Sharon Middling, Jan Bailey, Sian Maslin‐Prothero and Thomas Scharf
This paper identifies ways in which community action can enhance the quality of life of older residents and reports specifically on four community gardening initiatives developed…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper identifies ways in which community action can enhance the quality of life of older residents and reports specifically on four community gardening initiatives developed with older people living in disadvantaged communities in Manchester.
Design/methodology/approach
The Community Action in Later Life – Manchester Engagement (CALL_ME) project used an action research approach to engage older people. Older people and other stakeholders were actively involved in designing, planning and implementing the projects.
Findings
Drawing on a range of qualitative data, the paper provides evidence of how older people can be actively engaged in community projects, and explores the benefits of involvement including: enhanced well‐being, and increased socialisation, learning and empowerment. The challenges faced by the older people are also reported which include maintaining interest, recruiting new members and needing external support.
Research limitations/implications
The paper also reports the implications for practice, discussing how gardening initiatives can involve and benefit older people and the wider community and the value of an action oriented approach in disadvantaged communities. Recommendations are made regarding ensuring sustainability of such projects by providing education and training to enhance participants' skills and build their confidence.
Originality/value
Whilst recognising the problems associated with living in disadvantaged communities, the CALL‐ME project takes a new approach and moves the focus to ways in which older people can become engaged in and benefit from community action, and empowered to sustain the projects they develop.
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Thomas Scharf, Chris Phillipson, Allison Smith and Paul Kingston
Neighbourhoods contribute significantly to shaping their residents' identities. The neighbourhood may be even more important for older than younger people and has been associated…
Abstract
Neighbourhoods contribute significantly to shaping their residents' identities. The neighbourhood may be even more important for older than younger people and has been associated with intensification of feelings about locality and space. In the context of a study that examines the concerns of older people living in areas of England characterised by intense social deprivation, this article explores older people's perceptions of the local environment. Early findings are reported from a survey of older people (n=600) conducted in nine socially deprived neighbourhoods of three cities. The article addresses older people's views in relation to positive and negative aspects of their local environment and the degree to which people regard their neighbourhood as a good place in which to grow old. Three key themes are highlighted: older people's attachment to their neighbourhood, variation between areas, and the impact of place on the quality of older people's daily life.
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This paper aims to give an overview of the issue of loneliness, an update of issues heard of from across the country, as well as some positive stories and projects being delivered…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to give an overview of the issue of loneliness, an update of issues heard of from across the country, as well as some positive stories and projects being delivered to alleviate loneliness in older age.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper describes the current research into loneliness in older age, including related health issues and anecdotal evidence from local groups linking reductions in services with increased levels of loneliness in older age.
Findings
Loneliness is a highly subjective emotion that is difficult and complex to measure. However, research has shown that men and women are affected differently. It has been shown to have strong links to health issues such as depression, Alzheimer's and heart disease as well as having been shown to be a bigger risk factor in early mortality than lifelong smoking and obesity.
Originality/value
This paper highlights the first steps being taken by organisations working, under the umbrella of a recently launched Campaign to End Loneliness, towards further reducing loneliness in older age.
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Alan Walker and Kristiina Martimo
This article focuses on researching quality of life in old age. Based on a review of the relevant literature, it argues that research has not reflected sufficiently the…
Abstract
This article focuses on researching quality of life in old age. Based on a review of the relevant literature, it argues that research has not reflected sufficiently the multifaceted nature of quality of life and has relied too much on the judgements of professionals rather than older people. It concludes that quality of life research in general has under‐emphasised the importance of material factors in people's lives. With regard to older people, research shows that relatively poor quality of life, as reported by older people themselves, is associated with only a minority and, among this minority, twice the proportion of older women to men. The article ends with an outline of the new Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Growing Older Research Programme on Extending Quality Life, which in three years time promises to provide usable information for policy makers and practitioners about the determinants of quality of life in old age.
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The neighborhoods north and northwest of downtown St Louis are blighted by their abundance of substandard, abandoned, and demolished housing. Crime, poverty, and unemployment are…
Abstract
The neighborhoods north and northwest of downtown St Louis are blighted by their abundance of substandard, abandoned, and demolished housing. Crime, poverty, and unemployment are high while family stability, educational achievement, and health outcomes are low. These conditions are not unique to St Louis, but can be found in neighborhoods in every city in America. How did this happen? What factors led to the demise of these neighborhoods? This chapter examines the history of St Louis along with theories of neighborhood succession to identify possible explanations for the city's collapse.
