scholarly journals Recognizing Older Individuals: An Essay on Critical Gerontology, Robin Hood, and the COVID-19 Crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 221-229
Author(s):  
Annette Leibing

n/a

Author(s):  
Connie K. Porcaro ◽  
Clare Singer ◽  
Boris Djokic ◽  
Ali A. Danesh ◽  
Ruth Tappen ◽  
...  

Purpose Many aging individuals, even those who are healthy, report voice changes that can impact their ability to communicate as they once did. While this is commonly reported, most do not seek evaluation or management for this issue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and differences in voice disorders in older adults, along with the effect of fatigue on their social interactions. Method This is a cross-sectional investigation of a community-dwelling sample of individuals aged 60 years or older. Participants completed the Questionnaire on Vocal Performance, the Social Engagement Index subset “Engagement in Social or Leisure Activities,” and the Fatigue Severity Scale. Results Results indicated 32.5% of the 332 participants reported symptoms of voice problems with no difference found between male and female respondents. A slight increase in report of voice problems was noted with each year of age. Participants who self-reported voice problems indicated less interaction in social activities involving communication than those who did not. Finally, as severity of self-reported voice problems increased, an increase was reported by the same individuals for signs of fatigue. Conclusions Voice problems and resulting decreased social interaction are commonly experienced by older individuals. Voice symptoms in older adults have been found to benefit from evidence-based treatment strategies. It is critical to provide education to encourage older individuals to seek appropriate evaluation and management for voice issues through a speech-language pathologist or medical professional.


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (15) ◽  
pp. 32-41
Author(s):  
Jennine Harvey ◽  
Scott Seeman ◽  
Deborah von Hapsburg

The field of Cognitive Hearing Science examines the relationship between cognitive, linguistic, and hearing functions. Although these areas are of particular importance to speech-language pathology, few studies have investigated applications of cognitive hearing science to clinical practice. The purpose of this review article is to (1) explore and present a summary of cognitive hearing science techniques for dual-task and hearing-in-noise procedures and implications to speech-language pathology, and (2) provide a clinical guide for speech-language pathology in adult multitasking intervention with noise. It is well understood that areas of cognitive skill and hearing function decline with age; therefore, additional understanding of the relationship of these functions is of particular importance to speech-language pathologists working with older individuals. This article meets the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA's) Special Interest Group (SIG) 15's mission of “research-to-practice” professional development by “promoting understanding of the effects of normal and pathological aging on cognition, language […] and hearing” (ASHA, 2017), and is intended to be of interest to the SIG 15 readership.


2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley A. Williams ◽  
Sara Hon Qualls ◽  
Sheri C. Gibson ◽  
Christina L Vair ◽  
Lindsay N. Anderson

2011 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-28
Author(s):  
Ulrike Kristina Köhler

Joanne K. Rowling's teenage wizard has enchanted readers all over the globe and Harry Potter can truly be called an international hero. However, as I will argue, he is also very much an English national hero, complying with the national auto-image of the English gentleman as well as with the idea of Christian masculinity, another English auto-image holding that outdoor activity is more character-building than book learning. I will also show that the series can be read as a national heroic epic in two respects. First, Harry Potter, alias Robin Hood, has to fight the Norman yoke, an English myth haunting the nation since the Norman invasion in 1066. The series displays as a national model an apparently paternalistic Anglo-Saxon feudal society marked by tolerance and liberty as opposed to foreign rule. Second, by establishing parallels to events which took place in Nazi Germany, the series takes up the idea of fighting it, which is a popular topos in British (children's) literature which serves to reinforce a positive self-image.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19
Author(s):  
Cecile Frankel ◽  
Brenda Solarsh ◽  
Eleanor Ross

The increase in life expectancy has highlighted the value of group work interventions as a cost-effective way of helping older persons to deal with life transitions. This article describes a group for senior citizens that continued for 18 years. The aim of the study was to undertake a documentary analysis of the facilitator’s process notes and participans’ reflections to ascertain possible reasons for the group’s longevity. These were attributed to the skill of the facilitator and her creative use of programme material and narrative therapy. Recurring themes included loneliness, the fear of dying, and dilemmas about relinquishing control and independence. Findings have implications for the practice of social group work with older persons.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Sun ◽  
Disa Sauter

Getting old is generally seen as unappealing, yet aging confers considerable advantages in several psychological domains (North & Fiske, 2015). In particular, older adults are better off emotionally than younger adults, with aging associated with the so-called “age advantages,” that is, more positive and less negative emotional experiences (Carstensen et al., 2011). Although the age advantages are well established, it is less clear whether they occur under conditions of prolonged stress. In a recent study, Carstensen et al (2020) demonstrated that the age advantages persist during the COVID-19 pandemic, suggesting that older adults are able to utilise cognitive and behavioural strategies to ameliorate even sustained stress. Here, we build on Carstensen and colleagues’ work with two studies. In Study 1, we provide a large-scale test of the robustness of Carstensen and colleagues’ finding that older individuals experience more positive and less negative emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic. We measured positive and negative emotions along with age information in 23,629 participants in 63 countries in April-May 2020. In Study 2, we provide a comparison of the age advantages using representative samples collected before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We demonstrate that older people experience less negative emotion than younger people during the prolonged stress of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the advantage of older adults was diminished during the pandemic, pointing to a likely role of older adults use of situation selection strategies (Charles, 2010).


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