scholarly journals Active Aging and the Mattheus Effect

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 488-488
Author(s):  
Per Jensen
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Political System ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Demographic Ageing ◽  
Elite Networks ◽  
Outcome Perspective ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
The Life Course ◽  
Data Subject

Abstract While active ageing has been discursivized in international organizations and among researchers as a major means to combat the challenges of demographic ageing, this study aims to make a critical-theoretical and empirical assessment of the active ageing concept. It falls into three parts, the first showing how the conceptual framework of active ageing is undertheorized, lacks conceptual and analytical clarity, and that the theoretical framework does not hold clear ideas regarding the factors conditioning active ageing. The second part investigates the main patterns and structuring mechanisms of active ageing in an outcome perspective using Danish data subject to a correspondence analysis. Here, a Matthew Effect of accumulated advantage is found; that is, older adults who are blessed in one sphere of life are also blessed in others, and such inequalities in old age are the outcomes of social life biographies (i.e., cumulative advantages/disadvantages over the life course). Although nursed by the political system, EU ideas about active ageing are only weakly translated into policies and programs. Part three discusses some of the reasons for this, one obviously being that active ageing is elusive and lacks well-defined cause-and-effect descriptions. Another reason is that the concept has been developed in global elite networks that are quite distant from policymakers; at least in a decentralized political system like the Danish welfare state.

scholarly journals Theoretical Challenges and Social Inequalities in Active Ageing

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 9156
Author(s):  
Per H. Jensen ◽  
Jakob Skjøtt-Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
Multiple Correspondence Analysis ◽  
Research Question ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Contributing Factors ◽  
Demographic Ageing ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual

Active ageing has been discussed in international political organisations and among researchers as a major means for combatting the challenges of demographic ageing. This study aims to make a critical-theoretical and empirical assessment of the active ageing concept, challenging the active ageing discourse from two different angles. First, an assessment of the theoretical framework of active ageing shows that the conceptual framework is undertheorised, lacks conceptual and analytical clarity, and fails to propose clear contributing factors and barriers. The second part presents an empirical analysis of the concept of active ageing guided by the following research question: is active ageing realistic—and for whom? Using Danish data subjected to multiple correspondence analysis, it is found that active ageing at the individual level is preconditioned by health, education, having good finances, etc. Furthermore, a Matthew effect of accumulated advantage is found; that is, older adults who are blessed in one sphere of life are also blessed in others, and such inequalities in old age are the outcomes of social life biographies (i.e., cumulative advantages/disadvantages over the life course). Thus, empirical findings indicate that active ageing may be an elusive goal for a large segment of older adults.

Women’s participation and challenges to the liberal script: A global perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 026858092110609
Author(s):  
Julia C Lerch ◽  
Evan Schofer ◽  
David John Frank ◽  
Wesley Longhofer ◽  
Francisco O Ramirez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
International Organizations ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Global Perspective ◽  
National Data ◽  
The Public ◽  
Education Politics ◽  
Women's Participation ◽  
The Public Sphere ◽  
Participation In Higher Education ◽  
Cross National

Existing scholarship documents large worldwide increases in women’s participation in the public sphere over recent decades, for example, in education, politics, and the labor force. Some scholars have argued that these changes follow broader trends in world society, especially its growing liberalism, which increasingly has reconfigured social life around the choices of empowered and rights-bearing individuals, regardless of gender. Very recently, however, a variety of populisms and nationalisms have emerged to present alternatives to liberalism, including in the international arena. We explore here their implications for women’s participation in public life. We use cross-national data to analyze changes in women’s participation in higher education, the polity, and the economy 1970–2017. We find that women’s participation on average continues to expand over this period, but there is evidence of a growing cross-national divergence. In most domains, women’s participation tends to be lower in countries linked to illiberal international organizations, especially in the recent-most period.

Transnational Advocacy and NGOs in the Digital Era: New Forms of Networked Power

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Hall ◽  
Hans Peter Schmitz ◽  
J Michael Dedmon
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
International Relations ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Digital Technologies ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Transnational Advocacy ◽  
Digital Activism ◽  
Digital Platforms ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Elite Networks

AbstractInternational relations (IR) scholars have recognized the importance of technology in enabling nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to build transnational networks and enhance their influence. However, IR scholars have typically focused on elite networks across NGOs, states, and international organizations. This article considers how digital technologies generate new types of networked power between NGOs and their members. Digital tools allow for fast feedback from supporters, rapid surges in mobilization, and more decentralized campaigns. Importantly, in the digital era, NGOs must decide not only which digital platforms to use, but also whether to devolve decision-making to their supporters. Two questions arise: First, do NGO staff or supporters primarily define and produce advocacy content? Second, is the goal of digital activism to broaden or intensify participation? Answers to these questions generate four digital strategies: proselytizing, testing, conversing, and facilitating. These strategies change advocacy practices, but only facilitating strategies open up new forms of networked power based on supporter-to-supporter connections. Digital strategies have profound ramifications for individual organizations, the nature of the advocacy sector, and its power in relation to states, corporations, and other nonstate actors. Digital adoption patterns shape how NGOs choose campaigns, how they legitimate their claims, and what strategies they rely on.

