This innovative book provides a new conceptual analysis of loneliness - a condition associated with severe health consequences, including increased morbidity and early death. Arguing that social connection is not the only answer, it explores pathways for transforming loneliness to healthy solitude. The first part of the book draws on the humanities and arts, including psychology, philosophy, and literature to analyse the common, and potentially serious, problem of loneliness. It makes the case that the condition is less a deficiency than a state of self-disconnection that modernity feeds through social forces. The second part of the book looks at how person-centred health care can help educate persons to transform loneliness into healthy solitude. It provides an analysis of self-connection and spiritual connection, discussing how these forms of contact can mitigate risks associated with both lack of social connection, and social connection itself, such as self-disconnection and rejection by others. It goes on to demonstrate that connection to the self and spirit can make aloneness a resource and facilitate access to benefits of connecting with others. This thought-provoking book provides students, scholars, and practitioners from a range of health and social care backgrounds with a new way of thinking about, researching, and practising with lonely people.

'An inspirational call to arms' DAILY MAIL 'This book is so sensible, so substantially researched, so briskly written, so clear in its arguments, that one wishes Baroness Cavendish was still whispering into the prime ministerial ear' THE TIMES 'A thoughtful handbook to help societies age gracefully' FINANCIAL TIMES 'This bold, visionary book is a wake-up call to governments. It is a wake-up call to us all' SUNDAY TIMES From award-winning journalist, Camilla Cavendish, comes a profound analysis of one of the biggest challenges facing the human population today. The world is undergoing a dramatic demographic shift. By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 65 and over will outnumber children aged five and under. But our systems are lagging woefully behind this new reality. In Extra Time, Camilla Cavendish embarks on a journey to understand how different countries are responding to these unprecedented challenges. Travelling across the world in a carefully researched and deeply human investigation, Cavendish contests many of the taboos around ageing. Interviewing leading scientists about breakthroughs that could soon transform the quality and extent of life, she sparks a debate about how governments, businesses, doctors, the media and each one of us should handle the second half of life. She argues that if we take a more positive approach, we should be able to reap the benefits of a prolonged life. But that will mean changing our attitudes and using technology, community, even anti-ageing pills, to bring about a revolution.

Very timely to the region - "The ageing of the world's population is rapidly growing primarily due to an increase in life expectancy as well as to declining fertility rates. The 2016 Population Data Sheet by United Nations ESCAP disclosed that approximately 16% (1.3 billion) of the population in the Asia-Pacific Region would be 60 years or older by 2050. All countries, including those in Asia, are facing significant challenges (social, economic and political) with this rapid demographic transition characterized by reductions in infectious and acute diseases overshadowed by the rapid emergence of non-communicable and degenerative diseases."

This book makes an enquiry into policies surrounding old age and telecare. It contextualises telecare within the wider history of health and social care in England to build the case that there are grand narratives of old age embedded in policies. Divided into four sections, the book covers: * Connecting old age with telecare * A general review of old age and telecare * A critical enquiry into discourses and the identity of old age * Conclusions and future directions. The author highlights the manifestation of old age discourses in care policies, how they have been perpetuated yet also transformed in the context of telecare, and what this means about older people. The book will be of interest to students and academics in the fields of gerontology, sociology, old age studies, philosophy, social policy, health and social care policy, information systems, and critical theoreticians

Mobile Citizenship addresses the crucial question of how mobility reconfigures citizenship. Engaging with debates on transnationalism, citizenship, and lifestyle migration, the book draws on ethnographic research and interview material collected among retired lifestyle migrants moving south from Germany to Turkey to explore the practices and narratives of these privileged migrants. Revealing the ways in which these migrants relate to their old homes and to their new places, the author examines the social, political, and spatial dimensions of citizenship and belonging and argues that citizenship is key to understanding the privileges of transnational lifestyles. By taking up discussions emanating from studies on other privileged lifestyle migrations-around social welfare and well-being, social participation, and affective belonging, as well as class and racialized privileges-the book exposes particular comparative value and showcases similarities and differences across this emerging type of migration. Mobile Citizenship thus shows how citizenship allows for mobility, resources, and privilege yet is also replete with limitations and ambivalences. The book brings together perspectives on citizenship, space, and privilege and will appeal to social scientists with interests in lifestyle migration and citizenship and their interconnections with global and social inequalities.

