Disability, Obesity and Ageing offers an engaging account of a new area of pressing concern, analysing the way in which 'spurned' identities are depicted and reacted to in televisual genres and online forums. Examining the symbolic power of the media, this book presents case studies from drama, situation comedies, reality and documentary television programmes popular in the UK, USA and Australia to shed light on the representation of disability, obesity and ageing, and the manner in which their status as unwanted and unwelcome identities is perpetuated. A theoretically sophisticated exploration of television as a translator of identity, and the exploration of identity categories in allied virtual spaces, this book will be of interest to sociologists, as well as scholars of popular culture, and cultural and media studies.

Demographic changes transform societies and challenge existing institutional solutions and policies. The need for policies addressing these challenges has increasingly been put on the agenda. The Making of Ageing Policy analyzes these innovative policy ideas and practices at both the international and the national level. The book provides insights into the value basis and justifications of ageing policies, the potential for conflict and how policy ideas are embedded in institutional defense and advocacy for institutional change and reform. In terms of policy ideas the economically focused 'productive ageing' dominates, but the book finds instances where the broader 'active ageing' approach has gained a hold in policymaking. Ageing policy reforms within pensions and labour market policy include measures to make people extend their working life. In long-term care reforms abound, and implies changes in the responsibility of financing and provision but the patterns across countries differ substantially. The authors provide normative analysis of ageing policy ideas, divulge political conflicts and consensus on ageing policy, and contribute by describing and analyzing the changing institutional landscape of ageing politics and policies throughout Europe. It will prove insightful for academics and researchers in the field, but it will also appeal to practitioners who are increasingly dealing with demographic challenges across a wide number of policy sectors in their daily affairs. Contributors include: M. Doyle, Z. Drozdzak, R. Ervik, L. Foster, I. Helgoy, N. Kildal, G. Lamura, T.S. Linden, M.G. Melchiorre, E. Nilssen, J. Perek-Bialas, A. Principi, A. Ruzik-Sierdzinska, C. Schiller, V. Timonen, K. Turek, A. Walker

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 Empty Couch is an introduction to the challenges and obstacles inherent in ageing as a psychoanalyst. It addresses the previously neglected issue of ill health, as well as the significance of ageing for psychoanalysts, exploring the analyst's attitude towards getting older, impermanence and sense of time and space. Covering a wide range of topics Gabriele Junkers brings together expert contributors who discuss the problems of getting physically ill and how to conduct psychoanalysis as an ill therapist. Chapters also address the effects that ageing has on professional stamina, the grief inevitably caused by the losses endured in later life and inquires into the role that institutions (the relevant psychoanalytic institutes or societies) can play in this context. Setting out to encourage discussion on this vital topic, The Empty Couch brings this neglected area into sharp focus. It will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, counsellors, gerontologists and trainees in the psychoanalytic and psychotherapy worlds.

Explains why there is a crisis in caring for elderly people and how the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated it Because government policies are based on an ethic of family responsibility, repeated calls to support family members caring for the burgeoning elderly population have gone unanswered. Without publicly funded long-term care services, many family caregivers cannot find relief from obligations that threaten to overwhelm them. The crisis also stems from the plight of direct care workers (nursing home assistants and home health aides), most of whom are women from racially marginalized groups who receive little respect, remuneration, or job security. Drawing on an online support group for people caring for spouses and partners with dementia, Elder Care in Crisis examines the availability and quality of respite care (which provides temporary relief from the burdens of care), the long, tortuous process through which family members decide whether to move spouses and partners to institutions, and the likelihood that caregivers will engage in political action to demand greater public support. When the pandemic began, caregivers watched in horror as nursing homes turned into deathtraps and then locked their doors to visitors. Terrified by the possibility of loved ones in nursing homes contracting the disease or suffering from loneliness, some caregivers brought them home. Others endured the pain of leaving relatives with severe cognitive impairments at the hospital door and the difficulties of sheltering in place with people with dementia who could not understand safety regulations or describe their symptoms. Direct care workers were compelled to accept unsafe conditions or leave the labor force. At the same time, however, the disaster provided an impetus for change and helped activists and scholars develop a vision of a future in which care is central to social life. Elder Care in Crisis exposes the harrowing state of growing old in America, offering concrete solutions and illustrating why they are necessary.

The Empty Couch is an introduction to the challenges and obstacles inherent in ageing as a psychoanalyst. It addresses the previously neglected issue of ill health, as well as the significance of ageing for psychoanalysts, exploring the analyst's attitude towards getting older, impermanence and sense of time and space. Covering a wide range of topics Gabriele Junkers brings together expert contributors who discuss the problems of getting physically ill and how to conduct psychoanalysis as an ill therapist. Chapters also address the effects that ageing has on professional stamina, the grief inevitably caused by the losses endured in later life and inquires into the role that institutions (the relevant psychoanalytic institutes or societies) can play in this context. Setting out to encourage discussion on this vital topic, The Empty Couch brings this neglected area into sharp focus. It will be of interest to psychoanalysts, psychotherapists, counsellors, gerontologists and trainees in the psychoanalytic and psychotherapy worlds.

