Comprehensive overview of literary works that illuminate the experiences of aging. Bibliographical essays analyze the ideas or themes relating to over 70 topics. Lengthy critical annotations accompany the more than 350 literary works, across various genres, on the different topics. An introduction, how to use the work section, careful cross-referencing, and author and subject indexes make this a useful research tool for gerontologists, health-care professionals, and general readers concerned with aging.

Selective, annotated bibliography aimed at providing gerontologists, health care professionals, and general readers interested in the aging process, a useful tool for identifying and utilizing literary works that provide insight into various topics in gerontology.

Part One contains bibliographical essays on more than 70 topics in gerontology. Each essay analyzes the ideas or themes that a number of literary works provide on a specific topic. The essays illustrate the relevance of literary works to gerontology study, introducing readers to a variety of works whose characters, plots, themes, or images bear on current topics in gerontology. Part Two includes detailed critical annotations of more than 350 literary works, including anthologies, autobiographies, novels, plays, poems, and stories. Annotations are detailed and draw out specific issues related to characterization, plot, conflicts, themes, imagery, and metaphors. This comprehensive overview includes an introduction, a chapter about how to use the guide, and author and subject indexes.

This in-depth description of life in a nursing/care home for 70 residents and 40 staff highlights the daily care of frail or ill residents between 80 and 100 years of age, including people suffering with dementia. How residents interact with care assistants is emphasised, as are the different behaviours of men and women observed during a year of daily conversations between the author, patients and staff, who share their stories of the pressures of the work. Living Before Dying shows a world where, in extreme old age, people have to learn how to cope with living communally.

With the longest life expectancy for men and the second longest for women, Hong Kong typifies our planet s aging population. The daily lives of its older adults closely match the advantages and disadvantages experienced by urban elders in other developed countries. For these reasons, Hong Kong s elderly serve as a salient guide to older people s social, psychological, and healthcare needs concerns of increasing importance as the world grows older.

"Aging in Hong Kong" examines this emblematic population as a case study specifically in comparison with their counterparts in the West, shedding light on diverse, interrelated currents in the aging experience. Referencing numerous international studies, the book contrasts different health service arrangements and social factors and relates them to a variety of health outcomes. Its wide-ranging coverage documents health and illness trends, reviews age-friendly policy initiatives, relates health literacy to patients active role in their own care, and discusses elders as an underserved group in the division of limited health funding and resources. This multiple focus draws readers attention to policies that need revisiting or retooling as chapters analyze major life areas including:

Living environment.Retirement and post-retirement employment issues.Financial asset management.Health literacy regarding aging issues.Elder-positive service delivery models.Ageism in the prioritization of healthcare.End-of-life issues.

By assembling such a wealth of data on its subject, "Aging in Hong Kong" puts ongoing challenges into clear focus for gerontologists, sociologists, health and cross-cultural psychologists, public health policymakers, and others involved in improving the quality of elders lives."

This book critically explores the world of older prisoners to provide a more nuanced understanding of imprisonment at old age. Through an ethnographical study of male and female older prisoners in two Belgian prison settings, one in which older prisoners are integrated and one in which they are segregated, it informs debates and seeks to recognise ageist discourse, attitudes, practices in prison. The Older Prisoner seeks to situate the older prisoner from both a penological and gerontological perspective, organised around the following broad themes: the construction of the older prisoner, the physical prison world, the social prison world, surviving prison and giving meaning. The book allows readers to navigate between contrasting perspectives and voices rather than reinforcing traditional narratives and prevailing discourses on the older prisoner. In doing so, it hopes to open up a broader dialogue on ageing and punishment. It also offers insights into the concept of meaning in life as an analytical tool to study prisoners.

