Resources and links
Links to useful information on ageing
TEDtalk: Alzheimer’s is not normal ageing – and we can cure it, by Samuel Cohen. 7:54minutes.
More than 40 million people worldwide suffer from Alzheimer's disease, and that number is expected to increase drastically in the coming years. But no real progress has been made in the fight against the disease since its classification more than 100 years ago. Scientist Samuel Cohen shares a new breakthrough in Alzheimer's research from his lab as well as a message of hope. "Alzheimer's is a disease," Cohen says, "and we can cure it."
https://www.ted.com/talks/samuel_cohen_alzheimer_s_is_not_normal_aging_and_we_can_cure_it
TEDtalk: How young blood might reverse ageing – yes really!, by Tony Wyss-Coray. 13:36mintues.
Tony Wyss-Coray studies the impact of aging on the human body and brain. In this eye-opening talk, he shares new research from his Stanford lab and other teams which shows that a solution for some of the less great aspects of old age might actually lie within us all.
https://www.ted.com/talks/tony_wyss_coray_how_young_blood_might_help_reverse_aging_yes_really
TEDtalk: How my Dad’s dementia changed my idea of death (and life), by Beth Malone. 7:02minutes.
With warmth and grace, Beth Malone tells the deeply personal story of her dad's struggle with frontotemporal lobe dementia, and how it changed how she thinks about death (and life). A moving talk about a daughter's love -- and of letting go and finding peace.https://www.ted.com/talks/beth_malone_how_my_dad_s_dementia_changed_my_idea_of_death_and_life
TEDtalk: The poetry of youth and age, by C.K Williams. 23:14minutes
Poet C.K. Williams reads his work at TED2001. As he colors scenes of childhood resentments, college loves, odd neighbors and the literal death of youth, he reminds us of the unique challenges of living.
https://www.ted.com/talks/c_k_williams_reads_poetry_of_youth_and_age
Podcast: The Roundtable: The complexities of ageing parents, children and financial abuse. Sunday Extra, ABC Radio National, 25 February 2018.
Newly established elder abuse hotlines are being swamped with calls, many of which relate to financial abuse. Financial advisers, bankers and lawyers are all calling for new measures to address financial elder abuse. The Attorney General, Christian Porter, has flagged a 'National Plan' to address 'elder abuse' to be released later in the year. So what should the new measures look like?
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/sunday-roundtable/9471926
Podcast: Two wise men: The benefits of ageing. Life Matters, ABC Radio National, 28 February 2018.
Getting older is inevitable, but how does ageing differ for men compared to women?
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/lifematters/life-matters-28022018/9491776
Podcast: Could women be the demographic saviour of Japan’s ageing workforce? RN Breakfast, ABC Radio National, 8 January 2018.
Could women be the demographic saviour of Japan's ageing workforce?
It's a theory Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has been testing since returning to office in 2012 and launching his so-called "womenomics" policy — aiming to "refortify" the economy and boost gender equality.
Nearly 49 per cent of Japanese women — around 28 million of them — are now in the workforce.
But less than half hold full-time positions, let alone managerial roles, and Japan is now 114th ranked on the World Economic Forum's Global Gender Gap Index.
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/japan-women-workforce/9310342
Podcast: Ageing populations and longevity. Big Ideas, ABC Radio National, 15 February 2018.
Life expectancy is increasing in developed countries so is the sky the limit?
Will one hundred become the average lifespan and will we enjoy those extra years without disease or disability? As the saying goes, it’s not the years in your life , it’s the life in your years.
The growing and ageing population recorded 15 February 2018 Oxford Martin School.
Speaker: Professor Sarah Harper Co-Director Oxford Institute of Population Ageing
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/bigideas/ageing-populations-and-longevity/9532298
Book: Remember Who You Are: In a World with Rapidly Increasing Use of Artificial Intelligence, There Is a Fundamental Need to Protect Our Authentic Wit and Wisdom by Leslie Chung
This inspirational book employs rich short storytelling and explores strategies to improve one’s motivation, charisma, productivity, and resilience. Readers find this book lively, deep, and pragmatic. Extracting knowledge from current research and information on behavioural psychology and neuroscience, along with the wit and wisdom of the greatest thinkers like Emerson, Einstein, and Churchill, this well-researched book explores how successful people perceive the world by shifting their paradigm. This a fantastic book for those who want sustainable development in fulfilling their life through robust values, purpose, and meaning. Readers have stated that this book leaves them feeling insightful, inspired, and developing substance in living a purposeful life. Remember Who You Are will take you on a voyage in discovering your potential to be the best you can be.
