ABSTRACT
This book was nurtured by the belief that the new dynamics of today's and tomorrow's aging has not yet been treated well in the gerontology literature. Several questions drove the choice of substance for the book: What kind of new dynamics of aging deserves consideration? What kinds of theories and fields are at the core of treating such a new dynamics? And what kind of empirical evidence should be considered? The master hypothesis on which the book is based maintains that the new dynamics of old age is best observed in a range of everyday aging contexts that have been undergoing major change since the second half of the 20th century. In particular, five areas of new and persistent dynamics are treated in depth: the social environment, with a focus on cohort effects in social relations and the consideration of family relations and elders as care redelivers; the home environment, with emphasis on housing and quality of life, relocation and urban aging issues; the outdoor environment, with consideration of out-of-home activity patterns, car-driving behaviour and the leisure world of aging; the technological environment, with treatments of the role of the Internet and the potential of technology for aging outcomes and; and the societal environment with a focus on global aging, the new politics of old age and older persons as market consumers. The book's main purpose is to provide the scholarly gerontology community with a comprehensive and critical discussion of these new trends related to old age. The book will be of interest for the scholarly community of gerontology in a variety of disciplines; sociology, psychology, demography, epidemiology, humanities, social policy and geriatrics; students in gerontology education and in the disciplines named above who have an interest in aging issues (graduate level); professionals in practical and applied fields related to aging such as community and urban planners, health and care providers and policymakers; people involved in senior citizens' organizations and those in industry who wish to serve older people with new products.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
part I|42 pages
Introduction
chapter 3|18 pages
Changes in Physical and Mental Function of Older People
part II|62 pages
New and Persistent Dynamics Regarding the Social Environment
part III|70 pages
New and Persistent Dynamics Regarding the Home Environment
chapter 8|26 pages
Beyond the Relocation Trauma in Old Age
chapter 9|22 pages
Aging in a Difficult Place
part IV|64 pages
New and Persistent Dynamics Regarding the Outdoor Environment
chapter 10|24 pages
Always On the Go? Older People’s Outdoor Mobility Today and Tomorrow
chapter 12|26 pages
The New Leisure World of Modern Old Age
part V|52 pages
New and Persistent Dynamics Regarding the Technology Environment
part VI|52 pages
New and Persistent Dynamics in the Societal Environment
part VII|40 pages
New Challenges