...Chapter 3: The Life Course 3.1 Early life course literature Popularized in the 1960’s, the term life course is adapted from modern sociology and refers to “the study of biography, of history and of the problems of their intersection within social structure” (Mills, 1959, p. 149). The aim is to gain an understanding of how development and aging within different historical and geographical contexts effects a person’s life (Elder, et al., 2006), focusing on the cultural aspects of an individual’s maturation. This term differs from lifecycle which instead emphases the biological development of an individual, not the social aspects which parallel their physical maturation. Early examples of the life course approach centred on the family cycle...
Words: 1617 - Pages: 7
...As humans grow old, changes occur by the passage of time. These changes are defined as aging which is a process that occurs from birth. There are five impacts or changes that are caused by aging: physical, cognitive, psychological, psychopathological and socio-economic. In this article we will focus on the cognitive changes (changes in the brain). Cognitive abilities are the mental skills to perform and understand a certain task or situation. Mental skills include awareness, reasoning, memory and information handling. It gradually gets affected negatively by aging, and it could be severe for some people, leading to dementia. It differs from one individual to another. But there intelligence approximately stays the same. Attention and memory...
Words: 353 - Pages: 2
...Dealing with America’s Fear of Aging and Death Margaret Kimble Developmental Psychology 210 Liberty University Abstract Mankind has tried to cheat aging and death by freezing their remains, cosmetic surgery or marrying outside their generation hoping to stay young. However, these attempts are futile and Americans cannot hold back the clock or trick death. The clock is ticking and when it stops I will die and so will you no one knows when. Although there is a great deal of research on aging and death, no one has discovered how to halt the inevitable. It is a scientific and biblical fact that human beings will age and die. All life ends in death. This paper will cover some of the issues regarding, fear of death, and fear of aging. It will also explore if Americans fear death and aging because we have no control over it or we don’t understand it. Fear of aging can be attributed the fear of our health failing; losing our memory, independence and the energy for living our lives to the fullest (Berger, 2001). Fear of death can be attributed to not being able to speak to someone who is still experiencing it. Many fear growing older because of the onslaught of mental deterioration such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; which are attributed to old age. (Philipchalk, 1994). Fear of aging and death is caused by America’s negative concept; it is the natural progression of life. In Strongman’s research he found that a dominant aspect of aging is death (Strongman, 2006)...
Words: 1731 - Pages: 7
...as anti-aging creams that are so readily accessible in our world today. The vision of Linda’s old, wrinkles, pudgy flesh and sagging breasts is utterly vulgar to a society accustomed to taut youthful bodies and flawless skin. A society not used to seeing the bloated and aged body that Linda has. The physical development of aging has transformed Linda into a “strange and terrifying monster,” into something disturbing and repulsive. We may smirk at their seeming naïveté, but in truth are we really all that different from the World State? Isn’t our society today just as beauty obsessed, just as preoccupied with the pursuit of physical perfection? Here, again, we see Huxley playing the role of a social seer correctly anticipating a future in which physical perfection and youth are cherished above everything else. Medical advancements and scientific techni ques in the World State have eliminated old age. In our modern world, likewise, we are essentially trying to do the same. Old age was once a marker of wisdom but it is now seen as repulsive, a sign of degeneration and decline. Individuals in our society go to these various extremes (Botox, face-lifts, and plastic surgery) in order to prevent the inescapable effects of time. Like the World State, then, we are on a relentless pursuit of beauty and eternal youth. But the more essential questions are these: does beauty truly bring happiness? Does looking good on the outside make one truly satisfied on the inside? Of course it would...
Words: 993 - Pages: 4
...represent some of those that are being discriminated against. Companies are taking steps to prevent further occurrences but even this is not enough as there are still documented cases of discrimination that have occurred. We also have no way of quantifying the amount of cases that have gone unreported. Anti-discrimination laws have been passed, now it is up to the companies to implement policies that adhere to these laws and ensure equal opportunities to all of their employees. As the population begins to age there are several factors that may occur in regards to employment relations. With aging comes an increase is diseases and comorbidities. This represents higher costs in health care for the company and their insurance companies. In order to make up for the increase in costs there may be a need to increase the premiums for those particular patients. The children of the aging...
Words: 1439 - Pages: 6
...members and the decision as to what constitutes as appropriate care are the recurring themes across many of the films and readings. Most of the films take up issues anyone with an aging family member confronts: how to care for loved ones as they age, isolation, disability, and the positive influence of a loving family. Upon comparison between Walt, from the film Gran Torino and Fiona, from the film Away from Her, one can assume that Walt is in desperate need of comfort, warmth, love, and care. On the other hand, Fiona has an understanding and devoted husband, who stays by her even after her dementia diagnose. Although Walt’s family feels he needs to be placed in an assisted living community, they make little effort to spend time with him and discuss this matter. The relationship between Walt and is sons is estranged and neither...
