The meaning and value of reminiscence in the lives of elders is beautifully explored.

This book is a seminal guide to loneliness and social isolation in old age, providing a comprehensive overview of the important correlates of socioeconomic, health and lifestyle factors upon loneliness and social isolation in old age. Bringing together contributions from leading authorities, the book showcases expertise from medicine, psychology, epidemiology, sociology, economics and gerontology. It shows the importance of identifying factors associated with loneliness and social isolation among older adults from a broader perspective, and includes discussion of a range of topics including income poverty, physical activity, family care and frailty. The chapters are evidence-based and offer a mix of empirical studies as well as reviews of international research. The book also discusses policy implications and provides an overview of nationally representative cohort studies around the world available to researchers quantifying loneliness or social isolation. This book is unique in examining loneliness and social isolation from such wide-ranging perspectives and will be essential reading for researchers and postgraduate students in the areas of mental health research, social work, and psychiatry. Health professionals involved with gerontology and geriatrics will also find this book of benefit.

Europe is ageing. However, in many European countries, and in almost all fields of life, older persons experience discrimination, social exclusion, and negative stereotypes that portray them as different or a burden to society. This pivotal book is the first of its kind, providing a rich and diverse analysis of the inter-relationships between ageing, ageism and law within Europe. Throughout the book - which builds on a European Cooperation in Science & Technology (COST) action - leading scholars offer theoretical and empirical analysis in order to discern the role European law plays in perpetuating and combating ageism. Including specific examples of how stereotypes and prejudices influence and shape the European legal system, the book contributes to the broader current global social movement towards advancing a new international human rights convention for older persons. Timely and engaging, this book will appeal to students and scholars of law, sociology, public policy and a wide range of related fields including gerontology, human rights, and health-studies. Practitioners, policy-makers, civil society organizations and senior citizens activists will also benefit from the insights into the socio-legal aspects of social policies and human rights of older persons. Contributors include: P. de Hert, M. De Pauw, I. Doron, N. Georgantzi, A. Gur, R. Harding, E. Mantovani, T. Mattsson, B. Mikolajczyk, A. Numhauser-Henning, G. Quinn, P. Quinn, B. Spanier, B. Sleap, J. Watson

Provides a critical synthesis of current models of aging. Offers a broader perspective that accounts for the wide diversity of human aging, just as it better explains how this diversity "groups" into familiar patterns. Written by a distinguished scholar of aging whose work has been internationally influential.

Long Lives Are for the Rich is the title of a silent ominous program that affects the lives of millions of people. In all developed countries disadvantaged and, especially, poor people die much earlier than the most advantaged. During these shorter lives they suffer ten to twenty years longer from disabilities or chronic disease. This does not happen accidentally: health inequalities – including those between healthy and unhealthy life styles – are mainly caused by social inequalities that are reproduced over the life course. This crucial function of the life course has become painfully visible during its neoliberal reorganization since the early 1980s. Studies about aging over the life course, from birth to death, show the inhumane consequences as people get older. In spite of the enormous wealth that has been piled up in the US for a dwindling percentage of the population, there has been growing public indifference about the needs of those in jobs with low pay and high stress, but also about citizens from a broad middle class who can hardly afford high quality education or healthcare. However, this ominous program affects all: recent mortality rates show that all Americans, including the rich, are unhealthier and dying earlier than citizens of other developed countries. Moreover, the underlying social inequalities are tearing the population apart with nasty consequences for all citizens, including the rich. Although the public awareness of the consequences has been growing, neoliberal policies remain tempting for the economic and political elites of the developed world because of the enormous wealth that is flowing to the top. All this poses urgent questions of social justice. Unfortunately, the predominant studies of social justice along the life course help to reproduce these inequalities by neglecting them. This book analyzes the main dynamics of social inequality over the life course and proposes a theory of social justice that sketches a way forward for a country that is willing to invest in its greatest resource: the creative potential of its population.

