This book focuses on older people as makers of meaning and insight, highlighting the evolving values, priorities and ways of communicating that make later life fascinating. It explores what creating 'meaning' in later life really implies, for older people themselves, for how to conceptualise older people and for relationships between generations. The book offers a language for discussing major types of lifecourse meaning, not least those concerning ethical and temporal aspects of the ways people interpret their lifecourses, the ways older people form part of social and symbolic landscapes, and the types of wisdom they can offer. It will appeal to students of gerontology, sociological methodology, humanistic sociology, philosophy, psychology, and health promotion and medicine.

Designing for Older Adults: Case Studies, Methods, and Tools There are many products, tools, and technologies available that could provide support for older adults. However, their success requires that they are designed with older adults in mind by being aware of, and adhering to, design principles that recognize the needs, abilities, and preferences of diverse groups of older adults. Achieving good design is a process facilitated by seeing principles and guidelines in action. Design success requires understanding how to use the methods and tools available to evaluate initial ideas and prototypes. The goal of this book is to provide illustrative "case studies" of designing for older adults based on real design challenges faced by the researchers of the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement (CREATE) over the past two decades. These case studies exemplify the use of human factors tools and user-centered design principles to understand the needs of older adults, identify where existing designs failed older users, and examine the effectiveness of design changes to better accommodate the abilities and preferences of the large and growing aging population. Features Reviews important design considerations for older adults and presents a framework for design Provides a series of real-world case studies to ground design principles and guidelines Offers a unique set and broad array of design challenges, from the design of healthcare devices, to computer systems and apps, to transportation systems and robots Gives an overview of emerging technologies, their potential benefits to older adults, anticipated design considerations, and new and emerging approaches to evaluating design Covers these topics with designers in mind, providing the most up-to-date recommendations based on the scientific literature but in an accessible, easy-to-understand, non-technical manner

Populations around the globe are ageing rapidly. This demographic shift affects families, market structures and social provisions. This timely volume, part of the Ageing and the Lifecourse series, argues that the lifecourse perspective helps us understand the causes and effects of population ageing. The lifecourse perspective suggests that individuals' experiences at an early age can influence their decisions and behaviour at a later age. This much-needed volume combines insights from different disciplines and real-life experiences to describe the theories and practices behind this idea. It therefore caters to the needs of scholars, practitioners and policy makers in a range of areas including sociology and political science.

Demographic ageing is identified as a global challenge with significant social policy implications. This book explores these implications, with a particular focus on the pressures and prospects for ageing societies in the context of austerity. The book presents a carefully crafted study of ageing in Ireland, one of the countries hardest hit by the Eurozone financial crisis. Providing a close, critical analysis of ageing and social policy that draws directly on the perspectives of older people, the text makes significant advances in framing alternatives to austerity-driven government policy and neoliberalism, giving a refreshing interdisciplinary account of contemporary ageing.

This unique book represents the first multi-disciplinary examination of ageing, covering everything from basic cell biology, to social participation in later life, to the representations of old age in the arts and literature. A comprehensive introductory text about the latest scientific evidence on ageing, the book draws on the pioneering New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, the UK's largest research programme in ageing. This programme brought together leading academics from across the arts and humanities, social and biological sciences and fields of engineering and medical research, to study how ageing is changing and the ways in which this process can be made more beneficial to both individuals and society. Comprising individual, local, national and global perspectives, this book will appeal to everyone with an interest in one of the greatest challenges facing the world - our own ageing.

This book focuses on the diverse interrelationships between aging and transnationality. It argues that the lives of older people are increasingly entangled in transnational contexts on the social as well as the cultural, economic and political levels. Within these contexts, older people both actively contribute to and are affected by border-crossing processes. In addition, while some may voluntarily opt for adding a transnational dimension to their lives, others may have less choice in the matter. Transnational aging, therefore, provides a critical lens on how older people shape, organize and cope with life in contexts that are no longer bound to the frame of a single nation-state. Accordingly, the book emphasizes the agency of older people as well as the personal and structural constraints of their situations. The chapters in this book reveal these aspects by approaching transnational aging from different methodological angles, such as ethnographic research, comparative studies, quantitative data, and policy and discourse analysis. Geographically, the chapters cover a wide range of countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, such as Namibia, Thailand, Russia, Germany, the United States and Ecuador.

The ageing of the population has enormous implications for the provision of, and access to, health care. Christina Victor's important textbook provides comprehensive overview of the experiences of older people, chapters on physical health, mental health, disability and lifestyle, a thesis of current policy developments, the key debates on the future health of elders and an international, up-to-date perspective. Written by a leader in the field, the book covers key questions such as the fitness of future older people, the widening inequalities in their health and whether health in old age is related to habits and behaviour in earlier life.

