Description
Part of the Controversial Issues series, this text presents a series of clear and lively debates on current issues in gerontology, authored by leading academic authorities in the field. The text presents a broad overview of issues and questions facing the field, including areas of policy/programs, health, social services, professional and family life, and more. The debates are current and very readable; the text is “user-friendly,” and was designed to stimulate student discussion, debate, as well as critical thinking. The text is a “must” for students considering careers in the field of gerontology. The non-technical, brief and lively format of the debates makes them accessible to all students. Issues covered include whether or not to legalize suicide; whether to reduce Social Security benefits; whether to institute means-testing for Medicare; whether affirmative action programs should be instituted for older persons; and the potential dismantling of the aging services network.
Features
- Brief, lively debate format presents key issues in a short, affordable paperback.
- Stimulates debate, discussion, and critical thinking by students, and can be used to supplement any course on gerontology/aging.
- Provides an overview of contemporary issues facing the field of gerontology as well as issues that are facing our rapidly aging society.
- Debate authors are well-known authorities in their fields, both pioneers and “rising stars” in gerontology.
Table of Contents
Preface.
I. POLICY AND PROGRAM ISSUES.
1. Should Social Security Benefits be Reduced for High Income Individuals?
YES: Martha H. Phillips.
NO: Teresa Ghilarducci.
2. Should Eligibility for Medicare be Means-Tested?
YES: Bill Niskanen.
NO: Marilyn Moon.
3. Should the Aging Network be Dismantled?
YES: Elias S. Cohen.
NO: Donna L. Wagner.
4. Should There be an Affirmative Action Policy for Hiring Older Persons?
YES: Anthony A. Sterns and Harvey L. Sterns.
NO: Phillip Longman.
5. Are Private Sector Solutions to Long Term Care Financing Preferable to Expansion of Public Long-Term Care Programs?
YES: Stanley S. Wallack.
NO: Joshua M. Wiener.
6. Should Age be Abandoned as a Basis for Program and Service Eligibility?
YES: John H. Skinner.
NO: Elizabeth A. Kutza.
II. AGE-BASED POLITICS.
7. Are the Elderly Benefiting at the Expense of Younger Americans?
YES: Paul S. Hewitt.
NO: Jill Quadagno.
8. Do the Elderly Really have Political Clout?
YES: Henry J. Pratt.
NO: Robert H. Binstock.
III. HEALTH AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE ISSUES.
9. Should Older Persons have the Right to Commit Suicide?
YES: Margaret Pabst Battin.
NO: Lois Snyder.
10. Should Health Care be Rationed by Age?
YES: Eric Rakowski.
NO: Stephen G. Post.
11. Is Managed Care Good for Older Persons?
YES: Jennie Chin Hansen.
NO: Marty Lynch and Carroll L. Estes.
12. Is Aging More Problematic for Women than Men?
YES: Nancy R. Hooyman.
NO: Robert L. Rubenstein.
IV. FAMILY ISSUES.
13. Does the Provision of Formal Services Lead to Families Relinquishing their Caregiving for Relatives?
YES: Vernon L. Greene.
NO: Sharon L. Tennstedt.
14. Should Family Members be Paid to Provide Care to Elderly Persons?
YES: Sharon M. Keigher and Nathan L. Linsk.
NO: John Amson Capitman and Donna L. Yee.
15. Should Older Persons be Able to Give Assets to Family Members Without Affecting Medicaid Eligibility?
YES: Marshall B. Kapp.
NO: Alan D. Bogutz.
16. Should Grandparents Assume Full Parental Responsibility?
YES: Joan F. Robertson.
NO: Colleen L. Johnson.
V. THE FIELD OF GERONTOLOGY.
17. Is Gerontology Biased Toward a Negative View of the Aging Process and Old Age?
YES: Robert C. Atchley.
NO: M. Powell Lawton.
18. Should Gerontology be Considered a Separate Profession?
YES: Pamela Francisco Wendt and David A. Peterson.
NO: Jordan I. Kosberg.
VI. AGING IN THE FUTURE.
19. Will Future Elderly Persons Experience More Years of Disability?
YES: Edward L. Schneider.
NO: James F. Fries.
20. Will Tomorrow's Elderly be Better Off?
YES: Neal E. Cutler.
NO: Paul C. Light.
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