This book is built around a single concept--structural lag (the tendency of social structures and norms to lag behind people's rapidly changing lives). Each of the 12 chapters explores implications of that concept in a different domain, and all reflect the authors' shared conviction of its importance, both for social theory and for practical policy. The 12 chapters and their authors are the following: "Structural Lag: Past and Future" (Matilda White Riley, John W. Riley, Jr.); "Opportunities, Aspirations, and Goodness of Fit" (Robert L. Kahn); "Social Structure and Age-Based Careers" (John C. Henretta); "Work and Retirement: A Comparative Perspective" (Martin Kohli); "The Democratization of Unstructured Time in Western Societies: A Historical Overview" (Andrejs Plakans); "Family Change and Historical Change: An Uneasy Relationship" (Tamara K. Hareven); "Women, Work, and Family: A Sociological Perspective on Changing Roles" (Phyllis Moen); "Education and the Economic Transformation of Nineteenth-Century America" (Maris A. Vinovskis); "Old Age and Age Integration: An Anthropological Perspective" (Jennie Keith); "Realizing the Potential: Some Examples" (William McNaught); "Changing Policy Signals" (Richard V. Burkhauser, Joseph F. Quinn); and "Endnote: The Reach of an Idea" (Anne Foner). Contains an author and a subject index. (KC)