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 provocative, intellectually charged treatise serves as a concise introduction to emancipatory gerontology, examining multiple dimensions of persistent and hotly debated topics around aging, the life course, the roles of power, politics and partisanship, culture, economics, and communications. Critical perspectives are presented as definitions for reader understanding, with links to concepts of identity, knowledge construction, social networks, social movements, and inequalities. With today's intensifying concentration of wealth and corporatization, precarity is the fate for growing numbers of the world's population. Intersectionality as an analytic concept offers a new appreciation of how social advantage and disadvantage accumulate, and how constructions of race, ethnicity, class, ability, and gender influence aging. The book's entries offer a bibliographic compendium, crediting the salience of early pioneering theorists and locating these within the cutting-edge of research (social, behavioral, policy, and gene-environment sciences) that currently advances our understandings of human development, trauma, and resilience. Accompanying these foundations are theories of resistance for advancing human rights and the dignity of marginalized populations.

This newest edition of a core graduate level textbook has added six new chapters to further enrich the "gerontological imagination," and encourage an interdisciplinary approach to the study of aging. Academically rigorous yet clear and accessible, the text provides the most current findings from leading gerontological researchers and practitioners. New and updated chapters examine biology, exercise science/nutrition, communication science, geriatric medicine and nursing, demography, anthropology, economics, human development, psychology, political science, sociology, social work, and law, to provide broadly drawn perspectives on the study of aging.

Special emphasis is placed on current challenges regarding policy and service delivery in the face of fiscal uncertainty. Additionally, this new edition covers international outlooks on aging given the increasing influence of globalization on individual lives. By interweaving knowledge from a broad range of disciplines, Wilmoth and Ferraro have created a comprehensive picture of gerontology today that will enhance course instruction and provide a new window into the future of the discipline. New chapters address:

Geriatric medicine and nursing Communication disorders and aging International and cross-cultural perspectives on aging Public policy and the needs of diverse aging populations Geriatric social work Legal perspectives on aging Key Features:

Interweaves current gerontological research and ideas from multiple disciplines Addresses biology, psychology, human development, sociology, and economics as they relate to gerontology Presents additional disciplinary perspectives including exercise science/nutrition, communication science, geriatric medicine and nursing, demography, anthropology, political science, social work, and law. Includes Ferraro's classic chapter on "The Gerontological Imagination"

""A timely and welcome contribution to the research on loneliness and kindred phenomena."
Lars Andersson, International Journal of Ageing and Later Life, 2010."

Developments to the physical environment, scientific and technological innovation, the reorganisation of work and leisure and the impact of globalization and global capitalism have all influenced the nature of the world in which we now live. Social engagement and relationships, however, remain important at any age and their quality is a key element contributing to the quality of life of older people.

This book provides a detailed account of loneliness and social isolation as experienced by older people living in Britain. The authors consider the incidence and effects of isolation and loneliness, identifying the factors which lead to such experiences and considering potential interventions. They also argue that these feelings are experienced at all stages of the life course and not unique to the social world of older people.

Victor, Scambler and Bond rationalise that this is an important area, as both loneliness and social isolation are negatively associated with both quality and quantity of life - whilst the maintenance of social relationships is seen as a key component of 'successful ageing'.

"The Social World of Older People" is important reading for students of social work, gerontology, community care and social policy as well as being of interest to policy makers and practitioners in these fields.

