Research Methods And Methods Of Interdisciplinary Research Essay

In America, people are changing their views on aging and the elderly. Some of the reasons that the attitudes are changing could be due to more elderly people are remaining in the work place longer, as opposed to retiring early. Riffkin (2014). And there is the fact that we baby boomers are living longer. Even though the U.S. only ranks 53rd with a life expectancy of 79. That’s an increase of one year since 2010. (“The World: Life Expectancy” 2016)

These stereotypes, however, are very far from the truth about what occurs during the late adulthood stage. They stem from a form of prejudice referred to as ageism (Berger, 2008). Gerontologists define ageism as “A form of prejudice used to categorize and judge individual based on their chronological age only” (Berger, 2008, p. 615). The issue of ageism can promote patronizing treatment toward persons in the late adulthood stage and even foster discrimination. For example, people in the West unconsciously process

Gerontology as a field of scientific study can be traced back to the late 1800s; a time when research primarily focused on the negative attributes of aging, such as health decline. It wasn 't until the introduction of social gerontology in 1983 that researchers began to more rigorously study the psychological and social aspects of aging. In recognizing that “successful aging depends not just on the prevention of disease and disability, but also on the attainment of peak physical and psychological functioning,” (Quadagno,

Many people in the "baby boomer" generation are staying active as they age. By either jogging, swimming or becoming part of a sports team. They strive to remain youthful and mentally young and view retirement as an active period of their life. Theirinterest in health , fitness, looking young and attractive and longevity is quite phenomenal. They can expect to live longer due to medical advances however stress and burnout could impact on this expectation of longevity. They are well educated, thirsty for information interested in travel and will want to stay involved in the political processes. In addition they are optimistic, forward thinking and undoubtedly redefine old age. As the oldest of the nation's 75 million baby boomers approach the age of 60, a Pew Research Center survey finds many are looking ahead to their own retirement while balancing a full plate of family responsibilities either raising children or providing financial and other

The humanity of aging is a concept sometimes hard to grasp. Understanding why we are

The aging of the baby boomers is not just a demographic issue. It has important economic implications. Owen and Griffiths (2010) argue that the baby boomers can best be seen as a generational bulge that occurred between 1946 and 1964. This generational bulge is so large that it drives the economy during each state of the baby boomers lives (p. 76). This suggests that the aging of the baby boomers is a demographic issue with important economic implications.

17). The generation of baby boomers is named so due to an extremely high birth rate following the return of WWII soldiers. These people, born from the mid-1940s to about 1964, are now either a part of the older generation, or only a few years from it. People tend to believe that the historical cohort’s large population is the only reason for an increased amount of older people in society. In reality, as the article points out, increases in longevity can also be attributed to advancements in medicine, along with knowledge about the spread of disease and general health (MacArthur Foundation, 2009). This myth contributes to the negative stereotyping of aging because those who believe this myth do not see the importance of an aged population. What some individuals do not realize is that generations living longer can provide endless wisdom, experience, and advice to the younger population. Instead of utilizing the increasing life expectancy, people tend to judge older individuals as having physical and mental decline, when in actuality, this is entirely untrue. This false belief is the second myth discussed in the

The United States is in the midst of a major demographic shift. People are living longer which means that the population of older adults, those sixty years and over, is growing. It is projected that by the year 2040, older adults will far outnumber school age children. Older adults are currently healthier and lead more productive lives than ever before, due in part to modern medicine and the new idea of seeing older people for their potential rather than their problems. This has prompted the concept of “creative aging” or “successful aging.” This positive view of aging is not new, only the terminology. Cicero, the Roman philosopher, is perhaps the first to introduce the idea of “good aging” in his essay, “On Old Age” which was penned in the year 44 BC. He wrote this essay in his early 60’s to show that old age is not a phase of decline and loss, and if approached properly becomes a time for positive change and productive functioning (Baltes & Baltes, 1990). Over the last few decades the subject of

In article “Society must Prepare for a Wave of Aging Baby Boomers” in How Should Society Address the Needs of the Elderly from Opposing Viewpoint in context, the psychologist Kem Dychtwald stated that the generation born between 1946 and 1964 will face several social problems since the life expectancy has increased, and the country and the government should recheck the services available to satisfy the needs of the elderly and improve them in order to avoid this oncoming issue. Two main factors will change every facet of our life; the mass aging and an age wave. Dychtwald said that it seems that we are prepared to face these two great forces, but the opposite is the case and if we do not prepare ourselves we can reach a disaster. Moreover,

While the “Greatest Generation” is a title often given to those Americans who lived and died during the era of the Great Depression and World War II, their offspring, the “Baby Boom” generation, significantly shaped and improved the American landscape as well if for no greater reason than the sheer number of people who make up this population (Steinhorn, 2006). Today, based predominantly on that very same reason, the baby boomer population is now making a very different, yet equally as profound impact on American society. More

Another supporter of changing the way aging is conveyed is author, Margaret Cruiksbank, of the book, Learning to be Old. In her book she is a proponent of changing the way the aging process is described. Her position is that the underlying meaning of popular terms to describe aging weakens its value. She denotes that the term “successful aging” is a false phrase for the elderly as it “masks both the wish to continue mid-life indefinitely and the white, Middle-class, Western values of researchers, causing them to emphasize productivity, effectiveness and independence” (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 2). She also concludes that the term “productive” aging symbolizes “economic usefulness and social conformity” (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 2), especially for the female gender. More importantly, these terms can be used to measure. This ability to measure is subjective to the questioner and an individual’s self-worth. She suggests the term “aging comfortably” as it signifies easiness, and a “faint hint” of pleasurable self-indulgence which may not have been possible in younger years (Cruiksbank, 2009, p. 3).

In the 2005 documentary The Open Road: America Looks at Aging director, Nina Gilden Seavey defines retirement in the perspective of potential or current retirees. For some people, retirement lives up to their expectation of what is coined as “the golden age,” while others struggle or may never [willingly] see retirement in their future. Having parents that make up two out of the 77 million baby boomers, I think the documentary did a good job representing the perks as well as problems that the age of retirement can bring; being financial or the exposure to age-stereotyping (ageism).

Quantitative and Qualitative are said to be systematic in different design. Both design have to follow a process system that involved defining a principle of research.

Knowing and having an understanding of what ageing stands for, remains an important step, growing-up or growing older and ageism are theories about older individuals. Ageism includes preconceptions that elderly are categorized for their age and perceived as weak, and incapable of performing tasks and needy of others (Quadagno, 2014). Another view about elderly individuals is the way they are looked down on by the younger society, i.e. elderly are not as intelligent as their younger competitive working force. People fear what they do not know and do not understand. Age transpires as something that must be lived through in order to understand what ageing means; looking back on one’s life and seeing accomplishments made,

They are much cheaper than ethnography with a greater effectiveness, however, all of these interviews or surveys were based on the retrospective data, respondents answered the questions by their memory and the issue may happened for a long time. There could be a great influence on the quality of data since the ability of respondent to recall information differed from one to another and some incorrect information often occurred (Baker, 2003).