AARP Study to Reveal the Psychology of Midlife: Large-scale Research Survey Opens Annual Dialogue Between the Association and the Baby Boomer Generation
[AARP - 20 November 2002] Contrary to conventional wisdom about their denial of aging, baby boomers really do have their eyes on the future, according to a new report by AARP. Asked about how much they think about their futures, nearly two in three boomers say �often.� The report also suggests that their greatest hopes are focused on their toughest problems, that they are generally optimistic about what lies ahead and that they expect many things to improve in their lives. �Boomers at Midlife: The AARP Life Stage Study� is a national survey unprecedented in its scope that will make breakthrough contributions to the relatively unexplored field of midlife psychological development and reinforce AARP's already broad and deep understanding of the 76 million-strong population of baby boomers. The study is the first installment in what will be an annual series of AARP boomer studies, which will closely examine how this demographic group will change the definitions of aging and how aging will in turn change boomers.

AARP CEO William E. Novelli Calls For A New Birth Of Freedom As America Ages
[19 November 2002] At a Newsmaker Luncheon at the National Press Club here today, AARP executive director and CEO William E. Novelli called for a new vision of America that is "framed by productive, active engagement and high quality of life throughout the human lifespan...where aging brings us a 'new birth of freedom.'" In remarks to members of the media, opinion leaders, representatives of government agencies and consumer advocacy groups, Novelli said the year 2011, when the first wave of the nation's 76 million baby boomers turns 65, will be the beginning of one of the most profound changes in American history. "It will exert enormous pressure on our nation's social structure and redefine the relationship among the people and our public and private policies and institutions."

Aging: Brain Boosts, From the Other Side
[New York Times - 19 November 2002] Elderly people who draw on both sides of the brain seem to do better at some mental tasks than those who use just one side, a new study in the journal NeuroImage reports. It supports a theory that as the brain ages, it may shift its workload so that some tasks once performed primarily by one side are shared more evenly by both. Older people best able to press both brain sides into service do better on skills tests compared with those less adept at using both sides, the study says.

Power of Positive Thinking Extends, It Seems, to Aging
[New York Times - 19 November 2002] Do happy people live longer? A growing body of evidence suggests they may. Recent studies have correlated long life with optimism, with positive thinking, and with a lack of hostility, anxiety and depression. One thing that remains unclear, however, is whether happiness can actually cause longevity. Perhaps happy people live longer because they practice healthy behaviors, or for some other unknown reason.

Over-50 women say aging's not so bad
[Boston Globe - 19 November 2002] A majority of women age 50 and older say the experience of aging is better than they expected, according to a nationwide poll released yesterday by the National Center on Women and Aging at Brandeis University in Waltham. Nearly 70 percent described their own physical health as good or excellent, and 90 percent of those over 80 rated their emotional health as good or excellent as well.

Making Creativity Work
[Business 2.0 - 13 November 2002] There is a fundamental need to balance two things that are often in conflict: the need to nurture artistic talent, and the day-to-day requirements of instilling sound, disciplined management processes. Leaders of creative enterprises must foster the right environment to fuel a hothouse for ideas while making sure the trains run on time and on budget. There are three distinct ways to make this happen: understand how creative talent thinks; nurture and reward this talent; and structure the organization to leverage your assets while maintaining appropriate development processes and financial controls.

Hours of misery: Ivor Gaber on dissatisfaction among female and older workers
[The Guardian - 13 November 2002] Despite a favourable economic climate and the best efforts of government, British workers are still less productive than most of their European and north American counterparts. New research suggests that one reason for this might be that two sections of the labour force - women and older workers - are far from happy with their working lot, and getting more dissatisfied.

Training Improves Cognitive Abilities of Older Adults
[U.S. National Institutes of Health - 12 November 2002] Training sessions for 2 hours a week for 5 weeks improved the memory, concentration and problem solving skills of healthy independent adults 65 years and older who participated in the nation's largest study of cognitive training. The training not only improved participants' cognitive abilities, but the improvement persisted for 2 years after the training, according to initial findings from the multi-site trial of Advanced Cognitive Training for Independent and Vital Elderly, or ACTIVE.

[Highlights from: Human Values in Aging UPDATE - 9 November 2002]
A GENERATIONAL LOOK AT PUBLIC POLICY
It turns out that there are some fairly startling differences between people fifty-plus and those in the 18-to-49 age group. For details look at the recent data published by the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard University Survey Project, which appeared on Oct. 20 in the Washington Post. The survey explores age-related variations in attitudes toward politics and policy, including voting behavior, views about government and social values. Click link above for the findings.

MID-LIFE ISSUES
Rabbi Zusya said: "When I reach the next world, God will not ask me, why were you not Moses? He will ask me, Why were you not Zusya?" For more on this theme, see "Rabbi Zusya's Question: Reflections of a Midlife Boomer" at the link above.

CALL FOR PAPERS: Positive Adult Development
The Society for Research in Adult Development invites papers and presentations for its annual conference in Tampa, Florida (Apr. 24-27, 2003). Deadline for applications is Nov. 25, 2002. Submissions on all aspects of positive adult development are invited, including altruistic behavior; caring for parents; consciousness studies; development of the self; futurism, and more.

"If you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is inside you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you."
-- The Gospel of Thomas

Labor Dept. Announces Competition for Grants to Serve Seniors; Competition Underscores Commitment to Helping Low-Income Seniors
[U.S. Department of Labor - 8 November 2002] The Department of Labor announced today that the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) will administer a $342 million grant competition for the Senior Community Services Employment Programs. The competition will promote part-time employment opportunities in community service activities for unemployed, low-income individuals 55 years of age and older to increase prospects for their economic self-sufficiency. This new grant competition will not cause any senior currently participating in the program to lose service. Under the program, participants usually work at community service agencies for 20 hours a week and are paid the higher of the Federal or State minimum wage. The program typically serves approximately 100,000 participants per year and is authorized through 2005.

Emotions grow stronger with age: study
[Reuters Health - 5 November 2002] Just because grandma and grandpa do not cry at weddings or stamp their feet in anger and frustration when something goes wrong does not mean that they are less emotional than younger people, new study findings show.