The question of communication and understanding between different generations is emerging as a key issue for the twenty-first century. The advent of ageing populations may lead to increased conflict or solidarity in society, and provokes a profound ambivalence both in public and in the private sphere. In a new approach, Biggs and Lowenstein offer a critical examination of Generational Intelligence as one way of addressing these issues. How easy is it to put yourself in the shoes of someone of a different age group? What are the personal, interpersonal and social factors that affect our perceptions of the ‘age other’? What are the key issues facing families, workplaces and communities in an ageing society? This book sets out a way of thinking about interpersonal relations based on age, and the question of communication between people of different ages and generations. The book challenges existing orthodoxies for relations between adults of different ages and draws out steps that can be taken to increase understanding between generational groups. The authors outline a series of steps that can be taken to enhance Generational Intelligence, examine existing theories and social issues, and suggest new directions for sustainable relations between generational groups.

Product Description: Professor Brian Vincent is a leading light in colloid science both in the UK and internationally. The science Brian has been involved in has influenced many areas of colloids both academically and industrially. He has collaborated with many sectors of industry (including pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, agrochemicals, personal products, laundry products, paints and coatings)...read more

Product Description: This book is concerned with demonstrating the relevance and application of Michel Foucault's work to an understanding of human ageing. The diverse range of arguments in the book identifies the ways in which 'ageing' has been organised, shaped and positioned through both knowledge systems and social processes, which impinge on the social construction of ageing...read more

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Product Description: Simon Biggs' 'The Great Wall of China' is a cross-media work published as an interactive CD-ROM with a set of cards, and also produced as a gallery-based installation. The piece takes its title, and much of its inspiration, from the work of the novelist Franz Kafka, whose classic writings still provide us with some of our most compelling metaphorical insights into the complex, proliferating information networks which increasingly dominate our lives...read more

* What does it mean to possess a mature imagination under contemporary social conditions?* Is it possible to choose not to grow old? * How are the core questions for adult identity to be addressed in midlife and beyond?This innovative and wide-ranging book critically assesses notions of adult ageing as they affect people's lifestyles and their sense of personal and social identity. Drawing on an extraordinary range of theory, original research and empirical sources, Simon Biggs examines the interpretation of these changes within social theory and their implications for practice in therapy and in health and welfare settings.Biggs' argument develops a number of key concepts, and begins by assessing notions of change arising from psychodynamic and postmodern perspectives on ageing. Whilst these ideas shape our understanding, the study of ageing itself challenges easy theoretical assumptions about adult identity. The author critically assesses the contribution of these key perspectives and develops a model for combining the inner world of the mature imagination with the possibilities and uncertainties inherent in contemporary social life. Central to this analysis are tensions between authenticity and masquerade, personal coherence and continuity, and the role of facilitative and restrictive social space. The reader is invited to transgress traditional subject boundaries and draw on insights from sociology, psychotherapy and social gerontology in new and creative ways. The issues that emerge are of both theoretical and practical importance and are presented clearly and concisely.The Mature Imagination should be of interest to a broad range of students and practitioners in the areas of counselling, health and welfare as well as readers interested in following debates in contemporary social theory. (view table of contents)

Product Description: Book of Shadows has two components, a traditional book and a cd-rom. The book includes print versions of two works, 'Book of Shadows' and 'The Living Room', and essays covering Simon Biggs' videos (by Steven Bode), installations (Rudolf Frieling), and interactive works (Sean Cubitt)...read more