Older people became a highly visible force in the American politics of the 1930s. The Townsend organisation mobilised one tenth of the U.S. elderly population prior to their direct representation in the polity as an interest group. This article utilises several theoretical social movement models to analyse how and why mobilisation occurred. It demonstrates that many factors, including phenomena associated with the social dimension of age, influenced the mechanisms of mobilisation and the movement's shape. Characteristics of this cohort of older people, including its size, life expectancy, spatial distribution, shared traditions, and symbolic frameworks were conducive to club formation and mobilisation. The period event of the Depression also triggered collective action, by exacerbating trends of changing old-age institutional supports. But the organisation expanded most where it channelled inducements to participants and evoked the cohorts' symbolic frameworks and ideals. Mobilisation also occurred within a political environment, the national stage of U.S. politics, where non-represented interest groups (such as elderly people) find it difficult to receive benefits.

Drawing on a survey of 406 British home owners in France, this study examines the origins, destinations and reasons for purchasing homes in rural France. In doing so it compares first home retired households with their pre-retirement counterparts and with second home owners who are retired. No notable differences are found in the geographical distribution or reasons for selecting home locations between these groups. However, patterns of retirement migration to France do appear to differ from intra-national long-distance migration within Britain and North America. Pointers to these differences are given and suggestions for future research are made. In addition, despite family visits and the friendship that people find in their recipient French communities, it is suggested that potential problems could arise for residents in relatively isolated rural communes. More research is needed to assess whether the positive attractions that are drawing retirement migrants from Britain to France will outweigh the negative consequences of their new home location.

Three weeks after the outbreak of the Scud Missile crisis residents of Tel Aviv and the outlying regions, aged 50–91 participated in a study the focus of which was the relationship between personal (cognitive) control of the aversive environmental stimuli and (1) distress in areas of mood and affect, and (2) distress in interaction with the social environment. Personal control was measured along two dimensions: perceived control of the situation and attribution of meaning to events and their outcomes. Findings revealed no significant differences between age categories in levels of cognitive control or in levels of distress. Situation control emerged as the most significant variable in explaining variation in distress scores. Attribution of meaning, though significantly related to situation control, was only a moderately significant predictor of interaction distress. The findings support the thesis that the existence of a causal link between life events and psychological equilibrium makes theoretical sense only when the cognitive structure of such events for individuals is considered.

This paper discusses the policy implications for encouraging a high quality of service provision in hospital for elderly people with dementia. Contemporary policy is examined and the continuing need for long-stay beds is highlighted, particularly in Scotland. The measurement of the quality of care in nursing is reviewed and concern is expressed over whether the patients or only the audit score will benefit from any change in practice. Ways of improving both work satisfaction and the quality of care are recommended on the basis of a study of psychogeriatric wards in NHS hospitals in Scotland.

The provisional criteria for age-associated memory impairment (AAMI) attempt to define a potentially treatable decline in mental function found in people over 50 years of age. It is suggested here that the present criteria are likely to apply to a large proportion of those over age 50 in the population. From a psychometric viewpoint the criteria have several short-comings that are detailed. Finally, the social and ethical problems of the wider use of such a diagnosis are adumbrated.