Cognitive aging is a flourishing area of research. A significant amount of new data, a number of new theoretical notions, and many new research issues have been generated in the past ten years. This new edition reviews new findings and theories, enables the reader to assess where the field is today, and evaluates its points of growth. The chapters are organized to run from reviews of current work on neuroimaging, neuropsychology, genetics and the concept of brain reserve, through the 'mainstream' topics of attention, memory, knowledge and language, to a consideration of individual differences and of cognitive aging in a lifespan context. This edition continues to feature the broad range of its predecessors, while also providing critical assessments of current theories and findings.

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

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.

Although demographic change has been a widely discussed topic for decades, its scope, social impact and related policy responses leave us with many unresolved social issues. Demographic change is a reality for all European societies but the ways in which it is taking place differ from country to country. Active ageing both as a concept and policy response to the demographic ageing of populations has been widely debated, researched and utilised, informing both policy and practice, and providing a common narrative framework to ageing. However, there continues to be a lack of clarity around the precise meaning of 'active ageing'. This book explores the way in which social work is critically engaging with the theme of active ageing, in light of, or maybe as a reaction to, the policy responses witnessed within the context of large-scale and rapid demographic change. This book was originally published as a special issue of the European Journal of Social Work.

'God's purpose for us is to show, as we get older, that he gives us his strength and, through our experiences of him, his wisdom,' says Ian Knox. 'God is not finished with us. In our later years we are not only to be blessed, but to be a blessing and bring a blessing.' As we get older, some of us grow more frenetic in our anxiety to demonstrate that the force is still with us. Others withdraw, often quite abruptly. What is God's view of ageing? The Bible has much to say, and many stories to tell, about those who did great things, those who did ordinary things well, those who prayed, those who used their gifts, those who suffered, those who went right to the end - and those who, in later years, got it absolutely wrong. How are we going to face the prospect of ageing? Will we subside, give up? Or shall we view retirement as a gift from God, an opportunity to reach out to others? Our older years are full of possibilities, not least of which is that of helping others find Christ.

Rapid fertility declines and improved longevity are now shifting the overall balance of population towards older ages in many parts of the world. Within this growing population of older people there are many groups with particular needs about which relatively little is known. This collection focuses on one such sub-population, the elderly without children. Few would deny that childlessness poses potential human and welfare problems for older people without them. What is less well known is that comparative anthropological and historical demographic research indicates that childlessness is a recurring social phenomenon that has affected 1 in 5 older women in many cultures and historical periods. High levels of childlessness arise not solely or primarily from biological factors like primary sterility, but from a combination of actors. Many, like non-marriage, delayed childbearing , and pathological sterility, reflect the interaction of social and biological influences. Also of major importance are factors that remove the support of children from elders' lives: migration, mortality, divorce, remarriage, family enmity, social mobility, and the pressing demands of family and career on younger generations. The papers collected in this volume employ a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods to define and characterize the experience of ageing without children.

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.

India's ageing population is growing rapidly; over 60s constitute 7 per cent of the total population and this is projected to triple in the next four decades. Drawing on a wide range of studies, this book examines living arrangements across India and their impact on the care and wellbeing of older people. Addressing access to welfare initiatives and changing cultural norms including co-residence, family care and migration, it reveals the diversity of living arrangements, cultural customs and the welfare issues facing older adults in India. This book offers a crucial examination for practitioners, researchers and policymakers seeking to understand and develop the infrastructure required to meet the needs of older people in India.

A one-of-a-kind guide to active, engaging learning strategies for aging studies. Harnessing the proven benefits of active learning strategies, this is the first activity book created for a broad spectrum of courses in aging-related higher education. It features 32 classroom and community-based educational activities for instructors seeking to introduce and/or enhance aging content in their courses. Underscoring the interdisciplinary nature of aging studies, the book encompasses teaching strategies for instructors in such disciplines as Counseling, Family Studies, Gerontology, Geriatrics, Medicine, Psychology, Public Administration, Public Health, Nursing, Social Work, Sociology, Speech Pathology, and others. This peer-reviewed collection of hands-on activities is designed by noted educators in aging and incorporates AGHE competencies. It offers clear, step-by-step procedures for implementing each activity including preparation, introduction, the activity itself, discussion/reflection, wrap-up, and assessment. The book also addresses learning outcomes and includes recommendations for number of participants, settings, materials, and time required. Encompassing key, impactful issues affecting older individuals, the text examines Ageism and Aging in the Media, Dementia, Demography, Health Care, Housing, Physical Aging, Policy and Politics of Aging, Positive Interactions with Older Adults, and Spirituality. In addition to its value to students, the book's activities are also beneficial to professionals instructing or participating in staff trainings, in-services, and continuing education. Key Features: Contains 32 experiential learning activities for students in a great variety of aging-related disciplines Designed for activities in the classroom, in the community, on line, and take- home Provides clear, step-by-step procedures for each activity from implementation through assessment Addresses student learning outcomes and includes a glossary Incorporates AGHE competencies

