This book pioneers evidence-based research on healthy aging through the application of self determination theory (SDT). Its uniqueness is located in the fact that to date, no other work has applied SDT to the empirical study of aging populations. The authors focus on how SDT drives healthy, successful and active aging, and note that the motivation factors underpinning healthy aging are often neglected, or altogether absent, in the existing literature. This edited volume is particularly timely given the expanding aging crisis in many North American, European and Asian contexts. The collection of chapters meets this challenge head-on in comparing these contexts vis-a-vis a broad international scope, and subsequent discussions on important specialty issues in aging, such as hearing and memory loss. The work offers global perspectives on aging, autonomy and associated life challenges, as well as factors relating to the sustainability of healthy aging in terms of physical and mental well-being. This book will be highly relevant to researchers in the SDT community, as well as specialists in aging and gerontology. It will also be of interest to lifespan psychologists and developmental psychologists.

Families have become an increasingly important source of support for the elderly, and gerontologists are directing more and more attention to older adults and their families. This bibliography reviews the most significant works on families and aging published within the past ten years. Jean Coyle has selected and annotated nearly 800 books, articles, films, dissertations, and government documents. The detailed annotations summarize and evaluate the significance and usefulness of each item, and the comprehensive author and subject indexes make this volume a valuable reference tool. A thoughtful introduction surveys the most noteworthy research on families and aging done in the last decade. This is followed by eleven chapters, that address such topics as widowhood, intergenerational relationships, family caregiving, and the role of older adults in ethnic and minority families. Gerontologists, social workers, and all those interested in families and aging will find this guide an indispensable source of information.

The oldest Baby Boomers have turned 60 so everybody's starting to talk about the "aging of the population." But most of the talk is about numbers: what percentage of the population will be how old in what year, what it will mean for welfare rates or health-care costs, etc. But what's missing is the qualitative story. It's not there are more "older people" out there. It's that they are not the same as the older people of any previous generation. This book will explore how the Baby Boomer generation is permanently destroying the previous meanings of: Aging, Retirement, Seniors, And even...maybe... Death. The New Old shows how the Boomers' simple act of refusing to age is creating a revolution - in everything from education to employment to housing to health and beauty and, of course, to sex. The book is be backed up with solid statistical support, but it is not primarily about numbers - it's about people. It's about new ground being broken, new ways of thinking, new kinds of social and work relationships, new products that can reduce or even eliminate the effects of aging. It will offer a sneak preview of an entirely new society that is coming - a society in which getting your gold watch at the age of 65 will simply mean the first half of your life is over. The book will also lay out specific strategies organizations must follow to take advantage of the opportunities - and avoid being rendered irrelevant and uncompetitive in the new order.

An in-depth and wide-ranging approach to the study of older adults in society Taking a holistic approach to the study of aging, this volume uses biological, archaeological, medical, and cultural perspectives to explore how older adults have functioned in societies around the globe and throughout human history. As the world's population over 65 years of age continues to increase, this wide-ranging approach fills a growing need for both academics and service professionals in gerontology, geriatrics, and related fields. Case studies from the United States, Tibet, Turkey, China, Nigeria, and Mexico provide examples of the ways age-related changes are influenced by environmental, genetic, sociocultural, and political-economic variables. Taken together, they help explain how the experience of aging varies across time and space. These contributions from noted anthropological scholars examine evolutionary and biological understandings of human aging, the roles of elders in various societies, issues of gender and ageism, and the role of chronic illness and "successful aging" among older adults. This volume highlights how an anthropology of aging can illustrate how older adults adapt to shifting life circumstances and environments, including changes to the ways in which individuals and families care for them. The research in Anthropological Perspectives on Aging can also help researchers, students, and practitioners reach across disciplines to address age discrimination and help improve health outcomes throughout the life course.

The senses are made, not given. This revolutionary realization has come as of late to inform research across the social sciences and humanities, and is currently inspiring groundbreaking experimentation in the world of art and design, where the focus is now on mixing and manipulating the senses. The Sensory Studies Manifesto tracks these transformations and opens multiple lines of investigation into the diverse ways in which human beings sense and make sense of the world. This unique volume treats the human sensorium as a dynamic whole that is best approached from historical, anthropological, geographic, and sociological perspectives. In doing so, it has altered our understanding of sense perception by directing attention to the sociality of sensation and the cultural mediation of sense experience and expression. David Howes challenges the assumptions of mainstream Western psychology by foregrounding the agency, interactivity, creativity, and wisdom of the senses as shaped by culture. The Sensory Studies Manifesto sets the stage for a radical reorientation of research in the human sciences and artistic practice.

