Global Aging, 2nd Edition: Book Review

Published 13 December 2019.

I earlier this year, I selected Springer's Global Aging textbook in order to teach a class on global aging for Fall 2021. This 414 page book contains a lot of information about aging by using examples from dozens of countries. 

Here is the Table of Contents: 

1. Our Aging World 
2. The Study of Global Aging 
3. Demographic Perspectives on an Aging World 
4. Aging Environments 
5. Health Patterns and Behavior 
6. Health Care Systems 
7. Long-Term Services and Supports 
8. Older Workers 
9. Retirement and Pensions 
10. Families 
11. Caregiving 
12. World Religions and Aging 
13. Global Aging and Global Leadership

Additionally, each chapter concludes with one or two essays that are--for the more part--focused specifically on one country. 

Downhill (2020): Film Review

 

Released 14 February 2020.

How do couples in long-lasting relationships manage the shift in dynamics that inevitably happen over time?

Downhill (2020) directed by Nate Faxon and Jim Rash present a narrative that addresses this and other questions about love at midlife. Their film is an adaptation of a 2014 Swedish film Force Majeure.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Will Ferrell play Billie and Pete Staunton who are vacationing with their two tween boys at a ski resort in the Swiss Alps.

Because of the film’s title and the preview, I watched the film with an eye for weaknesses in the marriage, finding both couple contributing to some dysfunction: Pete is not invested enough; Billie is overly invested in managing every detail.  

(Spoilers ahead.)

Mackay's Swiss Cheese Virus Defense

This is just a detail.
Keep reading to view
Mackay's entire C19 infographic.

People from all vocations are seeking ways to address the current COVID-19 Pandemic.  

Researchers are verifying that we benefit from adopting MULTIPLE MITIGATION LAYERS in order to reduce the spread of viruses. 

As a gerontologist, I am reading about the vulnerabilities that older adults face if they become infected with SARS-CoV-2. 

As a university teacher, I am guiding my students to write papers based on peer-reviewed, scientific articles about the virus and the resulting disease. 

And as a family member, I am constantly seeking information on how to protect myself and my family. 

By following scientists and medical professionals on Twitter, I read information about SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 before the mainstream media brings information from medical research to the lay reader. 

Here is my Twitter list of 200 plus COVID-19 stakeholders. 

This is where I discovered Ian M. Mackay, PhD, who uses his expertise as a virologist on his Twitter account @MackayIM Mackay has a PhD in virology from University of Queensland where he now works as an adjunct associate professor. 

COVID-19 Neologisms and When Old Words Were New

 

image by jovike. 

As a college instructor who has been teaching classes English departments since the 1980s, my observations about aging often focus on word choice, etymology, usage, technical terms for phenomena observed by people in aging bodies, and evolving definitions:

• Generation Jones-er as a specific term for younger Boomers
• Gerotranscendence as type of wisdom often associated with advanced age
• Gray vs Grey in the context of my age-correlated changes to my hair color
• Grounded as my focus word for inviting greater calm and maturity
• Midlife defined not by age but by a variety of milestones
• Older Adults as the preferred term replacing senior citizens, etc. 
• Vollendungsroman a literary term for a novel of completion or fullness 

Consequently, my curiousity was piqued when I saw @MerriamWebster share a link to their Time Traveler search tool. 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/time-traveler