Post-pandemic challenges for all ages in an ageing society

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Burke
Keyword(s):  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Older People ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Ageing Society ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Way

Purpose This paper aims to highlight lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic for planning for the future of our ageing society. It looks at trends, changes in our society and implications for people of all ages. It focusses on the importance of planning and whether COVID-19 will lead to long-term changes. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on the author’s experiences running an intergenerational organisation during the pandemic and other work associated with ageing well. Findings This paper highlights some of the risks and unknowns we face going forwards and points to lessons and opportunities for “building back better”. Research limitations/implications This paper is based on a review of published articles and viewpoints. Practical implications The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged people of all ages in different ways, some of which have tested intergenerational solidarity. At the same time, the pandemic has raised issues which we must all address going forward: planning for future pandemics, planning for an ageing society and ensuring that future planning works for all generations. This paper explores all these themes in the light of lessons from COVID-19. Firstly, despite much risk assessment and scenario planning, we were not well placed in the UK or across the world to respond to the multiple challenges of COVID-19. Have we learned the lessons to be able to deal better with the inevitable pandemics that will follow in the future? It is also well documented that the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in our society. What will the long-term impact be for longevity and will less healthy lives reverse the trend of increasing life expectancy? Secondly, what are the lessons for our ageing society? As life expectancy rises, what will the quality of life be like in those added years? Many of today’s babies can expect to have a 100-year life. What does that mean for the way we lead our lives and can we ensure that everyone can age well? Third, these are not just issues for older people, but for people of all ages and generations. The Covid-19 experience has been different for younger and older people – whether it has been health or job security, income, taxation or housing. Questions of intergenerational fairness have again raised their heads, alongside the longer term impact for future generations. Social implications Firstly, despite much risk assessment and scenario planning, we were not well placed in the UK or across the world to respond to the multiple challenges of COVID-19. Have we learned the lessons to be able to deal better with the inevitable pandemics that will follow in the future? It is also well documented that the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in our society. What will the long-term impact be for longevity and will less healthy lives reverse the trend of increasing life expectancy? Secondly, what are the lessons for our ageing society? As life expectancy rises, what will the quality of life be like in those added years? Many of today’s babies can expect to have a 100-year life. What does that mean for the way we lead our lives and can we ensure that everyone can age well? Thirdly, these are not just issues for older people, but for people of all ages and generations. Measures that bring older and younger people together and encourage meaningful mixing will help increase understanding and awareness between generations. This has huge implications for our society and communities. Originality/value This paper reaches two main conclusions. Firstly, the well-known saying: “failing to plan is planning to fail”. This applies to all the issues discussed in this paper re future pandemics, our ageing society and future generations. Secondly, the experience of the COVID-19 pandemic should be the catalyst for changing the way we live and lead to new beginnings. We cannot just carry on as before.

Lucky or privileged? Working with memory and reflexivity

2018 ◽  
Vol 47 (2) ◽  
pp. 208-216 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Trimingham Jack
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Educator ◽  
Boarding School ◽  
School Experience ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Educational History ◽  
Secondary Sources ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
The Uk

Purpose Through a case study of the decision making that led to the writer becoming a teacher educator, the purpose of this paper is to contribute to historiography by exploring the complex process of surfacing and interpreting memory. Design/methodology/approach The methodology draws on the concepts of autobiographical memory and reflexivity, together with documentary and archival sources including newspapers and secondary sources. Findings The outcome reveals that the process of memory is complex. It illustrates that allowing the participant a wide scope to work with pivotal memories, which may include those referring to material objects, may lead to unexpected and compelling explanations that have the power to change thinking in regards to related aspects of educational history. In this particular case, the findings reveal the long-term impact of boarding school experience. Originality/value The paper expands the way in which educational historians may think about undertaking interviews by illustrating the need for investment of time and close attention to all memories, some of which may at first seem to be irrelevant. Additionally, while a significant amount of research had been published on the long-term impact of boarding school experience on students in the UK, a little critical historical work has been undertaken in regards to the Australian experience – this paper offers a unique contribution to the undertaking of that project.

