Annual Editions: Aging 12/13

Annual Editions: Aging 12/13, Twenty-Fifth Edition

Preface

Series

Correlation Guide

Topic Guide

Internet References

Unit 1: The Phenomenon of AgingUnit Overview1. Elderly Americans, Christine L. Himes, Population Bulletin, December 2001The author points out the ever-growing number and percentage of the American population comprising persons 65 years of age and above. Further, she observes that those over 65 are living longer than previous generations. Currently, those 85 and older are the fastest growing segment of the elderly population.2. You Can Stop "Normal" Aging, Dr. Henry S. Lodge, Parade, March 18, 2007The author argues that most aging is just dry rot we program into our cells by sedentary living, junk food, and stress. He offers a number of suggestions for what any individual could do to slow the aging process and live a much healthier life.3. Living Longer: Diet and Exercise, Donna Jackson Nakazawa and Susan Crandell, AARP The Magazine, September/October 2006These articles point out the current findings in the areas of diet and exercise that, if followed, would increase the individual's life expectancy by a number of years.4. More Good Years, Dan Buettner, AARP The Magazine, September/October 2009The author maintains that the blue zones are places where people have the longest lifespans. The thirteen factors that contribute to the longer lifespan of the Ikarian residents in one of the blue zones are outlined in the article.5. Will You Live to Be 100?, Thomas Perls, MD and Margery Hutter Silver, EdD, Living to 100, 1999After completing a study of 150 centenarians, Harvard Medical School researchers Thomas Perls and Margery Hutter Silver developed a quiz to help calculate one's estimated life expectancy.6. Long Live . . . Us, Mark Bennett, Terre Haute Tribune-Star, March 27, 2011The author points out how much life expectancy in the United States has increased by the year 2009; moreover, how much difference there was in the life expectancy of men in comparison to women. Reasons for the increasing life expectancy of the U.S. population as well as the reasons why women have a longer life expectancy than men are presented.Unit 2: The Quality of Later LifeUnit Overview7. The Secrets of Resilient People, Beth Howard, AARP The Magazine, November/December 2009Resilient people are seen as those who are capable of navigating through problems and hard times with the minimal amount of frustration and despair. The personal characteristics of resilient people are presented and described.8. The U-bend of Life: Why, Beyond Middle Age, People Get Happier as They Get Older, The Economist, December 18, 2010The article on the U-bend of life points out why older people are happier than younger people once they pass through the middle years. The most unhappy people are seen as those in their 40s and 50s. After these middle years, the happiness and life satisfaction of the individual rises as their age increases. Possible reasons why this change in outlook occurs in later life are discussed.9. We Can Control How We Age, Lou Ann Walker, Parade, September 16, 2001A Harvard study followed individuals from their teens into their eighties, and as a result, gives specific recommendations for what individuals can do to improve their changes of aging well.10. The Myths of Living Longer, Howard S. Friedman, PhD and Leslie R. Martin, PhD, Parade, February 20, 2011The authors examine six popular beliefs about how to live a longer life to determine their accuracy. A number of questions are raised about the reliability of these popular beliefs about life style patterns and longevity.Unit 3: Societal Attitudes toward Old AgeUnit Overview11. Society Fears the Aging Process, Mary Pipher, An Aging Population, 2002The author contends that young and healthy adults often avoid spending time with old persons because it reminds them that someday they too are going to get old and die. Moreover, she contends that negative views of the aging process are portrayed in the media and expressed through the use of pejorative words to describe the elderly.12. We Need to Fight Age Bias, Jack Gross, AARP Bulletin, vol. 51, no. 7, September 2010When the Farm Bureau Financial Group in Iowa merged with the Kansas Farm Bureau, all the claims employees were offered a buyout or a demotion. Jack Gross was 54 and demoted after 13 years of performing this job. He sued the company for age discrimination. The results of this case going through a federal jury, an 8th circuit court jury, and the U.S. Supreme Court are presented and discussed in this article.13. Friendships, Family Relationships Get Better with Age Thanks to Forgiveness, Stereotypes, Amy Patterson Neubert, Terre Haute Tribune-Star, July 20, 2010The author points out how older adults perceive the quality of their marriages, their friendships, and their relationships with children and siblings. Further, she examined whether older adults were more or less confrontational in difficult interpersonal situations.14. The Under-Reported Impact of Age Discrimination and Its Threat to Business Vitality, Robert J. Grossman, Business Horizons, January/February 2005The author points out that, in a legal system slanted toward employers, many of the biases and negative stereotypes of older workers