Trousson, Raymond / Vercruysse, Jeroom (dir.), Dictionnaire general de Voltaire. (Champion classiques, references et dictionnaires 18) 1272 p. 2020:10 (Champion, FR) <670-9>
ISBN 978-2-38096-016-7 paper ¥7,064.- (税込) EUR 38.00

Chen, Sheying / Wei, Leidong (eds.), Interdisciplinary Research on Healthcare and Social Service: Chinese and Cross-Cultural Perspectives. (International Perspectives on Social Policy, Administration, and Practice) 234 pp. 2024:9 (Springer, GW) <734-319>
ISBN 978-3-031-69601-5 hard ¥37,660.- (税込) EUR 159.99

Research on healthcare and social service including professional social work is inherently an international subject. Each nation has a story of coping with the recent pandemic in the context of its political economy and cultural-historical settings. A study of various (especially non-Western) cases is essential to an adequate understanding of the undertaking. China is undoubtedly an important case with one of the largest populations on earth. It's unique in view of so-called Chinese characteristics/style/model, sometimes fundamentally different from Western societies. Any lessons learned from the Chinese experiences would help with a better understanding of healthcare and social welfare provisions on a global scale. The book is written by a scholarly team who are experts in healthcare, social work, and related fields. Its primary audiences are scholars and students in Health/Mental Health, Social Work/Welfare/Services, Public/Social Policy, Philanthropy and Nonprofit Organizations, International/Cross-Cultural Studies, and Chinese/China research.

Lutz, Helma, The Backstage of the Care Economy: Transnational Perspectives on the Commercialization of Care. 240 pp. 2025:5 (Pluto Pr., UK) <734-320>
ISBN 978-0-7453-4536-9 paper ¥7,119.- (税込) GB￡ 24.99

What is it like to care for another family, while yours remains in a different country? In today's capitalist society, migrant women performing care work in private households experience the painful tension of caring for both, often under precarious conditions. Characterised as the 'backstage' family, the carer's remote relationship with their loved ones at home is often purely digital, with the double dilemmas of migrant motherhood and stay-behind fathers - exposing the pitfalls of transnational employment relations and the growth of social inequality. Here, Helma Lutz explores the debates around this issue, focusing on carers from Eastern Europe working in the West. She unpacks questions around feminist critiques of capitalism and the commodification of emotional labour, exploring how gender justice and the search for socialist feminist utopias can shape how we see a future - not only for the improvement of the carers' working and living conditions but also for a new way of dealing with care work.

Selin, Helaine / Davey, Gareth (eds.), Happiness Across Cultures: Views of Happiness and Quality of Life in Non-Western Cultures. 2nd ed. (Science Across Cultures: The History of Non-Western Science 6) 391 pp. 2024:12 (Springer, GW) <734-321>
ISBN 978-94-024-2257-3 hard ¥40,014.- (税込) EUR 169.99

This second edition of Happiness Across Cultures contains 8 brand new chapters on previously uncovered topics, such as Covid19, refugees, and violence. Different cultures experience happiness differently. Traditionally, the West is considered materialistic, and happiness is said to come from achievement and acquisition. The East is said to be more people-oriented, where happiness is a result of deep personal interactions. Thus, poor people can be happier in the East than the West, because they are not so concerned with possession and more with society. This new edition considers happiness and quality of life in non-Western countries and cultures. Its coverage is now more diverse and spans the breadth of the non-Western world, revealing unique perspectives of happiness and life quality embedded in rich cultural traditions and histories.

社会政策－自由、平等、正義の探求
Timonen, Virpi, Social Policy: The Quest for Freedom, Equality and Justice. 222 pp. 2024:12 (Polity Pr., UK) <734-322>
ISBN 978-1-5095-6603-7 hard ¥14,003.- (税込) US$ 64.95
ISBN 978-1-5095-6604-4 paper ¥4,947.- (税込) US$ 22.95

Concepts like freedom, equality and justice have many uses - and even more misuses. In seeking to manage an increasingly complex world, it is more important than ever to think carefully about the meaning of such concepts which are central to policy debates and integral to implementing effective social policy around the world. This concise and readable book is a guide to those essential social policy concepts. In addition to freedom, equality and justice, the book covers concepts like social risks and rights that are critical for understanding welfare states, and examines social policies through the lenses of power, recognition and investment. It also reflects on the role of social policy in addressing the biggest challenges that humanity faces in the twenty-first century, including the megatrends of inequality and climate change. Drawing on key works and examples from diverse contexts, this book will be of interest to undergraduate and postgraduate students of social policy, sociology, social work and other social sciences, as well as researchers, policymakers, practitioners and activists looking for an accessible introduction to the heart of social policy.

デジタル経済における不平等－ベーシックインカム擁護論
White, Andrew, Inequality in the Digital Economy: The Case for a Universal Basic Income. (Palgrave Studies in Digital Inequalities) 165 pp. 2024:12 (Palgrave Macmillan, UK) <734-323>
ISBN 978-3-031-69717-3 hard ¥30,598.- (税込) EUR 129.99

This book will make the case for the introduction of a universal basic income (UBI). The structural logic of the digital economy as presently constituted widens inequality and, through its use of automation for increasingly complex, as well as mundane, tasks, threatens jobs. The book will investigate the extent of this disruption to traditional labour markets and of individual livelihoods, and argue that alternative means of supporting people financially, like UBI, can mitigate the digital economy's most baleful impacts. The book will also highlight the positive social and environmental benefits that would accrue from the introduction of UBI, as unconditional financial support would reduce workers' anxiety in insecure labour markets, and the expending of valuable resources would be lessened if energy consumption was determined by society's needs rather than by the requirements of labour markets tasked primarily with maximising employment. An explanation as to why arguments against its introduction on the grounds of cost and its supposed encouraging of idleness, are, while superficially compelling, ultimately without foundation, will form the centrepiece of the concluding political argument for UBI.