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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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Family, Life Course, and Society

2011

Selected Works

Articles 1 - 30 of 41

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Older Workers: An Essential Resource For Massachusetts, Peter B. Doeringer, Andrew Sum, David Terkla Dec 2011

Older Workers: An Essential Resource For Massachusetts, Peter B. Doeringer, Andrew Sum, David Terkla

David G. Terkla

The Massachusetts Jobs Council, the Governor’s principal advisory board on workforce development, established the Blue Ribbon Commission on Older Workers in 1997 to analyze the labor market for older workers in the Commonwealth and to recommend policies to improve the economic status of the older labor force. The Commission held numerous hearings, town meetings, and focus groups to solicit the views of older workers, employers, labor organizations, and training professionals, and it reviewed the findings of extensive research on older workers in Massachusetts.

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The Pension Factor: Assessing The Role Of Defined Benefit Plans In Reducing Elder Hardships, Frank Porell, Beth Almeida Dec 2011

The Pension Factor: Assessing The Role Of Defined Benefit Plans In Reducing Elder Hardships, Frank Porell, Beth Almeida

Frank Porell

Traditional defined benefit (DB) pension plans have long been an important source of income for elder households seeking to maintain a middle-class standard of living after a lifetime of work. Under traditional DB plans, retirees receive a guaranteed, regular stream of income after retirement that continues until death. The monthly pension benefit is typically based on years of service to the employer, age, and salary history. Retirees also have the option to elect a joint-and-survivor benefit, to ensure that pension payments continue to a surviving spouse. DB plan participation rates among private sector American workers have sharply decreased from about …

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Risk Factors For Driving Cessation Vary By Race And Ethnicity, Elizabeth Dugan, Frank Porell, Chae Man Lee Dec 2011

Risk Factors For Driving Cessation Vary By Race And Ethnicity, Elizabeth Dugan, Frank Porell, Chae Man Lee

Frank Porell

Driving is related to our identity and independence as well as allowing us to get needed goods, services, and social opportunities that enrich daily life. Yet with increasing age, the risk for developing threats to medical fitness to drive increases. Driving cessation is related to a long list of negative outcomes, such as: depression, social isolation, diminished access to health care, and diminished quality of life. We investigated risks for driving cessation, paying close attention to racial differences. This study used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), 1998-2008. The study included N=46, 528 older people (age 65 and …

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Risk Factors For Driving Cessation Vary By Race And Ethnicity, Elizabeth Dugan, Frank Porell, Chae Man Lee Dec 2011

Risk Factors For Driving Cessation Vary By Race And Ethnicity, Elizabeth Dugan, Frank Porell, Chae Man Lee

Elizabeth Dugan

Driving is related to our identity and independence as well as allowing us to get needed goods, services, and social opportunities that enrich daily life. Yet with increasing age, the risk for developing threats to medical fitness to drive increases. Driving cessation is related to a long list of negative outcomes, such as: depression, social isolation, diminished access to health care, and diminished quality of life. We investigated risks for driving cessation, paying close attention to racial differences. This study used data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), 1998-2008. The study included N=46, 528 older people (age 65 and …

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Fun With Numbers: Disclosing Risk To Individual Investors, Christian A. Weller Dec 2011

Fun With Numbers: Disclosing Risk To Individual Investors, Christian A. Weller

Christian Weller

This paper discusses the need for better information on investment risks. The information should be relevant, concise, and accessible to individual investors. More and better information on factors that are likely to influence an investment’s performance and investors’ decisions should eventually lead to better investment decisions – more savings and higher retirement incomes. This paper presents a number of ways to disclose risk to individual investors. There are three numerical and three visual representations to risk. The discussion centers on the pros and cons of each risk representation. All risk descriptions show relevant information, are concise, and more or less …

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States To The Rescue: Policy Options For State Government To Promote Private Sector Retirement Savings, Christian A. Weller, Amy Helburn Dec 2011

States To The Rescue: Policy Options For State Government To Promote Private Sector Retirement Savings, Christian A. Weller, Amy Helburn

Christian Weller

We provide an overview of retirement plan proposals that could be implemented at the state level. All aim to increase participation in retirement savings, mainly by lowering the cost of doing so and possibly by offering some employer or government matches to employee contributions. The proposals vary widely on how much risk employees are exposed to. Some proposals leave most of the risks of saving for retirement – investment, market, and longevity risk – with the employee, while others try to eliminate them all. The tools of risk management range from well-diversified index funds and default investments to required offers …

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Senior Transportation Abstracts: A Focus On Options, Helen Kerschner, Nina M. Silverstein Dec 2011

Senior Transportation Abstracts: A Focus On Options, Helen Kerschner, Nina M. Silverstein

Nina Silverstein

This collection of abstracts represents a publication of importance for understanding the needs, challenges, solutions, and/or every day issues related to senior transportation services. While several of the abstracts include information about senior driver safety, the collection’s primary purpose is to present a holistic approach to transportation options for older adults. Such a collection is timely because, although the practice of providing transportation to older adults is not new, research and preparation of practical informational and technical materials related to older adult transportation service needs and service delivery are quite recent.

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Assessing Stakeholder Opinions Of Medical Review Of Impaired Drivers And Fitness To Drive: Recommendations For Massachusetts, Nina Silverstein, Kelli Barton Dec 2011

Assessing Stakeholder Opinions Of Medical Review Of Impaired Drivers And Fitness To Drive: Recommendations For Massachusetts, Nina Silverstein, Kelli Barton

Nina Silverstein

Driving is the main mode of travel for Americans age 65 and older, and although older adults are generally found to be safe drivers, aging often brings about functional limitations and an increase in medications that can impede safe driving and fitness to drive (Rosenbloom, 2003; Kissinger, 2008; Adler & Silverstein, 2008). Effective licensing policies and Medical Advisory Board practices are critical components in identifying medically at-risk drivers and may even have a role in the transition to alternative transportation options; yet, states vary greatly in their approach to licensing and renewal practices and in the utilization, composition, and function …

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The Seven Spices: Pumpkins, Puritans, And Pathogens In Colonial New England, Michael Sharbaugh Nov 2011

The Seven Spices: Pumpkins, Puritans, And Pathogens In Colonial New England, Michael Sharbaugh

Michael D Sharbaugh

Water sources in the United States' New England region are laden with arsenic. Particularly during North America's colonial period--prior to modern filtration processes--arsenic would make it into the colonists' drinking water. In this article, which evokes the biocultural evolution paradigm, it is argued that colonists offset health risks from the contaminant (arsenic poisoning) by ingesting copious amounts of seven spices--cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, cardamom, allspice, vanilla, and ginger. The inclusion of these spices in fall and winter recipes that hail from New England would therefore explain why many Americans associate them not only with the region, but with Thanksgiving and Christmas, …

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Community Mobility And Dementia: A Review Of The Literature, Nina M. Silverstein, Megan Vanderbur Nov 2011

Community Mobility And Dementia: A Review Of The Literature, Nina M. Silverstein, Megan Vanderbur

Nina Silverstein

By the year 2030, 70 million Americans will be 65 or older. Approximately 80 percent of this population will likely be driving themselves. And without appropriate and timely interventions, many are likely to be driving with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Current estimates suggest that 2 percent of the population 65 to 74, 19 percent of the population 75 to 84, and 47 percent of the population 85 and older are likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease or a related disorder. By the year 2050, the number of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease could range from 11.3 million to 16 million. This significant …

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Massachusetts’ Home Care Programs And Reasons For Discharge Into Nursing Homes, Cathy M. Wong, Nina M. Silverstein Nov 2011

Massachusetts’ Home Care Programs And Reasons For Discharge Into Nursing Homes, Cathy M. Wong, Nina M. Silverstein

Nina Silverstein

Home and community-based services (HCBS) are a range of long-term care services intended to enable older adults and persons with disabilities to “age in place” in their own homes and communities. Previous studies well document that older adults prefer receiving HCBS rather than institutional care at a nursing home. One study concluded that 84 percent of older Americans, aged 50 years and older, want to remain in their homes for as long as possible. Medicaid is a major source of funding for long term care. Currently, a large proportion of Medicaid funds in most states has been spent on institutional, …

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Living With Alzheimer’S Disease: A Study Of Adult Day Health Services In Massachusetts, Nina M. Silverstein, Cathy M. Wong, Kristen E. Brueck Oct 2011

