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AbstractWe analyze developmental strategies in various sectors in countries with underdeveloped economies and their implications for North Korea. We investigate the development plans of four underdeveloped transitional economies during the 1990s using the World Bank’s engagement reports. We find an emphasis on energy, transportation, and agriculture in those countries, while development strategies in North Korea focused on ICT in addition to energy, transportation, and agriculture during the same period. Statistical regression analysis reveals that ICT has the greatest potential impact on economic growth. Historically, domestic and external constraints have limited the performance of North Korea’s ICT policy. However, we recommend that ICT should have high priority in North Korea’s strategic development plan for the following reasons: the socio-economic environment is changing; ICT service trade across borders has been increasing; the population is aging; and our analysis identifies disruptive [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractDetailed analysis of dietary nitrosamine exposure for the U.S. population has been limited, yet it is critical for evaluating the amount of nitrosamines in the American diet. The dietary exposures to N-nitrosamines from consumption of food and beverages were estimated for the U.S. population aged 2 years and older and children aged 2 to 5 years using 2-day food consumption data from the publicly available, combined 2015–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and data on residual volatile N-nitrosamine levels in food available from our recent comprehensive literature review. The estimated eaters-only mean dietary exposure to N-nitrosamines ranged from 0.1 µg/person/day for U.S. children aged 2–5 years to 0.2 µg/person/day for the U.S. population aged 2 years and older. For the U.S. population aged 2 years and older, over 40% of the daily dietary exposure to N-nitrosamines resulted from the consumption of processed cured meats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the impact of population aging on the relationship between exports and economic growth in Korea using the export-led growth hypothesis framework with an autoregressive distributed lag model and data for the period 1990–2021. We found that export positively influenced economic growth. However, the effect of export on economic growth was negative considering population aging. Furthermore, the negative effect of export increased with aging. Our results also show a positive effect of population aging on economic growth in the long run, which implies the dominance of the human capital effect over the negative productivity effect. Hence, our results indicate that developed countries seeking to achieve sustainable growth through exports should control the population aging problem. Our study suggests two possible policies for solving the population aging problem: promote births and encourage immigration growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article utilizes a novel approach by combining the export domestic value-added rate and export technology complexity to gain insights into a country's comprehensive global value chain (GVC) position. Additionally, we incorporate psychological theories, specifically fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence, to elucidate the impact of population aging on a country's GVC position. The empirical results reveal that population aging has a positive and statistically significant effect on the comprehensive indicators of a country's GVC position and export technology complexity. However, it exerts a negative and statistically significant influence on the export domestic value-added rates. These findings hold robustly across various tests conducted. Notably, we find that the influence of population aging on different GVC position indicators varies depending on the income level, degree of aging, and rate of aging acceleration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Childhood undernutrition affects both physical and cognitive growth and is strongly associated with morbidity and mortality. United Nations’ pledge to ‘leave no one behind’ requires prioritizing policies that address inequalities and reach the most marginalized communities. Yet, undernutrition among Roma children is widely higher than that among children of the majority of the population, particularly in the Western Balkans. In light of this, we explore the determinants of the gap in undernutrition among Roma and non-Roma children in four Western Balkan countries, using several rounds of Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys data. In the countries considered in this study, the prevalence of undernutrition among Roma children is nearly three times higher than that among non-Roma children. Even after controlling for key socioeconomic and demographic factors, Roma children remain particularly vulnerable to undernutrition. While the probability of stunting decreases in the non-Roma population as age progresses, it remains persistently high at all ages among Roma children. Our findings provide valuable insights for policymakers seeking to develop effective interventions to address the issue of undernutrition among marginalized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stereotyping of older adults shapes our society and has significant implications for our future as an aging population. While considerable research addresses negative stereotypes across various contexts, a notable gap exists regarding teachers’ stereotypes. Given teachers’ unique role as agents of change, this quantitative study utilized a survey method to investigate the stereotypes and views of 236 preschool and elementary school teachers concerning older adults, along with factors influencing these stereotypes, such as age, gender, frequency, and nature of interaction with older adults, and aging anxiety. The Older Adult Stereotypes Questionnaire and the Anxiety about Aging Scale, supplemented with custom questions, were employed. Findings revealed that the participants generally exhibited a tendency to hold negative stereotypes about older adults. Positive stereotypes and views were linked to the perceived importance of interactions and coherence of views with older adults, while high aging anxiety correlated with negative stereotypes and views. Notably, the older teachers and the female teachers with high aging anxiety displayed more negative views regarding older adults. These findings suggest that age and gender should be considered when designing interventions to address teachers’ negative stereotypes and reduce their anxiety about aging. Also, with new educational policies, more opportunities for intergenerational interaction should be provided to build meaningful relationships among generations to promote a more inclusive and positive view of aging within the school environment. Addressing these issues is crucial for fostering an age-inclusive education system and preparing future generations to value and respect older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Home and community-based services are key to an aging society and the aging in place strategies that are preferred by older adults as well as policymakers. But the provision of these kinds of services is often inadequate in territorial terms, raising the question of how to increase their reach and efficiency. This article analyzes the spatial coverage of home support services in the Aveiro Region of Portugal, considering the distribution of their target population and identifying network configurations which would provide these services more efficiently, through a location analysis that minimizes the distance to potential users of these services. This approach showed that, in the Aveiro Region, the spatial coverage of these services is highly uneven and insufficient, considering that the population with