Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(3), 2005, pp.293-300.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA
Positive aging may be more dependent on spiritual well-being than physical capacity. Awareness of spiritual process in relationship to positive aging also offers counselling additional challenges and opportunities, including: a balanced perspective on life issues, a sense of humour, counter-factual thinking, internal strengths, and resources for growing through life losses and crises, and compensation skills that focus on current capacity and chosen pathways rather than dwelling on lost abilities.
Positive aging may be more dependent on spiritual well-being than physical capacity. Awareness of spiritual process in relationship to positive aging also offers counselling additional challenges and opportunities, including: a balanced perspective on life issues, a sense of humour, counter-factual thinking, internal strengths, and resources for growing through life losses and crises, and compensation skills that focus on current capacity and chosen pathways rather than dwelling on lost abilities.
... was 50 for men and 54 for women, whereas the average man reaching 65 today can expect to live for a further 19 years and a woman a further 21 years. By 2025, just 20 years away, half the adult population will be aged 50 and over. This combination of demographic ageing, increases in the duration of full-time education and college-based training, and the residual impact of early retirement, will have an impact on the labour force and the economy. There will be an increasing number of dependent children, students and elderly people, and unless attitudes change, a reduction in the size of the labour force. Simply put, the long-term ageing of the British population has recently been reinforced by both a very low birth rate (at below replacement level) and faster reductions in death rates during old age.
The number of workers aged under 35 is falling, with the fastest decreases among those aged 18-24. Since 1992, the number of workers aged 50 and over has increased significantly, partly through population changes but also due to the rise in female participation and the reducing trend in early retirement. Most people are enjoying healthier, longer lives. For example, in 1911, life expectancy was 50 for men and 54 for women, whereas the average man reaching 65 today can expect to live for a further 19 years and a woman a further 21 years. By 2025, just 20 years away, half the adult population will be aged 50 and over. This combination of demographic ageing, increases in the duration of full-time education and college-based training, and the residual impact of early retirement, will have an impact on the labour force and the economy. There will be an increasing number of dependent children, students and elderly people, and unless attitudes change, a reduction in the size of the labour force. Simply put, the long-term ageing of the British population has recently been reinforced by both a very low birth rate (at below replacement level) and faster reductions in death rates during old age. This means that births are fewer than deaths, so the population continues to age and change, as for example in Scotland, where the population is actually declining. The changes will mean some radical re-thinking by employers about their workforce, how they encourage and retain younger workers and how they value older workers, making better use of their skills and experience, and ways in which they can be encouraged to remain in work rather than leave.
The experience of dying and death has changed considerably over the last century. At the beginning of the 20th century, children aged 0-4 were the age group with the highest proportion of deaths. Improvements in public health, including the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, greatly reduced the proportion of deaths in childhood and early adulthood. By 1951 the position had changed to one in which people aged 75 years and over accounted for 39% of deaths. By 2004, 65% of all people who died were aged 75 and over. The causes of death have also changed. More people now die as a result of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (including stroke), respiratory disease and cancer.
The experience of dying and death has changed considerably over the last century. At the beginning of the 20th century, children aged 0-4 were the age group with the highest proportion of deaths. Improvements in public health, including the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, greatly reduced the proportion of deaths in childhood and early adulthood. By 1951 the position had changed to one in which people aged 75 years and over accounted for 39% of deaths. By 2004, 65% of all people who died were aged 75 and over. The causes of death have also changed. More people now die as a result of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, cerebrovascular disease (including stroke), respiratory disease and cancer.
A review of over 125 aspects of ageism. Written by 60 experts, the book examines topics such as anti-aging, stereotypes, and the media, with numerous references for further information. The resource contains an alphabetical list of the entries, a detailed index, and a list of the entries categorized by subject. This resource aims to increase awareness about the many facets of ageism and to provide a wealth of concepts, theories, and facts about ageism.
A review of over 125 aspects of ageism. Written by 60 experts, the book examines topics such as anti-aging, stereotypes, and the media, with numerous references for further information. The resource contains an alphabetical list of the entries, a detailed index, and a list of the entries categorized by subject. This resource aims to increase awareness about the many facets of ageism and to provide a wealth of concepts, theories, and facts about ageism.
Social Work Research, 29(4), December 2005, pp.231-242.