Living With Alzheimer’S Disease: A Study Of Adult Day Health Services In Massachusetts, Nina M. Silverstein, Cathy M. Wong, Kristen E. Brueck

Nina Silverstein

The role of adult day health care (ADHC) is gaining increased attention as the nation prepares for the large cohort of baby boomers entering their later years. Many boomers are aging with physical and cognitive impairments, including Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Projections indicate that Massachusetts, along with the nation as a whole, is experiencing an increasing rate of older persons as baby boomers enter late-life. The Commonwealth can expect that persons with Alzheimer's disease and their care partners will need community-based services that are specifically designed for adults with cognitive impairments. However, a report by the Robert Wood Johnson …

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Aging In Place At Harbor Point: Outreach Follow-Up Of Older Adults Living In Independent Mixed-Income Apartments, Judith M. Conahan, Nina M. Silverstein, Kelly Fitzgerald Oct 2011

Aging In Place At Harbor Point: Outreach Follow-Up Of Older Adults Living In Independent Mixed-Income Apartments, Judith M. Conahan, Nina M. Silverstein, Kelly Fitzgerald

Nina Silverstein

Most older people, despite functional impairments, plan to stay in their homes and/or communities as long as possible. According to an AARP survey, 82% of adults 65+ reported that they believe that they are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to stay in their current homes or apartments for the rest of their lives. With increasing age, housing and community characteristics and services gain importance in meeting the challenges of “aging in place.” Staying in their homes maximizes elder’s independence, sustains their social connections, and reaffirms their identity and value.

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Promoting Safe Mobility Among Elders By Increasing Awareness Of Vehicle Modifications (Executive Summary), Elizabeth Van Ranst, Nina M. Silverstein, Alison S. Gottlieb Oct 2011

Promoting Safe Mobility Among Elders By Increasing Awareness Of Vehicle Modifications (Executive Summary), Elizabeth Van Ranst, Nina M. Silverstein, Alison S. Gottlieb

Nina Silverstein

This research project looks at one strategy to address the safety of older drivers, vehicular modifications. Specifically, a video demonstrating low-tech, low-cost features that may alleviate some driving challenges was produced to determine whether viewing the video would increase awareness of and motivation to use those features. Prochaska and DiClemente’s Transtheoretical Model of intentional behavioral change provides the theoretical framework for this study. This model posits five stages of change, a continuum over which the individual becomes more receptive to taking action.

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Seniors Count Follow-Up Study, Nina M. Silverstein, Heather Connors, May Jawad Oct 2011

Seniors Count Follow-Up Study, Nina M. Silverstein, Heather Connors, May Jawad

Nina Silverstein

Seniors Count is an ongoing outreach initiative under the direction of Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino with the leadership and support of Joyce Williams, Boston's Commissioner on Affairs of the Elderly. The program's purpose is to "identify and reach out to those members of the city's elderly population who live in private housing arrangements and help provide them with the information and services they [may] need" (Boston Commission on Affairs of the Elderly, 2002). Since the program's inception in 1999, it has reached over 5,500 community-dwelling elders in the City of Boston (Boston Commission on Affairs of the Elderly, 2002). …

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“Growing Pains And Challenges”: Grandfamilies House Four-Year Follow-Up Evaluation, Alison S. Gottlieb, Nina M. Silverstein Oct 2011

“Growing Pains And Challenges”: Grandfamilies House Four-Year Follow-Up Evaluation, Alison S. Gottlieb, Nina M. Silverstein

Nina Silverstein

During the past decade, there has been increased awareness of issues facing grandparent caregiver families on the part of policymakers and service providers. This awareness has prompted efforts to document the numbers of children being raised by grandparents, to identify challenges faced by grandparents raising grandchildren, and to provide services to meet the needs of these families. National estimates suggest that the numbers of grandparent caregiver families are increasing. Recent estimates suggest that 1.4 million (2%) of all children under 18 live in “skipped generation” families in the United States; similarly, 29,000 (nearly 2%) of all children in Massachusetts live …

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Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs: Relevance For Persons With Dementia, Nina M. Silverstein, Alison S. Gottlieb Oct 2011

Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs: Relevance For Persons With Dementia, Nina M. Silverstein, Alison S. Gottlieb

Nina Silverstein

The context for this study is the work of the Healthy Brain Initiative. The CDC has established a cooperative agreement with the Alzheimer’s Association to develop and implement a multifaceted approach to look at cognitive health as a public health issue. Late in 2010, the Association commissioned a review of the major chronic disease prevention programs from a systems approach to begin to understand the source of findings that Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s and related disorders are much higher cost than those simply with a single chronic disease and no AD. This led to the conclusion that Chronic Disease Self‐Management …

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Life At Grandfamilies House: The First Six Months, Alison Gottlieb, Nina Silverstein, Laney Bruner-Canhoto, Susan Montgomery Oct 2011

Life At Grandfamilies House: The First Six Months, Alison Gottlieb, Nina Silverstein, Laney Bruner-Canhoto, Susan Montgomery

Nina Silverstein

Recent reports cite estimates of more than two million children in the United States who are currently living in kinship care arrangements; 10% or approximately 200,000 of these relationships are children in foster care. Much kinship care is done by midlife and older persons who are finding themselves assuming new responsibilities associated with parenting their grandchildren, typically for a period of two years or more. This is a social phenomenon that cuts across all socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic groups. There are many challenges facing these nontraditional families including healthcare, income security, education, social support, and housing. Public and private partnerships …

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Driving In Massachusetts: When To Stop And Who Should Decide?, Nina M. Silverstein, Jenai Murtha Oct 2011

Driving In Massachusetts: When To Stop And Who Should Decide?, Nina M. Silverstein, Jenai Murtha

Nina Silverstein

The purpose of this exploratory research was to assess three stakeholders’ perceptions of the locus of responsibility for driving cessation and identify the criteria that should be included in that decision. The stakeholder groups studied were law enforcement officers, physicians, and the general public age 50 years and older. Defining areas of agreement and disagreement across stakeholders will be valuable for informing policy makers who may be considering statewide or national initiatives. Findings will also be useful for public information and training.

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Welfare And Foreign Aid Practices In The Contemporary United States: A Governmentalstudy, Philippe Fournier Sep 2011

Welfare And Foreign Aid Practices In The Contemporary United States: A Governmentalstudy, Philippe Fournier

Philippe Fournier

This article aims to expose the main governmental shifts in recent Americanhistory (1961-2000) by examining two programs: the Assistance to Families with DependentChildren (AFDC) and the Agency for International development (US-AID). Through the ex-ploration of primary and secondary sources, we analyse the production, organisation andcirculation of governmental practices in the realms of both domestic and foreign policy. In theAmerican context, practices of government typically revolve around freedom, efficiency mo-dels and individual responsibility. Throughout the analysis, we find that the general critiqueswhich have guided reforms and experiments in both areas converge around the same ele-ments. This testifies to the fact that …

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Book Review Of Global Perspectives On Adult Education, Deborah K. Sterner Aug 2011

Book Review Of Global Perspectives On Adult Education, Deborah K. Sterner

Deborah K Sterner

No abstract provided.

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Rethinking Old Age Income Security In Taiwan: With A Discussion Of Pension Reform In The Uk And Germany, Chih-Lung Huang, Shrsyung Chang Jul 2011

Rethinking Old Age Income Security In Taiwan: With A Discussion Of Pension Reform In The Uk And Germany, Chih-Lung Huang, Shrsyung Chang

Chih-lung Huang

After the amended provisions of the National Pension Act came into effect in October 2008, creating a new retirement system that joined up the existing military personnel, public school teacher, and labor pension schemes as well as individual accounts and farmers' non-contributory welfare subsidies, Taiwan's system of safeguards for economic security in old age was still fragmented but finally covered the whole of the population. Compared with the previous two-track system, with social insurance as the main form and social relief as the subsidiary form of retirement security, the new framework blends and confuses individual savings accounts and new elements …

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Empowering Women Across The Globe: Advocacy, Education, And Leadership Development, Susan R. Madsen Jun 2011

Empowering Women Across The Globe: Advocacy, Education, And Leadership Development, Susan R. Madsen