Advances in technology have raised new ethical questions in medicine, concern for pollution has encouraged the growth of "environmental ethics", and the problems of corporate America have sparked more questions about "business ethics". With the population of older persons increasing every year and their social problems becoming ever more acute, it's now time for "geroethics", which assesses the impact of societal values on elders and how the aged may respond to these values. The issues are urgent and compelling: the changing face of elder America, dependence on others for care, the corporate response to agism, the healthcare crisis, how to take charge of one's life and bring meaning to it, living longer verses living better, coping with disabilities, the psychological aspects of aging, and so many others. Ethics embraces concepts of rights and privileges, duties and obligations, choices and their outcomes. In Geroethics: A New Vision of Growing Old in America author Gerald A. Larue shows how social values impact on elders in the United States and how older persons, and those who advocate on their behalf, may respond to the attitudes and actions of others. Dreams and goals, rights and responsibilities, self-respect and personal dignity shouldn't fade with the passing of youth. This latest addition to the Golden Age series offers the elderly and those who care for them a vibrant new look at the challenges of aging: the role elders can and do play in shaping and changing society's views of its oldest members, regaining control of important life choices, and the struggle to live a meaningful and independent existence free of anxiety, fear, and uncertainty. Included are chapters onstereotypes, identifying the elderly, human rights, agism, the ethics of survival, elder power, elder abuse, fear of aging, caring for elders, health care, dementia, loneliness, death and dying, and much more.

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.

This book provides an in-depth analysis of the older-tourist market, and of the challenges and opportunities created by population ageing from a tourism marketing perspective, by combining a demand-side and a supply-side approach to older tourists. The book is divided into three parts, the first of which defines older tourists and presents a critical review of segmentation approaches. The second part then focuses on the behavior of older tourists in terms of the travel planning process, the use of information and communication technologies for travel purposes, and accommodation choices. The final part analyzes the marketing strategies and operative practices of three tourism companies that focus on the older-adult market. Practical implications for tourism suppliers willing to target older tourists are derived. The book is intended primarily for academics, researchers, and professionals in the tourism and hospitality industry. In addition, it will be useful for students attending advanced tourism and hospitality courses.

Population ageing has been the subject of much discussion in recent years, often expressed in alarmist language that advocates evasive policy action to avert an imminent demographic crisis. This forward-looking book evaluates the debates surrounding population ageing and offers a more optimistic outlook on its effect on the economy.William Jackson initially considers general theoretical approaches to population ageing, particularly in relation to the rising dependency burden. He then goes on to examine traditional topics such as employment, productivity, pensions and social security, along with less traditional topics such as informal care, within the context of long-run structural changes. The author draws on an extensive range of economic literature and considers neoclassical arguments before analysing the issue from a non-neoclassical economic, social gerontological and sociological perspective. He maintains that conventional economic theory tends to overstate the effects of population ageing on the economy. Thus, he argues that while population ageing is a complex issue requiring some policy adjustments, it is a less acute problem than is suggested in popular and academic discussion. This book will be of great importance to scholars and students with an interest in population economics and the economics of social policy.

The growing number of homeless people over age 50 has reached epidemic proportions. It is important to recognize that this group has special needs and demands from health factors to safety. This book is a resource for professionals training and working with this homeless contingent.

Population ageing is an important trend which will be experienced in industrialized countries in the early years of the next century. This significant book examines aspects of population ageing and pensions, with an emphasis on the design and use of simple economic models to focus on particular aspects of a very broad problem. The analysis of pensions presents many complex problems. A major aim of this book is to demonstrate how reasonably simple economic models can be designed and used to shed some light on the issues involved in population growth and pension provision. The basic analytics of population growth and pension structure are first explored. Projections for Australia are examined and used to model ageing and social expenditure and to estimate the 'burden' of aged care on future workers. The author goes on to investigate pensions and pension finance, and examines several types of economic model before turning to the analysis of alternative pension arrangements using a lifetime simulation model. The results of the study suggest that both lower contribution rates and a universal pension encourage a later retirement age. This book will prove invaluable to students and scholars of public sector economics, welfare economics, social economics and public finance.

One of the primary advances for the 21st century is progress beyond the need to defend the findings of behavioral genetic investigations of intelligence. With the advent of developmental behavioral genetics and molecular genetics researchers have taken their discoveries far beyond simple nature/nurture constructs to a finer understanding of how genes and environment intersect to affect cognitive function.

