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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social groups & communities > Age groups > Adults
Few prejudices in Western society are more powerful than those concerning aging. Until recently, we have assumed that the story of aging is one of loss and decline. But there's an entirely different truth. Yes, you can teach an old dog-or even a sort of old dog-new tricks. Is there a secret to staying young? It turns out that there are many, and they all begin with nurturing our existing relationships to foster brain health, keeping us happier and healthier. As readers of this book will learn, wisdom, enhanced social relationships, greater adaptation and flexibility (mental, if not physical!)-all these things can be attained as we grow older. Filled with both practical and thought-provoking suggestions, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to age in style.
The idea that our society is ageing is a popular source of gloomy predictions for the future. We see today's youth struggling in their mature years to pay for the masses of geriatric baby boomers whose productive years lie far behind.Australia's New Aged shows that this belief is part reality and part myth. While there will be an increase in the proportion of aged people in the next 20 years, this is a temporary phenomenon and it is likely that tomorrow's elderly will quite differently from their parents.Australia's New Aged examines public policy for the aged in the context of an increasingly vocal and active elderly population and cutbacks to health and welfare spending. The authors argue that policy makers have become trapped in a 'social problem' approach to ageing that assumes the elderly are a homogeneous, disadvantaged group with common interests. They examine a range of cases and identify negative consequences of inappropriate assumptions in terms of structural blindness and brutality. They show that this approach is no longer viable and argue that both policy makers and the aged care industry will need to be more sensitive to diversity and more flexible than ever before.Australia's New Aged is essential reading for students, policy makers and anyone working with the aged. John McCallum is Professor of Public Health and Dean of the Faculty of Health at the University of Western Sydney, Macarthur and co-editor of Grey Policy (1990). Karin Geiselhart is a journalist previously employed by the Office for the Status of Women in Canberra.
The exercise programming guidelines provided in this book focus on functional fitness training and safety and demonstrate how physical activities supervised by activities personnel can strongly benefit participants'quality of life. Exercise Programming for Older Adults guarantees that exercise programming attains a balance between the three major physical components--aerobic, strength, and flexibility training--and that each component is properly administered. The techniques and applications described are geared toward those with prevalent conditions of aging such as arthritis, osteoporosis, joint replacement, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.This essential handbook arms the reader with a multidisciplinary approach to exercise management for elderly populations. The chapter authors are experts from the fields of fitness instruction, nursing, physical therapy, medicine, research, and exercise physiology. As they address the theory and practice of providing sound exercise programming, specific exercises are described and illustrated, with emphasis on functional fitness outcomes, safety precautions, fall prevention, and practical adaptations for low-fit and physically limited participants. Chapter discussions include: aerobic exercise strength training flexibility training the administration of mild posture and breathing exercises for debilitated individuals with poor prognoses positioning and transfer techniques essential for optimal activities management of neurologically impaired patients warm water exercise programs designed for persons with low tolerance of conventional training methodsExercise Programming for Older Adults serves as a vital resource for activity coordinators in long-term care settings and for group fitness instructors and personal trainers who serve older adult and frail elderly clientele. Readers will discover alternative techniques and applications for maximizing the physical and mental therapeutic benefits of exercise and developing the functional fitness of even the most physically challenged participants.
About 30 percent of hospice patients report a "visitation" by someone who is not there, a phenomenon known in end-of-life care as a deathbed vision. These visions can be of dead friends or family members and occur on average three days before death. Strikingly, individuals from wildly diverse geographic regions and religions-from New York to Japan to Moldova to Papua New Guinea-report similar visions. Appearances of our dead during serious illness, crises, or bereavement are as old as the historical record. But in recent years, we have tended to explain them in either the fantastical terms of the supernatural or the reductive terms of neuroscience. This book is about how, when, and why our dead visit us. Allan Kellehear-a medical sociologist and expert on death, dying, and palliative care-has gathered data and conducted studies on these experiences across cultures. He also draws on the long-neglected work of early anthropologists who developed cultural explanations about why the dead visit. Deathbed visions conform to the rituals that underpin basic social relations and expectations-customs of greeting, support, exchange, gift-giving, and vigils-because the dead must communicate with us in a social language that we recognize. Kellehear emphasizes the personal consequences for those who encounter these visions, revealing their significance for how the dying person makes meaning of their experiences. Providing vital understanding of a widespread yet mysterious phenomenon, Visitors at the End of Life offers insights for palliative care professionals, researchers, and the bereaved.
