This research sought to determine the impact of the Older Americans Act of 1965 and its subsequent amendments on the ages population in Portland-Multnomah County from 1965 to 1977. After a comparative analysis of ages services prior to the Act of 1965, and the elderly services subsequent to the Act, the conclusions revealed that there was a significant impact made upon the lives of seniors in Portland-Multnomah County area.

This content analysis examined 128 senior center brochures and newsletters to determine how older people (those 65 years and older) were portrayed. Findings indicated that portrayals of older people in this medium that targets older people and their caretakers exclusively were overwhelmingly positive. Older people were portrayed favorably in terms of health status, personality descriptors related to level of happiness, interaction with others, mental state, as well as body image and overall evaluation. In several other categories such as energy level and activity level they were portrayed neutrally, and not a single category was dominated by negative portrayals. In fact, any negative portrayals accounted for less than 0.1% of all portrayals for any given category. Older females in particular, were portrayed in a more positive way than females in other analyses of media and advertising, which found them to be under represented or portrayed as unmotivated, ugly, or helpless. Females made up 64% of the overall representation compared to 36% for males, which closely resembles figures for participation at senior centers throughout the U.S. Females were also portrayed as more physically active and in better health than males. Those using a physical aid, either male or female were extremely under represented when compared to disability statistics, showing an overly positive portrayal of overall health status. The data supports other studies that demonstrate a more positive portrayal in media specifically targeting older people, and an overall trend of improving portrayals of older people across all mediums. Positive portrayals like those exhibited in senior center brochures and newsletters can greatly improve the self-image and overall quality of life of older people as well as help to change negative stereotypes of older people held by the general population.

The demographic shift to an older population has led to a structural transformation of the labor force and rapid social change within American society. This, in turn, has given rise to the need to reassess the factors which facilitate and impede the older adults' interest and participation in work-related education (WRE). More specifically, the research sought to discover how the older adult's perceptions of self, work options, the accessibility of work-related education (WRE) programs, the attitudes and support of significant others, and job market experience affect their expression of interest and willingness to participate in WRE. Key perceptions regarding WRE and their interrelationships were suggested by Rubenson's Paradigm for Recruitment, which helped me to generate questions, guide the interviews, and analyze data. The interviewees were 19 healthy women, age 55 and over, who were living in a Southwestern Virginia city in which WRE programs were offered by public and private educational institutions. Interviewees were grouped according to financial and work status in order to examine how the women's perceptions varied by these characteristics. A qualitative methodology employing in-depth interviews was utilized to achieve the study's objective and to address the limitations of earlier research. Findings indicate a strong, but conditional interest in WRE existed among women in the workforce, despite initial negative responses to a survey-type question. Interest and willingness to participate in WRE varied by type of WRE and grouping of the women by income and work status. For example, financially secure working women were only interested in on-the-job training while financially-insecure women would require training subsidies and job guarantees. Case studies revealed that the working women's experiences with age-discrimination was a major factor qualifying their interest in WRE. Financially-secure-retired women were not interested in WRE under any conditions. Definitional problems associated with the concept of WRE resulted in mis-perceptions by some of the interviewees and most likely, have seriously affected the validity of some past survey research in this area. To account for the conditional nature of interest m WRE, modifications of Rubenson's paradigm and recommendations to guide further survey research were suggested. Data resulting from this study have implications for both the applied and theoretical aspects of adult education and gerontology. Resultant data augment the information available to educational policy-makers at all levels of government who are expected to respond equitably to the varied educational needs and interest of this diverse segment of the population. Senior employment counselors, human resource decision makers m companies, and employers of older adults may also benefit from the insights gained in this study. / Ed. D.

