At a time, when the section of the older population is increasing in all western societies, more and more attention needs to be paid to the growing number of people who live with and die of drawn-out terminal illnesses, cancer being one of the most common ones. This study focuses on terminally ill people in a German hospice and addresses the question how meaningful experience is constructed for these patients in an attempt to preserve their dignity as persons. It is based on detailed and sometimes moving material from diary texts and active participation of the author in the role of a nurse, which allowed him to watch closely the behaviour of patients and nurses in routine situations and to look at the underlying emotions, values, and assumptions within such interaction. This book goes well beyond this particular case and reaches conclusions about death narratives that are significant for the social sciences more generally.

Age as Disease explores the foundations of gerontology as a discipline to examine the ways contemporary society constructs old age as a disease-state. Framed throughout as 'gerontological hygeine', this book examines contemporary regimes, strategies and treatment protocols deployed throughout Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The book deploys critical cultural theories such as biopolitics, somatechnics, ethics, and governmentality to examine how anti-aging technologies operate to problematise the aging body as always-already diseased, and how these come to constitute a movement of abolition, named here as 'gerontological hygiene'.

When a country emerges from violent conflict, the management of the environment and natural resources has important implications for short-term peacebuilding and long-term stability, particularly if natural resources were a factor in the conflict, play a major role in the national economy, or broadly support livelihoods. Only recently, however, have the assessment, harnessing, and restoration of the natural resource base become essential components of postconflict peacebuilding. This book, by thirty-five authors, examines the experiences of more than twenty countries and territories in assessing post-conflict environmental damage and natural resource degradation and their implications for human health, livelihoods, and security. The book also illustrates how an understanding of both the risks and opportunities associated with natural resources can help decision makers manage natural resources in ways that create jobs, sustain livelihoods, and contribute to economic recovery and reconciliation, without creating new grievances or significant environmental degradation. Finally, the book offers lessons from the remediation of environmental hot spots, restoration of damaged ecosystems, and reconstruction of the environmental services and infrastructure necessary for a sustainable peace. Assessing and Restoring Natural Resources in Post-Conflict Peacebuilding is part of a global initiative to identify and analyze lessons in post-conflict peacebuilding and natural resource management. The project has generated six books of case studies and analyses, with contributions by practitioners, policy makers, and researchers. Other books address highvalue resources, land, water, livelihoods, and governance.

In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts present career-long collections of what they judge to be their most interesting publications - extracts from books, key articles, research findings, practical and theoretical contributions. Professor Patrick Rabbitt has been a prominent contributor to knowledge of cognitive performance and cognitive ageing for over half a century. He has made a range of significant contributions to geronotological research, from the development of information processing theories in the 1950s and 1960s to a new understanding of decision making and the ageing process in subsequent decades. This collection of his research articles represents a review of how work in cognitive performance and cognitive ageing has developed in the past 50 years. Whilst the nature of scientific research means that some of the questions posed have since been answered, Rabbitt adds introductory sections to articles which contextualise its place in the subject area and offer a personal view on the evolution of the field. This book is important because it provides a perspective on the development of cognitive research and the ageing process through the work of an active researcher in the field. It will interest all students and researchers interested in cognitive development and gerontology.

The Arctic and its unique natural resources have become objects of increasing concern. Rapid climate change and ageing of the population are transforming the living conditions in the region. This translates into an urgent need for information that will contribute to a better understanding of these issues. Ageing, Wellbeing and Climate Change in the Arctic addresses the important intersection of ageing, wellbeing and climate change in the Arctic region, making a key interdisciplinary contribution to an area of research on which little has been written, and limited sources of information are currently available. The book explores three key areas of discussion. First, various political issues that are currently affecting the Arctic, such as the social categorisation of elderly people. Second, the living conditions of the elderly in relation to Arctic climate change. Third, the wellbeing of elderly people in terms of traditional knowledge and lifestyles. The book also features contributions from a number of key researchers in the field which examine a broad range of case studies, including the impact of climate change on health in Lapland and elderly people and geographical mobility in Norway. This book will be of great interest to scholars of climate change, gerontology and social policy.

