The purpose of this grounded theory study was to better understand the differences in the way older, male workers perceived themselves as they aged, particularly with reference to work and aspects of the work environment. Career theorists have, for the most part, paid scant attention to this population. Research efforts that have focused on the “older worker” implicitly assume that they are homogeneous, that aging itself has a uniform impact, and that aging is a process of inevitable loss. A grounded theory approach was chosen because it was deemed most suitable to explore the phenomena because the basic variables were not readily identifiable, the field was rather ill-defined, and the research questions were best asked from within the “lived experience” of the participants. A sample of older, male workers, who were actively employed, were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format. A number of major categories and subcategories emerged through the research analysis including attitudes toward aging, the meaning of work, and the value of interpersonal relationships. The content of these categories were observed to change over the lives of the respondents, and these changes were neither uniform nor necessarily predictable. The differences that were observed among, and within, the respondents were attributable to the interaction of the level of cognitive development, locus of control, self-knowledge, interpersonal orientation, adaptive competence, spiritual courage, and the emotional viability of one's life story. The results of the study suggest that “older workers” do not constitute a unique population within the general workforce and that, in the future, researchers must attend to their individual differences. The findings of the study provide strong support for the notion that adult development is not the result of the passage of time alone, but rather is the result of an interaction among a diversity of factors. The results also affirm that, for many older workers, aging is a time of ongoing growth and renewal, and further that personal development is inseparable from career development. Older workers have the potential to not only contribute to the postmodern workplace, but also markedly enhance the quality of working life for all. / Graduate

This study focuses on Punjabi immigrants in Bradford who immigrated in the 1960s to meet a labour shortage. While this group had initially been almost entirely men who had planned on earning money and then returning to Pakistan relatively wealthy, changes in laws in the 1970s compelled them to bring their entire families to Britain. Changes in the local economy, and younger generations putting down roots in Bradford has left this group impoverished and unable to return to Pakistan, but many have been unable or unwilling to acculturate to British society. The life expectations these Punjabi immigrants have been unmet, and there is widespread emotional distress among them. While there are statutory mental healthcare services available to them which could help manage this distress, almost none of them male voluntary use of these services, and those that use them on an involuntary or semi-voluntary basis make as little use as possible. This study investigates this issue by blending theories and concepts from the social sciences, social work and the literature on race, culture and psychiatry. It uses a qualitative methodology of narrative and semi-structured interviewing to understand why the uptake of local state-offered mental health care services is so low. Samples from three sources were used in order gain perspective on this issue: Punjabi immigrants, medical and social care personnel, and lay healers using techniques traditional in the area of Pakistan from which immigration occurred. The study found that there were radical differences between the narratives of distress offered by the Punjabis and the understanding of the professionals; this undermined trust and created barriers to communication. The statutory services, in the form in which they were provided, could not meet the culturally specific needs of the Punjabis effectively and the services of the healers were often the preferred option. There has been little previous investigation into the narratives and cultural beliefs held by Punjabi immigrants previous to this thesis, or how these beliefs inform their experience of emotional distress, their help-seeking behaviour, or their understanding and interaction with- as well as the efficacy of- statutory services. Some cultural phenomena, such as the religious belief in kismet have not been thoroughly explored in a healthcare context previously.

This paper describes a study of the adoptions of 82 "special needs" children placed for adoption in British Columbia between 1985 and 1989. The adoptions of 41 of these children were not completed. This study examines variables related to the children placed for adoption to determine those factors which appear to be related to disrupted adoptive placements. The paper traces the development of adoption through history and reviews the findings of major research studies in special needs adoption disruption. Using the findings from the review and adding hypotheses that appeared to be missing from other studies, a file review schedule was developed. With permission from the B.C. Superintendent of Family and Child Service, the schedule was used to review the children's adoption files. Analysis of the data obtained indicated that the age of the child at the time of adoption placement was a significant factor in adoption disruption. In addition, the age when the child was legally free for adoption was found to be significant. In both cases, the younger the child, the lower the risk of disruption. An additional important finding of this study is that children who are members of a sibling group are more likely to have their adoptions completed than children without siblings and children placed alone. The pre-care experiences of children were thought to be an important factor in adoption disruption. The study shows that some experiences have a significant effect, notably those in which the extent of the biological parents' disability is clear to the child prior to the adoption placement. The presence of multiple special needs was not significantly associated with disruption except in the case of boys identified as having emotional/behavioural problems. The paper links the findings to those of other researchers, identifying implications for policy and practice. The resilience of the children studied and their ability to withstand serious trauma in their early years is an unanticipated finding of the study. Recommendations for addressing the findings suggest greater emphasis on maintaining sibling attachment for children in care, increased emphasis on assisting children to understand their family and personal history, and broad public education to eliminate myths about special needs adoption. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

