Thesis (M.A. in sociology)--Washington State University, December 2008. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on Dec. 31, 2008). "Department of Sociology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 40-45).

Abstract The global phenomenon of declining birthrate and aging society have provided promising prospects for the future development of smart robots (´¼¼z«¬¾÷¾¹¤H). In respond to this need, large amount of R&D, manufacturing and HR resources have been put in the training, technology and product development of smart robots. Not only should Taiwan accelerate the overall implementation strategy for this emerging industry, it should also understand the worldwide robotics industry development overview. This paper has organized worldwide R&D and educational implementation of smart robots for the past year along with conducting in-depth interviews with domestic experts and government agencies. These studies show different country¡¦s corresponding strategy on their own industry development, R&D personnel training, implementation into the education systems, and technology innovation applications for robotics industry. It will also analyze the necessity of promoting education on robot technology as suggested by domestic scholars and professionals. From the multiple perspective of international environment, changes in the domestic educational environment, national development objectives, to Dahan Co. Ltd strategies, we can conclude the promotion of education in robotics technology is beneficial in innovation and creativity. It is also necessary as it can help to encourage students to conduct research in this field. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a feasible proposal that creates a synergy between the developments of the robotics technology industry and also Taiwan¡¦s educational system.

This thesis examines how current demographics and evolving family dynamics act as a catalyst for the evolution of a building in response to how the elderly can successfully age in place. Through the design of a residential building in an inner city neighborhood of Calgary, Alberta, this thesis explores the potential for architecture to accommodate diverse families (such as singles, couples, single parent families, and the elderly) in one development, maintaining existing relationships, promoting social cohesiveness, and providing an informal network of support for the elderly. The project investigates how architecture might facilitate the integration of the elderly through ?exible relationships of building programme and unit variation.

An ancient story from Bhagavata Purana may be relevant to the psychology and spirituality of palliative care in modern medicine. This article brings an ancient Indian story that people still use during the grieving process. Symbolism of the old story is explained in a modern perspective.

An ancient story from Bhagavata Purana may be relevant to the psychology and spirituality of palliative care in modern medicine. This article brings an ancient Indian story that people still use during the grieving process. Symbolism of the old story is explained in a modern perspective.

<p> Canada's population is experiencing a change in its age structure which is increasingly becoming older. This has implications for many of the governments economic and social programs and society as a whole. As labour force participation among the elderly decreases, expenditures for social programs are increasing to supplement seniors relatively low income. The increased use of health services will also strain economies on the provincial level citing the need of increased community services.</p> / Thesis / Candidate in Philosophy

Abstract available in The Journal of Nutrition, Health, and Aging.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:27:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2005-09-19Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:36:20Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 mendes_bc_me_rcla.pdf: 1007216 bytes, checksum: 83d2499777113b28b5bb283713ed31eb (MD5) / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Nas últimas décadas, o Brasil vem experimentando profundas transformações em seu padrão demográfico. Dentre estas alterações, destaca-se o aumento da participação dos idosos no total da população. Este fenômeno, conhecido como envelhecimento populacional, decorre principalmente da queda das taxas de fecundidade e mortalidade e, do aumento da longevidade. Diferentemente dos países industrializados, o envelhecimento populacional brasileiro surpreende por sua rapidez e, pela multiplicidade de questões que suscita. As particularidades do segmento idoso (declínio das funções sociais, econômicas, psico-biológicas), combinadas aos problemas socioeconômicos brasileiros (má distribuição de renda, desemprego, previdência social e sistema de saúde deficitários), representam desafios a serem enfrentados pelo poder público, sociedade, família e pelo próprio indivíduo. Dentre estes desafios, aqueles relacionados à micro-escala adquirem importância. Em primeiro lugar, porque o envelhecimento populacional brasileiro é espacialmente diferenciado, alguns espaços encontram-se em estágio mais avançado. Em segundo, porque os idosos vivem, convivem e demandam, predominantemente, em escala local. Esta pesquisa contemplou empiricamente o estudo do processo em um espaço local. Como o município paulista de Assis, tem registrado um envelhecimento populacional mais acentuado que o verificado no Estado de São Paulo e no Brasil, converte-se em um interessante objeto de estudo da problemática. / In the last decades, Brazil has been experiencing deep changes in its demographic pattern. Among these changes the increase of the proportion of elderly people in the population stands out. This phenomenon, known as aging population, occurs mainly due to the decline of fertility and mortality rates and the rise of life expectancy. Unlike the industrialized countries, the Brazilian aging population, surprises because of its speed and because of the multiple questions that involves it. The specific characteristics of elderly people (decline of social, economic and psycho-biological functions) combined with the Brazilian socio-economic problem (bad income distribution, unemployment, inefficient social and health care), represent challenges to be faced by the public sector, society, family and by the people themselves. Between these challenges, those related to the micro-scale, or local scale, acquire importance. First because the Brazilian aging population is spatially different, some spaces present higher levels of the process. Second, because elderly people live, relate and demand, largely, in micro-scale. Therefore, the empirical purpose of this study was to investigate the aging population of a local space. Assis city, where the process reaches higher levels than in the State of São Paulo and Brazil, becomes an interesting object of study of the problem involving the local govern, society and elderly people.