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1962 B38

Call number: LD2668 .T4 1951 G7 / Master of Science

Background: A shortage of nurses is experienced in aged care as these nurses experience adverse working conditions. Resilience might empower these nurses to survive, thrive and even flourish. A paucity of research exists regarding resilience in nurses caring for older persons. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to investigate the level of resilience in nurses caring for older persons, and to explore and describe their strengths and coping abilities, in order to formulate recommendations to strengthen resilience in nurses caring for older persons. Method: An explorative, descriptive design with multiple phases was used. An all-inclusive sample of nurses caring for older persons in an urban setting in the North West Province was used. During phase one (sample size n=43) the level of resilience, demographic information and narratives were obtained. During phase two (sample size n=17) focus group interviews were conducted. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data using content analysis. Results: The participants had a moderately high to high level of resilience. Participants did experience adverse working circumstances and they needed resilience due to a need for balance, the emotional nature of the work, work ethics and the work environment. Nurses caring for older persons use personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths to handle adverse working conditions. Conclusion: Recommendations to strengthen resilience in nurses caring for older persons were formulated in phase three of the research, focusing on strengthening nurses‟ personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths in order that they can handle adverse workplace conditions. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Background: A shortage of nurses is experienced in aged care as these nurses experience adverse working conditions. Resilience might empower these nurses to survive, thrive and even flourish. A paucity of research exists regarding resilience in nurses caring for older persons. Objectives: The purpose of this research was to investigate the level of resilience in nurses caring for older persons, and to explore and describe their strengths and coping abilities, in order to formulate recommendations to strengthen resilience in nurses caring for older persons. Method: An explorative, descriptive design with multiple phases was used. An all-inclusive sample of nurses caring for older persons in an urban setting in the North West Province was used. During phase one (sample size n=43) the level of resilience, demographic information and narratives were obtained. During phase two (sample size n=17) focus group interviews were conducted. The quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics and the qualitative data using content analysis. Results: The participants had a moderately high to high level of resilience. Participants did experience adverse working circumstances and they needed resilience due to a need for balance, the emotional nature of the work, work ethics and the work environment. Nurses caring for older persons use personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths to handle adverse working conditions. Conclusion: Recommendations to strengthen resilience in nurses caring for older persons were formulated in phase three of the research, focusing on strengthening nurses‟ personal, professional, contextual and spiritual strengths in order that they can handle adverse workplace conditions. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Increasingly, old people in India are moving into institutional settings. There is a paucity of qualitative research examining the condition of residents in care homes. This thesis addresses this gap through a detailed qualitative study of three such homes in Goa, India. It explores the care processes and practices in the care homes and how far they are attuned to the needs, lives and identities of their residents. An understanding of the experiences of residents as they have been undergoing different stages of entering and settling into a residential care setting has been the main focus of the research, which illuminates the context in which resident experiences were embedded. The thesis explores the process of institutional living: the conditions (losses and changes) that lead older people to enter institutional care; the losses and changes incurred while entering institutional care; the paradox between induced dependencies created by institutional control and structures resulting in passive compliance; and the struggles of the residents to resist these power structures. In documenting life for the resident in the care homes the thesis shows that their subtle daily forms of resistance exist within a framework of power. The final empirical chapter discusses how residents experience different forms of departure, whether as ending this struggle or beginning a new one. Data were collected through a combined ethnographic methodology of participant observation and semi-structured interviews with residents, staff and management over an eight-month period, in addition to a scoping survey of 37 care homes in the State. The study retrospectively examines residents’ experiences during various stages – pre-entry, entry, post-entry and exit – of their residential career, the drivers and constraints during these stages, and the role of staff and management in contributing to these experiences. These are presented as narratives – interleaved stories highlighting (some) important aspects of life in care homes in Goa. I have included the various responses made by residents to the different stages of their residential career – their ambivalences as well as their certainties, their anger as well as their passive acceptance, their dependence as well as their agency – and to interpret residents as sometimes vulnerable, sometimes invincible, and sometimes struggling. In doing so, I have provided insights into the ups and downs of life in care homes in Goa, through exploring paradigms that were crucial to residents’ lives in my study. These insights reveal that the dismantling of residents’ individual autonomy and control occurred prior to their coming into the institution. Once inside the care home, their lives were further altered by rules, routines and practices of staff and management. The resident’s identities thus were increasingly being defined by the institution. The findings further revealed that residents do not always accept passive dependency but instead struggle to carve their own identity within the institutional settings and controls they are subjected to. Finally, my findings reveal how perceptions and preparations for departure from the institution are coping mechanisms used by the residents and the staff alike, as extensions of their struggle for survival, freedom, and control. These findings lead to a greater understanding of how different processes are intertwined in residential careers for residents in care homes in Goa. The findings invite a rethinking of conceptions of autonomy and ageing, passive compliance and agency, and departure and coping, particularly within the context of institutional living in Goa. This study has thus illustrated the mechanisms in place for older people entering, settling and leaving care homes in Goa and demonstrated whether these mechanisms are adequately suited to their needs. The hope is that this understanding will contribute to the development of improved policy and practice that better reflects the needs and wellbeing of older people.

The study examined the congruence of educational programmer expectations and motivations of older adults, over the age of 60 years, for this group to pursue educational (non-credit) experiences in later life. The major purpose of the study was to determine if a relationship existed between what the educational programmers perceived of as the motivations of the older adults and the self-reported choices of this same group. The two survey samples for the study consisted of 249 institutions of higher education in the United States and an equal number of former ELDERHOSTEL participants. Each of the fifty states was represented by a minimum of four institutions and four older adults. In states with large numbers of institutions or a large senior population, a 5% sample was drawn. The educational institutions were selected on the basis of a replication of a 1982 survey in which the author participated. Data was collected by first class mail survey. The sample consisted of 193 usable responses from institutions of higher education and 208 former ELDERHOSTEL participant surveys that were usable for 78% and 84% response rates, respectively. The instrument used in the survey was developed from a combination of Bova's and Covey's studies on older adults' participation in higher education. It consisted of 20 randomly arranged course offerings from the ELDERHOSTEL catalogs. Educational programmers and former participants in the ELDERHOSTEL program were requested to rank order the courses in order of preference of student or personal choices. Selections were assigned a weighted average value based upon Harris and Associates "Concerns of Senior Adults" poll and a composite developed by the author of Stated Motivations and Subject Matter desired by Older Adults participating in Education over the past 18 years. Findings revealed low congruence between programmer expectations and participant motivations when the data were compared as an aggregate. The study concluded that generally there is a lack of congruence between educational programmer expectations and senior adult motivations concerning the pursuit of educational experiences in later life.

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy