Critical Questions for Ageing Societies. Carney, Gemma
a range of diseases including but not limited to Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy body dementia, vascular dementia and Parkinson’s disease. They are typified by a progressive and irreversible deterioration of the brain resulting in cognitive decline, memory loss, personality change, physical impairment and impairment in activities of daily living.
Demographic transition – This is the change in patterns of mortality, fertility, migration and growth rates within given populations resulting in changes to the demographic stage (see also, Demographic Transition Model).
Demographic Transition Model (DTM) – Maps the total population of a country, incorporating birth rate, death rate, immigration and emigration, all of which are key drivers of demographic ageing.
Dependency ratio – The number of dependants below working age and over retirement age versus the number of people of working age.
Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) – A globally referenced and accepted handbook of mental disorders developed in the US and used by healthcare professionals. This includes symptoms and descriptors allowing professionals to diagnose any mental disorder.
Elder abuse – ‘A single, or repeated act, or lack of appropriate action, occurring within any relationship where there is an expectation of trust, which causes harm or distress to an older person’ (WHO, 2012).
Embodiment – The relationship between the ageing body and social and cultural aspects of ageing. It has become an important contribution of cultural gerontology to our knowledge of human ageing.
Emigration – The process of leaving one’s home country and moving to permanently settle in another (compare, Immigration and Migration).
Encore careers/encore discrimination – Phrases which signify that the longer lifecourse provides more opportunities for multiple experiences (good and bad) at different stages of the lifecourse. For example, women who experience sex discrimination may experience ‘encore’ discrimination in the form of ageism in later life.
Engaged citizenship – When individuals choose to educate themselves in politics and actively and lawfully participate in forms of political engagement other than standard voting.
European Social Survey – A social science survey spanning Europe that seeks to map attitudes, beliefs and behaviour patterns through different populations over time.
Explicit attitude – An attitude under the conscious awareness and control of an individual, informing the way a person interacts within the social world.
Externalised ageism – Ageism directed towards another person.
Feminist theory – Ideas and concepts about women’s rights as used by activists and academics and which take an analytical approach to understanding the roots and impacts of gender inequality.
Filial piety/filial care – This phrase is most often associated with a practice that is common in Confucian countries, such as China and South Korea: the practice of providing care and support within your own family, usually to older parents. Piety, in this case, does not refer to religious observance, rather it means here showing love, compassion and respect for elders by supporting parents who supported you earlier in the lifecourse.
Fourth age – Not directly linked to chronological age, this period of life is defined as the final decline towards death, characterised by dependency and illness/disease.
Gender identity – This is an individual perception about self-gender. It may be the same as the sex assigned at birth or it can be different (for example, a person born with male genitalia may identify as female).
Gender regime – The state of gender relations (power balance) within any given institution or environment. This can include government regulations and workplace rules.
Gender roles – Culturally accepted set of ascribed roles or behaviours characterised as appropriate for men or women (for example, the idea that only men can be Catholic priests).
Generation – The term used to refer to a birth cohort or group of birth cohorts which are recognised as having some common attributes and experiences by virtue of the time into which they are born.
Gerontocracy – The notion that a state or society is governed by older people.
Gerontology – The bio-psycho-social and cultural study of ageing and older persons by medical and social scientists or by humanities scholars (see also, Social gerontology and Cultural gerontology).
Global North – Includes the advanced economies of Europe and North America, characterised by democracy, country-level and individual wealth, technological development, political stability, an ageing population and proliferation of world trade.
Global South – Initially coined to replace the term ‘third world’, this refers to those countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, characterised by low to middle incomes, unstable democracy, less technological development, political instability, and a younger population.
Hegemonic masculinity – A gender regime where the practices of men are designed to maintain their dominance over women, as well as the establishment and maintenance of a hierarchy to privilege those men in power.
HIV – Human Immunodeficiency Virus. A sexually transmitted infection that damages the immune system, compromising the body’s ability to fight organisms, potentially resulting in Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
Homogeneity – Sharing the same characteristics and attributes as a broader group or portion of the population. The same as those in a particular grouping. For example, the population of Ireland is homogenous, in that it is 82.2 per cent White Irish (Central Statistics Office, 2016).
Humanistic approach – Focused on the individual, emphasising empathy and the inherent good nature in human behaviour.
Immigration – The inward flow of people (migrants) from one country into another (compare, Emigration and Migration).
Implicit attitude – An attitude not under an individual’s conscious control or awareness, which predicts behaviour in unplanned encounters.
In-group – A category of persons or an identity which is seen as core, valid and an important part of the community (so young people are the in-group in a culture where youth is valorised).
Intergenerational – Refers to social exchange or relations between different generations, for instance, relations between grandparents and their children and grandchildren.
Intergenerational solidarity – Also referred to as ‘solidarity between generations’ it refers to the support that one birth cohort or group of birth cohorts provides to another. This support can include anything and everything from financial aid to care for the very young or very old. At societal level, it refers to support for transfers between generations, such as pensions or child benefit.
Internalised ageism – Ageism directed inward at oneself where the negative stereotypes held about older people and ageing are applied to the self.
Intersectionality – Describes the way in which social categories such as race, age, gender and class are interconnected and impact on individuals to differing extents at different points of the lifecourse.
Intragenerational – Occurring within one defined generational cohort (for instance, intra-generational inequality refers to the idea that some young people live in poverty and others enjoy considerable family wealth).
LGBTQI* – Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans(gender/sexual), Queer, Intersex. The * denotes other sexual identities falling under