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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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Explores the mother-daughter relationship in the context of caregiving Across the Unites States, about 34.2 million Americans have provided unpaid care to an adult age 50 or older in the last 12 months. Much of this caregiving is performed by women and often for their mothers or mothers-in-law, relationships that may be warm, fraught, or complicated. Even in the best of circumstances, caregivers can feel burned out, strained, and exhausted, but add to the mix the complicated emotions that come from caring for a loved one and you may have a perfect storm. Here, Jeanne Lord provides valuable emotional support and information for daughter caregivers to mother care-receivers during a stressful and uncertain time. It is unique in that it offers not only personal insights from caregiving daughters, but the perspectives of their mothers, as well. Lord followed the women on their journeys over the course of ten years, so the follow-up interviews give readers an opportunity to fast forward into the future lives of the caregiving daughters to read about their perspectives, and gain insights into new attitudes and ideas for life after caregiving. Through compelling stories and in-depth interviews, the very complex relationships between mothers and daughters in a caregiving situation are explored and revealed in an objective light. Offering comfort and understanding to the reader, the book also offers suggestions, ideas, resources, and support for navigating the care of their loved one.

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 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.

Given the importance that entrepreneurship and start-up businesses in technology-intensive sectors like life sciences, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, financial technologies, software and others have come to assume in economic development, the access of entrepreneurs to appropriate levels of finance has become a major focus of policymakers in recent decades. Yet, this prominence has led to a variety of policy models across countries and even within countries, as different levels of government have adapted to new challenges by refining or transforming pre-existing institutions and crafting new policy tools. Small Nations, High Ambitions investigates the roots of such policy diversity at the "subnational" level, offering in-depth accounts of the evolution of Quebec's and Scotland's policy strategies in the entrepreneurial finance sector and venture capital more specifically. As compared to other regions and provinces in the United Kingdom and Canada, Quebec and Scottish venture capital ecosystems rely on a high degree of state intervention, either direct (through public investment funds) or indirect (through government-backed, hybrid, or tax-advantaged funds). These two regions can thus be described as "sponsor states," heavily involved in the strategic backing of innovative businesses. Whereas most of the literature on venture capital has focused on economic variables to explain variations in policy models, this book seeks to explain policy divergence in Quebec and Scotland through political and ideological lenses. Its main argument is that the development of venture capital ecosystems in these regions was underpinned by Quebecois and Scottish nationalisms, which induced preferences for policy asymmetry and state intervention.

Today, concerns about the financial stability of Social Security, trends in disability, health care costs, and the supply of caregivers are all driven by the coming explosion inthe number of people over the age of 65. Aging in America focuses on the economic and demographic portrait of the senior population and can provide a context for analysis of broader population issues. It provides a wide range of characteristics of the older population including: age composition, race and Hispanic origin, educational attainment, living arrangements, veteran status, employment and income, health insurance, disability and housing characteristics. Extracting comparative information from the Census Bureau's FactFinder dissemination system can be difficult and time-consuming. Aging in America provides comparative data on a variety of topics in a single, easy-to-use volume. Some of the benefits of Aging in America include: It provides a cross-section of socio-economic characteristics focused on the aging population for commonly researched geographic areas: states, counties, cities, metropolitan and micropolitan areas, and congressional districts The tables are structured to allow easy comparisons across geographic areas and easy profiling of characteristics

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 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.

Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, Ninth Edition, provides a comprehensive synthesis of the latest research findings in the science of aging. The complexities of population dynamics, cohort succession and policy changes modify the world and its inhabitants in ways that must be vigilantly monitored. Completely revised, this edition not only includes the foundational, classic themes of aging research, but also a rich array of emerging topics and perspectives that advance the field in exciting ways. New topics include families, immigration, social factors and cognition, caregiving, neighborhoods and built environments, natural disasters, religion and health, and sexual behavior, among others. This book will serve as a useful resource and an inspiration to those searching for ways to contribute to the aging enterprise.

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.

This perceptive volume presents conceptual, theoretical, and empirical approaches to social policy analysis comparing China and Nordic countries in their treatment of the elderly. An international panel of experts offers valuable policy insights into issues of housing, community care, family care, pensions and social security, and mental health as China translates and adapts Western examples, particularly those set by Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The book contrasts shared issues in the contexts of economic history, accountability and service improvements, and sustainability while also examining specifically Chi nese problems such as care gaps between urban and rural elders. Coverage also considers the centrality of aging policy in China as the nation works toward its long-term goal of eradicating poverty. Included among the topics: Building a welfare system with Chinese characteristics: from a residual type to moderate universalism. "Aging in community": historical and comparative study of aging welfare and social policy. Sweden: aging welfare and social policy in the 21st century. Policy responses to aging: care services for the elderly in Norway. China's elderly care policy and its future trends. Aging Welfare and Social Policy will interest professionals and researchers addressing questions of Chinese and comparative social policy, health psychologists, and sociologists focused on family, youth, and aging.

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.

