Ageing

'COVID-19 has triggered an avalanche of books and articles examining the public policy responses to the pandemic. However, Federalism and the Response to COVID-19 is one of the very few books that examines and compares the effectiveness of these responses in federal and quasi-federal countries. As the authors show, the pandemic challenged federal structures and processes everywhere but in this crisis was also an opportunity. This volume showed me which federal countries used the pandemic to make innovations in both the practices and structures of federalism and which were incapable of rising to the challenge.

With advancing age, many older adults are vulnerable to a decline in physical functioning. Functional disability has been shown to affect the subjective well-being of the individual, and has been associated with increased morbidity and mortality. Social support is commonly assumed to protect people from the experience of psychological distress and enhance well-being. Other studies have demonstrated that satisfaction with social support, rather than the frequency with which support was received, is a powerful predictor of self-reported health status. The present study tests a psychosocial model of functional disability in two elderly populations (61 years of age and older): 178 seniors living in the community (136 females and 42 males) and 168 in-patients in a rehabilitation hospital following total hip and knee arthroplasty (118 females and 50 males). Predictors of functional disability were age, gender, and satisfaction with support. In this model, functional disability, with its related loss of independent functioning, was expected to lead to depression. Results indicated that the two samples differed slightly. Specifically, the elderly in the community sample were significantly older than the rehabilitation patients, whereas the hospital sample reported greater functional disability and were more satisfied with their social relations than the community-residing elderly. Results of path analysis in both samples showed that women reported more functional disability than men and satisfaction with support was associated with lower functional disability. Furthermore, functional disability led directly to depression in both samples. Practical implications for the maintenance and enhancement of daily functioning, as well as well-being in later life are discussed.

Evening view from a local pathway across Brook Stream © Anna Kemble Welch The living area with sloping ceiling and level floor finishes between interior and exterior provides niche spaces for a bedridden occupant to be part of both the house and the garden.

This study investigates support provided to older parents by non-resident children and compares older adults in various living arrangements, based on a typology of current partner status, marital history and gender. Data come from the Dutch 1992 survey on older adults living arrangements and social networks (NESTOR-LSN). The 4494 respondents constituted a random sample of men and women born in the years 1903 to 1937. The findings, based on those with ADL-and/or IADL-limitations and with living children (N = 2182), point out that ever-divorced men, regardless of whether they have repartnered, receive only marginal help from their children. Among those without new partners, 8 percent of the ever-divorced men and 22 percent of the ever-divorced women cite children as sources of help, while this is so for 45 percent of the ever-widowed men and 53 percent of the ever-widowed women. Multivariate analyses revealed that health, educational level, number of children and travel distance are significant predictors of support from children, in addition to the significant and important contribution of marital history, partner status and gender.

In this paper, laboratory test methods reproducing phenomena affecting pavement skid resistance evolution are presented. Polishing tests are performed by Wehner/Schulze machine to simulate the polishing induced by traffic and the binder removal phase (typical for bituminous asphalt concrete). Accelerated ageing tests are performed by a weatherometer, operating conditions being adjusted according to local weather conditions, to simulate the binder ageing responsible for friction increase at early age. With respect to seasonal variations, a new test was developed to evaluate the effect of pollutants deposited on the road and the washing effect of rainfalls. Description of specimens and test procedures is given. Simulations are compared to observations to check their relevance. A model is developed to combine, in a physical way, laboratory test results and give place to a prediction of the friction-polishing duration curve. Conversions are done to predict actual skid resistance variati...

En las actuales publicidades de productos cosméticos para el cuidado del cutis femenino se realizan exhortaciones para que las mujeres eludan y eviten lo que allí se denomina como signos de envejecimiento. Consideramos que estas enunciaciones publicitarias son el resultado de extensos procesos de institución de sentidos peyorativos sobre la pérdida cualidades de juventud y belleza facial de las mujeres. Así, el proceso de envejecimiento femenino estaría más relacionado con la vivencia de la pérdida de dichas cualidades que con la llamada vejez. A lo largo de este trabajo habremos de analizar aspectos generativos de imaginarios sociales de vejez femenina en discursos publicitarios de productos cosméticos para el cuidado de la piel en la revista argentina Para Ti. Realizaremos un análisis crítico de discurso de enunciaciones publicitarias comprendidas entre 1920 y 2015 con el objetivo de indagar sobre las formas de referencia al rostro femenino como máscara social y sobre las maneras en que se procede a configurar la noción de envejecimiento y vejez femenina.

