ASA Section on Aging and the Life
Course - Sociology of Aging and the Life Course provides an analytical framework for
understanding the interplay between human lives and changing social structures. Its
mission is to examine the interdependence between (a) aging over the life course as a
social process and (b) societies and groups as stratified by age, with succession of
cohorts as the link connecting the two.
National Institute on Aging - The National
Institute on Aging (NIA), one of the 25 institutes and centers of the
National Institutes of Health, leads a broad scientific effort to understand the nature of
aging and to extend the healthy, active years of life. The NIA’s mission is to
improve the health and well-being of older Americans through research, and specifically
to: (1) Support and conduct high quality research on: aging processes, age-related
diseases, special problems and needs of the aged; (2) Train and develop highly skilled
research scientists from all population groups; (3) Develop and maintain state-of-the-art
resources to accelerate research progress; and (4) Disseminate information and communicate
with the public and interested groups on health and research advances and on new
directions for research.
Administration on Aging - government agency
under the Department of Health and Human Services created under Title II of the Older
Americans Act to provide national leadership through such activities as: Serving as the
focal point for aging policy in the Federal government; Coordinating services between
other Federal Departments and agencies to assure a continuum of improved services;
Collecting and disseminating information; Developing research plans; Serving as the
effective and visible advocate for meeting the special needs of older people, including
those with low incomes, minorities and the frail and vulnerable elderly; and Stimulating
the effective use of existing resources by articulating existing needs and advocating
needed change.
National Institutes of Health - Comprised of 25
separate Institutes and Centers, the NIH is one of eight health agencies
that is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Office of Civil Rights -
How to file a complaint under the Age Discrimination Act - Complaints of age
discrimination involving DHHS recipients and beneficiaries may be filed with OCR by an
individual, a class, or by a third party, within 180 days from the date of the alleged
discriminatory act. (OCR may extend the 180-day period if good cause is shown.) Include
the following information in your written complaint, or request a Discrimination Complaint
Form from OCR.
Research Group -
Sociological Study of Ethics, Values, and Aging - The purpose of this group is to
provide a forum for innovative empirical and conceptual work addressed to ethics and
values in aging. Recent interest in questions of ethics in aging fall into two general
trends: 1) dilemmas of clinical bioethics, which appear to be precipitated by advances in
medical technology and changes in the health care delivery system, and 2) policy issues
engendered by the prospect of caring for rising numbers of dependent elderly.
Research Group - Gender
and Aging - This research group provides a forum for discussing new, ongoing,
completed, or potential projects focusing on gender differences in the aging experience,
elder care, work and retirement, public policy, political action, and/or other issues.
Research Group - The
Life Course - This research group provides a forum for those who study the full range
of sociological issues that involve the life course. Our purpose is to promote networking
and intellectual contacts that help us each stay connected to the ongoing trends and
emerging directions in our field.
Research Group - Aging
Well - The Aging Well Research Committee includes the study of those who are aging in
health and wholeness as well as those who are challenged by disability and decline but
respond to these losses in positive ways.
Research Group -
Parent-Child Relations in the Later Years - This research group provides a forum for
discussing new research on relations between elderly parents and adult children. It is
hoped that the discussion will include the consideration of conceptual frameworks and
analytic strategies, rather than only the presentation of new findings.
Research Group -
Comparative Social Gerontology - Our group offers a forum for discussing
cross-cultural research on aging, and invite those doing research on foreign culture(s) to
join us. At our meetings, we discuss research of all types and in all stages of progress,
and presentations are generally quite informal.
Research Group - Older
Women in Academic Settings - The purpose of this research group is to bring together
scholars interested in increasing our knowledge about older women in academic settings.
There is a great need for studies looking at the interaction of biography, social factors,
organizational constraints and history that shape the career choice and life-course of
older women in academic settings.
Research Group - Work
and Retirement - The Work and Retirement Group meets in roundtable format at each
annual meeting to discuss current interests regarding the behavior of older workers,
retirees, and employing organizations. This year's session involved the participants in a
discussion of the impact of pre-retirement influences on post-retirement self-esteem;
factors affecting plans for retirement and what is associated with having no plans for
retirement; and factors associated with the continuum of care post-retirement.
Gray Panthers Network - network of more than 20,000
Gray Panthers, many of them active in one of over 50 local Networks nationwide. The focus
is broad and diverse -- from affordable Health Care to Jobs with a living wage.
