The purpose of this study was to examine formal volunteering among retirees in order to explore whether their volunteer experiences represent an extension of their career in the paid workforce or whether their volunteer activities represent a completely new direction, and how this influences their career self-concept, as interpreted through Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development. This study employed a developmental mixed-method design. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 participants to better understand retirees’ volunteer experiences. Phase 1 informed the design of an instrument for the Phase 2 survey which examined the issues among a larger sample of 214 retirees. The Phase 2 results supported the Phase 1 findings and indicated that many retirees sought an extension of career in volunteer activities in that they used similar skills and knowledge. Study participants also displayed a desire for lifelong learning. Retirees relinquished their paid-work career, took on the retiree and volunteer roles, and integrated these roles within their career self-concept to create a new sense of self. These results indicated that the retirees had entered a new stage of life, qualitatively different from ‘retirement’. To better reflect the experiences of these retirees, it was proposed that Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development be extended to include Redirection. This theorizing is consistent with the finding that retirees both wanted to and are able to integrate previous paid work elements as well as seek out lifelong learning opportunities within their volunteer activities. This study demonstrates that the volunteer role in the lives of retirees can lead to personal renewal and reshaping of the career self-concept, or what is labeled as the stage of Redirection. This study also has implications for volunteer management, retirement planning and social policy, and may be of interest to volunteer managers, nonprofit organizations, career counsellors, financial planners, retirement planning consultants, life coaches and policy planners.

The purpose of this study was to examine formal volunteering among retirees in order to explore whether their volunteer experiences represent an extension of their career in the paid workforce or whether their volunteer activities represent a completely new direction, and how this influences their career self-concept, as interpreted through Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development. This study employed a developmental mixed-method design. In Phase 1, qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 participants to better understand retirees’ volunteer experiences. Phase 1 informed the design of an instrument for the Phase 2 survey which examined the issues among a larger sample of 214 retirees. The Phase 2 results supported the Phase 1 findings and indicated that many retirees sought an extension of career in volunteer activities in that they used similar skills and knowledge. Study participants also displayed a desire for lifelong learning. Retirees relinquished their paid-work career, took on the retiree and volunteer roles, and integrated these roles within their career self-concept to create a new sense of self. These results indicated that the retirees had entered a new stage of life, qualitatively different from ‘retirement’. To better reflect the experiences of these retirees, it was proposed that Donald Super’s life-span, life-space theory of career development be extended to include Redirection. This theorizing is consistent with the finding that retirees both wanted to and are able to integrate previous paid work elements as well as seek out lifelong learning opportunities within their volunteer activities. This study demonstrates that the volunteer role in the lives of retirees can lead to personal renewal and reshaping of the career self-concept, or what is labeled as the stage of Redirection. This study also has implications for volunteer management, retirement planning and social policy, and may be of interest to volunteer managers, nonprofit organizations, career counsellors, financial planners, retirement planning consultants, life coaches and policy planners.

With an increasing proportion of older people in the Australian population and increasing health and longevity, paid work after the age of 65 years may become an option or a necessity in the future. The focus of this research is on Australian women of the baby boom generation, their working futures, and the work-retirement decision. This is explored both from the viewpoint of women and from a social policy perspective. The research draws on Considine�s model of public policy, futures studies, and Beck�s concept of risk society. The research comprises three studies. Using focus group research, Study 1 explored the views of Australian women of the baby boom generation on work after the age of 65 years. Study 2 aimed to explore current thinking on the research topic in Australia and overseas. Computer-mediated communication involving an Internet website and four scenarios for the year 2020 were used for this study. Study 3 consists of the analysis of quantitative data from the Healthy Retirement Project, focusing on attitudes towards retirement, retirement plans, and the preferred and expected age of retirement. The importance of choice and a work � life balance emerged throughout the research. Women in high-status occupations were found to be more likely to be open to the option of continuing paid work beyond age 65 than women in low-status jobs. However, the women were equally likely to embrace future volunteering. The research findings suggest that policies for an ageing female workforce should be based on the values of inclusiveness, fairness, self-determination, and social justice, and address issues of workplace flexibility, equality in the workplace, recognition for unpaid community and caring work, opportunities for life-long learning, complexity and inequities of the superannuation system, and planning for retirement. Further, providing a guaranteed minimum income for all Australians should be explored as a viable alternative to the current social security system.

