TEACHING GERONTOLOGY Jan. 10, 2003 H.R. Moody, Editor xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx In this issue: - Remembering Armin Grams - Biology of Human Aging - Back Issues Available - Helping Students Use Census Data - Paying for an Aging Society - Newsletter on Ethics and Aging - The Cost of Long-term Care - Facts about Aging - "But I Read It On the Internet!" - Elder Care and Service Learning - Upcoming Meetings xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx REMEMBERING ARMIN GRAMS Armin Grams, PhD, Professor Emeritus at the University of Vermont, died on Nov. 20, 2002. Armin was known and beloved to gerontological educators nationwide and his good humor and tireless commitment to students and to the field will be missed. For a detailed obituary on Armin Grams, see: http://www.aghe.org/arminobt.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ BIOLOGY OF HUMAN AGING The Index for Biology of Human Aging is a web site helpful for those teaching courses related to biogerontology. The site offers lecture notes, curricula, instructional objectives, homework assignments, classroom activities, and sample tests, as well as links to other sites of interest. Visit them at: http://www.biologyofhumanaging.com The biology of aging is addressed in the textbook AGING: CONCEPTS AND CONTROVERSIES. For details and Internet links, visit: http://www.pineforge.com/moody/growold.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE Back issues of TEACHING GERONTOLOGY are now available at: http://www.hrmoody.com/newsletters.html ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ HELPING STUDENTS USE CENSUS DATA Want your students to use Census data? Note that the Census itself provides some excellent tools helpful to students. For example, each "Introduction to Census 2000 Data Products" below contains an overview of the information available from Census 2000 with a detailed description of topics, geographic entities, and data and map products. Available at: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ PAYING FOR AN AGING SOCIETY Can we afford an aging society? The debate goes on and Undersecretary of the Treasury Peter Fisher gives forecast of the impact of age-based entitlement programs in the 21st century. Here is an influential voice in the Bush Administration over the debate on how population aging will public financing in years to come. For details visit: http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/po3622.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ E-NEWSLETTER: SOUL OF BIOETHICS A new monthly e-newsletter, "The Soul of Bioethics," is now published by the Institute for Human Values in Aging. The newsletter focuses on holistic approaches to care in later life, including spiritual dimensions of applied ethics. For a sample copy or free subscription, contact H.R. Moody at: soulofbioethics@yahoo.com ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ THE COST OF LONG-TERM CARE Who can afford a nursing home? Costs can range up to $ 100,000 in some urban areas (!!!) To find out how much Medicaid, Medicare, and private long-term care insurance are paying for nursing home costs, visit the website of CMS, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (formerly HCFA) at: http://www.hcfa.gov/stats/nhe-oact/tables/t7.htm On the debate about how to pay for long-term care ("Should Families Take Care of Their Own?") see: http://www.pineforge.com/moody/provide.htm ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ FACTS ABOUT AGING HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL? Fewer than 5% of people over 65 are in nursing homes at any point in time. Yet up to half of the U.S. population will need some form of long-term care during their lives. JAPAN. Life-expectancy at birth in Japan is now 81 years, the highest in the world. BOOMERS GROW OLD. Today, every seven seconds a Baby Boomer turns 55-- that's 10,000 each day. THE COST OF CAREGIVING. It is generally estimated that 80% of caregiving for elders is done by unpaid, informal groups, largely family. If the work of these informal caregivers had to be replaced by paid staff, it would cost at least $ 60 billion a year. ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ "BUT I READ IT ON THE INTERNET" One of the most frustrating things is when students write a paper with web citations that are unreliable. "Garbage in, garbage out," as the computer scientists used to say. But how can you help students check on the reliability of web sites and the assertions found on those sites? There are solutions. Take a look at Sabrina I. Pacifici's "Getting It Right: Verifying Sources on the Net" available at: http://www.llrx.com/features/verifying.htm Many of us make regular use of Google and you may also want to look at the the Google Directory of Web Site Evaluation Tools at: http://directory.google.com/Top/Reference/Education/Instructional_Technology/Evaluati on/Web_Site_Evaluation/ ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ ELDER CARE and SERVICE LEARNING We all know the powerful impact of field placements and hands-on experience for students working with elders. A new book is now available to help faculty plan and guide service learning activities and to make explicit connections between coursework, field placement, and policy. ELDER CARE AND SERVICE LEARNING: A Handbook is co-edited by Carol R. Hegeman and Susanne Bleiberg Seperson. Available from Auburn House with Greenwood Press (203) 226-3571 ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ 4th EDITION OF TEXTBOOK AVAILABLE The 4th edition of AGING: CONCEPTS and CONTROVERSIES (Pine Forge Press, Sage Publications, 2002) is now available. The book presents gerontology through "great debates" around topics like assisted suicide, privatizing Social Security, extension of the human lifespan, and the search for meaning in later life. Details about the new, fourth edition are available at http://www.pineforge.com/ Copies of AGING: CONCEPTS and CONTROVERSIES are available at no charge for college faculty to consider for course adoption. An Instructor's Manual is also available at no charge with pedagogical methods, questions for class discussion, sample tests, and other resources for teaching from the book. For questions about how to get a review copy or the Instructor's Manual, call Sage Publications for Customer Care at 1-800-818-7243 (805-499-9774 outside the U.S.) or e- mail textbooks@sagepub.com. ----------------------<<< >>>------------------------ UPCOMING MEETINGS: Educational Gerontology GERONTOLOGICAL SOCIAL WORK CONFERENCE. The Council on Social Work Education's "Strengthening Aging and Gerontology Education for Social Work" (SAGE-SW) project, funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation, will hold the First National Gerontological Social Work Conference in conjunction with the CSWE 49th Annual Program Meeting in Atlanta, GA, from February 27 through March 2, 2003. For details, visit: http://www.cswe.org/sage-sw/whoweare/ngswc.htm AGHE MEETING. From Mar. 6-9, 2003, the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education will convene its 29th Annual Meeting and Leadership Conference at the Hilton Hotel, St. Petersburg, FL. For further information call: (202) 289-9806 or email: aghetemp@aghe.org or visit the web site at: http://www.aghe.org/call03.htm xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx This electronic newsletter, edited by Harry (Rick) Moody, is published by the Institute for Human Values in Aging in cooperation with Pine Forge Press (Sage Publications). TEACHING GERONTOLOGY contains items of interest to improve the teaching of aging. To submit items or request subscription changes, contact teachgero@yahoo.com Back issues of TEACHING GERONTOLOGY are available at: http://www.hrmoody.com/newsletters.html (c) Copyright 2003; all rights reserved. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx