Open up Dignity and Old Age, and you'll find a wealth of thoughtful suggestions for how you and others can gain more respect and admiration for your relatives, neighbors, and patients who are in the latter stages of life. You'll examine the word "dignity" as it relates to the world's elderly population to the fullest and most challenging extent, taking into account cross-cultural, religious, and even literary influences. Throughout this provoking and thorough examination, you'll tackle some tough questions, all of which will equip you with the theoretical and practical know-how needed to evoke change and preserve honorable relations with the elderly persons in your professional and personal relationships.The manner in which Dignity and Old Age will help you grow in your relationships with elderly people is twofold--ideally and practically. You'll begin with a revitalizing discussion of concepts that revolve around dignity and the elderly, and from there you'll move into the sphere of active practice, gleaning a wide variety of ways you can enhance your affairs with the elderly in health care, social services, government, and retirement entitlements and benefits. Specifically, you'll find positive approaches in these and other areas: the dignity in old age the true meaning of "Quality of Life" in old age achieving respect for ethnic elders as a health care provider bringing spirituality and community together in the last stage of life forming a philanthropic, caring partnership between government and the elderlyIn this insightful volume, you'll take an important step forward in creating a more dignified quality of life for the world's elderly--today's and tomorrow's. Overall, you'll gain the variety of perspectives necessary to ensure that everyone you come in contact with in casual, legal, leisure, and professional spheres will see you care enough to be concerned with the ideas and practices contained in Dignity and Old Age.

One of the "Best Books of 2011" from the Center for Optimal Adult Development
The fields of adult development and the study of learning have traditionally been considered separate, with development falling under psychology and learning under education. However, recent ideas, research, and practices that have emerged in these fields of study effectively emphasize the inherent reciprocal relationship that exists between them: advances in development frequently lead to learning, and conversely, learning almost necessarily fuels development.
In this second edition of The Oxford Handbook of Reciprocal Adult Learning and Development, the synchronicity between development and learning is explored further, as expert authors advance the latest theories to provide a rich foundation for this new area of study and practice for this interrelated field of study. At the border of two disciplines, this handbook focuses on the capacities of intelligence, meta-cognition, insight, self-efficacy, spirituality, interpersonal competence, wisdom, and other key adult attributes as they relate to positive changes and personal growth in adults. Contexts for development and learning (e.g., the work role and environment) are also addressed, and mixed in throughout the volume are emanating implications for research, practice, and policy. What emerges is a thoughtful handbook for all who promote optimal aging, and is a must-read for academics, psychologists, and practitioners in adult development.

At least half of all neuropsychological assessments are performed on elderly persons, but the information clinicians need to make appropriate judgment calls is widely scattered. Several books offering general descriptions of the cognitive functioning of the aged or of neuropsychological conditions affecting them are helpful to practitioners but do not provide reliable and valid normative information. Two books that "do" provide this information do not focus on geriatric populations. A concise, yet comprehensive summary of what we now know about those over 65--with an extensive bibliography--"An Assessment Guide to Geriatric Neuropsychology" fills the gap.
The neuropsychological assessment of elderly persons involves not only the performance-based measurement of various capacities but heavy reliance on reports from caregivers (both formal and informal) about the day to day functioning of the affected person. It also raises important, yet often neglected, ethical concerns. The authors discuss all the measures that detect and discriminate among cognitive disorders of elderly persons, including special measures relevant to caregiver reports, and provide useful tables to assist in differential diagnosis. They also reflect on the ethical issues that often confront the assessor of an elderly individual: informed consent, confidentiality, the right of bodily autonomy and self-determination, and appropriate feedback.
This book will be an invaluable resource for all those called on to evaluate older clients.

