Bücher der Reihe International Perspectives on Aging

This book presents a critical analysis and examination of the major theories and social issues in the social construction of aging and death. It is concerned with the impact of death and places how our experiences of death are transformed by the roles that truth and discourse about aging play in everyday life. A major element of the book is an examination of the way in which groups and individuals employ specific representations of mortality in order to construct meaning and purpose for life and death. To accentuate this, the book provides an investigation into the social construction of death practices across time and space. Special attention is given to the notion of death as a socially accomplished phenomenon grounded in a unique sociological introduction to the meaning of death throughout history to the present. The purpose of this book is to critically inform debates concerning the abstract and empirical features of death examined through the lens of sociological perspectives. This book explores the emergent biomedical dominance relating to ageing and death. An alternative is advocated which re-interprets ageing for Graduate schools. This innovative book explores the concept, history and theory of aging and its relationship to death. Traditionally, many books have focused on older people dying of 'natural causes', a biomedical explanatory framework. This book looks at alternative social theories and experiences with aging and relate to death in different countries, victims, crime, imprisonment and institutional care. Are these deaths avoidable? If so, what are the solutions the book addresses. This is one of the first books that re-interprets aging and its relationship of examples of death. It will be of essential reading for graduate students and researchers in understanding these different examples of aging and death across the globe.

This book focuses on the concept of subjective views of aging. This concept refers to the way individuals conceptualize and perceive the aging process. Social and cultural perceptions regarding older adults are incorporated and internalized into views people hold regarding their own aging process. The book contains three parts which present theoretical, empirical, and translational perspectives about subjective views of aging. The theoretical section expands the framework of subjective views of aging with the inclusion of additional concepts, and further integrates these concepts by accounting for their synergistic effects. The empirical section presents recent developments in the field starting at the intra-individual level as assessed by ecological momentary assessments, going through the level of interpersonal relationships, and concluding at the social and cultural levels. Finally, the translational section presents recent endeavours to develop interventions aimed at advancing favourable views of aging. This cutting-edge edited book includes chapters written by internationally renowned scholars in the field and serves as an up-to-date resource for scholars in the field as well as a textbook for students in courses like social gerontology, lifespan psychology, and life course sociology.

This book documents, verifies and brings to life the issues and debates that are created around the aging society. It carefully offers a series of opinions that attempt to illuminate the fact that the aging society goes beyond aging and includes a series of changes in terms of family, social ties, relationships, and the way human beings perceive society. The book contributes substantially to the discussion of this new type of aging, the new types of families, and the new types of relationships, as well as in the application of cutting-edge analytical strategies to understand the trends and patterns of these new modes of social structures.The book includes detailed perspectives on how decisions need to be made, mindsets need to be changed, and precautions need to be taken to positively deal with these new realities. The evidence presented in this book suggests that if this does not happen, the danger of thanato-politics appears, which, denying reality, will lead humanity into difficult labyrinths, perhaps without any "e;Ariadne's thread"e; that will allow a glimpse of the way out.The translation from Spanish to English was done with the help of artificial intelligence (machine translation by the service DeepL.com). A subsequent human revision was done primarily in terms of content.

This book describes and analyzes the lived experience of elder abuse from the queer community. It discusses the experiences by transwomen, gay men and lesbians of financial abuse, physical and sexual abuse, homophobic abuse, and neglect within partner relationships, residential care, in home care, and religious organizations. Queer and trans elders have been described as ¿The Silent Generation¿, since they have lived through times when their sexual and gender identities were criminalized and pathologized. The book shows that they are far more at risk to suffer abuse and neglect by those they should be able to trust, since they are more likely to have encountered all key risk factors, such as isolation, previous abuse and trauma, and mistrust of the health care system. Their vulnerability has been overlooked and this book addresses that gap. As such, this book provides a great resource to anyone working with elders, including medical professionals, care providers, police, counsellors, and policy makers.