still perpetuate. Moreover, society's lack of concern for this type of discrimination may prove costly as the workforce ages and older workers are more in demand to fill critical work roles.Unit 4: Problems and Potentials of AgingUnit Overview15. Never Have a Heart Attack, Gina Kolata, AARP The Magazine, January/February 2010The author points out the risk factors that are most likely to cause a person to have a heart attack. She then outlines and discusses the six steps that an individual could take to significantly reduce the chance of ever having a heart attack.16. Adult Stem Cell Research Far Ahead of Embryonic Innovative Treatments, Malcolm Ritter, Terre Haute Tribune-Star, August 12, 2010Stem cell research and experiments for treating a host of diseases and ailments are presented in this article. While embryonic stem cells have become controversial it is adult stem cells taken from various parts of the human body that have proven most successful in treating a number of diseases and health problems. The stem cell treatments and prospects for curing a variety of human ailments are presented.17. Trust and Betrayal in the Golden Years, Kyle G. Brown, The Globe and Mail, January 27, 2007Kyle Brown points out the problems confronted by many older persons when they turn over the control of their finances and property to their children. Exploitation and abuse of elders by their children has become more widespread than ever imagined. Moreover, there are numerous and often insurmountable difficulties confronted by older persons attempting to resolve these problems.18. Never Too Late: Exercise Helps Late Starters, Harvard Men's Health Watch, vol. 15, no. 8, March 2011The article reviews a number of different European and American studies of how much subjects improved their chances of avoiding illness and death by starting and maintaining a regular exercise program throughout their later life. Subjects age 50 and older who started and followed a regular exercise program throughout their older years were compared with a group of same aged persons who remained sedentary. The benefits in terms of better health and a lower death rate for older persons who exercised on a systematic and regular basis are presented.Unit 5: Retirement: American Dream or Dilemma?Unit Overview19. Uncertain Future, Alan Fram, Terre Haute Tribune-Star, April 10, 2011The problems and concerns of the baby boomer generation regarding their current financial status and whether they have saved and invested enough to be able to retire with an adequate retirement income are presented.20. Do-It-Yourself Financial Freedom, Jane Bryant Quinn, AARP Bulletin, April 2010The author lists and describes 12 easy steps that a person needs to take throughout his/her life to ensure an adequate income.21. Top 25 Social Security Questions, Stan Hinden, AARP Bulletin, vol. 51, no. 10, December 2010The article addresses the numerous questions and answers the public has concerning the social security program. Many are concerned about their qualifications for receiving the program's benefits, the best time to start withdrawing funds from the program, and what characteristics and qualifications will bring them the greatest returns. These and a host of other questions are discussed in this article.22. Color Me Confident, Paul Magnusson, AARP Bulletin, July/August 2006The author points out that many employers are ending their traditional "defined benefit" pension plans that were based on the employees' salary and replacing them with 401(k) defined contribution plans in which employees contribute a percentage of their pay and bear much of the risk of investing the principal. The problems of having an adequate retirement income with the new defined contribution retirement plans are discussed.23. Work/Retirement Choices and Lifestyle Patterns of Older Americans, Harold Cox et al., Journal of Applied Sociology, no. 1, 2001This article reviews six different patterns of work, retirement, and leisure from which people of retirement age may choose. Measures of life satisfaction are given to participants in each of the six groups to determine who are most satisfied with their lives.Unit 6: The Experience of DyingUnit Overview24. Development of Hospice and Palliative Care in the United States, Stephen R. Connor, Omega, vol. 56, no. 1, 2007–2008The article outlines the history of palliative care in the United States. Many of the current problems of palliative care are presented, including the need for regulatory changes, workforce issues, improving access to care, and improving the quality of palliative care.25. The Grieving Process, Michael R. Leming and George E. Dickinson, Understanding Dying, Death, and Bereavement, 2007The authors outline and describe the stages of grief that the individual goes through after experiencing the death of a loved one.26. End-of-Life Concerns and Care Preferences: Congruence among Terminally Ill Elders and Their Family Caregivers, Daniel S. Gardner, PhD and Betty J. Kramer, PhD, Omega, vol. 60, no. 3, 2009–2010The authors examined end-of-life concerns and care preferences of terminally ill older persons and their family caregivers.27. The Myriad Strategies for Seeking Control in the Dying Process, Tracy A. Schroepfer, Hyunjin Noh, and Melinda Kavanaugh, The