difficulties in performing daily tasks exceeds the population benefiting from these services and that the level of coverage differs greatly between territories. It also showed that significant efficiency and equity gains are possible by optimizing the service providers’ location at the supra-municipal scale, decreasing the distances to be covered and reducing territorial inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social phenomenon of extended working age has been subject to broad scholarly and social policy interest, as part of such trends as the aging of the population, increased life expectancy, shortage of the labor force, and policy debates on pension reforms. A major question about extending working age, or working after retirement, is whether it is a matter of choice, taking control of one’s later life, or is coerced, part of entering the precariat. This study provides a nuanced examination of the social processes that direct labor market participation among older workers by conducting an analysis of in-depth interviews with 42 low-income older workers in Israel. The study exposed several institutional constraints that increase their economic vulnerability, demonstrating how interrelated structural factors related to the labor market, gender, and immigration shape the precarity of the life of older workers and coerce their continuous labor market participation. We conclude by emphasizing the responsibility of governments to ensure that older workers’ labor market participation truly represents their “choice and control,” rather than being a matter of coercion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we combine administrative data for Spain from 2010 to 2018 with meteorological data, to identify the effect of daily mean temperature on fertility. We demonstrate for Spain that hot days (≥25°C) decrease the total fertility rate nine months after exposure. Moreover, we do not observe any substantial heterogeneities in the effect of heat by mother’s age, mother’s educational attainment, sex of the newborn, climatic area, or air conditioning penetration. Our results suggest that climate change may be altering the seasonal distribution of births and affect fertility rates in a context with low fertility and rapid population ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically discusses two (2) songs of Oliver Mtukudzi (Tuku) to decipher his perceptions and imaginings of the process and experience of aging in Zimbabwe. These songs are Wasakara (2000) and Ndakuvara (2002). Mtukudzi’s music popularly known as Tuku music is hailed for entertaining and admonishing the public through powerful moral messages of personhood and self-discipline. It is important to appreciate his teachings regarding aging, especially seeing how population aging is fast becoming a reality in southern Africa and Zimbabwe. While the entertainment and pedagogical value of Tuku music has been widely acknowledged, the gerontological meaning deriving from it may not always be apparent. Gerontologists appreciate how music, as a cultural medium, communicates messages of aging to society, especially messages from famous musicians such as Oliver Mtukudzi. Among the important themes pursued by Mtukudzi are the intergenerational reciprocity of care and the physiological, psychological and social markers of aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of female labour participation and life expectancy on economic growth in Southeast Asia economies using non-stationary panel data techniques. The study utilizes balanced panel data spanning from 1992 to 2020, encompassing ten countries in Southeast Asia. The results reveal that economic growth, female labour participation, and other factors are cointegrated. The findings indicate that trade openness has a negative impact on economic growth. However, we find that female labour participation, female longevity, female education, domestic investment, and foreign direct investment have a positive long-term effect on economic growth. Our study also highlights that the effect of female labour participation on growth varies depending on female longevity. We find that female labour participation positively impacts economic growth but changes negatively when countries exhibit a high level of female life expectancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the 21st century, with the spread of lifelong education and the increase in the aging population, the need for learning among older people has increased, resulting in a shortage of teachers for older learners. A literature review of both Western and Eastern cultures revealed that the turnover or shortage of older adult educators may be related to their attitudes toward aging and burnout. To confirm this hypothesis, this paper examines the mediating effect of burnout on the relationship between attitudes toward aging and turnover intentions among Chinese older adult educators. The Attitudes toward Aging Questionnaire, Turnover Intention Questionnaire, and Burnout Questionnaire were used to collect the data. Finally, a total of 774 samples from Shanghai, China, were analyzed through structural equation modeling. The results revealed that when three components of attitudes toward aging, i.e. psychological growth, physical change, and psychosocial loss, are considered, burnout in Chinese older adult educators fully mediates the relationship between psychosocial loss and turnover intention, which means that if Chinese older adult educators suffer considerable psychosocial loss, burnout increases, leading to increased turnover intention. In other words, the negative experience of psychosocial loss can be decreased through a holistic approach to teaching aging along with intergenerational interaction, which in turn reduces burnout and decreases the intention to leave. Future follow-up studies should focus on how to develop a holistic teaching curriculum to facilitate the practical implementation of the findings of this research. We believe that this research can be beneficial with regard to attempts to address the shortage of older adult educators and promote teacher development in the context of older adult education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAs the aging population issue worsens, people are experiencing increasing life pressures, and the elderly are unable to receive sufficient care, intensifying the demand for home-based intelligent massage healthcare robots. Addressing the challenges faced by users in expressing preferences for specific areas like the back through gestures or voice during the use of massage robots, and the issue of elderly individuals expressing imprecisely, which hinders effective communication of the desired massage target location to the robot, this paper proposes a new human-machine interaction mode for massage robots. The main innovations include: achieving precise control of the massage area through the representation of a virtual human body on the screen; proposing a virtual-to-real mapping algorithm based on human acupoints to address the consistency issue in human virtual-to-real mapping; introducing a multimodal intent understanding algorithm based on dynamic information entropy to address the current limitations of a single interaction mode and low intent comprehension rates in massage robot interactions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed multimodal massage localization algorithm achieves good massage intent recognition effects. By combining natural human-machine interaction with intent understanding, it not only accurately captures user massage intentions and assists in completing massage tasks but also reduces user psychological and cognitive loads, leading to more desirable interaction outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tackling the issue of healthy aging in society is complex. It requires an interdisciplinary perspective and different forms of innovation. This article provides a commentary on the