Creativity and Aging White Paper Released by Americans for the Arts; Authored by Steven Dahlberg

[6 March 2008 - Americans for the Arts] Americans for the Arts has just released a white paper on creativity and aging, "Think and Be Heard: Creativity, Aging and Community Engagement" (PDF). Steven Dahlberg, head of the International Centre for Creativity and Imagination, wrote this report as a follow up to the 2007 National Arts Forum Series, which is supported by the MetLife Foundation. "Arts and aging is neither just about art, nor just about aging. Rather, it is about creativity and positive engagement -- that is, creativity as both a goal and a process for shaping the self and society. ... It is through such creative thinking and self-expression that people connect with others and shape the world. Such a work of art is a lifelong process," writes Dahlberg who is also a partner in Elder Care Expos, LLC. Please distribute and share this white paper -- and share your comments following this post.

Hate Your Job? Take a Vocation Vacation!

[10 March 2008 - National Public Radio] The Bryant Park Project -- Compared to the more loyal baby-boomer generation, today's mid- and early-career professionals are unwilling to log decade after decade with the same company. Now there's a nifty solution: A service offers curious job seekers mini-holidays in a new line of work. More

Your Brain on Creativity

[29 February 2008 - WebMD ] To Get Your Creative Juices Flowing, Your Inner Critic Must Hush -- For creativity to have a chance, the brain needs to get out of its own way and go with the flow. That's the bottom line from a new study on creativity. The study included six full-time professional jazz musicians. They got their brains scanned while playing a scale or a memorized jazz piece exactly as written and again when they were free to improvise, riffing off the assigned music. When they improvised, the brain's dorsolateral prefrontal and lateral orbital regions were far less active -- and another brain area, the medial prefrontal cortex, was more active. The brain regions that were quiet during improvisation are involved in consciously monitoring, evaluating, and correcting behaviors, write the researchers. In contrast, the medial prefrontal cortex allows self-expression, in this case in the form of jazz improvisation, according to the study. But creativity isn't just about self-expression. The brain's sensory regions were more active during improvisation. More

Demand for working beyond state pension age set to soar

[25 January 2008 - CIPD - UK] The demand for working beyond 65 looks set to increase markedly in the next 15 years, according to the research Future demand for working among older workers from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). Based on a survey of 1,000 workers aged between 50 and 64 years, it finds that just under two fifths (38%) of individuals plan to carry on working beyond 65. Currently, only 11% of the workforce work beyond State Pension age. More