Cognitive aging is a flourishing area of research. A significant amount of new data, a number of new theoretical notions, and many new research issues have been generated in the past ten years. This new edition reviews new findings and theories, enables the reader to assess where the field is today, and evaluates its points of growth. The chapters are organized to run from reviews of current work on neuroimaging, neuropsychology, genetics and the concept of brain reserve, through the 'mainstream' topics of attention, memory, knowledge and language, to a consideration of individual differences and of cognitive aging in a lifespan context. This edition continues to feature the broad range of its predecessors, while also providing critical assessments of current theories and findings.

Memory, Attention, and Aging is a collection of some of the most influential journal articles previously published by Fergus Craik and his collaborators, with new introductory material unifying the research of this noted cognitive psychologist. The reprinted articles are grouped into six sections reflecting Craik's various research interests across his career. The first section on short-term memory focuses on research concerns Craik uncovered in the 1970s, but are still valid today. They comprise theoretical suggestions and data on the nature of STM, including the notion that working memory may be defined as attention paid to features of items held in conscious awareness. The second section on levels of processing contains the very influential articles by Craik & Lockhart and by Craik & Tulving on memory research, in addition to a later article in which Craik gives a critical account of the LOP work. Craik's third interest is in cognitive aging. The section contains two articles from the 1980s in which Craik lays out his ideas on age-related changes in memory, plus a more recent article addressing lifespan changes in cognition. The fourth section on attention and memory has two articles that report on the effects of divided attention on subsequent memory, and differences between implicit and explicit memory processes. The fifth section on cognitive neuroscience includes an early PET study probing neural correlates of LOP, and a study searching for the neural correlates of the "self" concept. Finally, the sixth section contains an article on bilingualism that explores age-related differences in executive functions as a consequence of bilingualism, and a study showing that bilingualism postpones the onset of Alzheimer's disease. Grouping the most highly cited and groundbreaking articles of Fergus Craik in one volume, this book will be of interest to a wide spectrum of students and professional researchers.

Contemporary concerns about aging societies have stimulated interest in past ways of growing old, and whilst historians have investigated the experience of the aged, cultural representations of old age, and the phenomenon of demographic ageing, however the literature has been overwhelmingly western. This study reviews the world-wide literature on aging and seeks to move beyond received wisdom about attitudes and experiences running from the ancient world to the present.

Aging in World History will introduce students and general readers to historical ways of thinking about aging in two senses: the experience of individuals and the transformation of populations. The first section introduces theoretical concerns, understandings of "natural" or "traditional" ways of growing old, and diverse cultural prescriptions and representations. The second section covers key issues from the medieval to the early modern era. The third section looks at transitions to modernity, whilst the final part explores the contemporary world, before concluding with an overview of past, present and future.

This comprehensive graduate textbook focuses on the full spectrum of long-term care settings ranging from family and community based care through supportive housing options to a variety of institutional long-term care alternatives. Integrating theory and practice, the book features the perspectives of diverse fields regarding current long-term care options and new directions for the future. Prominent scholars from history, environmental design, family caregiving, gerontology, social service delivery, clinical care, health service delivery, public policy, finance, law, and ethics explore such themes as relationships among independence, dependence, and interdependence; ethical considerations in the provision of long-term care; decision-making in long-term care; fluidity and transitions in long-term care; the lived experience of long-term care; and a micro-macro perspective ranging from the individual to societal institutions.

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

Throughout the world's hinterland regions, people are growing old in resource-dependent communities that were neither originally designed nor presently equipped to support an ageing population. This book provides cutting edge theoretical and empirical insights into the new phenomenon resource frontier ageing, to understand the diverse experiences of and responses to rural population ageing in the early 21st century. The book explores the resource hinterland as a new frontier of rural ageing and examines three central themes of rural population change, community development and voluntarism that characterize ageing resource communities. By investigating the links among these three themes, the book provides the conceptual and empirical foundations for the future agenda of rural ageing research. This timely contribution contains 15 original chapters by leading international experts from Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, UK, Ireland and Norway.

Advancing the notion of connected autonomy, and highlighting the importance of interdisciplinary research in the development of this novel concept, this volume explores the possibility of maintaining the freedom to make one's own decisions in later life, while also remaining connected to others - as well as to things, services, places and events. Through a series of case studies, the book examines the importance of preserving self-determination as health, environmental and social circumstances render autonomy more difficult, showing that innovations in social interaction and technology have the capacity to enhance older persons' connectedness to their environment, while at the same time, offering opportunities for self-governance. As such, it will appeal to scholars across the social sciences with interests in ageing and the life course, the sociology of science and technology and research methods.