role of innovation policy in addressing healthy aging, particularly in the UK context. We argue that the wide range of economic activities related to healthy aging is part of a hybrid domain rather than a single sector. This represents a new generation of innovation policy for healthy aging which prioritizes understanding how different actors can be connected to support a spectrum of types of innovation which will contribute to providing better goods, services, and practices for older people. We explore social innovation as it relates to hybrid domains such as healthy aging and discuss the role of place in creating policy which generates both societal and market value. We recommend that policymakers use these concepts to build a better understanding of the economies that are evolving around healthy aging and where opportunities exist to better conceptualize, connect, and support actors, initiatives, and places to optimize economic potential and social outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Of the 165,000 or so convicts transported from across the British Empire to Australia between 1788 and 1868, approximately 9,000 men entered the gates of the Port Arthur penal station in Van Diemen's Land. Over its lifetime (1830–1877) Port Arthur was reputed to be one of Australia's harshest places of incarceration. During its final years as a penal station (1856–1877), due to its aging and declining population, it earned a reputation for housing the old, decrepit, and useless dregs of the convict system. Despite the growing body of literature on Port Arthur's convict workers, there has been little discussion on the management of labour gangs after 1856. This article examines a cohort of 198 variously aged and skilled Port Arthur convicts discovered in six labour gang ledgers and places them within the broad landscape of the settlement's industrial activities. Through the examination of the Convict Department records, I will argue that despite its aging population Port Arthur was an efficient and productive place of industry. Moreover, I will show that many of these men were skilled and able-bodied workers and not just the aged and ailing remnants of the convict system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article we explore when professionals engage in co-production with vulnerable people, which could improve the inclusiveness of public services. The study was conducted in mental health care, through a survey with co-produced scenarios, among 177 professionals in five organizational units in the Netherlands. The results show that professionals' willingness to co-produce is primarily related to characteristics of the client, specific aspects of the treatment process and the progress of the treatment. Demographic factors such as age, gender and education do not appear to influence the willingness to co-produce to any significant degree. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study seeks to characterise the effects of migration on the population development of Hong Kong where there has been rapid population transition due to extremely low fertility and uncertainties in migration flows. We explore actual historical trends during the period 2011–2021, and how these trends could shape the future demographic distribution if they persist. Using population census data, we estimate the net migration numbers in Hong Kong during the period 2011–2021, and develop population projections from 2026 to 2056 based on three alternative migration scenarios: (1) no net migration, (2) constant at the 2016–2021 level (negative growth), and (3) constant at the 2011–2016 level (positive growth but stable). Projected overall dependency ratios are also estimated under the three migration scenarios, as well as two retirement age scenarios: retiring at 65 years and 70 years. Our findings demonstrate that immigration would become an important and positive factor to slow down the process of population ageing to achieve a more sustainable development. The extension of the retirement age from 65 years to 70 years will certainly help to mitigate the ageing pressure in Hong Kong. We also provide implications of these projections for other Asian societies in similar situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing demographic transition within aging single-family house neighborhoods in Germany poses a significant challenge for municipalities. The scarcity of data and information related to demographic composition and location quality complicates research efforts and the development of adaptive strategies for these residential areas. This issue is particularly pronounced in rural regions where resources for capturing and analyzing demographic trends are limited. To address this gap, we propose a methodology based on geographic information systems. In this approach, municipal population registers serve as a central data source for extracting insights about the residents. We present the findings primarily in the form of maps, as they are intended to be easily comprehensible for urban planners and local government staff. Additionally, we outline the initial steps in establishing a small-scale monitoring system that incorporates demographic indicators as well as reachability estimates. A case study from northern Bavaria is used as an illustration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan's lost decade has long puzzled economists, specifically as to what brought it about. As China's current economic conditions resemble Japan's in the 1980s, this has prompted concern China might suffer a similar fate. This paper identifies that the response of the Japanese central bank toward the Plaza Accord, which is unfettered lending was the key factor of lost decades. By contrasting Sino-US and Japan-US trade wars, this paper argues that China will not fall foul of the same situation of accepting a new Plaza Accord. By comparing China's bubble economy now with Japan's bubble economy in the 1980s, this paper argues that the fallout from a burst Chinese bubble is expected to be less severe than Japan's early 1990s. Furthermore, by analyzing the two countries' respective debt problems and aging populations, it is concluded that these issues pose no significant threat to Chinese economic growth in the short term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the increasing challenges twenty-first-century societies face in accommodating older adults, many misconceptions about old age before modernity continue to exist. These are rarely expressed in 'formal theory' produced by academics, but rather persist in 'lay theory' which is anchored in collective memory and popular culture. Such taken-for-granted beliefs are nevertheless influential, first because they determine which questions academics do and do not ask about old age in history, and second because they present society with a grand narrative about ageing in the past, present, and future. We provide researchers with a research agenda. We do so by identifying three myths about old age: 1) people usually lived short lives and continued in their line of work until they dropped dead without having 'retired' from work; 2) men and women who did grow old simply moved in with their next of kin; 3) pensions played no role during old age. We debunk these based on a case study of the Nordic Countries before c. 1850 and hope to encourage research into myths about old age before modernity in other European regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractThis article explores transgenerational return migration to Galicia in north-west Spain. Specifically, it focuses on a scholarship programme within Galicia’s Return Strategy 2020 – a policy aimed at incentivising return migration to Galicia to ameliorate the demographic crisis that it is experiencing due to an aging population. Drawing on 27 life-story interviews with descendants of Galician emigrants to Latin America, and discursive analysis of newspaper articles and promotional