The Aging Consumer: Perspectives from Psychology and Marketing, 2nd edition takes stock of what is known around age and consumer behavior, identifies gaps and open questions within the research, and outlines an agenda for future research. There has been little systematic research done with respect to the most basic questions related to age and consumer behavior, such as whether older adults versus young and middle-age adults respond to marketing activities including pricing, promotions, product design, and distribution. Written by experts, The Aging Consumer compiles research on a broad range of topics on consumer marketing, from an individual to a societal level of analysis. This second edition provides new versions of chapters contained in the 2010 volume that have been updated to reflect the latest psychological and marketing research and thinking. Included also are ten new chapters which cover exciting new ground, such as changes in metacognition in older adults, motivated cognition of the aging consumer, and a global perspective on aging and the economy across cultures. This updated volume is beneficial for researchers and practitioners in marketing, consumer behavior, and advertising. Additionally, The Aging Consumer, 2nd edition will appeal to professionals in other fields such as psychology, decision sciences, gerontology and gerontological social work, and those who are concerned with normal human aging and its implications for the everyday behavior of older individuals. It will also be of interest to those in fields concerned with the societal implications of an aging population, such as economics, policy, and law.

This book presents an innovative demographic toolkit known as the ProFamy extended cohort-component method for the projection of household structures and living arrangements with empirical applications to the United States, the largest developed country, and China, the largest developing country. The ProFamy method uses demographic rates as inputs to project detailed distributions of household types and sizes, living arrangements of all household members, and population by age, sex, race/ethnicity, and urban/rural residence at national, sub-national, or small area levels. It can also project elderly care needs and costs, pension deficits, and household consumption. The ProFamy method presented herein has substantial merits compared to the traditional headship rate method, which is not linked to demographic rates and projects limited household types without other household members than "heads."

The book consists of four parts. The first part presents the methodology, data, estimation issues, and empirical assessments. The next parts present applications in the United States (part two) and China (part three), concerning demographic, social, economic, and business research; policy analysis, including forecasting future trends of household type/size, elderly living arrangements, disability, and home-based care costs, and household consumption including housing and vehicles. The fourth part includes a user's guide for the ProFamy software to project households, living arrangements, and home-based consumptions.

This book offers an invaluable toolkit for researchers, analysts and students in academic, public and private businesses, whose work is related to levels and rates of change in households, population and consumption patterns.

This book provides a comprehensive view of the quality of life of older people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds living in Australia. The book is unique and significant because the descriptions and arguments presented are based on the lived experience and hence provide deep insights into the complexity and dynamics of CALD older migrants. Key areas of exploration include social connectedness and inclusion, post-retirement economic activities, living arrangement and housing choice, practice of care, intergenerational exchange, and life satisfaction. A focus is placed on the diversity of ageing experience. Pathways of ageing are one of the key factors in investigating inter and intra-ethnic commonalities and disparities. The policy and research implications presented will appeal to policy makers, practitioners and researchers.

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.

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.

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.

Senior citizens (frequently referred to by the more inclusive term "older adults") are one of the largest and fastest growing demographics in the world. Public libraries have a duty to serve these individuals with the same level of care and opportunity for participation that is afforded to younger generations. This book explores older adults' values and needs and describes the many ways libraries can serve them in effective ways. Senior Services Today: A Practical Guide for Librarians is a comprehensive guide to library services for this important community. Chapters cover these critical areas: Engaging Older Adults in Library Programs and Services Understanding Demographic Differences Marketing to Older Adults: Strategies Programming Ideas for Older Adults in the Modern Age Enhancing Technology Accessibility for Older Adults Community Outreach: Serving Outside the Library Specialty Collections Items Continuing the Library's Relationship with an Aging Population While many times libraries tend to allocate budget and funding to flashier, brighter programs aimed at a more youthful audiences, this book shows how and why that same enthusiasm should be applied to crafting an engaging senior services plan. Gone are the conventional days of bingo and knitting circles; while those programs certainly have their place, this books aims to show that seniors also crave fun experiences alongside opportunities to make their own lives easier and more stress free-- and to illuminates how libraries can strike this balance by offering an enriching senior services roster.

From Consent to Coercion examines the increasing assault against trade union rights and freedoms in Canada by federal and provincial governments. Centring the struggles of Canadian unionized workers, this book explores the diminution of the welfare state and the impacts that this erosion has had on broader working-class rights and standards of living. The fourth edition witnesses the passing of an era of free collective bargaining in Canada - an era in which the state and capital relied on obtaining the consent of workers and unions to act as subordinates in Canada's capitalist democracy. It looks at how the last twenty years have marked a return to a more open reliance of the state and capital on coercion - on force and on fear - to secure that subordination. From Consent to Coercion considers this conjuncture in the Canadian political economy amid growing precarity, poverty, and polarization in an otherwise indeterminate period of austerity. This important edition calls attention to the urgent task of rebuilding and renewing socialist politics - of thinking ambitiously and meeting new challenges with unique solutions to the left of social democracy.