Do you want to be a better friend? This is a book about recovering the lost art of friendship. Bridging Generations: 52 Stories of Ageless Friendship contains transformative tales of companionship between nursing home residents and volunteers. Woven through the narratives are ten useful building blocks for forging bonds with people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. The stories offer compelling portraits of people such as: • Annie Mae, who as a child defied her mother and cut a hole in her feed sack dress • Hugh, who caught a rattlesnake with his shoelace to make $10 • Nora and Bebo, whose birthday wishes were immediately granted • Bob, the quadriplegic who went skydiving • Moses, the first Black welder in North Florida Heartwarming, poignant, humorous, instructive, and inspiring, the stories will appeal to those who visit with or care for elders. More broadly, this is a book about forming friendships in unexpected ways. It testifies to the healing power of communication, music, laughter, celebrating, and just being present with someone. Come discover the power of ageless friendship! "Three cheers for Steve and Allison Blay and their new book, Bridging Generations, a practical and inspiring guidebook for nurturing friendships with older adults."—Missy Buchanan, speaker and author of From Dry Bones to Living Hope “Everyone needs a friend. With over 50 stories of courage, determination, and humor, Bridging Generations, a top-notch book by Steve and Allison Blay, has golden nuggets for everyone wanting to develop communication skills and meaningful friendships.” —M. Violet Asmuth, Ph.D., Communication Studies

This book contributes to an understanding of how globalization affects the lives of ordinary people. Since the middle of the twentieth century Taiwan has undergone a remarkably rapid change from a poor, mostly rural society to a thriving industrial, mostly urban one. Because of its openness to global influences, it has been called the first transnational culture. Women have been especially affected by the new opportunities available as this transition has occurred. We focus on two generations of women, mothers who came of age before the transition and their daughters who became adults as the island was emerging onto the top tier of industrial economies. We interviewed both generations in five families, obtaining first a biography of each, followed by a detailed inventory of their everyday lifestyle activities. In analyzing these two sets of data, a combination unique in the literature, we show the ways in which there has been an intermixing of transnational and local cultural elements. The result is a flowering of distinct identities as women can choose from a greater variety of lifestyle options by virtue of the increased awareness of the outside world. To make sense of this unfolding process, mostly concepts associated with theories of globalization are employed, but in some cases reformulated. Our approach to these issues can lay the groundwork for a more penetrating understanding of changing lifestyles in an increasingly globalized world in which transnational influences and traditional concerns are woven into a complex web of cultural responses.

Social isolation, loneliness, and suicide are conditions we often associate with the elderly. But in reality, these issues have sharply increased across younger generations. Baby Boomers, Gen X’ers, Millennials, and post-Millennials all report a declining number of friends and an increasing number of health issues associated with loneliness. Even more concerning, it appears that the younger the generation, the greater the feelings of disconnection. Regardless of age, it feels as though we’re living through a period of ongoing disequilibrium because we’re not able to adapt quickly enough to the social and technological changes swirling around us. These powerful changes have not only isolated individuals from their own peers but have contributed to becoming an age-segregated society. And yet we need fulfilling relationships with people our own age and across the generations to lead lives that are rich in meaning and purpose. Even in those rare communities where young and old live near each other, they lack organic settings that encourage intergenerational relationships. In addition, it isn’t technology, but generational diversity that is our best tool for navigating the changes that affect so many aspects of our lives - whether it’s work, entertainment, education, or family dynamics. We can’t restore yesterday’s model of community, where only those who were older transmitted wisdom downward to the generation below. But we can relearn how much members of different generations have to offer each other and recreate intergenerational communities for the 21st century where young, old, and everyone in between is equally valued for their perspectives, and where each generation views itself as having a stake in the other’s success. Here, Hayim Herring focuses more deeply on how Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, and Millennials perceive one another and looks underneath the generational labels that compound isolation. He offers ways we can prepare current and future generations for a world in which ongoing interactions with people from multiple generations become the norm, and re-experience how enriching intergenerational relationships are personally and communally.

Miscommunication -Employee conflict -Work ethic debates -Loyalty issues -Varying wants and needs -If you are a manager, human resources professional, or business owner, you are faced with these types of issues every day. But why? Because currently, there are five generations in the workplace: Radio Babies (born during 1930-1945); Baby Boomers (1946-1964); Generation X (1965-1976); Generation Y (1977-1991); even some Millennials (1991 and later). Each of them has a different perspective, based on their upbringing and daily lives. The key to making encounters between the generations successful is learning to understand the point of view of each generation and respect their differences.The individuals and organizations that do this will be the ones to succeed. This book will show you how. Authors Gravett and Throckmorton take a dynamic approach to the situation by writing in two distinct voices—as a Baby Boomer and a Gen-Xer—using a "point-counterpoint" approach to identify differences and similarities across generations. They share hands-on experiences, real-life cases, recommended solutions, and ground-breaking research on how members of any generation can better relate to minimize conflict, miscommunication, and wasted energy. You will learn what each generation thinks of the others and how each wishes the others viewed it. Bridging the Generation Gap is filled with strategies and solutions you can implement immediately to help build your own bridge between the generations.

Within contemporary youth research there are two dominant streams - a 'transitions' and a 'cultures' perspective. This collection shows that it is no longer possible to understand the experience of young people through these prisms and proposes new conceptual foundations for youth studies, capable of bridging the gap between these approaches.

The authors provide a range of ideas on how to approach generational shifts in leadership so that the contributions of long-time leaders are valued, new and younger leaders' talent is recognized, and groups are better prepared to work across generational divides. Giving context to these differences, they explore the current assumptions about the upcoming transition between generations in the social sector; introduce new ideas or frames for thinking about generational leadership change; and examine how this change poses individual, organizational, and systemic challenges for those in the social sector. In addition, they provide numerous examples and practical exercises to show how to address these issues. The book concludes with critical advice on how to communicate across generations and key recommendations for future research and action.

Considering research, practice, and policies on opening pathways to overcome educational disparities, this book offers new quantitative and qualitative evidence to introduce a multi-level theory on how youth navigate across the cultural worlds of their families, schools, peers, and community programs to access academic opportunities.

Written for those struggling to manage a workforce with incompatible ethics, values, and working styles, this book looks at the root causes of professional conflict and offers practical guidelines for navigating multigenerational differences. By exploring the most common causes of conflict--including the Me Generation’s frustration with Gen Yers’ constant desire for feedback and the challenges facing Gen Xers sandwiched between these polarities--Generations at Work offers practical, spot-on guidance for managing the differences with consideration to each generation’s unique needs. Along with the authors’ insights for managing a workforce with different ways of working, communicating, and thinking, this invaluable resources offers: in-depth interviews with members of each generation, tips on best practices from companies successfully bridging the generation gap, and a mentorship field guide to help you support the youngest members of your team. Generations at Work has the tools that are key to helping your workforce interact more positively with one another and thrive in today’s wildly divergent workplace culture.

Whatever life gives you and wherever life takes you, there is always a story. Life and relationships all begin and are sustained in the context of a story. This is not a how-to-do-it-right book as much as it is a book of stories—personal stories from the author, biblical stories, and stories of ordinary grandparents and grandchildren who have been willing to share their own stories with which you may be able to identify and be encouraged in your own adventures of grandparenting. This is a book for everyone that either has biological grandchildren or has the potential to influence the lives of non-biological youth and children in the role of grandparenting. This is also a book for churches to consider while planning for ministry to bring generations together in meaningful interactions, and in doing so, to create space for generations to share their stories and share in God’s overarching Story of reconciling the world . . . one story at a time.