Social work in the UK and US had similar origins with a historical focus on both community-based work, similar to Jane Addams’ settlement house, and individual casework/care management aligned with Mary Richmond’s approach to care (Gollins et al., 2016). The visit by Jane Addams in the 1880s to Toynbee Hall, a settlement house founded in London in 1884 to assist the poor through providing opportunities that would lead to social reform, is often cited as a key inspiration for the inception of social work in the US (Addams, 1910). In Addam’s description, there was an early recognition of a need to balance focus on youth and older people and to create intergenerational capacity in strengths. That interest remains present today and, with burgeoning numbers of people growing older globally (WHO, 2018), countries have responded in varying ways to this challenge to prepare for the future. Often this is driven by a need to reconcile competing agendas. The move to personalisation and persona...

The current study describes from an attachment-theoretical viewpoint how intergenerational support in adult child-parent relationships is associated with wellbeing in both generations. The attachment perspective and its focus on affective relationship characteristics is considered as an important theoretical framework for the investigation of special relationships across the life span. Data from the Netherlands Kinship Panel Study (N=1,456 dyads) were analysed to investigate if relationship quality moderated the association between providing intergenerational support to parents and wellbeing in adult children, on the one hand, and receiving intergenerational support from children and wellbeing of older parents on the other hand. The perspectives of both relationship partners were taken into account to allow for dependence within dyads. Intergenerational support, in terms of instrumental help provision, was negatively associated with the child's and parent's wellbeing. Being the stronger and wiser partner in adultchild parent relationships, as reflected by giving advice and being the initiator within the relationship, was beneficial for the wellbeing of both generations. Additionally, relationship quality was the strongest predictor of wellbeing in both generations. Parental wellbeing was benefited by filial support in high quality relationships. If an intergenerational relationships was of high quality, the challenges of intergenerational support provision and receipt were easier to deal with for both generations, parents and children.

Frontiers is more than just an open-access publisher of scholarly articles: it is a pioneering approach to the world of academia, radically improving the way scholarly research is managed. The grand vision of Frontiers is a world where all people have an equal opportunity to seek, share and generate knowledge. Frontiers provides immediate and permanent online open access to all its publications, but this alone is not enough to realize our grand goals. Frontiers Journal Series The Frontiers Journal Series is a multi-tier and interdisciplinary set of open-access, online journals, promising a paradigm shift from the current review, selection and dissemination processes in academic publishing. All Frontiers journals are driven by researchers for researchers; therefore, they constitute a service to the scholarly community. At the same time, the Frontiers Journal Series operates on a revolutionary invention, the tiered publishing system, initially addressing specific communities of scholars, and gradually climbing up to broader public understanding, thus serving the interests of the lay society, too. Dedication to Quality Each Frontiers article is a landmark of the highest quality, thanks to genuinely collaborative interactions between authors and review editors, who include some of the world's best academicians. Research must be certified by peers before entering a stream of knowledge that may eventually reach the public-and shape society; therefore, Frontiers only applies the most rigorous and unbiased reviews. Frontiers revolutionizes research publishing by freely delivering the most outstanding research, evaluated with no bias from both the academic and social point of view. By applying the most advanced information technologies, Frontiers is catapulting scholarly publishing into a new generation. What are Frontiers Research Topics? Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject.

A literature search was carried out to summarize the existing scientific evidence concerning occurrence, causes, and consequences of multimorbidity (the coexistence of multiple chronic diseases) in the elderly as well as models and quality of care of persons with multimorbidity. According to pre-established inclusion criteria, and using different search strategies, 41 articles were included (four of these were methodological papers only). Prevalence of multimorbidity in older persons ranges from 55 to 98%. In cross-sectional studies, older age, female gender, and low socioeconomic status are factors associated with multimorbidity, confirmed by longitudinal studies as well. Major consequences of multimorbidity are disability and functional decline, poor quality of life, and high health care costs. Controversial results were found on multimorbidity and mortality risk. Methodological issues in evaluating multimorbidity are discussed as well as future research needs, especially concerning etiological factors, combinations and clustering of chronic diseases, and care models for persons affected by multiple disorders. New insights in this field can lead to the identification of preventive strategies and better treatment of multimorbid patients.