Reflects the most important theoretical foundations and research directions concerning aging and older adulthood This authoritative volume provides the latest insights into, and theoretical interpretation of, our understanding of the human aging process. Newly updated and revised, this edition of the well-established student textbook offers relatable scenarios that touch upon real-world issues faced by older adults and their families. The book explains how research studies attempt to answer questions of both theoretical and practical importance as they relate to aging and older adulthood, and it explains the hypotheses and findings of the studies in a manner that is comprehensible to readers of all levels of research experience. Aging and Older Adulthood begins by describing the demographic characteristics of the older population, and follows with a chapter on theoretical models that apply to the study of adult development and aging, as well as approaches commonly taken to conduct research and ethical concerns involved in the study of this group. It then offers a series of chapters exploring biological aging, sensation perception and attention, memory, intellectual functioning, cognition and real-world problem-solving, personality and coping, social interaction and social ties, lifestyles and retirement, mental health and psychotherapy, and death and bereavement. The final chapter looks at aging in the future. Each chapter includes fully updated research findings, as well as new and expanded coverage of concepts and ideas in areas such as neuroscience, and diabetes. New edition of a highly respected text exploring our contemporary understanding of a broad range of topics related to older adulthood and the psychology of aging Offers thematic treatment of core issues including health, sensory perception, memory, intellect, social interactions, employment and retirement, and mental health Uses a dual lens of two models - the selective optimization with compensation model and the ecological model - to provide cohesiveness to the presentation of both theoretical and applied material Introduces each chapter with a relevant real-world scenario and refers back to it throughout the chapter Includes pedagogical feature boxes that reflect current understanding of contemporary issues in the field as well as key points and issues for further discussion Aging and Older Adulthood, 4th Edition is an excellent text for upper division undergraduate and graduate courses focusing on the older adulthood and aging, the psychology of aging, gerontological studies, and lifespan development.

Covers an ageing society, theories of ageing, images of old age, the religious and spiritual needs of older people, older people and memory, sexuality, diminishment, worship with older people, life learning, retirement, housing, politics and social policy, successful ageing. Each chapter includes exercises for further reflection. And the notes point to further reading.

When children grow up and become adults we often assume, as parents, that our job is done. In fact it's just the beginning of a whole new stage in our lifelong connection. Relationships with adult children are an aspect of parenting that is rarely discussed, yet they require thoughtfulness and empathy, and can bring many new challenges. - How can you avoid conflict when your adult child returns to live with you? - What if you don't get on with their partner? - How should you suppoer your child through a divorce, or mental health challenges later in life? - Do you have mixed feelings about looking after your grandchildren? - What if you adult children don't get along? All Grown Up draws on the personal experiences of parents, as well as advice from leading experts in the filed, to offer support and guidance on working through these common dilemmas to develop and maintain a close bond with your adult child. Discover how to create family harmony and a strong, enduring connection. Praise for Celia Dodd's Not Fade Away 'Optimistic and clever, this handbook for how to flourish in your sixties - and beyond - may be the wisest book on reaching a pensionable age' - The i newspaper 'As a child of the 60's, ambitious and career driven, I needed to read this book. I now no longer fear life's next chapter but instead I'm shouting "Bring it on!"' - Jo Good, BBC Radio London 'Retirement is not about "giving up". This book shows us how to discover the positives and relish every moment of this major life transition'. - Aggie MacKenzie, broadcaster and journalist.

The life course method compares an individual's long-life and late-life behaviors to gauge one's mental decay. Arguing the life course approach is the best and simplest model for tracking mental development, Lawrence J. Whalley unlocks the mysteries of brain functionality, illuminating the processes that affect the brain during aging, the causes behind these changes, and effective coping strategies. Whalley identifies the genetic factors that determine the pace of aging and the behaviors, starting in childhood, that influence how we age. Through vignettes, charts, and tables, he composes an accessible book for patients, family members, and caretakers struggling to make sense of a complex experience.

Creative Team Work describes a new way of doing rapid ethnography to capture the rich complexity and contradictions of social relations. It is about the imagination, stimulation, and reflection that can come with international, interdisciplinary teams sharing the development, application, analysis, and dissemination of research. Although the book is based on a large, seven-year project studying care homes to search for promising practices and is guided by feminist political economy, the lessons we have learned are relevant for everyone undertaking empirical investigation. All research needs to consider theory - the organization of information, ethics, and dissemination, for example. The specific techniques and approaches the authors discuss can be applied to a wide range of qualitative methods and are not exclusive to this kind of ethnography. By dissecting experiences and uniting chapters through the theme of creative, reflexive team work, the book considers issues and methods of interest to all those struggling through the research process, with or without team support.