The Middle East is known as the cradle of civilization. It was the crossroads of ancient empires and the birthplace of major world religions. Today it is the center of many world issues due to its economic, religious and political importance. Although it has lagged behind many other regions of the world in medicinal research, this has increased dramatically in recent years with increasing numbers of relevant publications and the country of Iran has spearheaded this progress. Much of the research has focused on increasing our understanding of the aging process and attempting to identify biomarkers and natural products to improve the human healthspan. This book provides a comprehensive overview of the research conducted in the Middle East on the health benefits of curcumin, a phytochemical derived from the famous spice turmeric. Hundreds of studies have now been published describing the health benefits of this spice. The importance of this research is exemplified by poor data regarding health and longevity as only 0.08% of the population in Iran consists of individuals over 90 years of age. This is approximately 10 times lower than the percentage of this same age group in the United Kingdom and the United States of America and almost 20 times lower than that in Japan. This book presents a series of reviews and meta-studies describing research which has resulted in identification potential new biomarkers and drug targets for age-related disorders. All of the studies have focussed on the testing of curcumin and related products, which have already shown some promising leads in age-related conditions such as heart-disease, diabetes, cognitive impairment and cancer. The authors in this series come from different centers and cities of Iran, including Mashhad, Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, Birjand, Quchan and Yazd, and many of the chapters feature collaborations with other countries of the Middle East and throughout the world, including Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Oman, Poland, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. This underscores the emergence of the Middle East into this arena of research. The book will be of high interest to scientific and clinical researchers in the subject of aging and age-related disease, and to physicians and pharmaceutical company scientists since it gives insights into the latest strategies, biomarkers and targets involved in the mechanism of action of curcumin to promote healthy aging. It will also provide important information on disease mechanisms related to age-related disorders, as each chapter will be presented in the context of specific chronic diseases.

Psychodynamic Approaches to the Experience of Dementia: Perspectives from Observation, Theory and Practice demonstrates the impact of healthcare approaches that take into account not only the practical needs but also the emotional experience of the patient, their partners, families and friends, lay carers and professional staff. Currently there is no cure for dementia, but the psychosocial and therapeutic approaches described in this volume have appeared to help people, both patients and carers, feel more contained and less lonely and isolated. Psychoanalytic theory provides a disciplined way of thinking about the internal world of an individual and their relationships. Each author provides their own commentary on the personal and interpersonal effects of dementia, endeavouring to understand behaviours and emotions which may otherwise seem incomprehensible. The subject is approached from a psychodynamic perspective, considering the unconscious, previous and current experiences and relationships, including those between patients and staff. Psychodynamic Approaches to the Experience of Dementia illustrates the practical and theoretical thinking of clinicians from a wide range of disciplines who are engaged in the care of people in late life with a diagnosis of dementia. It will be essential reading for mental health and health professionals in practice and training in the field of dementia.

This essential volume explores the vital role of communication in the aging process and how this varies for different social groups and cultural communities. It reveals how communication can empower people in the process of aging, and that how we communicate about age is critically important to - and is at the heart of - aging successfully. Giles et al. confront the uncertainty and negativity surrounding "aging" - a process with which we all have to cope - by expertly placing communication at the core of the process. They address the need to avoid negative language, discuss the lifespan as an evolving adventure, and introduce a new theory of successful aging - the communication ecology model of successful aging (CEMSA). They explore the research on key topics including: age stereotypes, age identities, and messages of ageism; the role of culture, gender, ethnicity, and being a member of marginalized groups; the ingredients of intergenerational communication; depiction of aging and youth in the media; and how and why talk about death and dying can be instrumental in promoting control over life's demands. Communication for Successful Aging is essential reading for graduate students of psychology, human development, gerontology, and communication, scholars in the social sciences, and all of us concerned with this complex academic and highly personal topic.