Power transformer is the most important and expensive equipment in Power plant and the Oil has the main roles of insulating and cooling of transformer. The oil condition has to be checked regularly and replaced when it necessary, because to avoid the suddenly failure of the transformer. Large power transformers are the most key components in power system and their correct functioning or maintenance is important to system operation. Power transformers are protected by different protection schemes that use voltages and currents to detect abnormal condition in the different zone of protection. For this type of scheme, a short circuit or increment load accidental it must be to trip a system. Power transformers ageing are one of the most critical issues. Also their replacement will consider amount of time and cost. Therefore, developing a replacement or maintenance strategy of transformer populations is important.

This study investigated the association between environmental mastery and depression in a sample of 96 older adults (aged 64-98 years) in residential care. The participants completed a scale that assessed depression along with measures for risk factors for depression such as functional capacity, self-evaluated physical health, bereavement experiences and environmental mastery. The results showed that 49 per cent of the variance in participants' scores in depression could be attributed to their self-reported level of environmental mastery. Given the complexity of depression and the likelihood of reduced environmental mastery among older adults in residential care, the construct was further assessed as a mediating variable between the risk factors and depression. With environmental mastery taken as such, the explained variance in depression increased to 56 per cent. It was concluded that environmental mastery may be one of the more important factors affecting the mental health of older adults living in residential care and that strategies for increasing the residents' environmental mastery are important to their psychological wellbeing. The discussion notes that among the questions needing further investigation are whether older adults who experience high environmental mastery make the transition from community living to residential nursing home care more successfully than others, and whether perceived mastery diminishes over time or occurs at the point of transition from community independent living to dependent supported living.

Koreans, along with the Chinese and the Japanese, have practiced elder respect for generations. As Korea has undergone rapid industrialization, this age-old practice has become an issue of major concern for policy makers and gerontologists. However, there has been little investigation of this important and timely issue. As currently conceptualized, elder respect is too general and abstract for use in practice and research. This study explored specific ways in which young adults treat the elderly with respect. Based on data from a questionnaire survey of college students in South Korea, the study identified a comprehensive set of behavioral forms of elder respect that ranged from care respect to public respect. A typology of 14 forms of elder respect emerged. The meanings of these forms, certain cultural traits associated with the forms, changing expressions of respect, and the needs for future research are discussed.

iv ÖNSÖZ Bilim ve teknolojideki gelişmeler, kırdan-kente göç, kentleşmenin getirdiği değişimler, üretim ilişkileri ve neoliberal politikalar yaşlılığın bir sorun olarak görülmesine yol açmış, aile kurumundaki ve toplumsal yapıdaki değişimlerden en çok etkilenen grup yaşlılar olmuştur. Demografik yaşlanma süreci; endüstrileşmiş toplumlarda yönetim, bilim ve teknoloji politikalarının geleceğini yönlendiren önemli bir olgudur. 2023 yılında nüfusumuzun %10,2'si yaşlı bireylerden oluşması ve Türkiye'nin "İleri Yaşlı Toplum" kategorisine dahil olması beklenmektedir. Türkiye Güney Kore'den sonra dünyanın en hızlı yaşlanan ikinci ülkesidir. Bu bakımdan ülkemizin, uygun bakım ve finans modellerini bulmak, yerinde ve aktif yaşlanmayı desteklemeye yönelik sosyal politikaları üretmek ve yaşama geçirmek için önünde çok fazla zaman yoktur. Durum böyle olunca, sosyal, ekonomik, psikolojik ve fizyolojik sorunların gittikçe ağırlaşması nedeniyle yaşlılık konusunun zaman yitirmeden ele alınması ve bu konuda ulusal politikalar oluşturulması beklenmektedir. Özellikle ileri yaştaki nüfusun artması yaşlı bakımını öncelikli bir sorun olarak gündeme getirmektedir.

