AARP: Firms in retirement denial: No plan for baby boomer replacement

AARP: Firms in retirement denial: No plan for baby boomer replacement
[30 August 2006 - Boston Herald] Only one in five Massachusetts companies is taking necessary steps to deal with a demographic time bomb that will see more than a million area baby boomers retire in coming years, according to a new study to be released today. Companies across the country, not just Massachusetts, should be doing much more in terms of recruitment and retention of employees as baby boomers near retirement, said the report by the AARP (formerly known as the American Association of Retired Persons). More

‘Reserve army’ can defuse demographic time bomb

‘Reserve army’ can defuse demographic time bomb
[27 August 2006 - The Sunday Times - Business - UK] Britain’s labour shortage can’t be solved by immigrants alone. It is better to use over-fifties who want to work, writes Christopher Smallwood ... Britain's working population is growing at an astonishing pace. The Bank of England calculates in its latest Inflation Report that in the 12 months to the end of May, it expanded by some 450,000, no less than 1.6%, in a single year. The figures are spectacular, but even before the latest surge of immigration — largely from eastern Europe — Britain’s workforce has been growing strongly for years. Much of this growth has reflected important demographic changes that have had a bigger economic impact on the working population over the past decade than migration. They may well continue to be more important over the next decade. “Net” immigration (inflow minus outflow) has added about 1m people to the workforce since 1997. The net numbers are much smaller than the figures for immigration alone because the numbers leaving the country have also been increasing, and are now running at about a quarter of a million a year. Over the same period, however, the number of older people staying on at work or returning to it rose by 1.5m, contributing half as much again to the working population. What is more, there is no sign that this trend will weaken any time soon. A recent report by the TUC showed that more than a third of the economically inactive people in the country aged between 50 and 65 want to work. Although we are accustomed to think of Britain as a relatively fully employed country, this proportion is the second highest of 15 EU countries. It amounts to a “reserve army” of 1m people, and it is from this pool that much of the growth in Britain’s workforce has been drawn. More

The brains behind creativity

The brains behind creativity
[27 August 2006 - USA Today] How does the human brain create an evocative haiku, a beautiful painting, a sculpture or even a delicious new dinner? Neuroscientist Nancy Andreasen tackles that question in her book to be released this fall in paperback: The Creating Brain: The Neuroscience of Genius. And who better to take on that topic than Andreasen, a psychiatrist who started her career with a Ph.D. not in neuroscience but in Renaissance literature? USA TODAY's Kathleen Fackelmann talks to Andreasen about the muse, the link between genius and madness and the part of the brain that kicks in during the creative process. More

50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America

50+: Igniting a Revolution to Reinvent America
[August 2006 - AARP - By Bill Novelli] AARP CEO Bill Novelli challenges the largest retirement-age generation in U.S. history to come together and grasp the unique opportunity that faces them to transform society, dramatically and for the better. More

"International Journal of Ageing and Later Life" Launched

"International Journal of Ageing and Later Life" Launched
[June 2006] The publication of the first issue of the International Journal of Ageing and Later Life (IJAL) is available online. The International Journal of Ageing and Later Life (IJAL) serves an audience interested in social and cultural aspects of ageing and later life development. The title of the journal reflects an attempt to broaden the field of ageing studies. In addition to studies on later life, IJAL also welcomes contributions focusing on adult ageing as well as relations among generations. Being an international journal, IJAL acknowledges the need to understand the cultural diversity and context dependency of ageing and later life. IJAL accepts country- or cultural-specific studies that do not necessarily include international comparisons as long as such contributions are interesting and understandable for an international audience. The Journal includes a review section, which ensures that readers are kept in touch with
new work and current debate. The books listed in "Books received" are those sent to the Journal by publishers. Authors of review papers are encouraged to contact the Book Review Editor before submission. To assure high academic standard IJAL uses a double blind review process. Submitted papers are read by the editors and sent to two independent reviewers if judged to fit the scope of the journal. In order to stimulate exchange of ideas on ageing across many parts of the world, IJAL is available free of charge to anyone with Internet access.

