scholarly journals The Process of Successful Ageing

1996 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-422 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margret M. Baltes ◽  
Laura L. Carstensen
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Successful Ageing ◽  
Human Ageing ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
The Face ◽  
New Research ◽  
Gains And Losses

AbstractAs increasingly more people experience old age as a time of growth and productivity, theoretical attention to successful ageing is needed. In this paper, we overview historical, societal and philosophical evidence for a deep, long-standing ambivalence about human ageing that has influenced even scientific views of old age. In recent years, however, discussion of the psychological and behavioural processes people use to maintain and reach new goals in late life has gained momentum. We contribute to this discussion the metamodel of selective optimisation with compensation, developed by Baltes and Baltes. The model is a metamodel that attempts to represent scientific knowledge about the nature of development and ageing with the focus on successful adaptation. The model takes gains and losses jointly into account, pays attention to the great heterogeneity in ageing and successful ageing, and views successful mastery of goals in the face of losses endemic to advanced age as the result of the interplay of the three processes, selection, compensation, and optimisation. We review evidence from the biological and social science literatures for each component and discuss new research avenues to study the interaction of the three processes.

scholarly journals Elderhood, Agency and Existential Vulnerability

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 499-499
Author(s):  
H E Laceulle
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Personal Growth ◽  
Successful Aging ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Feminist Philosophy ◽  
Cultural Image ◽  
The Face

Abstract Popular conceptualizations of elderhood often use a spiritually inspired language of personal growth and wisdom. These conceptualizations are rightly critical of the language of activity and productivity that abounds in dominant successful aging discourses. Instead, the emphasis is placed on embracing our diminishing strength and increasing dependence with an attitude of resignation and gracious acceptance. Problematically, however, this can reinforce the ageist cultural assumption that old age lacks agency. If the emerging discourse about elderhood is truly to serve as a more inspiring cultural image of late life, it requires a reconceptualization of agency in the face of existential vulnerabilities. This paper aims to present a possible philosophical outlook for such a reconceptualization. It will draw on sources from feminist philosophy to argue how confrontations with vulnerability need not be an obstacle, but rather inspire alternative conceptualizations of agency that are a welcome addition to gerontological thinking.

Un/re/production of Old Age inThe Taking of Deborah Logan

Somatechnics ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 178-194
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Kotwasińska
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Horror Film ◽  
Close Reading ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Found Footage ◽  
Progressive Loss ◽  
The Face ◽  
Female Embodiment ◽  
Main Protagonist

The article offers a re-examination of abjected femininity and old age through a close reading of The Taking of Deborah Logan (2015), a found footage horror movie centered on spectral possession. While to a large extent the movie replicates an infamous monstrous old woman trope, it also effectively questions typical Alzheimer's disease (AD) narratives, which tend to portray life with AD as a story of unmitigated loss and debility. In The Taking of Deborah Logan, potentially destabilizing moments occur when in the face of progressive loss of control, memory, and bodily functions, the main protagonist is momentarily experienced as resisting the dehumanisation and loss of agency conventionally associated with AD and possession alike. The aim of this article is thus three-fold. The first part sketches the processes through which possession narratives generate a highly ambivalent space for aging femininity in horror film, and how aging, disability, and AD intersect both in popular understanding and in film. In the second part, the author examines how The Taking of Deborah Logan, as a found footage horror, shapes a discussion about selfhood, agency, and monstrous embodiment. Finally, the author argues that it is through the concept of transaging that one can find ways to destabilise traditional understandings of old age, female embodiment, and AD, and offer new narratives that highlight monstrous, if ambivalent, agency.

Oxford Studies in Experimental Philosophy, Volume 2

2018 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Social Science ◽  
Experimental Philosophy ◽  
Cognitive Sciences ◽  
Disciplinary Boundaries ◽  
Interdisciplinary Field ◽  
New Research ◽  
Philosophical Questions

This is the second volume in Oxford Studies in Experimental Philosophy, a series with the aim of providing a venue for publishing work in this emerging field. Experimental philosophy is a new movement that seeks to use empirical techniques to illuminate some of the oldest issues in philosophy. It is an interdisciplinary field at the intersection of philosophy, psychology, and related disciplines, such as linguistics and sociology. Although the movement is only a few years old, it has already sparked an explosion of new research, challenging a number of cherished assumptions in both philosophy and the cognitive sciences. This volume includes both theoretical and experimental chapters as well as chapters that cross traditional disciplinary boundaries. It is divided into three parts that explore epistemology, moral and political philosophy, and metaphysics and mind, showcasing the diversity of work that has arisen as traditionally philosophical questions have met the tools of social science.