Words: 549 - Pages: 3
...In the future, the process of aging will likely be renamed as a disease, of which science will be able to find a solution to. Life extension is the study of slowing down or even reversing the process of aging to extend the greatest and average lifespan. As of now, the average human life expectancy in the United States is about seventy-nine years of age. Although the human life expectancy has increased over the years, it has done so considerably slower than it should have. But, by the year of 2067, the human life expectancy will be significantly increased by many new and improved technologies. These life extension technologies consist of nanotechnology, gene editing, and organ replacement. Nanotechnology will be a very interesting way to aid...
Words: 928 - Pages: 4
...and improved the American landscape as well if for no greater reason than the sheer number of people who make up this population (Steinhorn, 2006). Today, based predominantly on that very same reason, the baby boomer population is now making a very different, yet equally as profound impact on American society. More specifically, this impact is being made on the healthcare system of the US, and the discriminatory practice of “ageism” that older patients currently face. The purpose of this paper is to explore, analyze, and evaluate both the practice of age discrimination in healthcare and the federal policy issues and efforts that are involved with it. The work begins by providing background information on the current demographics of the aging American population and forecasts for the impact this will likely have on the healthcare industry in the near future. It then transitions into a discussion on what ageism is, where its historical roots come from, and where it fits into the federal Fair Labor Act. A review of the literature is then presented, documenting the discrimination that elderly people are subjected to with regards to healthcare. The paper then explores the medical profession itself within this context, with a focus on examining the lack of geriatric training medical professionals receive and the limited number of existing programs designed to train these professionals in geriatrics. Attention is then turned to this issue from a public policy...
Words: 7214 - Pages: 29
...Building an Ethical Organization My new Human Service organization does not yet have a name. The services my organization provides are to help older foster children understand that they have an equal opportunity for their future as do others children who come from better- off families. This organization provides a personal look into the life of a professional with hands on job experience for the young adult. Provided is a week in a workplace of choice with the opportunity to shadow an individual and actually take on the responsibility of the career at hand. This is of course a career the foster child is interested in one day possible becoming a part of. A journal is also kept for each day for taking notes and writing the positives and negatives of their week to ensure an understanding of whether or not this career choice is still in favor. The clientele of this organization are human service workers who specialize in the foster child program. This is going to be a non- profit organization. It is going to be little to no cost to allow shadowing in a workplace for learning purposes. I do not feel this is necessary to be a profited organization. Our mission is to help teens in the state foster care program understand that they, too, have a chance at a successful future becoming part of any career they desire. It Is common for foster children to feel unwanted, unloved, worth less than others, or not even have a chance at success , (I was a foster child, so this is personal experience)...
Words: 673 - Pages: 3
...University of Nebraska states that “aging can be defined as the accumulation of diverse deleterious changes occurring in cells and tissues with advancing age that are responsible for the increased risk of disease and death”. So in the words that people like us can understand, aging is “the process of growing old.” We all age and grow up, we are all older than we were the day before. But how do we grow up? Well, aging affects our bodies, both physically and mentally. So let’s start off by getting physical… with aging. As time passes, aging affects the way we appear, starting right when we are conceived. One factor that changes as we age is our height. During our birth and puberty, we have growth spurts; however, Gerontologists have discovered that once we reach the age of 40, we actually begin to shrink about four-tenths of an inch every decade. The disks between the vertebrae of our spines progressively become thinner as we age which compresses our spines. Other signs of aging can be found on our skin. As the years pass, ultraviolet light penetrates our skin and breaks down the elastic fibers, damaging them and causing our skin to become less elastic, causing wrinkles to develop. Aging affects us in many ways, especially our...
Words: 1465 - Pages: 6
...trends are so constant and unnoticeable that it continues daily, therefore having a particular group being affected by the same disease. Some people do not believe it, but all you have to do is look at the statistics and you will then see how greatly they affect one another. To break things down, demographics are groups of people with a common link, such as; age, gender, race, education level, income level, even marital level, and etc. When in an environment where links are similar or the same, the same trends start to get picked up as well, linking you within the range of your demographics. Environment plays a big role in demographics as well. If you live in the same neighborhood or community as someone, you are linked to that person no matter how small of importance it is. With everyone doing the same trends which come to them like habits, they may never go away until they know that it is a problem. Environment happens to play a role as well when it comes to demographics. Environment happens to play one of the main roles. Habits become hard to break because of the type of environment you around. Who, what, and the things that you are surrounded by happen to make up part of your environment, and it becomes hard to control when you get used to it and things become normal to you. An example would be; you stop by McDonald’s every day to get a Sunday just as a snack for the day. If that McDonalds was not so close to you, you would probably not have picked up the habit to buy...
