Mengyang Zhang and Sarah Gibney
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between experiencing ageism in the workplace and working conditions on perceived job sustainability among current workers…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the association between experiencing ageism in the workplace and working conditions on perceived job sustainability among current workers aged 40 and over in Europe, within the context of positive and active ageing strategies and programmes.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are from the 6th round of the European Working Conditions Survey (n=22,229), and the analytical sample contains adults aged 40 and older in 28 European Member States grouped by employment regime: social-democratic regime, corporatist regime, liberal regime, Southern European regime, post-socialist corporatist regime and post-socialist liberal regime. Perceived job sustainability estimated based on whether the respondent thinks (yes/no) that they can do their current job or similar role until the age of 60 or in next five years if the respondent is aged 56 and over. Experience of ageism in the workplace (yes/no) is self-reported. Generalised structural equation modelling was used to control for both individual- and organisational-level influences and to correct for potential endogeneity in estimating the impact of experienced ageism on perceived job sustainability. In addition, employment regimes are included in the model to investigate differences in this relationship by setting.
Findings
Adults who have not experienced ageism are more likely to have positive perceptions of job sustainability, net of other factors and employment regime. Job sustainability is positively associated with age, being male, being in good health status and higher levels of work satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study is that data are cross-sectional, and time variant factors and individual fixed characteristics are excluded from the estimation. The results are influenced by the self-reported data about experienced ageism and evaluation of workplace environment, which may lead to potential endogeneity caused by unobservable personal characteristics such as personality type.
Originality/value
Although the average reported prevalence of ageism in the workplace is 3.4 per cent across the 28 European Union Member States, this study shows that ageism imposes significant negative influence on current workers. This study has highlighted the interrelationship between ageism, workplace satisfaction and job sustainability in this comparative setting. Efforts to reduce ageism in the workplace are likely to lead to improved working conditions and job sustainability.
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Sarah Gibney, Mark Ward and Sinead Shannon
Housing quality across the life course is an important health determinant. The purpose of this paper is to profile the current housing conditions of older adults in Ireland, and…
Abstract
Purpose
Housing quality across the life course is an important health determinant. The purpose of this paper is to profile the current housing conditions of older adults in Ireland, and to investigate the association between housing conditions and heating problems and two types of non-communicable diseases: respiratory health problems and bone and joint conditions.
Design/methodology/approach
Data are from the Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative Age-friendly Cities and Counties Survey, a random-sample, population representative survey of 10,540 adults aged 55 and older collected in 2015–2016. Mixed-effects logistic regression analysis was used to investigate the association between poor housing (leaks, rot and damp) and poor heating (unable to keep the home adequately warm) and the likelihood of having a respiratory health problem or a bone or joint condition. Results are reported as odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals.
Findings
Overall, 10.2 per cent had poor housing and 10.4 per cent had poor heating. Poor housing and poor heating were strongly associated with respiratory health problems and there was a strong association between poor housing and bone and joint conditions. These associations were not explained by health behaviours or socio-demographic characteristics.
Originality/value
Despite a number of publicly funded schemes available to assist in upgrading and maintaining housing, a considerable number of adults aged 55 years and older continue to report problems which are associated with an increased likelihood of respiratory health problem and bone and joint conditions and present a considerable threat to healthy ageing in place.
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Sarah Gibney and Sinead Shannon
The purpose of this paper is to describe a study undertaken in Ireland to develop a set of local age-friendly indicators which have been used to support the Age-Friendly Cities…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to describe a study undertaken in Ireland to develop a set of local age-friendly indicators which have been used to support the Age-Friendly Cities and Counties Programme.
Design/methodology/approach
A concept-validation approach was used to translate the principles and domains of age-friendly communities into a quantitative indicator set. This iterative process involved five steps: identifying potential indicators; consultation; survey testing; data collection and fieldwork; and finalising the indicator set. A participatory approach was also taken to involve local stakeholders in the development and subsequent use of the indicator set and associated data set. A multi-arm approach to communicating and translating these indicators was taken in order to build capacity within multi-stakeholder groups to engage with and appraise quantitative local evidence in this field.
Findings
A set of 120 local age-friendly indicators that can be reported nationally and disaggregated to the local authority level was developed. There were challenges faced in communicating the results and supporting the translation of these indicators into local actions. These challenges included indicator, user, and policy factors and involved instrumental, conceptual, and political issues.
Originality/value
The resulting indicator set is the first of its kind in Ireland and fills and important data gap in the local data landscape. Future work will focus on planning for sustaining collection of local data and building capacity among local stakeholders in the management and use of these indicators.
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Sarah Gibney, Tara Moore and Sinead Shannon
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the age-friendliness of local environments and self-reported loneliness for a representative sample of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between the age-friendliness of local environments and self-reported loneliness for a representative sample of community-dwelling adults aged 55+ in Ireland.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were from the Healthy and Positive Ageing Initiative Age friendly Cities and Counties Survey (n=10,540) (2016). Several age friendly indicators, as proposed by World Health Organisation, were included in this study: outdoor spaces and buildings; access to social services; social participation; respect and social inclusion; and transport. Loneliness was measured using five items from the UCLA Loneliness Scale. Informed by an ecological approach to ageing, multi-level negative binomial regression models were used to investigate the association between each age friendly indicator and social loneliness. Models were adjusted for known demographic, socio-economic and health correlates of loneliness.