Der Essay unterscheidet zwei Formen des Alterns und entwickelt eine Idee der Jugend, die nicht vom empirischen Alter abhängig ist. Ausgehend von Fragmenten des Romans "Voyage au bout de la nuit" von Louis-Ferdinand Céline aus dem Jahr 1932 wird gezeigt, dass Jugend auf einer undifferenzierten Liebe beruht. Zeitgenössischen Tendenzen der Kritik hingegen mangelt es sowohl an Jugend als auch an Liebe: Liebe wird verraten, wenn man sie als das Ergebnis von Kritik denkt; und Kritik wiederum kann nur dann kraftvoll sein, wenn sie auf einer undifferenzierter Liebe beruht.
(https://www.lettre.de/magazin/li-127)
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The essay distinguishes two forms of ageing and develops an idea of youth that is not dependent on empirical age. Based on fragments of Louis-Ferdinand Céline's novel "Voyage au bout de la nuit" from 1932, it shows that youth consists in undifferentiated love. Contemporary tendencies of criticism, on the other hand, lack both youth and love: Love is betrayed when it is thought to be the result of critique; and critique can only be powerful if it is based on undifferentiated love.
(https://www.lettre.de/magazin/li-127)

Problem: Genetic and demographic studies suggest that ageing is an adaptive genetic program, but population genetic analysis indicates that the benefit of ageing to the group is too slow and too diffuse to offset its individual cost. Premise: Demographic homeostasis is a major target of natural selection at the group level, with a strength that can compete with the imperative to higher individual reproductive value. Hypothesis: Ageing has evolved based on its contribution to stabilizing population dynamics, helping prevent population growth overshoot, exhaustion of ecological resources, and local extinction. Model: Asexual individuals carrying a mutable ageing gene are tracked on a geographic grid with slow migration between neighbouring sites. Birth rate is constant; death probability for individuals is the sum of two terms: (1) a logistic crowding term proportional to the local site population and (2) a Gompertz ageing term, in which mortality increases exponentially with age at a rate that is governed by the individual's gene. The logistic crowding term is computed with a time delay that simulates the momentum of population growth, and causes solutions to undergo chaotic population fluctuations if net growth rates are excessive. Results: Within each site, individual selection pushes life spans progressively longer. Once life spans have increased at a site, its population may fluctuate to extinction. Shorter-lived individuals re-seed it from neighbouring sites. The result is a dynamic steady state in which ageing is selected without pleiotropy.

... NEW IMAGES FOR A NEW AGE* MARY M. GERGEN AND KENNETH J. GERGEN ... Her children, in their high school years, came to live with her in her small loft apartment, in which she carved spaces adequate for tiny bedrooms for her daughter, son and herself. ...

This book explores the diversity of methodological approaches to researching ageing, considering which methodological paradigm best captures the phenomenon. Interdisciplinary in scope, it brings together research and USA to uncover the conditions under which qualitative and quantitative approaches to research on ageing can best be reconciled and rendered complementary. Presenting international reflection on methods for studying old age from a variety of research backgrounds, Researching Ageing showcases the latest research in the field and will appeal to scholars across the social sciences, including sociology, demography , psychology, economics and geography, with interests in gerontology, ageing and later life.

It seems rather obvious that the experience of ageing is not indifferent to gender, and that studies of gender ought to account for ageing and old age. Yet, the two subject matters have been rarely investigated together. This is due to the tendency to reduce ageing (as well as its gendered aspects) either to supposedly biological necessities or to their social construction and restrictions. Notwithstanding, both ageing and gender are first and foremost bodily phenomena. Aging, as well as gender are dimensions we experience, incorporate and express through our bodies.
The aim of the proposed paper is to bridge the gap between the biological and social approaches to ageing and gender with a phenomenological-anthropological approach. In this respect, I want to argue that the biological and the social are intertwined in human embodiment. The paper thus addresses ageing and gender neither as purely biological nor as merely discursive phenomena, but as phenomena of an embodied experience. Experience in this sense is necessarily situated, constituted by biological, material, historical and socio-cultural circumstances. As situated bodily beings, we not only have a first, but also a second nature: social norms are incorporated in the ways we habitually relate to the world, ourselves and others. While the process of ageing always confronts us with the finitude and materiality of our bodily being in general, with respect to gender and ageing, this means, as situated, specific circumstances and norms influence not only the way we think about ageing, but also the processes of becoming older and the experience of our aged bodies.

