Loneliness in Later Life

The National Social Life, Health and Aging Project (NSHAP) at the University of Chicago notes that persistent loneliness in later life is the exception rather than the rule. When it occurs, it’s most likely to be a transient condition and remediable

Valuing capabilities in later life

This research report examines, from the perspective of the Brotherhood’s aged service users, what they value in life, what enables them to live fulfilled and meaningful lives, and what Brotherhood aged services can contribute to this. With its accent on freedoms, opportunities and human rights, the capability approach provides a conceptual framework in which to consider a new model of aged services in which will enhance older adults’ human rights and capabilities, especially for those who have been disadvantaged, and ensure that their views continue to inform and shape ageing policies, services and models of practice. The central concern of the capability approach, first articulated by Amartya Sen (1979) and developed by Martha Nussbaum within a social justice and human rights framework, is the opportunities people have for being and doing what, for them, constitutes a good life. Taking this as the starting point, this research represents the first part of a larger study which will examine what users of Brotherhood aged services value in life, what capabilities they aspire to, how current services enhance capabilities and how the capability approach might be integrated into service provision. Image: Report Cove

Life After Calculus: 20 Years Later

In 1996 Math Horizons interviewed a group of students at the Joint Mathematics Meetings; now, 20 years later, one of those students, Darren Glass, interviews another group of students

Later life in rental housing

Historically, New Zealand has had relatively high rates of home ownership, with widely held aspirations for mortgage-free tenure in later life. As a consequence, examination of the small but growing numbers of older renters has been limited. This article draws together local research, commissioned policy development work and comparative evidence to identify the characteristics of older people in rental accommodation, current and projected issues and potential policy issues

Housing price volatility and downsizing in later life

In this paper, we modeled several types of housing transitions of the elderly in two countries -- Britain and the United States. One important form of these transitions involves downsizing of housing consumption, the importance of which among older households is still debated. This downsizing takes multiple forms, including reductions in the number of rooms per dwelling and the value of the home. There is also evidence that this downsizing is greater when house price volatility is greater and that American households try to escape housing price volatility by moving to places that are experience significantly less housing price volatility. Our comparative evidence in suggests that there is less evidence of downsizing in Britain. Our results indicate that housing consumption appears to decline with age in the US, even after controlling for the other demographic and work transitions associated with age that would normally produce such a decline. No such fall in housing consumption is found in Britain, largely because British households are much more likely to stay in their original residence

Digital exclusion in later life : a Maltese case-study

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are driving profound changes in the way in which individuals, organizations and governments interact. In particular, the internet has been a major force behind the development towards a more globalized, knowledge-based economy. However, in terms of computer access and internet usage, a digital divide between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ has long been recognized. One key sector of non-users consists of older persons. For various reasons – including no exposure to computers over their lifetime and in their occupations, income levels, physical disability and access to affordable ICT training – only limited percentages of older people have adequate ICT skills. A growing concern is that older adults who do not engage with ICTs face social disadvantages and exclusion. This article reports upon a qualitative study on older non-users of ICTs, with its key goal being to understand what leads to, and the effects of, digital exclusion in later life. Results found that older persons who never made use of ICTs were significantly delineated by gender and socio-economic status patterns - namely, women (especially housewives, who had never been in paid employment), individuals who worked in blue-collar and working-class occupations, and the long-term unemployed. Data also demonstrated that access was not the main issue at hand, and that the failure of older adults to become digital citizens was the result of a continuum of overlapping barriers. This study provided information highlighting the rationales and motivations underlying individuals’ non-use of computers - namely, believing that they were now ‘too old’ to use new technologies, a lack of relevance or ‘life-fit’ of computers, perceived non-usefulness and difficulty to use, anxiety about computer usage, concern about security and privacy issues, and the facing of disability issues.N/