https://www.amazon.com.au/Remember-Who-You-Are-Intelligence/dp/1504314433?ref_=mw_olp_product_details#immersive-view_1535063385186
Book: Ageing and the digital life course by David Prendergast (Editor), Chiara Garattini (Editor)
Across the life course, new forms of community, ways of keeping in contact, and practices for engaging in work, healthcare, retail, learning and leisure are evolving rapidly. Breaking new ground in the study of technology and aging, this book examines how developments in smart phones, the internet, cloud computing, and online social networking are redefining experiences and expectations around growing older in the twenty-first century. Drawing on contributions from leading commentators and researchers across the world, this book explores key themes such as caregiving, the use of social media, robotics, chronic disease and dementia management, gaming, migration, and data inheritance, to name a few.
https://www.amazon.com/Aging-Digital-Life-Course-Culture/dp/1782386912
Book: The 100-Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity 2017, by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott
Shortlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award, The 100-Year Life explores how living to 100 will have a profound effect on society and the economy, and result in a complete restructuring of everyone's professional and personal lives.
Drawing on the unique pairing of their experience in psychology and economics, Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott offer an analysis to help you rethink retirement, your finances, your education, your career, and your relationships to create a fulfilling 100-year life.
Many of us have been raised on the traditional notion of a three-stage approach to our working lives: education, followed by work and then retirement. But this well-established pathway is already beginning to collapse--life expectancy is rising, final-salary pensions are vanishing, and increasing numbers of people are juggling multiple careers. Whether you are 18, 45, or 60, you will need to do things very differently from previous generations and learn to structure your life in completely new ways. The 100-Year Life is a wake-up call that describes the choices and options that you will face in the age of longevity. It is also fundamentally a call to action for individuals, politicians, firms, and governments and offers the clearest demonstration that a 100-year life can be a wonderful and inspiring one.
Book: Introduction to Aging: A positive interdisciplinary approach, by Judith Sugar, Robert Riekse, Henry Holstege, and Michael Faber
This new textbook creates a paradigm shift with a very practical approach to problem solving. Aging is an asset. Its focus on well care rather than just sick care by understanding physical fitness, sexual fitness, consumer fitness, nutritional fitness and social fitness among others, all point to aging as an asset leading to civic fitness and the potential for intergenerational support. This text may help springboard Gerontology into the 21st Century as the field creating excitement and hope for students and teachers alike.
Book: Aging Thoughtfully, by Martha Nussbaum and Saul Levmore
We all age differently, but we can learn from shared experiences and insights. The conversations, or paired essays, in Aging Thoughtfully combine a philosopher's approach with a lawyer-economist's.
Here are ideas about when to retire, how to refashion social security to help the elderly poor, how to learn from King Lear — who did not retire successfully — and whether to enjoy or criticize anti-aging cosmetic procedures. Some of the concerns are practical: philanthropic decisions, relations with one's children and grandchildren, the purchase of annuities, and how to provide for care in old age. Other topics are cultural, ranging from the treatment of aging women in a Strauss opera and various popular films, to a consideration of Donald Trump's (and other men's) marriages to much younger women. These engaging, thoughtful, and often humorous exchanges show how stimulating discussions about our inevitable aging can be and offer valuable insight into how we all might age more thoughtfully, and with zest and friendship.
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/aging-thoughtfully-9780190600235?cc=au&lang=en&#
Report: Elder Abuse: Discussion Paper Based on FMC’s Respecting Elders service findings. 2018
This discussion paper is based upon FMC’s experience of providing front line response services to older people affected by Elder Abuse over the last three years. The paper initially considers the risk factors that FMC is observing amongst clients of its Respecting Elder service. These risk factors relate to three areas of life change: Changes of the older person’s situation related to a life event such as death of their spouse or change in health status; Changes in their adult children’s situation such as increasing financial burdens or addiction behaviour; Lastly, any change in a CALD community members living situation.
https://www.mediation.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/FMC0006_A4_Final.pdf
Report: Ending and Preventing Older Women’s Experiences of Homelessness in Australia: Joint Submission of Homelessness Australia and Equality Rights Alliance
Older, single women are increasingly vulnerable to housing stress, insecurity and homelessness. This submission by Homelessness Australia and the Equality Rights Alliance outlines what older women in Australia need to end and prevent homelessness, which includes increasing affordable accommodation and providing sufficient income.
Newspaper article: Older women, migrants swell the ranks of Australia's homeless, by Miki Perkins & Matilda Boseley, Sydney Morning Herald,14 March 2018
The number of people who are homeless in Australia has soared by almost 15 per cent, with newly released Census data showing people living in “severely” overcrowded dwellings are the greatest contributors to this increase.
Background paper: Older women who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness, Australian Association of Gerontology, August 2018.
The aim of this Background Paper is to introduce the diverse experiences and needs of older women who are experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness. The intended audience is policy makers and people working with older Australians, including personal care workers in facilities and people’s homes, aged care leaders, health and allied health professionals, and researchers. References are provided so that further information and evidence can be sought. This Background Paper does not aim to provide a systematic review of the literature on homelessness, or an assessment of the quality of the research cited.