materials related to the initiative, the article argues that studying transgenerational return migration can help challenge deeply engrained notions about identity and belonging, and advance theoretical understandings of return migration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sharing economy (SE) in tourism (SET) refers to all tourist-oriented initiatives and services based on individuals' practices of sharing resources with others, including transport and accommodation, among others, through the use of online networks. While tourism is one of the most rapidly growing sectors of the SE, the question arises if everyone has equal access to the SET. The aim of this paper is to verify the age-related differences of those who participate in the SET. We hypothesize that the mean age of those who potentially participate in the SET is lower than for non-participants. For this purpose, we conducted a cluster analysis on a sample of N = 35,279 Polish inhabitants to classify them according to their potential participation in the SET. We found that 22% of Polish inhabitants are potential participants in the SET. Their mean age is around 36 years. Those who are excluded (or who have a high chance of being excluded) from the SET have a mean age higher than those who are potential SET participants. Their share in total Polish inhabitants is 28%. Our findings may have broader significance for SET providers in Central-Eastern European countries, who (will) face problems of an aging population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Faced with ageing populations, escalating care needs, and growing shortages of care workers, Japanese and EU governments have pursued large, publicly-funded research projects to develop and commercialize care robots. Yet despite their global leadership in this field, Japan and the EU have rarely been compared directly in studies of care robotics. This paper explores similarities in their approaches to the public funding and planning of care robot development, commercialization, and implementation since the late 1990s, and what the differences reveal about their contrasting priorities in science, technology, and innovation policy, as well as differential treatment of care robotics as an industry and as a research domain. I conclude by arguing for the importance of studying such funding mechanisms and institutional actors to better understand their key role in shaping the emergent landscape of care robotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to severe old-age poverty in South Korea, the Basic Pension has been operated since 2008 for 70% of low-income older adults as a means-tested benefit. It has become an important income supplement for them; however, its expenditure has sharply increased due to rapid population aging. This study analyzed the Korea Household Income and Expenditure Survey using changes-in-changes to examine heterogeneous effects at different income deciles among its development phases in 2008, 2014, 2018, and 2019–2021. First, the largest benefit increase in 2014 records greater income support effects. Second, in terms of heterogeneous effects, the bottom 10th percentile has insignificant effects in 2018 compared to 2014 because it can select another means-tested programme for general citizens, which provides more extensive benefits since 2015. The 20th–50th percentiles presented significant income increase effects. Although the benefits are distributed for the 60th–70th percentiles, who are positioned above the poverty threshold, they consistently displayed insignificant effects. Practically, obtaining a sufficient increase effect like in 2014 may be difficult considering population aging and massive budget pressure. Therefore, it is necessary to collaborate with other social service programmes and concentrate on vulnerable population to provide sustainable welfare services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the next three decades, Australia's large cities are expected to experience major population growth, while many regional areas will likely be faced with shrinking and ageing populations. This paper asks how official population projections are considered in strategic spatial policy frameworks for Victoria and South Australia, and what land use planning responses are proposed to address increasing spatial disparities. The analysis shows that policy priorities are overwhelmingly focused on growth, whereas the needs of declining regions are largely ignored. There is a worrisome lack of strategic policy thinking on how to manage existing and likely intensifying spatial imbalances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assessed the prevalence of cataract blindness, cataract surgical coverage (CSC), effective CSC, visual outcome after cataract surgery, and barriers to cataract surgery in a population aged 50 years and older in Armenia using Rapid Assessment of Avoidable Blindness (RAAB) methodology. The study sample included 2258 individuals aged 50 years and older who were randomly selected from 11 provinces of Armenia in 2019 following the RAAB methodology. The study team randomly selected 50 clusters, 50 people in each. The RAAB survey form was used to collect information on cataract blindness, visual outcome after cataract surgery, and barriers to cataract surgery. The mean age of the participants was 65.3 (SD = 9.9) ranging from 50 to 99. The majority of participants were women (65.6%). Age- and sex-adjusted prevalence of blindness due to all causes was 1.5%; of which 36.4% was bilaterally blind due to cataract. The CSC and effective CSC at a cataract surgical threshold of <6/12 were 55.1% and 24.4%, respectively. Good outcome was reported in 43.7% of eyes after cataract surgery, borderline in 37.2% of eyes, and poor outcome in 19.1%. The main barriers to cataract surgery included "cost," "need not felt," or "fear." The prevalence of cataract blindness in our study was higher compared to high-income regions and lower than estimates from South/Southeast Asia. This study suggests the urgent need to update the National Strategic Plan to prevent blindness in Armenia with a focus on improving the quality and coverage of cataract surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the population ages rapidly, there is a strong focus on the healthy aging of older adults. A central part of healthy aging is keeping people connected in later social life. Exergames are recommended as one of the coping strategies to help improve health and quality of life in older adults. In our study, we developed an exergame called Social Balance Ball to engage older and younger people to play together, encouraging social interaction between generations. From May to July 2021, we evaluated this exergame in Shanghai, China, performing a user experiment with 18 unfamiliar young-old pairs under three test conditions (virtual player, mediated human player, and co-located human player). To evaluate the exergame, our main findings demonstrated that participants felt significantly perceived social interaction in mediated play and co-located play than in virtual play. Overall, older participants perceived significantly higher social interaction than younger participants. In this study, we contribute (1) empirical research findings on how the Social Balance Ball exergame enhances social interaction in generations; (2) design implications for informing future design and development of social exergames. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traffic violation is one of the leading causes of traffic crashes. In the context of global aging, it is important to study traffic violations by elderly drivers for improving traffic safety in preparation for a worldwide aging population. In this study, a hybrid approach of Latent Class Analysis (LCA) and XGBoost based SHAP is proposed to identify hidden clusters and to understand the key contributing factors on the severity of traffic violations by elderly drivers, based on the police-reported traffic violation dataset of Beijing (China). First, LCA is applied to segment the dataset into several latent homogeneous clusters, then XGBoost based SHAP is established on each cluster to identify feature contributions and the interaction effects of the key contributing factors on the severity of traffic violations by elderly drivers. Two comparison groups were set up to analyze factors, which are responsible for the different severities of traffic violations. The results show that elderly drivers can be classified into four groups by age, urban or not, license, and season; factors such as less annual number of traffic violations, national & provincial highway, night and winter are key contributing factors for higher severity of traffic violations, which are consistent with common cognition; key contributing factors for all clusters are similar but not identical, for example, more annual number of traffic violations contribute to more severe violation for all clusters except for Cluster 2; some factors which are not key contributing factors may affect the severity of traffic violations when they are combined with other factors, for example, the combination of lower annual number of traffic violations and county & township highway contributes to more severe violation for Cluster 1. These findings can help government to formulate targeted countermeasures to decrease the severity of traffic violations by specific elderly groups and improve road service for the driving population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to the challenges posed by a rapidly aging society and its associated socio-economic difficulties, the Japanese government has encouraged the adoption of AI and robotics technologies for care. Conspicuous investments in these technologies in Japan underscore the dominance of techno-politics of innovation and the advocacy for the robotization of care practices. Such narratives — disseminated by the Japanese state, industry, media, and academia — often overlook the perspectives of the expected users of these technologies. This paper, rooted in a 14-month-long ethnographic study conducted at robotics labs in Japan and the UK in 2022–2023, examines the performance and ethical implications of technoscientific imaginaries portraying Socially Assistive Robots (SARs) as already reliable, safe, and efficient. It sheds light on the intricate relationship between science, technology, the state, and society, emphasizing their use as instruments of power for state-led national development objectives. Moreover, it exposes how technology is presented, creating an illusion of efficiency while neglecting the necessity of involving society in co-designing and co-producing these technologies. The paper ultimately advocates for responsible innovation, emphasizing in particular the need for user involvement to ensure these technologies are not only more efficient and reliable, but also more accessible, inclusive, and fairer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health behavior has a substantial impact on health conditions. Illness prevention through good health behavior is the most economical and effective health protection strategy. From an institutional standpoint, while endowment insurance systems have been widely recognized as an important means of promoting individual's health and heightened by the current aging population situation, empirical analyses of whether and how endowment insurance affects health behavior are still limited. This paper uses China Family Panel Studies data from 2010 to 2020 to verify the relationship between the two. The results reveal that endowment insurance systems with different security levels have diametrically opposite effects on the behavior of the insured. Mediating effect analysis shows that the effect of basic endowment insurance is channeled by enhancing individuals' awareness of health risks, while the effect of supplementary endowment insurance is achieved by guiding residents to devote more time to work. In addition, the impact of the endowment insurance system is heterogenous over age, economic conditions and place of residence. This study uncovers the novel relationship between endowment insurance and health behavior and adds to the theoretical understanding of health behavior from the perspectives of policy feedback and behavioral public management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data has increased currency in contemporary activism and has become an integral part of the action repertoire of today's social movements. But data and data infrastructure are not only tools to support a movement's struggle: they are constitutive parts of the environment in which movements operate, and objects of contention in their own right. These developments challenge scholars of social movements and collective action. How are movements changing under the pressure of datafication? What 'new' mechanisms, actors and tactics meet the growing demand for citizen participation in an increasingly datafied society? Is social movement scholarship 'fit' to capture and interpret this evolution? This theoretical article puts social movement studies in dialogue with critical data studies with the aim of encouraging a much-needed cross-pollination. It advances the notion of 'datafied movements' to address the novel structural condition of contentious politics in the age of datafication and to explore the socio-technical, systemic effects of data and data infrastructure on movement dynamics. It reflects on how five key social movement dynamics, and the related elements in the conceptual toolbox of social movement studies – group formation, opportunity structures, action repertoires, meaning work, and collective identity – are altered by datafication and the advance of intelligent systems in society. In so doing, this article charts the building blocks of a future-proof research program in social movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our aim was to conduct a population-based projection to estimate the number of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) cases in Germany until 2040. Data obtained from a report published in 2017 (doi:10.20364/VA-17.08) were used for future prediction analysis. The data were originally collected by the German Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance. We used the illness–death model to estimate future numbers of RA cases, considering nine possible scenarios based on different incidence and mortality rates. In the baseline scenario, the number of women with RA is projected to increase by 417 000 cases and men by 179 000 cases by 2040, compared with 2015. Peak numbers of cases are concentrated in the 70–80-year-old age group, particularly among women. In the most favourable scenario (scenario 2), assuming a decreasing incidence, the total number of RA cases is projected to rise by 284 000 by 2040, reflecting a 38% relative increase from 2015 to 2040. The least favourable scenario (scenario 9), assuming an increasing incidence, projects a significant burden on the healthcare system. The total number of RA cases is expected to rise by 1.16 million by 2040, marking a substantial 158% relative increase from 2015 to 2040. Our research emphasizes a discernible trend: with an ageing society, improving treatment effectiveness, and declining all-cause mortality, we anticipate a rise in the absolute numbers of RA cases in Germany in the coming years. Our models robustly support this viewpoint, underscoring impending challenges for healthcare systems. Addressing these challenges demands multifaceted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CEE countries introduced funded pensions in the early 2000s. The stated objectives of funded pensions were to diversify old age pension income, to attract additional financing sources to pension systems, to assure adequate income for future retirees, and to balance future state obligations in aging societies. The state in CEE countries encouraged participation in funded pensions with the help of several incentives. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the costs and benefits for public finance of state participation in the funded schemes in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The results show that the fiscal costs of state participation do not exceed future benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of paying it forward in the context of aging challenges us to create environments, practices, and policies today that anticipate and cater to the needs of aging people of tomorrow. The principle calls for a holistic approach that combines empathy, empowerment, inclusivity, and support to ensure that the later stages of life are embraced with dignity, purpose, and fulfillment. This article explores the multifaceted dimensions of aging within the ethos of paying it forward, emphasizing the collective responsibility to shape a future that enriches the aging experience for current and future generations. Through a series of studies featured in the latest issue of Activities, Adaptation & Aging: Dignified and Purposeful Living for Older Adults, this narrative delves into the adaptability and resilience of older adults, the pivotal role of community support and social participation, the importance of proactive and responsive care, the empowering potential of technology, and the profound impact of wellness practices on the quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart assisted living technologies are often touted as the solution to the challenges associated with an ageing population. Viewing elderly consumers, their relatives, and technologies as comprising an assemblage, this article aims to understand how smart objects actively reshape the everyday practices in families with elderly consumers. Interviews with and observations of users of smart alarm systems indicate a stratification of the paired experiences of users and systems and identify a tension between enabling experiences of the elderly and constraining experiences of the relatives. This article contributes to views of families with elderly as assemblages by providing insights into joint and disjoint consumer experiences in multiple consumer-object assemblages, identity negotiations of the elderly and their relatives, and the hidden costs of smart assisted living technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic changes associated with contemporary society are often framed as a 'care crisis' where the aging population is portrayed as threatening the financial security and the future of younger generations. To rationally intervene in these issues, welfare states – particularly in Nordic countries – increasingly rely on digital technology as a 'remedy' and 'promise' of more effective and efficient public governance operating through technopolitical care practices and logics. Technological solutions such as AI, algorithms, apps and robotics are incorporated into elderly care and aligned with care work where the digitization of processes accompanies an intensification of datafication of elderly welfare care. This analysis is aimed at identifying and discussing how the welfare state is transformed through a practice of classification and its logic of standardization, a practice of taskification grounded on time-paced service logic, and a practice of categorization relying on a logic of prioritization. These three practices and logics embody tensions emerging where caring intersects with data sourcing, that is, where the datafication of elderly welfare care lies. Feminist posthumanism allows approaching them by resisting both techno-utopian and techno-dystopian claims about the datafication of elderly welfare care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The heat-related health burden is expected to persist and worsen in the coming years due to an aging global population and climate change. Defining the breadth and depth of our understanding of age-related changes in thermoregulation can identify underlying causes and strategies to protect vulnerable individuals from heat. We conducted the first systematic quantitative literature review to provide context to the historical experimental research of healthy older adults – compared to younger adults or unhealthy age matched cases – during exogenous heat strain, focusing on factors that influence thermoregulatory function (e.g. co-morbidities). We identified 4,455 articles, with 147 meeting eligibility criteria. Most studies were conducted in the US (39%), Canada (29%), or Japan (12%), with 71% of the 3,411 participants being male. About 71% of the studies compared younger and older adults, while 34% compared two groups of older adults with and without factors influencing thermoregulation. Key factors included age combined with another factor (23%), underlying biological mechanisms (18%), age independently (15%), influencing health conditions (15%), adaptation potential (12%), environmental conditions (9%), and therapeutic/pharmacological interventions (7%). Our results suggest that controlled experimental research should focus on the age-related changes in thermoregulation in the very old, females, those with overlooked chronic heat-sensitive health conditions (e.g. pulmonary, renal, mental disorders), the impact of multimorbidity, prolonged and cumulative effects of extreme heat, evidence-based policy of control measures (e.g. personal cooling strategies), pharmaceutical interactions, and interventions stimulating protective physiological adaptation. These controlled studies will inform the directions and use of limited resources in ecologically valid fieldwork studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the impact of population aging on the composition of taxes in an overlapping generations model. Taxes are levied on both income and expenditure, with the median voter being pivotal in the political-economy theoretical framework in question. As in Razin, Sadka, and Swagel (2002. "The Aging Population and the Size of the Welfare State." Journal of Political Economy 110 (4): 900–918. doi:), an increased fraction of retirees in the population leads to lower income taxes. Conversely, the results for expenditure taxes are ambiguous. The main proposition is that the composition of taxes–defined as the extent to which taxes are levied on income relative to expenditure–falls unambiguously with the share of retirees increasing as the tax burden is rebalanced toward the retired population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the aging population grows, the demand for long-term continuously Attended Home Healthcare (AHH) services has increased significantly in recent years. AHH services are beneficial since they not only alleviate the pressure on hospital resources, but also provide more convenient care for patients. However, how to reasonably assign patients to doctors and arrange their visiting sequences is still a challenging task due to various complex factors such as heterogeneous doctors, skill-matching requirements, continuity of care, and uncertain travel and service times. Motivated by a practical problem faced by an AHH service provider, we investigate a deterministic continuity-skill-restricted scheduling and routing problem (CSRP) and its stochastic variant (SCSRP) to address these operational challenges. The problem is formulated as a heterogeneous site-dependent and consistent vehicle routing problem with time windows. However, there is not a compact model and a practically implementable exact algorithm in the literature to solve such a complicated problem. To fill this gap, we propose a branch-price-and-cut algorithm to solve the CSRP and a discrete-approximation-method adaption for the SCSRP. Extensive numerical experiments and a real case study verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed algorithms and provide managerial insights for AHH service providers