This book was nurtured by the belief that the new dynamics of today's and tomorrow's aging has not yet been treated well in the gerontology literature. Several questions drove the choice of substance for the book: What kind of new dynamics of aging deserves consideration? What kinds of theories and fields are at the core of treating such a new dynamics? And what kind of empirical evidence should be considered? The master hypothesis on which the book is based maintains that the new dynamics of old age is best observed in a range of everyday aging contexts that have been undergoing major change since the second half of the 20th century. In particular, five areas of new and persistent dynamics are treated in depth: the social environment, with a focus on cohort effects in social relations and the consideration of family relations and elders as care redelivers; the home environment, with emphasis on housing and quality of life, relocation and urban aging issues; the outdoor environment, with consideration of out-of-home activity patterns, car-driving behaviour and the leisure world of aging; the technological environment, with treatments of the role of the Internet and the potential of technology for aging outcomes and; and the societal environment with a focus on global aging, the new politics of old age and older persons as market consumers. The book's main purpose is to provide the scholarly gerontology community with a comprehensive and critical discussion of these new trends related to old age. The book will be of interest for the scholarly community of gerontology in a variety of disciplines; sociology, psychology, demography, epidemiology, humanities, social policy and geriatrics; students in gerontology education and in the disciplines named above who have an interest in aging issues (graduate level); professionals in practical and applied fields related to aging such as community and urban planners, health and care providers and policymakers; people involved in senior citizens' organizations and those in industry who wish to serve older people with new products.

The aim of this volume is to revitalise the debate about the concepts of time implicit in the study of aging. The many problems related to aging and the aged put an enormous pressure on the gerontological community to come up with practical applications and solutions. In considering research findings, we must keep in mind the basic assumptions that shape and influence even the most obvious statements about aging. In this multidisciplinary volume, the contributors take on the important task of exploring real issues concerning temporal concepts and approaches to aging; and the concepts of time that are used in thinking about aging determine to a large extent the way aging is approached. Most studies of aging still use a chronological approach to define populations for research purposes (that is, to determine which "aged" should be studied) and to establish how people's characteristics (social, economic, health and so forth) change as a function of age. This approach may lead to an accumulation of data, but does not in itself lead to explanatory knowledge. The step from chronological time to chronological age should be taken cautiously if we want to consider aging processes seriously, especially because chronological age is widely used in contemporary societies as a basis for regulating all kinds of processes, with many consequences for individuals. The arguments presented here do not deny the finitude of human life, nor do they deny that "aging" can be observed in any individual if we compare the characteristics of that person over a relatively long period. The question is how to approach these themes to get a better understanding. To achieve this, we need to understand the specific significance and relativity of chronological time and uncover unfounded deductions about time in relation to aging. This book will be of interested to students and professors of the social sciences, humanities and aging, including the methodology of aging studies; professionals working in the field of aging, including sociologists, psychologists and biologists.

Many books address the issue of caring for one's aging parents, but this will be the first book to consider the topic from the parents' perspective. Cheryl A. Kuba proposes an entirely unique approach to this aspect of gerontology: expressing the voices of care-receivers themselves. The dependent elderly are a wealth of information, Kuba discovers, and if we listen to them, we will be better able to help them. The 22.4 million elderly people being cared for in the United States comprise the fastest growing segment of the population, making the discovery of new approaches to care-giving more important than ever. This book draws on numerous interviews with aging people, and will discuss common care-giver mistakes and misinterpretations, what a care-giver should expect when an aging parent moves in, and how to care for an aging parent from afar. The book includes helpful resources for those caring for an aging parent in a variety of situations. Kuba explains such phenomena as guilt, role reversal, changing family dynamics, financial stress, and caring for oneself while caring for another. She also addresses the gendering of care-giving and the myth that Americans abandon the elderly.