Findings
Average loneliness scores were significantly higher for those in poorer health, who lived alone, were materially deprived and those never or formerly married. Lower ratings and poorer outcomes for several interrelated age friendly place-based factors were significantly associated with higher loneliness scores: difficulty with transport, difficulty accessing social services, barriers to community activities, lower social engagement, and experiences and perceptions of ageism in the community; however, the effect sizes were small.
Originality/value
This study identified several modifiable age friendly features of local environments that are associated with loneliness in this older population. The results of this study can inform coordinated local and national efforts to enhance the age-friendliness of local environments and reduce the risk and experience of loneliness among the ageing population in Ireland.
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Jean Kennedy, Sarah Gibney, Aisling Nolan, Stephen O'Brien, M. Ann S. McMahon, David McDowell, Seamus Fanning and Patrick G. Wall
The International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene's (IFH) approach to infectious disease prevention is “targeted hygiene”, which means identifying the routes of transmission of…
Abstract
Purpose
The International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene's (IFH) approach to infectious disease prevention is “targeted hygiene”, which means identifying the routes of transmission of infection in the home and community, and targeting hygiene measures at “critical points” (CPs) to break the chain of transmission. This paper aims to identify and prioritise CPs in the home kitchen environment during food preparation in order to inform food safety campaigns.
Design/methodology/approach
This study involved: filming participants (n=60) while they prepared a meal according to a specified recipe (30 beef/salad burgers and 30 chicken salads); swabbing key potential contamination sites in the participant's kitchen for microbiological testing; sampling the meat and salad components of the cooked meal for microbiological testing; visual inspection and temperature check of the meat after cooking; and administering a survey of knowledge, attitudes and demographic factors.
Findings
This study has identified the critical points (CPs) during domestic food preparation as: CP1: correct cooking practices; CP2: prevention of cross‐contamination; and CP3: correct food storage practices. Statistically significant links were found between food safety knowledge and behaviour as well as between food safety attitudes and demographic factors.
Originality/value
This is the first study to link all aspects of observed consumer food safety practices in the home to food safety knowledge, attitudes, perceptions, psychosocial and demographic factors to identify these CPs.
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Lauren Gatti, Jessica Masterson, Robert Brooke, Rachael W. Shah and Sarah Thomas
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the ways in which attention to programmatic vision and coherence – rather than foci on individual courses – might advance the work of…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the ways in which attention to programmatic vision and coherence – rather than foci on individual courses – might advance the work of justice-oriented, critical English education in important ways. The authors propose that consciously attending to the work of English education on the programmatic level can better enable English educators to cultivate democracy-sustaining dispositions in preservice teachers. Using Grossman et al.’s (2008) definition of “programmatic coherence”, the authors illustrate how one interdepartmental partnership is working to create a shared programmatic vision for English education.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on Cornel West’s call for the development of a three-piece democratic armor – Socratic questioning, prophetic witness and tragicomic hope – the authors describe their programmatic vision for cultivating democracy-sustaining dispositions in preservice teachers. They show how this shared vision constitutes the foundation for the organization, purpose and sequence of the four-semester cohort program. Finally, the authors describe how this vision helps facilitate meaningful and purposeful symbiosis between field experiences and university coursework.
Findings
In an effort to promote replicability regarding programmatic coherence, the authors share structural aspects of their program as well as pose generative questions for colleagues who are interested in approaching the work of critical, democratic English education from the programmatic level.
Originality/value
Addressing the challenges of teacher preparation – especially in this polarized and pitched historical moment – requires shifting the focus from individual courses to a more expansive view that might enable English educators to consider how courses within a program might collectively advance a particular vision of critical and democratic English education.
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Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in…
Abstract
Briefly reviews previous literature by the author before presenting an original 12 step system integration protocol designed to ensure the success of companies or countries in their efforts to develop and market new products. Looks at the issues from different strategic levels such as corporate, international, military and economic. Presents 31 case studies, including the success of Japan in microchips to the failure of Xerox to sell its invention of the Alto personal computer 3 years before Apple: from the success in DNA and Superconductor research to the success of Sunbeam in inventing and marketing food processors: and from the daring invention and production of atomic energy for survival to the successes of sewing machine inventor Howe in co‐operating on patents to compete in markets. Includes 306 questions and answers in order to qualify concepts introduced.
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Much of what Age Concern Isle of Man, a core partner in the Tell Me Project, does is about giving older people a voice: a voice in government, in the media and in the third…
Abstract
Much of what Age Concern Isle of Man, a core partner in the Tell Me Project, does is about giving older people a voice: a voice in government, in the media and in the third (voluntary) sector. The Tell Me Project is also about giving older people a voice; one that is being heard and recorded for posterity to make an invaluable contribution to a unique social history of the Isle of Man. This is an intergenerational education project through which the older generation can unlock and share their memories with young people; a project bridging the gap between generations, demonstrating that the young and the not‐so‐young have much to share and learn from each other, and helping fulfil Age Concern Isle of Man's mission: ‘to create an age‐friendly society where every older person counts’.