scholarly journals Dominant perceptions on the age

Stanovnistvo ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 41 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 147-160
Author(s):  
Slavica Komatina
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Mass Culture ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Dominant Negative ◽  
Old People ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Physical Strength ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Negative Connotation

Contemporary developed society, despite the fact that it is constantly and intensively ageing, is characterized by deeply rooted numerous negative stereotypes on old people and old age as a life period. The study of dominant perceptions on the age of Belgrade population takes not only the universal character of negative connotation of old age into consideration, but also the concrete unfavorable social context. The delicate problematic of stereotypes on old age and old people has been analyzed mostly indirectly, through questions on the beginning of old age, advantages and difficulties which we experience during ageing, the first subjective conscious encounter with one?s own ageing, the concept of ideal old age, changes in the persons traits and directly through questions on dominant negative perceptions which prevail on old people in our surrounding. Ageing in the Belgrade milieu is most commonly identified with illness and with the decline of physical potentials, and at the same time a number of other negative qualifications of old age as well. Research results indicate to a pronounced ambivalent standpoint towards ageing, to different observation of one?s own to old age of other people, to different consideration of old age among the sexes and to obvious aversion towards old people. This is expected, taking into consideration that living and ageing are developing nowadays under aggressive influence of contemporary mass culture which affirms youth, beauty, physical strength, health as dominant values, namely everything that is contrary to ageing and old age. On the other hand, our society is today confronted with, as well as in the near past, exceptional political, economic and cultural difficulties which cause specific problems with various age groups, as well as the lowering of the level of mutual endurance and tolerance. The atmosphere of straining the old people and emergence of new antagonisms causes the intensification of misunderstandings and distancing among generations as well and creates a favorable climate for maintaining different prejudices, even those towards ageing. While prejudices are by themselves a universal social-psychological category, prejudices on old age differ from the rest by one special and very significant characteristic - some primal fears are subconsciously hidden and some basic questions on the meaning of human existence are held back, so negative connotation of old age is precisely collective running away from these problems.

scholarly journals Perception of the Old by Young Adults in Nigeria

1989 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 85-88
Author(s):  
Funmi Togonu-Bickersteth ◽  
Ebenezer Olutope Akinnawo
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Young Person ◽  
Old People ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Negative Perceptions ◽  
Nigerian University

Using 21 bipolar adjectives, we aimed to identify the positive and negative perceptions of old people held by 375 young adults studying at a Nigerian university. Results showed that the young adults evaluated the concept of "old person" more positively than they did the concept of "young person"; specifically, the old person was rated as significantly more sincere, wise, fair, innocent, and predictable than the young person was. Further, we did not find any pervasive negative stereotypes of the old, as held by the young adults.

scholarly journals Morale in Old Age and Its Association with Sociodemographic, Social, and Health-Related Factors in Different Age Groups

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Marina Näsman ◽  
Johan Niklasson ◽  
Jan Saarela ◽  
Mikael Nygård ◽  
Birgitta Olofsson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Oldest Old ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Old People ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Aging Well ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Geriatric Center

Morale can be viewed as a future-oriented optimism or pessimism regarding challenges associated with aging and is closely related to subjective well-being. Promoting morale in old age could be considered to have important implications for aging well, and increased knowledge about morale in different stages of old age is needed. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate factors associated with morale in different age groups among old people. Data were derived from a survey conducted in 2016, as a part of the Gerontological Regional Database (GERDA). The sample consisted of 9,047 individuals aged between 65 and 86 years from Ostrobothnia and Southern Ostrobothnia in Finland, and Västerbotten in Sweden. Morale was measured with the Philadelphia Geriatric Center Morale Scale (PGCMS) and regressed upon a number of sociodemographic, social, and health-related factors using linear regression analyses. The results showed that older age was an independent factor explaining lower level of morale. Additionally, the sociodemographic, social, and health-related variables could explain a large proportion of the variance in morale. Perceived loneliness, having gone through a crisis in life, poor self-rated health, and depression were associated with lower morale, and sleeping well with higher morale, in all age groups. Furthermore, the oldest age groups seem to be more exposed to several risk factors of lower morale identified in this study. Multidimensional interventions targeting especially social and mental health and the oldest-old could therefore be recommended.

