Senior Women Web

Author: SeniorWomenWeb

  • Diminished Financial Capacity and Impairment

    We recently read a New York Times article, Money Woes Can Be Early Clue to Alzheimer’s, as one of a series called The Vanishing Mind,  that  led us to look further into the subject.

    What we found was a scholarly article about a 1-year longitudinal study, Declining financial capacity in mild cognitive impairment published in a 2009 issue of the journal Neurology.  Sections of that article follow:

    Financial capacity has emerged as a key instrumental activity of daily living in understanding functional impairment and decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. Financial capacity comprises a broad range of conceptual, pragmatic, and judgment abilities, ranging from basic skills, such as counting coins, to more complex skills, such as paying bills and managing a checkbook.

    The capacity to manage one’s own financial affairs is critical to success in independent living. Impairments in financial skills and judgment are often the first functional changes demonstrated by patients with incipient dementia.

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  • Photojournalism and the American Presidency

    An ever-growing resource of presidential photography is available on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. Photojournalism and the American Presidency examines the powerful relationship between the almighty camera lens and the office of the president. These enduring images have shaped what we think of the American presidency and the select few who hold that office.

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  • The Fracture Risk Assessment Tool

    The Center for Science in the Public Interest in a recent issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter recommended taking the FRAX – WHO (World Health Organization) Fracture Assessment. The Nutrition Action Newsletter stated that you can use the tool to estimate your risk of fracture, whether or not you’ve had your bone mineral density tested.

    The FRAX® tool has been developed by WHO to evaluate fracture risk of patients. It is based on individual patient models that integrate the risks associated with clinical risk factors as well as bone mineral density (BMD) at the femoral neck.

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  • Is the Recession Linked to Fewer Marriages?

    This Analysis and Commentary was released by the Pew Research Center and written by D’Vera Cohn, Senior Writer

    Imagine that you see two people in the distance walking alongside each other down a busy sidewalk. Maybe they are a couple. Maybe they just happen to be heading in the same direction. In a crowd of people on a city street, it’s hard to tell.

    That same challenge arises when researchers look at possible links among social, economic and demographic trends. Two trends are heading in the same direction, but are they related? Correlation, the statisticians frequently warn, is no guarantee of causation.

    There is wide interest by researchers and journalists in finding data from the Census Bureau and other sources that could illustrate the impacts of the Great Recession on American life. This posting recounts a recent debate over the strength of potential links between the recent decline in marriage rates and the national economic downturn.

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  • Guardianships: Cases of Financial Exploitation, Neglect, and Abuse of Seniors

    The GAO released these highlights from their report on Guardianships; Highlights Page (PDF)   Full Report (PDF, 58 pages)

    As individuals age, some become incapable of managing their personal and financial affairs. To protect these individuals, state laws provide for court appointment of guardians, who may be professionals or family members, to protect the incapacitated person’s personal and/or financial welfare. State and local courts are responsible for overseeing guardians.

    In addition, federal agencies may appoint a representative payee, in some cases, the guardian, to manage federal benefits on behalf of incapacitated adults.

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  • A Holiday Gift List, Delighting the Puzzlers

    When compiling Holiday gift shopping lists, we’re partial to favoring those who do crossword books (in addition to the daily crossword obsession) or jigsaw puzzles; the presents are inexpensive and will occupy the recipient for hours, if not days.

    A number of years ago we highlighted Fishs Eddy in lower Manhattan as a dishware story we favored. Now they have created a collection of crossword themed items dubbed, Word Up. A tray, glasses, creamer, mug, square plates, and a butter dish grace this collection. What more could you want at the breakfast table —  puzzle cereal bowls. We do admit that Fishs Eddy doesn’t carry the crossword puzzle cuff links that feature two-mini-puizzles by Will Shortz in sterling silver, but those can be found at The Times website along with their red cookie jar, also displaying two puzzles.

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  • A Top Gear Show Candidate? Ford Goes Green

    by Jo Freeman

    The newest and biggest exhibitor at the 2010 Green Festival in Washington, DC was the *Ford Motor Company, which was touting a new line of electric and hybrid vehicles. Listed as one of three corporate sponsors in the show book, Ford had a prominent spot at the entryway to the exhibit room where it had its own pavilion.

    In space sufficient for two dozen booths, it displayed its latest energy-saving cars, including three hybrids and an all-electric version still in the pre-production stage. In the middle were six food bins, with everything from coconut to sugar beets. Signs described where these biodegradable substances were used in Ford cars. Ford called this its “Sustainable Materials Strategy.”

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  • Bernanke Addresses the Issue of Irregularities in Foreclosure Practices

    The following remarks on mortgage foreclosures were delivered by Chairman Ben Bernanke at the Federal Reserve System and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Conference on Mortgage Foreclosures and the Future of Housing, Arlington, Virginia October 25, 2010:

    Before I address the specific topics of this conference, I would like to note that we have been concerned about reported irregularities in foreclosure practices at a number of large financial institutions. The federal banking agencies are working together to complete an in-depth review of practices at the largest mortgage servicing operations. We are looking intensively at the firms’ policies, procedures, and internal controls related to foreclosures and seeking to determine whether systematic weaknesses are leading to improper foreclosures. We take violations of proper procedures seriously. We anticipate preliminary results of the review next month. In addition, Federal Reserve staff members and their counterparts at other federal agencies are evaluating the potential effects of these problems on the real estate market and financial institutions.

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  • Brennan Center: Ballot Security and Voter Suppression

    From the Brennan Center for Justice by Wendy Weiser & Vishal Agraharkar

    “Ballot security” is an umbrella term for a variety of practices that are carried out by political operatives and private groups with the stated goal of preventing voter fraud.  Far too often, however, ballot security initiatives have the effect of suppressing eligible votes, either inadvertently or through outright interference with voting rights.

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  • Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam at NYPL

    Three of the world’s most followed religions each started from Abraham’s covenant with a single, unseeable God 'The Tanakh (The Xanten Bible)' Hebrew Bible, vol. 1. Joseph ben Kalonymus, scribe. Xanten, Lower Rhineland, 5054 AM (1294 CE). The New York Public Library, Spencer Collection.and are now the lived experience of half of the world’s population. Three Faiths: Judaism, Christianity, Islam, The New York Public Library’s leading fall 2010 exhibition, explores these three religions through the texts they have produced. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam live side by side around the world and in New York City and continue to be part of the local dialogue, fueling discourse and debate. Three Faiths informs the discussion with four millennia of spiritual history as seen through 200 of the Library’s most inspiring sacred texts. Three Faiths is on view through February 27, 2011 at the Library’s Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at Fifth Avenue at 42nd Street in Manhattan.

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