Digital Commons Network^™

Age-Related Differences In Idiom Production In Adulthood, Peggy S. Conner, Jungmoon Hyun, Barbara O'Connor-Wells, Inge Anema, Mira Goral, Marie-Michelle Monereau-Merry, Daniel Rubino, Raija Kuckuk, Loraine Obler

Publications and Research

To investigate whether idiom production was vulnerable to age-related difficulties, we asked 40 younger (ages 18–30) and 40 older healthy adults (ages 60–85) to produce idiomatic expressions in a story-completion task. Younger adults produced significantly more correct idiom responses (73%) than did older adults (60%). When older adults generated partially correct responses, they were less likely than younger participants to eventually produce the complete target idiom (old: 32%; young: 70%); first-word cues after initial failure to retrieve an idiom resulted in more correct idioms for older (24%) than younger (15%) participants. Correlations between age and idiom correctness were positive for …

Aging Gracefully: Emerging Issues For Public Policy And Consumer Welfare, Vanessa G. Perry, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

To be an aging consumer in a youth culture means facing several challenges, including maintaining self-esteem in the face of negative media portrayals, redefining the meaning of being sexually active, coping with vulnerability, planning for retirement and investing for the final years. Despite tremendous differences and contradictions among aging consumers, many policymakers take a narrow, single-minded approach to issues of consumer welfare and public policy, which fails to address the wide variation among members of this group.

Marketplace Of Memory: What The Brain Fitness Technology Industry Says About Us And How We Can Do Better, Peter J. Whitehouse

Faculty Scholarship

In the therapeutic void created by over 20 failed Alzheimer's disease drugs during the past decade, a new marketplace of "brain fitness" technology products has emerged. Ranging from video games and computer software to mobile phone apps and hand-held devices, these commercial products promise to maintain and enhance the memory, concentration, visual and spatial skills, verbal recall, and executive functions of individual users. It is instructive to view these products as sociocultural objects deeply imbued with the values and ideologies of our age; consequently, this article offers a critique of the brain fitness technology marketplace while identifying limitations in the …

The Impact Of Social Support On Perceived Control Among Older Adults: Building Blocks Of Empowerment, Jan. H. Johnston, Whitney A. Brosi, Janice R. Hermann, Linda Jaco

Journal of Extension

This article examines the impact of social support on older adults' perceived sense of control and resultant feelings of empowerment. A consistent theme of empowerment is the idea of personal control. Using hierarchical multiple regression, results of a randomly dialed telephone survey of rural older adults (n=404) revealed that social support was a significant predictor of perceived sense of control. Other factors, including health, functional abilities, and resources were not significant predictors. Community educational programming that focuses on ways to engage elder support networks may also foster a perceived sense of control, further facilitating feelings of empowerment among older adults.

[Diabetes Mellitus As A Risk Factor For Dementia In The Mexican Elder Population] Diabetes Mellitus Como Factor De Riesgo De Demencia En La Población Adulta Mayor Mexicana, Silvia Mejia-Arango, Clemente Zúñiga-Gil

School of Medicine Publications

Introduction: Diabetes and dementia are growing problems throughout the world and especially in developing countries.

Aim: To determine the risk of developing dementia in subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Patients and methods: Diabetic elders free of dementia from the Mexican Health and Aging study, a prospective community-based cohort research were followed after two years. Socio-demographic factors, comorbid conditions and type of diabetes treatment were analyzed in subjects who become demented.

Results: At baseline, 749 participants (13.8%) had diabetes mellitus. During the follow-up period (mean: 2.02 years; range: 1-3 years), 306 of 749 persons with diabetes mellitus developed dementia, yielding …

Racing Towards Colorblindness: Stereotype Threat And The Myth Of Meritocracy, Jonathan Feingold

Faculty Scholarship

Education law and policy debates often focus on whether college and graduate school admissions offices should take race into account. Those who advocate for a strictly merits-based regime emphasize the importance of colorblindness. The call for colorblind admissions relies on the assumption that our current admissions criteria are fair measures, which accurately capture talent and ability. Recent social science research into standardized testing suggests that this is not the case.

