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Technological innovation is increasingly contributing to the development of smart objects, meant as semi-autonomous devices augmented by sensing, processing and network capabilities that facilitate older adults being independent and in control of a healthy lifestyle. Given the lessened familiarity that the ageing population has with internet-based technologies, a 'digital divide' among generations is often observed. This research is premised on the basis that design interventions can develop intuitive and understandable smart objects minimising age-related differences and promote a greater technology adoption. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the understandability of smart objects for the ageing population could be supported through the application, at the product design level, of Smart Materials (SMs), a category of engineered materials whose properties can be designed to both stimulate human sensorial abilities and to develop engaging experiences. In line with such research enquiry, SMs are adopted in this thesis for their ability to embody 'analogies' and 'metaphors' into product designs and systematically stimulate the prior knowledge and memories of older adults to facilitate their understanding of new concepts, following the principle of 'familiarity'. Analogies and metaphors, powerful learning tools for written, verbal and visual communication, have been recently investigated as 'non-linguistic' tools, when physically embedded into product designs, to facilitate the users' understanding how technology works. How non-linguistic metaphors help to cope with age-related differences is still incomplete. In order to demonstrate that embodied SMs can minimise differences in the understandability of technologies across generations, a qualitative and exploratory study was conducted; empirical evidence was collected through four techniques to accomplish the following objectives: 1. identify critical areas that affect older adults' everyday life and that smart objects should cope with; 2. define a set of embodied Smart Materials to be included into the prototype of a Smart Radio, a novel communicative device specifically design for the ageing population; 3. evaluate the prototype of the Smart Radio, where age-related similarities and differences in the interpretation are made explicit. 62 participants (n=31 under-60-year-old and n=31 over-60-year-old participants) evaluated the developed Smart Radio, the main evaluation study conducted in this thesis, using four different families of SMs. Findings reveal that embodied SMs considerably help mitigate age-related differences in the understanding of smart objects; this in return may increase the chance of technology adoption among ageing users. The embodiment of Smart Materials that enable metaphorical processing shows promising improvements on the older adult's ability to reaffirm their own subjective awareness, hence control, of the world around them along with opportunities for a human-centred technology development.

This study was an investigation of the complexities and challenges of change in a community-based aged care facility in Western Australia, to reveal the impact and influence of change on the community. It explored the impact of change on both the residents and the senior management team, as leaders of the organisation, and explored how change influenced the redevelopment process and future of the organisation. There is considerable literature on organisational change including the impact of change on the structure, function, process, workforce and leaders of the organisation. There is, however, little literature on organisational change within aged care communities, particularly with an emphasis on the complexities and challenges associated with change within an organisation that is both a business and a home for its residents. The study took the form of a participative action research study, occurring predominantly over two years (2002-2003) with some continuation into a third year (2004). The study had three phases and included two action research cycles and a critical reference group (CRG), comprising the senior management team (SMT) and researcher. It adopted a broadly qualitative methodology, using data from participatory observation and semi-structured interview; however, it did include quantitative and qualitative data from two 'quality of service' surveys for independent living residents and a staff satisfaction survey. The finding of this study are presented as a narrative account of the experiences of the participants. The study reveals that change associated with the redevelopment impacted on residents' wellbeing, described by them as quality of life. / The redevelopment process and associated change also emphasised the importance of communication and explanation with residents to understand elements of quality of life and to monitor and manage the impact of change. The findings of the study highlight the challenge faced by community-based aged care communities classified by government, the industry and the wider community as primarily not-for-profit, to balance financial accountability and social conscience. The perception of benevolence influenced the attitudes of residents and staff and made business accountability more difficult to explain and realise. The study reveals that change also impacted on the structure and function of the organisation as it built its capacity for change. It reshaped the relationship between the Board and senior management team (SMT), which was reported as an improvement in communication, work relations and leadership effectiveness. The development of the leadership team, being the senior management team, was influenced by change and the change process enabled this team to become a competent, confident, cohesive senior team, with a preferred leadership style. A further finding was the realisation of the value and appropriateness of the action research process. It provided tools and processes that were used to plan, act, analyse and reflect on the many aspects of organisational change and enabled the organisation, principally the SMT, to reflect on the impact and influence of change. The research process supported their development as leaders as well as the development of the team. The process of planning, collecting data, analysing data, reflection and action provided a structure and process that they continued to use in their management practices, as new situations continued to arise with the redevelopment process.