This book covers the scope of crime victims' suffering in the U.S., offering a history of victims and the measurement of victimization, an explanation of the victim's role in the criminal justice process, and a recounting of the issues crime victims face as a result of crime and the criminal justice process. Doerner and Lab, both well-regarded scholars, write compellingly about how the current criminal's justice system can be transformed into a victim's justice system. Theory is woven together with the description of each topic, and specific examples illustrate each point. The book goes on to address the full impact of victimization, and a final section details specific types of victimization, ranging from violent crimes, including child and elder abuse, to property crime, to crime in the school and in the workplace. The authors explain how obstacles hinder the pursuit of justice, and provide significant policy and programming suggestions to render the system more victim-friendly. Appropriate for undergraduate as well as early graduate students in Victimology courses in Criminology, Criminal Justice, Sociology, and Justice Studies programs, this book offers rich pedagogical features and online student resources as well as test bank, PowerPoint lecture slides, and sample syllabus for instructors.

This volume derived from original presentations given at a conference in Atlanta, Georgia, under the auspices of the Center for Child Well-Being. Scholars, practitioners, public health professionals, and principals in the child development community convened to address a science-based framework for elements of well-being and how the elements might be developed across the life course. Integrating physical, cognitive, and social-emotional domains, Well-Being is the first scientific book to consider well-being holistically. Focusing on a set of core strengths grouped within these three domains, the book also includes a fourth section on developmental strengths through adulthood that broadly examines a continuum of health and development, as well as transitions in well-being. This volume takes a developmental perspective across the life course, describing foundational strengths for well-being--the capacities that can be actively developed, supported, or learned. These foundational strengths--problem solving, emotional regulation, and physical safety--are the positive underpinnings of early child health and development, as well as ongoing well-being across the life course. Working together and blending their respective disciplinary perspectives and expertise, 53 experts in psychology, sociology, child development, and medicine have contributed to the book.

Looking at the collective identities of Japanese American elderly in a former sugar plantation community in Puna, Hawai'i, this book investigates the stories in which they remember, evaluate, and represent their past lives on the plantation.

The study of grandparents raising grandchildren, now almost two decades old, has tended to have a negative bias, emphasizing the difficulties such people face and the negative impact that grandparent caregiving has on them physically, socially, and emotionally. This edited book seeks to reverse this trend by taking a positive approach to understanding grandparent caregivers, focusing on their resilience and resourcefulness. This method reflects a strengths-based approach and the importance of benefit-finding and positive coping. Chapters feature information from both qualitative and quantitative studies and are written by a diverse range of professionals, such as counselors, psychologists, geriatric social workers, and nurse practitioners, to provide multidisciplinary persepctives for practitioners working with grandparent caregivers. Part one discusses the positive qualities that custodial grandparents possess resilience, resourcefulness, and benefit finding. The second part considers the sociocultural aspects of resilience and resourcefulness in grandparent caregivers. Finally, part three presents strengths-based interventions for working with custodial grandparents. Practitioners will find this to be a valuable resource in their work and the field as a whole, stimulating positive changes in attitudes toward and practices with grandparent caregivers.

How can we create more meaningful and intimate connections with our loved-ones? By using moments of discord to strengthen our relationships, explains this original, deeply researched book. You might think that perfect harmony is the defining characteristic of a good relationship, but the truth is that human interactions are messy, complicated, and confusing. The good news, however, is that we are wired to deal with this from birth - and even to grow from it and use it to strengthen our relationships, according to renowned psychologist Ed Tronick and paediatrician Claudia Gold. Scientific research - including Dr Tronick's famous 'Still-Face Experiment' - has shown that working through mismatch and repair in everyday life helps us form deep, lasting, trusting relationships; resilience in times of stress and trauma; and a solid sense of self in the world. This refreshing and original look at our ability to relate to others and to ourselves offers a new way for us to think about our relationships, and will reassure you that conflict is both normal and healthy, building the foundation for stronger connections.