Part I of this Article explores the psychological phenomenon of stereotype threat. Stereotype threat has been shown to detrimentally impact the performance of individuals from negatively stereotyped groups when performing …

Raps Sheet, October 2011, Retirement Association Of Portland State

RAPS Sheet: Monthly Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Geriatric Scholar Program Graduates First Class, Enrolls Another, Alicia Rohan

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Research Brief: "Work-Related Disability, Veteran Status, And Poverty: Implications For Family Well-Being", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study examines the interrelationships between work-related disability, veteran, and poverty statuses.The research found that households with non-disabled veterans present have a lower likelihood of poverty, but that advantage is severely eroded when the veteran or another family member has a work-limiting disability. Veterans should actively seek access to and use benefits for which they are eligible, and the income supports provided by the Veteran’s Administration to those who served in the armed forces might reduce the risk of poverty. Researchers should examine the extent to which differences in use of service-connected benefits explains some of the variation in poverty …

Measuring Enjoyment Of Physical Activity In Older Adults: Invariance Of The Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (Paces) Across Group And Time, Sean P. Mullen, Erin A. Olson, Siobhan M. Phillips, Amanda N. Szabo, Thomas R. Wójcicki, Emily L. Mailey, Neha P. Gothe, Jason T. Fanning, Arthur F. Kramer, Edward Mcauley

Kinesiology, Health and Sport Studies

The purpose of this study was to validate the Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale (PACES) in a sample of older adults. Participants within two different exercise groups were assessed at two time points, 6 months apart. Group and longitudinal invariance was established for a novel, 8-item version of the PACES. The shortened, psychometrically sound measure provides researchers and practitioners an expedited and reliable instrument for assessing the enjoyment of physical activity.

Schrödinger And Nietzsche On Life: The Eternal Recurrence Of The Same, Babette Babich

Working Papers

Schrödinger and Nietzsche on Life: The Eternal Recurrence of the Same

This essay explores Schrödinger’s reflections on measurement, consciousness, and personal identity. Schrödinger’s, What Is Life? is read together with Nietzsche’s own reflections on the same question, in his aphorism What is Life? together with Nietzsche’s teaching of the eternal return of the selfsame. Schrödinger’s own thinking is influenced as is Nietzsche’s by Schopenhauer but Schrödinger also has the Vedic tradition as this influenced Schopenhauer himself in view.

Geriatric Scholar Program Graduate First Class, Enrolls Another, Alicia Rohan

Browse All News

No abstract provided.

Productive Aging Conference Report, Center For Social Development

Center for Social Development Research

Productive Aging Conference Report

Finding A Balance

News Releases

No abstract provided.

Using Psychoanalytically Oriented Psychotherapy With The Elderly, Mark D. Miller, Md

Jefferson Journal of Psychiatry

Psychotherapy with the elderly, like geriatric medicine, has become a subject of renewed interest. This paper will review some pertinent aspects of the subject and hopefully dispel some myths. A case will be presented where psychoanalytically oriented psychotherapy was employed. In this case, forced termination was necessary after one year due to the therapist graduating from residency.

Kenneth Shultz Cd Summer 2010, Kenneth Schultz

Innovative Course Redesign Grant Reports

Supports faculty to redesign or develop a course in ways that implement high-impact, evidence-based, and/or innovative teaching strategies to improve student learning.

Aligning Graduate Medical Education With Public Policy, Rob Cunningham

National Health Policy Forum

In late May–early June 2011, the Forum sponsored a site visit to Denver, Colorado, to observe innovative efforts to improve the health of Coloradans and reduce the cost of health care. The three-day agenda was designed to convey the breadth and interconnectedness of the efforts underway in Denver and to highlight both successes and challenges. The exploration concentrated on how three themes of national interest are unfolding in Denver: building and sustaining a robust and effective safety net in an evolving health care market; improving the health of people and their communities to prevent and reduce the need for health …

Agenda And Reports, Juvenile Welfare Board, September 8, 2011, Juvenile Welfare Board Of Pinellas County

Juvenile Welfare Board Agendas, Minutes, and Historical Audits

Agenda for the September 8, 2011, meeting of the Juvenile Welfare Board. Attached as supplemental files include past meeting minutes and attachments to review before the meeting.

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

Gerontology Institute Publications

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.

Perspectives: Older Workers' Priorities And Preferences, Michael A. Smyer Phd, Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes Phd

Briefings, Hearings, and Congressional Study Group

Perspectives: Older Workers’ Priorities and Preferences An Issue Brief Prepared by Michael A. Smyer and Marcie Pitt-Catsouphes for What An Aging Workforce Can Teach Us About Workplace Flexibility July 18, 2005.

Panelists Bios, Workplace Flexibility 2010, Georgetown University Law Center

Briefings, Hearings, and Congressional Study Group

No abstract provided.

Requests Of Brown By Lc Classification: September 2011, Ruth E.. Souto

HELIN Monthly Loan Statistics

Requests of Brown from other HELIN libraries - September 2011

Research Frontiers, Fall 2011, University Of Arkansas Fayetteville. Office Of University Relations

Research Frontiers

No abstract provided.

Catalog 2011-2012, Kingsborough Community College

Course Catalogs

No abstract provided.

Modelling The Causes And Consequences Of Perceptions Of Personal Safety On Public Transport Ridership, Alexa Delbosc, Graham Currie

World Transit Research

Fears about personal safety on public transport can have an important impact on ridership. A range of studies have examined different factors that influence perceptions of crime risk. This study uses structural equation modelling to explore the influences on perceptions of safety on public transport and the impact these perceptions have on ridership using a survey sample from Melbourne, Australia. The largest direct influences on feelings of safety on public transport were trust in others and feeling safe in one’s home or on the street at night. Gender and age are commonly-cited influences in the literature but in this model …

"I Would Feel Uncomforable If My Child's Teacher Were Gay": Examining The Role Of Symbolic Homophobia And Political Affiliation, Michael Moore, Amy Moors

Modern Psychological Studies

Symbolic homophobia is a general negative disposition towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, which is demonstrated in symbolic forms of prejudice rather than overt actions. Stigma towards lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals has transformed from overt forms of prejudice to slightly less blatant more subtle forms in recent years (Schafer & Shaw, 2009). Based on previous research, it is has also been shown that conservatives will have higher levels of symbolic homophobia. (Linneman, 2004), Thus, in order to assess the more nuanced forms of prejudice in relation to political affiliation, Study 1 created a scale to assess symbolic homophobia. …

Gerontology Newsletter, September 2011, University Of Northern Iowa. Gerontology Program.

Gerontology Newsletter

Inside this issue:

-- Rural Aging Conference
-- Congratulations Graduates
-- Webiner
-- New Website
-- Recent Cuts to the State Budget

Patients' Legal Competence In Treatment Decision-Making, Kevin Chien-Chang Wu, Ming-Been Lee

Journal of Medical Education

In recent decades, informed consent has become a core issue in medical ethics. Of the five elements of informed consent, namely: competence, information, voluntariness, comprehension, and decision (consent or refusal), competence has drawn much clinical and academic attention because it forms the basis of autonomy. The MacArthur Treatment Competence Study is currently the most thorough study in this field and it proposes four functional abilities to assess competence: (1) communicating a stable choice, (2) understanding, (3) appreciation, and (4) reasoning. However, this cognitive-based approach to competence remains debatable and the best approach to competence in treatment decision making in Taiwan's …

The Content And Development Of Chinese Nursing Textbooks In Taiwan: A Bio-Psychosocial Perspective Of End-Of-Life Care, Hsiao-Ling Yang, Chia-Yi Wu, Mei Chang, Quan-Wei Chang, Wen-Yu Hu

Journal of Medical Education

Palliative care models have been developed and put into practice in Taiwan for more than 20 years. However, the progress of comprehensive training programs is still in its early stages, and most nursing training modules are lacking in related courses. Thus, it is critical to examine the appropriateness and integrity of the contents in the teaching materials relating to end-of-life care (EC) on which training for students and registered nurses is based. The purpose of this study is to review the contents and distribution of published Chinese nursing textbooks in Taiwan during 1945-2009, and the percentage of contents devoted to …

Coming Of Age In Marshfield: A Needs Assessment Of Aging Services, Jan Mutchler, Sandra Mccoskrie Blanchette

Gerontology Institute Publications

The purpose of this needs assessment is to investigate the needs, interests, and opinions of mature residents of Marshfield, Massachusetts, relating to their aging experiences and needs for age‐related services. On behalf of the Marshfield Council on Aging (COA), this assessment was conducted by the Collins Center for Public Management and the Gerontology Institute of the McCormack Graduate School at UMass Boston. The focus of this report is on Marshfield residents aged 60+ (referred to here as “Seniors”) and residents aged 45‐59 (referred to here as “Boomers”). Information about these two age groups was obtained both through the U.S. Census …