The area of work and aging is complex and multi-faceted. Its foundation is formed by a wide array of disciplines that both contribute to the complexity of its understanding, and offer fertile promise for research, development, and application in the years ahead. With an ever-growing population of older workers, many of whom are suggesting they will likely continue to work past traditional retirement age, it becomes all the more important that we increase our efforts to develop a more thorough understanding of older workers, the nature of their interactions with work and the organizations for which they work, and the process of transitioning to retirement. Clearly, there are huge societal and global challenges that will both inform and influence research and application at the individual and organizational levels.
The Oxford Handbook of Work and Aging examines the aging workforce from an individual worker, organization, and societal perspective, and offers both an integration of current cross-disciplinary knowledge, and a roadmap for where research and application should be focused in the future to address issues of an aging workforce. The volume is divided into six core sections: demography, theoretical and methodological issues, the older worker, organizational strategies for an older workforce, individual and organizational perspectives on work and retirement, and societal perspectives with an aging workforce. Bringing together seasoned authors from diverse academic and professional backgrounds, new approaches to recruiting, workplace flexibility, and the right mix of benefits and incentives are presented as a way of engaging an older workforce.

This Brief is based on a research study of aging adults' perceptions and fear of crime in their community of Ferguson, Missouri. The study, which was conducted by coincidence just prior to the death of Michael Brown, presents unique insights into the community environment prior to those events, which sparked protests and turmoil in Ferguson and beyond. This qualitative study employs sampling and semi-structured interviews to survey older adults aging in place in Ferguson about their perceptions of crime, social disorder, racial integration and community transformation. The author also draws comparisons to other US cities, and recommendations for future research. While the study is only preliminary, it will be of interest to anyone researching the intersection of race, crime, and community, or particularly the protests surrounding the events in Ferguson, Missouri, as a starting point for comparison.

The Aging Mind offers an accessible introduction to what research has revealed about how our bodies and brains age, and how these changes affect our everyday experiences and lives. This second edition is fully updated with contemporary studies and neuroscientific findings, to offer an engaging exploration of 25 facets of the physical and mental aging processes. Written by eminent gerontologist Patrick Rabbitt, who interprets research through his own personal daily experiences, it explores what aging really is and how to accept and manage it. It explores why our sensory and cognitive experiences change as we get older, and what these developments mean for our overall physical and emotional well-being. Key topics explored include memory, intelligence, attention, sleep, vision and hearing, taste and smell, touch and balance, anxiety, depression and perception of the passage of time. It also discusses how far we can keep and develop the skills we have mastered over our lifetimes. The Aging Mind debunks unhelpful myths about the aging process and offers guidance on how we can age better, allowing us to continue to manage and enjoy our lives. This second edition is invaluable for students and researchers of cognitive gerontology, for professionals working with clients experiencing issues around aging, and for all those interested in understanding their own, or their relatives' aging.

In the last century, changes to the nature and patterns of women's working lives have been vast. Notably, the huge increase in women's participation in the paid workforce means that today women are retiring in unprecedented numbers. How do they cope with this lifestyle transition? What major difficulties do they face? How do they process the problems associated with managing this transition in fulfilling ways while juggling family, financial, friendship, ageing and health issues? To date, most retirement studies have focused on men, and therefore gender-specific issues relating to post-work life, such as the pay gap, the double shift, women's longer lifespans and their traditional roles as carers and social nurturers, have been afforded far less attention. Women and Retirement: Challenges of a New Life Stage is the first book of its kind to examine women's retirement using a lifespan perspective. Based on the authors' extensive study of over 1,000 retired Australian women as well as current research, the book presents models of various retirement trajectories and compares women's experiences with the more widely researched retirement experiences of men. Moore and Rosenthal consider the nature of the transition from full-time work to retirement and the many different pathways and factors influencing this journey: women's financial status in the retirement years; their health changes; and the varied activity patterns they adopt. Women and Retirement is a comprehensive, up-to-date and evidence-based review of the female retirement experience. It will be invaluable for courses on ageing and health within psychology, women's studies, social work and sociology, and for use by practitioners in these fields.

One of the most pressing questions facing society today is how to care for its burgeoning elderly population. By the year 2050, experts predict that one-third of the world's population will be over 60 years old. Health promotion for the elderly is therefore becoming an increasingly important topic in public policy and planning. This book examines the challenges presented by an ageing global population, our varying expectations of healthy ageing, and the importance of exercise and physical activity for the elderly. Drawing on empirical research from around the world, it considers the factors that influence health and well-being in later life and compares practices and policies designed to promote healthy ageing. It presents case studies from 15 countries spanning Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia, and sheds light on how attitudes to physical activity differ across nations, regions and cultures. Ageing, Physical Activity and Health: International Perspectives is important reading for all students, researchers and practitioners with an interest in physical activity, public health, exercise science or gerontology.