Older women are a rapidly growing sector of the Canadian population and will number about 4 million by the year 2031. They are also a group which must be recognized as being at risk in later life for reasons often beyond their control or comprehension. Elderly women experience higher levels of poverty, institutionalization and criminal victimization than older men. While many of the vicissitudes of old age are unavoidable, aging is much more problematic for women due to socially constructed inequities rooted historically in cultural patterns of age and gender relations. Consequently, women's economic, social and personal resources are more vulnerable in old age because of gender limitations experienced across their entire life course. Educational opportunities have not kept pace with the challenges encountered by women as they age nor has there been adequate educational programming to help older women negotiate the many changes in society that directly affect the quality of their personal lives. Yet education is considered to be a major strategy for developing and strengthening resources in later life and to be an effective means for promoting individual and collective empowerment among older women for improving their economic and social prospects as they age. By grounding educational objectives in a resource development paradigm, efforts can be made to enhance individual resources and to promote changes in the social relations of power, privileges and opportunities upon which current access and allocation of resources are based. Educational programming aimed at resource development falls into three categories: fostering political and social identity, facilitating economic equity, and aiding in later life transitions. Based on this approach to educational needs analysis, several program and policy recommendations are developed. / Education, Faculty of / Educational Studies (EDST), Department of / Graduate

As medical advances make possible the increase of the individual's life span, the needs of older people become a greater concern in our society. This study is based on the assumption that home care services are a desirable alternative to prevailing methods of institutionalisation, and on the premise that the services needed to retain the elderly person in his own familiar environment can be assessed. The district chosen for the project is the West End area of Vancouver, which comprises a high proportion of persons over the age of sixty-five years. It is the primary aim of the study to develop a research interview schedule, which will enable subsequent investigators to explore the present topic more extensively. In this sense the project can be seen as a preliminary survey based on a limited sample, which has as its aim not so much the collection of data based on the design of a research instrument, but an exploration of the literature in regard to home services elsewhere and the construction of a research instrument. A critical analysis of the research methods used here is part of the research project. The thesis is an initial attempt to assess the extent of the need and to identify the types of need for home services as part of an ongoing programme in the research for such needed services which is undertaken by the School of Social Work at the University of British Columbia. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

M.A. / New legislation regarding older persons in South Africa came into effect on 1 April 2010. Two areas of service delivery in this field were given special attention in the development of the current legislation. Protection for older persons is covered more extensively, with much better provisions having been made for professionals to deal promptly and effectively with the abuse of an older person. The prosecution of any person, who abuses an older person, is also provided for in the current legislation. Community-based care and support services for older persons represent a completely new area of local legislation. The current legislation provides for the creation of a supportive environment, within which a spectrum of well established and well managed services should enable older persons to exercise choice with regards to care options. The spirit of the current legislation fosters the possibility that older persons may receive maximum care, should such need arise, within their own homes. Community-based services for older persons must therefore be registered, and meet the standards set by the legislation, as expressed in Part 1 of the National Norms and Standards. Locally practicing social workers are thus tasked with new implementation and monitoring obligations, which are rather daunting. The goal of this study was to conceptualise, design and assemble a draft of guidelines that may assist social workers in daily implementation tasks, brought about by the new focus areas within the current legislation regarding older persons. A qualitative research approach was followed. The methodology was guided, in part, by the Analysis and Design phases from within the classic Design and Development model (Thomas, 1984) of developmental research. The analysis phase of the study included a document study and a thematic content analysis of the primary data. Themes and sub-themes of the legislative requirements, pertinent to the implementation by social workers, were identified, extracted and transformed by enhancements and explanations drawn from the literature and professional practice experience. Trustworthiness was obtained by constant checking against the primary data and a review by an expert and knowledgeable peers. The end result, the draft guidelines document, is a body of synthesised information that should be accessible and useful to social workers in daily implementation and monitoring practice.

Attitudes toward the elderly were examined in three generations through analysis of media use, gender, contact with elderly, age, factual knowledge about aging, and parental influence on attitude formation. The results revealed that age, factual knowledge, perceived ageism in mass media and parental influence were significantly related to attitude toward the elderly.

The purpose of this study was to identify the extent of adoption of microwave ovens by older adults in Blacksburg, Virginia. Level of adoption was defined and determined as a function of 1) frequency of use of the microwave oven in comparison to the range, and 2) complexity of food preparation. Mere ownership was not considered as an indicator of adoption. Focusing on the final stage of Rogers theory of adoption (1962), three levels of adoption were determined: High, medium, and low. A random sample of 75 adults 65 years and older was selected from the listing of retired personnel in the 1997-98 Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University faculty and staff directory. Telephone interviews were conducted to collect information regarding current microwave oven usage patterns and decisions for future use and purchase. Relationships between level of adoption, and user characteristics and microwave oven characteristics were statistically tested. Results from the study indicate that 56% of these older adults who own a microwave oven are high adopters; i.e. they used the microwave more than the range and performed high complexity tasks. About 52% reported using the microwave oven more frequently than the range. Nearly all respondents were satisfied with the microwave oven in terms of speed and convenience, while 60% were satisfied with quality of foods cooked in the microwave oven. There was no significant difference in level of adoption with age, gender, health condition, and knowledge of microwave oven use. However, level of adoption was significantly higher among older adults who were "never" married or "previously" married compared to those that were "currently" married. Also, level of adoption was significantly lower among those older adults who had touch controls on their microwave oven compared to those with rotary dials. Other significant results of this study dealt with future use and purchase decisions. About 93% of the respondents indicated a desire to continue using a microwave oven in the future and about 76% indicated that they would purchase one in the future if their current microwave oven "dies." Results from this study have implications for appliance manufacturers who can increase sales by targeting this group, researchers in household equipment who can study adoption of other innovative appliances, and developers of retirement communities who might consider providing a microwave oven for use by residents or provide a space where one can be placed. / Master of Science

Studies at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C., during the 1970's, defined a management style already existing for high-performance, assisted housing. Project performance in those studies was based in part on: (a) tenant satisfaction with management, (b) tenant turnover rates, (c) rent delinquency rates, (d) vandalism rates, and (e) operating cost per unit. For this dissertation an attempt was made to evaluate the use of high-performance management guidelines with a newly-opened, assisted-housing project for elderly and handicapped residents. The guidelines used for this study were (a) authority for the project was based on-site, (b) maintenance responsibilities were based on-site, (c) management was a source of service-referral. The Building, Building A, was compared to three existing similar projects where management authority differed. Cost comparisons were made from maintenance budgets from the four buildings. Comparisons of tenant satisfaction with management, volunteerism rates, and perceptions of locus of control were made by means of a questionnaire mailed to all tenants in the four buildings. A locus of control scale was included with the management study because of the special needs of aging residents who face uncontrollable losses in the later years. It was thought that the management style of the experimental building, where authority for the project was based on-site, might influence tenant perception of locus of control. Responses to the questionnaire did not suport the hypothesis that residents in Building A would have significantly higher perceptions of (a) internal control, (b) satisfaction with management, (c) volunteerism rates. There was support for the hypothesis that maintenance operating costs for building A would be significantly lower when comparisons were made among the four buildings. The study concludes that (a) management research would benefit by developing methods to better define and measure management behaviors, (b) data on the reasons for tenant turnover are important sources of information not presently being utilized in senior-projects experiencing vacancy problems, (c) the results of the operating maintenance costs comparisons in this study reinforce the Urban Institute's management guidelines as a point for serious consideration by developers of assisted-housing for elderly and handicapped tenants.

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