Chapter 1: Interregional Transfers through Public Pension in Canada- In this chapter, I build a regional computable general equilibrium model with an overlapping generations (OLG) structure of the Canadian economy to analyze population aging dynamics and public pensions. Canada is divided into three regions: Atlantic, Quebec and Rest of Canada (ROC). The impact of population aging is investigated on each of three regions' pension systems. The results confirm that as a result of aging all regions are affected negatively if they choose to have an independent pension system. Under a joint pension system most of the pressure of the provision of the pension system is on the ROC. Atlantic region benefits the most from a joint pension plan as the implicit funds ow from ROC to Atlantic region. Quebec benefits from having its own program, but the benefits disappear slowly in future years. Chapter 2: Age-Variable Rate of Time Preference in CGE-OLG Model- Contrary to the mainstream studies in the area of intertemporal optimization that assume a constant rate of time preference over individuals' life cycles, in this chapter I propose a new approach to measure the rate of time preference by assuming that the rate of time preference evolves by age. I construct an overlapping generations model (OLG) and calibrate rate of time preference. The age-variable rate of time preference would permit to capture many other elements that affect the life cycle profile of consumption as observed in the data. The results show that rate of time preference exhibits three phases and is different for young versus old. Chapter 3: Computing Demographic Change Simulation under Constant and Age-variable Rate of Time Preference - This chapter simulates the impact of an aging population on various macroeconomic variables and calculates the cohort welfare as well as social welfare. The outcomes from simulations are dependent on the choice of rate of time preference as well as the structure of the model. The results in this chapter provide a new approach to determining the impact of aging population. The choice of a realistic rate of time preference, which allows its variability by age, affects the cohort welfare noticeably.

Orientador: Odeibler Santo Guidugli / Banca: João Francisco de Abreu / Banca: Solange Terezinha de Lima Guimarães / Título da capa: Envelhecimento populacional : desafios de uma nova conjuntura demográfica para o município de Assis - SP / Resumo: Nas últimas décadas, o Brasil vem experimentando profundas transformações em seu padrão demográfico. Dentre estas alterações, destaca-se o aumento da participação dos idosos no total da população. Este fenômeno, conhecido como envelhecimento populacional, decorre principalmente da queda das taxas de fecundidade e mortalidade e, do aumento da longevidade. Diferentemente dos países industrializados, o envelhecimento populacional brasileiro surpreende por sua rapidez e, pela multiplicidade de questões que suscita. As particularidades do segmento idoso (declínio das funções sociais, econômicas, psico-biológicas), combinadas aos problemas socioeconômicos brasileiros (má distribuição de renda, desemprego, previdência social e sistema de saúde deficitários), representam desafios a serem enfrentados pelo poder público, sociedade, família e pelo próprio indivíduo. Dentre estes desafios, aqueles relacionados à micro-escala adquirem importância. Em primeiro lugar, porque o envelhecimento populacional brasileiro é espacialmente diferenciado, alguns espaços encontram-se em estágio mais avançado. Em segundo, porque os idosos vivem, convivem e demandam, predominantemente, em escala local. Esta pesquisa contemplou empiricamente o estudo do processo em um espaço local. Como o município paulista de Assis, tem registrado um envelhecimento populacional mais acentuado que o verificado no Estado de São Paulo e no Brasil, converte-se em um interessante objeto de estudo da problemática. / Abstract: In the last decades, Brazil has been experiencing deep changes in its demographic pattern. Among these changes the increase of the proportion of elderly people in the population stands out. This phenomenon, known as aging population, occurs mainly due to the decline of fertility and mortality rates and the rise of life expectancy. Unlike the industrialized countries, the Brazilian aging population, surprises because of its speed and because of the multiple questions that involves it. The specific characteristics of elderly people (decline of social, economic and psycho-biological functions) combined with the Brazilian socio-economic problem (bad income distribution, unemployment, inefficient social and health care), represent challenges to be faced by the public sector, society, family and by the people themselves. Between these challenges, those related to the micro-scale, or local scale, acquire importance. First because the Brazilian aging population is spatially different, some spaces present higher levels of the process. Second, because elderly people live, relate and demand, largely, in micro-scale. Therefore, the empirical purpose of this study was to investigate the aging population of a local space. Assis city, where the process reaches higher levels than in the State of São Paulo and Brazil, becomes an interesting object of study of the problem involving the local govern, society and elderly people. / Mestre