This topical and timely analysis of late career and retirement within nine European societies and the USA examines how social inequality structures have developed in an era of globalization and aging populations. For several decades, many European societies relied on pushing and luring older workers out of employment by using generous early retirement programs in order to relieve national labor markets in times of globalization. However, as this book argues, one of the major challenges facing European and Northern American societies today is their severe demographic aging, which in turn places pension systems under substantial pressure due to the rising imbalance between those claiming pensions and those contributing to the pension system. Indeed, it is observed herein that in the recent past, governments have tried to increase the labor market attachment of older employees by retrenching early retirement benefits. This study investigates how these developments have impacted on the situation of older workers and retirees in nine European societies and the USA. In particular, the book looks at how social inequalities in later life have developed in the light of recent pension reforms. This informative book will appeal to sociologists, demographers, political scientists and economists interested in many different aspects of research including: international comparative research, globalization, labor market, welfare state, social inequality and research on aging. Researchers in the field of retirement and globalization studies will also find this book helpful, as will academics in labor market research and comparative political studies.

The surprise election of Donald J. Trump to the presidency of the United States marks a singular turning point in the American republic - not only because of his idiosyncratic approach to the office, but also because the Republican Party now holds the presidency and both houses of Congress, presenting a historic opportunity for change. The role of older Americans has been critical in both shaping and reacting to this political moment. Their political orientations and behaviors have shaped it through their electoral support for Republican candidates. But, older Americans stand as highly invested stakeholders in the policy decisions made by the very officials they elected and as beneficiaries of the programs that Republicans have targeted for cuts or elimination. This comprehensive volume explores the ways in which Trump administration policies are likely to significantly undermine the social safety net for near-elderly and older Americans, including long-term care, housing, health care, and retirement. The authors also explore how the Trump administration might shape politics and political behavior through the policy changes made. The response of older voters, in upcoming elections, to efforts by the Trump administration and its Republican allies in Congress to draw back on the federal government's commitment to programs and policies affecting them will shape the direction of aging policy and politics for years to come. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Aging & Social Policy.

This unique book represents the first multi-disciplinary examination of ageing, covering everything from basic cell biology, to social participation in later life, to the representations of old age in the arts and literature. A comprehensive introductory text about the latest scientific evidence on ageing, the book draws on the pioneering New Dynamics of Ageing Programme, the UK's largest research programme in ageing. This programme brought together leading academics from across the arts and humanities, social and biological sciences and fields of engineering and medical research, to study how ageing is changing and the ways in which this process can be made more beneficial to both individuals and society. Comprising individual, local, national and global perspectives, this book will appeal to everyone with an interest in one of the greatest challenges facing the world - our own ageing.

This handbook introduces readers to the concept of elderly entrepreneurship, and analyzes key issues concerning individuals and institutions. In addition, it presents theoretical and empirical studies exploring the reasons why elderly persons choose to pursue entrepreneurship, despite their advanced age. To investigate this comparatively new entrepreneurial phenomenon, the contributors address psychological, sociological and gerontological aspects, and share unique interdisciplinary insights. The book's chapters are methodologically diverse, and the scale of analysis ranges from individual cases to country-level patterns. At a time when the world's major economies are facing a demographic challenge due to ageing populations, elderly entrepreneurship may provide new economic opportunities and motivate more inclusive policymaking.

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.

First published in 1985. Information technology can offer huge benefits to the disabled. It can help many disabled people to overcome barriers of time and space and to a much greater extent it can help them to overcome barriers of communication. In that way new information technology offers opportunities to neutralise the worst effects of many kinds of disablement. This book reviews the possibilities of using information technology in the education of the disabled. Commencing with an assessment of the learning problems faced by disabled people, it goes on to look at the scope of information technology and how it has been used for the education of students of all ages, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. A penultimate section considers most of the contentious issues that faced users of technology, whilst the conclusion devotes itself to the immediate and longer-term future, suggesting possible future trends and the consequent problems that may arise.

This book is a refreshingly honest self-help guide to aging well. It encourages readers to dispel gloom or overcome denial around the subject of aging and offers advice in a realistic, non-prescriptive format. Practical yet personable, chapters move through pertinent topics such as making the decision to retire and successfully navigating that transition; designing daily routines (your practice) and engaging in activities (your projects); connecting with others as relationships shift and evolve; and managing moods and emotional issues. The guide also supports readers coping with illness or injury, experiencing loss and grief, and those searching for meaning as they grow older. Written in a conversational style, An Essential Guide to Aging Well motivates its readers to be curious about this time of life, and to design the best possible version of it for themselves.