The study presented in this volume examines how older women's identities are socially constructed and, in particular, how they can be influenced by institutional intervention. The interest in identity production is not only theoretical, but also practical. Different perceptions of oneself as an older woman involve considerable differences in the definition of that person's possible sphere of action, and therefore, in her life perspectives. The data -- collected during a four-year project studying older women -- consist of video recordings of the committee meetings of the Older Women's Group of Perugia, Italy. Other video recordings of theater workshops and of the management committee meetings of the Senior Citizen Centers in Perugia are used as a source of comparison. Transcripts of the video material are analyzed through a detailed discourse analysis within an ethnomethodological framework. The data are used to explore how gender and age identities are interactionally constructed in specific institutional contexts.
The first part of the book focuses on the interactional construction of aging. It shows how "being old" is constructed conversationally, in particular, through the use of membership categories. Distancing from the category "old" and denial of aging are frequently encountered conversational moves. However, the category is perceived as acceptable, even desired and invoked, when it becomes an institutionally relevant category, giving access to interesting activities or special benefits. The second part of the book explores gender identification. Conflict among different institutional subjects is shown to fade into gender conflict. The study analyzes how institutional interventions exert a powerful influence on older women's identities, giving them new opportunities for action. It also looks at how the conversational styles, attitudes, and activities of specific women influence the features of those very institutions.
In short, this book describes the discourse and social practices that constitute older women's identities -- helping to identify and deconstruct stereotypes that tend to produce marginalization of older people. The book's existence is itself a contribution to the construction of older women as busy, lively, appealing human beings; it is the first research publication to emerge from The European Older Women's Project.
Of interest to those in any discipline studying the topics of ethnomethodology, gender, aging, and identity.

The study presented in this volume examines how older women's identities are socially constructed and, in particular, how they can be influenced by institutional intervention. The interest in identity production is not only theoretical, but also practical. Different perceptions of oneself as an older woman involve considerable differences in the definition of that person's possible sphere of action, and therefore, in her life perspectives. The data -- collected during a four-year project studying older women -- consist of video recordings of the committee meetings of the Older Women's Group of Perugia, Italy. Other video recordings of theater workshops and of the management committee meetings of the Senior Citizen Centers in Perugia are used as a source of comparison. Transcripts of the video material are analyzed through a detailed discourse analysis within an ethnomethodological framework. The data are used to explore how gender and age identities are interactionally constructed in specific institutional contexts.
The first part of the book focuses on the interactional construction of aging. It shows how "being old" is constructed conversationally, in particular, through the use of membership categories. Distancing from the category "old" and denial of aging are frequently encountered conversational moves. However, the category is perceived as acceptable, even desired and invoked, when it becomes an institutionally relevant category, giving access to interesting activities or special benefits. The second part of the book explores gender identification. Conflict among different institutional subjects is shown to fade into gender conflict. The study analyzes how institutional interventions exert a powerful influence on older women's identities, giving them new opportunities for action. It also looks at how the conversational styles, attitudes, and activities of specific women influence the features of those very institutions.
In short, this book describes the discourse and social practices that constitute older women's identities -- helping to identify and deconstruct stereotypes that tend to produce marginalization of older people. The book's existence is itself a contribution to the construction of older women as busy, lively, appealing human beings; it is the first research publication to emerge from The European Older Women's Project.
Of interest to those in any discipline studying the topics of ethnomethodology, gender, aging, and identity.

Care-giving in dementia is a new speciality with its own rapidly growing body of knowledge. This second volume of contributions from leading practitioners and researchers around the world is a handbook for all those involved in hands on caring, or in planning care, for persons with dementia. Volume 2 of Care-Giving in Dementia provides a rich source of information on most recent thinking about individualised long-term care of both dementia sufferers and their families. Key themes in Volume 2 are: the subjective experience of dementia the provision of care for family carers differing cultural perspectives of dementia the crucial importance of life-history information for understanding a person's reaction to their illness. Chapters on the search for an ethical framework and the best environment within which to provide care are particularly timely.

Recently, the communication discipline has devoted increasing energy toward the study of aging, yet most of the research has insufficiently addressed a crucial factor in communicative relationships--culture. Meanwhile, cross-cultural/intercultural communication has not adequately addressed the aging process. Combining three powerful elements--communication, aging, and culture--all of which have an increasingly profound impact on today's multicultural society, this book focuses on older Americans in various communicative contexts within the framework of their cultures. Composed of original research by experts in their respective fields, the book combines communication, aging, and culture for a unique examination of those elements in American society. Section 1 deals with perspectives in cross-cultural communication and aging. These perspectives both illustrate the issues that greatly affect the lives of our elders and suggest ways to improve their status. Section 2 showcases three American co-cultures: Hawaiian, Arab, and Mormon illustrate how language, attitudes, and mentoring can serve as the links for maintaining cross-generational continuity in multicultural society. Section 3 demonstrates that many American organizations frequently contribute to the hardships that both internal elder customers (employees) and external elder customers (residents and patients) must endure. Section 4 incorporates popular culture and aging. It presents the role of selective popular media in portraying our elders. Because Americans rely heavily on the media, their mediated perceptions can have a profound impact on their attitudes toward the older population. Designed as a reader or supplementary text for college students in communication, gerontology, anthropology, sociology, and other related fields, this text can also be used by professionals in gerontological service areas, by libraries, and as a personal reference. It offers extensive appendices, figures, and tables for additional reference.

Recently, the communication discipline has devoted increasing energy toward the study of aging, yet most of the research has insufficiently addressed a crucial factor in communicative relationships--culture. Meanwhile, cross-cultural/intercultural communication has not adequately addressed the aging process. Combining three powerful elements--communication, aging, and culture--all of which have an increasingly profound impact on today's multicultural society, this book focuses on older Americans in various communicative contexts within the framework of their cultures. Composed of original research by experts in their respective fields, the book combines communication, aging, and culture for a unique examination of those elements in American society. Section 1 deals with perspectives in cross-cultural communication and aging. These perspectives both illustrate the issues that greatly affect the lives of our elders and suggest ways to improve their status. Section 2 showcases three American co-cultures: Hawaiian, Arab, and Mormon illustrate how language, attitudes, and mentoring can serve as the links for maintaining cross-generational continuity in multicultural society. Section 3 demonstrates that many American organizations frequently contribute to the hardships that both internal elder customers (employees) and external elder customers (residents and patients) must endure. Section 4 incorporates popular culture and aging. It presents the role of selective popular media in portraying our elders. Because Americans rely heavily on the media, their mediated perceptions can have a profound impact on their attitudes toward the older population. Designed as a reader or supplementary text for college students in communication, gerontology, anthropology, sociology, and other related fields, this text can also be used by professionals in gerontological service areas, by libraries, and as a personal reference. It offers extensive appendices, figures, and tables for additional reference.

First published in 1997. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

eBook available with sample pages: HB:0415915236

Henri Nouwen shares heartfelt insights on what it means to be a caregiver and to be cared for and how the caregiving relationship can lead to spiritual growth

With this book, Siegel, an internationally known demographer and gerontologist, has made a unique contribution to the fledgling fields of health demography, and the demography and epidemiology of aging. The book represents a felicitous union of epidemiology, gerontology, and demography, and appears to be the first and only comprehensive text on this subject now available. Drawing on a wide range of sciences in addition to demography, gerontology, and epidemiology, including medical sociology, biostatistics, public policy, bioethics, and molecular biology, the author treats theoretical and applied issues, links methods and findings, covers the material internationally, nationally, and locally, and while focusing on the elderly, treats the entire life course. The methods, materials, and pespectives of demography and epidemiology are brought to bear on such topics as the prospects for future increases in human longevity, the relative contribution of life style, environment, genetics, and chance in human longevity, the measurement of the share of healthy years in total life expectancy, the role of population growth in the rising costs of health care, and the applications of health demography in serving the health needs of local communities. The separate chapters systematically develop the topics of the sources and quality of health data; mortality, life tables, and the measurement of health status; the interrelationships of health, on the one hand, and mortality, fertility, migration, and age structure, on the other; health conditions in the less developed countries; the concepts and theories of aging and projections of the aged population; and local health applications, public health policy, and bioethical issues in health demography. Given its comprehensiveness, clarity, interdisciplinary scope, and authencity, this book appeals to a wide range of users, from students and teachers of medical sociology, the demography of aging, and public health studies to practitioners in these areas, both as a text in health demography and the demography/epidemiology of aging, and as a reference work in these fields.

Ageing populations are a major consideration for socio-economic development in the early twenty-first century. This demographic change is mainly seen as a threat rather than as an opportunity to improve the quality of human life, especially in Europe, where ageing has resulted in a reduction in economic competitiveness. Economic Foundations for Creative Ageing Policy mixes the silver economy, the creative economy, and the social economy to construct positive solutions for an ageing population. Klimczuk covers theoretical analyses and case study descriptions of good practices to suggest strategies that could be internationally popularized.

The Handbook of Research Methods in Human Memory presents a collection of chapters on methodology used by researchers in investigating human memory. Understanding the basic cognitive function of human memory is critical in a wide variety of fields, such as clinical psychology, developmental psychology, education, neuroscience, and gerontology, and studying memory has become particularly urgent in recent years due to the prominence of a number of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's. However, choosing the most appropriate method of research is a daunting task for most scholars. This book explores the methods that are currently available in various areas of human memory research and serves as a reference manual to help guide readers' own research. Each chapter is written by prominent researchers and features cutting-edge research on human memory and cognition, with topics ranging from basic memory processes to cognitive neuroscience to further applications. The focus here is not on the "what," but the "how"-how research is best conducted on human memory.

'An inspirational call to arms' DAILY MAIL 'This book is so sensible, so substantially researched, so briskly written, so clear in its arguments, that one wishes Baroness Cavendish was still whispering into the prime ministerial ear' THE TIMES 'A thoughtful handbook to help societies age gracefully' FINANCIAL TIMES 'This bold, visionary book is a wake-up call to governments. It is a wake-up call to us all' SUNDAY TIMES From award-winning journalist, Camilla Cavendish, comes a profound analysis of one of the biggest challenges facing the human population today. The world is undergoing a dramatic demographic shift. By 2020, for the first time in history, the number of people aged 65 and over will outnumber children aged five and under. But our systems are lagging woefully behind this new reality. In Extra Time, Camilla Cavendish embarks on a journey to understand how different countries are responding to these unprecedented challenges. Travelling across the world in a carefully researched and deeply human investigation, Cavendish contests many of the taboos around ageing. Interviewing leading scientists about breakthroughs that could soon transform the quality and extent of life, she sparks a debate about how governments, businesses, doctors, the media and each one of us should handle the second half of life. She argues that if we take a more positive approach, we should be able to reap the benefits of a prolonged life. But that will mean changing our attitudes and using technology, community, even anti-ageing pills, to bring about a revolution.

We all have a finite life-span. We are born, we get old and we die. Given the universiality of the ageing process, it is remarkable that there is almost a complete absence of study of culture and self-image of the middle aged and old. Images of Ageing: Cultural Representations of Later Life changes this. The contributors discuss images of ageing which have come to circulate in the advanced industrial societies today. They address themes such as: body and self image in everyday interaction; experience and identity on old age; advertising and consumer culture images of the elderly; images of ageing used by Government agencies in health education campaigns; the diversity of historical representations of the elderly; gender images of ageing; images of senility and second childhood; images of health, illness and death.

We all have a finite life span. We are born, we get old and we die. Given the universality of the aging process, it is remarkable that there is almost a complete absence of study of culture and self-image of the middle aged and old. "Images of Aging: Cultural" "Representations of Later Life" changes this. The contributors discuss images of aging which have come to circulate in the advanced industrial societies of today. They address themes such as: body and self image in everyday interaction; experience and identity in old age; advertising and consumer culture images of the elderly; images of aging used by Government agencies in health education campaigns; the diversity of historical representations of the elderly; gender images of aging; images of senility and second childhood; images of health, illness and death.

Here is an informative overview of the causes and consequences of elder abuse in countries around the world. This book delves into the global problem of elder abuse and identifies similarities and differences that occur from country to country. Elder Abuse: International and Cross-Cultural Perspectives increases understanding of the problem of elder abuse, helping you recognize more easily the causes of elder abuse in your own country and find tactics to counter these causes. Strategies from around the world can help in the development of local community resources and social policies to minimize the occurrence of elder abuse and its impact on the elderly, their families, and all members of society.Elder Abuse: International and Cross-Cultural Perspectives discusses elder abuse in countries ranging from Australia to Finland, from South Africa to Hong Kong, from Ireland to Israel. It addresses the consequences of aging, dynamics of elder abuse, family care of the elderly, formal and informal mechanisms for preventing elder abuse, and methods by which to publicize possibilities of abuse. In each chapter, authors explore: the definition of elder abuse in their country the extent of the problem causes of the problem (as related to values and practices) societal attitudes regarding the existence of the problem private and public efforts to detect and prevent the problem and to intervene where it has occurredElder Abuse: International and Cross-Cultural Perspectives provides the impetus for community resources, social planning, and public resources. It is of interest to individuals who work in social work, nursing, and psychology settings and to those in social science fields of sociology, anthropology, and gerontology. The book can also serve as an enlightening reader for undergraduate and graduate/professional education.

Sparking controversy in medical, social and professional circles, the nation's most respected medical ethicist strikes at the heart of America's growing health care crisis--the care of the aged. The New York Times Book Review calls Setting Limits "A pivotal work . . . the benchmark for future moral, medical and policy discussions of aging".

The global phenomenon of the aging of societies during a period of outstanding scientific, economic, and technological advancements is a blessing for humanity. These fundamental changes, however, create new needs and problems in all areas of life, often difficult to address. In some countries, the trend is towards compression of the period of age-related morbidity - fewer years of living with disabilities - but the absolute numbers of elderly people living with disabilities are increasing worldwide. This book highlights a series of global threats, problems and challenges in the areas of care and caregiving, through the prism of three multicultural nations: the United States, Israel and Australia. The contributors to this book, experts in their fields, focus on the art of caregiving at the national level, including the interface between family and state responsibilities, policies and practices in the provision of services, and the demands for education and training, as well as the problems and difficulties faced by family caregivers. This is the second of two edited volumes on aging and caregiving. The first, ""Lessons on Aging from Three Nations - Volume I: The Art of Aging Well"", examines positive aspects of and successful adaptations to aging. This book will be of interest to students of gerontology and geriatrics; those working in nongovernmental organizations - private, for-profit and non-profit agencies, including voluntary charitable and religious groups, those working in national regional and local governments, and all general readers intrigued with the aging of societies and longevity.

In western countries, the rising tide of population aging took 100 years to alter the face of societies, but Asia is experiencing comparable changes in not much more than a quarter of a century. Contributors to "The Handbook of Aging" describe the magnitude of these changes and their effects on the aged and on societies attempting to adapt to the dramatic improvements in life expectancy brought on by rapid economic and social transformations. Asia encompasses a vast reach from Pakistan and India to Japan, the Philippines, and Indonesia, and in this book including Australia. "The Handbook of Aging" provides a framework for making sense of the meeting between reverential views of the elderly and contemporary priorities as Asia arrives at the crossroads. The need for innovative approaches to social policy and personal practices is nowhere more evident than in Asian countries, where modern marketing economies have forced hard political choices. The economic tigers of the Asian-Pacific region experienced the aging of their populations ahead of other Asian countries, but solutions reached during times of financial boom are being re-examined as economies come back to earth, with soft or hard landings. "The Handbook of Asian Aging" provides an atlas of the far-reaching changes that are afoot and that will become even more pronounced in the near future.

In the past few years the topic of work and ageing has received much public and professional interest. The progressive "greying" of the population and its impact on work is a problem of widespread and growing concern, with major consequences for the economy in terms of productivity, performance, health care, work design and entry opportunities; and for the individual older worker. A European Symposium on Work and Ageing was held in Amsterdam in 1993. It was intended not only for a forum of scientists but also for practitioners and policy-makers who are actually involved in this growing field of social interest.; "Work and Aging," a multi-disciplinary book derives, in part, from this symposium, but also includes especially invited contribributions from experts in occupational health and safety, organizational psychology, cognitive science, and ergonomics.; Throughout the diverse chapters, incentives are suggested on how and why an organization could benefit from the asset of an ageing worker. Training programmes for human resource management, with respect to the elderly and disabled worker in particular, are offered in order to deal effectively with vocational rehabilitation.

"The Gerontological Prism" promotes disciplinary cooperation in aging research and practice. To some extent, each chapter explores a unified objective, that of generating a disciplinary-blind gerontology. The fundamental assumption throughout this book is that the aging individual and society can be enhanced by an understanding of the correlates of basic social, behavioral, demographic, economic, political, ethical, and biomedical processes involving aging. Each author touches on issues that have both social psychological, and practical policy significance. They aim toward sensitizing the reader to the possibilities of a properly informed interdisciplinary approach to gerontology.

This book explores the multifaceted experience of suffering in old age. Older adults suffer from a variety of causes such as illness, loss, and life disappointment, to name a few. Suffering also occurs due to experiences related to one's gender, ethnic background, and religion. Although gerontological literature has equated suffering with depression, grief, pain and sadness, elders themselves distinguished suffering from these concepts and at the same time showed how they are linked. Narratives of suffering from community-dwelling elders are interpreted in this book, along with the personal meaning of suffering that lies within each narrative.

The growing number of older adults in the United States poses a significant challenge to families, healthcare systems, mental health services, and many other caregiving groups. Using the Grand Challenges for Social Work initiative as a framework, this text evaluates critical policies and issues pertaining to older adults, identifying both the overall systemic inequalities currently working against older adults as well as specific areas that require updated policies and interventions. It calls for active attention to the implementation of science-based research, policy, and practices to promote health and well-being. Among the topics addressed: Family violence against older adults Disaster planning and preparedness Building financial capability for aging families Health needs of incarcerated older adults Closing the gap in healthcare services for older adults Social isolation and its effects on mental health and well-being A useful gerontology resource for students, social work scholars, and practitioners, Gerontological Social Work and the Grand Challenges advocates for justice and equal opportunity for older adults, and highlights important social issues that must be urgently addressed in the near future.