Australia's population and workforce are ageing. The reason for an ageing population is the post World War II baby boom, followed by low birth rates in subsequent generations. Combined with healthier lifestyles, advances in medical science and the subsequent increase in longevity, this means that there are more older people than ever before and this trend will continue for several more decades. However, workforce demographics are also affected by ageing, and Australian organisations will need to employ more older workers in the near future to meet predicted shortfalls of skilled workers. Although there have been studies examining the current low employment rates of older workers, the identification of negative stereotypes associated with older workers, and related problems and challenges (such as age discrimination), no study of the working intentions of older Australian workers has been reported. Therefore, the aim of this research is to explore the meaning of working for older workers to better understand whether and why older Australian workers might want to continue working. In particular, this thesis explores what it is about working that makes some people want to continue beyond the traditional age of retirement, while others wish to cease work as soon as they are able. There are clear implications for individuals, organisations and public policy emanating from the extension to working lives. The research aims and objectives were best met within a phenomenological approach, and the data collection consisted of four studies. The setting for the research was a single organisation; an Australian university. Three of these studies were qualitatively-driven, within an interpretivist paradigm: (i) in-depth interviews with older employees (aged 50 years or older) to determine their meanings of working; (ii) interviews with managers to determine whether there were any organisational factors encouraging older workers to retire early; and (iii) interviews with retirees to determine their meanings of working and retirement. The fourth study was quantitative and examined the demographics of the organisation and the relevant HRM policy documents. The thesis uses the meaning of working as the initial theoretical conceptual perspective, and derives a new conceptual perspective for managing older workers, which is outlined in the last chapters. The research draws from two perspectives - the organisation and the individual. The organisational perspective examines the management of organisational staffing in the context of future demographic changes. The individual perspective is explored via the meaning of working to older workers. The key findings from the research in the chosen university suggest that despite the Commonwealth Government's attempts to encourage older workers to continue working, the majority of the older workers, irrespective of employment category, did not want to continue working beyond the traditional retirement age of 65 years. Reasons included wanting to spend more time with a life partner, becoming more involved with interests outside of work, and removing themselves from the negative circumstances in the organisation. However, of those who wanted to continue working, the majority was from the academic employment category (both employees and retirees), and the minority was from the administrative or general employment category. Additionally, the academic participants rated working in their lives as important or very important; higher than the ratings provided by the general staff participants. Explanations are offered as to reasons for such differences between the employment categories. The consequences of these findings include the need for a new approach to managing older workers, and particularly at the end of their working lives and into retirement. Australian organisations cannot afford to continue losing staff to early retirement, yet this trend appears to continue. Suggestions to meet this challenge are made at three levels: public policy, the organisation and the individual. Implications for future research are presented in the final chapter.

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This thesis has been conducted in part fulfilment of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. It comprises two parts: a systematic review and an empirical research study. These are two distinct articles both aiming to provide insight into the challenges of late life depression. Firstly, the ageing population will mean that mental health services are likely to see an increase in older people with depression, many of whom will have neurological conditions common in late life, including dementia, stroke and Parkinson’s disease. These conditions have a high risk of depression associated with them. Addressing depression can have a significant effect on quality of life and at present there is limited evidence for effective treatments for depression in neurological conditions. Researchers and therapists have previously been reluctant to conduct psychological therapy with this population, however, there is preliminary evidence that psychological therapies can be efficacious for this population. CBT is structured, goal focused and orientated in the present therefore may be easily adapted for the needs of people with neurological conditions and associated cognitive impairment. Chapter one presents systematic review of this literature, titled ‘Cognitive and behavioural therapies for the treatment of depression in people with dementia, stroke and Parkinson’s disease’. Secondly, depression in the general older adult population will also present challenges for mental health services. Psychological therapies have been shown to be equally effective for older people as they are for younger adults. However, there are a range of gerontological issues that must be considered when working with older people. For example, cohort beliefs, interpersonal role changes and physical health changes may all impact on the way an older person conceptualises their difficulties. In particular, depression in older people has been associated with negative attitudes about ageing. Cognitive theory states that attitudes are mood-state dependent and if negative or dysfunctional attitudes are modified, this can result in improvement in mood. Exploring the attitudes of older people with depression will aid our understanding of late life depression and may provide useful information on whether attitudes to ageing should be specifically addressed during therapy for depression. The current research study explores attitudes to ageing with a clinical sample of depressed older adults and compares attitudes with non depressed control participants. Chapter two outlines the full methodology used in the research study and chapter three contains the research study, titled ‘Attitudes to ageing and clinical depression in older people’, presented within a journal article format.

The main goal of this thesis is to analyze and evaluate the position of older workers in the european labour market in the context of population ageing. Global development, as well as the development in Europe, is assessed on the basis of the main demographic indicators. I try to evaluate the progress achieved in the period 2000-2009 after the summit in Lisbon. A separate chapter is devoted to demographic development and the situation of older workers in the Czech labour market.