The purpose of this Heideggerian hermeneutical study was to explore and uncover the hidden meaning of quality of life as experienced by a population of individuals 65 years of age and beyond. Five participants were interviewed and asked to describe quality of life as these individuals experienced it. Consistent with the method, purposive sampling was used in order to gain an understanding from subjects who have experienced the phenomenon and could articulate experiences. A group of retirees who meet monthly at a church were asked to participate. Interviews were audiotaped and the data was transcribed by this researcher. Audio tapes were destroyed when the study was completed. Transcribed data was shared with other researchers who are familiar with Heideggerian hermeneutics for the purpose of gaining insight into interpretation. When data was shared, names of participants and other identifying information was removed. Sharing of data for the purpose of interpretation is inherent in the Heideggerian method as described by Diekelmann, Allen and Tanner (1989). Participants were guaranteed confidentiality and were free to withdraw from the study without prejudice at any time. Data was analyzed in seven stages as described by Diekelmann, Allen and Tanner (1989). Findings included a constitutive pattern of quality of life and integrity as one experience. These two ways of being allowed the elderly to experience a sense of unity and completeness as well as a sense of fulfilling one's own destiny. The main theme supporting the constitutive patter was a strong belief and connectedness to a higher power. This faith allowed the elderly to connect to family, friends, church groups and memories. Anticipation of loss and change was a daily experience of being elderly, yet it allowed them to appreciate each day as it was lived without fear or loss of hope. Health promotion was significant because the elderly knew maintaining health was a way to maintain connectedness to that which was valued. The study was significant in contributing an understanding to the experience of quality of life in the elderly population. / School of Nursing

The development, content, societal and individual effects of selected myths toward the aged in American society were reviewed and analyzed. Emphasis was placed on factors associated with the development of the myths . The myths were compared with facts or reality relative to the major dimensions of the lives of the aged. The functions and dysfunctions of the myths for the aged as a group, for the individual, and for society were analyzed. Secondary sources of data were utilized in the preliminary identification of the selected myths. The sources were also used to justify the selection and analyze the development of myths within their socio-cultural milieus. Myths were utilized in the analysis of the attitudes toward the aged, and the effects.

Kong Kai Chung, Joseph. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2002-2003, design report." / Includes bibliographical references. / preface --- p.01 / framework --- p.02-06 / research --- p.07-41 / experiment --- p.42-62 / final --- p.63-90 / appendix --- p.91-95

This work offers a cross-cultural account of the “aging experience” for elderly in two regions of Bulgaria. It is an ethnographic study that explores the importance of sustained and new (or adapted) interpersonal relationships for elderly in a depopulating Northwestern Village and a small Southern Town and its surroundings in the Rhodope Mountains. Highlighting relationships with family, peers, and neighbors, the study documents how the elderly negotiate and strategize their well-being in spaces and networks increasingly occupied by members of their same age group and despite adversity such as permanently depleting populations. These elders manage to engage in creating and maintaining their networks for instrumental or salient support; participate in peer memberships and interactions for coping and belonging; and negotiate valued and new cultural and socioeconomic strategies and places for well-being. The study’s focus engages with theories of aging; psychosocial, anthropological, and sociological knowledge; and cross-disciplinary conceptions of how groups of people mediate relationships and issues affecting them. It underscores some Bulgarian elders’ engagement over disengagement, their nostalgia and coping, and pathways that lead to innovation and resiliency. The study also offers further insight into topics such as “aging in place” and the complexities of human experiences within a Bulgarian context that considers specific histories and processes such as post-socialism and out-migration. As such, the current work contributes to explorations of engaged and adaptive elders aging in place (particularly in relationship to out-migration and economic forces); to how overlapping histories and experiences create membership within age-cohorts; and on the ways that the elderly cope, adapt, and innovate when traditionally salient family networks are stretched because of economies, depopulation, or distance. Finally, this work occurs against the backdrop of an aging and depopulating landscape. Issues affecting Bulgaria and its elders include population loss and stages of demographic decline, declining or low fertility rates, and an increasingly aging population across the country but more so within villages. These and other problems have resulted in the elderly expressing isolation; feelings of loss; and economic, social, and personal woes. It has also resulted in the elderly being categorized as a particularly “vulnerable” group within the country, a term which runs the risk of placing them within a realm of complacency or marginalization. Even in extreme situations, many of the elderly I met in Bulgaria remained resourceful and resilient by sustaining or adapting relationships and practices, by creating moments and spaces for coping and companionship, and to meet their need as “still alive” in ways that challenge perceptions of vulnerability or marginality.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Decker School of Nursing, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2000. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 50-63). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Sydney, 2003. / Title from title screen (viewed Oct. 26, 2009) Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy to the Discipline of Surgery, Faculty of Health Sciences. Degree awarded 2003; thesis submitted 2002. Includes bibliography. Also available in print form.

Thesis (M. Hous. M.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes special study report entitled: 'Pattern language' of elderly indoors living. Includes bibliographical references.