Although many aspects of fluid cognition decline with advancing age, simple observation in the wild suggests that older adults, generally speaking, do very well in their day-to-day life. The study of the orchestration of cognitive, social, and motivational compensatory mechanisms in the service of effective and healthy aging provides a meaningful challenge to traditional ways of examining developmental changes in cognitive performance. An additional impetus comes from recent discoveries in the neuroscience of aging, all demonstrating substantial amounts of functional modifiability, compensation, and plasticity of the human brain, even in very old age. Furthermore, the discovery of string relationships between engagement in mentally enriching and socially stimulating activities and cognitive health and longevity has sparked a new generation of training studies aimed at improving or sustaining cognitive fitness in old age. This book examines the role of compensatory mechanisms in such diverse facets of cognitive processing as perceptual processes, text comprehension, dual-task processing, and episodic and prospective memory. This ensemble of studies compellingly shows that older adults' everyday cognitive life is governed not by the decline in elementary cognitive processes as measured in the lab, but by a multitude of compensatory mechanisms, most of which are of the social/motivational variety. Much of this compensatory behavior can be elicited with no or only little experimental prodding, underscoring the self-organizing or self-initiated nature of this type of behavior, even in advanced old age. This book was originally published as a special issue of Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition.

Although the public most often associates dementia with Alzheimer's disease, the medical profession now distinguishes various types of "other" dementias. This book is the first and only comprehensive guide dealing with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), one of the largest groups of non-Alzheimer's dementias. The contributors are either specialists in their fields or have exceptional hands-on experience with FTD sufferers.Beginning with a focus on the medical facts, the first part defines and explores FTD as an illness distinct from Alzheimer's disease. Also considered are clinical and medical care issues and practices, as well as such topics as finding a medical team and rehabilitation interventions. The next section on managing care examines the daily care routine including exercise, socialization, adapting the home environment, and behavioral issues. In the following section on caregiver resources, the contributors identify professional and government assistance programs along with private resources and legal options. The final section focuses on the caregiver, in particular the need for respite and the challenge of managing emotions.This new, completely revised edition follows recent worldwide collaboration in research and provides the most current medical information available, a better understanding of the different classifications of FTD, and more clarity regarding the role of genetics. The wealth of information offered in these pages will help both healthcare professionals and caregivers of someone suffering from frontotemporal degeneration.

This special issue covers different aspects of life course development. The central argument of the first paper is that human development should be viewed as the product of the interpenetration of cultural and biological processes. The following article outlines how current sociology constructs life courses. The notion of developmental biocultural co-constructivism and specifically the zone within which human development can be expressed is the focus of the third paper. Next, a developmental account of civic engagement and political participation is provided. Finally, the special issue concludes with a paper marking individual differences in patterns of rhesus monkey biobehavioral development through the life span.

Informed by the social-ecological framework, this book focuses on the development of Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) in urban China. Bringing a timely discussion around HCBS development in Shanghai, it presents an interplay of formal caregiving relationships, evolving caregiving culture, and the trajectory of long-term care in China. Drawing on surveys, in-depth interviews, and government archives, this book explores the emergence of one of the most developed HCBS programs in Shanghai, its development over the past decade, its administration and services, resource allocation, staff members' work experiences, older adults' service experiences, as well as service evaluation and improvements. Offering fresh insight into new forms of caregiving in community settings, and shaping a new discourse on caregiving policy, this book is a key read for both students and practitioners in the fields of long-term care, gerontology, geriatrics, health care, and health policy.

Here is a one-of-a-kind resource for professionals who prepare and lead group activities for impaired older adults. Filling a crucial gap in the field of clinical gerontology, this invaluable guide provides more than 70 stimulating and therapeutic group activities designed specifically for use with moderately to severely impaired older adults. Even though group activities designed for children, adolescents, and young adults are inadequate and inappropriate for use with older adults who have significant cognitive, emotional, and physical limitations or impairments, very little has been published--until now--on activities designed to meet the special needs of this population.Comprehensive and well-organized This comprehensive and well-organized resource does even more than provide over 70 activities at your fingertips. It also includes a recommended schedule of activities for a typical day, helpful suggestions for planning and leading group activities, and valuable tips for creating your own group activities that are effective, therapeutic, and entertaining. Each entry includes information on the activity s therapeutic value, the optimal group size, the time required, the materials needed, guidelines for adaptation, and blank space for your notes. Also for your convenience, symbols are used to indicate the therapeutic objective and the ease with which the activity can be implemented. Provides the foundation for a daily activities program Handbook of Group Activities for Impaired Older Adults provides the foundation for a therapeutic and enjoyable daily activities program that facilitates emotional expression, enhances problem solving skills and sensory stimulation, and encourages social interaction. Social workers, nurses, psychologists, psychiatrists, recreational therapists, group therapists, and related paraprofessionals who work in nursing or convalescent hospitals, adult day care or day treatment facilities, and retirement homes will not want to be without this practical guidebook.

For undergraduate courses in sociology and psychology which examine ageing adulthood. This book focuses on the dramatic changes to the nature of post-retirement life experienced by people at the end of the twentieth century. It examines age and ageing in terms of the key preoccupations of contemporary sociology - citizenship, the body and the self. The book provides a platform for a new social gerontology that sees ageing as central to our understanding of social change. It examines social, cultural and political changes in Europe and North America to address the need for a text that moves the study of ageing from social policy towards the mainstream of social science.

This book presents, for the first time, a full range of perspectives on emotions and the family from the radical behaviorist to the intrapsychic. B.F. Skinner begins the volume by examining the role of feelings in applied behavior analysis, thus laying the groundwork for the reactions of many distinguished contributors. Offering both opposing and favorable comments, contributors also present their own original empirical, theoretical, and clinical perspectives. Finally, the editor integrates the contributors' positions into an expanded behavioral perspective on the study of emotions and suggest a model for effective family communication.

In the World Library of Psychologists series, international experts present career-long collections of what they judge to be their finest pieces - extracts from books, key articles, salient research findings, and their major practical theoretical contributions. Elaine Funnell has played an important role in the study of neuropsychology over the past 25 years. She has been at the forefront of groundbreaking research on individuals suffering with acquired disorders of written and/or spoken language resulting from brain damage. With commentary by Nicola Pitchford and Andrew Ellis, this volume presents Elaine's most significant contributions in her two main specialist areas: adult neuropsychology of semantic disorders, with a focus on disorders of naming in dementia, and acquired language and literacy disorders in childhood. The publications included in this volume date back to 1988, where Elaine co-authored a major review of theories regarding the representation of meanings in the mind and brain. They then bring us right up-to-date with a previously unpublished paper from 2010, which has been recently edited by the co-author, Mike Kopelman, for this edition. Through her exceptional work, Elaine has greatly advanced our understanding of the brain processes behind written and spoken language, and this book represents an original and timely contribution to the field. Acquired Language Disorders in Adulthood and Childhood will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students in adult and child neuropsychology, specifically for those specialising in semantic and language disorders.

Volunteerism in Geriatric Settings is an instructional tool for activity directors and others interested in successful volunteer program management. It examines three dimensions of volunteerism: the distinctive dynamics of the volunteer program within the geriatric setting; the behaviors and attitudes managers and volunteers bring to the program; and the responsibility managers have for the nature and scope of programs offered.The innovative programs and approaches that are described in Volunteerism in Geriatric Settings lend themselves to replication. Readers will benefit from the wealth of information on understanding volunteers, program management guidance, models and activities on program enhancement, and recommendations for corrective action.Volunteerism in Geriatric Settings explores the internal arrangements and organizational procedures of typical programs, as well as forces and trends that influence volunteers and volunteer programs. The contributors cover: Understanding volunteerism: describes the concept of caring and the motivation that drives the volunteer experience Planning: describes the mechanics of the volunteer program; explores the recruitment, training, recognition, and retention of volunteers Administration: describes those management styles most often observed in geriatric settings and offers strategies for successful management practices Creative Programming: offers innovative programs and activities that can be adopted with relative ease Keys to Success: outlines recommendations for successful managementFor those who desire to begin or enhance programs which use volunteers--activity directors, recreation and rehabilitation staff, gerontologists, college and university instructors, geriatric care managers--Volunteerism in Geriatric Settings provides many insights and ideas for volunteer managers at federal, local, and private levels.