As the field of aging and gerontology grows worldwide, this exciting guide introduces students to key issues and concepts. It covers topics related to the phenomena of advancing aging, including how older age has been defined historically, cultural myths related to advanced age, health and function in later life, how older age is financed throughout the world, and other key questions. Taking a multiple-perspective approach (including humanities, social and behavioral sciences and policy studies), the book's features include further reading for each chapter, a glossary of key terms, and tables that provide easy reference points.

NEW edition! More than any other social gerontology texts available, addresses issues of diversity in aging by race, ethnicity, social class, and gender throughout.

The war on the old has been declared.In the post-Brexit world, intergenerational conflict has become a visible phenomenon. There is an overwhelming sense of blame from younger generations: it was 'the wrinklies', the grey-haired plutocracy, who voted Leave; who are overburdening hospitals, shutting the youth out of the housing market and hoarding accumulated wealth.By 2020, we are told, one in five Britons will be pensioners, and living a longer retirement than ever before. 'A good thing', politicians add, through gritted teeth. The truth is that for them, 'the old' are a social, economic and political inconvenience.John Sutherland (age 78, and feeling keenly what he writes about) examines this intergenerational combat as a new kind of war in which institutional neglect and universal indifference to the old has reached aggressive, and routinely lethal, levels. This is a book which sets out to provoke but in the process tells some deep and inconvenient truths, revealing something British society would rather not think about.

The qualitative analysis of naturally occurring discourse in neurogenic communication disorders, specifically in dementia studies, has experienced recent burgeoning interest from wide-ranging disciplines. This multidisciplinarity has been exciting, but has added contextual confusion. This book advances the study of discourse in dementia by systematically exploring and applying different approaches to the same free conversational data sets, collected and transcribed by the authors. The applied methodologies and theories comprise a useful sourcebook for students, researchers, and practitioners alike.

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.

Most advanced democracies are currently experiencing accelerated population ageing, which fundamentally changes not just their demographic composition; it can also be expected to have far-reaching political and policy consequences. This volume brings together an expert set of scholars from Europe and North America to investigate generational politics and public policies within an approach explicitly focusing on comparative political science. This theoretically unified text examines changing electoral policy demands due to demographic ageing, and features analysis of USA, UK, Japan, Germany, Italy and all major EU countries. As the first sustained political science analysis of population ageing, this monograph examines both sides of the debate. It examines the actions of the state against the interests of a growing elderly voting bloc to safeguard fiscal viability, and looks at highly-topical responses such as pension cuts and increasing retirement age. It also examines the rise of 'grey parties', and asks what, if anything, makes such pensioner parties persist over time, in the first ever analysis of the emergence of pensioner parties in Europe. Ageing Populations in Post-Industrial Democracies will be of interest to students and scholars of European politics, and to those studying electoral and social policy reform. Official publication date 1st January 2012.

This volume focuses on understanding the impact of age-related decline in cognitive abilities on medical decisions and compliance with medical instructions. It examines how medical information and the medical environment can be restructured to accommodate the decreased cognitive function associated with aging. Although the issues discussed in this book are of critical importance in providing effective health care, they have been largely neglected in the national debate over provision of health care for the increasingly aging population. It is essential that we begin to understand how to present information so that informed choices are made and patients comprehend well enough that they can follow their treatment regimens and understand the importance of those regimens. Divided into four major sections, this volume addresses the following issues: * the implications of cognitive aging for medical information processing; * aging and medical decision making; * aging and medication adherence; and * human factors design for medical devices and instructions.

"Population Aging: The Transformation of Societies" presents an overview and international comparison of the causes, consequences and policy implications of one of the major processes of change in contemporary societies. It provides a foundation for understanding and reflecting on key demographic and social trends, together with related theoretical and policy frameworks that are important in explaining changes and designing informed responses. With particular reference to countries that have the oldest or largest aged populations, the book presents a synthesis of research on population aging, new analyses of trends and a discussion of the major social policy strategies.

