Populations around the globe are ageing rapidly. This demographic shift affects families, market structures and social provisions. This timely volume, part of the Ageing and the Lifecourse series, argues that the lifecourse perspective helps us understand the causes and effects of population ageing. The lifecourse perspective suggests that individuals’ experiences at an early age can influence their decisions and behaviour at a later age. This much-needed volume combines insights from different disciplines and real-life experiences to describe the theories and practices behind this idea. It therefore caters to the needs of scholars, practitioners and policy makers in a range of areas including sociology and political science.

This text aims to provide the student with a comprehensive and accessible overview of the role and importance of age and generation in Britain today.

This volume takes current stock of our current state of knowledge about aging & mental retardation. Its contributors articulate the implications of our knowledge for service delivery issues & policy development & chart directions for future research. Leading researchers present the results of their work, many of whom participated in the Boston Roundtable on Research & Applications in Aging & Developmental Disabilities, held in Boston in November 1990. The impetus for this publication is linked to the effectiveness of the Roundtable meeting held in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of America, in exposing the dynamic range of research currently being conducted & reported. This volume is composed of four sections. The first section addresses the family context of care for adults & elders with mental retardation. The second section examines individual development of people with mental retardation during adulthood & old age. The third section focuses on the provision of services to older people with mental retardation & their families. The final section addresses methodological challenges facing researchers who study aging in people with mental retardation & their families, & can daunt or inspire researchers who seek to unravel the mysteries of human development in the later decades of life.

Population ageing, both globally and in New Zealand, is often seen in negative terms, alongside economic and political instability, disease and environmental threats. But it can also be viewed positively - as an opportunity, an achievement of human civilisation and thus something to celebrate. Either way, there can be little doubt that population ageing will have important economic and social implications during the coming decades; hence, the subject deserves careful scrutiny. The contributors to the 14 chapters in this volume explore New Zealands changing demography and examine the many and varied policy implications of population aging, including those impinging on fiscal management, income support, the labour market, health care, housing and social services. The crucial message is that while population ageing undoubtedly poses serious challenges - for individuals, families, communities and the state - it also generates many opportunities and possibilities. It will be critically important to New Zealands long-term economic and social success for policy makers to recognise and grasp these opportunities.

This publication notes that the most effective policies for supporting human development and reducing vulnerabilities are those that incorporate principles of universalism, by placing people at the centre of policy. Responding to life cycle and structural vulnerabilities through social investments and policy interventions deliver long-term benefits - by reducing vulnerabilities at critical life phases and mitigating structural disadvantage faced by discriminated groups in society. Yet, the emerging challenges and risks posed by vulnerability given the backdrop of globalisation require a concerted approach - and collective action that will measure up to the scale of these shared challenges. In building this argument, this companion volume to the 2014 Human Development Report, draws on research commissioned from eminent economists, demographers and social scientists.

This book is written for an optional module within the scope of a European Master course of study: European Perspectives on Social Inclusion. It reflects the situation of elderly people in Europe from empirical as well as theoretical points of view. Main life course transitions connected to old age are focused as well as concepts, theories and contemporary thinking among gerontologists. Special attention is given to recent societal trends that might influence aging and the elderly.