This book aims to present the age-related alterations in redox signaling networks and their diagnostic biomarkers in aging cells using multidisciplinary approach. Establishing sensitive and specific biomarkers of dynamic redox homeostasis is crucially important in the development of effective antiaging and senolytic interventions. Recent years have seen tremendous advances in the understanding of redox signaling events which highlight the process of aging and age-related pathologies. A major challenge in biological aging research is developing reliable biomarkers to determine the consequences of disrupted redox signaling networks long before the clinical diagnosis of age-related diseases is made. Therefore, we have chosen to concentrate on aging-induced aberrant redox signaling networks, their biomarkers, and pathological consequences in this book. Although oxidation is a natural metabolic process, the imbalance in the level of oxidants and antioxidants causes oxidative stress and eventually leads to inflammatory conditions, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and cancer. Novel redox-sensitive biomarkers for the evaluation of aging-induced proteinopathies such as amyloid ss and tau proteins in Alzheimer's disease, -synuclein in Parkinson's disease, and islet amyloid polypeptides in type 2 diabetes mellitus recently drew the attention of researchers. Inside this textbook, readers will find comprehensive perspectives on the association between redox homeostasis and the aging process both at the molecular and clinical levels. Due to the inherent relationship between impaired metabolic activities and oxidative stress, the temporal interaction between intermediary metabolism and disturbed redox status can lead to greater susceptibility to aging-induced diseases and disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, and diabetes. This knowledge could be a key to continued research toward improving medication regimens such as in cancer and cardiovascular therapies, and procedural outcomes for patients. This book brings together current research evidence and knowledge on redox signaling and biomarkers in aging in chapters written by leading global experts in this rapidly evolving field. We hope that this textbook is of interest to a wide group of researchers, advanced students, scientifically curious non-specialist readers and clinicians alike.

Loneliness in Later Life concerns the personal and social changes associated with aging, a topic that is becoming increasingly popular with both professionals and those in the Third Age themselves. The nature of loneliness is analyzed and clearly distinguished from solitary living, which need not be an unpleasant state. Through an examination of material drawn from literature and modern research, including the author's own experience, the book arrives at the happy conclusion that older people are not, in general, lonelier than when they were younger.

This volume offers rare insights into the connection between young audiences and the performing arts. Based on studies of adolescent and post-adolescent audiences, ages 14 to 25, the book examines to what extent they are part of our society s cultural conversation. It studies how these young people read and understand theatrical performance. It looks at what the educational components in their theatre literacy are, and what they make of the whole social event of theatre. It studies their views on the relationship between what they themselves decide and what others decide for them. The book uses qualitative and quantitative data collected in a six-year study carried out in the three largest Australian States, thirteen major performing arts companies, including the Sydney Opera House, three state theatre companies and three funding organisations. The book s perspectives are derived from world-wide literature and company practices and its significance and ramifications are international.

The book is written to be engaging and accessible to theatre professionals and lay readers interested in theatre, as well as scholars and researchers.

This extraordinary book thoroughly explains why young people (ages 14-25+) do and do not attend theatre into adulthood by delineating how three inter-linked factors (literacy, confidence, and etiquette) influence their decisions. Given that theatre happens inside spectators minds, the authors balance the theatre equation by focusing upon young spectators and thereby dispel numerous beliefs held by theatre artists and educators. Each clearly written chapter engages readers with astute insights and compelling examples of pertinent responses from young people, teachers, and theatre professionals. To stem the tide of decreasing theatre attendance, this highly useful book offers pragmatic strategies for artistic, educational, and marketing directors, as well as national theatre organizations and arts councils around the world. I have no doubt that its brilliantly conceived research, conducted across multiple contexts in Australia, will make a significant and original contribution to the profession of theatre on an international scale. Jeanne Klein, "University of Kansas, USA"

" Young Audiences, Theatre and the Cultural Conversation" is" "a compelling and comprehensive study on attitudes and habits of youth theatre audiences by leading international scholars in the field. This benchmark study offers unique insights by and for theatre makers and administrators, theatre educators and researchers, schools, parents, teachers, students, audience members of all ages.

A key strength within the book centers on the emphasis of the participant voices, particularly the voices of the youth. Youth voices, along with those of teachers and theatre artists, position the extensive field research front and center. George Belliveau, "The University of British Columbia, Canada""

Five years after the publication of Eldercare 101, it's time to update and revise this important toolbox of critical resources and guidance that assists families and eldercare professionals with the navigation of the advanced aging of loved ones and/or clients based on the Six Pillars of Aging WellbeingTM. In this second edition, Mary Jo Saavedra adds salient new content that reflects the ever-changing landscape of aging in today's culturally-shifting, technological, and pandemic world. The book's online resources have been updated and supplemented with many new tech products on the market that support elders, including Saavedra's forthcoming holistic digital platform. Eldercare 101, Updated Edition will include input from six returning collabroators and twenty new contributors, ensuring that this essential content is up-to-date and accurate.