The Israeli Coalition System

1975 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Z. Paltiel
Keyword(s):  
Social Life ◽  
Political System ◽  
Social Economic ◽  
Political Stability ◽  
State Building ◽  
The State ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Elites ◽  
The Stability ◽  
State Of Israel

ANALYSTS OF THE ISRAELI POLITICAL SYSTEM HAVE COMMONLY attributed the stability of the polity to factors closely associated with the role played by the various Israeli parties in the state's economic and social life, and/or to the existence of a dominant, institutionalized state-building party. The consociational approach ought to help to clarify those factors which have maintained the stability of the coalition system which has governed the state of Israel since its establishment in 1948 and whose roots may be traced back as far as 1933 and even earlier.The consociational model and the theory of elite accommodation have been elaborated in an effort to explain the maintenance of continuing political stability in what at first glance would appear to be societies deeply divided along social, economic, ethnic, religious and ideological lines. Political stability in fragmented societies from this standpoint rests on the overarching commitment of the political elites to the preservation and maintenance of the system and their readiness to cooperate to this end.

scholarly journals The Life Course Construction of Inequalities in Health and Wealth in Old Age

2021 ◽  
pp. 97-109
Author(s):  
Michel Oris ◽  
Marie Baeriswyl ◽  
Andreas Ihle
Keyword(s):  
Life Course ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Differential Mortality ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Cumulative Processes ◽  
The Life Course

AbstractIn this contribution, we will mobilize the interdisciplinary life course paradigm to consider the processes through which individual heterogeneity in health and wealth is constructed all along life, from the cradle to old age. Considering altogether historical, family and individual times, the life course perspective has been developed in sociology, (lifespan) psychology and epidemiology, and has framed many important studies during the last four decades. The theory of cumulative disadvantage is for sure the most popular in social sciences, explaining how little inter-individual differences early in life expand all along life to reach maximal amplitude among the “young old” (before the selection by differential mortality at very old age). In lifespan psychology, the theory of cognitive reserve (educational level being a proxy) and its continuation, the theory of use or disuse (of cognition during adult life) have more or less the same explanatory power, cognition being a decisive precondition for active ageing and quality of life in old age. However, in spite of the success of those theoretical bodies, a prominent figure in the field, Glen Elder, recently observed that there is surprisingly little evidence for cumulative processes and that a wide variety of model specifications remain completely untested. This finding makes even more important a critical review of the literature which summarize several robust evidences, but also discuss contradictory results and suggest promising research tracks. This exercise considers the life course construction of inequalities in the distribution of objective resources older adults have (or not) “to live the life they own value” (to quote A. Sen 2001). But it is also crucial to consider the subjective component that is inherent to the understanding of well-being.

scholarly journals A scoping study of low-wage workers’ retirement in the U.S. after the Great Recession

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 597-597
Author(s):  
Hyesu Yeo
Keyword(s):  
Great Recession ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Life Course Perspective ◽  
Scoping Study ◽  
The Great Recession ◽  
Common Definition ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Life Course

Abstract Background Retirement comes with high risks for low-wage workers because of their cumulative disadvantages, and the Great Recession aggravated this population's working lives. However, there has been a lack of research about this vulnerable population's retirement. The purpose of this scoping study is to offer a comprehensive understanding of low-wage workers' retirement after the Great Recession. Methods Based on the rigorous method of scoping review by Arskey and O'Mally, the researcher systematically searched, selected, and synthesized literature. The articles were collected from eight databases and were published in January 2008 - February 2019. The search terms included terms related to retirement and low-wage. After systemically reviewing titles, abstracts, and full-texts from 5,268 articles, the final chart contains sample characteristics, definitions of low-wage workers, policy/programs, etc., from 23 peer-reviewed empirical studies. Results The results indicated that: 1) Most of the retirement studies covered middle-wage class workers, excluding low-wage workers because of their lack of retirement affordability; 2) There was no common definition of low-wage workers among scholars; 3) 11 studies assumed Social Security is the only retirement income for low-wage workers, and 12 studies investigated how to improve the workers' participation in other retirement programs; 4) Most studies were economic-centered; 5) Low-wage workers had different socioeconomic and labor market characteristics. Conclusion and Implications First, a consensus on the definition of low-wage is required to improve policies and programs associated with this population's retirement. Second, the life-course perspective approach from various disciplines is necessary to improve low-wage workers' retirement, considering diverse backgrounds.