Words: 1743 - Pages: 7
...Associate Program Material Aging and Disability Worksheet Part I Identify 2 or 3 issues faced by the aging population. 1. Physical issues such as loss of vision, hearing, etc. 2. Welfare issues such as loss of income, harder to get a job, 3. Discrimination and stereotype issues Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. • What is ageism? How does ageism influence the presence of diversity in society? According to ageismhurts.org, “Agesim is stereotyping or discrimination of a person or group of people because of their age” (2014). Ageism influences the presence of diversity in a society because there is a lot of discrimination and older people tend to be a diverse type of group amongst the younger population. Older people are being competed against younger people for many things. Agesim can cause a lot of cause and effects such as older people losing their job or getting ill due to their age. No matter the cause, the effect causes a more diverse population and it influences the elderly population, as well as people younger than them. What is the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)? How does the ADEA address issues for the aging population? The ADEA prohibits employment discrimination against persons 40 years of age or older. The ADEA addresses issues for the aging population by “Specifically dealing with discriminatory policies involving employers, employment...
Words: 1685 - Pages: 7
...we are across the river from one of the nation’s most popular gaming communities. With year round sunshine that attracts not only vacationers but also retirees. The aging population in our community is substantially large and is about to explode. Those born in the baby boom era following the end of World War II, between the years of 1946 and 1964 are just hitting the retirement age. We can expect to see our aging population grow and challenge our local health care facilities and the health care market in general over the next few years. Although the U.S. Census Bureau population estimates are not available for 2011 as of yet for our community, we can see on the quick facts chart below where we stood in 2010. People Quick Facts | Bullhead City, Arizona | Population, 2011 estimate | NA | Population, 2010 | 39,540 | Population, percent change, 2000 to 2010 | 17.1% | Population, 2000 | 33,769 | Persons under 5 years, percent, 2010 | 5.4% | Persons under 18 years, percent, 2010 | 19.6% | Persons 65 years and over, percent, 2010 | 23.9% | Female persons, percent, 2010 | 50.6% | (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). As shown above, our small community grew by 17.1% over 10 years between 2000 and 2010. It is unknown how much that percentage could change between 2010 and 2020 based on the aging Baby Boomer population, but it is likely that it could double or even triple. Based on this information and that the cost of living is lower here than the national...
Words: 1351 - Pages: 6
...Purpose of the organization Assistance to the Elderly, Inc., (ATTE) is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that enables low-income, vulnerable adults to lead meaningful and dignified lives by providing supportive housing, care services, community education, and advocacy. ATTE provides supportive housing for Residential Plaza at Blue Lagoon (RPBL), an assisted living facility with 350 units that serves a predominantly Hispanic, low-income older population. Residential Plaza at Blue Lagoon has a long-standing reputation for providing quality services to low-income residents. Residential Plaza's Memory Care Program (RPMCP) provides affordable 24-hour specialized care, based on the Montessori for Aging and Dementia Program, in a homelike environment...
Words: 845 - Pages: 4
...Associate Program Material Aging and Disability Worksheet Part I Identify 2 or 3 issues faced by the aging population. 1. Often elderly people are discriminated in the work force. 2. They have trouble fitting in as vital members of society. 3. They are often seen as a financial drain on the economy. Answer the following questions in 100 to 200 words each. Provide citations for all the sources you use. • What is ageism? How does ageism influence the presence of diversity in society? Ageism is the discrimination of people or groups of people based on their age. As in all cases of discrimination ageism limits the full potential of diversity. Whenever diversity is not accounted for and held as a valueable resource the outcome of any action that could have benifited from said diversity is also limited in its potential.Older generations have experience that should be highly valued by society. Instead they are in most cases seen as obsolete, but this could not be further from the truth. Elderly people have seen enough in their life to easily foresee reoccurring trends. This is an important position in many firms that usually is dedicated to certain individuals full time. Yet, economics usually provales leading to the dicision to fire the more experienced employee, and hire the younger cheaper employee. • What is the Age Discriminitation in Employment Act (ADEA)? How does the ADEA address issues for the aging population? Age Discrimination in Employment...
Words: 1602 - Pages: 7