Introduction Work-Life Balance is an area of interest to both researchers and organizations who strive to understand the various facets of work, life and work-life. For an individual and society today, balance is of paramount interest affected by the personality aspects, family aspects, support scenario, organizational culture and the existence of policies and their usage at the organizational level. The changing aspirations of individuals with time, across economies have made this a global issue . In India, the rapid urbanization in major cities and the manner in which individuals are embracing a 24*7 work environment, makes it crucial to understand Work-Life balance in a holistic and contextual manner. The efforts of the government and the organization along with the individual drive determines how the scales tilt in this strive for Work-Life balance. Literature Review The gamut of literature shows that Work-Life balance has been studied across countries and industries. Work-Life balance as an issue has been explored from both an organizational and individual perspective. The impact of demographic aspects like gender, age, education, marital status, family type, children and care taking responsibility have been delineated, along with personality aspects like leadership and motivation. Support has been delved into, both at family level and at organizational level; coupled with the impact of mentoring and networking. Researchers have worked towards understanding policies at the organizational level that help an individual attain Work-Life balance, along with individual philosophy and family culture. Work-Life balance attained by an individual is exhibited in their behavior towards their team and organization; the loyalty and commitment exhibited by them. It is evident in the satisfaction they experience and their positive attitude towards work. The positive impact on their families is also evident, in terms of the time they are able to spend with their family. While the literature looks at various aspects, the view is an isolated one and there is a need for a holistic and multi-construct understanding of Work-Life Balance. Research Objectives and Methodology The ensuing gaps from literature lead to the objectives of the study. The specific objectives of the study are: 1 To evolve and validate a multi-construct model of Work-Life Balance (WLB) in the Indian Context 2 To identify and relate organizational, individual and family factors affecting WLB. 3 To critically analyze the role of gender, organizational policies, self efficacy and organization type in understanding work-life issues 4. To suggest ways and means of mitigating WLB in the Indian context. The various variables in the study were identified and the information framework was put in place. The preliminary study and the pilot study helped to finalise the questionnaire for the main study. The questionnaire comprised of two sections: Part B: My Perceptions of My Home and Work. Random sampling, coupled with the snowballing technique was the sampling technique adopted. The questionnaires were mostly administered in a face to face format; and in some cases, it was done over email as the respondents found that more convenient. The total sample of the study was 426 respondents 248 from public organizations, 118 from private organizations and 60 from entrepreneurial organizations. The data thus collected was subjected to statistical analyses. Major Findings First part of the analysis was carried out to establish the validity and the reliability of the questionnaire. This was done through factor analysis and by calculating the Cronbach's alpha. The factors analysis shows that the explanatory factors that emerge significant are aspects of culture, leadership and support; along with motivation towards family and work; including aspects of mentoring and networking. The mediating factors that emerge important revolve around aspects of Work-Life issues and impact of conflict; awareness and benefit of organizational policies; the perception of policy usage and individual thought. The output factors that emerge with high scores are the team and organizational engagement, impact of organizational support on work and family; the perception of work, the satisfaction with job and career and the citizenship behaviour exhibited. To understand how different the groups, categorised by age, education, children, marital status, gender, family type, care taking responsibility and the organization type public, private and entrepreneurial, are on the factors; manova and t test was carried out. The groups emerge significantly different in terms of their understanding of organizational culture and involvement in networking. The way they view organizational support and the role of mentoring, how they view family support and responsibilities at home. How confident individuals feel about handling challenges and how satisfied they felt with their jobs and career, also differ between the groups. The next step in analysis involved understanding the experience of Work-Life balance and the individual impact of the explanatory, mediating and interaction factors on the various output factors of team and organizational engagement, the positive impact of policies on family, the perception of work, the job and career satisfaction experienced and the citizenship proactive behavior exhibited by the individual. Apriori models based on literature were developed and regression analysis was carried out. Many of the models