Edelman's (1967,1977) analysis of political processes is used as the theoretical framework within which to examine the role of international conferences such as the recent World Assembly on Aging. The function of such international assemblies and the role of participating policymakers and experts are interpreted as part of a symbolic process which legitimates problem definitions and national policies, and validates the roles of policy makers, bureaucrats and experts. The paper questions whether these meetings have real potential for influencing national policies and discusses the factors which limit their relevance and usefulness for developing countries.

This paper reports findings from a study of 400 community-dwelling persons aged 65 and over. The stratified random sample resides in a city in Ontario, Canada, with a population of 260,000. A profile of their living arrangements is presented and then analysed with respect to respondent characteristics. Each of gender, marital status, and age are related to living arrangements at statistically significant levels, but control analyses indicate that gender is the most salient respondent characteristic. The authors argue that these observed gender differences in living arrangements are a reflection of sex role differences in today's older population. To the extent that these roles change, so too will the living arrangements of men and women. For both the present and future, differences by gender must be taken into account in housing and income policies.

Most research on psychological reactions to retirement considers adjustment as the main dependent variable. This paper suggests that enjoyment of retirement may be another psychological reaction to this phase of life. Differences between adjustment to and enjoyment of retirement for a sample of retired professional men are explored with respect to different phases of retirement. It was found that these two dependent variables are related but somewhat different reactions to retirement. Two independent variables, attitudes toward retirement and family interaction, contribute to both adjustment to and enjoyment of retirement. However, income was a significant predictor of adjustment whereas personality was a significant independent variable for the prediction of enjoyment of retirement. These results suggest that further research should consider other dependent variables in attempting to understand the psychological complexities related to the retirement role.

Current scholarship in the sociology of age relations suffers from conceptual ambiguity and confusion in the area of age and generational relations. This paper recommends precise definition and use of the terms cohort, generation, age grade, age stratum, age group, and generation groups. Concrete or real definitional constructs are distinguished from nominal constructs and their advantages are described. The central thrust of the paper is a call for a return to the conceptualization of Mannheim about generations and a parallel conceptualization concerning age groups. The usefulness of this approach is discussed in terms of the political sociology of age relations.

A mail-out survey method was used to assess the transportation needs of seniors living in relatively remote rural areas of Saskatchewan. In all 1675 questionnaires were returned for an 87% return rate. Results showed that the transportation-disadvantaged were very old widowed women living alone on a small income in a village or small town who were particularly likely to be lonely, in poor health, and physically frail. Two types of transportation needs were identified: the need to make local trips at least once a week and the need for transportation to a district centre at least once a month. Examples of volunteer, locally-run transportation systems that might meet these needs and be cost-effective are reviewed.

This study was designed to examine morphological changes in cross sections of the thoracic aorta of male Swiss albino mice during the course of aging. Histometric measurements made on the aortas of mice at 1, 3, 10 and 17.5 months of age showed that the tunica media, which consists of elastin lamellae and smooth muscle layers, thickens significantly with advancing age. To evaluate the effects of dietary restriction on the aorta, the aortas of 20 month old mice on a 4% protein diet (restricted) were compared with those on a 26% protein diet (control). The aortas of the 26% protein fed mice were significantly thicker and the number of elastin lamellae was significantly greater than those of the 4% protein fed mice. The control mice showed a greater degree of age related changes in the aorta than did mice on the protein restricted diet.

Two hundred and seventy three married, independently living adults completed an 11-item Likert questionnaire of perceived attitudes of various reference groups toward sexual relations among the elderly. Multivariate analysis of variance of Helmert contrasts revealed no significant age, sex or age X sex interaction effects among the respondents. With the exception of elderly females, the younger the age of the reference group, the less favorable the perceived attitude toward sexual activities among the elderly; the self, the doctor and spouse were seen as more favorable toward sex among the elderly than friends, clergy or children.

This paper examines changes in functional ability and mental functioning among participants (aged 50 and over) of Adult Day Care programs in Manitoba, Canada. It compares those who improve, remain stable, and deteriorate on each of these two dimensions in terms of their condition at time 1, a host of demographic factors, subjective and social factors, characteristics of their participation in the program, and diseases as coded from their medical claims records. In doing so it explores whether or not it is possible to identify who will benefit while in the program. The results provide only a potential answer to the question, but do suggest that the ADC program is performing an important social function which is related to improved functional ability, especially among those living alone and with fewer relatives. For mental health, the findings suggest the program works in conjunction with the existing marital relationship, benefiting most those still married. Research efforts are ongoing.