У дослідженні розглядаються особливості матеріального забезпечення людей похилого віку в 1920-1930-ті рр. на прикладі радянської України за доби раннього сталінізму. У статті аналізуються типові риси конструювання радянського суспільства та визначення в ньому місця старого покоління, котре представляло собою окрему групу споживачів, до якої належали особи у віці від 60 років і старше. У своїй ідеологічній риториці більшовицька влада надавала пріоритетну роль дітям і молоді, водночас позиціонуючи себе як нову молоду державу, котра стояла на сторожі інтересів робітничого класу. У дослідженні було встановлено, що така політика залишала поза увагою людей похилого віку, що зумовило їх «невидимість» у суспільному дискурсі. У статті показано, що їхнє матеріальне забезпечення залежало від багатьох факторів, у т. ч. від стану здоров'я для продовження працевлаштування, наявності пенсії, соціального страхування тощо. У сільській місцевості матеріальне забез-печення людей похилого віку було в складнішому стані. Встановлено, що на селі з метою покращення їхнього матеріального становища з середини 1930-х рр. у колгоспах та артілях стали з'являтися спеціальні фонди матеріальної допомоги. Попри пропаговану соціальну орі-єнтованість, радянська держава не передбачила реалізацію заходів щодо боротьби з бідністю і жебрацтвом серед людей похилого віку, у т. ч. у сфері задоволення їхніх повсякденних споживчих потреб. Соціальна політика радянської влади була спрямована на пріоритетне задоволення інтересів працюючих робітників, що мало наслідком проведення великої кількості обстежень робітничих бюджетів. Внаслідок такого курсу питання матеріального забезпечення робітників, які виходили на пенсію, а також непрацюючого населення непрацез-датного віку та представників інших соціальних груп старшої вікової категорії були витіснені на периферію державного та суспільного дискурсу. Значна кількість представників цієї соціальної групи споживачів була обмежена у доступі до соціальних та економічних ресурсів, у т. ч. до товарів і послуг. Ключові слова: споживач похилого віку, матеріальне забезпечення, повсякденні потреби, радянське суспільство, радянська Україна.

Gerontology together with its subfields, such as social gerontology (sociology of ageing), geragogy, educational gerontology, political gerontology, environmental gerontology, and financial gerontology, is still a relatively new academic discipline that is currently intensively developing, expanding research fields and combining various theoretical and practical perspectives. The interdisciplinarity, transdisciplinarity, and multidisciplinarity of research on ageing and old age, despite its vast thematic, methodological and theoretical diversity, have a common denominator, which is the focus of research work on improving the quality of life of older people (see Fabiś et al., 2015). It is the concern for the components of quality of life such as welfare and well-being as well as focus on learning about phenomena conditioning successful ageing that has become motivators and premises hidden or visible in many texts included in the Research Topic “Perspectives and Theories of Social Inn...

It is increasingly important that older people, who are becoming a growing proportion of the population, remain independent and healthy. Our research team has been funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand to undertake a longitudinal study of the health of older people as they transition from work to retirement. We aim to identify the influences on health and wellbeing in later midlife that lay the basis for community participation and health in later life. Specifically we will (1) Explore how older people's choices about workforce participation impact on their wellbeing; (2) Identify factors that influence health in older adults as they move from work to retirement; (3) Monitor the variations in these influences over time and between groups in society. A representative sample of community-dwelling adults aged 55 to 70 years will be surveyed over time by postal questionnaires and interviews, with follow-ups every second year. The understandings gained from this study will contribute to the goals of the New Zealand government's Positive Ageing Strategy and will have immediate relevance to policy and practice in the public, private and voluntary sectors. This paper will provide an overview of the proposed study and outline potential multidisciplinary and international linkages.

Frontiers is more than just an open-access publisher of scholarly articles: it is a pioneering approach to the world of academia, radically improving the way scholarly research is managed. The grand vision of Frontiers is a world where all people have an equal opportunity to seek, share and generate knowledge. Frontiers provides immediate and permanent online open access to all its publications, but this alone is not enough to realize our grand goals. Frontiers Journal Series The Frontiers Journal Series is a multi-tier and interdisciplinary set of open-access, online journals, promising a paradigm shift from the current review, selection and dissemination processes in academic publishing. All Frontiers journals are driven by researchers for researchers; therefore, they constitute a service to the scholarly community. At the same time, the Frontiers Journal Series operates on a revolutionary invention, the tiered publishing system, initially addressing specific communities of scholars, and gradually climbing up to broader public understanding, thus serving the interests of the lay society, too. Dedication to Quality Each Frontiers article is a landmark of the highest quality, thanks to genuinely collaborative interactions between authors and review editors, who include some of the world's best academicians. Research must be certified by peers before entering a stream of knowledge that may eventually reach the public-and shape society; therefore, Frontiers only applies the most rigorous and unbiased reviews. Frontiers revolutionizes research publishing by freely delivering the most outstanding research, evaluated with no bias from both the academic and social point of view. By applying the most advanced information technologies, Frontiers is catapulting scholarly publishing into a new generation. What are Frontiers Research Topics? Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject.

