People
over 50 are the fastest growing Internet
users
Those
over 50 now make up the fastest growing
age group in Britain for Internet usage
and represent a quarter of all users.
These are a couple of the conclusions
of a survey carried out by Millennium,
specialists in mature marketing. Further
insights into the over 50 arena are given
by Fiona Hought, the Managing Director.
This age group constitutes one of the
most powerful consumer forces in Internet
shopping and they are starting to flex
their muscles. However, they are a discerning
lot and business is not yet on their wavelength.
Over 50s are suspicious of sponsored links,
hate "pop-ups" and have a healthy
cynicism for advertising and marketing.
For
more information on the survey go to prime
numbers
June
2006
Exhibitions
at the V&A revisit the Sixties
Two
exhibitions, currently taking place at
the V&A Museum, explore some of the
spirit, culture and imagery of the "Sixties".
Sixties Fashion, which runs until early
2007, takes a look at the clothes, the
designers and the fashion shopping scene
of the time. Sixties Graphics examines
the images, styles and graphics technology
as portrayed on posters, album covers
and in the magazines of the era. This
runs until November 12 2006. For more
information visit www.vam.ac.uk
June
2006
Job
loss over 50 may increase the chance of
heart attack
Research
in the US, by a team from Yale University,
suggests that job loss for people in their
50s and 60s could double the risk of a
heart attack or a stroke. This research,
published in the UK in the journal Occupational
and Environmental Medicine, covers data
collected from over 12600 individuals.
As yet, the reasons for this have not
been established but possible reasons
put forward all lead to cause for concern.
It is possible that the job loss and the
heart attack or stroke are both the results
of declining health. However, it is probable
that there is more to it than this. Redundancy
is an extremely stressful experience and
in later life is likely to be more so.
In addition to the more obvious financial
implications there are likely to be other
aspects to consider. These include the
problems of obtaining further employment,
depression, social isolation, decreased
physical activity, less self care etc.
It is suggested that more attention be
paid to some of the less obvious consequences.
June
2006
Large
investment at Newcastle University for
research into ageing
As
a sign of the increasing importance of
understanding the ageing process, a significant
investment and re-organisation is taking
place in the North-East at Newcastle University
to further its medical research. It will
particularly be looking into many of the
degenerative diseases of old age. Professor
Tom Kirkwood, an expert on ageing, points
out that life expectancy in Western Europe
has increased by two years for every decade,
which is at the rate of about five hours
every day put in more dramatic terms.
So by the middle of the century a high
proportion of the population will be over
85. This has all kinds of implications.
Pension provision is one but so also is
the quality of life being experienced
if health is in serious decline. It is
this area that Newcastle University's
Institute for Ageing and Health will be
seeking to explore.
June
2006
VSO
is looking for managers to
share their skills
The
charity VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas)
is actively looking for experienced managers
to share their skills in various developing
and poorer countries. It is particularly
interested in people with knowledge in
the areas of staff training, leadership
and motivation, strategy and planning,
budgetary control, process monitoring
and evaluation, management and administration
systems, managing change, and communications.
It is currently holding a series of presentations
and meetings to discuss what is involved
and, if you're interested, the site to
visit is at www.vso.org.uk/managers
June 2006
Delayed
pension age may mean fewer volunteers
1 June marks the start of Volunteers Week,
aiming to recognise, reward and recruit
volunteers. With it come the results of
a survey for the national charity Volunteering
England, carried out by YouGov, which
suggests that the raising of the pension
age to 68 will have a significant impact
on the number of volunteers available
in future years. At present, around half
of retired people between 65 and 74 devote
some of their time to good causes.
For more, visit http://www.volunteersweek.org.uk
or http://www.volunteeringengland.org.uk
June
2006
Planning
to live to 100
Living to 100 years of age is
coming within the possibility of many
and is the fastest growing demographic
group in the developed world.The New Scientist
magazine has collected together a number
of measures being investigated by scientists
to reach that magic age in the best possible
condition. The list is not exhaustive
and some may be controversial but it all
adds to the growing interest and research
into the subject.mong the measures advocated:
- Small doses of “stressors”,
such as poisons, radiation and heat
can actually reverse the ageing process
by kick-starting the body’s self-repair
mechanism.
- Don’t be a loner.
- Move to an environment conducive to
living longer.
- A little of what you fancy does you
good.
- Keep mentally active.
- Smile more and be happy.
- Think about what you eat and how much
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