Search results

1 – 10 of 446
Article
Publication date: 14 December 2020

Elena Bogdanova and Irina Grigoryeva

This paper aims to consider how the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic questions the neoliberal project of ageing, based on a notion of a healthy, active, working older person. A…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to consider how the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic questions the neoliberal project of ageing, based on a notion of a healthy, active, working older person. A long-term struggle to include older people has been (temporarily) replaced with a struggle to exclude them. This seems to be one of the most sensitive sore spots of the coronavirus crisis and one of the most serious challenges to social policy and welfare systems the world over. The purpose of this paper is to consider where the concepts of ageing and the action on ageing were at right before the crisis and what their further development may look like.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper provides a critical overview of main conceptions based on the neoliberal project of ageing.

Findings

The main principle of the neoliberal project of ageing, which had been formed on the crossroad of social theory and policy through decades, became vulnerable in the face of COVID-19 pandemic. The new forced ageing reveals its repressive nature through ensuring seniors’ safety from exposure, their removal from work and isolation. The theory now faces new challenges of meshing a neoliberal actor – active, independent and productive – with an older person in isolation, who needs safeguarding, of re-conceptualizing social exclusion of seniors in a situation where exclusion is equated with safety, of resolving a dilemma between isolation and respect of human rights and of keeping progress in anti-ageism.

Research limitations/implications

This paper presents an overview of the main conceptions, underlying the neoliberal project of ageing. It aims to designate the vulnerabilities of the project, which were revealed under the situation of pandemic. Further development of the discussion needs detailed analysis of theoretical conceptions of ageing.

Practical implications

Theoretical debate reflects policy of ageing. Discussion of theoretical problems of ageism, social exclusion, safeguarding of the elderly and compulsion are necessary for improvement of social policy of ageing.

Social implications

When the neoliberal project of ageing comes into collision with the reality with the reality, the authors recognize it as a crisis. It moves the society, and especially the elderly, to the situation of uncertainty. This paper calls for discussion and search for a new balance among the generations in a society.

Originality/value

This paper relies upon the current debate on neoliberal project of ageing and responds immediately to the situation of pandemic. Now conceptual problems in theories of ageing and policy projects became visible, and the authors suppose it is time to initiate this discussion.

Details

The Journal of Adult Protection, vol. 23 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1466-8203

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Katrina Pritchard, Rebecca Whiting and Cara Reed

Retiring from work used to signify the end of paid employment and a transition to focus on life outside the workplace. From this perspective, the work-life interface may have no…

Abstract

Retiring from work used to signify the end of paid employment and a transition to focus on life outside the workplace. From this perspective, the work-life interface may have no relevance for the retired. However, recent changes, particularly resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, suggest that conceptualizations of both retirement and the work-life interface are more fluid, ambiguous, and complex. In this chapter, we first set the scene, reviewing how and why the traditional concept of retirement has changed so dramatically. Drawing on empirical data from contemporary media, we then consider how the current experience of the older worker and retiree are being reframed in neoliberal terms, emphasizing individual responsibility to remain not just fit and healthy but also productive, through a wide range of activities. We then focus on the impact of COVID-19, highlighting how pre-pandemic structural inequalities have been exacerbated, resulting in a range of responses in both levels of retirement and work by older people. We conclude by suggesting that retirement and its work-life interface need to recognize lived experience as dynamic, messy, and varied and implicated in wider structural features of both the economy and society.

Details

Work-Life Inclusion: Broadening Perspectives Across the Life-Course
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-219-8

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Creative Ageing and the Arts of Care: Reframing Active Ageing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-435-9

Abstract

Details

Creative Ageing and the Arts of Care: Reframing Active Ageing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-435-9

Article
Publication date: 7 August 2017

Brendan Murtagh

This purpose of this paper is to concern with the extent to which social economies can be constructed as alternatives to private and state markets and their purported neoliberal

Abstract

Purpose

This purpose of this paper is to concern with the extent to which social economies can be constructed as alternatives to private and state markets and their purported neoliberal tendencies.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper presents a meta-evaluation of an integrated set of projects supported by philanthropic investment to build finance, skills, entrepreneurship, social enterprises and non-monetised trading in the age sector in Northern Ireland.

Findings

The programme had important successes in stimulating social entrepreneurship, improving employability and showing how social enterprises can be incubated and scaled to offer new services for older people. It also improved skills in contract readiness, but this did not translate into new borrowing or trading models, even among larger NGOs.

Research limitations/implications

In that all economies are, to some extent, constructed and socially mediated, there is value in thinking through the components, relationships and projects that might make the ecosystem work more effectively. This should not just offer a counterweight to the market but could explore how an alternative arena for producing and consuming goods and services can be formed, especially among potentially vulnerable age communities.

