A Review of: “LEARNING LATER By Brian Findsen”

Many older adults do not use health information available on the Internet. Older adults residing in affordable housing were taught to use the NIHSeniorHealth.gov Web site. Participants were predominantly African American women with limited education and income (N = 42). Outcomes included changes in computer and health Web site navigation skills. Results showed significant improvements for all demographic groups in both computer and Web site navigation (p < .001). Older minority adults with no prior computer experience were willing and able to learn to use health Web sites. Success factors included an instructor familiar with the community, peer training assistants, and a focus on new learner needs.     

Education and Recreation Activities of Older Asian Immigrants

Older Asian immigrants experience a variety of challenges when attempting to adapt to life in a new society. Adjustment difficulties associated with cultural differences among older Asian immigrants and the host country may result in a certain levels of acculturative stress. This stress is negatively associated with health and quality of life. In spite of benefits of participation in recreation activities for older Asian immigrants, they continue to experience constraints to their leisure participation that are associated with cultural differences (e.g., language barriers, limited social networks, different family roles, lack of awareness of leisure resources). To address this challenge, it may be helpful to develop strategies to support older Asian immigrants in their leisure pursuits. The purpose of this paper is to (a) examine older Asian immigrants’ issues related to acculturation and their help-seeking patterns, (b) discuss potential leisure constraints associated with cultural differences for leisure participation, and (c) provide suggestions on ways leisure service providers can offer leisure education programs, meaningful recreation activities originating in Asia, and multicultural recreation events.     

Older adults’ physical exercise and health-related quality of life: The mediating role of physical self-concept

Building on previous self-concept and current physical self-concept (PSC) theories, this paper presents empirical results demonstrating the triad relationship among physical exercise, PSC, and quality of life (QoL) in older adults. Specifically, the results show how PSC mediates the relationship between physical exercise and health-related quality of life (HQoL). A total of 152 older adults participated in this study, completing the Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire, Physical Self-Concept Scale for Older Adults, and 12-Item Short-Form Survey. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted to test the mediating effects. Older adults’ physical exercise, PSC, and QoL were all correlated. The components of older adults’ PSC (strength, flexibility, and independent functioning) fully mediated the relationship between physical exercise and the physical as well as mental aspects of HQoL. This study thus suggests that PSC plays an important explanatory role in the effect of older adults’ physical exercise on their QoL. Health-care professionals may use various strategies to enhance older adults’ self-perception during physical exercise in order to promote their global well-being.     

注重应用性特点 甄选实用型人才——成人高考数学科考试研究

成人高考是我国成人教育体系的重要组成部分,成人教育的明显特点之一就是注重培养应用型人才。在此基础上,成人高考有着标准参照考试的特点,其注重基础知识考查,突出对应用能力的考查。数学科是成人高考中的考试科目之一,其考试内容从中学数学到高等数学。成人高考数学试题始终围绕成人教育的发展而变化,研究这些试题的特点,对于选拔人才,推进我国终身教育的发展有着重要意义。     

The relationship between perceived ageism and depressive symptoms in later life: Understanding the mediating effects of self-perception of aging and purpose in life,using structural equation modeling

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between perceived ageism and depression in later life and to clarify the mechanism underlying this relationship by examining the mediating effects of self-perception of aging and purpose in life. The Health and Retirement Study surveys were used for this secondary analysis of data. The sample included 3,991 older adults, and structural equation modeling (SEM) analyses using structural regression models were conducted. SEM analyses revealed that full mediation effects of self-perception of aging and purpose in life exist. Older adults who perceive ageism are likely to have negative self-perception of aging, and this negative view of their own aging is likely to decrease purpose in life and increase depressive symptoms. The results of this study imply that more efforts and resources are necessary to reduce ageism and its negative effect on depression among older adults. Additionally, the current study suggests the necessity of anti-ageism policies and social services. Increasing positive self-perception of aging, purpose in life, and resilience could be the key to a better quality of life for older adults.     

DEVELOPING A CONFERENCE FOR THE ELDERLY AS PART OF A UNIVERSITY EDUCATIONAL GERONTOLOGY CLASS

The undergraduate course Educational Gerontology taught at Hampton University includes the development and implementation of a community conference for older adults. The conference is developed in conjunction with the local senior center. Students spend two hours each week throughout the semester observing and participating in the programming at the senior center in order to become familiar with the needs and interests of older adults. During scheduled class times, students select an appropriate conference theme and begin conference plans and committee assignments. The class culminates with the conducting of the conference at the center. Such a project gives students the opportunity to get valuable hands‐on experience in educational gerontology programming.     