This open access book provides insight on how to interpret capability in ageing ¿ one¿s individual ability to perform actions in order to reach goals one has reason to value ¿ from a multidisciplinary approach. With for the first time in history there being more people in the world aged 60 years and over than there are children below the age of 5, the book describes this demographic trends as well as the large global challenges and important societal implications this will have such as a worldwide increase in the number of persons affected with dementia, and in the ratio of retired persons to those still in the labor market. Through contributions from many different research areas, it discussed how capability depends on interactions between the individual (e.g. health, genetics, personality, intellectual capacity), environment (e.g. family, friends, home, work place), and society (e.g. political decisions, ageism, historical period). The final chapter summarizes the differencesand similarities in these contributions. As such this book provides an interesting read for students, teachers and researchers at different levels and from different fields interested in capability and multidisciplinary research.

This book explores the reality of ageing and old age from the perspectives of the individual and society. The book is organized as follows: historical and broader cross-cultural issues of ageing, followed by biomedical, psychological, social, and communicative aspects of ageing.

It provides deep insights into ageing in India by discussing demographics related to health and social differentials, gender concerns, retirement problems, epidemiological transition taking place in the country with rising problem of dementia and mental health problems.

Through in-depth profiles of two of the most popular destinations - Cuenca, Ecuador and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, the book provides a unique commentary on the social forces shaping this new diaspora and its impact on the settings to which retirees relocate.

This open access book provides insight on how to interpret capability in ageing - one's individual ability to perform actions in order to reach goals one has reason to value - from a multidisciplinary approach.

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. How an Innovator Thinks: Applied Evangelism.- Chapter 3. The Founder.- Chapter 4. Pioneer in Assisted Living.- Chapter 5. A Revolutionary in Aging.- Chapter 6. Changing the World: From Government to Assisted Living.- Chapter 7. Memory Care Futurist.- Chapter 8. From Pro Athlete to Senior Living to Pro Sports. Chapter 9. Leading the Way, South of the Border.- Chapter 10. Competition channeled into Leadership. Chapter 11. A Social Entrepreneur.- Chapter 12.  Hippie at the Helm.- Chapter 13. Breaking the Mold.- Chapter 14. Innovating Senior Living.- Chapter 15. Making Decisions Without All the Information.- Chapter 16. Marketing My Way into Senior Living.- Chapter 17. Transforming an Organization.- Chapter 18. Financial Leadership.

This book provides an underexplored view of ageing, one that conceives older people as valuable resources in their communities, as active citizens with both voice, and an agency that includes the capacity for resistance.

This book explores the unresolved paradox at the heart of population aging, namely how to account for the fact that death rates from most non-communicable diseases rise as people age, yet aggregate death rates from such diseases have decreased overall despite an increasingly aging population.

Presenting the work of leading thinkers, and the voices of the elderly themselves, this book highlights the significance of reciprocity for the maintenance of self-esteem in old age and discusses negative implications when that significance goes unrecognized.

Aging populations are an unprecedented feature in human history. This volume presents fresh research as well as analysis of population trends, comparing developments in Europe, North America, Asia and Australasia and assessing their likely impact.

This book compares aging in the US, UK, Sweden, Japan, China, Nepal and South Africa, discussing new policies needed to deal with their rapidly changing demographics. It explores both the challenges and advantages of aging in these contrasting societies.

The book considers how to measure personality and personality change during adulthood, the associations between personality and healthy aging outcomes over time, and the role of personality in building interventions to promote healthy aging.

This book approaches the concept of adjustment to aging and endeavors to build reader understanding of this construct through a critical review and discussion.

The supportiverole of urban spaces in active aging is explored on a world scale in thisunique resource, using the WHO's Age-Friendly Cities and Community model. Casestudies from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, and elsewhere demonstratehow the model translates to fit diverse social, political, and economic realitiesacross cultures and continents, ways age-friendly programs promote seniorempowerment, and how their value can be effectively assessed. Age-friendlycriteria for communities are defined and critiqued while extensive empiricaldata describe challenges as they affect elders globally and how environmentalsupport can help meet them. These chapters offer age-friendly cities as acorrective to the overemphasis on the medical aspects of elders' lives, and shouldinspire new research, practice, and public policy.Included in thecoverage: A critical review of the WHO Age-Friendly Cities Methodology and its implementation. Seniors' perspectives on age-friendly communities. The implementation of age-friendly cities in three districts of Argentina. Age-friendly New York City: a case study. Toward an age-friendly European Union. Age-friendliness, childhood, and dementia: toward generationally intelligent environments.With its balanceof attention to universal and culture-specific concerns, Age-Friendly Cities and Communities in International Comparisonwill be of particular interest to sociologists, gerontologists, and policymakers. "Given the rapid adoption ofthe age-friendly perspective, following its development by the World HealthOrganization, the critical assessment offered in this volume is especiallywelcome".Professor ChrisPhillipson, University of Manchester