This book covers the essentials of psychotherapeutic work with older adults, discussing how contemporary psychodynamic thought can be applied clinically to engage the older patient in psychotherapeutic work of depth and meaning, work that not only relieves suffering but also promotes growth. It describes the way the difficulties accompanying older age can affect psychological functioning and it examines the unique psychotherapeutic needs of this age group. Using clinical vignettes for illustrative purposes, it explores the psychotherapeutic challenges, tasks, techniques and accomplishments involved in the treatment of older adults. Topics discussed include the reemergence of earlier developmental challenges; the concurrent treatment of late life and revived early trauma; transference and countertransference; the functions of developing an enriched life narrative in restoring the self; existential issues; and mourning. Throughout, the focus is on what psychotherapy can do to help. The demand for mental health services for older adults is growing alongside increasing life spans, but the psychodynamic literature has neglected this population. Blooming in December: Psychodynamic Psychotherapy with Older Adults fills this gap, offering a clear guide to effective work with older adults for all psychotherapists and psychoanalysts.

For humankind, the most irreducible idea is the concept of life itself. In order to understand that life is essentially an infinite process, transmitted from generation to generation, this book takes the reader on a fascinating journey that unravels one of our greatest mysteries. It begins with the premise that life is a fact-that it is everywhere; that it takes infinite forms; and, most importantly, that it is intrinsically self-perpetuating. Rather than exploring how the first living forms emerged in our universe, the book begins with our first primordial ancestor cell and tells the story of life-how it began, when that first cell diversified into many other cell types and organisms, and how it has continued until the present day. On this journey, the author covers the fundaments of biology such as cell division, diversity, regeneration, repair and death. The rather fictional epilogue even goes one step further and discusses ways how to literally escape the problem of limited recourse and distribution on our planet by looking at life outside the solar system. This book is designed to explain complex ideas in biology simply, but not simplistically, with a special emphasis on plain and accessible language as well as a wealth of hand-drawn illustrations. Thus, it is suitable not only for students seeking for an introduction into biological concepts and terminology, but for everyone with an interest in the fundamentals of life at the crossroad of evolutionary and cell biology.

Veteran clinicians offer a unique framework for understanding the psychological origins of behaviors typical of Alzheimer's and other dementias, and for providing appropriate care for patients as they decline. Guidelines are rooted in the theory of retrogenesis in dementia--that those with the condition regress in stages toward infancy--as well as knowledge of associated brain damage. The objective is to meet patients where they are developmentally to best be able to address the tasks of their daily lives, from eating and toileting to preventing falls and wandering. This accessible information gives readers a platform for creating strategies that are respectful, sensitive, and tailored to individual needs, thus avoiding problems that result when care is ineffective or counterproductive. Featured in the coverage: Abilities and disabilities during the different stages of Alzheimer's disease. Strategies for keeping the patient's finances safe. Pain in those with dementia, and why it is frequently ignored. "Help! I've lost my mother and can't find her!" Sexuality and intimacy in persons with dementia. Instructive vignettes of successful caring interventions. Given the projected numbers of individuals expected to develop dementing conditions, Care Giving for Alzheimer's Disease will find immediate interest among clinical psychologists, health psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, and primary care physicians.

This book focuses on ageing as a topic of philosophical, theological, and historical anthropology. It provides a systematic inventory of fundamental theoretical questions and assumptions involved in the discussion of ageing and old age. What does it mean for human beings to grow old and become more vulnerable and dependent? How can we understand the manifestations of ageing and old age in the human body? How should we interpret the processes of change in the temporal course of a human life? What impact does old age have on the social dimensions of human existence? In order to tackle these questions, the volume brings together internationally distinguished scholars from the fields of philosophy, theology, cultural studies, social gerontology, and ageing studies. The collection of their original articles makes a twofold contribution to contemporary academic discourse. On one hand, it helps to clarify and deepen our understanding of ageing and old age by examining it from the fundamental point of view of philosophical, theological, and historical anthropology. At the same time, it also enhances and expands the discourses of philosophical, theological, and historical anthro pology by systematically taking into account that human beings are essentially ageing creatures.