Adulthood today is undergoing profound transformations. Men and women wait until their thirties to marry, have children, and establish full-time careers, occupying a prolonged period in which they are no longer adolescents but still lack the traditional emblems of adult identity. People at midlife struggle to sustain relationships with friends and partners, to find employment and fulfilling careers, to raise their children successfully, and to resist the aging process. The Prime of Life puts today's challenges into new perspective by exploring how past generations navigated the passage to maturity, achieved intimacy and connection, raised children, sought meaning in work, and responded to loss. Coming of age has never been easy or predictable, Steven Mintz shows, and the process has always been shaped by gender and class. But whereas adulthood once meant culturally-prescribed roles and relationships, the social and economic convulsions of the last sixty years have transformed it fundamentally, tearing up these shared scripts and leaving adults to fashion meaning and coherence in an increasingly individualistic culture. Mintz reconstructs the emotional interior of a life stage too often relegated to self-help books and domestic melodramas. Emphasizing adulthood's joys and fulfillments as well as its frustrations and regrets, he shows how cultural and historical circumstances have consistently reshaped what it means to be a grown up in contemporary society. The Prime of Life urges us to confront adulthood's realities with candor and determination and to value and embrace the responsibility, sensible judgment, wisdom, and compassionate understanding it can bring.

Atchley and Barusch's interdisciplinary approach has produced a text that provides the concepts, information, insight, and examples students need to achieve a basic understanding of aging as a social process. Covering the physical problems, inner experiences, and instrumental needs of the aging, the text examines aging on both an individual and societal level. It covers major areas of theory, research, social policy, and practice in a clear and organized manner to make social gerontology accessible to students from all backgrounds. This text is the classic book for the course that continually keeps pace with the dramatic changes in the field, including new theories, research, programs, and issues. Atchley and Barusch first examine individual aging-and adaptation to aging in everyday life, then move on to explore the needs and demands that aging, as a phenomenon, presents to society, while also delving into society's response to aging.

The demographic phenomena of increased life expectancy, increasing global population of older adults, and a larger number of older people as a proportion of the total population in nations throughout the world will affect our lives and the life of each person we know. The changes will result in challenges and benefits for societies and people of all ages. These events need to be understood, explained, and their consequences addressed; sociological theories about aging are an essential part of this process. In Understanding Aging and Diversity: Theories and Concepts, Patricia Kolb presents important sociological theories and concepts for understanding experiences of older people and their families in a rapidly changing world. She explores concepts from phenomenology, critical theory, feminist theory, life course theory and gerotranscendence theory to explain important issues in the lives of older people. This book investigates similarities and differences in aging experiences, focusing in particular on the effects of inequality. Kolb examines the relationship of ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation and social class to international aging experiences. This book explores the relationships between older people and social systems in different ways, and informs thinking about policy development and other strategies for enhancing the wellbeing of older adults. It will be useful for students and scholars of sociology, gerontology, social work, anthropology, economics, demography and global studies.

Pioneer study of the need for an inner female authority in a masculine-oriented society. Interprets the journey into the underworld of Inanna-Ishtar, Goddess of Heaven and Earth, to see Ereshkigal, her dark sister. So must modern women descend into the depths of themselves. Rich in insights.