to achieve better performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults form a fast-increasing proportion of the world population. However, gains in increasing quantity of life have not been accompanied by similar gains in quality of life. Older people frequently experience frailty, memory problems, and chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease (CVD) and neurodegenerative diseases. Recent trials have demonstrated the efficacy of anti-hypertensive therapy in older populations but failed to show benefits for aspirin. Statins clearly reduce CVD events in middle-aged populations. There seems to be evidence that the effect is similar in primary prevention older populations based on meta-analyses mainly from sub-groups in large trials, but this becomes less clear with increasing age. However, given differences in drug metabolism and possibly efficacy, competing co-morbidities, their effects on mortality, disability, and dementia in this age group remain to be determined. Two large trials are now underway to clarify the role of statin therapy in people aged over 70 years using endpoints of mortality, disability, and neurocognitive endpoints as well as standard cardiovascular disease outcomes. They may provide also provide more evidence on how to approach the over 80 year age group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book "Social Security in the Balkans—Volume 1" provides an overview of social policy in Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Romania, and Bulgaria. It aims to analyze the social security systems of these countries and make recommendations for their development. The book is part of a larger project that resulted in three volumes, with Volume 1 focusing on the six aforementioned countries. It examines social security development from historical, economic, political, sociological, and security perspectives, and discusses challenges and prospects for social security in the region. The book is a valuable resource for researchers, students, and policymakers interested in social security policies in the Balkans. [Extracted from the article]

"Climate Resilience for an Aging Nation" by Danielle Arigoni is a comprehensive examination of climate adaptation planning in the United States for older adults. The book draws on Arigoni's professional experience and highlights the failure of existing policies in addressing climate resilience for older adults. It offers a framework for age-friendly climate adaptation, focusing on domains such as energy systems and emergency management. While the book primarily focuses on the US context, its recommendations for participatory planning and supporting age-specific needs are relevant internationally. Overall, the book emphasizes the importance of empowerment, communication, community-based collaboration, and continued learning in addressing the climate crisis. [Extracted from the article]

The world's population is growing rapidly and the number of elderly people with undernutrition and malnutrition is increasing. Common health problems among seniors are cardiovascular, inflammatory, gastrointestinal, and cognitive disorders, cancer, diabetes, psychological and dental problems. The food industry is trying to meet the demands of an aging society, but these efforts are not sufficient. New strategies are needed, and they demand foods development with modified textures that are easy to swallow, such as gels suitable for seniors. Depending on the specific needs of the elderly, bioactive compounds with health benefits should be included in food systems. Novel foods may play an important role in the prevention, maintenance, and treatment of age-related diseases. One of the most studied bioactive compound is β-glucan, a polysaccharide with approved health claims confirmed by clinical trials, such as "β-glucan contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels" and "the consumption of β-glucan from oats or barley contributes to the reduction of postprandial glucose spikes." In this review, the health benefits, and technological properties of β-glucan for the development of senior-friendly ready-to-swallow gels were described. In addition, some patents and studies conducted in connection with the development of the gel systems were collected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to population aging and its implications for organizations and societies, organizational practices for older workers (OPOWs) play a relevant role in multiple research disciplines. So far, most reviews on this topic operationalize organizational practices as antecedents of older workers' outcomes. We extend this perspective by illustrating multilevel antecedents and outcomes of OPOWs. In doing so, we demonstrate how these organizational practices directly and indirectly affect older workers, organizations, and society and how, in turn, older workers, organizations and society impact OPOWs. Drawing on a literature review, we discuss key theories and present current empirical findings from multiple research disciplines to propose an integrated cross-disciplinary model with the potential to guide future research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Life after stroke is a comprehensive area that involves engagement in meaningful everyday activities, including work, and can be adversely affected by post-stroke fatigue. This study investigates post-stroke fatigue, its development over time, and its impact on return to work and other everyday life activities. In addition, we investigated whether post-stroke fatigue could predict functioning in everyday life activities one year after stroke. This prospective registry-based study includes 2850 working age (18 – 63 years) patients registered in the Swedish Stroke Register (Riksstroke) during year 2017 and 2018. Post-stroke fatigue and everyday activities were analyzed 3- and 12-months post-stroke. The mean age of the included participants was 54 years and the majority, 65%, were men. Three months post-stroke, 43% self-reported fatigue, at 12-months the proportion increased to 48%. About 90% of the patients were independent in basic ADL at 3-month. Dependence in complex activities one year post-stroke was significantly associated with fatigue. Not experiencing fatigue one year after stroke could predict positive functioning in everyday activities, increasing the chance of returning to work (OR = 3.7) and pre-stroke life and everyday activities (OR = 5.7). Post-stroke fatigue is a common persistent disability that negatively impacts complex activities; therefore, fatigue needs to be acknowledged and addressed long term after discharge. People of working age who experience post-stroke fatigue encounter difficulties with complex rather than basic activities. Post-stroke fatigue may be developed when reclaiming complex activities; thus, long term routine assessments after discharge are recommended. Interventions addressing post-stroke fatigue are warranted, as the absence of post-stroke fatigue increases the chance of returning to everyday life, including work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In my thesis, I provide a relational approach on how political participation in rural Japan is linked to the activists' well-being. While existing research has not come to a clear conclusion, this study uses an iterative qualitative research design that identifies six dimensions of how to link the two phenomena. Based on anthropological approaches to the topic, I demonstrate how my respondents emphasize the reciprocity of well-being in the process of political action. In Japanese regions characterized by demographic decline and aging, well-being is interpreted primarily as a relational phenomenon whose meaning unfolds against the backdrop of a specifically rural context, but is also one situated in the everyday lives of the interviewees. I perceive wellbeing as something that is not only linked to the natural landscape in that particular