This enlightening book on the collective identities of Japanese American elderly in a former sugar plantation community in the rural town of Puna, Hawai'i, investigates the stories in which they remember, evaluate, and represent their past lives on the plantation from the 1920s to the 1980s. Author Kinoshita deftly explores the process by which they collectively delineate their identities in terms of ethnicity, class, generation, and gender. Presenting an ethnography of remembering that captures the so-called 'cultural testimony', the Japanese American elderly, in this book, narrate their plantation experience as both an internally-oriented emotional manifestation and an externally-based common understanding of their community. Kinoshita demonstrates how they employ their memories to reconstruct plantation experience and define their peoplehood as the collective identities of plantation-raised Japanese Americans.

"Methodological Issues in Aging Research" is the first volume in the "Notre Dame Series on Quantitative Methodology." This new series provides practical training on the latest quantitative methods used in social and behavioral research. Each volume features contributions from leading experts in state-of-the-art techniques applicable to a selected substantive topic.
The first series volume provides researchers with innovative techniques for the collection and analyses of data focusing on aging and lifespan development. The book addresses such techniques as structural equation modeling, latent class analysis, hierarchical linear growth curve modeling, dynamical systems analysis, multivariate Rasch models, survival analysis, multilevel modeling, and quantitative genetic methods. These new techniques provide:
*better estimates of the direct effect of environmental or treatment effects and the dynamic pattern of genetic and environmental influences on adult development;
*more precise predictions of outcomes which in turn increase the diagnostic power of test instruments; and
*the potential for developing new treatments that take advantage of the intrinsic dynamics of the course of a disease or age-related change to enhance treatment.
"Methodological Issues in Aging Research" appeals to advanced students and researchers in lifespan development, gerontology, health psychology, and other fields related to human development. It can be used as a main or supplemental text for advanced courses related to developmental research methods.

Death may be inevitable, but fearing the end-of-life is avoidable. Learn how to put your fear of your final days to rest. We all know we are going to die, but live as though we don't believe it. Rather than explore our options and consider the possibilities that can impact our final days, we ignore the idea altogether out of fear. By avoiding the topic of death, we increase the pain and grief we experience at the end of life, and the suffering of those left behind. After three decades of caring for the dying, Dr. Jeff Spiess argues that if we honestly face our mortality, we will make wiser decisions, die with less distress, and live the remainder of our lives, whether days or decades, more fully and with less anxiety. Using cultural and religious references alongside poignant narratives, this optimistic work informs, inspires, and challenges our cognitive and emotional understandings of our own lives and deaths. Dying with Ease contains the practical nuts and bolts information about advance care planning, hospice, palliative care, and ethical and legal issues surrounding dying in America. Dr. Spiess answers such questions as: -How can I plan for the last part of my life? -What options do I have if my suffering is unbearable? -What do religion and spiritual philosophy have to say about dying? -What does it feel like to die? While dying can be difficult, it can also be beautiful. By learning to relax in the face of death at our current stage of life, we can make wiser and more authentic decisions throughout the rest of our lives-- however long they may be.

This book presents a unique geographical perspective on issues of transport and mobility for ageing populations. Society is ageing across the globe. As well as living longer, older people are fitter, healthier and more active than previous generations were. There is both a desire and a need to be mobile in later life and mobility is clearly linked to older people's health and wellbeing. Yet mobility can be hard for older people and we don't always design our neighbourhoods, towns, cities and villages in an age friendly way. With case studies from across the globe, authors take a geographical lens to the important topic of transport and mobility in later life. Chapters examine how the relationships between mobility, modes of transport, place and technologies affect an aging population. This collection will be of interest to scholars and students in human geography, in particular those with interests in transport geography, mobilities, geographies of health and wellbeing, urban geographies and geographical gerontology. It will also appeal to practitioners and policy makers in urban design and planning, transport planning and engineering and public health who have interests in age-friendly cities and policy.

