (UK, USA, China, India, South Africa, Bangladesh, and Japan). The authors draw on their diverse experience to explore four major themes of contemporary relevance: overall aging of societies; governance and institu...

There is considerable evidence to suggest that racial and ethnic disparities exist in the provision of emergency and wider healthcare. The importance of collecting patient ethnic data has received attention in literature across the world and eliminating ethnic and racial health equalities is one of the primary aims of healthcare providers internati...

At the time of writing, the UK is in a "double-dip" recession with the economy flatlining. The Government is set for a new round of benefit cuts. The cuts introduced to the public sector when the coalition government came to power in May 2010 are already beginning to bite. This "age of austerity" and general gloom was lifted briefly in summer 2012...

The aim of this paper is to examine how the University of Huddersfield embraced the ethos of community cohesion and made moves into a problematic community. Drawing on qualitative research conducted in Oldham in Greater Manchester the paper presents insights into how higher education is viewed in the area. The research reveals that higher education...

In this paper, firstly we briefly outline the historical legacies of inner-city housing that are the focus for redevelopment today, and then summarise the legacy of mass housing built by the work-unit or danwei in the Maoist era. The bulk of the paper, however, is then concerned with the switch to privatisation (via 'market socialism with Chinese c...

China is undergoing a rapid transformation from a rural, peasant based society into an urban one. This radical change has had a profound effect on the Chinese population due to advancement through job opportunities and new modes of consumption, contributing to a huge spatial shift of population from countryside to city. This effect on China’s urban...

In 2001, civil disturbances took place in Bradford, Burnley and Oldham. After these events community cohesion was introduced and this concept has recently become progressively at the forefront in public policy debates. The term was effectively developed as a direct response to the civil disturbances in 2001 as Oldham, Burnley and the City of Bradfo...

The aim of this paper is to critically explore the complex debates on the contemporary growth of China’s urban economies. It has been well documented that China is the second largest economy in the world and is seen to be a major player in the financial markets. Over the last decade China has experienced a dramatic urban transformation and globaliz...

As we have noted in the Introduction, China has come rather late to the global aging table, not featuring until relatively recently in terms of percentage population aging. However, and as befits the world’s largest country in terms of population, the absolute number of older people in China is higher than for other countries. Further, the speed of...

Sweden is a small country of less than ten million, but one that has a relatively high international profile, being generally viewed, we suggest, as a prosperous and progressive nation, a perception that is based on its liberal views, neutrality, an advanced welfare system and a strong economy that has led to a high standard of living. According to...

Much of this book is concerned with countries which have had aging as a feature of their demographic profile for some years. Nepal, however, is one of the exceptions to this, not least because it is one of the poorest countries in the world; hence, aging has been the exception rather than the rule, until very recently. This chapter will draw heavil...

The multi-faceted problems that an increasingly aging population is presenting, at a global level, are the theme throughout this book. The justification for selecting certain countries as the focus of the research was influenced by contemporary social and economic indicators that are associated with the problem occurring at a significant time in th...

As we have shown in the Introduction, ageing in the United States is not merely a reflection of the country’s high level of economic development, because longevity gains in some ethnic groups are offset by continued poverty in other sectors of the population, and high fertility levels among specific immigrant groups, such as Hispanics. Due to these...

All the countries in our sample have witnessed great changes in the last century or so. Arguably, however, the changes in South Africa have been the greatest of all. The country witnessed the full force of a horrific apartheid regime and the armed struggle to overthrow it. That this has been done successfully is in large part testimony to the examp...

It is now well known that population aging will be a major feature of human societies across the globe in the twenty-first century. Over the recent decade, there has been much academic discussion on the rapid increase in population aging (Biggs & Powell, 2001; Pain & Hopkins, 2010; Powell & Owen, 2005; Sanderson & Scherbov, 2007; Tosun, 2003; Wacke...

Japan has become one of the wealthiest societies in the world, and also (by 2005) the oldest. Imagine the contrasts you have seen if you are now in your eighties in this country: in your childhood you saw the rise of Japanese militarism, entry into World War Two via the attack on the US at Pearl Harbor, and the shock of eventual defeat precipitated...

If you were born in the UK in 1930 then you have seen many changes in your lifetime. Perhaps you were born in inner London, and you have some vague childhood memories of your parents’ struggle against Mosley’s blackshirts in the East End. You certainly remember the bigger struggle against fascism in World War II; you were evacuated to the country a...

This book examines the key aging processes in seven countries (United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, China, Nepal, and South Africa) and the main policies that have been, and are being, developed to deal with this rapid change in the demographic profile. It addresses the problems that are identified as well as the positive aspects of aging...

Since 1997 there has been a shift in how local government is run. Today central government directs more power to local government. Community governance is the key policy driver in helping people and organizations to become more effective at improving communities. These new powers have given local authorities greater involvement in decision making f...

One of the great human success stories in the last few decades has been the marked increase in longevity in many, albeit not all, societies across the globe. Lifespans reaching into the 80s, 90s and 100s are becoming increasingly common, and forecasters predict even greater proportionate gains to come during the course of the 21st century. This art...

The principal aim of this argument is to analyze the swift expansion in the proportion of older people across the globe, and to highlight the main social and economic forces causing this through methodological challenges especially through the lens of qualitative methodology. We recognize the enormity of the task. Drawing from a range of qualitativ...

Since the millennium the world has experienced new priorities and challenges. These occurrences have been the influencing factors that have brought about the complex process of globalisation. Social issues, culture, politics and economics appear to be transforming communities around the world. The XXIInd UIA World Congress of Architecture conferenc...