area, but is above all connected to the enjoyment of other people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor sleep quality (PSQ) is common among ageing adults, while the correlates of poor sleep quality among older adult populations are less well understood. The study utilised data from the South African 4-year longitudinal study on Health and Ageing in Africa. We analysed a longitudinal Study of an INDEPTH Community in South Africa (HAALSI) data set (N = 3 769, females = 56.1%, aged 40 years and older) to assess factors associated with incident and persistent PSQ among them. Results indicate that the proportion of incident PSQ was 11.2% and persistent PSQ 24.9% overall. For people without PSQ at baseline, those aged 70-79 years, born in South Africa, and having 12 or more years of education were associated with incident PSQ. Compared to the 40-49-year-old age cohort, the 70-79-year-old age cohort had the highest likelihood of persistent PSQ. In addition, people with PTSD symptoms at baseline had higher odds of persistent PSQ. Sociodemographic and mental health factors were associated with incident and/or persistent PSQ. Improving mental well-being may help to reduce PSQ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable social activity is a major goal in an aging society, although this is limited by loss of athleticism, with osteoporosis-related fractures being the most common cause of long-term behavioral restrictions in older people. Therefore, the development of therapeutics that shorten the duration of fracture therapy is essential to improve the quality of life and social activity of older individuals. In this study, we developed a polyethylene glycol-modified alendronate (PEG-ALN) that can efficiently deliver the active ingredient (ALN) to fracture sites. PEG-ALN released ALN in response to an acidic pH and was systemically administered to mice in a fracture model. PEG-ALN exhibited selective accumulation at the fracture site and significantly accelerated bone healing compared to free ALN. This study highlights the utility of a simple polymer modification of ALN as a systemically injectable medicine for patients with bone fractures. Bone fractures present a significant risk to the health and quality of life of older individuals in aging societies. However, there are limited options for direct pharmacological treatment of fractures. In this study, we optimized a commonly used but therapeutically challenging drug, alendronate (ALN), to target and improve fracture healing. We modified alendronate with high molecular weight polyethylene glycol (PEG) through an acidic-responsive linker (PEG-ALN) and assessed its effect on osteoblasts and osteoclasts, and thereby on bone healing, both in vitro and in vivo. This PEGylation prevented the rapid clearance of ALN in a mouse fracture model and enabled specific accumulation of PEG-ALN at fracture sites. The accumulated PEG-ALN is cleaved by the acidic environment of these osteoclastic regions to release active ALN directly where required. Consequently, the fracture region is converted to an osteoblast-dominated environment with increased recovery of bone fractures. Thus, our study demonstrated that PEG-ALN provides an effective delivery system for ALN to fracture sites, enabling rapid healing without apparent side effects. We believe that the findings of this study are relevant to the scope of your journal as they address the biomedical use of materials that could enhance debilitating conditions that will become more frequent in a rapidly aging population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) is a common cause for visual impairment in the ageing population. An increasing number of nAMD patients causes significant health burden, although intravitreal anti-VEGF agents have revolutionized nAMD treatment during the past 15 years. We aimed to define incidence and prevalence of nAMD in different age-categories in the anti-VEGF era and to estimate the number of the individuals over 75 years of age in 2050. We conducted an epidemiological study of the nAMD cohort (n = 2121) in a Finnish population of 410,000 inhabitants. Demographic and clinical data were gathered from Oulu University Hospital's database during 2006–2020. The incidence and prevalence rates were calculated using population data from national registers. The three-year moving average of incidence of nAMD per 100,000 person years was estimated. Prevalence figures were calculated per 100,000 age-specific inhabitants. The average age at the diagnosis of nAMD was 78土8 years, and 62% of the patients were women. The incidence of nAMD was 71 (95% CI 55–90) and 102 (95% CI 88–118) per 100,000 person years in 2006 and 2020, respectively. During 2006–2020, 1.2- and 2.4-fold increases in nAMD incidence were noted in 75–84 and in 85–96 age groups, respectively. In the oldest 75–84 and 85–96 age categories the nAMD prevalence was 2865/100,000 (3%, 95% CI 2665–3079) and 2620/100,000 (3%, 95% CI 2323–2956), respectively. The proportion of the inhabitants >75 years old is estimated to increase from 10% in 2020 to 17% by 2050. Our results indicate constant 1.2- and 2.4-fold increases in nAMD incidence during the past 15 years in age groups of 75–84 and 85–96 years, respectively, and 3% prevalence of nAMD in 2020. An almost two-fold increase in the ageing population by the year 2050 may also predict the trends in nAMD. The results of the current population-based study indicate 1.2- and 2.4-fold increases in the incidence of neovascular AMD (nAMD) during the last 15 years in the Finnish population aged 75–84 and 85–96 years and 3% prevalence of nAMD in 2020. An almost two-fold increase in the number of individuals over 75 years of age by the year 2050 is estimated, which may also predict the trends in nAMD. Intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF)- agents have revolutionized the treatment and prognosis of nAMD. Timely recognition and referral of nAMD patients to ophthalmologist can ensure vision-related functionality especially among the ageing population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the trends in non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC) incidence in Hong Kong from 1990 to 2019 and the associations of age, calendar period, and birth cohort, to make projections to 2030, and to examine the drivers of NMSC incidence. We assessed the age, calendar period, and birth cohort effects of NMSC incidence in Hong Kong between 1990 and 2019 using an age-period-cohort model. Using Bayesian age-period-cohort analysis with integrated nested Laplace approximations, we projected the incidence of NMSC in Hong Kong to 2030. From 1990 to 2019, the age-standardized incidence rate of NMSC increased from 6.7 per 100,000 population to 8.6 per 100,000 population in men and from 5.4 per 100,000 to 5.9 per 100,000 population in women, among the 19,568 patients in the study (9812 male patients [50.14%]). The annual net drift was 2.00% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50–2.50%) for men and 1.53% (95% CI: 0.95–2.11%) for women. Local drifts increased for both sexes above the 35–39-year age group. The period and cohort risk of developing NMSC tended to rise but slowed gradually in the most recent period and post-1975 birth cohort. From 2019 to 2030, it is projected that the number of newly diagnosed NMSC cases in Hong Kong will increase from 564 to 829 in men and from 517 to 863 in women. Population aging, population growth, and epidemiologic changes contributed to the increase in incident NMSCs, with population aging being the most significant contributor. The slowing of the period and cohort effects suggests that the rising incidence of NMSC is partly attributable to increased awareness and diagnosis. The increasing prevalence of NMSC among the elderly and an aging population will significantly impact the clinical workload associated with NMSC for the foreseeable future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]