Disability, Dependence, and Old Age: Problematic Constructions

2003 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 59-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon Dale Stone
Keyword(s):  
Social Construction ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Human Experience ◽  
Old People ◽  
Canadian Population ◽  
The Social

ABSTRACTThis paper argues that fear of aging can more precisely be recognized as a fear of disability and that fear of disability can be centrally understood as a fear of dependence. Accordingly, we are not likely to see old people being treated as important members of society until we see a change in attitudes towards disability. The argument is developed with reference to a consideration of attitudes toward and treatment of elders and people with disabilities, a consideration of the social construction of dependency, and an examination of statistics on the Canadian population of people with disabilities. The ubiquity of disability across all age groups means that there needs to be a re-conceptualization of disability as part of the human experience.

scholarly journals Why Have the “Cantankerous Old People” Left the Neighborhood? The Representation of Old Age in Serbian Television Commercials – A Repeated Study

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 117
Author(s):  
Ljubica Milosavljević
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Proportional Representation ◽  
Television Commercials ◽  
Old People ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
The Way

The paper represents an attempt to examine to what extent the way in which older members of society are represented in Serbian television commercials has changed in comparison to representations which were present in commercials during the three months in 2009 (Milosavljevic 2010a) when the first study was conducted. As was the case in the first study, the focus is on dominant societal attitudes toward old people and old age which were utilized in making the television commercials in question. This was accomplished through analyzing both the positive and the negative stereotypes used to convey meaning in the commercials which were analyzed, as well as through the analysis of the proportional representation of older characters in advertising. The commercials which were analyzed here were broadcasted during the second half of December 2012, January and the first half of February 2013.

scholarly journals The "Cantankerous Old People" Next Door : How Old Age Is Represented in Serbian Television Commercials

2010 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-97
Author(s):  
Ljubica Milosavljević
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Elderly Women ◽  
Real Life ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Television Commercials ◽  
Old People ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
The Media ◽  
The Times

This paper is the result of a three-month monitoring of Serbian television commercials which aimed to study the way elderly people are represented in the media. Elderly people appear in only six commercials, more often as a functional part of a series than as protagonists. Yet in spite of the small number of commercials in which they appear, it is easy to identify the stereotypes which are translated from a social paradigm into the sphere of the media. The stereotypes on which commercials are based belong for the most part to the corpus of negative stereotypes of elderly people as hopelessly behind the times, feeble, lonely, irritating, cantankerous, etc. Some positive stereotypes are also evident, but they are mostly limited to a perception of elderly people as kindly givers of useful advice. It is interesting to note that the "cantankerous people next door" are as a rule anonymous elderly people, as are those "lost in time and space", who are mostly elderly women. In contrast, those who let their careers and images be associated with a certain product, in order to pass on their great experience and knowledge, are as a rule famous persons. Just as it is possible to make a distinction between commercials depending on whether or not the products advertised are targeted at the elderly – which they rarely are – and whether elderly people appear in leading or supporting roles, in order to make viewers laugh or annoy them, so it is possible to distinguish between the "real-life principle", which involves the translation of the society’s dominant attitudes into commercials, and "commercial reality", which either makes old age invisible or "masks" it so that it is pleasant to the eye. The reason that old people are absent from television commercials or are mostly represented in a negative light is to be found in the low purchasing power of this age group, but also in the fact that advertising in Serbia developed practically overnight, and therefore has not always been able to follow foreign advertising trends, which treat the elderly as a worthy target audience for commercials.

scholarly journals Stereotypes about very old people and perceived societal appreciation in very old age

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcella Reissmann ◽  
Luise Geithner ◽  
Anna Storms ◽  
Christiane Woopen
Keyword(s):  
Old Age ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Linear Regression Models ◽  
Old People ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Negative Stereotypes ◽  
Very Old ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Very Old Age ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background People in very old age (VOA) are expected to be confronted with particularly negative stereotypes. These influence societally shared behavior towards and judgements about them. Such external evaluations of individuals’ lives are considered a crucial part of their quality of life (QoL). Objective The present study elaborated a) the societal appreciation perceived by people in VOA and b) the stereotypes about people in VOA held by stakeholders from key societal areas. The aim was to discuss possible connections between these external standards and individual life results. Material and methods A parallel mixed methods design was employed. Cross-sectional data from a representative survey of people aged 80 years and older (n = 1863) were analyzed by means of χ2-tests and Kruskal-Wallis tests to examine differences in perceived societal appreciation (PSA) by characteristics of the person, their biography, and current lifestyle. Linear regression models were used to investigate the impact of these characteristics on PSA. Regarding stereotypes about people in VOA, semi-structured interviews with stakeholders from key societal areas (n = 22) were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The quantitative and qualitative findings were juxtaposed for comparison. Results PSA was predicted by health-related variables and productive activities. Several societal stakeholders highlighted that age-related losses pose challenges on very old individuals, their families, and society, whereas remaining potentials in VOA can and should be used for the benefit of others; however, stakeholders‘ perceptions differed by the extent of their professional contact with (very) old people. Different pathways were proposed through which the observed stereotypes and determinants of PSA might be connected (e.g., stereotype internalization). Conclusion Our study illustrates the relevance of external standards for individual QoL and highlights the need for a normative perspective in the discussion about QoL and its enhancement.