Work and Retirement: Facts and Figures

Work and Retirement: Facts and Figures
[17 August 2006 - The Urban Institute] An aging population creates challenges for workers, employers, and policymakers. The impending retirement of the baby boomers and the relatively small size of later generations may lead to skills shortages, create upward pressure on wages and inflation, and limit economic growth. Lower output would reduce government tax revenue at the same time that the surge in retirees will increase spending on Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Lengthening life-spans force workers to spread their retirement savings over more years than ever before, an effort complicated by employer cutbacks in traditional pension plans and retiree health benefits and threatened cuts in Social Security and Medicare. But population changes tell only part of the story. Economic output will depend on the number of workers relative to those supported by the public. And the number of workers will depend on individual decisions about work and employer decisions about hiring and retention. Demographic shifts will likely present important new job opportunities for older Americans. This fact sheet describes the benefits of delayed retirement, the capacity of older people to remain at work, trends and patterns in labor force participation at older ages, and some of the legal and institutional work impediments that exist for older Americans. Information is drawn from such government sources as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau and the following Urban Institute reports:

• "Enjoying the Golden Work Years," by Barbara A. Butrica, Simone G. Schaner, and Sheila R. Zedlewski.
• "Promoting Work at Older Ages," by Richard W. Johnson and C. Eugene Steuerle.
• "Work Impediments at Older Ages," by Richard W. Johnson, Gordon B. T. Mermin, and C. Eugene Steuerle.
• "Working for a Good Retirement," by Barbara A. Butrica, Karen E. Smith, and C. Eugene Steuerle.

More

Baby boom... and bust

Baby boom... and bust
[17 August 2006 - BBC] Baby boomers like to trumpet their generation's achievements. But their fondness for conspicuous consumption and foreign travel has led to many a modern-day ill, from rising debt to environmental woes. ... Now, as the boomers become "ageing hipsters", we're constantly being reminded of their achievements. They gave us rock 'n' roll (which might explain the recent book, Baby Boomers and Hearing Loss), mod cons, the space race, computer science, and a rebellious disregard for the stiff-upper-lipped attitudes of earlier generations. But did the baby boomers also leave behind a negative, even destructive legacy? With their thirst for "stuff" - bigger houses, better cars, tastier grub - did they give rise to a culture of selfish consumption? And by challenging old-fashioned moralism, did they inadvertently nurture a climate of promiscuity - even fuelling the spread of STDs? More

Studies Reveal People Become More Autonomous, Happier with Age

Studies Reveal People Become More Autonomous, Happier with Age
[22 August 2006 - Physorg.com] Realities associated with aging are numerous, and often negative. However, according to a University of Missouri-Columbia researcher, the aging process isn't all bad because it helps most individuals become more autonomous and self determined, achieving a higher level of personal satisfaction. More

Exercise the brain and forget dementia

Exercise the brain and forget dementia
[23 August 2006 - The Age (Australia) IT IS never too late to start exercising the brain. Tackle the crossword puzzles, learn a new language or take up dancing. Still better, do all three. That's the message of Michael Valenzuela, who was yesterday named a 2006 Eureka Prize winner for his research into how maintaining an active mind can ward off the onset of dementia. In one study, Dr Valenzuela, a clinical neuroscience research fellow at the University of NSW school of psychiatry, looked at almost 29,000 people. He found that a lifetime of complex mental activity almost halved the risk of dementia. More

Does Age Quash Our Spirit of Adventure?

Does Age Quash Our Spirit of Adventure?
[15 August 2006 - All Things Considered] Robert Sapolsky, a distinguished neuroscientist in his 40s, had a young assistant who played different music every day, from Sonic Youth to Minnie Pearl. That made Sapolsky crazy -- and curious about why his aging ears still crave the music he loved in college. Is there a certain age when the typical American passes from the novelty stage to utter predictability? More

Baby boomers forced out of work, says TUC

Baby boomers forced out of work, says TUC
[15 August 2006 - Guardian Unlimited - UK] The TUC yesterday dispelled the myth that the post-war baby boom generation is opting for affluent early retirement, suggesting instead that more than a million British workers are struggling to find employment because of their age. More

Neurons make fickle friends

Neurons make fickle friends
[8 August 2006 - Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne] A new discovery from the Brain Mind Institute of the EPFL shows that the brain adapts to new experience by unleashing a burst of new neuronal connections, and only the fittest survive. The research further shows that this process of creation, testing, and reconfiguring of brain circuits takes place on a scale of just hours, suggesting that the brain is evolving considerably even during the course of a single day. Scientists know that the strength of the connections between neurons changes to shape memories. They also know that the developing brain has a high level of plasticity as neurons forge connections with other neurons. This new research, published in the August 7, 2006 early online edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, goes further, investigating how neurons choose their connections with neighboring neurons. Researchers Henry Markram and Jean-Vincent Le Bé found that connections between neurons switch rapidly on and off, leading to a form of adaptive rewiring in which the brain is engaged in a continuous process of changing, strengthening and pruning its circuitry. Studying neuron clusters from the neocortex of neonatal rats, Markram and Le Bé found that instead of growing preferentially towards specific receivers, neurons actually have no particular affinity for any other neuron, but instead remain in a state of perpetual readiness to reconfigure circuits. They found that over the course of just a few hours, connections are formed and re-formed many times. "The circuitry of the brain is like a social network where neurons are like people, directly linked to only a few other people," explains Markram. "This finding indicates that the brain is constantly switching alliances and linking with new circles of "friends" to better process information." In their samples, the rewiring process was occurring continuously at a slow pace. By exciting the sample with glutamate, they found that the rate increased markedly. This suggests that with a strong new experience, the brain accelerates its reconfiguration process, allowing new connections to be made, tested, and strengthened, and weaker ones removed so that the brain is quickly better adapted to the new situation. "This continual rewiring of the microcircuitry of the brain is like a Darwinian evolutionary process," notes Markram, "where a new experience triggers a burst of new connections between neurons, and only the fittest connections survive." Markram emphasizes that these findings may have important implications for brain research, even at a practical level. "This discovery opens up a whole new frontier for researchers as we now try to understand the evolutionary process that sets the brain on a particular course. Perhaps it could even reveal ways to steer the brain around particular circuitry pathologies such as epilepsy." More