This serial publication continues to review life-span research and theory in the behavioral and social sciences, particularly work done by psychologists and sociologists conducting programmatic research on current problems and refining theoretical positions. Each volume introduces excellent peer-reviewed empirical research into the field of life-span development while presenting interdisciplinary viewpoints on the topic. Often challenging accepted theories, this series is of great interest to developmental, personality, and social psychologists.

Those providing services to older persons must develop intervention strategies that are relevant to their clients'life experiences. Aging Families and Use of Proverbs for Values Enrichment presents administrators, practitioners, educators, researchers, and students with intervention models that acknowledge and build upon the proverbs orientation of the older client. This insightful book offers information from contributing authors who have professional and personal experience with the use of proverbs. Proverbs, pithy sayings that underline basic life truths, are shown in this book to work as transmitters of values and as assessment tools.To improve the ability of service programs addressing the needs of older persons, Aging Families and Use of Proverbs for Values Enrichment delineates existing approaches that are low-cost or no cost to the service provider and beneficial to older persons. Moreover, these practices are considered within the context of a conceptual model of proverbs intervention programs for older persons that takes into consideration principles of care, cultural diversity, and family traditions. Contributors examine human competencies, coping mechanisms, and limitations, as well as other more general topics: Rehabilitation: Dispels the myth that older persons can not break long-term habits and learn new things that will improve their lives. Intergenerational Transmission: Discusses family-oriented and cultural values that are passed down from generation to generation via oral tradition. Coping with Life Events: Addresses proverbs as coping mechanisms for surviving the social transitions of life. Health and Health Care: Dispels the myth that some health care practices are taboo among older persons. Cultural and Family Ties: Discusses proverbs as the cornerstone of family sharing regarding life's lessons. Spirituality: Contrasts African American religiosity with spirituality. Discusses proverbs as messages of faith and hope.Any person who provides services to older persons--social workers, counselors, physicians, nurses, ministers and other members of the clergy, speech and physical therapists, rehabilitation counselors, and family therapists--can benefit from using proverbs, as shown in this book, in their care approach.

Within the context of long-range planning, this book examines the changing responsibilities of the state and family toward elders in different societies around the world. International Perspectives on State and Family Support for the Elderly presents a fresh range of lucid analyses of family caregiving policy from Canada, the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Austria, Denmark, Israel, and the People's Republic of China. Different institutional structures, levels of economic development, and cultural values, among other factors, impact policy development in various countries. With the information examined in this book, readers can gain an understanding of elder care in other societies, which can help them in developing policies for their own countries.Authors of International Perspectives on State and Family Support for the Elderly address questions such as: Who is responsible for caring for the aged? What are the policy issues that determine how such care is handled in various countries? Are the underlying principles upon which policy is based changing? Who pays for the care of the aged? What is the balance of the roles of government, family, and community? Along with these questions, authors discuss: the importance of family care the well-being, payment, and rights of informal caregivers providing services for informal caregivers shifting the burden of care from formal organizations to families the effects of governmental frameworks on caregiving the impact of the political agenda on caregiving caregiving and the welfare stateInternational Perspectives on State and Family Support for the Elderly contains information for all professionals interested or involved in developing policy for the elderly. Demographers, sociologists, social workers, health care and public health professionals, gerontologists, and advanced students in these fields will find this book a helpful guide in their studies.

* BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK * 'A joyously life-enhancing book [that] shatters the myths about ageing' Daily Mail Carl Honore captured the zeitgeist with his international sensation, In Praise of Slow. In Bolder, he introduces us to another rising movement: a revolution in our approach to ageing. Ageing is inevitable. In this time of longer lifespans, however, we have the potential to age better than ever before. Having travelled the globe to meet the pioneers who are redefining ageing, Carl Honore explores the cultural, medical and technological trends that will help us make the most of our longer lives. He shows us that the time has come to cast off prejudices and blur the lines of what is possible at every age. We can tear up the old script that locks us into learning in early life, working in the middle years and pursuing leisure with whatever time is left at the end. Instead, we can learn, work, rest, care for others, volunteer, create and have fun all the way through our lives. Bolder is a radical re-think of our approach to everything from education, healthcare and work, to design, relationships and politics. An essential and inspiring read to help all of us make ageing a bonus rather than a burden.

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.

Based on the First Biannual Lifespan Development Conference, this volume offers a multidisciplinary and multidimensional approach to the study of lifespan development in the areas of neuropsychology, cognition, behavior genetics, and perception. The objective of the conference was to provide a lively forum for the discussion of issues related to lifespan development and to reflect on important topics challenging the field during the 1990s. The chapters in this book, motivated by the conference presentations, cover: * the assessment and evaluation of developmental changes in visual perception; * the contribution of behavioral genetic factors to development; * the predictability of perinatal risk factors as they relate to cognitive and linguistic outcomes; * the neuropsychological changes during aging; and * innovative approaches to the study of cognitive development using neuropsychological testing methods.

Help families of institutionalized elders with this compassionate and practical manual.

This volume is the fourth in a series designed to facilitate inter-disciplinary communication between scientists concerned with the description of societal phenomena and those investigating adult development. As such, it contains a compilation of papers presented at an annual conference held at the Pennsylvania State University. These essays by sociologists and epidemiologists deal with the impact of disease and health outcomes with advancing age and are critiqued by members of related disciplines. In addition, there are overviews as well as specific discussions about the impact of cancer, depression, and cardiovascular diseases upon psychosocial functions.

What are the changes we see over the life-span? How can we explain them? And how do we account for individual differences? This volume continues to examine these questions and to report advances in empirical research within life-span development increasing its interdisciplinary nature. The relationships between individual development, social context, and historical change are salient issues discussed in this volume, as are nonnormative and atypical events contributing to life-span change.

This concise survey investigates the television general managers' and news directors' attitudes towards the elderly in the United States. Originally published in 1997, it raises important issues of ageing in relation to the media with specific focus on the older viewer's status as a viewing audience of the news and how they are presented in the news. This is still useful food for thought for gerontologists, mass communication researchers, social psychologists and media studies researchers.

Here is an excellent "how-to" guide for initiating pet-facilitated therapy programs with the elderly. Pets and the Elderly is a practical book that explains how to implement carefully planned programs in residential and nursing homes and in geriatric and psychiatric hospitals, with pets in residence or as visitors. The authors review past research, building a strong case for the therapeutic use of pets in the rehabilitation of older persons. They also share innovative program suggestions, testimonials from participants of successful programs, a comprehensive questionnaire for program evaluation, and the advantages and disadvantages of using various pets, highlighting their therapeutic potential, the training and care required, and much more