World-wide migration has an unsettling effect on social structures, especially on aging populations and eldercare. This volume investigates how taken-for-granted roles are challenged, intergenerational relationships transformed, economic ties recalibrated, technological innovations utilized, and spiritual relations pursued and desired, and asks what it means to care at a distance and to age abroad. What it does show is that trans-nationalization of care produces unprecedented convergences of people, objects and spaces that challenge our assumptions about the who, how, and where of care.

Euro-Austerity and Welfare States analyses the political economy of welfare state reform in the first episode of Euro-austerity during the 1990s. It shows how Europe's welfare states survived unrelenting pressures stemming from the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) laid out in the Maastricht Treaty of 1992. Throughout, H. Tolga Bolukbasi draws lessons for scholars and policy practitioners, and his insightful analysis sheds important light on the second wave of Euro-austerity that set in following the Great Recession of 2008. Paying careful attention to government expenditures and budgetary politics, Bolukbasi analyses the political economy of reform in countries where the EMU's impact was expected to be greatest. Based on in-depth comparative case studies of Belgium, Greece, and Italy, he shows how scholars, policymakers, and citizens alike expected Euro-austerity to erode Europe's welfare states. Contrary to popular opinion, Bolukbasi finds that the reality was much more complicated. A thorough critique of the "Euro-austerity hypothesis," this book presents a rigorous comparative study of the resilience of the welfare state in various national contexts.

Presents model programs used to redesign jobs, create opportunities for part-time work, and keep workers age fifty and over productively on the job. Provides a career planning model for assessing the interests and skills of older employees and facilitating successful career changes.E

Work Across the Lifespan coalesces theoretical and empirical perspectives on aging and work. This volume examines a collection of human development theories that explain trajectories of change, including patterns of growth, maintenance, and decline across the adult lifespan. At its core, the lifespan perspective assumes a focus on aging as a continuous process of intraindividual change and goal-based self-regulation. In this text, the lifespan perspective serves as a lens for examining the complex relationship between aging and work. Integrating research from the fields of developmental psychology as well as industrial, work, and organizational psychology, this authoritative reference brings together the collective thinking of researchers who study work, careers, organizations, and aging.

"In society at large, lives have been drastically altered over this century—as a consequence of increased longevity, advances in science and education, the gender revolution, improvements in public health, and other historical trends and events—but numerous inflexible social structures, roles, and norms have lagged behind. There is a mismatch or imbalance between the transformation of the aging process from birth to death and the role opportunities or places in the social structure that could foster and reward people at the various stages of their lives. While the twentieth century has experienced a revolution in human development and aging, there has been no comparable revolution in the role structures of society to keep pace with the changes in the ways people grow up and grow old. The lag involves not only institutional and organizational arrangements, but also the many aspects of culture that, in addition to being internalized by people, are built into role expectations and societal mores and laws. For the future, then, structural changes will be needed if people are to find opportunities to spread leisure and work, as well as education, more evenly over the life course, and to make room for family affairs." —from Age and Structural Lag

In the coming decade, we may see the advent of multinational federalism on an international scale. As great powers and international organizations become increasingly uncomfortable with the creation of new states, multinational federalism is now an important avenue to explore, and in recent decades, the experiences of Canada and Quebec have had a key influence on the approaches taken to manage national and community diversity around the world. Drawing on comparative scholarship and several key case studies (including Scotland and the United Kingdom, Catalonia and Spain, and the Quebec-Canada dynamic, along with relations between Indigenous peoples and various levels of government), The Legitimacy Clash takes a fresh look at the relationship between majorities and minorities while exploring theoretical advances in both federal studies and contemporary nationalisms. Alain-G. Gagnon critically examines the prospects and potential for a multinational federal state, specifically for nations seeking affirmation in a hostile context. The Legitimacy Clash reflects on the importance of legitimacy over legality in assessing the conflicts of claims.