scholarly journals Emory Roybal Center for Dementia Caregiving Mastery: Diverse Responses to Letter of Intent Call

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 254-254
Author(s):  
Kenneth Hepburn ◽  
Molly Perkins ◽  
Drenna Waldrop ◽  
Leila Aflatoony ◽  
Mi-Kyung Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Lewy Body Dementia ◽  
Racial Groups ◽  
Dementia Caregiving ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
New Research ◽  
Stage 1 ◽  
Native Alaskan ◽  
Physical Care

Abstract This new NIA-supported Roybal Center seeks to support Stage 1 pilot clinical trials of programs aimed at promoting caregiving competence and confidence in the great heterogeneity of dementia caregiving contexts. During our first cycle, we received 26 letters of intent (LOI) for full applications. Responses reaffirmed the Center’s premise that dementia caregiving is remarkably varied in nature. While most proposed programs focused on generic caregiving, a number addressed caregiving issues facing specific ethnic/racial groups (African American; Korean American; Native Alaskan/American Indian; Latino), and several focused on specific dementing conditions (MCI, Lewy Body Dementia,TBI-based dementia). Most described programs centered on knowledge development and daily management skill issues (e.g., management of behaviors); others specified development of physical care skills. Decision-making and communication constituted the second most common topic. Over 40% proposed adaptation of existing programs; more than 25% proposed apps or technology interventions. Investigators represented a wide range of disciplines: 45% each from Health sciences (nursing, medicine, and social work) and Social/Behavioral sciences (principally psychology) and the rest from engineering and communications. LOIs varied most in their readiness to complete a clinical trial within a year. About 40% were in very preliminary stages; 25% were clearly poised for a Stage 1 trial; 15% did not sufficiently address the Center’s aims. Key criteria for invitations to submit full applications (n=4) included: specificity of context; clinical trial readiness; reasonableness of proposed adaptation. These criteria should guide future LOIs addressing the diversity of important new research and intervention perspectives on the multifaceted work of caregiving.

scholarly journals ‘A sense of purpose’: Older prisoners’ experiences of successful ageing behind bars

2021 ◽  
pp. 147737082199514
Author(s):  
Hila Avieli
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Older Men ◽  
Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Successful Ageing ◽  
Older Prisoners ◽  
Unified Process ◽  
Self Discovery ◽  
Better Than

There is growing interest in ageing offenders and their lives in prison. However, this subject is often studied from a deprivation perspective, focusing on issues such as lack of medical care and proper environmental conditions. This article highlights experiences of wellbeing while ageing in confinement, using the conceptual framework of successful ageing. An interpretive phenomenological analysis perspective was used to analyse the narratives of 18 older prisoners. The narratives revealed four themes: ‘Like all other older men’: comparing ageing in prison with ageing within the community; ‘Better than what I have outside’: prison as an escape from a life of loneliness, poverty and delinquency; ‘Here I get some respect’: the older prisoner as a mentor; and ‘I feel accomplished’: experiences of growth and self-discovery as a means for successful ageing in prison. The findings suggest that ageing in prison may not be perceived as a single, unified process, but as a personal and individual phenomenon, and that old age may facilitate positive changes in the lives of ageing offenders in prison.

scholarly journals Mania in late life

2011 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 357-364
Author(s):  
Felicity Richards ◽  
Martin Curtice
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Specific Treatment ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Aging Population ◽  
Age Group ◽  
Treatment Algorithms ◽  
Assessment And Treatment ◽  
Old Age Psychiatry ◽  
Older Populations

SummaryMania in late life is a serious disorder that demands specialist assessment and management. However, it is greatly under-researched, with only a paucity of studies specifically analysing older populations. The mainstay of the old age psychiatry workload will inevitably be concerned with assessing and managing dementia and depression, but the steady rise in the aging population with longer survival means that there will be an increase in absolute numbers of older people presenting with mania. There are no specific treatment algorithms available for mania in late life. This article reviews mania and hypomania in late life and concentrates on diagnosis, assessment and treatment, as well as on the management considerations associated with this important age group.

