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Purpose
This paper aims to reflect on the roles that are socially attributed to older people in the COVID-19 pandemic.


Design/methodology/approach
A discourse analysis of World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations for older people and news articles to explore their concepts about this population during COVID-19.


Findings
The author's interpretation suggests that the WHO provides a restrictive model of action for older people in the pandemic. The history of these people is not valued, and their actions are limited to the maintenance of biological life. This restriction can lead to sacrificial behavior models depicted in the news, demanding a reconceptualization of the notion of older people.


Originality/value
The public model of older people is dangerous for this population during COVID19. The care for older people in this pandemic demands that we co-construct an active role with them for this crisis.

Summary This article indicates how to achieve empowerment in old age by promoting user participation in social services for older people. Common empowerment strategies include promoting community and political participation, the seniors' power movement, and policy advocacy. More effective strategies for empowering older people need to be identified and explored to respond effectively to increasing global aging problems. The article discusses user participation in social services for older people as another valuable strategy and presents the values and core beliefs for promoting user participation in social services for older people. Theoretical advances It proposes a ladder of user participation to provide social workers with clear guidelines for creating suitable channels for involving older people in meaningful and greater participation. The proposed ladder comprises seven levels including (1) being consulted and giving feedback; (2) increasing opportunities for service users to make choices; (3) involvement in daily service management and implementation; (4) assisting in running programs and activities; (5) assuming an active role in groups and projects; (6) working in partnership and sharing power; and (7) involvement in decision-making and control over services. Applications It provides examples of effective ways of promoting the ladder of user participation in centers for older people at each level and discusses principles of practice in implementation.

This e-book of Quality in Ageing and Older Adults takes the opportunity to consider the impact of the coalition government since 2010 on and for older people. It looks forward to the next government, whatever shape it takes, and what that government needs to do to improve life for older people and prepare for an ageing population in the UK

This discussion of older people and health care reform begins with a brief overview of the patterns through which older people use health care services and account for one third of total U.S. health care expenditures. Particular attention is paid to high usage rates at advanced old ages because the American older population is rapidly becoming older, within itself, indicating that future health care costs for older people may be enormous. Following this are analyses of measures to reform Medicare, proposals to ration the care of older people, and issues involved in expanding public long-term-care insurance. The article concludes by considering what impact the politics of older persons and old-age interest groups may have as American health care reform efforts unfold in the next few years.

This sumptuously illustrated work brings together a remarkable collection of the world's leading archaeologists, ecologists, historians and ethnographers who specialise in the Omo-Turkana area (spanning spans parts of Ethiopia, South Sudan and Kenya), and recognising it as a crucial, and currently vulnerable, resource of global heritage

Purpose
This paper aims at tracing how older people and old age have been portrayed in English quality newspapers from 1989 to 2018 by comparing newspaper articles and readers' letters to the editor.


Design/methodology/approach
This study follows the methodology of corpus-assisted discourse analysis and examines a corpus of readers' letters to the editor and newspaper articles published in The Guardian and The New York Times, paying particular attention to the use and evolution of terminology and related stereotypes.


Findings
The investigation revealed how the portrayal of old age in newspaper articles and readers' letters to the editor has mostly evolved symmetrically, with negatively connoted terms, including "elderly," "old" and "aged," which are generally perceived as unrepresentative of the new generation of older people, being replaced by more neutral or euphemistic expressions such as "older" and "senior."


Originality/value
The analysis provides an interesting insight into how both the language and the discourse surrounding old age has evolved in the past few decades to accommodate to a changing society, taking into consideration how different professional and social groups, including older people themselves, represent and portray such an important life stage.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the prevalence of labour force participation and the factors affecting labour supply among older persons in Ghana. Both the extensive and intensive margins of older persons' labour supply were analysed.Design/methodology/approachThe paper uses nationally representative samples of household and individual data in 2016–2017 – Ghana Living Standard Survey (GLSS 7) data – for the analysis. Heckman's sample selection model is used to analyse both the extensive and intensive margins of older persons' labour supply.FindingsThe study found that older persons in Ghana who are pensioners, widowed, have high levels of education, poor health status and live in urban areas are less likely to participate actively in the labour market. On the other hand, being head of a household, married and owning certain assets increase the likelihood of an older person to work. Furthermore, pensions, household headship and post-secondary education have negative effects on the labour supply as having them make older persons work fewer hours per week compared to their counterparts.Originality/valueThis research is the first study to examine the prevalence of old age employment and factors that affect labour market decisions of older persons in Ghana. It also adds to the limited literature on pension and retirement decisions in developing countries.