scholarly journals Envejecimiento activo y ciudadanía senior

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Santiago Cambero Rivero ◽  
Artemio Baigorri Agoiz
Keyword(s):  
Senior Citizen ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Origin And Evolution ◽  
Calidad De Vida ◽  
Demographic Challenges ◽  
Institutional Influence ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
Political Economic ◽  
Demographic Context

Este trabajo es una aproximación teórica al origen y evolución del “envejecimiento activo” como marco político a escala internacional desde finales del siglo pasado, y su influencia institucional en Europa y España hasta nuestro días. Igualmente, se relaciona este concepto con otros similares que evidencian la importancia de las políticas y programas de mejora de la calidad de vida entre las personas mayores en sociedades senescentes. Como surgen otros términos significativos del contexto socio-demográfico que confirman el peso creciente de la población de personas mayores de 65 años como ciudadanía sénior, y los nuevos papeles sociales de los adultos mayores como agentes de bienestar general y solidaridad intergeneracional. Así, la ciudadanía sénior aparece como presente y futuro en sociedades cambiantes en las que será preciso un nuevo contrato social de responsabilidad individual y vital para afrontar los múltiples desafíos políticos, económicos, tecnológicos y demográficos.This paper is a theoretical reflection on the origin and evolution of "active ageing" as a political framework at the international level since the end of the last century, and its institutional influence in Europe and Spain currently. Likewise, this concept is related to similar ones that show the importance of policies and programs to improve the quality of life among older people in ageing societies. As a result of this research, other significant terms of the socio-demographic context confirm the increasing weight of the population of people over 65 as senior citizen, and the new social roles of older adults as agents of welfare and intergenerational solidarity. Thus, senior citizenship is present and future in changing societies where a new social contract of individual and vital responsibility will be necessary to cope the political, economic, technological and demographic challenges.

Electronic Portfolios for Career Exploration

2012 ◽  
pp. 109-116
Author(s):  
Gabriela Alpírez
Keyword(s):  
School Counselors ◽  
International Organizations ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Catholic School ◽  
Career Exploration ◽  
Electronic Portfolios ◽  
Guatemala City ◽  
Professional Careers ◽  
Forward Looking

For more than 50 years, an all-girls Catholic school located in Guatemala City, Guatemala has aimed to shape the intelligence and the heart of every girl so that they will fulfill their vocation and become strong, resilient women. In accordance with the school’s mission, in 2005 the forward-looking school counselors wanted to increase the students’ awareness of the importance of exploring and planning their professional careers, as it was recognized by many national and international organizations that women who received a formal education could have a greater impact on the economic, political, and social life of their communities. By starting to use electronic portfolios at an earlier age, students are better equipped to make more informed choices in terms of the direction they would like to take their careers.

Settler Simultaneity and Anti-Indigenous Racism at Land-Grant Universities

2021 ◽  
pp. 233264922110377
Author(s):  
Theresa Rocha Beardall
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Organization Theory ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Racial Consciousness ◽  
Land Grant ◽  
Land Grant Universities ◽  
Colonial Theory ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
The University

Moments of performative racial consciousness, however urgent and necessary, often fail to reckon with long-standing demands against injustice from communities of color. In the case of Indigenous Peoples in higher education, these demands frequently include an end to derogatory mascots and racialized campus violence. This article attends to those issues by merging and extending settler-colonial theory and racialized organization theory to examine how the logics of Indigenous elimination and dispossession permeate higher education. With a specific focus on land-grant universities, I argue that racialized organizations are embedded in institutional fields and that both operate within a broader settler-colonial project. I introduce the concept of settler simultaneity to further historicize the study of racialized organizations and uncover how they target persons, collectives, and ideas that pose obstacles to settler goals of subordination, extraction, and profiteering both locally and globally. I look to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a case study that illustrates how these logics work across time and conclude by considering how critical engagement with the logics of elimination can help us to better understand, and hold accountable, the policies and programs of racialized organizations in other areas of social life.

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