You know you're having a senior moment when... ... you need a pen and paper just to order a round of drinks. Getting old? Join the club! This upbeat collection of all-too-common mishaps, sprinkled with quotes from wise old sages, will have you nodding in agreement and chuckling at all your lovable foibles.

This provocative book considers the changing status of older workers, the evolution of public policy on age and work and the behaviour of employers. It attempts to answer the critical question: in an ageing society, can older workers look forward to the prospect of longer working lives with choice and security and make successful transitions to retirement? Ageing Labour Forces challenges the current stance of many governments and observers concerning policies to extend working lives. It utilises perspectives and case studies from public policy, employment policy and the attitudes and behaviour of older people. Philip Taylor argues that older workers have been at the forefront of industrialized society's efforts to respond to the crisis facing social welfare systems and the economic threats associated with population ageing. Their involvement has forced the restructuring of economies, adjustments to social welfare systems as well as redefinitions to the actual concept of old age. Containing contributions from leading researchers in a number of countries, this work will appeal to academics and researchers interested in work, ageing and public policy as well as labour economics.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted life globally through virus-related mortality and morbidity and the social and economic impacts of actions taken to stop the virus' spread. It became evident early on during the pandemic that older adults are especially vulnerable to morbidity and mortality from COVID-19, and the adverse consequences of strategies taken to mitigate its effects. While no more likely to become infected than younger populations, the risk for hospitalization and death rises considerably with age. Residents of long-term care facilities have been among the hardest hit. The pandemic has brought many facets of ageism to the fore. Community stay-at-home messages, lockdowns, social distancing requirements, and visitation restrictions contributed to a concomitant epidemic in social isolation and loneliness. Economic and social impacts have been dramatic; so too has been the disproportionate hardship experienced by members of racial and ethnic minority communities. This book reports original empirical research and perspectives on the ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic for the older adult population, and draws lessons for policy, research, and practice. Key issues pertaining to the impact of COVID-19 on older adults and their families, caregivers, and communities are highlighted. Four main areas are examined: personal experiences with COVID-19; long-term care system impacts; end-of-life care; and technology and innovation. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy.

For years, marketers have held on to unwavering beliefs that have dictated how they market to their consumers. But the hard truth is that the changes we see in marketing and business are based on one undeniable factor--the size of the generations we are selling to. As each generation ages, what they buy and how much they buy will change. Each product and service has a "best customer" that sustains a business. As these customers grow up, the smartest marketers will stay ahead of them--and their money. In "The Age Curve," marketing guru Kenneth Gronbach shows executives and entrepreneurs how to anticipate this wave of predictable demand and ride it to success.

Gronbach reveals how our largest generations, the Baby Boomers and Generation Y, are redefining how we market and how businesses can anticipate their needs more effectively. Complete with entertaining examples of companies like Apple who have perfected their strategies for building a loyal customer base, as well as those who haven't (Levi Strauss and Honda Motorcycle), this book will show readers:

- how to determine their best customers - how successful companies are earning the loyalty of Generation Y and cultivating allegiance to their products for years to come - why Generation X is a much less valuable market than any of us have been led to believe - and much more

Both shocking and compelling, "The Age Curve" will change the way companies look at their customers and how they market to them.

Giving voice to the lived experiences of people with dementia across the globe, including Australia, Canada, Sweden and the UK, this critical and evidence-based collection engages with the realities of life for people living with dementia at home and within their neighbourhoods. This insightful text addresses the fundamental social aspects of environment, including place attachment, belonging and connectivity. The chapters reveal the potential and expose the challenges for practitioners and researchers as dementia care shifts to a neighbourhood setting. The unique 'neighbourhood-centred' perspective provides an innovative guide for policy and practice and calls for a new place-based culture of care and support in the neighbourhood.

This book examines narratives of dementia in contemporary literary texts, studying what is now a pressing issue with deep political, economic, and social implications for many ageing societies. As part of the increasing visibility of dementia in social and cultural life, these narratives pose ethical, aesthetic, and political questions about subjectivity, agency, and care that help us to interrogate the cultural discourse of dementia. Contemporary Narratives of Dementia is a seminal book that offers a sustained examination of a wide range of literary narratives, from auto/biographies and detective fiction, to children's books and comic books. With its wide-reaching theoretical and critical scope, its comparative dimension, and its inclusion of multiple genres, this book is important for scholars engaging with studies of dementia and ageing in diverse disciplines. Sarah Falcus is a Reader in Contemporary Literature at the University of Huddersfield, UK. She has research interests in contemporary women's writing, feminism and literary gerontology. She is the co-director of the Dementia and Cultural Narrative (DCN) network. Katsura Sako is an Associate Professor of English, at Keio University, Japan. Her main field of research is in post-war/contemporary British literature, and she has particular interests in gender, ageing and illness. She is a member of the steering committee of the DCN network.