Those providing services to older persons must develop intervention strategies that are relevant to their clients'life experiences. Aging Families and Use of Proverbs for Values Enrichment presents administrators, practitioners, educators, researchers, and students with intervention models that acknowledge and build upon the proverbs orientation of the older client. This insightful book offers information from contributing authors who have professional and personal experience with the use of proverbs. Proverbs, pithy sayings that underline basic life truths, are shown in this book to work as transmitters of values and as assessment tools.To improve the ability of service programs addressing the needs of older persons, Aging Families and Use of Proverbs for Values Enrichment delineates existing approaches that are low-cost or no cost to the service provider and beneficial to older persons. Moreover, these practices are considered within the context of a conceptual model of proverbs intervention programs for older persons that takes into consideration principles of care, cultural diversity, and family traditions. Contributors examine human competencies, coping mechanisms, and limitations, as well as other more general topics: Rehabilitation: Dispels the myth that older persons can not break long-term habits and learn new things that will improve their lives. Intergenerational Transmission: Discusses family-oriented and cultural values that are passed down from generation to generation via oral tradition. Coping with Life Events: Addresses proverbs as coping mechanisms for surviving the social transitions of life. Health and Health Care: Dispels the myth that some health care practices are taboo among older persons. Cultural and Family Ties: Discusses proverbs as the cornerstone of family sharing regarding life s lessons. Spirituality: Contrasts African American religiosity with spirituality. Discusses proverbs as messages of faith and hope.Any person who provides services to older persons--social workers, counselors, physicians, nurses, ministers and other members of the clergy, speech and physical therapists, rehabilitation counselors, and family therapists--can benefit from using proverbs, as shown in this book, in their care approach.
This important book examines the relationship between religion and mental health throughout the life cycle, with a special emphasis on later life. It asserts that successful aging is possible regardless of physical health or environmental circumstances, and that religious beliefs and behaviors may facilitate successful aging. Aging and God thoroughly examines the effects of religion and mental health on aging and provides a centralized resource of up-to-date references of research in the field. It focuses on recent findings, theoretical issues, and implications for clinical practice and contains ideas for further research. In Aging and God, you ll also find information on project design that can help you develop grant applications and carry out studies.Aging and God is a helpful book for both mental health and religious professionals. It helps mental health specialists better understand the spiritual needs of older adults and the impact that religion can have on facilitating mental health. It also describes how religion can be utilized in clinical practice and integrated into psychotherapeutic approaches to older patients. The book brings religious professionals current knowledge of the major psychological problems that older adults face and how religion can be used to help alleviate these problems.Full of pertinent information, Aging and God addresses theoretical aspects of human development, focusing on cognitive, moral, and religious faith development examines situations and disorders of particular concern to older persons and looks at how religion can be used as a resource applies research findings to the problem of meeting the spiritual and mental health needs of elders with chronic or acute health problems provides an in-depth look at end-of-life issues such as physician-assisted suicideHospital and nursing home chaplains will find this book informative and encouraging, as will gerontologists, hospital administrators, and community clergy faced with increasingly older congregations. It gives mental health professionals new strategies to help improve the later years of older adults, and makes an excellent text for courses on religion, mental health, and aging. Middle-aged and older adults, as well as their families, will also find Aging and God enjoyable and inspiring as they attempt to grapple with the myriad adjustment and coping problems associated with aging.