– The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the benefits and issues relating to arts participation in later life.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to highlight some of the benefits and issues relating to arts participation in later life.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on literature relating to older people's arts participation, and also includes discussion of the author's doctoral research into arts and ageing. The research was a qualitative study, influenced by narrative approaches and life-course perspectives. It involved interviews with 24 participants who have connections with a case-study town in the English Midlands.
Findings
The paper focuses on the findings from six participants belonging to a male voice choir. The themes that are discussed include the importance of continuity; issues of identity; mutual support; impact of ill health and the sustainability of group activities.
Research limitations/implications
This is a small-scale study, based in one case study town. Care should therefore be taken in generalising to different populations and areas. Potential for future research includes: other geographical locations, including larger urban areas. Specific focus on choir participation, or other art form. Involving people from a wider range of ethnic backgrounds.
Social implications
This study adds to a growing body of evidence about the value of arts and culture to society.
Originality/value
This study is original in adopting life-course perspectives to understand later life arts participation. It also offers original insights into the nature of arts-generated social capital and how this may be viewed within a wider context of resourceful ageing.
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Olivier Pierre Roche, Thomas J. Calo, Frank Shipper and Adria Scharf
This case is based on primary and secondary sources of information. These sources include interviews with senior executives as well as documents provided by Mondragon and Eroski…
Abstract
Research methodology
This case is based on primary and secondary sources of information. These sources include interviews with senior executives as well as documents provided by Mondragon and Eroski. The interviews were conducted on-site. In addition, the authors researched the literature on both organizations.
Case overview/synopsis
Eroski is the largest of Mondragon Corporation’s coops. Since its founding, Eroski has faced numerous challenges. It has responded to each challenge with out-of-the-box thinking. In response to the pandemic, Eroski become an e-commerce supermarket as well as selectively continuing bricks and mortar stores. As the pandemic is winding down, Eroski is considering how to respond to the “new normal,” which is largely undefined. The question posited at the end of the case is, “Will Eroski be able to hold to its social principles, maintain its unusual governance model and other unusual practices, and survive this latest challenge?”
Complexity academic level
Eroski of Mondragon is a complex and unusual organization. To appreciate the challenges and how they were overcome by its unique business model, a student must have a minimum background in management, corporate finance and marketing. Thus, this case would fit well into a senior or graduate class on strategic human resource management. It is also recommended for the strategy capstone course usually offered during the last year of a business bachelor’s degree (senior level) to ensure that students are introduced to what Paul Adler refers to as an alternative business model. It can also be targeted for an advanced management course or a strategy course at the MBA and executive levels.
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Theodore S. Ransaw, Michael Lachney and Kevin K. Green
Research suggests there are at least three challenges to Black male interest and success in STEM careers: increasing access to STEM resources and curriculum, increasing Black and…
Abstract
Research suggests there are at least three challenges to Black male interest and success in STEM careers: increasing access to STEM resources and curriculum, increasing Black and male inclusiveness in STEM initiatives, and increasing cultural and technical competency in STEM fields. African American schools typically do not have equitable STEM resources or instruction. In addition, there is limited research on supporting Black males' success in STEM in the culturally responsive computing (CRC) literature. Most STEM initiatives prioritize increasing the number of girls in STEM fields. STEM field employers are not active recruiters of Black male hires and have little experience with diversity and cultural inclusiveness. Research also suggests that Black students may not be interested working in White corporate America that undervalues their unique cultural perspectives and are more concerned with schooling that improves their communities. This chapter utilized CRC as a lens to examine the complexity of engaging Black males in STEM. As a result, the authors suggest adopting an equity ethic to help teachers help Black males connect themselves and their communities to STEM technology by utilizing smartphones and smartphone technology to engage Black males who may not have access to computers. We end with an example of CRC called barbershop computing, which combines computing, engineering, and innovation as a method to attract and retain Black males in STEM classes and help them persist in STEM careers.