The challenge of population aging requires innovative approaches to meet the needs of increasing numbers of older people. Emerging information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as pervasive computing and ambient assistive technology, have considerable potential for enhancing the quality of life of many older people by providing additional safety and security while also supporting mobility, independent living, and social participation. The proposed book will be a landmark publication in the area of technology and aging that will serve as a statement of the current state-of-the-art and as a pointer to directions for future research and emerging technologies, products, and services.

In recent years, the literature on the topic of ethnic and racial issues in Alzheimer's disease and other dementias has increased dramatically. At the same time, the need for cultural competence in all of geriatric care, including dementia care, is increasingly being acknowledged. Dementia is a large societal problem affecting all communities, regardless of race or ethnicity, and understanding dementia for specific groups is tremendously important for both clinical knowledge and for health planning as a nation. This third edition of Ethnicity and the Dementias offers invaluable background information in this area, while also examining how those suffering from dementia and their family members respond or adapt to the challenges that follow. Thoroughly updated and revised throughout, the book features contributions from leading clinicians and researchers in the field, with particular attention given to genetic and cultural factors related to dementia, effective prevention and treatment strategies, and issues in caregiving and family support. Chapters offer specific recommendations for dementia care in eleven ethnic/racial groups, as well as suggestions for working effectively with LGBTQ families. Providing a truly comprehensive resource on ethnicity and dementia, and including reflections on emerging trends and the future of caregiving, this new edition is ideal reading for clinicians, educators, researchers, policy makers, and families, in search of the most current ethnogeriatric findings.

As we age, society's negative assumptions mean we become a burden, a problem and the excluded 'other'. With a convincing call to embrace all that is positive about ageing comes this timely book from the authors of Retiring with Attitude. Debunking the myth of the ageing time bomb it presents a new, yet realistic, way for society to engage with older people from a myriad of perspectives, including consumerism, media, work, housing, community and 'beauty'. Brought alive by the voices of people aged 50 to 90, it proves ageing is not passive decline but a process of learning, joy, political engagement, challenges and achievement. Increased longevity has consequences for us all. By challenging our assumptions and stereotypes, this book demonstrates that we are capable of living better together longer in this new, older world.

Significant improvements in lifestyle and medical science are leading to an ever increasing elderly population in the United States and other developed nations. The U.S census bureau estimates that the number of people over 65 will nearly double by 2030, and that the elderly will comprise nearly one-fifth of the world's entire population within the next 20 years. In Animal Models of Human Cognitive Aging, Jennifer Bizon, Alisa Woods, and a panel of international authorities comprehensively discuss the use of animal models as a tool for understanding cognitive changes associated with the aging process. The book provides substantive background on the newest and most widely used animal models in studies of cognition and aging, while detailing the normal and pathological processes of brain aging of humans in relation to those models. Additional chapters comprehensively review frontal cortical deficits and executive function in primates as related to humans, and the use of transgenic modulation in mice to model Alzheimer's and other age-related diseases. Groundbreaking and authoritative, Animal Models of Human Cognitive Aging provides a valuable resource for Neuroscientists, Gerontological Scientists and all aging medicine researchers, while serving as a primer for understanding current brain aging studies.

Population aging is a matter of global concern. It often occurs in tandem with changes in the health profile of the population. In Africa, many countries are already facing a high burden of communicable diseases. However, as more and more children survive childhood and move on to adult years and old age they are also more likely to experience health problems associated with the aging process. Population aging in Africa is occurring in the context of high levels of poverty, changing family structures, an immense disease burden, fragile health systems and weak or poorly managed government institutions. This book shows that aging is likely to lead to increased social and economic demands for the continent. However, most national governments in Africa have not begun to address the issue of how to respond effectively to the needs of the older population. This will require a better understanding of the socio-economic and demographic situation of the older population in Africa. This book fills the gaps that exist by exploring the social realities of population aging in Africa. It also focuses on the policy and programmatic responses, gaps and future challenges related to aging across the continent.