This book discusses current challenges in Japan, focusing on the nation's rapidly aging population and low birth rate, along with persistent public bond issues with heavy interest payments, the potential collapse of social security systems, and income inequality, as well as the global picture. In turn, it examines the accessibility of global fossil fuels and feasibility of large-scale solar energy use. A new theory of money, interest, and capital is put forward, together with a proposal for an alternative system of international monetary cooperation, to promote a more sustainable and equitable world. Specific topics discussed include * the inverted population pyramid, due to the dramatic change in human life spans and declining birth rates; * the rapidly shrinking workforce, aging population, and declining GDP share sourced from industry; * disproportionate debt expansion due to public bond issues and coping with a persistent budget deficit; * the potential collapse of social security systems combined with income inequality; and * how to mitigate these bio-economic predicaments. Global Energy Sources offers an essential guide for policymakers, economists, researchers, and all those concerned with establishing a sustainable and equitable society from both energy and monetary perspectives. Further, it will be of interest to readers around the world, as the lessons learned from Japan are crucial to other developed societies that may eventually face the same types of challenge.
More than thirty years ago, an entire generation sought a new way of life, looking for fulfillment and meaning in a way no one had before. Leaving his teaching job at Harvard, Ram Dass embodied the role of spiritual seeker, showing others how to find peace within themselves in one of the greatest spiritual classics of the twentieth century, Be Here Now. Now, as many of that generation enter the autumn of their years, the big questions of peace and of purpose have returned, demanding answers. And once again, Ram Dass blazes a new trail, inviting all to join him on the next stage of the journey.
This book offers an interdisciplinary analysis of the experience of economic vulnerability among older adults. Drawing on various fields ranging from happiness, economics to stress research, it integrates assessments from objective and subjective measurement perspectives. The book offers nuanced insights into prevalent experiences of low economic quality of life in wealthy countries, using empirical data from Switzerland. A sample of some 1500 adults aged 65-84 is taken as the basis for a systematic comparison of the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of three - overlapping - groups of potentially vulnerable pensioners: those who are income-poor (objective measure), those who report difficulties making ends meet (subjectively self-assessed measure) and those who worry about not having enough money for current expenses (subjectively perceived measure). Theoretical and empirical evidence is offered for the distinctiveness of the two subjective indicators, one of which assesses the experience of economic strain while the other captures the individual's response in terms of stress. The conceptual contribution of this research includes a typology of economic vulnerability: eight distinct profiles emerge at the intersection of the objective, self-assessed and perceived measures. These profiles correspond to specific risk constellations, and they reflect varying degrees of human agency in dealing with economic vulnerability.
How can we be happier, healthier and more satisfied in life? This edited collection examines various dimensions of wellbeing among older people, including its measurement; social, environmental and economic determinants; and how research can be translated into policy to improve quality of life for older people. With an increasingly ageing population across countries and an increasing population of older adults, there is growing interest in improving older people's ability to live healthily and happily. With a focus on retirement and aged care, this book is important reading for those interested in Welfare Economics, Health Economics and Development.
International contributors apply lifecourse approaches to understanding evolving definitions of work and retirement. They consider the range of transitions from paid work to retirement that are potentially different for women and men in different family circumstances and occupational locations, and offer solutions governments should consider to enable them to evaluate existing policies.
This book provides a comprehensive overview of a growing phenomenon in migration: retired Americans moving to Latin America. Through in-depth profiles of two of the most popular destinations - Cuenca, Ecuador and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the book provides a unique commentary on the social forces shaping this new diaspora and its impact on the settings to which retirees relocate. Sections of the book address the lives and activities of retirees themselves; their impact on real estate, business development, and gentrification within historic cities; the availability and access to medical and long-term care services; and the role of governmental policies in attracting immigrant retirees and shaping their societal impact. Concluding sections provide guidance for potential retirees and for cities and countries interested in attracting these new immigrants while minimizing adverse impact on local culture and quality of life. Carefully researched and extensively illustrated with photographs, maps, figures, and tables, the book serves as an important new resource for scientists and policy makers, as well as for baby boomers who have retired abroad or are considering doing so.
