INTRODUCTION: ISSUES AND CHALLENGES AFFECTING PRE- AND POSTRETIREMENT AMONG COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY FACULTY

ABSTRACT

The aging of college and university faculties mirrors general demographic trends in the United States (Administration on Aging, 2003 Administration on Aging . ( 2003 ). A profile of older Americans . Retrieved August 25, 2004 from www.aoa.gov/prof/statistics/profile/2003/2003profile  [Google Scholar]). It also presents unique issues and challenges that reflect the work and retirement patterns of professors and the nature of academe itself (TIAA-CREF Institute, 2004 TIAA-CREF Institute . ( 2004 , Spring ). Recruitment, retention, and retirement: Institute's conference focuses on higher education's three Rs . Quarterly , 4 – 7 . [Google Scholar]). There have been major economic and policy changes of the past decade, including the uncapping or elimination of the mandatory retirement age for professors, the erosion of financial support for many public institutions of higher education, the use of more part-time and contract faculty, and the soaring costs of health care. These have all impacted college and university faculty and the institutions that they serve. This theme issue addresses the impact of some of those trends, and offers possible solutions to the complex issues that they raise.     

LEISURE AND THE RETIRED PROFESSOR: OCCUPATION MATTERS

ABSTRACT

Little attention has been given to the leisure activities of retired professors, whose activity patterns in retirement may be different from those of other occupational groups because of their lifetime commitment to work. This interview study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to investigate: (a) the leisure and professional activities of retired professors; (b) the anticipated leisure activities of older employed professors; and (c) the relationship between sociodemographic factors and leisure activities of professors in retirement. Respondents were 54 retired (response rate 83%) and 17 employed (response rate 94%) professors aged 70–74 from a major research university. Content analysis of the tape-recorded open-ended questions indicated that volunteer activity, travel, exercise or sports, and work around the house or garden were the most commonly described leisure activities of retirees. A large majority of retirees (70%) also continued professional activities. Travel and exercise or sports were the most frequently planned activity for employed respondents. Correlational analysis revealed little relationship between sociodemographic factors and leisure activities in retirement. Implications for retirement education and leisure programming are discussed.     

Emeritus professors: Correlates of professional activity in retirement

The major purpose of this study was to investigate correlates of professional activity of professors in retirement. The investigation focused on a number of variables related to the nature of academic work, including professional role orientation, professional affiliations and contacts, material supports, department, and the state of knowledge in various fields. Sixty-four University of Iowa emeritus professors who continued to reside in the Iowa City area during the entire year, and thus had opportunity to maintain University contacts and use University facilities, were interviewed. The most striking finding was the high degree of consistency between level of professional activity during the preretirement career and level of professional activity in retirement. Significant correlates of professional activity in retirement included rated importance of research or other creative work, strength of ties to colleagues and professional organizations outside the University, contacts with former students, and departmental membership in the older, traditional professions.This article is based in part on the author's Ph.D. dissertation submitted to the Department of Higher Education at The University of Iowa and was partially supported by a 1978 Research Award in gerontology from the Multidisciplinary Gerontology Center of The University of Iowa, Iowa State University, and The University of Northern Iowa. The author wishes to acknowledge the valuable suggestions made by Professors H. Bradley Sagen, Department of Higher Education, and Hallowell Pope, Department of Sociology, throughout the study.     

Route 128: The development of a regional high technology economy

A corner of Massachusetts not far from Boston's Route 128 has become a world center of high technology. Hundreds of enterprises, mainly in electronics-based industries, employ over 250,000 people, 75,000 of whom were added between 1975 and 1980. Enterprises founded after World War II have spearheaded growth in the state, with a rapid rate of new firm formation continuing through the 1970s. This paper examines the state's high tech growth to determine what caused it to happen where it did and assess the special role of new enterprises in promoting it. The development is found to have been largely indigenous and spontaneous, rather than the result of a concerted effort to attract industry. Massachusetts' distinguished universities and their research laboratories, an inherited technological infrastructure, the importance of agglomeration externalities and the good fortune of having a home-grown firm become the world's leading manufacturer of minicomputers were major contributors to the state's success. But the enormous opportunities for new enterprises which the electronics revolution generated and the tendency for such firms to start up mainly as spin-offs from other high tech firms or from university laboratories and to remain close to their sources fueled the tendency towards spatial concentration.     

Moving On? Excurses on Cultural Studies,Phenomenology, Bildung and Kultur

Abstract

This paper takes a meta‐perspective on the theoretical grounding of cultural studies since the late 1970s. It suggests a realisation of the possibilities of both classic phenomenological thought for the field and cultural studies’ continued connections to traditional cultural concepts such as Bildung and Kultur. Of particular importance are relations among cultural studies’ semiotic‐political and economic engagement with culture, phenomenological concepts of Umwelt and historical conceptions of Bildung and Kultur. While arguing that thinking through these relations provides an intellectual route forward for cultural studies, the paper recognises that such intellectual configurations also resonate with earlier models of cultural studies from the 1950s and ’60s.     

LIFE SATISFACTION OF RETIRED PROFESSORS: THE CONTRIBUTION OF WORK,HEALTH, INCOME,AND LENGTH OF RETIREMENT

This study investigates the effects of work, health, income, and length of retirement on the life satisfaction of retired professors. The sample contains 90 professors retired from four midwestern colleges and universities. Results indicate that the life satisfaction of these professors was high. Their life satisfaction was enhanced by an opportunity to continue involvement in selected professional activities when this was desired. Good health and an adequate standard of living also contributed to life satisfaction.     

Resolution limit for DNA barcodes in the Odijk regime

We develop an approximation for the probability of optically resolving two fluorescent labels on the backbone of a DNA molecule confined in a nanochannel in the Odijk regime as a function of the fluorescence wavelength, channel size, and the properties of the DNA (persistence length and effective width). The theoretical predictions agree well with equivalent data produced by Monte Carlo simulations of a touching wormlike bead model of DNA in a high ionic strength buffer. Although the theory is only strictly valid in the limit where the effective width of the nanochannel is small compared with the persistence length of the DNA, simulations indicate that the theoretical predictions are reasonably accurate for channel widths up to two-thirds of the persistence length. Our results quantify the conjecture that DNA barcoding has kilobase pair resolution-provided the nanochannel lies in the Odijk regime.     

Learning to contribute: text connections in early childhood teacher education

ABSTRACT

Face-to-face time with students in the early childhood college setting is at a premium and often flies by before we begin to scratch the surface of active learning. Building a community of learners is one of our main goals as instructors; therefore, we strive to set up active learning environments optimal for all students. This reflection on practice highlights the text connections learning strategy, describes how four early childhood education instructors use it, and analyzes its theoretical underpinnings to investigate how it helps students learn to contribute to the learning of all. Student examples and reflections from the instructors are included.