Written by leading international experts, this book helps students and practitioners to better understand and cater for the needs of our ageing population. It examines:

• how services can be provided to meet the expectations and needs of a growing population of ageing citizens within a cost-effective, social justice and positive ageing framework
• how resources allocated to aged care can be distributed equitably to better meet the demands associated with housing, retirement, service provision and care
• how health promotion principles can contribute to a healthy older population.

Investigating current critical debates in health and social science, the book explores innovative new approaches to aged care and ageing. By using international examples and a multidisciplinary approach, this comprehensive textbook provides a broad understanding of ageing from a social perspective and analyzes concepts of ageism, healthy ageing and positive ageing.

Written by leading international experts, this book helps students and practitioners to better understand and cater for the needs of our ageing population. It examines:

• how services can be provided to meet the expectations and needs of a growing population of ageing citizens within a cost-effective, social justice and positive ageing framework
• how resources allocated to aged care can be distributed equitably to better meet the demands associated with housing, retirement, service provision and care
• how health promotion principles can contribute to a healthy older population.

Investigating current critical debates in health and social science, the book explores innovative new approaches to aged care and ageing. By using international examples and a multidisciplinary approach, this comprehensive textbook provides a broad understanding of ageing from a social perspective and analyzes concepts of ageism, healthy ageing and positive ageing.

This comprehensive text focuses on the social contexts of ageing, looking at the diversity of ageing and older people, and at different factors that are important to experiences of old age and ageing. It includes key chapters on:

• theoretical and methodological bases for the study of ageing
• demographic context of the 'ageing' population
• health and illness
• family and social networks
• formal and informal care and other services for older people.

Providing an invaluable introduction to the major issues involved in the study of ageing, this book is essential reading for students of sociology, gerontology, social policy, health and social care, and professionals working with older people.

This comprehensive text focuses on the social contexts of ageing, looking at the diversity of ageing and older people, and at different factors that are important to experiences of old age and ageing. It includes key chapters on:

• theoretical and methodological bases for the study of ageing
• demographic context of the 'ageing' population
• health and illness
• family and social networks
• formal and informal care and other services for older people.

Providing an invaluable introduction to the major issues involved in the study of ageing, this book is essential reading for students of sociology, gerontology, social policy, health and social care, and professionals working with older people.

Over the past few decades, there has been a sharp increase in the number of elderly prisoners, and hence a rise in the number of prisoners dying in custody. In this book, Khechumyan questions whether respect for human dignity would justify releasing older and seriously ill prisoners. He also examines the normative justifications which could limit the administration of the imprisonment of the elderly and seriously ill. Khechumyan argues that factors such as a prisoner's age and health could alter the balance between the legitimate goals of punishment, rendering the continued imprisonment 'grossly disproportionate'. To address these issues, Articles 3 and 5 of the European Convention of Human Rights are extensively examined. This book is a valuable resource for academics, researchers and policy-makers working in the fields of Criminal Justice, Human Rights Law, and Gerontology.

Dementia: The Basics provides the reader with a clear and compassionate introduction to dementia and an accessible guide to dealing with different parts of the dementia journey, from pre-diagnosis and diagnosis to post-diagnostic support, increasing care needs and end of life care. Co-authored by an academic, a person living with dementia and a family carer, the book endeavours to raise awareness of dementia, challenge stereotypical and negative ideas about what it means to have dementia and champion a society where people living with dementia can be active as they wish for as long as possible. The authors present an overview of current research at each step of the dementia journey as well as including knowledge from lived experience, enhancing understanding and challenging thinking about what it might be like to live with a diagnosis or to care for a loved one. As a whole, the book emphasises the importance of prioritising the person living with dementia, as well as considering the impact of what any initiative or action might mean for them, their families and their care supporters. Offering both an accessible introduction to dementia and practical tools, this book will be ideal for health and social care professionals, students of social care, health care and nursing, people with dementia, carers and anyone wanting to understand more about the condition.

The social realities of old age have undergone profound changes since the middle ages. This study shows, however, that the images, attitudes and expectations of old people have changed for less.