This book documents the state of the art in the field of ambient assisted living (AAL), highlighting the impressive potential of novel methodologies and technologies to enhance well-being and promote active ageing. It covers a broad range of topics, with sections on technological sensors and platforms, social robotics for assistance, assistance and care applications, health and medical support methodologies and technologies, as well as the analysis, modelling and design of AAL services. The book comprises a selection of the best papers presented at the 8th Italian Forum on Ambient Assisted Living (ForitAAL 2017), which was held in Genoa, Italy, in June 2017 and brought together researchers, technology teams and professional associations, as well as representatives of the Italian regions and advisors to the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research, with the goal of developing a consensus on how to improve provisions for the elderly and impaired. The respective contributions offer valuable insights into how the latest advances can help address the needs of the elderly and those with chronic health conditions. They also underscore the need for AAL to continue moving toward multidisciplinary integration, so as to embrace the various disciplines that place the user of services at the centre of the design process.

Designing Public Space for an Ageing Population examines the barriers older people face by being a pedestrian in the built environment and demonstrates how to overcome them. Drawing on research carried out across the globe, and framed around Bourdieu's theory of capitals, this book establishes how to overcome restrictions and barriers to mobility including: - Infrastructure capital, such as technology, services, roads, pavements, finance and economics - Social capital, for example friends, family, neighbourhood and community - Cultural capital (norms, expectations, rules, laws) - Individual capital (skills, abilities, resilience, adaptation and desire and willingness to change) The book demonstrates that the public realm must be safe and accessible, but also attractive and desirable to an ageing population. The book includes case studies presenting solutions around CABE's objectives of urban design, notably: safe and accessible space including ease of movement; legible space, including adaptability, diversity and choice and; distinctive and aesthetically pleasing space, including character, continuity and quality.

Creative Ageing and the Arts of Care makes a case for cultural participation by older adults to enhance the quality of their lives. Building on concepts of adult human development and empowerment, Elizabeth Brooke reframes 'active ageing' to include forms of creative expression and cultural participation crucial to transforming later stages of the life course. Focusing on the micro-level of the experiences of older adults in visual arts, dance, theatre and music, the book showcases multi-perspective case studies compiled from community-based initiatives and care settings carried out in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, and Australia to explain creative ageing in practice. Through the analysis of arts forms embedded in theoretical sociological frameworks and the lens of cultural gerontology, the case studies explore and develop theoretical insights about older adults' experiences of artmaking which also contest ageism. The case studies interrelate meso-level interactional processes entailed in art-making and macro-level structural contexts. Drawing out success factors, the author articulates a transferable policy framework and practical recommendations for a multi-level model of creative ageing. Breaking fresh ground by proposing a new conceptual and practical framework promoting 'creative ageing', Elizabeth Brooke ultimately argues that 'active ageing' must be reframed to include cultural participation as an integral domain at the crux of wellbeing. Ultimately, the book demonstrates how quality of life and quality of care, including self-care, coincide by enabling adults to flourish creatively as they age.

Childhood disabilities, particularly cognitive disabilities, are on the rise yet social programs and services to help US families respond to disabilities are not. Many families turn to grandparents for assistance juggling work, family responsibilities, and specialized therapies. This book is based on in-depth interviews with grandparents who are providing at least some care to grandchildren with disabilities. The analyses will help to better understand (1) under what conditions grandparents provide care and support, (2) what types and intensities of care and support grandparents provide, and (3) the impact of that care and support on grandparents' social, emotional, physical, and financial wellbeing. In this fascinating and provocative book, Madonna Harrington Meyer and Ynesse Abdul-Malak take readers on a deep dive into the complex lives of grandparents who care for their disabled grandchildren. In Grandparenting Children with Disabilities, their interviews reveal the joy, meaning, and purpose grandparents find in caregiving, the challenges and frustrations they encounter, and the many ways they compromise their own health and well-being for the sake of their grandchildren. Drawing from theories of cumulative inequality and from their deep knowledge of the US policy context, the authors lay bare the systemic failures that leave families of children with disabilities without adequate support and that place the most vulnerable among them at grave physical, emotional, and financial risk... Jane McLeod, Provost Professor, Indiana University Grandparents in the U.S. already take on far more parenting responsibilities as compared to their peers in other countries. Grandparenting Children with Disabilities demonstrates that the intensity of these responsibilities is compounded for those whose grandchildren have disabilities given limited policy supports and a society still largely unaccommodating to those with disabilities. This book beautifully navigates the tension between the love these grandparents have for their grandchildren and the challenges they face caring for them. Pamela Herd, Professor, Georgetown University Grandparenting Children with Disabilities offers important insights about the lived experience of older adults who care for and care about their grandchildren...The authors skillfully integrate the stories they tell with consideration of macro social structural influences and life course perspectives... I recommend it highly! Eva Kahana, Distinguished University Professor, Case Western Reserve