The Politics of Living Death in Nuruddin Farah's Sweet and Sour Milk

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-103
Author(s):  
Peter Leman
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Common Fate ◽  
Sour Milk ◽  
Living Dead ◽  
The Face

Abstract This article examines Nuruddin Farah's 1979 novel Sweet and Sour Milk, asking how we read representations of postcolonial mourning and living death in the context of global authoritarianism. The first novel in Farah's influential dictatorship trilogy, Sweet and Sour Milk introduces us to “the General,” a fictionalized version of Siyad Barre, who ruled Somalia from 1969 to 1991. Like Barre's, the General's power exemplifies what Achille Mbembe calls “necropolitics,” or “the contemporary subjugation of life to the power of death.” The General's necropower manifests, peculiarly, as a politics of substitution—that is, when he takes a life, he leaves something in its place. Rebels do not simply disappear; they are killed and then given sycophantic zombie afterlives in the General's propaganda. In response to this politics of substitution, Farah explores a politics of mourning, which insists upon the irreplaceability of lost love objects and thereby broadly reveals what truly can and cannot be substituted. The General insists on the uniqueness of his power, for example, but Farah reveals it to be a cliché, easily substituted by that of other dictators throughout history. Cliché becomes revolutionary in this way, suggesting that dictators share a common fate: they will be deposed or, eventually, die of old age. However, like a horde of the living dead, others like them will return. The article concludes with analysis of the apparent pessimism of this point and the global implications of Farah's ideas about both necropolitics and the limits of the novel form in the face of authoritarian power.

scholarly journals Successful ageing and multi-dimensional poverty: the case of Peru

2015 ◽  
Vol 36 (8) ◽  
pp. 1690-1714 ◽  
Author(s):  
JAVIER OLIVERA ◽  
ISABELLE TOURNIER
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Emotional Health ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Mental Disability ◽  
Successful Ageing ◽  
Economic Literature ◽  
Public Intervention ◽  
Nutrition Quality ◽  
Counting Approach ◽  
Health Functioning

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the determinants of Successful Ageing (SA) in a sample of 4,151 Peruvians aged between 65 and 80 years and living in poverty. A key contribution of this study is to combine the conceptual appeal of SA to measure wellbeing in old age with the multi-dimensional poverty counting approach developed in the economic literature. This setting allows for moving beyond the dichotomy of successful and usual ageing to take advantage of the full distribution of success along a set of dimensions of wellbeing. The data are drawn from the Encuesta de Salud y Bienestar del Adulto Mayor (ESBAM) survey, which is the baseline to evaluate the non-contributory public pension programme Pension 65. Nine indicators of SA have been used to assess the dimensions of physical health, functioning, cognition, emotional health and life satisfaction. The variables associated with a higher number of satisfied indicators were male gender, younger old age, literate, employed, low food insecurity, good nutritional status, normal blood pressure, absence of disabilities, non-smoker, empowerment, good self-esteem, absence of mental disability and less frequent contact with a social network. From a policy perspective, the results of this study report a remarkably stable effect of three variables affecting SA that can be relatively easy to measure, monitor and influence by public intervention. These variables are food security, nutrition quality and self-esteem.

scholarly journals Młodość wobec starości: szacunek czy deprecjacja? „Namir!” Lubka Deresza

2017 ◽  
Vol 163 ◽  
pp. 401-414
Author(s):  
Albert Nowacki
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Mass Culture ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Research Task ◽  
The Face

Youth to old age: respect or depreciation? Namir! by Lubko DereshThis article deals the problem of old age in the novel Namir! by Ukrainian writer Lubko Deresh. To accomplish this research task, at the beginning of the presentation problem of how the elderly was presented in culture and literature over the centuries was analyzed, and then was analyzed the novel itself. Studies have shown that in his book the author raised the question of a confrontation of youth with an old age. Our analyzes of Namir! by Deresh turned out that it repeats the patterns of mass culture, showing atendency to devaluation the elderly. During the study revealed, however, achange in approach to the problems of old age, which is visible attitude of respect for the elderly linked to equality in the face of inevitable death.Молодість перед старістю: пошана чи зневага? Намір! Любка ДерешаМетою цієї статті є спроба показати проблему старості в романі українського пись­менника Любка Дереша Намір! Щоб успішно висвітлити так окреслене завдання, на по­чатку було звернено особливу вагу на те, як питання старості представлялося культурою та літературою протягом століть, і тільки тоді було звернено увагу на саму повість. Дослі­дження показали, що в своїй книзі автор використав питання конфронтації молодого віку із старістю. Під час аналізу нами було встановлено, що Намір! повторює схеми масової куль­тури та показує виразну схильність автора до девальвації літніх людей. Наше дослідження показало, однак, певну зміну в підході до проблеми старості, а саме, що зміна зневаги на ставлення з повагою до літніх людей пов’язана із рівністю всіх людей перед обличчям не­минучої смерті.

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