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The Futures of Old Age
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The Futures of Old Age

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June 2006 | 272 pages | SAGE Publications Ltd

"The greatest strengths of this book are its breadth of aging-related topics and its ability to provoke thought in the reader. The presentation of both British and American perspectives on elder issues will aid researchers in developing broader perspectives for their work and more sophisticated research questions"                                 
                                                                                    —CONTEMPORARY PSYCHOLOGY

What is the future of old age? How will families, services, and economies adapt to an older population? Such questions often provoke extreme and opposing answers: some see aging populations as having the potential to undermine economic growth and prosperity; others see new and exciting ways of living in old age. The Futures of Old Age places these questions in the context of social and political change, and assesses what the various futures of old age might be.

Prepared by the British Society of Gerontology, The Futures of Old Age brings together twenty-one leading UK and US gerontologists, drawing on their expertise and research. The book's seven sections deal with key contemporary themes, including population aging, households and families, health, wealth, pensions, migration, inequalities, gender, and self and identity in later life.

The Futures of Old Age is thought-provoking reading for anyone studying aging, especially for those attending courses in gerontology and related areas, as well as for those concerned with the development of social and economic policy.

is thought-provoking reading for anyone studying aging, especially for those attending courses in gerontology and related areas, as well as for those concerned with the development of social and economic policy.

 
Introduction
 
PART ONE: THE FUTURE OF THE LIFE COURSE
Andrew Blaikie
Visions of Later Life
Golden Cohort to Generation Z

 
Vern L Bengtson and Norella M Putney
Future `Conflicts' across Generations and Cohorts?
Dale Dannefer and Casey Miklowski
Developments in the Life Course
 
PART TWO: THE FUTURE OF SOCIAL DIFFERENTIATION
Alan Walker and Liam Foster
Ageing and Social Class
An Enduring Relationship

 
Sara Arber
Gender and Later Life
Change, Choice and Constraints

 
James Nazroo
Ethnicity and Old Age
 
PART THREE: THE FUTURE OF RETIREMENT AND PENSIONS
Debora Price and Jay Ginn
The Future of Inequalities in Retirement Income
Maria Evandrou and Jane Falkingham
Will the Baby-Boomers be Better off than Their Parents in Retirement?
Richard Minns
The Future of Stock Market Pensions
 
PART FOUR: THE FUTURE FOR `SELF' IN OLD AGE
Simon Biggs
Ageing Selves and Others
Distinctiveness and Uniformity in the Struggle for Intergenerational Solidarity

 
Jaber F Gubrium and James A Holstein
Biographical Work and the Future of the Ageing Self
Peter G Coleman, Marie A Mills and Peter Speck
Ageing and Belief - Between Tradition and Change
 
PART FIVE: THE FUTURE FOR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING IN OLD AGE
Christina Victor
Will Our Old Age be Healthier?
Murna Downs and Errollyn Bruce
Is there a Better Future for People with Dementia and their Families?
John Bond and Lynne Corner
The Future of Well-Being
Quality of Life of Older People in the 21st Century

 
 
PART SIX: THE FUTURE OF FAMILY AND LIVING ARRANGEMENTS FOR OLDER PEOPLE
Sarah Harper
The Ageing of Family Life Transitions
Kate Davidson
Flying Solo in Old Age
Widowed and Divorced Men and Women in Later Life

 
Sheila Peace
Housing and Future Living Arrangements
 
PART SEVEN: GLOBALIZATION AND THE FUTURE OF OLD AGE
John Vincent
Anti-Ageing Science and the Future of Old Age
Chris Phillipson
Ageing and Globalization
Tony Warnes
The Future Life Course, Migration and Old Age

`The greatest strengths of this book are it's breadth of aging-related topics and its ability to provoke thought in the reader. The presentation of both British and American perspectives on elder issues will aid researchers in developing broader perspectives for their work and more sophisticated research questions. As lengthening life spans challenge society to extend it's understanding of late-life development, issues of aging are becoming some of the most important for social scientists to examine, and The Futures of Old Age offers a significant contribution to this field of study.' - PsychCritiques


A much needed text that students will find valuable.

Dr Christopher Biela
Health , Canterbury Christ Church University
November 12, 2009

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