. Utilization of vegetable oils in coatings. Industr. Crops Products 1: 89-99. Vegetable oils are common raw materials in the coating industry, especially for alkyd resins. These are in common use, but in many industrial coating systems they became second choice because of substitutes based on petrochemical raw materials and which provide an improved technological performance. In architectural coating systems alkyd resins still play an important role because of their benefits such as the economical balance, an uncomplicated application and an outstanding appearance of the films. Water-borne and high solids systems as well as alkyd/acrylic-hybrids will increase their market share for ecological reasons. Apart from alkyd resins, oils are used as reactive diluents e.g. in printing inks, and fatty acids are used as educts for a series of specialty products in the coating industry, e.g., electric insulation systems.

A growing body of evidence from neuroscience, epidemiology, and kinesiology suggests that physical activity is effective as both a prevention and treatment for cognitive problems throughout the lifespan. Given the expected increase in the proportion of older adults in most countries over the next 40 years, physical activity could be a low-cost and relatively accessible method for maintaining cognitive function throughout later life. Despite the emerging recognition of physical activity as a powerful method to enhance brain health, there is continued confusion from both the public and scientific communities about what the extant research has discovered about the potential for physical activity to improve neurocognitive health and which questions remain unanswered. In this review, we outline four overarching themes that provide a conceptual structure for understanding the questions that have been asked and have been addressed, as well as those that have yet to be answered. These themes are descriptive, mechanistic, applied, and moderating questions. We conclude from our review that descriptive questions have been the first and most thoroughly studied, but we have much yet to learn about the underlying mechanisms, application, and moderating factors that explain how and to what extent physical activity improves brain health.

Population ageing and depopulation are dominant demographic processes in Slovakia.
Population age structure-the comparative size of specific age groups relative to the population
as a whole-can help illustrate where countries' risks and opportunities lie in relation to critical
issues such as democracy, development and security. In fact, the influence of age structure on
a state's governance, risk of an outbreak of civil conflict, and economic development is both
significant and quantifiable. The paper reports on the development of characteristics of the
burden carried by the productive population in consequence of the demographic ageing of
population in the conditions of the Slovakia regions and member states of EU. Population was
divided into age groups and burden on the productive population was analyzed using burden
coefficients, age index and coefficients describing the dynamics of burden changes, specifically
the inflow, outflow and substitution coefficients. This article expresses a degradation of all
coefficients values, according to the trend imitating more and more situation in the advanced
European countries. In years to come it is anticipated further setback, when the increase of the
productive population charging (as a result of expected reducing of the pre-productive
population rate) will be due more to post-productive population charging.
Keywords: age structure, pre-productive population rate, post-productive population charging,
depopulation, Slovakia, European Union

The Old, the Ugly and the Queer: thinking old age in relation to queer theory Abstract This article seeks to use queer theory as a social theory and a critical challenge to normalcy all together to theorise old age in gender studies. Additionally the article discusses some implications of bringing old age into queer theory, where the able body, older person's sexualities in relation to heteronormativity, to mention a few things, are central for future queer theory. The red thread of the article is how the anti-social turn in queer theory and embracing shame may be used to critique the prevailing discourses of old age as either "successful" where the older person should be active and independent or old age as decline and decay. Queer theoretical notions such as failure and the abject are used to theorise old age and ageing bodies, but the article also discusses how some flexible bodies can overcome failures given class, sexuality, ablebodiedness and race etc. To perform in the Butlerian sense an intelligible and desired self is dependent both on gender, sexuality and age and this is in effect relying on certain modes of temporality. Queer temporality may thus challenge what is considered normal and good ageing but also reveal the taken for grantedness of normative time. The article concludes that by thinking queer theory and old age together a resurrection of knowledges is made possible, outside the good, successful and respectable old age.