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
This article describes a Delphi study to identify research priorities of gerontological social work practitioners and to compare these priorities with those of social work academic researchers. A national expert panel of 52 gerontological social work practitioners from the United States completed questionnaires to delimit a set of high-priority research topics. Findings were compared with a similar Delphi study conducted with academic social work researchers. The researcher panel and the practitioner panel endorsed a need for intervention research. Practitioners also identified several unique priorities, including income security and long-term care policies, decision making, and planning for later life. The authors suggest four substantive areas (housing and transitions in living arrangements, family caregiving, health and mental health, and workforce) and four cross cutting themes (intervention research, social policy, service delivery, and capacity building) as a potential organizing framework for a research agenda for gerontological social work.
This article describes a Delphi study to identify research priorities of gerontological social work practitioners and to compare these priorities with those of social work academic researchers. A national expert panel of 52 gerontological social work practitioners from the United States completed questionnaires to delimit a set of high-priority research topics. Findings were compared with a similar Delphi study conducted with academic social work researchers. The researcher panel and the practitioner panel endorsed a need for intervention research. Practitioners also identified several unique priorities, including income security and long-term care policies, decision making, and planning for later life. The authors suggest four substantive areas (housing and transitions in living arrangements, family caregiving, health and mental health, and workforce) and four cross cutting themes (intervention research, social policy, service delivery, and capacity building) as a potential organizing framework for a research agenda for gerontological social work.
Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(4), 2005, pp.23-38.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA
This article is a study of how gay men and lesbian individuals perceive the aging process. Data were collected from gay and lesbian individuals who lived in a large Midwestern community with a large university. The findings indicate that gay men have more negative views of how gay society views growing older and how they view their own growing older than do lesbian respondents. Gay men were also found to be more ageist, have a greater fear of negative evaluation by others, and give more importance to their own physical attractiveness. Implications for social work practice with elder homosexuals are addressed. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
This article is a study of how gay men and lesbian individuals perceive the aging process. Data were collected from gay and lesbian individuals who lived in a large Midwestern community with a large university. The findings indicate that gay men have more negative views of how gay society views growing older and how they view their own growing older than do lesbian respondents. Gay men were also found to be more ageist, have a greater fear of negative evaluation by others, and give more importance to their own physical attractiveness. Implications for social work practice with elder homosexuals are addressed. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Ageing and Society, 25(6), November 2005, pp.815-839.
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
This article is an initial scoping exercise for a research agenda on the international political economy of ageing. It begins with a brief review of the various critiques of the political economy perspective that have been made over the 25 years since the first article on the subject. Remarkable for its absence has been criticism of the neglect of an explicit international perspective. Then the article emphasises that it is not globalisation per se that is problematic but its dominant neo-liberal economic form. It is mainly because of this globalisation and the related growth in the power of international governmental organisations, such as The World Bank, that an international political economy of ageing is required. The bulk of the article is devoted to an outline of the eight key elements that might comprise a theoretical and empirical research agenda for social gerontology. These key elements are: global inequality in old age, development and ageing, globalism and the power of international governmental organisations, trans-national corporations, the nation state, supra-national regional structures, the United Nations, and international non-governmental organisations.
This article is an initial scoping exercise for a research agenda on the international political economy of ageing. It begins with a brief review of the various critiques of the political economy perspective that have been made over the 25 years since the first article on the subject. Remarkable for its absence has been criticism of the neglect of an explicit international perspective. Then the article emphasises that it is not globalisation per se that is problematic but its dominant neo-liberal economic form. It is mainly because of this globalisation and the related growth in the power of international governmental organisations, such as The World Bank, that an international political economy of ageing is required. The bulk of the article is devoted to an outline of the eight key elements that might comprise a theoretical and empirical research agenda for social gerontology. These key elements are: global inequality in old age, development and ageing, globalism and the power of international governmental organisations, trans-national corporations, the nation state, supra-national regional structures, the United Nations, and international non-governmental organisations.
Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 45(1/2), 2005, pp.223-232.