"From early explorers to contemporary scientists, naturalists have examined island flora and fauna of Oceania, discovering new species, carefully documenting the lives of animals, and creating work central to the image of Oceania. These "discoveries" and exploratory moves have had profound local and global impacts. Often, however, local knowledge and communities are silent in the ethologies and histories that naturalists produce. This volume analyzes the ways that Indigenous and non-Indigenous naturalists have made island natures visible to a wider audience, their relationship with the communities where they work, as well as the unique natures that they explore and help make. In staking out an area of naturalist histories, each contributor addresses the relationship between naturalists and Oceanic communities, how these histories shaped past and present place and practices, the influence on conservations and development projects, and the relationship between scientific and indigenous knowledge. The essays span across colonial and postcolonial frames, tracing shifts in biological practice from the eighteenth- and nineteenth-century focus on taxonomy and discovery to the twentieth-century disciplinary restructurings and new collecting strategies, and contemporary concerns with biodiversity loss, conservation, and knowledge formation. The production of scientific knowledge is typically seen in ethnographic accounts as oppositional, contrasting Indigenous and western, local and global, objective and subjective. Such dichotomous views reinforce differences and further exaggerate inequities in the production of knowledge. More dangerously, value distinctions become embedded in discussions of Indigenous identity, rights, and sovereignty. Contributors acknowledge that these dichotomous narratives have dominated the approach of the scientific community while informing how social scientists have understood the contributions of Pacific communities. The essays offer a nuanced gradient as historical narratives of scientific investigation, in dialogue with local histories, and reveal greater levels of participation in the creation of knowledge. The volume highlights how power infuses the scientific endeavor and offers a distinct and diverse view of knowledge production in Oceania. Combining senior and emerging international scholars, the collection will be of interest to researchers in the social sciences, history, as well as biology and allied fields"--

Critical of US practice of selecting ambassadors from outside the career foreign service based on their political campaign contributions or fund raising. Focuses on opposition to Clinton administration's choice of M. Larry Lawrence, a San Diego real estate developer and Democratic party contributor, as ambassador to Switzerland.

Purpose
Much has been written about helping those with dementia. But what about those for whom distress is not primarily related to a neurological cause and there is no psychiatric history? The purpose of this paper is to offer a guide for allied health professionals and family carers to manage distress in older people who are able to engage in language based communication and who are experiencing significant change or loss.


Design/methodology/approach
This practice informed paper draws on the authors' extensive experience working as a mental health social worker who specializes in work with older people in the community and in care, with family carers and in educating allied health professionals on how to manage presentations of distress in older people.


Findings
Three foundational management strategies are discussed: understand the reason for distress, implement the C.A.R.E. Plan and maximize comfort in exploration and referral.


Research limitations/implications
This viewpoint piece has not been substantiated through research and does not reflect training in the field of clinical geropsychology.


Originality/value
The ideas in this paper are original and are practical solutions to common problems that can be faced by workers or family in close contact with older people. The information can be applied immediately to whatever setting is relevant for the reader and is written in easy to understand language. Furthermore, its aim is not only to increase skill and confidence for the reader but also to promote the emotional and psychological wellbeing of older people.

The authors of this volume take as their starting point "striking moments" in their practice with older people, their families and other practitioners. They integrate these with current systemic thinking to offer new perspectives on working with older people in a range of physical health, mental health and social care contexts. This book is practice led and contains a wealth of examples that will be familiar both to practitioners working with older people and to older people themselves and their families. The authors, all experienced clinicians, place an emphasis on how systemic and narrative