Silver Service: Meeting the consumption needs of an older society
[February 2004 - DEMOS - UK] This project will investigate the strategies needed to develop and provide services which will enable baby boomers to maximise their quality of life and at the same time contribute towards wider social, economic and environmental sustainability. Silver Service builds on the findings of the recent Demos report The New Old: Why the baby boomers won't be pensioned off. The New Old argues that the ageing baby boomer generation is challenging many of our current perceptions of how to communicate with and provide for older people. This new project will look specifically at the consumption and service needs of this cohort as it ages. It will investigate the strategies needed to develop and provide services which will enable baby boomers to maximise their quality of life and at the same time contribute towards wider social, economic and environmental sustainability. ...

The Many Faces of Power Learning
[17 February 2004 - AARP Education Watch] Research from the MacArthur Foundation Study on Successful Aging published in 1998 showed that "scientific creativity peaks earliest in the most abstract disciplines," such as math and physics. As we age, information processing slows and memory for names and facts declines. Studies have shown, however, that active lifelong learning helps cognitive functions endure. Howard Gardner advises adults to use what they know. "If you want to increase your understanding, it makes most sense to probe deeply in a limited number of subjects," he says. It is then that the individual can best employ multiple intelligences, by approaching topics in a number of ways. Interpersonal intelligence is especially important to the older person. "In retirement there is a new premium on meeting with others and dealing in a new milieu," he explains. "You must spend time observing. Interpersonal intelligence keeps developing as you get older." ... Gardner maintains that very few people do something completely new as they get older. "I think it's extremely difficult at 70 to activate parts of the brain that have been on hold for the past 50 years," he notes. "You're better off trying something new with your old way of doing things." ...

AARP Global Report on Aging: Winter 2004
[Winter 2004 - AARP] European Union Commissioner and Australian business leader make the case for older workers.


AARP Releases New Quality-of-Life Index for 50 America: For Many, Life is Improving; But Vulnerabilities Remain
[5 February 2004 - AARP] AARP released the first-ever annual 'AARP Quality of Life Index' of people aged 50 and above. It shows that over the past decade, life for boomers and their parents has generally improved. However, there are some striking vulnerabilities. Americans aged 50 to 64 improved on every economic measure over the decade. Older individuals (65 ) improved on most measures, except that their share of income from sources other than Social Security declined, and their employment rate and self-reported health status also decreased.

"The State of 50+ America" Summary: Despite setbacks in financial markets over the past few years plus the lingering effects of the recent recession, midlife and older Americans are measurably better off today, sometimes substantially so, than they were a decade ago, and two-thirds of them remain optimistic about their retirement prospects. In the first of a planned series of annual reports from AARP, the well-being of the 50+ population is evaluated in terms of 20 key indicators reflecting four dimensions of well-being - economics, health, lifestyle, and independent living/long-term care. Although the report shows favorable trends on almost all measures over the past decade, the age 50+ population has not fared so well in the near term, doing worse on all but two of the economic and health indicators analyzed in the most recent year, and declining on 10 of 15 indicators of well-being overall, although the one-year changes were often very small. The report also discusses the effects of declining equity prices and low interest rates on retirement and investment decisions, and concludes with individual commentaries by consumer affairs columnist Jane Bryant Quinn and economists Alan S. Blinder of Princeton University, Alice Rivlin of the Brookings Institution and Georgetown University, and Robert J. Shiller of Yale University.

Read full report (PDF file): The State of 50 America

Microsoft campaign to target aging workforce
[2 February 2004 - Seattle Post-Intelligencer] Has the print on your computer screen gotten too small? Is that auto-alert you've set up too faint? Can't find your cursor? Hey there, Microsoft says, maybe it's not the technology troubling you, but the inevitable signs of aging. Today, Microsoft will unveil a marketing campaign aimed at older workers. The technology it's touting, such as text magnification, speech recognition and filter keys, already exist in Microsoft products, and was developed mainly for disabled users. But with the U.S. work force getting older, Microsoft figures more people are finding their computer has become 'awkward.' Matt Rosoff, an analyst with the independent research firm Directions on Microsoft, said the campaign is a good way for the company to try to get more use out of products it's already spent money developing. Other software companies, such as ScanSoft and DataHand, also offer products aimed at making computers more accessible. But in general, there aren't many companies focusing on computing and the aging workforce yet, said Jim Emerman, chief operating officer with the American Society on Aging in San Francisco. For the most part, Rosoff said Microsoft -- like most technology companies -- gears its products toward people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

Firm Says Older Workers Morning People
[3 February 2004 - Associated Press] Many older workers seem to be morning people, finding the early part of the day their most productive time, according to the employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., which studied the work force of people 55 and older. Studies show that we often require less sleep as we age, and many people adopt an "early to bed, early to rise" schedule as they get older. So Challenger Gray suggests early risers might want shifts starting at 6:30 a.m. because at that hour, there are fewer calls, meetings and distractions, allowing workers to focus on their tasks. The Chicago-based firm notes that early work hours could have an impact on the wider economy � West Coast companies serving East Coast clients sooner, higher worker productivity, and more free leisure hours in the evenings. Since January 2001, the biggest job growth has been among those 55 and older, with 3.2 million new workers from that group, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Getting older = lower self-esteem, say researchers
[20 January 2004 - University of Toronto] Worried about gaining weight and wrinkles as you age? Well, now there's one more reason to fear aging - an increased sense of insecurity, say sociologists from the University of Toronto and the University of Western Ontario. 'We live in a culture of youth where being young is prized and idealized,' says Professor John Cairney, a sociologist in U of T's psychiatry department and co-author of the study, Self-esteem and the intersection of age, class and gender. 'When you're talking about self-esteem, your body image is an important part of that perception. ...