The phenomenon of age-related cognitive decline has long been controversial, both in terms of mere existence, and with respect to how it is explained. Some researchers have dismissed it as an artifact of declining health or lower levels of education, and others have attributed it to general changes occurring in the external environment. Still other interpretations have been based on the "use it or lose it" principle -- known as the Disuse Hypothesis -- or on the idea that there are qualitative differences in either the structure or the process of cognition across the adult years. Perhaps the most popular approach at present relies on the information-processing perspective and attempts to identify the critical processing component most responsible for age-related differences in cognition. The primary purposes of this book are first to review the evidence of age-related differences in cognitive functioning and then to evaluate the major explanations proposed to account for the negative relations between age and cognition that have been established. Included is a discussion of theoretical dimensions and levels of scientific theorizing assumed to be helpful in understanding and evaluating alternative perspectives on cognitive aging. The various perspectives are then covered in detail and analyzed. The text concludes with observations about the progress that has been made in explaining cognitive aging phenomena, plus recommendations for research practices that might contribute to greater progress in the future.
Growing Up: Pastoral Nurture for the Later Years is a sensitive volume devoted to helping older adults retain their status as meaningful members of their congregations and communities. In an honest approach, based on the foundations that old age is supposed to happen, the future belongs to the old, and vocation for people of faith is lifelong, Thomas Robb provides personal and Biblical perspectives, as well as research from over 20 years as a pastor, on the life process and the feelings, worries, and expectations accompanying growing up and growing old. He then molds these concerns into a challenge for congregations and their spiritual leaders to actively assist the aged in coping with and overcoming fears and barriers limiting the fullest expression of faith in God. This insightful book describes the tasks and suggests programs for pastors and congregations everywhere in meeting the challenge, making life for the aged more than shuffleboard and bingo, pot-luck dinners and day trips. Dimensions of pastoral ministries that nurture women and men who, at midlife and beyond, seek to find their way through the unexpected and unplanned, through the third of life following parenthood and careers, are described in detail. Pastors, church leaders, congregations, professors of courses in ministry and aging, aging church members, and seminary students will benefit immensely from the wealth of information presented in Growing Up: Pastoral Nurture for the Later Years.
The perfect gift for new grandparents, packed with humorous tips and tongue-in-cheek advice on how to look after the newest additions to the family Just when you thought your children were off your hands... along come the grandchildren! It's time to wave goodbye to that fleeting peace and quiet and say hello to a world you remember all too well. But wait - everything is different now! Who is going to teach you how to operate the over-complicated car seat, or help you solve the perennial problem of how to change a loaded nappy with just one wet wipe? Because, let's be honest, things aren't what they used to be. Packed with comical illustrations and amusing tips, this indispensable handbook is here to guide you through the pleasures and pitfalls of grandparenthood. Most importantly, though, it'll teach you how to keep the grandkids quiet while you catch up on your nap-time.
'What channel is Netflix on?' Modern technology can be daunting, especially if you're a silver surfer. How are you supposed to remember your wifi password when you can't even remember where you left your glasses? Whether you're struggling with social media or wrestling with your word processor, you'll find plenty to laugh about in the browser blunders and phone fails of Instagran.
People often say that you should "act your age", but what do they know? This sourcebook of delightful ideas and uplifting quotes will tempt you to try something new every day, whether it's dancing all night, laughing till dawn or watching the sunrise. Go on, go wild - you might like it!
An invaluable resource for the mental health professional who must deal with the uncooperative and difficult elderly patient.
Ethnicity and Gerontological Social Work presents a compassionate and illuminating update on ethnicity in this area of social work. This fine book looks at such topics as the relationship between white aged clients and non-white paraprofessional workers, minority elder maltreatment, the utilization of social services by the Mexican-American Elderly, the neglected Asian-American Elderly, public policies and services in Japan, and more. |
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