Susan R. Madsen

Empowering and developing women has become a popular topic of discussion in the literature and for all kinds of organizations (public, private, social sector) around the world. This includes dialogue concerning the inclusion of more women’s voices in local, regional, country, and worldwide roles and issues. Although progress has been made to have more women in leadership positions from the grassroots to CEO levels, the work has just begun. Developing more women of influence requires work in three areas: advocacy, education, and leadership development. The aim of this symposium is to share research findings and insights in these three areas …

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Adopted Citizens Denied Access To Their Birth Certificates: A Little-Known Civil Rights Issue, Mirah Riben May 2011

Adopted Citizens Denied Access To Their Birth Certificates: A Little-Known Civil Rights Issue, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

American citizens who were adopted are denied the right to access their own original birth certificates (OBC) in most U.S. states, a right available to all other non-adopted citizens. State regulations denying unrestricted access to one’s own birth certificate that apply only to a segment of the population create a lifelong inequality and violate the civil rights of adopted persons. Outdated state regulations that maintain this discrimination need to be repealed.

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Progressing Participation: Taming The Space Between Rhetoric And Reality, Anne Graham, Jenni Whelan, Robyn Margaret Fitzgerald Apr 2011

Progressing Participation: Taming The Space Between Rhetoric And Reality, Anne Graham, Jenni Whelan, Robyn Margaret Fitzgerald

Professor Anne Graham

Participation, as a social and political movement, continues to gain momentum, and the legal and sociological frameworks supporting the rights of children and young people to participate in various aspects of social life are now well established. Yet, there are gaps and silences behind the rhetoric of participation that beg closer scrutiny. Such analysis is important in ensuring “participation” is not un-problematically adopted by policy makers and practitioners without regard to the complex and competing agendas at work in its implementation or any clear evidence of the significance or outcomes for the young people involved. This paper explores some of …

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A State-In-Society Approach To The Nonprofit Sector: Welfare Services In Japan, Mary Alice Haddad Feb 2011

A State-In-Society Approach To The Nonprofit Sector: Welfare Services In Japan, Mary Alice Haddad

Mary Alice Haddad

This article uses the case of Japan to advocate for a new theoretical approach to the study of the nonprofit sector. In particular, it examines how theoretical models based on the European and North American experiences have difficulty explaining the relationship between the nonprofit sector and the state in Japan, and argues that a state-in-society approach is better suited to explaining complex state–society relations in diverse cultural contexts. It does this by examining the evolution of social welfare service provision in Japan. This article is motivated to explain an apparent paradox: Japan’s recent efforts toward greater government decentralization and privatization …

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Fathering In The First Few Months, Jan Thomas, Ann-Kathrine Bonér, Ingegerd Hildingsson Jan 2011

Fathering In The First Few Months, Jan Thomas, Ann-Kathrine Bonér, Ingegerd Hildingsson

Jan Thomas

No abstract provided.

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Repeal The Seal!, Mirah Riben Jan 2011

Repeal The Seal!, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

Instead of introducing legislation to give back rights to adoptees taken from them during the 1940s, the author suggests repealing the state regulations that originally sealed the birth certificates of adoptees.

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The Ironies Of Adoption, Mirah Riben Jan 2011

The Ironies Of Adoption, Mirah Riben

Mirah Riben

The author points out the irony of the extent people will go to in an attempt to conceive and birth a child that is genetically and biologically connected to them, yet when all their efforts fail and they ersort to adoption, they accept a system that relies on lies and secrecy and severs all the adoptee's connections to his heredity.

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Utilizing The Past To Shape The Future: The Rehabilitation Of Child Soldiers In Darfur, Michael K. Marriott Jan 2011

Utilizing The Past To Shape The Future: The Rehabilitation Of Child Soldiers In Darfur, Michael K. Marriott

Michael K Marriott

Child soldiering, an unfortunate reality of war, has become increasingly common in modern warfare. With world attention focused on the genocide taking place in the Darfur region of Sudan, issues regarding the use of child soldiers in the conflict have come to light. By providing an overview of the use of child soldiers both globally and in Sudan, discussing the relevant legal norms theoretically governing the country and providing a case study on Sierra Leone, this paper ultimately provides an analysis and proposed framework for comprehensive programs that could be put into action after cessation of hostilities in an attempt …

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