This essay collection develops new perspectives on constructions of old age in literary, legal, scientific and periodical cultures of the nineteenth century. Rigorously interdisciplinary, the book places leading researchers of old age in nineteenth-century literature in dialogue with experts from the fields of cultural, legal and social history. It revisits the origins of many modern debates about aging in the nineteenth century - a period that saw the emergence of cultural and scientific frameworks for the understanding of old age that continue to be influential today. The contributors provide fresh readings of canonical texts by Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Trollope, Thomas Hardy, Henry James and others. The volume builds momentum in the burgeoning field of aging studies. It argues that the study of old age in the nineteenth century has entered a new and distinctly interdisciplinary phase that is characterized by a set of research interests that are currently shared across a range of disciplines and that explore conceptions of old age in the nineteenth century by privileging, respectively, questions of agency, of place, of gender and sexuality, and of narrative and aesthetic form.

The honest, compassionate and vital guide to getting older, from dementia to finances, medication to care homes 'The most important book about the second half of your life you'll ever read. I wish everyone in the UK could be under Dr Lucy's care' SANDI TOKSVIG 'This warm and compassionate book gets to the heart of older age' THE BRITISH GERIATRICS SOCIETY ________ Now more than ever, we need to talk about getting older. Many of us are living to a very great age. But how do we give those we love, and eventually ourselves, long lives that are as happy and healthy as possible? Dr Lucy's book gives us answers to the questions we can voice - and those that we can't. This essential guide will guide you through those important conversations around growing older, answering every question you might have, including: * How do we start the conversation? * How do we ask whether it's worth taking seven different medicines? * Is it normal to find you're falling out of love with someone, as they disappear into dementia? * Should Dad be driving, and if not, who can stop him? * What are the secrets of the best care homes? * When does fierce independence become bad behaviour? * How do you navigate near-impossible discussions around resuscitation and intensity of treatments? * And who decides what happens when we become ill? Serious, funny, kind and knowledgeable, this readable book helps guide us through essential conversations about getting older that go straight to the heart of what matters most.

The edited volume Age and Work: Advances in Theory, Methods, and Practice presents a systematic collection of key advances in theory, methods, and practice regarding age(ing) and work. This cutting-edge collection breaks new ground by developing novel and useful theory, explaining underutilized but important methodological approaches, and suggesting original practical applications of emerging research topics. The book begins with a prologue by the World Health Organization's unit head for aging and health, an introduction on the topic by the editors, and an overview of past, current, and future workforce age trends. Subsequently, the first main section outlines theoretical advances regarding alternative age constructs (e.g., subjective age), intersectionality of age with gender and social class, paradoxical age-related actions, generational identity, and integration of lifespan theories. The second section presents methodological advances regarding behavioral assessment, age at the team and organizational levels, longitudinal and diary methods, experiments and interventions, qualitative methods, and the use of archival data. The third section covers practical advances regarding age and job crafting, knowledge exchange, the work/nonwork interface, healthy aging, and absenteeism and presenteeism, and organizational meta-strategies for younger and older workers. The book concludes with an epilogue by an eminent scholar in age and work. Written in a scientific yet accessible manner, the book offers a valuable resource for undergraduate and graduate students, academics in the fields of psychology and business, as well as practitioners working in the areas of human resource management and organizational development.

In 1970 social workers were in great demand and their numbers were growing. At the same time questions were asked on both sides of the Atlantic about the methods they employed, their objectives and the effectiveness of their efforts. Previous studies undertaken in the United States to test the effectiveness of social casework had led to intense controversy between researchers and practitioners. Originally published in 1970, the field experiment described in this book was the first British attempt to assess the effectiveness of social work. A team led by a social worker, including a physician and a statistician, assessed the social and medical conditions of 300 aged applicants to a local authority welfare department and determined their needs for help. Half of these old people were randomly selected to receive help from trained caseworkers; the other half, also randomly chosen, remained with experienced local authority welfare officers without professional training. The social and medical conditions of the surviving clients were reassessed after an interval. Both sets of social workers had achieved much in alleviating practical needs. But the trained workers brought about more change in their clients' activities, feelings and attitudes. The opinions of the old people about the services they received and the social workers who had carried them out added another dimension to this pioneer study which contributed to research methodology, helped to clarify operational goals in social work, made a beginning in measuring social work effort and enlarged our meagre knowledge of social work with old people at the time.

