Thesis (M.S.)--Oregon State University, 2011. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 32-33). Also available on the World Wide Web.

Over the last two decades social vulnerability has emerged as a major area of study, with increasing attention to the study of vulnerable populations. Generally, the elderly are among the most vulnerable members of any society, and widespread population aging has led to greater focus on elderly vulnerability. However, the absence of a valid and practical measure constrains the ability of policy-makers to address this issue in a comprehensive way. This study developed a composite indicator, The Elderly Social Vulnerability Index (ESVI), and used it to undertake a comparative analysis of the availability of support for elderly Jamaicans based on their access to human, material and social resources. The results of the ESVI indicated that while the elderly are more vulnerable overall, certain segments of the population appear to be at greater risk. Females had consistently lower scores than males, and the oldest-old had the highest scores of all groups of older persons. Vulnerability scores also varied according to place of residence, with more rural parishes having higher scores than their urban counterparts. These findings support the political economy framework which locates disadvantage in old age within political and ideological structures. The findings also point to the pervasiveness and persistence of gender inequality as argued by feminist theories of aging. Based on the results of the study it is clear that there is a need for policies that target specific population segments, in addition to universal policies that could make the experience of old age less challenging for the majority of older persons. Overall, the ESVI has displayed usefulness as a tool for theoretical analysis and demonstrated its potential as a policy instrument to assist decision-makers in determining where to target their efforts as they seek to address the issue of social vulnerability in old age. Data for this study came from the 2001 population and housing census of Jamaica, with multiple imputation for missing data. The index was derived from the linear aggregation of three equally weighted domains, comprised of eleven unweighted indicators which were normalized using z-scores. Indicators were selected based on theoretical relevance and data availability.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Background: Physical functioning and mobility of older populations are of increasing interest when populations are aging. Lower body functioning such as walking is a fundamental part of many actions in daily life. Limitations in mobility threaten independent living as well as quality of life in old age. In this study we examine differences in physical aging and convert those differences into the everyday measure of single years of age. Methods: We use the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, which was collected biennially between 2002 and 2012. Data on physical performance, health as well as information on economics and demographics of participants were collected. Lower body performance was assessed with two timed walks at normal pace each of 8 ft (2.4 m) of survey participants aged at least 60 years. We employed growth curve models to study differences in physical aging and followed the characteristic-based age approach to illustrate those differences in single years of age. Results: First, we examined walking speed of about 11,700 English individuals, and identified differences in aging trajectories by sex and other characteristics (e.g. education, occupation, regional wealth). Interestingly, higher educated and non-manual workers outperformed their counterparts for both men and women. Moreover, we transformed the differences between subpopulations into single years of age to demonstrate the magnitude of those gaps, which appear particularly high at early older ages. Conclusions: This paper expands research on aging and physical performance. In conclusion, higher education provides an advantage in walking of up to 15 years for men and 10 years for women. Thus, enhancements in higher education have the potential to ensure better mobility and independent living in old age for a longer period. (author's Abstract)

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2007. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains xii, 136 p. : ill. (some col.), maps. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 113-118).

Population aging has been an increasing in many societies during the last century, andespecially in China this issue has become one of the most urgent social phenomenonin the recent twenty years. Meanwhile, being healthy matters to the senior populationthe most. The main purpose of this paper is to investigate how to measure Chineseelderly health condition, and what the main factors are influencing their health. Thedata of this paper is from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS). A structural equation model(SEM) was established to verify therelationship between different influencing factors and the elderly health. The latentvariables in this model were pre-studied by both exploratory factor analysis andconfirmatory factor analysis. The conclusion based on this data is elderly health canbe measured in four aspects physical condition, emotional condition, body functionand pain. The significant influencing effects of each aspects of health are time sharing,exercise, family environment and lifestyle.

The system of Labor Pension in Taiwan deeply influences every class of labor and its intention and regulation of retirement system also affects to operation of government financial budget. The study aims to discuss the trend toward fewer children and the population aging which are somehow affecting forward finance perspective of holistic Labor Pension Fund. Especially, we confront an unbalance situation of population structure, how it reflected the contribution income of labor pension fund and its disbursement of pension payment and how it associated to operation of Labor Pension Fund. In addition, the government should be realized how to deal with the development of population in the future, gear up for designing a better supplementary measure. Therefore, the study will be analyzed with aspect of finance on the population aging phenomenon and how birth rate decline affect toward the New Labor Pension System and Old Labor Pension System. Hopefully, the study results can benefit our labor retirement policy. The study results as follows: A. For the trend toward fewer children, in the short term, the evidence shows that it is unclear either on contribution of the New Labor Pension System or Old Labor Pension System. However, in the mid- and long term, the contribution of fund will be gradually affected, beginning to decrease slowly with the contribution. B. For the population aging phenomenon, Old Labor Pension System on payment from fund indicted that incomes are much more than disbursements so it won¡¦t be a burden on Old Labor Pension Fund. On the contrary, due to different payment regulation between New Labor Pension System and Old Labor Pension System, the population aging is irrelevant to disbursement of New Labor Pension.

This study examined factors that influenced loneliness among rural elders in China. Data were collected from the latest wave of Living and Employment of Population Survey in 2005 (provided by Renmin University, China). The sample of this survey consisted of 284 rural elders in China. T‐tests was used to examine the influence of gender, marital status, health, financial support, and living arrangements differences in loneliness perception among Chinese rural elders. Multiple regression analysis was conducted to understand the influences of age and socio‐economic status on loneliness among the rural elders. This study provided insights for a better understanding of individual, social, and familial factors that influenced subjective loneliness in later life. Findings from this study might contribute to policymaking decisions regarding improvements of psychological well‐being among older adults in China.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.