Human Relations: The Cornerstone of a Roeper Education

This article traces the evolution of a moral philosophy curriculum originally taught by George A. Roeper in the earliest years of The Roeper School. The first author, a student at The Roeper School in the 1960s and 1970s, describes the impact of the class George Roeper called “Human Relations” on her life. Returning to the School as a parent and trustee, she had the opportunity to re-create for current students the experience of the Human Relations class in a workshop, liberally borrowing material from a philosophy class taught by Harvard political philosopher Michael Sandel. In the second part of the article, a current English teacher at The Roeper School and attendee at that workshop discusses how she was inspired to revise her literature courses to incorporate the moral philosophy approach of George Roeper and Michael Sandel.     

‘The Use of History of Mechanics in Teaching Motion and Force Units’

This paper reports a 4-month study that investigated the effectiveness of curriculum materials incorporating the history of science (HOS) on learning science, understanding the nature of science (NOS), and students’ interest in science. With regards to these objectives, three different class contexts were developed with three main types of information in history of science. In the first class context, the similarities between students’ alternative ideas and scientific concepts from the HOS were considered in developing teaching materials. In the second class context, the teacher developed discussion sessions on the ways scientists produce scientific knowledge. In the third class context, short stories about scientists’ personal lives were used without connection to the concepts of science or NOS. Ninety-one eighth-grade students were randomly assigned to four classes taught by the same science teacher. The concepts in the motion unit and in the force unit were taught. Three of the four classrooms were taught using the contexts provided by the HOS while the fourth class was taught in the same way that the teacher had used in previous years. The effects on student meaningful learning, perceptions of the NOS, and interest in science were evaluated at the beginning, at the middle, and at the end of the study to compare differences between historical class contexts and the Traditional Class. Results of analysis showed that the changes in meaningful learning scores for the first class context were higher than other classes but the differences between classes were not significant. The HOS affected student perceptions of the scientific methods and the role of inference in the process of science. Stories from scientists’ personal lives consistently stimulated student interest in science, while discussions of scientific methods without these stories decreased student interest. The positive effects of stories relating scientist’ personal life on student interest in science has major importance for the teaching of science. This research also helps to clarify different class contexts which can be provided with different types and uses of historical information.     

社会主义新农村视阈中的农民休闲

农民休闲是建设社会主义新农村的重要课题。随着农村生产力的发展,农民闲暇增多,农民将更加关注自己的生活质量,特别是闲暇生活,农民休闲成为可能和必要。农民休闲促进新农民自我实现、自我发展,促进新农村人际和谐,推动新农村全面进步。当前相对滞后的农民休闲,有碍社会主义新农村的建设发展,这一问题亟待解决。要发展农民休闲,除了大力发展农村经济这一基础外,还需做多方面工作:培养农民文明休闲观念,提升农民休闲品位;开发农村休闲资源,建设系统休闲工程;倡导农民休闲方式多元化,拓展农民休闲范围。     

GERONTOLOGY EDUCATION FOR RECREATION SERVICE MAJORS: MEETING THE DEMANDS OF THE 21ST CENTURY

Due to an overwhelming increase in the population of older Americans in the next 30 years, many professions are preparing to meet the demands of an increasingly older clientele. This research was conducted to assess whether recreation professionals' level of education in gerontology is adequate to meet the demands of older adults in the future. It was found that opportunities for education in gerontology are abundant in many recreation and leisure studies programs. Most recreation curricula have gerontology classes and opportunities for minors in gerontology. Those that were lacking in this area were at least found to cover the topics in courses on lifespan development. However, it remains somewhat unclear how many students are taking advantage of these opportunities.     

18世纪巴黎的咖啡馆文化特点

18世纪巴黎人的日常生活中,咖啡馆扮演了重要角色。历史地理因素和文化环境造就其独特的风格,同时也孕育了颇具特色的社交文化。巴黎咖啡馆逐渐从下层走向上层,成为奢华的法国式精英文化的特点。同时咖啡馆的娱乐性,为大众化的政治活动提供人员基础和社交模式,一定程度上推动了法国大革命的诞生。     

Education,Functional Limitations,and Life Satisfaction Among Older Adults in South Korea

This study examined the associations of educational level with functioning and life satisfaction among community-dwelling older adults in South Korea (n = 4,152). The sample was drawn from Wave I of the Korean Longitudinal Study on Aging. To examine educational disparities, separate analyses were run to note predictors in less educated (below the 6th grade) and better educated (above the 6th grade) respondents. Educational disparities were found in major predictors of health and well-being. Older age and lower cognition were strong predictors of functional limitations, while being married, receiving public assistance, and better psychological functioning were associated with greater life satisfaction. The health and well-being of less educated respondents were influenced by demographic factors, while social engagement and psychological functioning were more prominent predictors for better educated respondents. These findings highlight the importance of enhancing cognitive functioning and function among older adults in Korea to promote their health and well-being.     

Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE): A Measure of Self-Reported Ageism

The Relating to Older People Evaluation (ROPE) is a 20-item questionnaire that measures positive and negative ageist behaviors that people may engage in during everyday life. In this article, we report the first findings from several administrations of the ROPE along with initial psychometric information on the instrument. Respondents were college students, community-dwelling older adults, and persons affiliated with a university community. Results indicate that most people of all ages readily admit to positive ageist behaviors. Younger and older adults appear to participate in similar amounts of ageist behavior. Analyses by gender indicated that women endorsed the positive ageism items more often than did men. Psychometric analyses yielded estimates of adequate test-retest reliability and internal consistency reliability. Implications for current views of ageism as a social phenomenon and strategies for reducing ageist behaviors in everyday life are discussed.     

Age Differences in Goal Concordance,Time Use,and Well-Being

The primary purpose of the present study was to investigate age differences in goal concordance, time use, and Well-Being. Past research has found that despite age-related decline in life circumstances (e.g., health), the Well-Being of older adults is as high as young adults. The present study used a novel approach to explore the Paradox of Well-Being. One hundred and seventy-seven adults participated in the study. They first generated their three most important personal strivings and rated levels of goal concordance for external, introjected, identified, and intrinsic reasons. Then, they reported their actual and ideal time use in 10 categories of activities in the past 24 hours. Finally, Well-Being was assessed by the Flourishing Scale and the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (Diener, Wirtz, et al., 2010). Older adults did not differ from young adults in overall Well-Being. However, they held higher levels of goal concordance and were more likely to spend time in spirituality and religion-related activities than young adults. The relationships between goal concordance, time use, and Well-Being were examined separately for young and older adults. Implications were discussed to improve Well-Being for young and older adults.     

Classroom contexts for learning at primary and secondary school: Class size,groupings, interactions and special educational needs

The inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in mainstream schools can result in difficult decisions regarding classroom organisation and management. The premise of this article is that these are likely to be affected by the classroom context, specifically the number of pupils in the class, the size and composition of groups and classes, and the presence of additional adults, but that there is very little systematic information on these features. A systematic observation study was conducted involving 48 pupils at Year 5 (9–10 years) and 49 pupils at Year 9 (13–14 years) with Statements of SEND, along with 115 comparison pupils at Year 5 and 112 at Year 9 who were typically developing. There were nearly 70,000 observations (data points) in total. Results showed that pupils at Year 5 with SEN were being taught in larger classes than at Year 9, and that, compared with typically developing pupils, they were much more likely to be separately taught in small, low‐attaining groups at Year 5 and small, low‐attaining classes (sets) at secondary. The study raises worrying questions about the appropriateness of classroom contexts for pupils with SEND and the heavy reliance on teaching assistants.     

Older Adults’ Comprehension of Transformational and Deactivation Negation

The present research aimed to examine young and older adults’ comprehension of negated text to determine the locus of older adults’ difficulty in understanding this text construction. Participants were asked to read short passages at their own pace, complete a lexical decision task, and answer a comprehension question about what they had read. Older adults’ comprehension accuracy was lower than that of young adults for passages containing transformational negation. This suggests that limited working memory resources led to older adults’ difficulty with negation, not a difficulty with inhibition, as what would have been suggested with difficulties with deactivation negation.     

The life satisfaction among older East Asian immigrants: sexual attitudes and knowledge

ABSTRACT

Sexuality in later life is an essential factor for quality of life among older adults However, little is known about the sexuality of older adult immigrants from East Asia who have experienced both Western and Eastern cultures. In addition, we have limited information about the mechanism of how sexual attitudes impact life satisfaction through knowledge of sexuality. To address these knowledge gaps, a cross-sectional research design was conducted by collecting data from older East Asian immigrants aged 60 or over in a large city in a Midwestern state. We analyzed 96 responses using exploratory factor analysis and mediation analysis. The results showed that older adult immigrants who had more open sexual attitudes were likely to possess accurate sexual knowledge. Older adult immigrants’ sexual knowledge mediated the relationship between their sexual attitudes and life satisfaction. The findings highlight the importance of lifelong sexual education for older adult immigrants and recommend social workers train in culturally sensitive approaches.     

应重视发挥语文学科的闲暇教育功能

闲暇对人的发展具有重要意义,闲暇教育正越来越引起重视。语文学科与闲暇联系最密切,语文能力的高低在很大程度上影响和决定着一个人的闲暇生活的质量;丰富而充实的闲暇生活对语文素养的提高亦具有重要作用。语文教育工作者应注意在语文教学中渗透闲暇教育,充分发挥语文学科的闲暇教育功能。