This important new book describes the origins, developments, and current status of personal response systems, a new means for persons at risk who live alone to get help in case of emergency. In Personal Response Systems, experts from ten countries report on the status, achievements, and challenges involved in setting up, distributing, and operating personal response systems (PRS). Experienced authors from a variety of backgrounds describe the technology, economics, and social effects of PRS, and its integration into existing health and housing programs. Professionals who provide home health services will find important information about the most efficient and cost effective designs of personal response systems. They will learn how to evaluate and recommend the most appropriate systems for their clients with the assistance of this valuable new book. Research on the frequency and types of emergencies and the many psychological and social benefits to users of this new technology and their families are also discussed. Personal Response Systems covers systems in a number of countries, including Japan, Israel, Sweden, New Zealand, and Germany. Authors representing universities, social agencies, and manufacturing plants provide a balanced, thorough presentation of the subject. These authors discuss: the technology of personal response systems demographic trends how to set up a PRS in a community the integration of PRS into housing for the elderly and disabled benefits to consumers and health care systems the effects of PRS on family relationships emergencies best suited for PRS analysis of how future technology will expand the medical and protective functions of PRSHealth care planners, social workers, physicians, case managers, housing developers and managers, and others involved in caring for the elderly or disabled will find a valuable store of information in this comprehensive volume. They will be able to evaluate more quickly the most appropriate PRS services for their clients and tenants.

This helpful book explores mental health issues relating to elders who do not fit into the "usual" mold for research--white, married or widowed, urban or suburban persons with adult children. The Forgotten Aged focuses on those groups of elders often overlooked in gerontological literature--elder African-Americans, rural aged, gay and lesbian aged, parents of developmentally disabled offspring, older developmentally disabled persons themselves, and "orphan" elders (those who do not have close family members who can serve as caretakers). The book offers "how to" advice on issues such as outreach, intervention, residential placement and transition, assessment, psychotherapy, and team building to help readers learn effective ways of helping elderly persons from these various groups. With an optimistic tone, it explores how more attention and resources, combined with flexible modifications of programs and practices, can yield favorable results for everyone involved. In The Forgotten Aged, authors examine a variety of pertinent topics including: assessment of dementia and depression in African-Americans multidisciplinary team outreach to elderly living in rural areas therapeutic issues with gay and lesbian aged residential transitions for developmentally disabled elderly helping aging parents of developmentally disabled offspring intervention with "orphan" elderly with Alzheimer's diseaseSocial workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, geriatricians, nurses, and counselors involved in providing support and care for elderly persons will find The Forgotten Aged a useful guide in their daily work and decisionmaking. This book can also serve as an enlightening supplementary text in courses that study aging and the elderly.

Later Life views older age as a valuable stage of life and argues for the centrality of self-making to the quality of later life. Aiming to enrich an understanding of ageing as the unfolding process in which people try to negotiate vulnerabilities of their bodies and manage mortality, it explores the conditions for pursuing the search for knowledge of oneself in later life. This new book, with the help of literary examples, presents factors both supporting and hindering the quality of the experience of later life. It demonstrates how wondering, courage and habit sustain the self-making in older age. After illustrating that the process of ageing also imposes ordeals, the book depicts remedies needed to overcome boredom, bitterness and sadness, three torments caused by the age-specific sense of time. It is essential reading not only for academics and professionals in age studies, sociology of ageing, gerontology and health care, but also for a general audience. The book's focus on the experiences of later life will appeal to the reader interested in understanding the complexities of ageing and in enhancing the quality of later life, while its reliance on literary illustrations will be appreciated by lovers of literature.