Modernism and American Ballet

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Harris
Keyword(s):  
Mass Culture ◽  
American Culture ◽  
Modern Dance ◽  
The Political ◽  
Cultural Conditions ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Political Economic

This chapter explores the international and interdisciplinary backdrop of Lincoln Kirstein’s efforts to form an American ballet in the early 1930s. The political, economic, and cultural conditions of the Depression reinvigorated the search for an “American” culture. In this context, new openings for a modernist theory of ballet were created as intellectuals and artists from a wide range of disciplines endeavored to define the role of the arts in protecting against the dangerous effects of mass culture. Chapter 1 sheds new light on well-known critical debates in dance history between Kirstein and John Martin over whether ballet, with its European roots, could truly become “American” in contrast to modern dance. Was American dance going to be conceived in nationalist or transnationalist terms? That was the deeper conflict that underlay the ballet vs. modern dance debates of the early 1930s.

scholarly journals Neisseria meningitidis carriage and risk factors among teenagers in Suizhou city in China

2020 ◽  
Vol 148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei He ◽  
Hong mei Yang ◽  
Guo ming Li ◽  
Bing qing Zhu ◽  
Yating Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Factors ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Neisseria Meningitidis ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Significant Risk ◽  
Epidemiological Data ◽  
Significant Risk Factor ◽  
Antibiotic Use ◽  
Carriage Rate

Abstract Teenagers are important carriers of Neisseria meningitidis, which is a leading cause of invasive meningococcal disease. In China, the carriage rate and risk factors among teenagers are unclear. The present study presents a retrospective analysis of epidemiological data for N. meningitidis carriage from 2013 to 2017 in Suizhou city, China. The carriage rates were 3.26%, 2.22%, 3.33%, 3.53% and 9.88% for 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, respectively. From 2014 to 2017, the carriage rate in the 15- to 19-year-old age group (teenagers) was the highest and significantly higher than that in remain age groups. Subsequently, a larger scale survey (December 2017) for carriage rate and relative risk factors (population density, time spent in the classroom, gender and antibiotics use) were investigated on the teenagers (15- to 19-year-old age) at the same school. The carriage rate was still high at 33.48% (223/663) and varied greatly from 6.56% to 52.94% in a different class. Population density of the classroom was found to be a significant risk factor for carriage, and 1.4 persons/m2 is recommended as the maximum classroom density. Further, higher male gender ratio and more time spent in the classroom were also significantly associated with higher carriage. Finally, antibiotic use was associated with a significantly lower carriage rate. All the results imply that attention should be paid to the teenagers and various measures can be taken to reduce the N. meningitidis carriage, to prevent and control the outbreak of IMD.

scholarly journals Anthropometric characteristics of healthy Italian nonagenarians and centenarians

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Ravaglia ◽  
Pietro Morini ◽  
Paola Forti ◽  
Fabiola Maioli ◽  
Federica Boschi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Elderly People ◽  
Fat Mass ◽  
Nutritional Assessment ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Old People ◽  
Anthropometric Indices ◽  
Anthropometric Characteristics ◽  
Successive Generations ◽  
British People

Available anthropometric reference values for elderly people do not include specific norms for over-90-year-old subjects despite their increasing number. In the present study, weight, height and a number of anthropometric variables related to body muscle and fat mass were collected from fifty-seven nonagenarian and forty-one centenarian healthy, non-institutionalized subjects living in an Italian area. Recumbent anthropometry was used to avoid errors associated with impaired mobility. Nonagenarians and centenarian men were taller and heavier than women of corresponding age and had a greater amount of muscle and trunk fat, whereas women showed a marked peripheral adipose distribution. Anthropometric values of both age-groups were generally lower than published norms for 70–89-year-old American and European elderly people. However, differences were less marked when comparing Italian nonagenarians and centenarians with French and British people aged 85 years and over than when comparing Italian subjects with American octogenarians and younger European elderly people. Taken together these findings suggest a dramatic loss of muscle and fat mass in over-90-year-old subjects with respect to younger elderly people. However, changes between successive generations and geographical influences cannot be excluded. The need for local and age-specific norms in nutritional assessment of over-90-year-old people is emphasized. It is also suggested that current anthropometric indices may not be reliable when evaluating the oldest elderly subjects.

Old Age Mental Disorders in Newcastle upon Tyne

1964 ◽  
Vol 110 (468) ◽  
pp. 668-682 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. W. K. Kay ◽  
P. Beamish ◽  
Martin Roth
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorders ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Functional Disorders ◽  
Old People ◽  
Social Contacts ◽  
Medical Status ◽  
Organic Brain ◽  
Domestic Support ◽  
Newcastle Upon Tyne

In a previous paper (Kay, Beamish and Roth, 1963) we studied the prevalence of various kinds of psychiatric disorder in a random sample of old people living at home in Newcastle upon Tyne. During the interviews, special attention was paid to the collection of social data. For, as Townsend (1957a) pointed out, old age is an epoch of diminishing social contacts and domestic support, and isolated old people make disproportionately heavy demands on the institutions of the Health and Welfare Services. By comparing the medical status and social circumstances of subjects with organic brain syndromes, those with functional disorders, and those without psychiatric abnormality, we have attempted to explore further the relative importance of these factors in the two main groups of mental disorders in old age.

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