Music for Life: Music Participation and Quality of Life of Senior Citizens presents a fresh, new exploration of the impact of musical experiences on the quality of life of senior citizens, and charts a new direction in the facilitation of the musical lives of people of all ages. Authors Fung and Lehmberg clearly define the issues surrounding music education, music participation, quality of life, and senior citizens, discussing the most relevant research from the fields of music education, adult learning, lifelong learning, gerontology, medicine, music therapy, and interdisciplinary studies. At the heart of the book is Evergreen Town, a retirement community in the southeastern U.S.A., that serves as the backdrop for three original research studies. The first of these is in two phases, a survey and a focus group interview, that examines the histories and rationales for the music participations and non-participations of community residents. The second and third case studies take an in-depth look at a church choir and a bluegrass group, two prominent musical groups in the community, and include the perspectives of the authors themselves as group members and participant-observers. Fung and Lehmberg conclude with a challenge for the profession of music education: to act on this research and on the current advances in the field, to enable all people to benefit from the richness of music as a substantial contributor to quality of life.

This book looks at the symbolic side of globalization, development, and aging. Many of the dimensions that are discussed represent updates of past debates but some are entirely new. In particular, globalization is accompanied by subtle social imagery that profoundly shapes the way institutions and identities are imagined. The process of aging and persons sense of identity is no exception. The underlying assumptions that pervade globalization inform how critical dimensions of aging are discussed and institutionalized. The application of marketplace imagery, for example, may impact attempts for holism in how aging is studied and the prospects for human agency during the aging process. This book offers a special look into how temporality, technology, normativity, and empiricism structure the symbolic side of globalization and influence dominant images of the aging process. Current debates about globalization and aging are expanded by helping readers see the social imagery that is both subtly behind globalization and at the forefront of shaping the aging experience.

Between longer life expectancies and declining birth rates, Europe's elder population is growing into a sizable minority with considerable impact on nations, health systems, and economies-in other words, global implications as well as local and regional ones. Those investing in the health of older adults need a double perspective: the social and clinical complexity of aging and the larger forces shaping these experiences. Aging in European Societies examines aging trends across the continent, analyzing individual and collective variables that affect the lives of older adults, and drawing salient comparisons with other parts of the world. An interdisciplinary panel of experts provides theory, research, and empirical findings (with examples from the UK, Cyprus, Sweden, and others) in key areas such as family and social supports, physical and cognitive changes, dependence and autonomy issues, and living arrangements. The book's wide-net approach offers insights into not only aging, but aging well. And of particular importance, it details approaches to defining and measuring the elusive but crucial concept, quality of life. Included in the coverage: The potential for technology to improve elders' quality of life. Dementia and quality of life issues. Changes in functional ability with aging and over time. Family networks and supports in older age. Factors influencing inequalities in quality of life. Late-life learning in the E.U. Gerontologists, sociologists, health and cross-cultural psychologists, and public health policymakers will welcome Aging in European Societies as a springboard toward continued discussion, new directions for research, and improvements in policy and practice.

News of Alzheimer's disease is constantly in the headlines. Every day we hear heart-wrenching stories of people caring for a loved one who has become a shell of their former self, of projections about rising incidence rates, and of cures that are just around the corner. However, we don't see or hear from the people who actually have the disease. In Living with Alzheimer's, Renee L. Beard argues that the exclusively negative portrayals of Alzheimer's are grossly inaccurate. To understand what life with memory loss is really like, Beard draws on intensive observations of nearly 100 seniors undergoing cognitive evaluation, as well as post-diagnosis interviews with individuals experiencing late-in-life forgetfulness. Since we all forget sometimes, seniors with an Alzheimer's diagnosis ultimately need to be socialized into medicalized interpretations of their forgetfulness. In daily life, people with the disease are forced to manage stigma and the presumption of incompetence on top of the actual symptoms of their ailment. The well-meaning public, and not their dementia, becomes the major barrier to a happy life for those affected. Beard also examines how these perceptions affect treatment for Alzheimer's. Interviews with clinicians and staff from the Alzheimer's Association reveal that despite the best of intentions, pejorative framings of life with dementia fuel both clinical practice and advocacy efforts. These professionals perpetuate narratives about "self-loss," "impending cures," and the economic and emotional "burden" to families and society even if they do not personally believe them. Yet, Beard also concludes that in spite of these trends, most of the diagnosed individuals in her study achieve a graceful balance between accepting the medical label and resisting the social stigma that accompanies it. In stark contrast to the messages we receive, this book provides an unprecedented view into the ways that people with early Alzheimer's actively and deliberately navigate their lives.