"Behavior Genetics of Cognition across the Lifespan" presents the state of the field in well-documented detail as noted experts examine gene-environment interactions in cognitive function from childhood into old age. Fluidity is at the heart of this coverage: normative and non-normative brain development get equal attention, and statistical, molecular, biological, brain imaging, and neurobiological approaches contribute separately and in combination to the findings.

All major life stages are examined as periods of gene-based cognitive change, including midlife, which until recently has been considered a period for marking time until "real" age-related change occurs. And the book is written so that individual chapters can be as useful on their own as the volume is as a whole. Among the topics covered in depth:

Cognitive abilities in childhood and adolescenceGenetic and environmental influences on intellectual disabilities in childhoodCognition in middle adulthoodGene by environment interplay in cognitive agingDementia: genes, environments, interactionsBrain imaging and cognition

By synthesizing where the field is today--and identifying issues that need further attention--"Behavior Genetics of Cognition across the Lifespan" is a bedrock text for behavioral geneticists, cognitive psychologists and neuroscientists."

The two phenomena are occurring side by side: a rapidly growing elder population and a burgeoning tech sector. Where a few years ago these worlds would not have met, a new generation of older adults has grown comfortable with technology and open to its possibilities for improving their lives as they age.

"Technologies for Active Aging" offers novel answers to a range of aging issues, from safety and mobility to cognition and continence. Written for the non-technical reader, the book examines the potential of information and communicative technologies such as pervasive computing, smart environments, and robotics to enhance seniors' quality of life and encourage independent living, better care and self-care, and social participation.

Diversity is emphasized here, in terms of the life areas addressed, the perspectives of elders and caregivers, and the global reach of those working toward solutions. This state-of-the-field volume looks ahead to future research and the next wave of innovations to help all seniors, regardless of health or ability. Among the topics featured: Promoting technology use by people with dementia.Wheelchair mobility in older adults.Intelligent systems for assessing age-related changes using home-based technology.Measuring the effectiveness of assistive technologies in community and home settings.Technology for the prevention of fall-related injuries.Tele-health in chronic disease management.

A comprehensive mix of theoretical developments and emerging realities, "Technologies for Active Aging" serves a variety of professionals, including gerontologists, sociologists, health and cross-cultural psychologists, and public health policymakers.

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This book provides a timely overview of the impacts of digitalization from the perspective of everyday life, and argues that one central issue in digitalization is the development of new types of services that digitalization enables, but which are often overlooked due to the focus on new technologies and devices. The book summarizes the past 20 years of research into the relationship between information and communications technology (ICT) and service innovation, and reveals that the ongoing digitalization is a qualitatively different phenomenon and represents a true paradigm shift. The all-encompassing integration and distribution of data raises critical issues such as preserving human dignity and individual autonomy; moreover, interaction practices that foster broad participation, trust, learning, and a willingness to share knowledge are called for. Citizen empowerment and multi-actor co-creation have become central to using digitalization to support the development of wellbeing and sustainability. Further, the book shows how employees and professionals can and should be involved in designing their future work, and in evaluating it. Proactiveness and participation in innovation endeavours are ways to guarantee meaningful work in an age of socio-technical transition. The book employs a variety of theoretical approaches and perspectives from diverse disciplines to illustrate these needs. In addition to theoretical analyses, some specific application areas are examined, e.g. services in health and social care, and problems linked to robots in elderly care. Given its scope, the book is highly recommended to all readers seeking an overview of the current understanding of the human side of digitalization and searching for concrete cases from different countries to illustrate the topic.

This book suggests that the enduring problem of generations remains that of knowledge: how society conceptualises the relationship between past, present and future, and the ways in which this is transmitted by adults to the young. Reflecting on Mannheim's seminal essay 'The Problem of Generations', the author explores why generations have become a focus for academic interest and policy developments today. Bristow argues that developments in education, teaching and parenting culture seek to resolve tensions of our present-day risk society through imposing an artificial distance between the generations. Bristow's book will be of interest to students and scholars in the fields of Sociology, Social Policy, Education, Family studies, Gerontology and Youth studies.