A foresight study on urban mobility: Singapore in 2040

foresight ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seyed Mehdi Zahraei ◽  
Jude Herijadi Kurniawan ◽  
Lynette Cheah
Keyword(s):  
Driving Forces ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Urban Mobility ◽  
Drivers Of Change ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Individual ◽  
City State ◽  
Operational Issues

Purpose The transportation system in any city is complex and evolving, shaped by various driving forces and uncertainties in the social, economic, technological, political and environmental situations. Its development and demands upon it cannot be projected by simply extrapolating past and current trends. This paper aims to present a foresight study examining the future of urban mobility, focusing on the dense Asian city-state of Singapore. The objective is to develop scenarios for the future of urban mobility, to facilitate future policy implementation by highlighting long term challenges and opportunities for transportation planning in cities. Design/methodology/approach To create future scenarios, the authors first sought to identify key drivers of change through environmental scanning, expert interviews, focus group discussions and technology scanning. These drivers of change were subsequently used in a scenario planning workshop, organized to co-create alternative future visions for urban mobility 2040 with experts and local stakeholders. Findings Two scenarios emerged, called the Shared World and the Virtual World. For each scenario, the authors described the key features in terms of dominant transport modes for the movements of passengers and freight. Subsequently, the authors discussed possible implications of each scenario to the individual, society, industry and government. Originality/value As cities grow and develop, city and transport planners should not only address daily operational issues but also develop a well-informed, long-term understanding of the evolving mobility system to address challenges that lie beyond the five- or even ten-year horizon. By using scenario planning approach, the authors hope to prepare stakeholders for the uncertain futures that are continuously shaped by the decisions today.

Learning and practicing police craft

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 276-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Rowe ◽  
Elizabeth Turner ◽  
Geoff Pearson
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Core ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
Changing Patterns ◽  
Craft Skills ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Degree Level ◽  
The Way

Purpose The authors consider current policy debates in the UK about the professionalisation of the police to respond to changing patterns of crime and, specifically, the suggestion that officers be educated to degree level. Drawing on the ethnographic evidence, the purpose of this paper is to focus attention on how officers learn, and continue to develop the applied, that is the craft aspects of the work of uniformed constables. Design/methodology/approach The authors draw on a long-term ethnographic project observing officers during the course of their duties. The focus is on the use of discretion and of particular powers. But in the course of the research, the authors also observe the way officers behave and the way they talk about their job. Findings The authors suggest that, while there may be a role for degree qualifications, attention needs to be paid to the practices the authors observe, practices that have long been the core craft skills of uniformed officers. Originality/value The authors suggest that, despite the emergence of cybercrime and other new forms of crime/threat, the evidence suggests that much has not. Not least, crime is not the only focus of police work.

The Long Term Impact of Staying Put

1993 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Leather ◽  
Sheila Mackintosh
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Long Period ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Health Authorities ◽  
The Future ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACTStaying Put projects provide practical help to older home owners with the repair and improvement of their homes. A number of studies have examined the immediate impact of this help on the housing conditions experienced by older people and on their ability to remain living independently in the community, but the extent to which these benefits could last for a long period of time was not known. This paper describes the findings of a study which attempted to examine the longer-term impact of the Staying Put service. A sample of clients helped by Staying Put in the early 1980s were traced and interviewed in order to assess the impact of the assistance received and to examine their current and future housing and care needs. Although the study could not conclusively disentangle the impact of the Staying Put service from other factors influencing the ability of clients to live independently, it concluded that the help received was significant in improving housing conditions over a long period. The study made recommendations which aim to increase the effectiveness of Staying Put projects in the future, including the establishment of a target standard for the housing conditions of clients, the development of mechanisms for continuing contact with clients, and the provision of advice on moving on options where appropriate. More generally, however, the study concluded that more resources to fund services like Staying Put were required from government and from local and health authorities if they were to be more effective in helping clients to live independently.

How to develop a customized corporate energy strategy

2008 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 30-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bill Ralston
Keyword(s):  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Scenario Planning ◽  
Energy Strategy ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Step Process ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
The Future ◽  
New Energy ◽  
Energy Environment ◽  
The Way

PurposeCorporations need a structure for thinking through the development of a new energy/environment strategy and the business implications of different strategy alternatives. This paper aims to investigate how to develop a customized corporate energy strategy.Design/methodology/approachThis four‐step process focuses on the major energy/environment issues requiring corporate decisions; it generates two alternate scenarios of the future that span the possibilities and identifies basic policy choices for corporations and also the tradeoffs to be made.FindingsThe paper finds that this process to develop a new energy strategy addresses the prospects that the way an organization manages its energy and environmental threats and opportunities over the next 15 years could invigorate or cripple it. The four major drivers of uncertainty for the future: the dynamics of energy supply and demand, global warming effects, society's environmental‐mitigation and remediation priorities, and world economic development outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsBill Ralston is the co‐author of the best‐practice guide The Scenario Planning Handbook (with Ian Wilson).Practical implicationsThe four‐step process outlined here provides corporate executives the practical means to interpret the global forces buffeting them, to identify new pathways for creating value in the future and to get started.Originality/valueThis process to develop a new energy strategy evaluates the prospects that the way an organization manages its energy and environmental threats and opportunities over the next 15 years could invigorate or cripple it.

