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Create 20-25 slide PowerPoint presentation that identifies, describes, and gives examples of one of the following:
retirement
parenting or grand-parenting in the older years
seniors caring for senior parents (this needs to be focused on adults 65 and over that are still caring for their adult children or raising their grandchildren)
growing older with a major health issue
If you are interested in another subject, please contact your professor for approval.
In your slides, you should include theory, current research, and the implications for the human services professional. Your final slide should list your references.
As you prepare assignment, keep in mind that you will use this same information for your Final Assignment. Your discussions from this assignment will be expanded as you explore additional issues and apply information from readings, posts, interviews, and other course activities to design an optimum living situation for the elderly. Your assignment will include the following parts:
As you address your topic, you must include theory, current research, and the implications for the human service professional.
Incorporates one developmental theory (from chapter 4 programmed and unprogrammed theory) to help explain the physical and psychological changes that relate to the selected topic. Here, you want to describe, in general, how the changes you discussed above coincide with one of the developmental theories you have discussed. How does the theory explain the changes related to the topic you chose? Relative to the selected topic: identifies and describes the significant physical changes associated with aging (strength, senses, perceptive abilities, health etc.) - In this section, it is important to consider what physical changes occur in regard to the topic. For example, if you choose retirement, what physical changes occur in retirement that makes it difficult to function? You will need to choose three physical changes for this section.
Relative to the selected topic: identifies and describes the significant psychological changes associated with aging (cognition, memory, personality, emotion, etc.) - In this section, you will do the same but in regard to psychological changes. For example, if you choose seniors caring for senior parents, what psychological issues may occur? You will need to choose three physical changes for this section.
Relative to the selected topic: summarizes how the changes discussed above impact factors such as cognitive function, health, independence, economics, family relationships, and social interactions. For example, you can discuss how a psychological change may impact cognitive function and how a physical issue impacts social interactions.
Based on your findings, what did you find to be true about your topic in aging versus the perceptions and misconceptions society has about older adults?
Suggests interventions that might decrease problems associated with aging. Gives specific examples to illustrate each intervention and explain how it could be used in a professional role working with the elderly and their families. It is important to discuss interventions that directly relate to the physical and psychological issues you discussed. For example, if you chose retirement, what interventions will you use to overcome the physical or psychological issues related to retirement?
As you address your topic, you must include theory, current research, and the implications for the human service professional.
It is not necessary to elaborate extensively on each slide. However, you will want to list each issue and discuss them thoroughly enough for an audience to gain understanding.
The requirement is 20-25 slides, which includes an introduction slide and a reference slide.
CHAPTER 4 Theories of Senescence and Aging Age is not all decay; it is the ripening, the swelling of the fresh life within,
that withers and bursts the husk.
—George MacDonald In Chapter 3 we talked about the marks left on aging bodies, “the husk
withered and burst by the swelling within.” In this chapter, we will examine
some of the explanations given for this “withering.” We will examine theories
that attempt to explain how and why senescence occurs. If we understand
what causes those increased vulnerabilities, we will be better informed and
may be able to minimize senescence so that old age can be a healthy, active
time, a time for the “swelling of the fresh life within.” In this chapter’s Senior
View, Martha Russell gives us her views on some of these theories. An Overview Virtually all organisms show senescence if they live long enough. Most
animals in the wild do not show senescence because they fall to predators at
the first signs of weakness. Animals held in captivity or pets show
senescence because they are protected from predation. Humans show
senescence because they grow old with a fair amount of protection from
predators too. There are, however, instances of wild animals that seem to
live for long periods of time but do not show significant senescence. Turtles, and their large relatives tortoises, live for long periods of time and
show little senescence. Careful examination of turtle tissues shows that older
tissues are not much different from younger tissues. Turtles and tortoises do
not seem to die because of the increased vulnerability to injury and disease
that is characteristic of senescence. They die because of predators, usually
humans. Some fish (sturgeons), amphibians (alligators), and sponges
(regardless of their life in Bikini Bottom) also seem to avoid senescence as
they age. An animal’s size is related to its longevity and when senescence begins.
Generally, smaller animals live shorter lives than larger animals and,
consequently, show senescence at a much earlier chronological age. Turtles
are an exception to the general rule, because they are relatively small
animals but live a long time. Animals who live a long time with no apparent senescence, the relationship
between size and longevity, and the fact that different species have very
different life expectancies suggests a strong role for genetics. Different
species live in the same environments but have different genes. Genes must
be one major reason why a horse lives longer than a dog. Furthermore,
members of the same species (e.g., humans, cats, antelopes) have about the
same life expectancy regardless of where they live. A cat living in Japan has
about the same life expectancy as a cat living in Canada. Genetics clearly
plays an important role in longevity. On the other hand, the environments for
these different species are not identical. Different species, eat different
things (e.g., horses and dogs) and the life expectancy of some species,
notably humans, has changed dramatically over time. Human life expectancy
at the beginning of the twentieth century was about 49 and now it’s over 75.
This difference clearly is environmental. The environment has changed over
the last 100 years but human genes have not. Both genes and environment
play a role in longevity. Senior View Martha Russell, a widow living alone, was 78 when we spoke with her. She
and her husband used to own a rug company. We asked Martha her opinions
of the theories presented in this chapter. Here’s what she had to say. My health is just fine so any theory that says you get sick when you get old
has to be wrong. Martha would not be a fan of the programmed theories you
will learn about in this chapter. That evolution theory says that you live only to reproduce and then you have
to go ahead and die. That can’t be right because I had my child many, many years ago and I feel fine today. We’re not programmed to die; we’re
programmed to live. It is quite possibly true that our own garbage kills us. There’s so much
pollution in everything and a lot of cancers come from that. I guess it could
hurt our DNA and we just couldn’t get it all fixed. I know I already have too
much to do. Martha smiled as she said this last statement. The things we eat and vitamins might give us some protection. Pollutants are
in a lot of things and are very bad for you. We’re supposed to get old and that’s what happens but you shouldn’t try and
hurry it up. We agree.
Theories of senescence must deal with the findings that the members of
some species live longer than members of other species, that some species
seem to show no senescence, that environments are rarely identical, and
that the life expectancy of a species can change as the environment
changes. Such theories often are complex and always difficult to test. When
there is evidence for or against one of these theories, it is usually indirect. In
the following discussion, the theories are divided into programmed and
nonprogrammed categories: Programmed theories claim senescence follows
a predetermined plan and unprogrammed theories mean ones where no such
plan exists. As you will see, it is difficult to place some theories into either of
these categories. A turtle.
Programmed Theories Biological Clock Biological clock theory is the leading programmed theory. Our genes were
considered to be a ticking clock that would stop at a given point and, at that
point, we would fall apart and die. The theory has evolved quite a lot since
that simple version and now many think that the ticking clock itself has been