Suchergebnisse

This paper is concerned with the emergence of consumerism as a dominant theme in the culture surrounding the organisation and provision of welfare in contemporary societies. In it we address the dilemmas produced by a consumerist discourse for older people's healthcare, dilemmas which may be seen as the conflicting representations of third age and fourth age reality. We begin by reviewing the appearance of consumerism in the recent history of the British healthcare system, relating it to the various reforms of healthcare over the last two decades and the more general development of consumerism as a cultural phenomenon of the post World War II era. The emergence of consumer culture, we argue, is both a central theme in post-modernist discourse and a key element in the political economy of the New Right. After examining criticisms of post-modernist representational politics, the limitations of consumerism and the privileged position given to choice and agency within consumerist society, we consider the relevance of such critical perspectives in judging the significance of the user/consumer movement in the lives of retired people.

This paper is concerned with the emergence of consumerism as a dominant theme in the culture surrounding the organisation and provision of welfare in contemporary societies. In it we address the dilemmas produced by a consumerist discourse for older people's healthcare, dilemmas which may be seen as the conflicting representations of third age and fourth age reality. We begin by reviewing the appearance of consumerism in the recent history of the British healthcare system, relating it to the various reforms of healthcare over the last two decades and the more general development of consumerism as a cultural phenomenon of the post World War II era. The emergence of consumer culture, we argue, is both a central theme in post-modernist discourse and a key element in the political economy of the New Right. After examining criticisms of post-modernist representational politics, the limitations of consumerism and the privileged position given to choice and agency within consumerist society, we consider the relevance of such critical perspectives in judging the significance of the user/consumer movement in the lives of retired people.

The New Holland mouse, Pseudomys novaehollandiae, has been reported to have a distinct 5-month breeding season, August to early January, with occasionally an extension to March. Hence it is classified as primarily a seasonal breeder with some of the flexibility of an opportunistic breeder. We present evidence of an extension of the 1991-92 breeding season to at least 10 months, from mid-October or earlier, to late July. In May 62.5% of females were pregnant or lactating whereas 25-44% were pregnant or lactating at different sites in July. Our data from sand-mined dunes extend from Bridge Hill Ridge at the northern end of the Myall Lakes National Park to Tomago near the mouth of the Hunter River. We collate data from studies over the last 20 years, documenting extended breeding in 8 different years, 6 from one region, and at least 4 from another. Twenty years of rainfall data from nearby weather stations in the two regions show extended breeding to be a response to climate, when rainfall between September and March exceeds a threshold value of 750-800mm (approximately 120% of the long-term average), with at least 420-480mm falling during the first three months of the year (approximately 130% of the long-term average). While rainfall appears to be the ultimate factor, we support Kemper''s hypothesis that the proximal factor is most likely to be the abundance or quality of food produced by above-average late summer rainfall.

The end of the 'Golden Age' of welfare capitalism in the 1970s was the prelude to a period of greater individualisation within societies and was accompanied by an increase in the importance of consumption as a way of organising social relations. During the same period there was also an expansion in the discourses aimed at enhancing the government of the autonomous self. One such discourse operates around what has been termed the 'will to health': it suggests that health has become a required goal for individual behaviour and has become synonymous with health itself. The generational groups whose lifecourses were most exposed to these changes are now approaching later life. We explore the extent to which social transformations related to risk, consumption and individualisation are reflected in the construction of later-life identities around health and ageing. We examine how the growth in health-related 'technologies of the self' have fostered a distinction between natural and normal ageing, wherein the former is associated with coming to terms with physical decline and the latter associated with maintaining norms of self-care aimed at delaying such decline. Finally, we consider anti-ageing medicine as a developing arena for the construction of later-life identities and discuss the implications of the social changes for researching later life.

Recent global occurrences are significantly affecting institutions of higher education, particularly on the continent of Africa. In addition, the process of the democratization of education has inevitably led to the explosive demands by the citizens of the different African countries for open admission to institutions of higher education. Against this background this article discusses recent developments at the University of South Africa (UNISA) which have been concerned with the adoption of online distance and open learning approaches in order to achieve greater accessibility and the massification of educational products. This is especially pertinent during this era of technology-driven educational innovation, so as to make university programmes not only accessible but also relevant to the needs and aspirations of African communities. (AAS/DÜI)