STARTING POINTS: A GLOBAL, CROSS-CULTURAL VIEW OF AGING
 

 News Flash | Gerontological Anthropology in Action | Projects to follow

 Web Special | Web Resources

 

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         GLOBAL AGING NOW IN REACH

AARP has launched two new, searchable international databases, AgeSource Worldwide & AgeStats Worldwide, to facilitate the international exchange of policy and program-relevant information in aging. 

AgeSource Worldwide contains hundreds of resources from approximately 25 countries including, but not limited to: clearinghouses, libraries, databases, training modules, and major reports.

AgeStats Worldwide provides access to comparative statistical data and projections as far ahead as 2050 that compare the situations of older adults across countries or regions on a variety of issue areas. Click here to search either or both databases.

  Lack of Grocery Takes Years off One's Life

Living in a food desert — primarily the city's African-American neighborhoods with no full-service grocery stores — can shorten your life.

GERONTOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN ACTION

Anthropologist Joel Savishinsky, well known for his work on nursing homes and pet therapy, has completed a new project on the cultural meaning of retirement in the United States. This work is highlighted in a short article "Mastering the Art of Retirement." (see photo below).  Cornell University Press has published his book on this subject, BREAKING THE WATCH: THE MEANINGS OF RETIREMENT IN AMERICA, (2000). 

 

An Ithaca College student interviewing a Shelby retiree in Joel Savashinsky’s project on retirement.

PROJECTS TO FOLLOW     

EVERGREEN PROJECT. In Box 1 of the introductory chapter there is discussion of "The Evergreen Project." This involves the use of anthropology in everyday life by learning from the elders of downtown Bloomington, Indiana how to construct environments which promote healthy, successful aging. Follow the work of this project and similar efforts in building elder friendly communities at the AdvantAge Initiative site: www.vnsny.org/advantage/index.html

GROWING OLDER IN WORLD CITIES: New York, London, Paris, and Tokyo, by Victor G. Rodwin, Michael K. Gusmano, and contributors, Vanderbilt University Press, 2006. This ambitious projects explores the relation between aging and local environment in four global cities. Look for an article in the 3rd volume of this book on this work. Also see papers from this project at: www.ilcusa.org/pub/research.htm

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 WEB SPECIAL

1.  PLAY THE AGING GAME! Plug in your personal health and lifestyle information and find out how long Insurance actuaries expect you to live. For a more advanced version take the "The Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator," at http://www.livingto100.com/

2. http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/aging.html AGING AND DEATH IN FOLKLORE, by D. L. Ashliman, 1997. A full electronic text which explores how the societies of pre-industrial Europe and the non-Western world use proverbs and folklore to shape attitudes toward the elderly. Chapters on "widowhood," "caring for old people," and "euthanasia and geronticide," are particularly relevant to chapters in part I of my text.
 
3. AARP GLOBAL AGING PROGRAM: This new site provides a gateway to global innovation and research on aging including their AARP's database, AgeSource Worldwide, identifies and provides links to over 300 major or unique libraries, clearinghouses, databases, directories, bibliographies, and Web metasites around the world that focus on aging or closely allied subjects. Some 30 countries are represented in AgeSource Worldwide www.aarp.org/research/international/

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WEB RESOURCES

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

http://www.livingto100.com/

GERONTOLOGY WEB SITES CENTRAL www.aarp.org/internetresources/. Probably the best gateway to internet resources on aging, especially AgeLine which looks up the global scholarly literature at www.aarp.org/research/ageline/

UN Program on Aging: www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageing/ Gateway to UN programs, reports and activities related to aging and elders around the globe.

http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/iyop/ Countdown to 1999: International Year of Older Persons. This is the newsletter of the United Nations Focal Point for the International Year of Older Persons.
http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/agenew.htm - is their general aging site; with select issues of their newsletter, Bulletin on Ageing found at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/ageboa.htm ; also see, for demographic information; "The Ageing of the World's Population" at http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/agewpop.htm; 

http://www.ifa-fiv.org/menu1.htm. International Federation on Ageing. This organizations much improved site has many papers and color graphs on global aging data.

http://www.globalaging.org Global Action on Aging is a New York based center focusing on the right of the aged around the world. At their web site check out "Pension Watch" and Resources for some interesting papers.

http://www-lib.usc.edu/Info/Gero/ Electronic Journals & Newsletters [Note: at site select "web resources" then "Electronic Journals & Newsletters."] This site at the University of Southern California Gerontology Library connects you to aging journals and newsletters of associations like the Gerontological Society of America. 

GRANTS, GRANTS, GRANTS! This is the best site I have found to provide information about grants for research on aging.

http://www.urban.org/health/oldpol.html  POLICY CHALLENGES POSED BY THE AGING OF AMERICA. An Urban Institute briefing paper produced in 1998.

Want to check out new books in social gerontology? Access this web page from Amazon books and search its catalogue of over 2 million volumes.

INTERNET DISCUSSION GROUPSocial Gerontology Discussion Group launched by Prof. Lars Tornstam, Dept. of Sociology, Uppsala U, Sweden. To join: e-mail to LISTSERV@LISTSERV.UU.SE with only this message: SUBSCRIBE GERONORD. Your Name Leave subject line blank; send without signature, address etc. For more information: Lars.Tornstam@soc.uu.se

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