The 1982 World Assembly on Aging was convened to launch an international plan of action aimed at guaranteeing economic and social security to older persons, as well as opportunities for them to contribute to national development. The Plan of Action was to be considered as an integral component of major international development strategies and programs which have been formulated in response to important world problems and needs. This paper examines the background documents on aging prepared by the United Nations for world wide regional meetings held before the Assembly. It argues that the issues raised were restricted to a “social problems” perspective on aging which is congruent with the modernization theory of development. The economic and political dependency of Third World countries was ignored. As a result, the discussion and recommendations emerging from the regional meetings, in both developed and underdeveloped areas, focused only on policies and programs similar to those in industrialized countries. This paper concludes that such programs are irrelevant to the lives of most people as they age.

In the field of social gerontology, some evidence exists to support Cowgill's theory that modernization leads to a decline in the status of the old. However, all of the evidence to date consists of objective indices of status such as education or income. The study reported here uses the factorial survey approach to directly measure the perceived status of various ages, and of both males and females. The results indicate that there is in fact an inverted U-curve of status across the life span, and that the perceived status of females is lower than that of males in the midlife period.

There were a few minor variations in the status ratings due to sex, age, and the type of question asked. Females rated middle aged males slightly higher in status that did males, and older respondents rated the very young and the very old higher than did younger respondents. The most significant factor affecting the status ratings was age, but since the oldest respondent was only 35, this study must be replicated with older samples.

Quality assurance packages for common health problems are being developed for use in long term care settings. Each package includes a criteria map outlining explicit process and outcome criteria, a reviewer's manual and data summary forms. The packages were developed for use by direct care providers in long term care facilities. Established criteria are applied to records on resident care in order to identify areas which require remedial actions. A feasibility study to assess the use of the packages in eleven nursing homes is reported.

The present investigation represents a re-validation of the Memorial University of Newfoundland Scale of Happiness (MUNSH) and its Negative (NAS) and Positive Affect (PAS) subscales in an institutionalized sample of elderly urban residents. Self-ratings of happiness (AVHT) and judges' ratings (JR) were used as criterion measures. Correlations between MUNSH scales and AVHT ranged from 0.75 to 0.86, while those between MUNSH scales and JR fell between 0.37 and 0.55. The findings indicate that the MUNSH is as valid for residents of large urban centres as for the smaller centres in which it was initially developed.

This study's objective was to determine the extent of agreement between experienced Registered Nurses (RNs) and Registered Nursing Assistants (RNAs) in their use of pain indicators in assessing elderly nursing home residents for the presence of pain. Twenty-three pain indicators were judged appropriate by seasoned clinicians for assessment of pain in the elderly. Structured interviews with a card-sort technique were administered to 30 RNs and 30 RNAs from five nursing homes. Respondents were asked to rank the indicators in order of their perceived usefulness. Substantial agreement (Kappa=0.74, p<0.001) was found between the two groups. Personal characteristics of the two groups were not significantly different (p<.05). Clinical, educational and research implications are discussed.

In spite of overall approval by residents and staff, a program of recreational exercise in a home for the aged had little impact. The findings suggest that (1) sponsorship and vested interest on the part of health professionals are crucial factors in program implementation, and (2) underlying optimal care of the institutionalized elderly are certain empirical and ethical issues which need to be addressed.

Rural-urban differences in the characteristics of 44 individuals entering the province-wide Adult Day Care program throughout Manitoba are examined. In addition, the rural-urban differences along various social and social psychological indicators after participants have been in the program are explored. The results indicate that there are many similarities and relatively few differences between the urban and the rural ADC participants. Any differences which do emerge portray the rural participants as more socially integrated and with higher levels of perceived health than the urban participants. Implications for assessment for entry into Adult Day Care are discussed.

A retrospective study was conducted in a large multilevel geriatric centre to analyse the deaths reported in the year 1981. This centre provides accommodation for 750 elderly and/or chronically ill persons in three agencies—an apartment complex, a home for the aged, and a long-term care hospital The study revealed that the hospital is the place of death for a high proportion of the elderly residents of the centre. In particular, residents of the home for the aged are unlikely to remain in the “home” to die. It was found that patterns of death and dying for individuals admitted to the hospital from the general community differ in several ways from the patterns of those who are already living in the centre in terms of age and probable cause of death.

This paper discusses seven major issues that will affect the development of gerontology education in response to manpower needs in aging in Canada. These issues concern the definitions of aging for educational and manpower policy, manpower forecasting, knowledge base in gerontology, gerontology as an academic field or as a professional field, development of education programs, employment opportunities, and factors in supply and demand. The author stresses the importance of creating baseline data about manpower needs and occupational settings and about the knowledge base of gerontology in Canada.

This paper presents a synthesis of some ideas that emerged from a recent symposium on the transportation needs of the elderly and programs which might meet these needs. Implications for government policy are discussed