This book provides an underexplored view of ageing, one that conceives older people as valuable resources in their communities, as active citizens with both voice, and an agency that includes the capacity for resistance. It acknowledges that becoming old with dignity means also paying attention to caring, good health services and the possibility of good death. The book defines age and ageing as multiple, culturally and historically constructed phenomena that are only loosely connected to the years of one's life. In focusing on the peripheral North located in the Nordic, Canadian and Russian north, it highlights important questions and viewpoints that can be found and adapted to other rural areas. The book answers the following questions: What is the relevance of legislation and international legal agreements in ensuring the rights of elderly people under political and economic changes? What challenges do geographic isolation, changing age structure, and cultural and ecological transformations pose to possibilities for meeting older people's needs for engagement in society as well as for their care? As such this book will be of interest to all those working in population aging.

Citizens of all societies age both as biological beings and as members of households in the open community. Through joining a series of essays and survey analyses, John Mogey has constructed a book that examines the way aging affects those who are growing older as well as the institutions of their society. To study the relationships between aiding the elderly and the aging process, two very different societies--the United States and Hungary--were chosen for comparison. In both societies, support for the elderly comes from formal institutional programs as well as informal family arrangements, and it seems equally true in both cases that the elderly get most of their support through kinship assistance. Throughout the book, the focus remains on the need to encourage the persistence of the kinship system, and the necessity of public programs to actively support the maintenance of households. The volume is structured in three distinct sections: Households, Amity, and Lifestyle; Individuals, Kinship, and Networks; and Kinship, Lifestyle, and Policy. In each section, essays concentrate on the usual operations within communities that have elderly people in them, drawing data from the United States, Hungary (including information from a unique empirical study in Budapest), and six other countries. The essays also address the variety of demands that the kinship system places on public programs. Aiding and aging are common structural problems in all modern societies, and although each society will develop different policy solutions, all will use elements from the structures described in this collection. The book will be an important resource for courses in social work, social gerontology, andsociology, as well as an important addition to university and public libraries.

This book discusses the contemporary medico-social, psychological, legal, and therapeutic concerns related to people affected by dementia as a patient or as a caregiver. It provides global emerging responses to dementia. It highlights different dimensions of dementia in terms of issues, concerns, policies, and strategies all around the globe. The contributing authors present issues from cross-cultural education visible in dementia studies and discuss the power of music, art therapy, artistic collaborations, and many innovative practices in dealing with dementia. Written by international specialists from various disciplines, the chapters include challenges and emerging issues related to the role of family caregivers, the concern with vulnerability to elder abuse and neglect, and the role of technology in dementia care. The book provides a diverse perspective to dementia care not covered in such a broad way by any other books on the topic. This book is intended for academics from a wide range of fields such as sociology, geriatrics, community medicine, public health, clinical psychology, social work all of which, collectively, bear on the problem and the solutions for better dementia care.

For students and practitioners of gerontology, this indispensable text examines all aspects of administering services to older adults. Jeffrey A. Giordano and Thomas A. Rich, both professors of gerontology with extensive experience in administration, surveyed practicing administrators over a two-year period. The resulting integration of administrative theory and practice is evident throughout this book's 13 chapters, which address everything from leadership styles and management techniques to ethical issues and community relations. In addition, the authors thoroughly examine the most widely encountered facets of the typical gerontologist administrator's career, including communication, organizational structure, the role and function of human resources administration, motivation and productivity, supervisory responsibilities, staff development, financial management, strategic planning, program evaluation, and organizational change.

Both undergraduate and graduate students of gerontology will benefit from using Giordano and Rich's book as a core text for administration courses. Professors of gerontology administration will be relieved at last to have found a work that emphasizes the unique requirements of administrating older adult programs. The authors consider all three service sectors--private, public, and not-for-profit--in addressing those who are now in administration, those who aspire to be administrators, and those who will be surprised someday to be offered administrative responsibilities. Assuming a basic knowledge of gerontology, the text includes a learning experience following each chapter that allows readers to apply their knowledge of the field in a practical manner. Other special features include information on such contemporary challenges as how to use volunteers effectively, how to integrate ethics into programs for older adults, how to involve staff in administrative activities, how to make the most of public relations and fund-raising opportunities, and how to develop special projects.