This book highlights (1) the significance of reciprocity for the maintenance of self-esteem in old age and (2) the negative implications for the well-being of dependent older people when that significance goes unrecognized and, as a consequence, opportunities to give back to society, as well as take from it, are not facilitated by those in a position to do so. The discussion draws on research undertaken in the UK and Southern India into the extent to which having the self-perception of being valued in the world is important to older people in receipt of care support and whether, in their experience, this is recognized by others. The author presents an analysis of theoretical insights from leading thinkers across a broad range of literature and from several disciplines, including social theory, social work, philosophy, and gerontology. The author also gives voice to the perspectives of those dependent older people not often heard because of marginalizing and disempowering processes that contribute to their having little opportunity to be heard in the first place. The emphasis of this book is on aspiration to a meaningful life and continuing personal growth as offering a challenge to dominant discourses the equate old age with decline.

A typically pessimistic view of aging is that it leads to a steady decline in physical and mental abilities. In this volume leading gerontologists and geriatric researchers explore the immense potential of older adults to overcome the challenges of old age and pursue active lives with renewed vitality. The contributors believe that resilience capacities diminishing with old age is a misconception and argue that individuals may successfully capitalize on their existing resources, skills and cognitive processes in order to achieve new learning, continuing growth, and enhanced life-satisfaction. By identifying useful psychological resources such as social connectedness, personal engagement and commitment, openness to new experiences, social support and sustained cognitive activity, the authors present a balanced picture of resilient aging. Older adults, while coping with adversity and losses, can be helped to maintain a complementary focus on psychological strengths, positive emotions, and regenerative capacities to achieve continued growth and healthy longevity.

Over the last two decades, many changes have happened to the social welfare policies of various industrial countries. Citizens have seen their pensions, unemployment benefits, and general healthcare policies shrink as "belt tightening" measures are enforced. But in contrast, long-term care has seen a general growth in public financing, an expansion of beneficiaries, and, more generally, an attempt to define larger social responsibilities and related social rights. The aim of this book is to describe and interpret the changes introduced in long-term care policies in Western Europe. The volume argues that recent reforms have brought about an increasing convergence in LTC policies. Most of the new programs have developed a new general approach to long-term care, based on a better integration of social care and health care. The book explores increasing public support given to family care work (in the past, the family would take care of the elderly or infirm) and increasing growth and recognition of a extended social care market (by which care has shifted from a moral obligation based on family reciprocity to a paid, professional activity). A new social care arrangement has therefore been developing in Western countries, based on a new mix of family obligations, market provision, and public support. In order to understand such changes, this analysis will take into account the social and economical impact of these reforms.

This book examines the key aging processes in seven countries (United States, United Kingdom, Sweden, Japan, China, Nepal, and South Africa) and the main policies that have been, and are being, developed to deal with this rapid change in the demographic profile. It addresses the problems that are identified as well as the positive aspects of aging within each of these contrasting societies. Thus it makes a significant contribution to the major debates about growing old across the globe.

In the popular imagination, retirement promises a well-deserved rest-idle days spent traveling, volunteering, pursuing hobbies, or just puttering around the house. But as the nature of work has changed, becoming not just a means of income but a major source of personal identity, many accomplished professionals struggle with discontentment in their retirement. What are we to do-individually and as a culture-when work and life experience make conventional retirement a burden rather than a reprieve? In Retirement and Its Discontents, Michelle Pannor Silver considers how we confront the mismatch between idealized and actual retirement. She follows doctors, CEOs, elite athletes, professors, and homemakers during their transition to retirement as they struggle to recalibrate their sense of purpose and self-worth. The work ethic and passion that helped these retirees succeed can make giving in to retirement more difficult, as they confront newfound leisure time with uncertainty and guilt. Drawing on in-depth interviews that capture a range of perceptions and common concerns about what it means to be retired, Silver emphasizes the significance of creating new retirement strategies that support social connectedness and personal fulfillment while countering ageist stereotypes about productivity and employment. A richly detailed and deeply personal exploration of the challenges faced by accomplished retirees, Retirement and Its Discontents demonstrates the importance of personal identity in forging sustainable social norms around retirement and helps us to rethink some of the new challenges for aging societies.

In recent years the field of cognitive aging has flourished and expanded into many different disciplines. It is probably, therefore, inevitable that some of the research has become very narrow, primarily focused on "counting and classifying the wrinkles of aged behavior," rather than addressing more broad, general, and important questions. Timothy Salthouse's main goal in this book is to try to identify some of the major phenomena in the field of cognitive aging, and discuss issues relevant to the investigation and interpretation of them. He does not attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of the research literature on aging and cognition because many excellent reviews are available in edited handbooks. His principal aim is rather to stimulate readers to think about the big questions in cognitive aging research, and how they might best be answered.

