Suchergebnisse

The authors investigated the academic self‐concept of students age 50 and older who are in career transition to identify their perceptions of their academic abilities and the teaching and learning environment.

Financial abuse is widely recognised to be an important but under‐reported risk area for vulnerable adults, especially elderly people. This paper provides an introduction to relevant issues, indicators and remedies. It also highlights areas needing further attention both within the professional council and financial systems such as banking.

Following the removal of the age retirement barrier in Australia, it is expected that more older workers will remain in the workforce beyond the age of 65. An important segment of this older workforce is the managerial and professional woman, aged in her 50s and part of the first generation of women to have had a long‐term career. This paper reports on an investigation into the career and life decisions of 33 such women in Perth, Western Australia. The research looked at issues such as career histories and future work goals; impact of ageing process on career achievement, and retirement plans, and also examined the implications of barriers facing the older career woman. The research identified five related career barriers and goes on to examine the management and organisational implications of these barriers. The need to further develop career development models to include the varying circumstances and experiences of older women employees is also discussed.

ABSTRACTThis exploration of the position of "poor older people"within the context of Community Care, analyses the evidence and identifies discriminatory features that affect their lives. There follows an examination of poverty and the Government's management of the changes in Social Security legislation around pensions and benefits, with special reference to the position of women and carers. Are "economically fragile"older people members of the newly emerging underclass? The consequent inequalities are further explored via the position of carers and retired women in relation to the Benefits System; both groups seem to miss the much heralded effects of the trickle‐down economic ideology. In the era of Citizen's Charters, so called choices for economically fragile service users appear to be little more than Hobson's Choice.

Bowel dysfunction not only causes considerable hardship for many older people and their carers, it is also financially costly to the health service and to the individuals affected. Despite the prevalence of constipation and faecal incontinence amongst, for example, older people in institutionalised settings, both conditions are often iatrogenic and entirely preventable. One reason why these conditions are generally not well managed is that the research base is poor: there are few robust data because of methodological weaknesses in existing studies, so clinicians and care staff are left to rely on anecdote and personal experience. Secondly, the costs to the NHS involved in providing proper bowel care for the elderly would be considerable, although recent government documents have set out a specific commitment to improve standards of care in this area. In order to address some of these issues, the College has recently published a book which gathers together and assesses research on faecal incontinence and constipation, and provides informed guidance on current best practice. The contents of the publication, including comments from older people suffering from bowel dysfunction, are outlined in this article.

Supporting People was originally promoted as a way of shifting resources out of the confines of 'special' housing towards a more flexible approach focused on people. As far as older people were concerned, it spoke of the desirability of giving more, low‐intensity support and of the opportunity for health services to become involved in the commissioning. But detailed proposals have so far been more concerned with protecting the status quo than with innovation, and have emphasised 'assessment' rather than the empowerment of service users. Change could still happen through Supporting People, and the practical housing support services older people need could be provided through the agency of primary care groups or through an extension of Attendance Allowance. The article concludes by addressing the problem of finding a suitable labour force to give older people support in their homes, and the need for joined‐up thinking on earnings restrictions for families living on benefits.