Gerontologist, vol. 49, no. 6, 2009The authors examined the control strategies and means used by dying persons to maintain the control of their lives during the final stages of life. The authors highlight the importance of terminally ill older persons having opportunities to exercise control of the dying process.Unit 7: Living Environment in Later LifeUnit Overview28. The Great Escape, Peter Jaret, AARP Bulletin, June 2010After living in a nursing home for two years, Arlene Johnson was able to move back into an apartment in Philadelphia. The problems she confronted before being able to move out of the nursing home and into her own apartment are presented as well as the critical factors others should consider before making a similar move.29. Happy Together, Sally Abrahms, AARP Bulletin, vol. 52, no. 3, April 2011The author points out that as the baby boomers reach their retirement age, they are dismayed by the thought of moving into assisted living or nursing home facilities. The common denominator of emerging and still to be created models of residential senior citizen communities are the desires for common interest, values, and resources where neighbors know and care about one another and will assist them as they age. The variety of neighborhood and communities that are emerging for senior residents are presented in this article.30. Seniors and the City, John Buntin, Governing, June 2009The author discusses the reasons why elderly people are choosing housing and apartment complexes that allow them to age in place at the same time that builders and developers are failing to attract seniors to assisted-living communities designed for their needs.31. The Real Social Network, Martha Thomas, AARP The Magazine, May/June 2011The author describes an emerging neighborhood concept for the residence of older persons called villages. The advantages of living in one of the villages emerging across the country for senior citizens are outlined and described in detail.Unit 8: Social Policies, Programs, and Services for Older AmericansUnit Overview32. Dignified Retirement: Lessons from Abroad, Sylvester J. Schieber, Current, September 2006The author examines how the retirement age of people in different countries throughout the world affects their economic stability and growth as well as the solvency of their retirement programs. The growing older population in the United States and its impact on Social Security benefits is seen as a problem that is not currently being addressed by the government.33. Social Security: Fears vs. Facts: What Social Security Critics Keep Getting Wrong, Liz Weston, AARP The Magazine, July/August 2011The article addresses the myths that exist in the minds of much of the American public regarding the solvency and future of the Social Security program. The author attempts to dispel these fears that exist in the minds of many of the American public regarding the future of the program.34. Beyond Wisdom: Business Dimensions of an Aging America, Yash Gupta (Address delivered at the Elizabeth L. Rogers, M.D. Visiting Lecture in Geriatric Medicine, Baltimore, MD, November 12, 2009), Vital Speeches of the Day, February 2010The author maintains that from a business perspective we must face critical questions that are currently being raised by an aging workforce and population. Included in these questions are what skills do we need to replace and what skills are we in danger of losing given the fact that we no longer have a growing workforce available.35. Keep the Health Care Act, A. Barry Rand, AARP Bulletin, vol. 52, no. 2, March 2011The author outlines what he believes are the major benefits to the American public for keeping the recently passed Health Care Act.36. Medicare May Soon Take New Shape, Robert Pear, Sarasota Herald-Tribune, April 13, 2011The author discusses ways to shore up medical care services and to reduce costs. The different views of Republicans and Democrats are presented regarding what is the best way to continue medical services and reduce costs.37. 7 Critical Maneuvers, James S. Toedtman, AARP Bulletin, December 2009There were many areas of conflict and concern about what a national health care bill considered by the United States Congress should include. This article outlines seven areas of concern to be addressed by the U.S. House and Senate and what the best resolution of these problems would be.38. Protect Social Security, A. Barry Rand, AARP Bulletin, vol. 51, no. 6, July/August 2010The author points out where a person's income comes from at age 65 and older and what percentage of this income is provided by Social Security. He further points out that the Social Security program is financially solvent and has not contributed anything to the federal deficit. He outlines what basic principles should be followed to protect and guarantee Social Security benefits for future retiring persons and recipients of the various programs.39. Population Aging, Entitlement Growth, and the Economy, John Gist, AARP Public Policy Institute, January 2007The article points out what would have to be done in terms of current social service programs and federal taxation to maintain the programs and to hold the government deficit to a level that is no larger than it is today in the year 2050.Test-Your-Knowledge Form