Older persons are often portrayed as social and financial burdens because pensions, health and social care have to withstand increasing old age dependency ratios. Due to a lack of access to representation or a lack of social and economic power, older people have found few opportunities to have their voices heard, making age an immensely political issue. Written by an impressive team of authors, this book provides an in-depth analysis of the experience of ageing in Singapore examining key issues such as health, work, housing, family ties and care giving. It looks at how social categorization enters into everyday life to elucidate the multiple meanings of age and identity encountered in a rapidly changing economy and society. Providing original critical discourse from Asian writers recording Asian voices, Ageing in Singapore will appeal to a wide readership and is an invaluable resource for policy makers, service practitioners and scholars working on Asian gerontology.

The demographic reality of ageing has been well documented and researched in Europe, Japan and the United States of America. Recognition of its importance in newly industrialized economies such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan is only recent. Whether the scholarship originates from the developed West or the Asia-Pacific, older persons are often portrayed as social and financial burdens because pensions, health and social care have to withstand increasing old age dependency ratios. Due to a lack of access to representation and/or a lack of social and economic power, older persons have found few opportunities to have their voices heard, making age an immensely political issue. Ageing in Singapore explores how structure (the state) and agency (older people, family members or community groups) interact within a specific set of predominantly Asian values. Taking a post-colonial position in its research, with Asian writers recording Asian voices, this thought-provoking book highlights how older persons are marginalized in the Singapore situation, acknowledging the importance of place-bound contextualizations in social constructions. an invaluable resource for policy-makers, service providers and scholars working on Asian gerontology.

Within the context of an ageing Asia, the growing numbers of grandparents and the important roles they play within the family propel the need for a book devoted to their experiences. This book, with its focus on the Asian perspective, is pertinent and timely as Asia has undergone socio-cultural, economic and family transformations as a result of modernization, urbanization and demographic aging in the last century. In filling a gap in the current literature, the volume seeks to answer the following questions, what is the state of grandparenting in the Asian context today? How do the roles and functions of grandparents differ depending on rural-urban differences, their relations with daughters and daughter-in-laws, and changing health of the grandparents? The book is a multidisciplinary, cross-national and inter-generational publication, lending voice to the aging grandparents in six countries i.e. China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The volume s strength lies precisely in its rich body of qualitative, three-generational data, including grandparents, link parents and grandchildren. Gerontologists, social researchers, anthropologists, social workers, policy makers, professionals working with aging families and family caregivers form the target audience of this rich Asian volume."

Within the context of an ageing Asia, the growing numbers of grandparents and the important roles they play within the family propel the need for a book devoted to their experiences. This book, with its focus on the Asian perspective, is pertinent and timely as Asia has undergone socio-cultural, economic and family transformations as a result of modernization, urbanization and demographic aging in the last century. In filling a gap in the current literature, the volume seeks to answer the following questions, what is the state of grandparenting in the Asian context today? How do the roles and functions of grandparents differ depending on rural-urban differences, their relations with daughters and daughter-in-laws, and changing health of the grandparents? The book is a multidisciplinary, cross-national and inter-generational publication, lending voice to the aging grandparents in six countries i.e. China, Japan, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. The volume's strength lies precisely in its rich body of qualitative, three-generational data, including grandparents, link parents and grandchildren. Gerontologists, social researchers, anthropologists, social workers, policy makers, professionals working with aging families and family caregivers form the target audience of this rich Asian volume.

In Intergenerational Contact Zones, Kaplan, Thang, Sanchez, and Hoffman introduce novel ways of thinking, planning, and designing intergenerationally enriched environments. Filled with vivid examples of how ICZs breathe new life into communities and social practices, this important volume focuses on practical descriptions of ways in which practitioners and researchers could translate and infuse the notion of ICZ into their work. The ICZ concept embraces generation and regeneration of community life, parks and recreational locations, educational environments, residential settings and family life, and national and international contexts for social development. With its focus on creating effective and meaningful intergenerational settings, it offers a rich how-to toolkit to help professionals and user groups as they begin to consider ways to develop, activate, and nurture intergenerational spaces. Intergenerational Contact Zones will be essential reading for academics and researchers interested in human development, aging, and society, as well as practitioners, educators, and policy makers interested in intergenerational gathering places from an international perspective.

In Intergenerational Contact Zones, Kaplan, Thang, Sanchez, and Hoffman introduce novel ways of thinking, planning, and designing intergenerationally enriched environments. Filled with vivid examples of how ICZs breathe new life into communities and social practices, this important volume focuses on practical descriptions of ways in which practitioners and researchers could translate and infuse the notion of ICZ into their work. The ICZ concept embraces generation and regeneration of community life, parks and recreational locations, educational environments, residential settings and family life, and national and international contexts for social development. With its focus on creating effective and meaningful intergenerational settings, it offers a rich how-to toolkit to help professionals and user groups as they begin to consider ways to develop, activate, and nurture intergenerational spaces. Intergenerational Contact Zones will be essential reading for academics and researchers interested in human development, aging, and society, as well as practitioners, educators, and policy makers interested in intergenerational gathering places from an international perspective.

A dilemma long faced by western societies -- how to bring the generations together -- is also of growing concern in the east. In Japan, where, until recently, the extended family often lived under the same roof, social programs designed to facilitate interaction between old and young have proliferated. Leng Leng Thang offers an in-depth view of one of those programs, an unusual social welfare institution called Kotoen.

Kotoen is a pioneering facility for multigenerational living, providing both daycare for preschoolers and a home for elderly residents. With its twin mottoes of fureai (being in touch) and daikazoku (large extended family), it has been the subject of widespread media attention and has served as a model for other institutions. Yet Kotoen has never before been studied seriously.

Under its director's inspiring leadership, Kotoen looks unusually promising, but Thang is wary of simplistic conclusions. Her interviews, research, and work as a volunteer at Kotoen reveal the complaints common among some elderly residents toward their surroundings in old age institutions as well as the painful persistence of the traditional family ideal. Yet far from calling the experiment a failure, Thang challenges accepted wisdom and so-called common sense to reveal the advantages and limitations of the relationships fostered between Kotoen's "grandchildren" and "grandparents". The lessons learned from Kotoen illuminate the urgency of reengaging the generations in an aging society and provide direction for improving the quality of life for all.

A dilemma long faced by western societies -- how to bring the generations together -- is also of growing concern in the east. In Japan, where, until recently, the extended family often lived under the same roof, social programs designed to facilitate interaction between old and young have proliferated. Leng Leng Thang offers an in-depth view of one of those programs, an unusual social welfare institution called Kotoen.

Kotoen is a pioneering facility for multigenerational living, providing both daycare for preschoolers and a home for elderly residents. With its twin mottoes of fureai (being in touch) and daikazoku (large extended family), it has been the subject of widespread media attention and has served as a model for other institutions. Yet Kotoen has never before been studied seriously.

Under its director's inspiring leadership, Kotoen looks unusually promising, but Thang is wary of simplistic conclusions. Her interviews, research, and work as a volunteer at Kotoen reveal the complaints common among some elderly residents toward their surroundings in old age institutions as well as the painful persistence of the traditional family ideal. Yet far from calling the experiment a failure, Thang challenges accepted wisdom and so-called common sense to reveal the advantages and limitations of the relationships fostered between Kotoen's "grandchildren" and "grandparents". The lessons learned from Kotoen illuminate the urgency of reengaging the generations in an aging society and provide direction for improving the quality of life for all.