Key topics include the new demography of aging, population health, family change, the Third Age, international policy concepts and strategies, and comparisons of countries - such as in terms of the relative risks they face from population aging and their resilience as changes occur. Overall, the book presents a broad interdisciplinary perspective on the determinants and consequences of population aging.

The book is written for an international audience of policy makers, educators and practitioners in health and welfare, together with students in the social sciences and health sciences. It provides an accessible and academically informed exposition of the field for people engaging with issues arising from population aging in their own country.

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What is distinct about the last third of life, about women, that makes psychotherapy different? In this diverse collection, the psychological meanings and challenges of the last third of life are explored, as the capacity of the psyche expands, sense of time changes, and some questions take on new vibrance and urgency. Some chapters shine their light on women therapy clients - on their precarious sociocultural predicament in a sexist/ageist time and place, on intrapsychic changes that follow from changing bodies, relationships, involvements and emergent needs of the self. Other chapters enter the largely unexplored territory of changes in the therapy process itself - where some decide against therapy altogether, while others describe a rich revision of familiar elements of therapy, greater authentic presence, a changed standpoint on the power of the therapeutic relationship. Standing inside the ''last third'' and looking back on their own lives, several women psychotherapists offer a rare window into their private experience across time and their perspectives on the challenges and the gifts that they, and other women, may realize in the last third of their lives as they consider who they have become, who they are, and who they can be. This book was based on a special issue of Women and Therapy.

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.

In light of the recent financial crisis and changing economic landscape, McNamara and Williamson present and analyze the possibility of working longer. Including a range of potential policies (e.g., further increasing the age of eligibility for full Social Security benefits, allocating more government resources to retraining and job search assistance for older workers), this is one of the major approaches currently being discussed by policy analysts inside and outside of the government. Emphasizing the role of inequalities and diversity among older adults, this book provides a framework for thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of working past the current retirement age. This book is for Sociology of Aging, Social Inequalities, and Social Problems courses.

The Psychology of Retirement is the first self-help guide to retirement based on highly proven psychological coping strategies. * Provides the most comprehensive and coherent account of the challenges of retirement and the associated aging process * Represents the culmination of over 30 years of clinical, teaching and research involvement in the main issues discussed within this book * Draws systematically on applied scientific theories, accepted professional circles, which are interpreted and communicated by an applied scientist * A constructive emphasis establishes the best possible coping strategies and perspectives

This volume describes how well we maintain the knowledge we acquire throughout life. Research traditionally focuses on memory for events that are retained over short time periods that can be accommodated in experiments. This book, by contrast, uniquely describes the evolution of methods suitable for investigating memory of complex knowledge acquired over several years and retained during the entire life-span. The methods substitute statistical for experimental controls, and the investigations involve several hundred participants whose memory is tested up to 50 years after they acquired the knowledge in question. The book covers educational content, such as mathematics and foreign languages; knowledge acquired incidentally, such as the streets and buildings of the cities in which we live; and knowledge acquired through the media. Previously unpublished research on age-related access to knowledge is included. The analyses are based on the accessibility/availability ratio, a metric presented for the first time. This metric allows comparisons of the portion of available knowledge that can be recalled as a function of age, education and other individual differences, and as a function of the domain of knowledge in question. The ratio can be used to evaluate methods of instruction and methods of studying. It can also be used to evaluate memory development and to diagnose memory pathology. The volume will be of interest to researchers in human memory, developmental psychologists, gerontologists in academic and applied settings, and educators.

Divided into four parts, the first section of this book deals with levels of processing and memory theory, the second addresses working memory and attention, the third deals with cognitive aging, and the last addresses neuroscience perspectives.

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.

The process of dementia makes the experience of day-to-day living an acute challenge. This could be mediated with educated and timely inputs and the caring contract negotiated to preserve both dignity and quality of life. The premise of the adaptive response model is that armed with the knowledge of human systems and their ability to adapt and adjust and with a firm application and emphasis on person-centred approaches to dementia care then the experience can be enhanced and living with one of the dementias can be made less traumatic. This holistic approach proposes a method of using environmental and social psychology to maximise function in the individual and to minimise the negative and destructive elements of the perceived and real environment.