This book assembles many of the great leaders of the senior living and care industry to discuss their paths to and views on leadership. Each chapter provides readers with ideas, information, and inspiration on how to achieve leadership in this dynamic, mission-focused industry. It includes various strategies for success, such as promoting meaning and purpose in corporate culture, making decisions in the absence of perfect information, managing your personal assets of relationships and reputation, and finding competitive advantages through technology, training, and team-building. These leaders also share their experiences responding to COVID-19 and discuss how the pandemic may change the future of leadership in the industry. Whether your path starts in gerontology, nursing, social work, design, real estate, finance, law, operations, or technology, and whether one pursues work in the private, nonprofit, or government sectors, this volume provides a valuable resource for all aspiring and developing leaders in the senior living industry.

This book provides an insight into advances in elder abuse in the areas of research, policy, practice and legislation. It provides readers with a broad understanding of the topic and considers the progress in elder abuse knowledge. The book explores the nexus of ageism and elder abuse, describes key social policies and their legislative manifestation, covers major policies and programs related to elder abuse, defines elder sexual abuse and much more. It offers the reader a comprehensive insight into new perspectives and approaches to both understanding and responding to elder abuse. As such it will be an asset to academics, students, healthcare practitioners, policy makers and the general public.

This work is a compilation of diverse information on depression in the elderly, covering the time period from 1970 to 1996. The information comes from many forms, including articles, audio- and videocassettes, books, conference papers, theses and dissertations, and television programs. The work is organized into 12 chapters, with a list of acronyms, three appendixes, and separate author and subject indexes. This book is intended for students as well as health care and related professionals.

With the transformation of the elderly into the major political force in American politics, older Americans have used their increasing numbers and political power to capture a growing and disproportionate share of public resources. This book explores their emergence from obscurity to political preeminence and considers the effect of their power on other members of society. It traces the shift in public attitude from the 18th century to the early 20th century, when the elderly population increased and needed an economic safety net. It then focuses on the elderly's growing power in the late 20th century and examines how they are receiving an expanding share of the budget for such programs as Social Security and Medicare at the expense of such groups as children in poverty.

Asking the provocative question of what one generation owes another, the author shows that as the number of elderly living in poverty has decreased dramatically, the number of children in poverty has skyrocketed. The book concludes by analyzing the demographic projections of what lies ahead--a static working-age population supporting an exploding population of retirees and a baby boom generation that is ill-prepared for its own retirement. For the next few years, the challenge of an aging population will be a national problem; if unaddressed, it will become a national crisis.

This book looks at the symbolic side of globalization, development, and aging. Many of the dimensions that are discussed represent updates of past debates but some are entirely new. In particular, globalization is accompanied by subtle social imagery that profoundly shapes the way institutions and identities are imagined. The process of aging and persons sense of identity is no exception. The underlying assumptions that pervade globalization inform how critical dimensions of aging are discussed and institutionalized. The application of marketplace imagery, for example, may impact attempts for holism in how aging is studied and the prospects for human agency during the aging process. This book offers a special look into how temporality, technology, normativity, and empiricism structure the symbolic side of globalization and influence dominant images of the aging process. Current debates about globalization and aging are expanded by helping readers see the social imagery that is both subtly behind globalization and at the forefront of shaping the aging experience.

This open access book addresses the current debate on extended working life policy by considering the influence of gender and health on the experiences of older workers. Bringing together an international team of scholars, it tackles issues as gender, health status and job/ occupational characteristics that structure the capacity and outcomes associated with working longer. The volume starts with an overview of the empirical and policy literature; continues with a discussion of the relevant theoretical perspectives; includes a section on available data and indicators; followed by 25 very concise and unique country reports that highlight the main extended working life (EWL) research findings and policy trajectories at the national level. It identifies future directions for research and addresses issues associated with effective policy-making. This volume fills an important gap in the knowledge of the consequences of EWL and it will be an invaluable source for both researchers and policy makers.

As developing countries increasingly confront the issues of an aging population, this important book identifies the key period in the life cycle in which changes to the body, as well as concomitant psychological developments, result in the entering of a new phase of life, maturescence. The author defines the metapsychology of maturescence from a psychoanalytic standpoint, detaching it from the concepts of midlife and middle age. Supported by clinical examples, the book defines the stimuli which are the precursors to this phase, before examining the complete set of psychological challenges it entails. The author also highlights how maturescence has been illustrated in key literary figures in the 20th century and draws parallels with the mythical cycle of the hero. This fascinating and original book will be essential reading for psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and any professional working with issues around aging.