Resistance training is an important aspect of healthy ageing, yet participation rates are especially low among older people. Strategies are needed to ensure resistance training programmes are attractive to and appropriate for this target group. To inform the development of such strategies, individual interviews (N = 42) and focus groups (four groups, N = 37) were conducted with 79 Western Australians representing four stakeholder groups: instructors who deliver resistance training programmes to older people, health practitioners, policy makers and seniors. Results indicate that the need for personalised attention in the establishment and maintenance phases of a resistance training programme can constitute both a positive and negative aspect of older people's experiences. The negative aspects were identified as a series of tensions between the need for personalised attention and (a) the desire to participate in physical activity within social groups, (b) a preference for activity variation, (c) a dislike for large centres where personalised guidance is often available yet the surroundings can be considered unappealing, (d) cost issues and (e) the need for flexibility in attendance. Recommended strategies for overcoming these tensions include disseminating information about the benefits of resistance training in later life to increase motivation to participate, identifying additional methods of integrating resistance training into group exercise formats, making gyms more attractive to older people and providing non-gym alternatives for resistance training.

Positive ageing discourses have proliferated in Western nations, forming key aspects of structured mandates for how to think about, and act towards, ageing bodies. As interpretive resources, positive ageing discourses shape how adults growing older think about themselves, their bodies and the bodies of others in relation to the process of ageing and the imperative to ‘age well’. Informed by governmentality, this paper considers how positive ageing discourses function as technologies of government to inform and direct conduct. Drawing on in-depth narrative data, this analysis traces how ageing citizens take up and negotiate positive ageing discourses in their everyday lives, drawing attention to the intensive work, inexorable focus on the body and numerous resources that the enactment of positive ageing requires. Specifically, this analysis illuminates the interplay between the lived experiences of ageing and the socio-culturally structured mandates that shape how ageing and ageing bodies are conceptualised and approached, and draws attention to the moments of tension that arise out of such interplay. We suggest that these moments of tension highlight how the bodywork practices that older adults rigorously and continuously engage in are not so much directed towards the pursuit of ageless ageing, but rather are a response to the inescapable threat of dependency, decline and loss of agency, and thus operate to affirm ageist underpinnings of positive ageing discourses.

Social needs are important basic human needs. When social needs are not fulfilled, it can lead to mental and physical health problems. In an ageing society, meeting the social needs of older adults is important to sustain their wellbeing and quality of life. Social technology is used by younger people attempting to fulfil social needs. The aim of this study is to understand the social needs of older people and the role of social technology in fulfilling these needs. Using this information we will uncover opportunities for (technological) interventions. We conducted a qualitative explorative field study by interviewing 19 community-dwelling older adults. The participants were selected by professional care-givers with the help of a list of criteria for people at risk of social isolation or loneliness. Semi-structured interviews were held, using a topic list covering the following topics: social networks, social support, connectedness, neighbourhood, activities and hobbies, as well as use of and experiences with social technology. After thematic analysis, inductive codes were attached to quotations relevant to the research question. The results were described in four sections: (a) social needs and relationships; (b) the influence of life history and personality; (c) possibilities and barriers to meet social needs; and (d) use of and attitude towards social technology. The results indicate that the group of participants is heterogeneous and that their social needs and the way they try to meet these are diverse. The Social Production Functions Theory of Successful Aging (SPF-SA) was found to be a useful basis for interpreting and presenting the data. Social needs such as connectedness, autonomy, affection, behavioural confirmation and status are important for the wellbeing of older people. Although the need for affection is most easy to fulfil for older people, it looks like satisfaction of the need for behavioural confirmation and status are in some cases preferred, especially by the male participants. Resources such as relationships, activities, personal circumstances and social technology can help meet social needs. Where there is a lack of (physical) resources such as health problems, reduced mobility, death of network members, fear of rejection and gossip, and poor financial circumstances, meeting social needs can be more difficult for some older people. Social technology now plays a modest role in the lives of older people and in fulfilling their social needs. Because of its potential and its role in the lives of younger people, social technology can be seen as a promising resource in the satisfaction of social needs. However, since it is yet unknown how and to what extent the use of social network technologies, such as Facebook, can be beneficial for older people, more research in this area is needed. Based on our findings, we conclude that the world of older individuals is getting smaller. The loss of resources, e.g. the loss of one's health and mobility, may make it more difficult for an older person to connect with the world outside, which may result in a smaller social network. We therefore suggest that interventions to support older adults to meet their social needs may focus on two aspects: supporting and improving the world close by and bringing the world outside a little bit closer.