This book explores the unresolved paradox at the heart of population aging, namely how to account for the fact that death rates from most non-communicable diseases rise as people age, yet aggregate death rates from such diseases have decreased overall despite an increasingly aging population. It provides a long-term historical perspective on this issue, presenting evidence that the underpinnings of modern aging extend as far back as the nineteenth century, and that aging has boosted per capita healthcare spending. The book first outlines the three eras of the Epidemiologic Transition, taking readers from its first stage where the threat of infectious diseases loom large, through the transitional stage, and on to the modern era, where non-communicable diseases are the primary cause of death. Next, the book examines the age-profiles of people whose childhoods coincide with the different stages of the Epidemiologic Transition. Using data from England and Wales, one of the few places that have recorded the data necessary for such an exploration, the book resolves the aging paradox by studying hidden generational change. It traverses historical time and identifies the distinct socio-economic and epidemiologic childhood conditions that may appear in it. It then compares, for instance, aging of children brought up in an earlier epidemiologic stage with aging of ones raised in a modern one. In the process, it explores the influence of childhood development on aging. Overall, the book has a quantitative bent, engaging the reader with analytical issues that will help develop a deeper understanding of modern aging.

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 examines the process of population aging in China and its unique features, considers the social progress implied in China becoming a society with an aging population, and assesses the tremendous risks and challenges involved. Based on the development of pension security systems around the world, the book studies the status quo and future requirements of the Chinese pension security system from the perspectives of capital, service and spirit, and puts forwards a three-pillar pension security system that is in conformity with China's current situation - and reflects the developmental trend that, in future, social security will likely transform from material security into comprehensive security. In addition, the book analyzes the Chinese pension security system. While integrating international perspectives, its main focus is on statistical analysis, combining theory with practice, and qualitative with quantitative analysis. As such, the book not only offers a "wi ndow" for the world on the status and evolution of China's pension security system, but also an opportunity for international academic dialogues.

This open access book offers new insights into the ageing-migration nexus and the nature of home. Documenting the hidden world of France's migrant worker hostels, it explores why older North and West African men continue to live past retirement age in this sub-standard housing. Conventional wisdom holds that at retirement labour migrants ought to instead return to their families in home countries, where their French pensions would have far greater purchasing power. This paradox is the point of departure for a book which transports readers from the banlieues of Paris to the banks of the Senegal River and the villages of the Anti-Atlas. In intimate ethnographic detail, the author brings to life the experiences of these older labour migrants by sharing in the life of the hostels as a resident, by observing at close quarters the men's family life on the other side of the Mediterranean as a guest in their homes, and even by accompanying them in their travels by bus, sea, and air. The monograph evaluates several theories of migration against rich qualitative data gathered from multiple methods: biographical narrative and semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and archival research. In the process, it offers a thoughtful contribution to broader debates on what it means for migrants to belong and achieve inclusion in society. This book has been awarded an 'honourable mention' in the Khayrallah Prize in Migration Studies, courtesy of the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies at North Carolina State University. For more information please see: https://lebanesestudies.ncsu.edu/awards/scholarly/2018.php. This book has been nominated for the 2019 BSA Philip Abrams Memorial Prize

This book brings together two major trends influencing economic and social life: population ageing on the one side, and migration on the other. Both have assumed increasing importance over the course of the 20th and into the 21st century. The book offers a unique interdisciplinary perspective on the challenges posed by the globalisation of the life course to welfare states' old age and family policies. Through a variety of case studies, it covers a wide range of migration scenarios: those who migrate in later life; migrants from earlier years who age in place; and old people who hire migrant caregivers. It shows how both local and global economic inequalities intersect to frame interactions between ageing, migration, and family support. Across a wide variety of situations, it highlights that migration can both create risks for older people, but also serve as an answer to ageing-related social, economic, and health risks. The book explores tensions between national and global contexts in experiences of migration across the life course. As such this book offers a fascinating read to scholars, students, practitioners, and policy makers in the fields of aging, migration, life course, and population health.