Aging is currently stimulating intense interest of both researchers and the general public. In developed countries, the average life expectancy has increased by roughly 30 years within the last century, and human senescence has been delayed by around a decade. Although aging is arguably the most familiar aspect of human biology, its proximate and ultimate causes have not been elucidated fully and understood yet. Nowadays there are two main approaches to the ultimate causes of aging. These are deterministic and stochastic models. The proximate theories constitute a distinct group of explanations. They focus on mechanistic causes of aging. In this view, there is no reason to believe that there is only one biological mechanism responsible for aging. The aging process is highly complex and results from an accumulation of random molecular damage. Currently, the disposable soma theory (DST), proposed by Thomas Kirkwood, is the most influential and coherent line of reasoning in biogerontology. This model does not postulate any particular mechanism underpinning somatic defense. Therefore, it is compatible with various models, including mechanistic and evolutionary explanations. Recently, however, an interesting theory of hyperfunction of mTOR as a more direct cause of aging has been formulated by Mikhail Blagosklonny, offering an entirely different approach to numerous problems and paradoxes in current biogerontology. In this view, aging is quasi-programmed, which means that it is an aimless continuation of developmental growth. This mTOR-centric model allows the prediction of completely new relationships. The aim of this article is to present and compare the views of both parties in the dispute, based on the results of some recent experimental studies, and the contemporary knowledge of selected major aspects of human aging and longevity.

„We Are Getting Old Whilst Always Doing Something...“: Retirement as Free Time?
The paper focuses on the phenomenon of free time or leisure time in retirement, as these phrases are often perceived as equivalents
in public discourse in European space. Research shows, however, that in reality, the life of people in retirement is filled with various
activities that usually do not have to be classified as leisure activities. In line with the concept of third age as an age of fulfilment, the
concept of active or successful ageing and the concept of busy ethics, the paper deals with the way how people obtain different roles
when they do not have to, but they still do. The choices or decisions about retirement are undoubtedly influenced by the discussion
of the right to leisure, the increasing value of leisure time and the re-evaluation of the value of work in personal and social life, on
the one hand, and some pressure to continue to be beneficial to society and active on the other. The author concentrates on how
the sketched discussion is reflected by a group of people who, especially in the European environment, are becoming due to the
demographic development more and more numerous – the oldest generation in society. They are confronted with two different
attitudes at the opposite end of the value spectrum. The empirical basis for the study is qualitative research based on ethnographic
interviews with pre-retirement and retired people in nowadays Slovakia, with a specific theme on preparing for retirement and living
in retirement, as well as the results of several focus groups with this group of people.

I presented this work in progress, of "The Ageing Aerialist: A Work in Progress", at the Dissecting Aerial Symposium on Sunday 26th Jan 2020. I presented it online. A sound recording of the presentation is also available at www.airhedz.co.uk/research as I was unable to attach it here.

The Questions:
1. What can we do to moderate the pain on ourselves as aerial teachers?
2. How can we support students either starting or continuing their aerial journey in their later years?

The Method:
1. Two brief case studies: me, an ageing aerial teacher; Guy, an older student of mine
2. Physical and Psychological changes/challenges of ageing in relation to aerial
3. Medical, Sports, and Performing Arts Science research

Acknowledgement:
1. This is a work in progress.
2. Writing an auto-ethnographic book on becoming an ageing aerialist.
3. Due for publication in spring 2021.
4. Presentation offered as a taster of my approach. I start from myself, then reach out to others, and the wider literature.
5. Related topics not covered here but some covered in the book:
a. aesthetics of ageing
b. the challenges facing older performers
c. the gender divide etc.
d. cultural differences of ageing
e. ageing in non-aerial disciplines
6. Sorry not with you in person, and thanks to Lindsey for trialling an alternative approach.

The number and size of elderly homes are increasing in urban areas in Nepal, indicating that the number of elderly people living in old age homes is increasing. Anecdotal information indicates that some of the elderly residents experienced abuse prior to their residence in old age homes. The main objective of this article is to explore the nature of the abuse they experienced before they arrived at old age homes in the Kathmandu Metropolitan City. This study has used both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection. Data were collected from five old age homes in Kathmandu. The research was conducted in the month of September in 2016 for three weeks. Total sample size for this study was 76 and three case studies were carried out. Mean age of the respondents was 78.34 (±10.18) years. The findings show that a majority (58 percent) of the respondents experienced five different types of abuse before they arrived at the old age homes. Neglect was the most common form of abuse that was experienced by 47% respondents, followed by behavioural or emotional abuse (37%), financial abuse (32%), physical abuse (8%) and 3% of abused elderly reported that they were sexually abused. Main reason of elderly abuse faced by abused elderly were disability (physical, mental) to look after themselves (42%), having no partner (death) (28%), the family was busy and there were no extra persons for care giving task (20%) and 16% reported they had no property. This finding based on sample of small population cannot be generalized to whole population. A detailed in depth study related to abuse of older adults living in urban area is required and government should make strict policy for the control of elder abuse.