* offers a fresh approach, employing new and exciting custom methodologies in psychodrama * inspires and gives helpful tools to those who work with people who suffer from Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia, loss, illness, self-effacement, abuse, or any issue that causes loneliness and depression * fhe focus is on old age and dementia; however, the tools and illustrations can be used by therapists, teachers, and personnel of all fields

The vast majority of resources in public initiatives to support older people are invested in financial security, health care, and long-term care, where the focus is on individual benefits. Community features that collectively benefit residents have received much less systematic attention. This volume explores how the effort to make cities livable for older people is a specialized version of efforts to make cities more livable for people of all ages. The livable community movement coincides with appreciation for development in places with sufficient density to provide walkable distances between residential and commercial areas, and density sufficient to provide the basis for viable public transportation. The book will be of interest to scholars in fields including urban planning, gerontology, transportation planning, environmental design, and adult education.

Across the globe, both in developed and developing countries, the population is rapidly ageing. In the fields of sexual and relationship therapy and sexual health, ageing has not been an issue of priority. Too often, ageing is thought of as a process that relates to problems, deficits, and taboos, and less to pleasure, change, growth and diversity. It is treated as a separate life stage and not a process throughout the lifecycle. Sexuality and sexual health are important parts of the lives of older people, as they have a significant impact on quality of life, psychological well-being and physical health, as well as social and family life. This book brings together contributions from those currently writing on and researching ageing as it relates, in a therapeutic context, to gender identity, to sex and sexuality, and to intimate relationships. This book was originally published as a special issue of Sexual and Relationship Therapy.

Aging & the Life Course: Social & Cultural Contexts provides an accessible, up-to-date introduction to the study of aging and the life course from a distinctly sociological perspective. It explores the sociocultural dimensions of aging while encouraging critical thinking about the diversity of aging experiences, societal attitudes toward older adults the politics and economics of growing old, and end-of-life resources. Throughout, the text emphasizes the relevance of the material for working with older populations, understanding social policy and policy debates, improving communities, relating to others, and understanding ourselves.

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.

Originally published in 1987, a well-known Jungian analyst, the late Bani Shorter writes here about how women are initiated into becoming themselves. Her book was an important contribution to the field of analytical psychology at the time, as well as to the increasingly popular study of women's spirituality. In former times transitions from one stage of life to another were prepared for and marked by ritual initiation; in modern times this necessity is overlooked and women's natural development is made more difficult as a consequence. Through working in close therapeutic relationships with women, Bani Shorter found that when challenged by crises and transitions in their lives, today's women instinctively create rituals nevertheless to mark their journey towards maturation, wholeness and meaning. In this process they discover something of who they are and recognise dimensions of themselves which have been previously repressed and undreamed of. The stories unfolded here can be a guide for all women through their own rites of passage.

Rapid fertility declines and improved longevity are now shifting the overall balance of population towards older ages in many parts of the world. Within this growing population of older people there are many groups with particular needs about which relatively little is known. This collection focuses on one such sub-population, the elderly without children. Few would deny that childlessness poses potential human and welfare problems for older people without them. What is less well known is that comparative anthropological and historical demographic research indicates that childlessness is a recurring social phenomenon that has affected 1 in 5 older women in many cultures and historical periods. High levels of childlessness arise not solely or primarily from biological factors like primary sterility, but from a combination of actors. Many, like non-marriage, delayed childbearing , and pathological sterility, reflect the interaction of social and biological influences. Also of major importance are factors that remove the support of children from elders' lives: migration, mortality, divorce, remarriage, family enmity, social mobility, and the pressing demands of family and career on younger generations. The papers collected in this volume employ a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods to define and characterize the experience of ageing without children.

Rapid fertility declines and improved longevity are now shifting the overall balance of population towards older ages in many parts of the world. Within this growing population of older people there are many groups with particular needs about which relatively little is known.This collection focuses on one such sub-population, the elderly without children. Few would deny that childlessness poses potential human and welfare problems for older people without them. What is less well known is that comparative anthropological and historical demographic research indicates that childlessness is a recurring social phenomenon that has affected 1 in 5 older women in many cultures and historical periods. High levels of childlessness arise not solely or primarily from biological factors like primary sterility, but from a combination of factors. Many, like non-marriage, delayed childbearing, and pathological sterility, reflect the interaction of social and biological influences. Also of major importance are factors that remove the support of children from elders' lives: migration, mortality, divorce, remarriage, family enmity, social mobility, and the pressing demands of family and career on younger generations. The papers collected in this volume employ a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods to define and characterize the experience of ageing without children. Philip Kreager is Lecturer in Human Sciences, Somerville College, and Senior Research Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Ageing. Elisabeth Schroder-Butterfill is British Academy Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, St Antony's College, Oxford.