This book focuses on older people as makers of meaning and insight, highlighting the evolving values, priorities and ways of communicating that make later life fascinating. It explores what creating 'meaning' in later life really implies, for older people themselves, for how to conceptualise older people and for relationships between generations. The book offers a language for discussing major types of lifecourse meaning, not least those concerning ethical and temporal aspects of the ways people interpret their lifecourses, the ways older people form part of social and symbolic landscapes, and the types of wisdom they can offer. It will appeal to students of gerontology, sociological methodology, humanistic sociology, philosophy, psychology, and health promotion and medicine.

This book investigates the experiences of older people who remain at home with care. It examines the transition points for the important life changes faced by family members who take on a greater care-giving role. The book draws on demographic analyses and qualitative fieldwork to explore the shift from independence to increasing dependence, and suggests that this transition constitutes movement into a new stage of life, that of an Age of Supported Independence. Applying the anthropological concept of rites of passage in their analysis, the authors focus on the changes in everyday living within the spatial environment of the home, the temporal organization of daily life, and the reshaping of relationships. They suggest that many older people - as well as the family members who become carers - remain in a state of 'liminality': unable to make sense of their new situation and experience and, despite assumptions that ageing-in-place sustains social connectedness, excluded from their communities.

The challenges faced by individuals and families at the end of life are still incredibly diverse, and many behavioural interventions and clinical approaches have been developed to address this great diversity of experiences in the face of dying and death, helping providers to care for their clients. Perspectives on Behavioural Interventions in Palliative and End-of-Life Care is an accessible resource that collates and explores interventions that can be used to address a wide range of behavioural, psychological, social and spiritual issues that arise when people are facing advanced chronic or life-limiting illness. With perspectives from experienced clinicians, providers, and caregivers from around the world, this book offers a strong foundation in contemporary evidence-based practice alongside seasoned practice insights from the field. Its chapters explore: Interventions to enhance communication and decision making The management of physical and mental health symptoms Meaning-Centred Psychotherapy for cancer patients Dignity Therapy Interventions embracing cultural diversity and intersectionality. Together with Perspectives on Palliative and End-of-Life Care: Disease, Social and Cultural Context, the book provides a foundation for collaborative international and interprofessional work by providing state-of science information on behavioural interventions addressing mental health and wellness. It is of interest to academics, researchers and postgraduates in the fields of mental health, medicine, psychology and social work, and is essential reading for healthcare providers and trainees from psychosocial and palliative medicine, social work and nursing.

America grows older yet stays focused on its young. Whatever hill we try to climb, we're "over" it by fifty and should that hill involve entertainment or athletics we're finished long before. But if younger is better, it doesn't appear that youngest is best: we want our teachers, doctors, generals, and presidents to have reached a certain age. In context after context and contest after contest, we're more than a little conflicted about elders of the tribe; when is it right to honor them, and when to say "step aside"?
In LASTINGNESS, Nicholas Delbanco, one of America's most celebrated men of letters, profiles great geniuses in the fields of visual art, literature, and music-Monet, Verdi, O'Keeffe, Yeats, among others - searching for the answers to why some artists' work diminishes with age, while others' reaches its peak. Both an intellectual inquiry into the essence of aging and creativity and a personal journey of discovery, this is a brilliant exploration of what determines what one needs to do to keep the habits of creation and achievement alive.

With the longest life expectancy for men and the second longest for women, Hong Kong typifies our planet's aging population. The daily lives of its older adults closely match the advantages and disadvantages experienced by urban elders in other developed countries. For these reasons, Hong Kong's elderly serve as a salient guide to older people's social, psychological, and healthcare needs-concerns of increasing importance as the world grows older. Aging in Hong Kong examines this emblematic population as a case study specifically in comparison with their counterparts in the West, shedding light on diverse, interrelated currents in the aging experience. Referencing numerous international studies, the book contrasts different health service arrangements and social factors and relates them to a variety of health outcomes. Its wide-ranging coverage documents health and illness trends, reviews age-friendly policy initiatives, relates health literacy to patients' active role in their own care, and discusses elders as an underserved group in the division of limited health funding and resources. This multiple focus draws readers' attention to policies that need revisiting or retooling as chapters analyze major life areas including: Living environment. Retirement and post-retirement employment issues. Financial asset management. Health literacy regarding aging issues. Elder-positive service delivery models. Ageism in the prioritization of healthcare. End-of-life issues. By assembling such a wealth of data on its subject, Aging in Hong Kong puts ongoing challenges into clear focus for gerontologists, sociologists, health and cross-cultural psychologists, public health policymakers, and others involved in improving the quality of elders' lives.