This paper takes the quality of life in the neighbourhood as a starting point and appeals to the framework of Age-friendly Cities to gain insights in how 'the neighbourhood as a physical surrounding' can either promote or hinder feelings of unsafety in later life. It examines the impact of the perceived design of the neighbourhood on feelings of unsafety in later life. Literature on the relationship between feelings of unsafety and the neighbourhood mainly concentrates on incivilities and disorder. Other physical-spatial features of the neighbourhood are rarely taken into consideration. Using data generated from the Belgian Ageing Studies (N = ,) multivariate analyses indicate that a neighbourhood which is perceived to be physically adapted to the needs of older people (in terms of accessibility and distance to services) heightens feelings of safety. The findings demonstrate the need to reduce behaviour constraints by redesigning fear-related physical features. This conclusion raises practical implications and formulates a number of policy recommendations to tackle feelings of unsafety in an ageing society.

The aim of this thesis is to investigate how physical activity and social interaction assist in generating better performance of the ageing body. A multifaceted ethnographic material was collected from January to February 2018 at a health and training centre called Gerdahallen, located in Lund, Sweden. The main empirical material consists of recorded and transcribed semi-structured in-depth interviews of six people aged 71-81 years old. Participant observations, a series of go-along interviews, and a questionnaire were also applied as supplementary methods to people aged 65 and above. The analyses focused on the experiences on and interpretations of the ageing body within its cultural context. In order to shape the analyses and findings of this study, the theoretical model MoSIBA – Motivation, Social Interaction, Being Active – was designed to investigate the three emerging cultural themes from the fieldwork. Several main theories were used to apprehend better understanding of the themes, such as Abraham H. Maslow’s human needs theory (1943), Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory (1991), Erving Goffman’s rules of conduct (1956), and Robert J. Havighurst’s activity theory of ageing (1961). By combining theories, methods, and materials, it generated broader, different, more comprehensive, and even new cultural analytical perspectives on the embodied ageing in Gerdahallen, how the embodiment of the ageing body is affected by social interactions, as well as the embodied performance of the ageing body. This research study revealed that (1) the ageing body and Gerdahallen culturally construct each other, (2) through its existence and characteristics, Gerdahallen provides a platform for the social interaction of the ageing body, (3) the quality of any kinds of activities holds the utmost significance to the ageing body, and (4) integrating certain ‘accentuation points’ with regular physical and social activity in more than just one place – not just in Gerdahallen – will ultimately affect the daily performance of the ageing body.

Elders have long been recognised as among the most vulnerable people in disaster events. This paper reports a qualitative study of the self-perceived needs of older people in the aftermath of the Bam earthquake in Iran in 2003. A total of 56 people aged from 65 to 88 years were recruited to the study using purposive sampling, including 29 men and 27 women. Six focus group discussions and ten semi-structured individual interviews were conducted. Each focus group involved six to ten people from the cities of Bam and Baravat and their rural suburbs. Content analysis was used to analyse the transcribed data. The analysis identified four major themes among the informants' concerns : inappropriate service delivery, affronts to dignity, feeling insecure and emotional distress. A disaster-prone country like Iran needs to be appropriately prepared with culturally sensitive plans to meet the needs of those who suffer from their effects, not least older people. Emergency relief managers should note that for many older people in a disaster zone, customary forms of relief are neither required nor appropriate, and that their distinctive immediate and long-term needs should be assessed and met. Relief agencies need to be trained to be age-sensitive and should mainstream older people's rights in the planning and implementation of both the response and recovery phases of assistance.

Since 2005, Thailand has emerged as an ageing society, as the proportion of the population more than 60 years of age accounted for more than 10% of the total population. The Thai government developed the National Plan on the Elderly (2002-2021) which was revised in 2009, and a second revision was made in 2020 by extending the plan to the end of 2022. This plan emphasises that the elderly are valuable assets to the society. In 2019, the total Thai population was around sixtysix million people with the number of people over 60 years around 12 million (18.8%); and those over 65 years old amounted to approximately 8 million (12.1%). Recent research in Thailand shows that elderly people are still capable of learning and want to engage with society. The chapter analyses the Thai government policy which is aligned with the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8: 'promoting sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all'.