This book provides comprehensive information needed to assist with all aspects of designing, delivering, or evaluating transportation systems for use by older adults. It presents the necessary background on aging and human factors issues as well as practical guidelines needed to accommodate older adult transport users. eBook includes some color figures. Features Presents clear design guidance aimed at improving usability among older adults, a too often neglected but fast-growing segment of the transportation system population Includes comprehensive coverage of transportation systems, including the notably important issue of older drivers, but also additional transportation forms including public transportation via bus and subway, air transport, rail, bicycle, and even pedestrians Offers numerous examples throughout of best practices based on both the scientific literature and the content expertise of the authors Discusses practical implications of incorporating the recommended design principles for both older adults and other transport system users Provides useful background about normal age-related changes in sensory, cognitive, and physical abilities that impact older adults and how they interact with transportation systems

African gerontology has expanded dramatically as a discipline with population ageing and its consequences for societies and for individual experiences of ageing becoming prominent issues all over the continent. This volume therefore brings together some of the most prolific and skilful researchers working on ageing in Africa today. The book is based on sociolinguistic and anthropological research conducted in different regions of Southern Africa, West and East Africa, and in different types of communities, rural, urban and nomadic. Hence the book is able to adopt a pan-African slant to issues about ageing. The data and their interpretation are characterized by the richness, typicity and authenticity of both narratives and ethnographical fieldwork. Because the authors aim to present insider views and experiences of ageing in Africa from these diverse contexts, the book is able to distil common and variable aspects of ageing in Africa. These permit a formulation of critical models of ageing which are sensitive to the elderly person's experience and to the dynamics of the historical contexts in which are sensitive to the elderly person's experience and to the dynamics of the historical contexts in which elderly persons have lived. Critical models of ageing appear to shed a new light on the social change that affects all of us today. (e.g. post-apartheid, post-colonialism). The volume includes an introduction to the study of ageing, which proposes a conceptual apparatus that is transdisciplinary and cross-cultural. It also includes a concluding chapter sketching future directions of research and policy. The volume is divided into three sections: (1) Narratives and the construction of elderliness; (2) Cross-cultural perspectives on ageing and seniority; and (3) Crises and strategies of elderhood. The contributions employ a number of methodological approaches, ranging from discursive and literary analyses, to anthropological studies. The chapters in

In many countries across the Asia Pacific region, people are adapting to the new demographic shift, but there is nonetheless much concern. This book documents the various educational approaches rendered by both public and private sectors to enable elderly individuals in their own countries to re-engage in society more inclusively, to stay longer in the labour market, and to become less dependent on the state or their families. In order to produce active, healthy, and productive aging citizens, the experiments showcased by this book highlight how adaptive action is needed across many policy areas, with emphasis on shaping structural differences in the composition and organisation of higher education systems that can better foster lifelong learning among elderly citizens. The book is a great venue to underline the interplay of the theory and practices of vastly complex challenges.

The fears of aging have been one long cascading domino effect through the years: twenty year-olds dread thirty; forty year-olds fear fifty; sixty fears seventy, and so it goes. And there is something to worry about, though it isn't what you'd expect: research shows that having a bad attitude toward aging when we're young is associated with poorer health when we're older. These worries tend to peak in midlife; but in Lighter as We Go, Mindy Greenstein and Jimmie Holland show us that, contrary to common wisdom, our sense of well-being actually increases with our age - often even in the presence of illness or disability. For the first time, Greenstein and Holland - on a joint venture between an 85 year-old and a fifty year-old - explore positive psychology concepts of character strengths and virtues to unveil how and why, through the course of a lifetime, we learn who we are as we go. Drawing from the authors' own personal, intergenerational friendship, as well as a broad array of research from many different areas - including social psychology, anthropology, neuroscience, the humanities, psychiatry, and gerontology - Lighter as We Go introduces compassion, justice, community, and culture to help calm our cascading fears of aging.

