Introduction ~ Jeanne Katz, Sheila Peace and Sue Spurr; Contextualising Adulthood: Introduction ~ Jeanne Katz, Sheila Peace and Sue Spurr; Real voice: The Turnip ~ Jean-Dominique Bauby; Section 1: Quality of life and the life course: The lifecourse perspective on ageing: linked lives, timing, and history ~ Vern L. Bengston, H. Glen, J.R. Elder and Norella M. Putney; Imagining old age ~ Rebecca L. Jones; Quality of life ~ David Phillips; Implications for ageing well in the twenty-first century ~ Ann Bowling; Chronic illness as biographical disruption ~ Michael Bury; Aging with a childhood onset disability ~ Tracie C. Harrison and Alexa Stuifbergen; Section 2: Individual ageing and social relationships: Health and mortality ~ Christina Victor; Psychological ageing ~ Alfons Marcoen, Peter G. Coleman and Ann O'Hanlon; Dementia reconsidered: the person comes first ~ Tom Kitwood; The 'Senses Framework': a relationship centred approach to care ~ Mike Nolan and Serena Allan; Disability and adulthood ~ Mark Priestly; A sense of belonging: informal support from family, friends and acquaintances ~ Christine Bigby; Section 3: The environment: from accommodation to community: Environment and ageing ~ Sheila Peace, Hans-Werner Wahl, Heidrun Mollenkop and Frank Oswald; Life course ~ Caroline Holland and Sheila Peace; The role of technologies in the everyday lives of older people ~ Caroline Holland; Accommodating older and disabled prisoners in England and Wales ~ Barbara M. Glover; Community care and support for black and African Caribbean older people ~ Josie Tetley; 'Exclusion is necessary': excluding people from society ~ Daniel Dorling; Real voice: Have I done enough? ~ Ros Coward; Real voice: Going the distance: a family journey after acute stroke ~ Julia; Transforming adulthood: Section 4: Human rights and the life course: Using human rights to defeat ageism ~ Peter Townsend; To empower or to protect: does the law assist in cases of self-neglect? ~ Tim Spencer-Lane; Safeguarding vulnerable adults over the life course ~ Gordon Grant; Section 5: Practice: ways of doing - or not?: Why collaborate? ~ Janet Bardsley; Working in teams: relationships in balance? ~ Geraldine Crewes; 'Tu' or 'Vous'? A European qualitative study of dignity and communication with older people in health and social care settings ~ Gillian Woolhead, Win Tadd, Josep Antoni Boix-Ferrer, Stefan Krajcik, Barbara Schmid-Pfahler, Barbro Spjuth, David Stratton, Paul Dieppe; Assessment: mastering a technical process or exercising an art? ~ Ian Buchanan; Section 6: International dimensions: Globalization and health and social welfare: some key issues ~ Sandy Sieminski; Falling through the cracks in social welfare: invisible adult migrants in the UK ~ Geraldine Lee-Treweek; Decentring social policy? Devolution and the discipline of social policy ~ Charlotte Williams and Gerry Mooney; The intellectual origins of social capital ~ Andrew Gibson; Social services for the aged in Cuba ~ Elizabeth M. Bertera; Perceptions of ageism: views of older people ~ Victor Minichiello, Jan Browne and Hal Kendig; Mental health and mental disorder in a global context ~ David Pilgrim; Real voice: The best it can be ~ Charis Uden; Real voice: Keep the change ~ David Uden; Understanding Adulthood: Section 7: Ethical considerations: The ethics triad: virtues, values and codes of practice ~ George Giarchi; Lying, cheating, breaking promises, and stealing ~ Jacques Thiroux; The individual in social care: the ethics of care and the 'personalisation agenda' in services for older people in England ~ Liz Lloyd; A little bit of heaven for a few? A case analysis ~ Ann Gallagher and Nigel Sykes; Section 8: The Complexity of Real Lives: Mixing methods in a qualitatively driven way ~ Jennifer Mason; Researching social change ~ Julie McLeod and Rachel Thomson; Critically appraising qualitative research ~ Ayelet Kuper, Lorelei Lingard and Wendy Levinson; Learning about bisexuality : a case study approach ~ Rebecca L. Jones; Identifying and predicting drug-related harm with applied qualitative research ~ Stephen Parkin; Experiences of drug use and ageing: Health, quality of life, relationship and service implications ~ Brenda Roe, Caryl Beynon, Ludy Pickering and Paul Duffy; Critical reflections on the rise of qualitative research ~ Catherine Pope and Nicholas Mays; Real voice: Keeper ~ Andrea Gillies.