507 Older age: policy and practice THIRTEEN Older age: policy and practice Introduction There is no consensus as to when old age starts or whether it should be defined by chronological age or frailty. Indeed, as policy initiatives such as Better Government for Older People (BGOP) include all those aged over 50, old age may embrace three generations. There is, however, an undisputed increase in the number of very elderly people and a growth in elderly-only households. These demographic and social trends have combined with factors such as the changing context of
75 FIVE Age and gentrification in Berlin: urban ageing policy and the experiences of disadvantaged older people Meredith Dale, Josefine Heusinger, Birgit Wolter Introduction Berlin is a young city in the German context. It attracts people from all over the world, and is a magnet for German, European and international migration. Population growth and investor-friendly legislation are creating growing pressure in the housing market: rents have risen sharply and the signs of displacement processes forcing less affluent groups to the city’s outskirts and
221 THIRTEEN The state in ageing Canada: from old-age policies to lifecourse policies Kathrin Komp and Patrik Marier Introduction Population ageing directs the attention of policy makers to older people. Policy makers increasingly have to ponder what today’s older people need and how existing institutions can adapt in order to accommodate an ageing population. However, when doing so, policy makers cannot focus on older age alone. After all, experiences during one’s youth and middle age can have a profound impact on one’s situation in old age. To address
95 New ageism SEVEN New ageism: age imperialism, personal experience and ageing policy Simon Biggs Key points • Policy on ageing has moved from responding to particular problems to defining what it is to ‘age well’. • Diversity in ageing is restricted by trends toward positive or productive ageing. • Distinctions between hidden parts of the self and outward appearance marks the management of age identity. • Age imperialism from one age phase to another requires a re-evaluation of ageism, plus a concentration on the processes as well as the content of ageism. Key
understanding has shaped social science research on African ageing and set the ageing policy agenda since the late 1980s ( Freeman, 2012 ). Initially framed by modernisation theory, over the past decade, political-economy perspectives and ecological frameworks have been used to shape a discourse of pan-African macro-level demographic, social, economic and/or environmental shifts (for example, fertility decline, longevity gains, migration, increased female participation in the labour market, persistent poverty and climate change) creating conditions in which families – the
This important and timely volume brings together a distinguished set of international scholars who provide rich information about the social, economic, political, and historical factors responsible for shaping ageing policy in the Mediterranean region.
Attention to social class is a major issue confronting the study of ageing in the 21st century, yet it has been significantly overlooked to date.
Social class in later life: Power, identity and lifestyle provides the most up-to-date collection of new and emerging research relevant to contemporary debates on the relationship between class, culture, and later life It explores the interface between class dynamics and later life, whilst acting as a critical guide to the ways in which age and class relations ‘interlock’ and ‘intersect’ with each other, whilst examining the emergence of new forms of inequalities alongside the interrogation of more traditional divisions.
Social class in later life brings together a range of international high profile scholars to develop a more sophisticated, analytical and empirical understanding of class dynamics in later life. It will be of major interest to students and researchers examining the implications of global ageing, and will appeal to scholars concerned with the development of a more critical and engaged gerontology.
This exciting collection presents an in-depth, up-to-date analysis of the unprecedented phenomenon of increasing numbers of grandparents worldwide, co-existing and interacting for longer periods of time with their grandchildren.
The book contains analyses of topics that have so far received relatively little attention, such as transnational grandparenting and gender differences in grandparenting practices. It is the only collection that brings together theory-driven research on grandparenting from a wide variety of cultural and welfare state contexts - including chapters on Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia - drawing broad lines of debate rather than focusing at a country level.
Building on the success of ‘Contemporary grandparenting’, edited by Virpi Timonen and Sarah Arber, this book further deepens our understanding of how social structures continue to shape grandparenting across a wide range of cultural and economic contexts. The book is essential reading and reference for researchers, students and policy-makers who want to understand the growing influence of grandparents in ageing families and societies across the world.
This controversial book argues that concepts such as ‘successful’ and ‘active’ ageing - ubiquitous terms in research, marketing and policy making concerned with older adults – are potentially dangerous paradigms that reflect and exacerbate inequalities in older populations.
This author presents a new theory to make sense of the popularity of these ‘successful’ and ‘active’ ageing concepts. Readers are invited to view them through the prism of Model Ageing – a theory that throws light on the causes and consequences of attempts to model ageing as a phenomenon and stage of life that is in need of direction, reshaping and control.
This is essential reading for anyone seeking to make sense of social constructions of ageing in contemporary societies.
Populations around the globe are ageing rapidly. This demographic shift affects families, market structures and social provisions. This timely volume, part of the Ageing and the Lifecourse series, argues that the lifecourse perspective helps us understand the causes and effects of population ageing. The lifecourse perspective suggests that individuals’ experiences at an early age can influence their decisions and behaviour at a later age. This much-needed volume combines insights from different disciplines and real-life experiences to describe the theories and practices behind this idea. It therefore caters to the needs of scholars, practitioners and policy makers in a range of areas including sociology and political science.