Shulamith Shahar shows how the status and social participation of the elderly varied according to gender, social stratum, economic resources, position, level of functioning, and personality, as well as according to regional custom.

The book offers a broad cultural history of old age in medieval western Europe. Shahar examines the images, attitudes and advocated norms used in relation to the elderly and looks at the elderly in various social strata: churchmen and nuns, rulers, small office holders and soldiers, town dwellers and peasants.

A valuable insight into life and society in the Middle Ages, this will prove an invaluable addition to history reading lists.

If you died today, would your family know how to settle your estate? If you were told today that you have cancer and you have a month to live, would your family know what your final wishes are? If you suddenly lose all your financial memory, due to Alzheimer's, would your family know what to do? Do you have a parent or loved one whose health is declining? Are you a senior that needs help in estate planning or is thinking about moving into a facility? Or, are you a senior planning to stay at home but expect to need help in the future? Dying the Right Way is a caregiving story for seniors, families, and caregivers, a journey from the beginning of caregiving through the death experience and settling of the estate. Dying the Right Way prepares seniors and families for the time when caregiving is needed, and offers a system for caregiving in the home for family caregivers or for monitoring professional caregivers. Dying the Right Way extends the caregiving experience to assist seniors through the document preparation phase, the search for a residential facility, life support, the dying experience, funeral planning, and settling of the estate.

Does human mortality after age 110 continue to rise, level off, or start to decline? This book describes a concerted, international research effort undertaken with the goal of establishing a database that allows the best possible description of the mortality trajectory beyond the age of 110. The International Database on Longevity (IDL) is the result of this ongoing effort. The IDL contains exhaustive information on validated cases of supercentenarians (people 110 years and older) and allows unbiased estimates of mortality after age 110. The main finding is remarkable: human mortality after age 110 is flat at a probability of death of 50% per year. The sixteen chapters of this book discuss age validation of exceptional longevity, data on supercentenarians in a series of countries, structure and contents of the IDL, and statistical analysis of human mortality after age 110. Several chapters include short accounts of specific supercentenarians that add life to demographic research. Content Level Research

In this volume, economists discuss the long-run consequences of aging societies. Using theoretical economic models, long-term projections and simulations, and econometric analysis, answers to the following questions are given: What are the economic consequences for consumption patterns, the supply of labor, capital accumulation, productivity, and the international flow of capital? Where are the political consequences for pension systems, health care and immigration policy? And what changes in politics are needed to handle the issues of populations that age markedly?

This volume presents contributions from academics, practitioners and researchers who reflect on aging and argue that while the financial impact of aging appears to be receiving increased attention, the more personal, familial and communal consequences of aging must also be examined. This collection delves further into the topic of aging as both personal and social phenomenon. The perspectives the papers engage with range from theoretical to applied. This demonstrates how those perspectives can and must engage with each other. From the invisibility of aging persons, to the manner in which discourses of aging-well rely on normative assumptions, to the ways in which we engage with persons with dementia, to the responsibility of providing care locally and across borders, this collection endeavours to advance aging as a positive challenge that can enrich us all.

This second edition of the Handbook of Communication and Aging Research captures the ever-changing and expanding domain of aging research. Since it was first recognized that there is more to social aging than demography, gerontology has needed a communication perspective. Like the first edition, this handbook sets out to demonstrate that aging is not only an individual process but an interactive one. The study of communication can lead to an understanding of what it means to grow old. We may age physiologically and chronologically, but our social aging--how we behave as social actors toward others, and even how we align ourselves with or come to understand the signs of difference or change as we age--are phenomena achieved primarily through communication experiences. Synthesizing the vast amount of research that has been published on communication and aging in numerous international outlets over the last three decades, the book's contributors include scholars from North America and the United Kingdom who are active researchers in the perspectives covered in their particular chapter. Many of the chapters work to deny earlier images of aging as involving normative decrement to provide a picture of aging as a process of development involving positive choices and providing new opportunities. A recuring theme in many chapters is that of the heterogeneity of the group of people who are variously categorized as older, aged, elderly, or over 65. The contributors review the literature analytically, in a way that reveals not only current theoretical and methodological approaches to communication and aging research but also sets the future agenda. This handbook will be of great interest to scholars and researchers in gerontology, developmental psychology, and communication, and, in this updated edition, will continue to play a key role in the study of communication and aging.