This anthology responds to the recurring call for quality in home care service provision. It presents to agency administrators, managers, supervisors, and front line service providers a set of the most up-to-date policy, program, and practice developments in the field. Each contributor to New Developments in Home Care Services for the Elderly explores issues of client/staff diversity and the challenges associated with working with clients grappling with disabling conditions.Contributors in New Developments in Home Care Services for the Elderly explore issues of client/staff diversity and the challenges associated with working with clients grappling with various disabling conditions. Topics addressed include: alternative organizational models in home care the importation of high technology services into the home legal and ethical issues in home health care counseling homebound clients and their families clinical assessment tools and packages case management and the home care client home care entitlements and benefits evaluating and monitoring the effectiveness of in-home care marketing home health care services home care service experiences in other countriesNew Developments in Home Care Services for the elderly covers a continuum of care ranging from housekeeping services to self-care education, teaching, and training services to nursing and medically related services. Consequently, the information contained within this volume is of immediate relevance to a multidisciplinary audience having both direct (field) and indirect (office) service responsibilities in the home care organization. Social workers, nurses, business administrators, and public health professionals will find this an invaluable guide for providing effective home care services.

Are we in control of our own development in adulthood, or are we shaped by circumstances beyond our control? By adopting the concept of intentional self-development (ISD), this text outlines an action-theoretical approach to human development that emphasizes both an individual's ability to shape their own development throughout the lifespan, and the extent to which this potential is limited. By examining general age-related changes and critical life events, Intentional Self-Development and Positive Ageing explores the adaptive cognitive-motivational processes that generate positive development in adulthood, including developmental tasks, cognitive changes, life-stage transitions, and biological and neural processes. Leipold goes on to discuss the concept of positive ageing, highlighting the flexibility of the term and evaluating it from multiple perspectives to demonstrate its subjectivity, as well as its importance. This text also discusses the importance of resilience in positive development, contributing to the search for conditions conducive to positive life conduct across the lifespan. This book will be essential reading for undergraduates and postgraduates studying lifespan development and gerontology, positive psychology, or health psychology, as well as researchers in those fields. It will also be of interest to developmental counsellors, clinicians, and other applied occupational groups who are seeking to understand the psychological basis of actions.

The contributors to Grandparenting in the United States, edited by Madonna Harrington Meyer and Ynesse Abdul-Malak of Syracuse University, use a variety of quantitative and qualitative data sets to assess how grandparenting, and its impacts, vary by living arrangements, economic status, education, gender, race, ethnicity, and other stratifying variables. Some papers assess how the provision of financial assistance, particularly during economic downturns, may be easily absorbed or financially detrimental. Others demonstrate how immigrant grandparents navigate multiple sets of cultural expectations to provide childcare to their grandchildren. Some show how Hispanic grandparents acculturation level is linked to childcare and financial transfer across generations. Others emphasize the extent to which schoolchildren with disabilities are more likely to receive grandparent care, particularly if the mother is single. Some reveal how custodial grandmothers are significantly more likely to be poor, face social isolation, and report poorer health. Others enumerate the positive, and negative, impacts of frequent interaction for both generations. In total, the volume underscores the impact of evolving diversification of grandparenting across multiple generations.

Originally published in 1986, the central topic of this book is the analysis and application of control-related beliefs and behaviours for theory and practice in the psychology of aging. The volume was written for two specific interrelated purposes aimed at cross-fertilization between the psychology of control and the field of gerontology. The first purpose was to summarise available research and theory on the psychology of control for researchers and professionals interested in gerontology at the time. The second was to enrich the field of the psychology of control.

Environmental gerontology - the research on aging and environment - evolved during the late 1960s, when the domain became a relevant topic due to societal concerns with the problems of housing for elderly people. The field proliferated during the 1970s and 1980s, and remains viable and active today on an international scale. However, in recent times, the viability of the field and its future has been brought into question. In this volume, international experts across diverse areas reflect on the current progress of their respective disciplines, illustrating research-grounded benefits emerging from their work, and suggesting new agenda that can guide progress in the future. The contributors address a wide range of issues, including: evaluation of existing paradigms and new theories that might advance both research and training; issues and applications in methods, measures, and empirically-generated research agenda; innovative approaches to environmental transformations in home, community, and long-term care settings; and understudied populations and issues in environmental gerontology. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Housing for the Elderly.