This comparative resource charts the interface between the University of the Third Age (U3A) movement and active ageing, and in doing so, offers a comprehensive and thorough understanding of what U3A means in different geographical and sociocultural contexts. After first providing introductory chapters to introduce the U3A movement and active ageing in global perspective and tracing the origins of U3As in France, the book sets off charting the international development of U3As in both European and Asian-Pacific contexts. Deliberately, the book moves away from the dominant Anglo-centric US- and UK-rooted analyses of U3As to account for contexts of different political ideology, sociocultural values, geography, and degrees of urbanisation and industrialisation. Lastly, it thematises foreseeable issues, concerns, and predicaments that the global U3A movement faces while meeting the challenges and seizing the opportunities presented by active ageing.The chapters' comparative perspectives encompass: Origins and development: The Francophone model of U3As The development and characteristics of U3As in European and Asian-Pacific geographies From social welfare to educational gerontology: U3As in China, Russia, Taiwan, Malaysia and South Korea U3As in Italy, Spain and Sweden: A dynamic, flexible, and accessible learning model Late-life learning for social inclusion: U3As in Poland, Iceland, United Kingdom, and Malta The U3A movement in Australia: From statewide networking to community engagement Cross-cultural perspectives on U3As: The case of Thailand The University of the Third Age and Active Ageing boasts welcome contributions to the scholarship on the different histories, structures, and challenges posed by national U3As. Readers from a variety of backgrounds and research interests including gerontology, geriatrics, active ageing, older adult learning, comparative education and educational technology will find this a necessary and valuable resource in better understanding a globalised U3A world."The University of the Third Age and Active Ageing: European and Asian-Pacific Perspectives contributes to the deep well of histories, experiences, structures, accomplishments and problems of national U3As. It emerges as a tapestry of extraordinary research that offers to guide the U3A movement as it soon enters its fiftieth year of existence." - Prof. Stephen Katz. Trent University

This book provides an insight into advances in elder abuse in the areas of research, policy, practice and legislation. The book explores the nexus of ageism and elder abuse, describes key social policies and their legislative manifestation, covers major policies and programs related to elder abuse, defines elder sexual abuse and much more.

This book explores positive aging through the lens of precarity, aiming to ground positive aging theories in current social contexts.

This book is the first one to examine the cause and effect of elderly people's healthy life expectancy, providing models that are easy to understand.

This perceptive volume presents conceptual, theoretical, and empirical approaches to social policy analysis comparing China and Nordic countries in their treatment of the elderly. An international panel of experts offers valuable policy insights into issues of housing, community care, family care, pensions and social security, and mental health as China translates and adapts Western examples, particularly those set by Norway, Sweden, and Finland. The book contrasts shared issues in the contexts of economic history, accountability and service improvements, and sustainability while also examining specifically Chi nese problems such as care gaps between urban and rural elders. Coverage also considers the centrality of aging policy in China as the nation works toward its long-term goal of eradicating poverty. Included among the topics:Building a welfare system with Chinese characteristics: from a residual type to moderate universalism.¿Aging in community¿: historical and comparative study of aging welfare and social policy.Sweden: aging welfare and social policy in the 21st century.Policy responses to aging: care services for the elderly in Norway.Chinäs elderly care policy and its future trends. Aging Welfare and Social Policy will interest professionals and researchers addressing questions of Chinese and comparative social policy, health psychologists, and sociologists focused on family, youth, and aging.

This open access book provides a comprehensive perspective on the concept of ageism, its origins, the manifestation and consequences of ageism, as well as ways to respond to and research ageism.

This book is the first one to examine the cause and effect of elderly people's healthy life expectancy, providing models that are easy to understand.