Originality/value

The albeit, small-scale investment in a range of interrelated projects shows not only the value in experimentation but also the limits in planned attempts to construct social markets. The analysis shows that social economies need to respond to the priorities of older people, grown from community initiatives and better connected to the capabilities and resources of the sector.

Details

Social Enterprise Journal, vol. 13 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1750-8614

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 2 March 2022

Karl Mason, Anusree Biswas Sasidharan, Adi Cooper, Katy Shorten and Jeanette Sutton

Discriminatory abuse has been a distinct category of abuse in safeguarding adults policy since 2000, but it is rarely used in practice, according to recent official statistics. As…

Abstract

Purpose

Discriminatory abuse has been a distinct category of abuse in safeguarding adults policy since 2000, but it is rarely used in practice, according to recent official statistics. As part of a larger project, the authors undertook a literature review to clarify the concept, explore reasons for low reporting and consider recommendations for practice. The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of this literature review.

Design/methodology/approach

This literature review comprises 35 sources, which were identified using three academic databases, reference harvesting and sector-specific websites. Findings were developed through thematic analysis of the data.

Findings

The literature review demonstrates that definitions of discriminatory abuse stretch from an interpersonal emphasis in policy documents to a more structural approach. There are open questions about the status of discriminatory abuse as a category of abuse due to the complicated interface between discriminatory motivations and the abusive acts through which they are experienced. A range of factors can obscure its identification, particularly the hidden, stigmatised and normalised nature of discriminatory abuse. Some recommendations for practice are identified, but more work is needed to develop the practice vocabulary and required skills.

Originality/value

This study brings together existing research on discriminatory abuse to argue that it is time to revive this understanding of abuse and develop safeguarding practice with adults who have protected characteristics.

Details

The Journal of Adult Protection, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1466-8203

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 20 April 2013

Jo Grady

The purpose of this paper is to draw upon empirical research in order to demonstrate the ways in which trade unions have responded to the so‐called current UK pension crisis.

1271

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to draw upon empirical research in order to demonstrate the ways in which trade unions have responded to the so‐called current UK pension crisis.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses both theoretical approaches to neoliberalism, and empirical research in the form of interviews, to examine the contradictions between the rhetoric and reality of government policy towards, and trade union responses to, pension reform in the UK.

Findings

That trade unions have been constrained by: the fact that the labour party, which they support, has been in government but has increasingly become receptive to neoliberal economic policies; and by the broader discourse of pension reform, advanced by elites that are committed to neoliberal reforms to the British welfare state.

Research limitations/implications

The scope of the paper is large and thus certain issues regarding the pension crisis and ideology are not covered in as much detail as would be preferred.

Practical implications

The paper offers forward a unique critique regarding the current favoured pension policies and solutions.

Originality/value

This paper draws upon front‐line theoretical contributions and combines them with the author's interviews with leading trade union general secretaries. As such, it is a unique insight into not only the current so‐called “pensions crisis” but also the responses of trade unions, and the labour movement more broadly, to this constructed dilemma.

Details

Employee Relations, vol. 35 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0142-5455

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 14 March 2016

Kara Mowery and Mathew Novak

This study aims to identify the motivations, challenges and desires of the various actors working in contemporary downtown revitalization in mid-sized cities.

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to identify the motivations, challenges and desires of the various actors working in contemporary downtown revitalization in mid-sized cities.

Design/methodology/approach

Using Spokane, Washington, as a case study, 24 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key players in downtown redevelopment, including public administrators, private developers and non-profit representatives.

Findings

Results indicate that those conducting renewal projects are primarily motivated by economics, but additionally cite heritage preservation values and community development as significant factors. Moreover, contemporary renewal projects are found to be small-scale endeavours, undertaken by individual private investors, as government involvement has significantly diminished. Revitalizers tended to express frustration with a lack of investor and public awareness regarding renewal opportunities, suggesting that increased information dissemination might promote further renewal work within mid-sized urban downtowns.

Originality/value

Findings provide insight into issues with neoliberal policies in addressing contemporary urban issues, and suggest a more nuanced understanding of contemporary urban development processes beyond the narrowly defined profit-driven paradigm.

Details

Journal of Place Management and Development, vol. 9 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1753-8335

Keywords

Open Access
Book part
Publication date: 5 September 2019

Kylie Baldwin

Abstract

Details

Egg Freezing, Fertility and Reproductive Choice
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78756-483-1

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 24 August 2022

Elizabeth Brooke

Abstract

Details

Creative Ageing and the Arts of Care: Reframing Active Ageing
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83867-435-9

1 – 10 of 446