This second edition of the "Handbook of Communication and Aging Research" captures the ever-changing and expanding domain of aging research. Since it was first recognized that there is more to social aging than demography, gerontology has needed a communication perspective. Like the first edition, this handbook sets out to demonstrate that aging is not only an individual process but an interactive one. The study of communication can lead to an understanding of what it means to grow old. We may age physiologically and chronologically, but our social aging--how we behave as social actors toward others, and even how we align ourselves with or come to understand the signs of difference or change as we age--are phenomena achieved primarily through communication experiences.
Synthesizing the vast amount of research that has been published on communication and aging in numerous international outlets over the last three decades, the book's contributors include scholars from North America and the United Kingdom who are active researchers in the perspectives covered in their particular chapter. Many of the chapters work to deny earlier images of aging as involving normative decrement to provide a picture of aging as a process of development involving positive choices and providing new opportunities. A recuring theme in many chapters is that of the heterogeneity of the group of people who are variously categorized as older, aged, elderly, or over 65. The contributors review the literature analytically, in a way that reveals not only current theoretical and methodological approaches to communication and aging research but also sets the future agenda.
This handbook will be of great interestto scholars and researchers in gerontology, developmental psychology, and communication, and, in this updated edition, will continue to play a key role in the study of communication and aging.

This book focuses on the design of displays and user interfaces for the older user. Aging is related to complex mental, physical, and social changes. While conventional wisdom says getting older leads to a decline, the reality is that some capabilities decline with age while others remain stable or increase. This book distills decades of aging research into practical advice on the design of displays. Technology has changed dramatically since the publication of the first edition. This new edition covers cutting-edge technology design such as ubiquitous touchscreens, smart speakers, and augmented reality interfaces, among others.

Incorporating qualitative and quantitative data and research methods from both demography and social anthropology, this book explores demographic trends in contemporary Japan's rapidly aging society. The contributors describe and analyze trends by addressing the ways in which demographic change is experienced in the context of family. The book considers the social effects, welfare issues, and private and public responses to demographic change and how this change has influenced the experiences of family caregivers and the elderly themselves. It offers both a specific regional contribution to the emerging field of demographic anthropology and an anthropological contribution to cross-disciplinary research on aging.

This book provides deep insights into concerns related to the well-being in older women across the globe. Written by experts in the field, it explores social roles, health, quality of life/well-being, as well as concerns related to abuse and neglect, impacting the health of older women. It discusses important conditions for the holistic health of older women from different perspectives and provides practical guidelines towards improving the overall status of older women's well-being in society. The chapters analyze the wider implications of older women's experiences as family members, drivers of economies and members of a diverse population worldwide. Covering a focus which is applicable to countries across continents, whether developed or developing, the book has an overall appeal to academicians, health care, policy makers as well as researchers in areas such as aging, gerontology, social work and psychology.

The time has come to further challenge biomedical and clinical thinking about dementia, which has for so long underpinned policy and practice. Framing dementia as a disability, this book takes a rights-based approach to expand the debate. Applying a social constructionist lens, it builds on earlier critical perspectives by bringing together concepts including disability, social inclusion, personhood, equality, participation, dignity, empowerment, autonomy and solidarity. Launching the debate into new and exciting territory, the book argues that people living with dementia come within the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and therefore have full entitlement to all the rights the Convention enshrines. A human rights-based approach has not to date been fully applied to interrogate the lived experience and policy response to dementia. With the fresh analytical tools provided in this book, policy makers and practitioners will will gain new insights into how this broader perspective can be used to further promote the quality of life and quality of care for all those affected by dementia.