Brexit: Europe's ‘Black Thursday’ and Scotland's Future

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 530-539 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eberhard Bort
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Shock Waves ◽  
The European Union ◽  
European Project ◽  
The Future ◽  
Eu Referendum ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
The Uk

The shock waves of the UK's EU referendum outcome reverberate in a Divided Kingdom, with huge implications for Scotland and Northern Ireland, and across Europe, where populists of all political shades take succour from the UK electorate's decision (51.9% for Leave, 48.1% Remain) to end the country's 43-year membership of the European project. The campaign was dominated by hyperbole and outright lies, with racist and xenophobic undertones, the result quite apparently unexpected, the aftermath chaotic, and it remains to be seen what the long-term impact on the UK-EU relationship, on the UK constitution, on ‘Scotland's place in Europe’, and on the future of the European Union will be.

Brexit’s long-term impact on Ireland will be modest

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Food Industry ◽  
Multinational Companies ◽  
Trade Surplus ◽  
Land Bridge ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
The Uk ◽  
The Eu

Significance The agri-food industry will be particularly hurt by new customs and regulatory checks, as will pharmaceuticals and chemicals, electric and electronic machinery, and wholesale and retail. Ireland’s trade with the EU will also be disrupted because of Ireland’s extensive use of the UK land-bridge for international trade. Impacts Brexit will worsen regional inequality in Ireland, as most of the worst-affected industries are located outside the Dublin area. Irish consumers and UK exporters stand to lose, as the United Kingdom ran a large trade surplus with Ireland before Brexit. A main threat to Irish economic growth would be if large multinational companies decided to leave Ireland. Ireland could experience an influx of low-skilled EU labour migrants following UK plans to make this kind of immigration more difficult.

scholarly journals Sinabung volcano: how culture shapes community resilience

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 290-303
Author(s):  
Marta Mori ◽  
Ronan McDermott ◽  
Saut Sagala ◽  
Yasmina Wulandari
Keyword(s):  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Aid Dependency ◽  
Relief Operations ◽  
Long Term Impact ◽  
Cultural Experts ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how culture, including traditions and social structures, can influence resilience and how culturally sensitive relief operations can put affected people and their context at the core of any interventions. Design/methodology/approach A case study of the Mt Sinabung volcano area in Indonesia was undertaken. As part of the case study, an analysis of interventions was conducted, which was complemented by semi-structured interviews with Karo cultural experts and humanitarian organisations. Findings Culture influences the manner in which the Karo people react to volcano eruptions with varying implications for recovery. In addition, relief organisations which understand people’s actions through a cultural lens have better managed to tailor programs with long-term impact, thereby avoiding aid dependency. Practical implications Practical examples of disaster management activities that adequately account for the beneficiaries’ way of living prior to the eruptions are provided. Aid actors are provided with guidance concerning how to better tailor their activities in line with a cultural lens. Originality/value The study provides empirical grounding for claims concerning the role of culture in planning interventions in Indonesia and other similar contexts.

Russia's Baltic pipeline nearly ready but risks remain

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Type ◽  
Bilateral Agreement ◽  
The Us ◽  
Nord Stream ◽  
The Way

Significance Despite this, Biden indicated no change in the US position after a bilateral agreement with Germany effectively paved the way to completing the pipeline. Technically, Nord Stream 2 could begin partially operating in October. Impacts The recent spike in European gas prices to levels unseen since 2008 reinforces the case for Nord Stream 2's speedy completion. EU energy diversification, with a focus on renewables, poses long-term questions about the viability of both the Nord Stream pipelines. From October, Hungary will switch to Gazprom gas supplied via Serbia and Austria instead of through Ukrainian pipelines.

The future of HR is being BRAVE

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-192
Author(s):  
Wendy Silver
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
The Future ◽  
Workplace Cultures ◽  
The Way

Purpose Organizations will need HR departments that take bold new approaches if they are to weather the uncertainty and changes on the horizon. This paper aims to discuss what makes an organization or a leader BRAVE, and examples of HR professionals and organizations leading the way are provided to help readers bravely shape their own organizations. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws upon various real-life examples of organizations whose HR departments are leading the way. Findings Organizations need BRAVE HR professionals and leaders to create, implement and communicate key initiatives to ensure companies make decisions that support workplace cultures that people choose to join and remain a part of. Originality/value No amount of technology can replace the forward-thinking thought, communication and action that being BRAVE requires. This paper will help HR professionals gain a braver perspective.

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