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Place of publication:
Philadelphia, USA
Population studies within all communities have confirmed the rise of what has been referred to as a revolution in longevity. With the first wave of the baby boom generation about to join the existing over sixty-five generations, new life stages and experiences are being created in ways that will challenge religious communities. An important aspect of this revolution will be the opportunity to create new religious rituals that will respond to and reflect these new life stages and experiences. This growing multi-generational cohort will increasingly seek that their religious communities respond to their changing life experiences in ways that infuse their lives with meaning. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Population studies within all communities have confirmed the rise of what has been referred to as a revolution in longevity. With the first wave of the baby boom generation about to join the existing over sixty-five generations, new life stages and experiences are being created in ways that will challenge religious communities. An important aspect of this revolution will be the opportunity to create new religious rituals that will respond to and reflect these new life stages and experiences. This growing multi-generational cohort will increasingly seek that their religious communities respond to their changing life experiences in ways that infuse their lives with meaning. (Copies of this article are available from: Haworth Document Delivery Centre, Haworth Press Inc., 10 Alice Street, Binghamton, NY 13904-1580).
Ageing and Society, 25(6), November 2005, pp.841-861.
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
Male ageing is in focus nowadays. The aim of this study was to investigate conceptions of the male menopause (also known as andropause) in the educational and professional literature of Finnish physicians from 1982 to 2002, and the main point of interest was how the presentation of the male menopause and its treatments have changed. Published items for analysis were retrieved from the two main Finnish medical journals and from introductory gynaecology and urology textbooks using keywords for male ageing and hormones. It was found that disagreements about the male menopause have been marked. Some authors described it as a consequence of the decline in gonad functioning that comes with increased age, and some argued that we are making a disease out of normal ageing, but its association of the therapies. By the 2000s, the male menopause was increasingly likened to the female menopause, with emphasis upon the similar symptoms. While gerontological thinking largely sees the male menopause as an aspect of ageing and a normal condition, the andrological approach regards it as a treatable disease and its rapid adoption can be seen as a reflection of both private and public concerns about increased
Male ageing is in focus nowadays. The aim of this study was to investigate conceptions of the male menopause (also known as andropause) in the educational and professional literature of Finnish physicians from 1982 to 2002, and the main point of interest was how the presentation of the male menopause and its treatments have changed. Published items for analysis were retrieved from the two main Finnish medical journals and from introductory gynaecology and urology textbooks using keywords for male ageing and hormones. It was found that disagreements about the male menopause have been marked. Some authors described it as a consequence of the decline in gonad functioning that comes with increased age, and some argued that we are making a disease out of normal ageing, but its association with sexual problems has risen in prominence: libido and potency disorders have recently been identified as symptoms. The treatment provided for male menopause was androgens, about which opinions diverged, especially the effect of androgen therapy on cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis. New forms of testosterone treatment have been eagerly adopted, but opinions varied on the appropriate duration of the therapies. By the 2000s, the male menopause was increasingly likened to the female menopause, with emphasis upon the similar symptoms. While gerontological thinking largely sees the male menopause as an aspect of ageing and a normal condition, the andrological approach regards it as a treatable disease and its rapid adoption can be seen as a reflection of both private and public concerns about increased longevity.
Ageing and Society, 25(6), November 2005, pp.883-902.
Publisher:
Cambridge University Press
... In conclusion, we discuss the embodiment of women's social and biological conditions of existence in the context of personal ageing. The notion of age-habitus is introduced to explain how older women maintain their social value in the context of omnipresent youthful ideals of beauty for western women.
The purpose in this paper is to explore and deepen the understanding of older women's relations to bodily appearance by looking at two different conditions of existence. Recent research has touched on the experiences of older women in societies with youthful norms of beauty, but the diversity of older women's experiences has been little explored, and there has been little dialogue between theoretical writing and empirical research on the topic. It was therefore decided to conduct an empirical study of older women's relations to bodily appearance, applying Pierre Bourdieu's sociological theory and particularly the concept of habitus to the body. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 51 francophone women aged 65 to 75 years from working-class and affluent neighbourhoods of Montréal (Québec, Canada). The findings showed clearly that, despite the social differentiation associated with variations in economic and cultural capital, older women's relations to bodily appearance converged as they aged. Two previously unidentified and overlapping processes of attitudinal change were recognised: (1) differentiation by social class, and (2) convergence with increasing age. In conclusion, we discuss the embodiment of women's social and biological conditions of existence in the context of personal ageing. The notion of age-habitus is introduced to explain how older women maintain their social value in the context of omnipresent youthful ideals of beauty for western women.