Prior to publication, it had only recently been appreciated that psychology had a great deal to offer in therapeutic terms to a wide range of patients, and was not merely concerned with assessing and identifying problems. This is particularly so with the elderly where physical and mental problems and multiple pathology are compounded, and where psychological aspects of the quality of life are so important. The focus of this book, originally published in 1986, is on therapeutic approaches and the effective implementation of services. While the book is aimed particularly at clinical psychologists, it will also be of great interest to medical, nursing or occupational therapy staff working with elderly people.

This book provides a comprehensive, theory-based analysis of current issues in population economics. It addresses the most important problems caused by demographic changes using the popular overlapping generations growth model by Samuelson and Diamond. Taking into account families' fertility decisions, it examines not only the demographic changes due to longer life expectancy but also the effects of social security policy on demography and labor supply/individual retirement behaviors. Conducting all analyses in a dynamic general equilibrium setting, the book offers a valuable theoretical reference guide in the field of population economics.

'Active ageing' has become a key phrase in discourses about challenges and remedies for demographic ageing and the enrolment of older adults into voluntary work is an important dimension of it. The pattern and factors conditioning volunteering among older people has so far been an under-researched topic in Europe and this is the first book to study volunteering among older people comparatively and comprehensively. In this topical book older people's volunteering is studied in eight European countries at the structural, macro, meso and micro levels. Overall it highlights how different interactions between the levels facilitate or hinder older people's inclusion in voluntary work and makes policy suggestions for an integrated strategy. This book provides important new insights for academics and students interested in ageing societies, active ageing and voluntary work. It will also be of great value for policy makers and practitioners in third sector and voluntary organisations.

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.

This book is a refreshingly honest self-help guide to aging well. It encourages readers to dispel gloom or overcome denial around the subject of aging and offers advice in a realistic, non-prescriptive format. Practical yet personable, chapters move through pertinent topics such as making the decision to retire and successfully navigating that transition; designing daily routines (your practice) and engaging in activities (your projects); connecting with others as relationships shift and evolve; and managing moods and emotional issues. The guide also supports readers coping with illness or injury, experiencing loss and grief, and those searching for meaning as they grow older. Written in a conversational style, An Essential Guide to Aging Well motivates its readers to be curious about this time of life, and to design the best possible version of it for themselves.

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.

First published in 2000. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Population ageing and the globalisation of international migration are challenging the research agendas of social scientists around the world, and posing numerous challenges for policy makers and practitioners whose goal is to formulate and design high-quality and user-friendly policies and services. Both of these phenomena have brought, for example, attention to the fact that more and more people around the world are ageing in countries other than those where they were born. The fact that elderly care sectors around the world need to recruit staff if they are to handle the growing number of older people that will need their services is also something that has been discussed when population ageing and the globalisation of international migration have been debated. The elderly care sector's reliance on people with migrant backgrounds has namely increased as a result of these phenomena. This collection is therefore situated at the intersection of ageing and migration studies and takes into account the various issues with which this intersection is concerned. The chapters in this volume are written by established researchers in the field of ageing and migration around the world. The collection explores these issues in three sections: Elderly care regimes and migration regimes: national perspectives Ageing in contexts of migration: a multifaceted phenomenon Elderly care and migration. The expert contributions in this volume address the array of issues associated with the study of ageing, old age and elderly care in contexts of migration.

Research on sexual violence has been a growing area of academic study since the 1970s. However, the focus of these efforts has centred on younger women, leaving older women largely ignored in research. This book presents data from the first UK study to examine the extent, nature and impacts of sexual violence against people aged 60 and over. Drawing on both quantitative analysis of reported cases of sexual violence against people over 60 and qualitative interviews with practitioners in sexual violence and age-related organisations as well as survivors of sexual violence, this book situates the research findings in the context of feminist criminology and gerontology, and sets an agenda for future research, policy and practice. Sexual Violence against Older People is vital reading for practitioners and policymakers, and those engaged in studies of criminology, health and nursing, social work, elder abuse and violence against women.

This book aims to explore the nature and extent of the 'care deficit' problem in European societies and how effective the different care systems are in dealing with these problems through policy innovation. It combines theoretical and conceptual debates, cross-national comparisons and analytically-driven case studies.

Men Still at Work explores the reasons why many men are continuing to work well beyond the traditional retirement age. In today's challenging economy, they are the second-fastest growing group of workers (just behind older women). Filled with profiles of older working men, as well as dynamic interview quotes, Men Still at Work explores thorny issues such as masculinity and the "need to provide," as well as economic issues, job satisfaction, and more.