Spousal bereavement seems to be one of the most devastating things a person can suffer through during the course of his or her life and it can result in adverse bio-psycho-social consequences for the left behind spouse. This book offers updated views from incorporating meaning making theory and social constructionist theory to examine the mediating roles of meaning making and help readers to understand grief and bereavement experiences of the widowed elderly population in China. The volume starts with elaborating on the meaning making model, followed by an overview of grief theories and traditional culture, including empirical feedback of the results of applying the model to Chinese elderly widows and widowers. Pan's book concludes with a discussion on the implications and limitations of this research as well as future directions. The volume provides valuable theoretical reflection and empirical evidence on grief and bereavement experiences of the elderly population in China. By combining meaning making theory with a social constructionist perspective, this research develops a novel approach to apply Western models and theories to the Chinese context and effectively study China's elderly population and their grief and bereavement experiences. This volume brings the readers the benefits of understanding Chinese cultural doctrines regarding death and life, getting a comprehensive view on meaning making theory, as well as learning the specific coping skills of Chinese elderly in widowhood. This volume merits the attention of those in the fields of mental health, social work, and gerontology to help further their understanding of meaning making systems in a non-western setting.

Positive Ageing and Learning from Centenarians evaluates the mechanisms of positive ageing in a uniquely interdisciplinary way to explore the question of how we age and how some people age successfully. Drawing together the findings of recognised longevity researchers from around the world, the book applies an integrated vision to educational and social aspects of human ageing. It examines research into centenarians, and considers most of the disciplines related to longevity and healthy aging and aspects such as education, psychology, philosophy, anthropology, demography, sociology, economics as well as those related to nutrition and biological factors of longevity. The book examines how the results of these scientific investigations could improve the well-being of the oldest olds in the future, especially in the context of ageing societies. It provides an answer to the question of what we can learn from centenarians and what lessons we can from their lifestyle, which can contribute to live longer, better and happier. Based on cutting-edge research, the book will be highly relevant reading for researchers, academics and students in the field of ageing and longevity, mental health research, health science, gerontology and psychology.

The New Sociology of Ageing explores the challenges and opportunities of ageing as a global force. Alongside globalisation, urbanisation, new technology, climate change, and global pandemics, ageing is transforming life in the twenty-first century. Through the eyes of a young sociology student and her multigenerational family, this book sets out a new sociological framework to interpret ageing societies. It explores how the 'New Old' - the baby boomer generation - might be mobilised as an agency of social change in transforming later life. It proposes this generation as the co-architects of a new intergenerational social contract for the era ahead, rather than as the recipients of a post-war twentieth-century social contract that society can no longer support. Taking Britain as a case study and societies across the world as examples, Slattery explores emerging revolutions in work and retirement, potential crises in pensions, healthcare and housing, as well as transformations in family life and in our attitudes to sex and death in later life. This book provides a clear overview of the sociology of ageing. It introduces students to demography as a sociological force of the future, and to the perils and the promises of longevity as societies across the world approach the Hundred-Year Life. This book will be of interest to undergraduate students and early scholars in the social sciences, particularly in sociology, gerontology, social policy, and public health.

The New Sociology of Ageing explores the challenges and opportunities of ageing as a global force. Alongside globalisation, urbanisation, new technology, climate change, and global pandemics, ageing is transforming life in the twenty-first century. Through the eyes of a young sociology student and her multigenerational family, this book sets out a new sociological framework to interpret ageing societies. It explores how the 'New Old' - the baby boomer generation - might be mobilised as an agency of social change in transforming later life. It proposes this generation as the co-architects of a new intergenerational social contract for the era ahead, rather than as the recipients of a post-war twentieth-century social contract that society can no longer support. Taking Britain as a case study and societies across the world as examples, Slattery explores emerging revolutions in work and retirement, potential crises in pensions, healthcare and housing, as well as transformations in family life and in our attitudes to sex and death in later life. This book provides a clear overview of the sociology of ageing. It introduces students to demography as a sociological force of the future, and to the perils and the promises of longevity as societies across the world approach the Hundred-Year Life. This book will be of interest to undergraduate students and early scholars in the social sciences, particularly in sociology, gerontology, social policy, and public health.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license. This volume presents a range of research approaches to the exploration of ageing during a pandemic situation. One of the first collections of its kind, it offers an array of studies employing research methodologies that lend themselves to replication in similar contexts by those seeking to understand the effects of epidemics on older people. Thematically organised, it shows how to reconcile qualitative and quantitative approaches, thus rendering them complementary, bringing together studies from around the world to offer an international perspective on ageing as it relates to an unprecedented epidemiological phenomenon. As such, it will appeal to researchers in the field of gerontology, as well as sociologists of medicine and clinicians seeking to understand the disruptive effects of the recent coronavirus outbreak on later life.