This book explores the relationship between embodiment and the production of the key structures which frame agency to map out potential for social change. It uses modalities of ageing embodiment in the context of sport participation in later life, specifically Master athletics, including barriers, opportunities and physiological dimensions.

This collection on researching later life and ageing critically reflects upon the qualitative methods used in gaining knowledge of under-researched groups of older people and sets out future research agendas.

This book presents a collection of nine studies which contribute to a more robust and richer understanding of entrepreneurship, self-employment and retirement in a diversity of settings, including the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore and the US, by drawing on both qualitative and quantitative data.

Between longer life expectancies and declining birth rates, Europe's elder population is growing into a sizable minority with considerable impact on nations, health systems, and economies-in other words, global implications as well as local and regional ones. Those investing in the health of older adults need a double perspective: the social and clinical complexity of aging and the larger forces shaping these experiences.

"Aging in European Societies" examines aging trends across the continent, analyzing individual and collective variables that affect the lives of older adults, and drawing salient comparisons with other parts of the world. An interdisciplinary panel of experts provides theory, research, and empirical findings (with examples from the UK, Cyprus, Sweden, and others) in key areas such as family and social supports, physical and cognitive changes, dependence and autonomy issues, and living arrangements. The book's wide-net approach offers insights into not only aging, but aging well. And of particular importance, it details approaches to defining and measuring the elusive but crucial concept, quality of life. Included in the coverage:

The potential for technology to improve elders' quality of life.Dementia and quality of life issues.Changes in functional ability with aging and over time.Family networks and supports in older age.Factors influencing inequalities in quality of life.Late-life learning in the E.U.

Gerontologists, sociologists, health and cross-cultural psychologists, and public health policymakers will welcome "Aging in European Societies "as a springboard toward continued discussion, new directions for research, and improvements in policy and practice."

Containing ideas and perspectives, this monograph examines the evolutionary and future considerations for diversity in aging.

This book is the first one to examine the cause and effect of elderly people's healthy life expectancy, providing models that are easy to understand. The novel point is the success achieved in constructing a single structural model of cause and effect of healthy life expectancy. In the final models of the authors' studies, it was possible to clearly point out that it is not the case that lifestyle habits including an ideal diet directly provide for healthy life expectancy.This book is made up of published studies based on scientific evidence, using a vast amount of data based on about 8,000 in-home elderly people tracked longitudinally from 3 to 6 years, three times in all including baseline research, in a specific region of Japan. Therefore, health policy makers will be able to use this book as scientific evidence for creating area programs to promote good health that are focused on healthy longevity as the central issue. Academic researchers whose special fields are mainly public health will be able to learn both theory and practice to structurally analyze cause and effect of health factors.

The study of LGBT aging is in its infancy. In the absence of federal data on this often hidden population, community groups and organizations from across the country have taken it upon themselves to understand and assess the needs of this first cohort to reach later life in a time of LGBT public consciousness. Eight papers are included in this compilation: three from the east coast (Boston, New York, and Washington, DC), four from the Midwest (Chicago, Bowling Green and surrounding areas, St. Louis, and the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul), and one from the west coast (Palm Springs area). Together, these reports provide a community-based and regionally nuanced image of the strengths of, and the challenges faced by, older LGBT persons-local snapshots that together form a partial tapestry of LGBT aging in the U.S. They also serve as a source of lessons learned in the field-efforts that may be seen to parallel those undertaken by LGBT communities, then forming, during the 1980s and 1990s to address the growing health crisis of HIV/AIDS, a time when formal responses were slow and treatments still being developed. As such, the voice of the communities represented herein-the voices of these older adults-is clear, strong and apparent. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Homosexuality.

This book is the first comparative analysis of the political behaviour of older people, using evidence from 20+ European democracies. In contrast to younger people across European societies, older people do not behave uniformly. For political participation in later life, it matters where and when individuals have grown up and in which country they become old.