Attention to social class is a major issue confronting the study of ageing in the 21st century, yet it has been significantly overlooked to date. Social class in later life provides the most up-to-date collection of new and emerging research relevant to contemporary debates on the relationship between class, culture, and later life It explores the interface between class dynamics and later life, whilst acting as a critical guide to the ways in which age and class relations 'interlock' and 'intersect' with each other, whilst examining the emergence of new forms of inequalities alongside the interrogation of more traditional divisions. Social class in later life brings together a range of international high profile scholars to develop a more sophisticated, analytical and empirical understanding of class dynamics in later life. It will be of major interest to students and researchers examining the implications of global ageing, and will appeal to scholars concerned with the development of a more critical and engaged gerontology.

As our global demographic shifts towards an increasingly aging population, we have an opportunity to transform how we experience and think about getting older and embrace the diversity and contribution that this population can bring to society. The International Handbook of Positive Aging showcases the latest research and theory into aging, examining the various challenges faced by older adults and the ways in which we can bring a much-needed positive focus towards dealing with these. The handbook brings together disparate research from medical, academic, economic and social community fields, with contributions from NHS partners, service users, universities across the United Kingdom and collaborations with international research leaders in the field of aging. Divided into sections, the first part of the book focuses on introducing the concept of positive aging before going on to cover the body over the life course, well-being and care delivery. All contributors recognise the fact that we are living longer, which is providing us with a tremendous opportunity to enjoy and flourish in healthy and fulfilling later lives, and this focus on the importance of patient empowerment is integral to the book. This is a valuable reference source for those working in developmental psychology, clinical psychology, mental health, health sciences, medicine, neuropsychological rehabilitation, sociology, anthropology, social policy and social work. It will help encourage researchers, professionals and policymakers to make the most of opportunities and innovations to promote a person's sense of independence, dignity, well-being, good health and participation in society as they get older.

In this compelling tour of the classical world, Peter Jones reveals how it is the power, scope and fascination of their ideas that makes the Ancient Greeks and Romans so important and influential today. For over 2,000 years these ideas have gripped Western imagination and been instrumental in the way we think about the world. Covering everything from philosophy, history and architecture to language and grammar, Jones uncovers their astonishing intellectual, political and literary achievements. First published twenty years ago, this fully updated and revised edition is a must-read for anyone who wishes to know more about the classics - and where they came from.

Ageing and Memory are two cultural processes that establish their own relationships with time. They affect our ways of living, in the present, and for a future, as we move through life. This book focuses on the cultural mediations of ageing and memory, teasing out their complex and largely unpredictable relationships and interconnections. Its overall purpose is to explore different practices, commodities, daily routines, sounds, images and technologies that configure memory and ageing and shape our experiences of living in time and with time. By covering a variety of phenomena, from biopics, music by elderly, and artefacts among other, this edited collection considers the cultural stuff that ageing and memory are made of and interconnected in singular ways, for and by particular people, in specific socio-historical locations.

Grandparenting: Contemporary Perspectives is one of the first books of its kind to offer a dedicated account of the social and psychological research on this important life stage. Reflecting the contemporary positive approach to ageing, it covers many of the issues that impact the grandparent experience today, such as care-giving and changing family structures, to reveal the health and wellbeing benefits of the grandparent role. It examines biological, psychological, social/ familial, gender, cultural and economic dimensions to map out the current landscape in this emerging field. Moore and Rosenthal draw on quantitative and qualitative, experimental, survey, observation and case study research, including unique data on grandfathers. They examine how people respond to the challenges and possibilities of grandparenting, and how this influences intergenerational relationships and adapting to growing older. The book provides a comprehensive, up-to-date evidence base for students in health, sociology and psychology and those interested in gerontology and the lifespan.

In the 1990s providing mental health services to the elderly and particularly to elderly Native Americans had been an issue of some concern for the last several decades. Despite this, many public decisions made at the time were based on inadequate data. Due to this lack of data, there had been little research devoted to determining the factors associated with mental health among elderly Native Americans. Instead, the growing body of mental health research had "been based on limited samples, primarily of middle-majority Anglos." Originally published in 1994, the purpose of this research was to utilize existing data to close the gap in our understanding of mental health among elderly Native Americans.

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.