emerged insignificant showing that Work as a phenomena cannot be understood through isolated factors. For this, a full model was developed with explanatory, mediating and interaction factors (explanatory*mediating) and their causal impact on the output factors was studied. It was seen that the model for team and organizational engagement emerged the strongest with the factors explaining 69% of the model. The results of the full model showed that different factors had major impacts on different output aspects. It was seen that organizational culture, self efficacy and family values and the motivation towards work, interacting with the existence and awareness of policies have the greatest impact on team and organizational engagement. The support seniors/boss, perceived stress and networking interacting with the usage effect of organizational policies have the greatest impact on organizational policy positive impact on family. Organizational culture, perceived stress and networking interacting with the existence and awareness of organizational factors have the greatest impact on work perception. Job and career satisfaction is impacted the most by the motivation towards work, organizational policy existence, awareness and benefit and organization focus leadership interacting with the usage effect of policies. Finally, it is seen that networking, perceived stress and support from seniors and boss interacting with perceived stress have the greatest impact on citizenship proactive behavior. We thus see that Work Life balance is a multi-dimensional phenomena and its' comprehensive understanding is attained through multiple constructs. Conclusion This study provides a holistic understanding of Work Life Balance and is understood by looking at aspects of organizational culture, leadership, motivation, networking, mentoring, and support factors at both the organizational and the family level. The mediating role of organizational policies their existence, awareness and benefit and the usage effects on an individual; along with the role of self efficacy and family values and individuals' perception of stress becomes important. The experience of Work Life balance is understood through various behaviors exhibited team and organizational engagement shown by the individual, the positive impact of policies on family, the perception of work, the job and career satisfaction experienced and the citizenship proactive behavior exhibited by the individual. The comparison across groups and organization types public, private and entrepreneurial, show the importance of individual thought in mitigating Work Life issues. This study makes contributions at the theoretical level by developing and validating a multi-construct model for WLB. The study highlights the importance of organizational culture, organizational policies and the role of mentoring and networking that the organizations and managers need to delve into. This study entails scope in terms of extension of the model across organizations and cities in India and the development of a WLB measurement scale.

The aim of this thesis is to introduce the given topic "Construction cost over the life cycle of the building" and to show the overview of the development of the cost and price data on a specific example. The thesis is mainly focused on the valuation of the building in its phases. The theoretical part includes an elaboration of the life cycles of the building into various stages based on available information and documents, such as the budget of the building, operating expenses and real estate valuation issues.

Platinum(II) complexes [(NHC)Pt(L)] with various β-diketonate based auxiliary ligands (L: 3-meacac = 3-methylacetylacetonato, dpm = dipivaloylmethanato, dbm = dibenzoylmethanato, mesacac = dimesitoylmethanato, duratron = bis(2,3,5,6-tetramethylbenzoyl)methanato) and a C^C* cyclometalated N-heterocyclic carbene ligand (NHC: dpbic = 1,3-iphenylbenzo[d]imidazol-2-ylidene, dpnac = 1,3-diphenylnaphtho[2,3-d]imidazol-2-ylidene or bnbic = 1-phenyl-3-benzylbenzo[d]imidazol-2-ylidene) were found to show different aggregation and photophysical properties depending on the auxiliary ligand. Eight complexes were prepared from a silver(I)–NHC intermediate by transmetalation, cyclometalation and subsequent treatment with potassium-tert-butanolate and β-diketone. They were fully characterized by standard techniques including ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR. Five complexes were additionally characterized by 2D NMR spectroscopy (COSY, HSQC, HMBC and NOESY). Solid-state structures of five complexes could be obtained and show the tendency of the square-planar compounds to form pairs with different Pt–Pt distances depending on the bulkiness of the substituents at the auxiliary ligand. The result of the photophysical measurements in amorphous PMMA films reveals quantum yields of up to 85% with an emission maximum in the blue region and comparatively short decay lifetimes (3.6 µs). Density functional theory (DFT/TD-DFT) calculations were performed to elucidate the emission process and revealed a predominant ³ILCT/³MLCT character. Organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) comprising one of the complexes achieved 12.6% EQE, 11.9 lm W⁻¹ luminous efficacy and 25.2 cd A⁻¹ current efficiency with a blue emission maximum at 300 cd m⁻². The influence of an additional hole-transporter in the emissive layer was investigated and found to improve the device lifetime by a factor of seven.