This collection highlights the current efforts by scholars and researchers to understand the aging process as it relates to the health of older adults. With contributions from international scholars in communication, psychology, public health, medicine, nursing, and other areas, this volume emphasizes communication as a critical research, education, policy, and practice issue for the design, provision, and evaluation of health and social services for older adults. Organized into sections addressing communication developments in the healthcare arena, issues in provider-patient communication, and the relationships between family communication and health. The chapters cover critical topics related to successful aging, such as Alzheimer's disease, managed care and older adults, communication issues of severe dementia, and healthcare decision-making within families. The editors have designed this volume to be accessible to a broad audience, including scholars and students of aging and communication, healthcare practitioners with older clients, and aging individuals and their families who are pursuing strategies for successful aging. The chapters represent the highest levels of current scholarship on communication, aging, and health, providing a strong foundation for future research. Each contribution also addresses the applied implications of this research, offering practical guidance to readers dealing with these issues in their own lives. As a whole, Aging, Communication, and Health represents a major advance toward understanding the importance and application of communication for successful aging.

Based on the proceedings of the twelfth biennial conference on life-span developmental psychology, most of the contributions in this volume deal with the mechanisms of everyday cognition. However, a broad spectrum of additional concerns is addressed within the domain of everyday cognition: its metatheoretical underpinnings, theory and theoretical issues, methods of investigation, empirical considerations, and social issues and applications. Addressing everyday cognition in infancy, childhood, adolescence, young and middle adulthood, and old age, this book is consistent with the chronological life-span theme of this series. The contributors collectively discuss some of the traditional concerns of life-span psychology: the dialectical nature of everyday cognition, individual differences, and contextual influences. Leading and concluding chapters provide overview, integration, and summary. In bringing together a wide array of age periods and points of view within the domain of everyday cognition, the editors hope that students and researchers in developmental psychology and cognitive science will find a useful cross-fertilization of ideas. A huge variety of theoretical perspectives is presented ranging from the position that everyday cognition and academic (laboratory) cognition are different manifestations of the same underlying processes to the position that the underlying processes are completely separate. Also of importance, a large assortment of research methods is illustrated including interviews, laboratory simulations, real-life observations and psychometric methods.

Primary progressive aphasia is a type of dementia that progressively impairs language abilities (speaking, understanding, reading and writing) and may eventually affect other aspects of thinking, movement and/or personality. For the person with primary progressive aphasia, these problems have a profound effect on their ability to communicate, which in turn impacts their relationships, social networks and ability to participate in everyday activities that depend on communication. Recent understanding of primary progressive aphasia has grown enormously, however, and this book provides an up-to-date survey of research relevant to the clinical care of people with primary progressive aphasia. It covers initial diagnosis, neuropathology, genetics and typical patterns of progression from early- to late-stage disease, with a special focus on management and intervention for a range of different language symptoms and everyday communication activities. This book is suitable for a wide readership, from neurologists, geriatricians and other medical specialists, to general practitioners, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and students in these fields. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Aphasiology.

Primary progressive aphasia is a type of dementia that progressively impairs language abilities (speaking, understanding, reading and writing) and may eventually affect other aspects of thinking, movement and/or personality. For the person with primary progressive aphasia, these problems have a profound effect on their ability to communicate, which in turn impacts their relationships, social networks and ability to participate in everyday activities that depend on communication. Recent understanding of primary progressive aphasia has grown enormously, however, and this book provides an up-to-date survey of research relevant to the clinical care of people with primary progressive aphasia. It covers initial diagnosis, neuropathology, genetics and typical patterns of progression from early- to late-stage disease, with a special focus on management and intervention for a range of different language symptoms and everyday communication activities. This book is suitable for a wide readership, from neurologists, geriatricians and other medical specialists, to general practitioners, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists and students in these fields. It was originally published as a special issue of the journal Aphasiology.