Current and emerging trends in the domains of health management and the work sector, the abundance of new consumer products pervading the marketplace, and the desires of many older adults to undertake new learning experiences means that older adults, like their younger counterparts, will need to continually engage in new learning and training. Thus, understanding the challenges that older people face when confronted with new learning and training programs and developing potential strategies to overcome them is imperative. A comprehensive state-of-the-science review, Designing Training and Instructional Programs for Older Adults explores a broad range of issues, from the implications of theories of learning for designing instruction for older adults to adapting current perspectives on methods of instructional design to accommodate the capabilities and limitations of older learners. The authors provide an understanding of today's older adults-their demographics, their needs, the challenges facing them, and a realistic appraisal of their abilities and limitations-as a basis for how current knowledge about training and instructional design should be shaped and applied to best accommodate this population of learners. They discuss topics such as retention and transfer of training, sequencing the order of instruction, e-learning, multimedia training formats, and the assessment and evaluation of training programs from the perspective of issues relevant to older learners. They also highlight the challenges presented by this very heterogeneous group that varies tremendously in backgrounds, skills, knowledge, and abilities. Focusing on how learning occurs, the authors' balanced coverage makes the book readable and enlightening across a wide spectrum of professionals and academics, including human factors/ergonomics specialists, gerontologists, managers, educators, undergraduate and graduate students, and the design community. The book supplies concise recommendations that will have direct impact on the design of instructional programs and for those individuals who are responsible for the training and performance of older people.

Continues the author's long-standing concern with the feminine, focusing on the ways in which a woman may be undermined by a crippling relationship with her inner man. Powerful images from poetry, myth, dreams, analysis and personal experience.

In this book, Steven F. Walker considers the midlife transition from a Jungian and Eriksonian perspective, by providing vivid and powerful literary and cinematic examples that illustrate the psychological theories in a clear and entertaining way.

For C.G. Jung, midlife is a time for personal transformation, when the values of youth are replaced by a different set of values, and when the need to succeed in the world gives place to the desire to participate more in the culture of one s age and to further its development in all kinds of different ways. Erik Erikson saw "generativity," an expanded concern for others beyond one's immediate circle of family and friends, as the hallmark of this stage of life. Both psychologists saw it as a time for growth and renewal. Literary texts such Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway, Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, or Sophocles' Oedipus the King, and films such as Fellini's 8 1/2 and Campion's The Piano, have the capacity to represent, sometimes more vividly and with greater dramatic concentration than actual life histories or case studies, the archetypal nature of the drama and in-depth transformation associated with the midlife transition.

Midlife Transformation in Literature and Film focuses on the specific male and female archetypal paradigms and presents them within the general context of midlife transformation. For men, the theme of death of the young hero presides over the crisis and the transformative ordeal, whereas for women the theme of tragic abandonment acts as the prelude to further growth and independence.

This book is essential reading for anyone studying Jung, Erikson, or the midlife transition. It will interest those who have already been through a midlife transition, those who are in the midst of one, as well as those who are yet to experience this challenging period.

A deliciously funny and sage guide to midlife - an unscientific, flaws-and-all account of one woman's adventures and misadventures through the dark comedy of the wilderness years. Through her own experiences as a fifty-something woman, and those of her three sisters, her indomitable mum and rebellious auntie, Charlotte tackles the big questions every woman seeks answers to at this time of our lives - chiefly: How the hell am I going to get over being young in a world obsessed with youth? Written with warmth, wisdom and irreverence this guide to midlife is perfect for readers of Nora Ephron, Caitlin Moran and India Knight.

During the 1990s, Europe became the first continent with a 'mature society', where people aged 60 years and older outnumber children and as this trend continues, the resulting 'ageing societies' will differ from previous societies in their make-up, in their needs, and in their resource allocation. Population ageing poses an even greater challenge to the post-communist societies of Central and Eastern Europe. While still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the economic and social transition process following the breakdown of communism, they are now facing even more rapid demographic change than Western Europe. This book brings together leading scholars to present an understanding of the processes underlying the very rapid population ageing in Central and Eastern Europe. In addition to discussing the main demographic drivers behind this development in each of the countries examined, this volume also discusses its implications for policy, healthcare provision, workforces, intergenerational family relations, the social cohesion of future Central and Eastern European societies, and the quality of life experienced by their citizens. Organised around broad geographical regions with final sections analysing the book's findings and their future implications, Population Ageing in Central and Eastern Europe will be of interest to gerontologists, policy makers, students and scholars of population change

This title was first published in 2003. The rapid demographic aging of populations worldwide, and most dramatically in developing countries, will result in unprecedented increases in the absolute and relative numbers of the aged in these countries. Whilst developed economies already have the basic infrastructure in place through which to support their ageing populations, developing nations frequently do not, and it should not be assumed that their best course of action is to attempt to duplicate the supportive infrastructures of developed countries. In developing nations these may be culturally inappropriate, geographically inaccessible, economically or politically unsustainable, or all of these. Effective and sustainable support services must be designed with reference to the circumstances of the client group, and it is increasingly evident that knowledge of the lives of the aged in developing countries is currently very limited. This book aims to inform the reader on the livelihoods of elders in developing countries and to stimulate a discussion of appropriate methods of supporting them in maintaining their quality of life during and beyond the coming decades of demographic change. It does so through reporting the lives and livelihoods of the aged population of Kikole (a pseudonym), a highly impoverished village in Uganda. Individual livelihoods are explored from a lifecourse perspective, with present day quality of life being shown often to be the result of earlier enforced changes in circumstances arising in economic, social or cultural marginalization, political or physical insecurity, or macro-economic change, rather than in the physical or mental changes that may accompany advancing age.

