Suchergebnisse

A general discussion is presented on demographic aging, ie, the degree to which a pop attains a larger % of old than of young people. Various indices are examined as contributors: (1) mortality, (2) fertility, (3) sex, & (4) migration. Internat'l comparisons are made for 1950 & 1960, & forcasts are presented. All countries in the world are seen to be faced with the dilemma of seeing their pop's grow larger or older. Recent PO surveys show a general lack of awareness of this problem, since most people think it desirable for the pop to remain stationary, though they know that the number of old people is increasing. M. Truzzi.

The forces determining the share of nat'l income available to the aged, & the way in which that share is distributed among diff groups within the aged, are examined. Most of the evidence relates to GB & the US. It is argued that the inability to work, which results in the econ dependency of old age, should be viewed as a socially determined problem. The main sources of support for the aged in industrialized countries are reviewed & it is concluded that, despite increases in real income, & instit'al developments such as the growth of employers' private pension schemes, provision by the state remains all important. The danger of viewing the retired as a homogeneous group with similar econ problems is emphasized, both because of the general inequality of distribution of resources among them, & because of the special econ problems of single & widowed women. Finally, it is argued that no very sophisticated standards of poverty are required to describe large numbers of the old as poor in both GB & US today. AA.

Life histories of 195 M's & 141 F's, based on intensive interviews, are analyzed re adjustment problems in middle age & around retirement age. Soc factors generally are more important in this connection than those of health. Therefore, chronological age does not affect the awareness of the aging of the own personality nor the efficiency & adjustment level in general life. Typical adjustment problems from middle age to old age are those in the occup'al area (ambivalence between longing for change & fear of change), in fam life (conflicts of role adjustment to growing loneliness), & re the 'reality principle' in human life. The integration of the findings into a soc psychol of development is discussed. AA.

A summary is presented of the res being carried out by the main specialized bodies (U's in several countries, instit's, centers & assoc's), re ageing. No claim is made for exhaustion, but the main org's are brought to the notice of interested readers, together with addresses for possible contact. Covering the US, GB, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Switzerland, Italy, France, & Japan, the listing shows that soc gerontology is emerging increasingly as a separate branch of study. M. Truzzi.

Based largely on surveys & inquiries conducted in Vienna, Austria, an account is presented of the convergence of soc facts & att's emerging from many studies in gerontology. Discussion & propositions are derived, from these studies, re: (1) the importance of changes in the age structure of the pop (2) the empirical evidence re the nature of fam relations of the aged, (3) att's towards intergenerational assistance & joint living, (4) the desire for distance between the aged & others, including their own children, (5) the pros & cons of desocialization, (6) the continuity of emotional fam relations as prerequisites for functional flexibility, (7) theoretical shortcomings in the notions of 'role' & `function,' (8) the woman's influence in keeping the fam together, & (9) sociol'al stages in the ageing process. M. Truzzi.

Contents: Social gerontology: origin, scope and trends, by Clark Tibbitts; Demographic ageing, by Alfred Sauvy: Ageing and problems of adjustment, by Hans Thomae; Further thoughts on the theory of disengagement, by Elaine Cumming; Economic aspects of ageing, by Dorothy Cole Wedderburn; Propositions for a sociological theory of ageing and the family, by Leopold Rosenmayr and Eva Köckeis; The argument for gradually abandoning communal homes for the aged, by Peter Townsend; Retirement and leisure, by Joffre Dumazedier and Aline Ripert.

Book reviewed in this article:HULTEN, M. H. M. VAN (1962), De collectivisatie van de landbouw in de Volksrepubliek Polen 1944–1960.BEST, R. H. and J. T. COPPOCK (1962), The Changing Use of Land in Britain (London: Faber and Faber).MILLER, H. C. (1963), The Ageing Countryman.Gesellschaft für Sozialen Fortschritt e. V. (Hrsg.) (1961), Die Wandlung der landwirtschaftlichen Arbeitsverfassung in der In‐dustriegesellschaft.DEENEN, B. VAN (1962), Familienarbeitskräfte und soziale Sicherang in der Landwirtschaft. Ergebnisse einer Untersuchung über die soziale Sicherung der mithelfenden Familienangehörigen von 833 bäuerlichen Familienwirtschaften in drei ausgewählten Räumen der Bundesrepublik 1960/61.KOTTER, H. und B. VAN DEENEN (1963), Gesundheitszustand in der landwirtschaftlichen Bevölkerung ‐ Ergebnisse einer vergleichenden Vorbeugeuntersuchung von landwirtschaftlichen und gewerblichen Bevölkerungsgruppen in unterschiedlich strukturierten Kreisen. Schriftenreihe aus dem Gebiete des öffendichen Gesundheitswesens.H. SWEDNER (1960), Ecological differentation of habits and attitudes.KRZYMOWSKI, R. (1961), Geschichte der deutschen Landwirtschaft unter besondeter Berücksichtigung der technischen Entwicklung der Landwirtschaft bis zum Ausbruch des WILLIAMS, W. M. (1963), A West Country Village, Ashworthy.