Exercise Smartens Up the Aging Brain

Exercise Smartens Up the Aging Brain
[11 August 2006 - Forbes.com] Exercise may slow age's impact on brain function, helping maintain whip-smart cognitive ability well into the senior years and preventing dementia-like illness, a new review of the data shows. While there are varying opinions on the brain benefits of exercise and activity, "our review of the last 40 years of research does offer evidence that physical exercise can have a positive influence on cognitive brain functions in older animal and human subjects," wrote the study authors from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. "We have found that physical and aerobic exercise training can lower the risk for developing some undesirable age-related changes in cognitive and brain functions and also help the brain maintain its plasticity -- [the brain's] ability to cover one function if another starts failing later in life," the authors wrote. The researchers presented their findings Friday at the American Psychological Association's annual convention in New Orleans. More

Older and Cranky May Mean Smarter

Older and Cranky May Mean Smarter
[10 August 2006 - Forbes.com] Next time grumpy Aunt Gertrude growls at her bridge partner or one of her well-wishing nephews, look at it from this angle: She just may be smarter than all the rest. New research suggests just that, revealing that older people with above-average intelligence tend to be disagreeable. The study authors noted, however, that superior intelligence does not always go hand-in-hand with surliness -- with smart young people more likely to be open to new situations, rather than being disagreeable. "It appears that at younger ages, openness to experience is the most important personality factor correlating with the attainment of facts, vocabulary, and book learning," said study co-author Jacqueline Bichsel, an associate professor of psychology at Morgan State University, in Baltimore. "But when we get older -- and this hasn't been found before -- it appears that openness to experience is no longer as important, and what is important is a disagreeable nature," she added. More

Brain Age Ships Four Million Units Worldwide

Brain Age Ships Four Million Units Worldwide
[10 August 2006 - Gamasutra] DS handheld creator Nintendo has announced that its Touch Generations-branded DS title, Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes has now sold more than four million units worldwide, including 600,000 in the Americas, three million in Japan and 500,000 in Europe. Brain Age is based on the research of Professor Ryuta Kawashima of Tohoku University in Japan, a neuroscientist who specializes in brain imaging. The game, which takes advantage of the various unique capabilities afforded by the Nintendo DS hardware, is purported to stimulate brain activity through a series of brain "exercises" ranging from simple arithmetic to reading aloud and counting syllables. More

Researchers Continue Studies into Aging and Cognition

Researchers Continue Studies into Aging and Cognition
[10 August 2006 - EurekAlert!/Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center] Winston-Salem, N.C. -- Learning more about the decline in learning and memory that can accompany aging is the focus of a $6.2 million grant Wake Forest University School of Medicine has been awarded from the National Institute on Aging. "We will address key changes in the brain that contribute to cognitive decline and forms of dementia commonly observed in the elderly, including Alzheimer's disease," said William E. Sonntag, Ph.D., project leader. He is a professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. The five-year grant will allow researchers to continue studies in rodents to learn more about the biological basis for cognitive decline with age. The research team focuses on several hormones, such as human growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), that decline naturally with age. They have shown previously that levels of these hormones are an important contributing factor in the decline in learning and memory with age and that restoring these hormones improves learning and memory in older animals. Other scientists have confirmed their findings in elderly humans. The research team uses a special strain of dwarf rats that are naturally deficient in both growth hormone and IGF-1. The animals will be treated with the hormones to determine how these hormones affect cognitive function and to establish their specific mechanisms of action. The researchers have previously shown that these hormones increase blood flow, regulate the replacement of damaged cells and improve cell-to-cell communication within the brain. Studies over the next five years will focus on whether these hormones improve function of blood vessels, and cell-to-cell communication and reduce inflammation that normally increases with age. More

In our age of old age

In our age of old age
[4 August 2006 - BBC] Old age is the most enduring of the three phases of our existence. But it is also the one where our experience of life is at its most varied - and our views of life and our determination to cling to it are at their most contradictory. More