Household financial fragility has received considerable attention following the global financial crisis, but substantial gaps remain in the analytical underpinnings of household financial vulnerability assessment, as well as in data availability. This paper aims at integrating the contributions in the literature in a coherent fashion. The study proposes also analytical and estimation extensions aimed at improving the quality of estimates and allowing the assessment of household financial vulnerability in presence of data limitations. The result of this effort is a comprehensive framework, that has wide applicability to both advanced and developing economies. For illustrative purposes the paper includes a detailed application to one developing country (Namibia).

The Namibian constitution makes full provision for education as a fundamental human right and freedom. Three years into independence, as part of the government’s educational policy, the ‘Education for All Policy’ was launched as a stepping stone to free quality education. However, inequities have become widely pronounced within the Namibian educational system. Democracy and Education in Namibia and beyond debates the education–democracy nexus in Namibia and the southern African context. It defines and explores the meaning of democracy and related concepts. It also looks at what democracy means in the context of human rights and access to education. The ten chapters in this collection interrogate the strengths and limitations of education as an instrument of social change and question whether or not the Namibian educational objectives and practices do develop and help to sustain a democratic culture in Namibia. The authors in the collection have drawn material from their own teaching and research experience across the fields of education and social science in Namibia and beyond, and present their findings in a pedagogical framework suitable as a challenging text for tertiary students. At a time when education is in crisis, especially in South Africa where strident calls for free tertiary education and Africanisation of the curriculum are spreading like wildfire, this book gives scholarly insight into the history and social conditions that gave rise to our current predicament.

This important book builds on recent publications in lifelong learning which focus on learning and education in later life. This work breaks new ground in international understandings of what constitutes later life learning across diverse cultures in manifold countries or regions across the world. Containing 42 separate country/regional analyses of later life learning, the overall significance resides in insiders’ conceptualisations and critique of this emerging sub-field of lifelong learning and adult education. International perspectives on older adult education provides new appreciation of what is happening in countries from Europe (14), Africa (10), the Americas (7), Asia (9) and Australasia (2), as authored by adult educators and/or social gerontologists in respective geographical areas. These analyses are contextualised by a thorough introduction and critical appraisal where trends and fresh insights are revealed. The outcome of this book is a never-before available critique of what it means to be an older learner in specific nations, and the accompanying opportunities and barriers for learning and education. The sub-title of research, policy and practice conveys the territory that authors traverse in which rhetoric and reality are interrogated. Coverage in chapters includes conceptual analysis, historical patterns of provision, policy developments, theoretical perspectives, research studies, challenges faced by countries and “success stories” of later life learning. The resultant effect is a vivid portrayal of a vast array of learning that occurs in later life across the globe. Brian Findsen is Professor of Education and Postgraduate Leader for Te Whiringa School of Educational Leadership and Policy, Faculty of Education, University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. Marvin Formosa is Head of the Department of Gerontology, Faculty for Social Wellbeing, University of Malta, and Director of the International Institute on Ageing (United Nations - Malta).

Juvenile justice has been and remains a topical issue at national and international levels. There are various standards and guidelines for administration, but six major models characterize juvenile justice systems worldwide: participatory, welfare, corporatism, modified justice, justice, and crime control. Juvenile Justice: International Perspectives, Models, and Trends presents contributions by authors from different countries in all five continents employing these six models. The book begins with a comprehensive overview of the topic and the various international standards and guidelines designed to inform juvenile justice practices. This introduction is followed by chapters on individual countries covered independently by resident experts, allowing readers to appreciate a range of comparisons and to critically reflect on the relative merits of the different models. Topics presented in each chapter include: The country’s history of juvenile justice The nature and status of delinquency Current legislation on juvenile justice How well the legislation complies with the Standard Minimum Rules of the Administration of Juvenile Justice as defined by the United Nations The type of juvenile justice model followed Age limits for male and female juvenile offenders Legal and social issues confronting juvenile offenders Current theoretical biases used to explain and justify response to delinquency Future issues, challenges, and/or initiatives Text boxes supply current and relevant examples to contextualize key issues and themes. Each chapter features discussion questions and helpful web links to facilitate further research. Presented in an unbiased manner, the book is a consolidated yet comprehensive overview of juvenile justice models and practices worldwide. It enables readers to compare the relative strengths and weaknesses of different juvenile justice models/systems and to evaluate all countries in light of the larger international phenomena of delinquency.