German text / Gutes Altern gelingt selbst bei den zumeist günstigen äusseren Voraussetzungen in der Schweiz nicht allen Menschen. Die Frage stellt sich, unter welchen Bedingungen sowohl echtes Wohlbefinden im Alltag als auch Lebenssinn und -perspektive erreicht und erhalten werden können. Gelingt dies bekennenden Christen besser als nicht religiösen Menschen? Im Hinblick auf diese Fragestellung untersuchte die vorliegende Arbeit die bisherige gerontologische Forschung hauptsächlich in der Schweiz. Es wurde versucht, die Begriffe Wohlbefinden, Lebenssinn in Verbindung mit Religionsgerontologie anhand einzelner Exponenten zu definieren und das Zusammenspiel der Faktoren aufzuzeigen. In einer qualitativen empirischen Studie wurden gemäss der Grounded Theory zwölf Personen zwischen 50 und 80 Jahren (drittes Alter) mit zehn verschiedenen religiös/spirituellen Hintergründen mit Hilfe eines halbstrukturierten Leitfadens interviewt. Die Hauptthemen waren Wohlbefinden, Lebenssinn, Glaube/Spiritualität und Sterben/Tod. Der Zusammenhang zwischen alltäglichem Wohlbefinden und Lebenssinn bzw. -perspektive erwies sich als stark. Menschen mit einer persönlichen Gottesbeziehung schienen über mehr Ressourcen zu verfügen, nicht nur, um die eigene Endlichkeit zu akzeptieren oder schwierige Ereignisse im Leben zu meistern, sondern auch, um ihren letzten Lebenssinn in Gott zu erkennen, also ausserhalb von sich selbst. So waren sie besser befähigt, in ihrem Lebenslauf Erreichtes wieder abzugeben. Dieser Lebensstil benötigt Einübung, er kann jedoch auch gezielt gefördert werden. Aufgrund der Erkenntnisse konnten eine Reihe von Aufgaben formuliert werden, die den älteren Menschen Anweisung geben, wie sie diesen Lebensstil konkret in ihrem Alltag umsetzen könnten. Zudem scheint christliche Gemeinde ein geeigneter Rahmen darzustellen, wenn sie für das dritte Alter interdisziplinäre Lernangebote aus den Bereichen Medizin, Psychologie, Soziologie und Theologie wie auch die Möglichkeit persönlicher Seelsorge bereitstellt. Der ältere Mensch wird dadurch frei, sich generativ für andere einzusetzen und für sie da zu sein, innerhalb der christlichen Gemeinde oder auch ausserhalb als Teil der Gesellschaft. Somit wird dem neutestamentlichen Gebot der Nächstenliebe nachgekommen, Solidarität anderen gegenüber wird gelebt. Stärkeres Sinnempfinden und höheres Wohlbefinden sind geschenkte Nebenprodukte, die zu einem erfüllten Leben beitragen. / In Switzerland ageing is not necessarily unproblematic, even in the most favorable conditions. The question to answer is on what conditions in everday life a high level of wellbeing as well as meaning and perspective of life can be attained and preserved. Do professing Christians succeed better than non-religious people? The present study examined the results of current gerontological resarch in this respect, primarily in Switzerland. It attempted to define the terms of wellbeing, meaning of life in connection with religious gerontology with specific criteria and to show up the interaction of their several components. In a qualitative empirical study, according to the Grounded Theory, twelve persons between fifty and eighty years of age with ten different religious/spiritual backgrounds were interviewed with the aid of a semistructured interview guide. The main topics were wellbeing, meaning of life, faith/spirituality and dying/death. The relationship between everyday wellbeing and meaning of life and life perspective proved to be strong. People with a personal relationship with God seemed to have more resources to accept not only their own mortality or to cope with negative events in life, but to recognize their ultimate meaning of life to be in God, which is outside themselves. In consequence they were better able to let go any of their own achievements. This lifestyle requires practise and promotion. On account of the results a number of tasks were formulated to guide the older people in their daily life in practicing this lifestyle. The Christian community seems to be a suitable framework to provide interdisciplinary learning opportunities for the third age in the fields of medicine, psychology, sociology and theology as well as the opportunity of personal counseling. In this way, the never-ending process of maturation of individual elderly people should be encouraged. They are free, according to their talents, to get themselves involved with other people, to have time for them, that is within the Christian community or outside, in society. Thus, the New Testament commandment to love one another can be complied with, and solidarity with others will truly be fact. A stronger sense of meaning and a higher grade of wellbeing will be welcome by-products, which will contribute to a fulfilled life. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)