The question of communication and understanding between different generations is emerging as a key issue for the twenty-first century. The advent of ageing populations may lead to increased conflict or solidarity in society, and provokes a profound ambivalence both in public and in the private sphere. In a new approach, Biggs and Lowenstein offer a critical examination of Generational Intelligence as one way of addressing these issues. How easy is it to put yourself in the shoes of someone of a different age group? What are the personal, interpersonal and social factors that affect our perceptions of the 'age other'? What are the key issues facing families, workplaces and communities in an ageing society? This book sets out a way of thinking about interpersonal relations based on age, and the question of communication between people of different ages and generations. The book challenges existing orthodoxies for relations between adults of different ages and draws out steps that can be taken to increase understanding between generational groups. The authors outline a series of steps that can be taken to enhance Generational Intelligence, examine existing theories and social issues, and suggest new directions for sustainable relations between generational groups.

The question of communication and understanding between different generations is emerging as a key issue for the twenty-first century. The advent of ageing populations may lead to increased conflict or solidarity in society, and provokes a profound ambivalence both in public and in the private sphere. In a new approach, Biggs and Lowenstein offer a critical examination of Generational Intelligence as one way of addressing these issues. How easy is it to put yourself in the shoes of someone of a different age group? What are the personal, interpersonal and social factors that affect our perceptions of the 'age other'? What are the key issues facing families, workplaces and communities in an ageing society? This book sets out a way of thinking about interpersonal relations based on age, and the question of communication between people of different ages and generations. The book challenges existing orthodoxies for relations between adults of different ages and draws out steps that can be taken to increase understanding between generational groups. The authors outline a series of steps that can be taken to enhance Generational Intelligence, examine existing theories and social issues, and suggest new directions for sustainable relations between generational groups.

This book examines the issues and implications that mental health professionals face when dealing with ageing and older adults. The book focuses on the biological, psychological and cultural influences that impact on the work of mental health practitioners who work with this client group. Based on current empirical research and evidence-based practical issues this book explores topics including: * ageing and dementia * elder abuse * caring for older adults * depression and ageing * the paradox of ageing * how older adults are key to the success of future generations. Throughout the book the contributors emphasise the notion of healthy ageing', and the importance and significance of this concept as part of the life-cycle process. As such Ageing and Older Adult Mental Health will be key reading not only for mental health professionals, but also for those involved in policy making for older adults.

Originally published in 1995, within the previous decade there had been significant developments in our understanding of the learning and motivation, together with the conceptual and cognitive development, of older adults. This understanding had been enhanced by findings from longitudinal studies which were now becoming available. These findings demonstrated the gains that had been made in research. In the past, inappropriately conceived studies have led to the perpetuation of myths and stereotypes about the intellectual development of older people. Special attention is paid in this book to changing perceptions of ageing and intelligence, learning aptitude, memory and intelligence testing. The important topic of ageing and wisdom is also discussed.

The world is growing older and this is a historically unprecedented phenomenon. Negotiating such change, personally, socially and for governments and international organisations requires an act of cultural adaptation. Two key questions arise: What is the purpose of a long life? and How do we adapt to societies where generations are of approximately the same size? A number of pre-existing narratives can be identified; however, it is argued that contemporary policies have produced a premature answer which may eclipse the potential arising from lifecourse change. In this book Simon Biggs discusses ways of interrogating these questions and the adaptations we make to them. Four major areas, all of which have been suggested as solutions to population ageing, are critically assessed, including work as an answer, the relationship between work, ageing and health, narratives of spirit, belief and wisdom, the body and the natural, anti-ageing medicine, critical approaches to dementia, plus family and intergenerational relations. This book is particiularly useful for those trying to make sense of population ageing and negotiate solutions. It describes a number of concepts that can be used to assess what we are told about a long life and how generations can adapt together. With the cultural landscape moving away from traditional interpretations of old age, the question of adult ageing is of growing interest to a number of groups. This book is essential reading for social and health-care workers, other helping professionals, policy makers, social scientists and all who encounter the prospect of a long life.

This book focuses on the design of displays and user interfaces for the older user. Aging is related to complex mental, physical, and social changes. While conventional wisdom says getting older leads to a decline, the reality is that some capabilities decline with age while others remain stable or increase. This book distills decades of aging research into practical advice on the design of displays. Technology has changed dramatically since the publication of the first edition. This new edition covers cutting-edge technology design such as ubiquitous touchscreens, smart speakers, and augmented reality interfaces, among others.