Longer working lives – what do they mean in practice – a case of the Baltic countries

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanta Aidukaite ◽  
Inga Blaziene
Keyword(s):  
Welfare State ◽  
Older People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Older Employees ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The Baltic

PurposeThe article seeks to contribute to a better understanding of older people's situation in the labour market in three Baltic countries – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Three Nordic countries are taken as a reference point to compare the countries in order to better understand the situation from a comparative point of view. The article asks the questions: Does a longer working life for older people contribute to their better economic situation? How satisfied are they with a longer working life and their working conditions? Do they experience any discrimination in the labour market because of their age?Design/methodology/approachIn order to understand the situation of older people in the labour market, the authors employ welfare state models and the Active Ageing Index. The welfare state models help us to understand the context in which the working life of older people is taking place. The Active Ageing Index helps to gain a better understanding of the employment domain of active ageing. The analysis is based on several Europe-wide data sources: statistics on earnings from Eurostat database, information on income, job prospects, occupational safety and health, training, working life perspectives from the European Working Conditions Survey as well as a special survey, conducted by the authors, of Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian residents aged 50 years and older.FindingsAnalysis conducted reveals that in the Baltic countries older employees, although actively participating in the labour market, face unfavourable material, physical and psychological situation in the labour market more frequently than their younger colleagues. The findings show that the most important factors influencing older employees' decision to stay longer in the labour market in the Baltic countries are linked mostly to welfare state-related issues, i.e. financial benefits, healthcare, possibility to reconcile work and family obligations. These welfare state-related issues are even more important for those who are going to stay longer in the labour market after reaching the retirement age.Originality/valueThis article contributes to a better understanding of older (50+) people's situation in the labour market. It suggests that, while the increasing employment of older people increases the Active Ageing Index and is generally viewed positively, in some countries with less developed welfare states high employment rates of older employees, although providing them with an additional means of livelihood, do not ensure a higher quality of life and, on the contrary, act as a factor reducing the quality of work and, at the same time, the quality of life.

How Different is the Older Labour Market? Attitudes to Work and Retirement among Older People in Britain

2006 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 485-494 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen McNair
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Older Workers ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
National Surveys ◽  
The Uk

Governments are seeking strategies to extend working life, but with limited evidence on the attitudes to work, and motivation of workers over 50. This paper reports the findings of two national surveys which aimed to increase understanding of the attitudes to work of older people in the UK. They found that older people generally view work very positively, but that the forces which divide the labour market as a whole have an increasingly polarising effect as people grow older. The paper suggests that successful implementation of ‘extending working life’ policies will depend on a better understanding of the quality of work, of the diversity of older workers, and of the role of training.

Russian students in universities of Baltic countries

2021 ◽  
pp. 89-94
Author(s):  
A.L. Arefiev ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Russian Federation ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Quality Of Education ◽  
Russian Regions ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Baltic

In recent years, higher educational institutions of the Baltic countries have become more and more popular among Russian youth wishing to get higher education (or take a certain course of professional training) abroad. The article, covering the period before the onset of the coronavirus epidemic, highlights the education of Russian students in universities in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. It is noted that a significant part of the students from the Russian Federation come from the Russian regions bordering on the Baltic states. The appendix presents the opinions of Russian students about the learning process and the quality of education received in Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian universities.

Attracting doctoral students: case of Baltic universities

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1017-1041
Author(s):  
Alexander Tarvid
Keyword(s):  
Higher Education ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Doctoral Degree ◽  
Access To Higher Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Doctoral Level ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
Doctoral Programmes

Purpose In the context of falling demand for higher education and, in particular, doctoral studies, it is important to understand how to attract new students. The purpose of this paper is to present an analysis of the decision-making process the PhD students of Baltic universities followed when choosing whether to continue their education at doctoral level and in which institution to do it. Design/methodology/approach It uses the data gathered in 2014 from all major Baltic universities providing access to higher education at doctoral level. Findings At macro-level, the three Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) are rather different in the supply of doctoral programmes and the level and dynamics of the popularity of doctoral-level studies in the population. Besides, strong country-specific effects on the goals students pursued when they enrolled in a doctoral programme and the information about the university or the programme they found useful are observed at micro-level. The main result is related to systematic differences in the perceptions students have about the benefits they will get from a doctoral degree across the current (at doctoral level) and previous (at Bachelor’s and Master’s levels) fields of study, as well as depending on labour-market experience and family and social circle. Practical implications These findings suggest that Baltic higher education institutions should employ different marketing communication strategies when attracting new doctoral students, depending on the field of study and the country they operate in. Originality/value This is the first comprehensive study on the motivation of enrolment at doctoral level in the Baltic countries. It gives the management of Baltic universities a general picture of the motivation to get a PhD degree and factors affecting the choice of university, which can be readily incorporated into universities’ strategy.

scholarly journals SALES LABORATORY CONCEPT FOR PROBLEM SOLVING BASED LEARNING: THE EXPERIENCE OF THE BALTIC COUNTRIES

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (11) ◽  
pp. 124
Author(s):  
Daina Znotiņa ◽  
Maris Igavens
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Labour Market ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Research Study ◽  
Survey Methods ◽  
Problem Based Learning ◽  
Traditional Learning ◽  
Job Market ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
The Baltic

Very often youth faces many difficulties when trying to enter the labour market. It is because of lack of experience, insufficient vocational education, inadequacy between professional education and requirements for specialists in the job market. It is necessary that students get competencies and skills needed for the labour market and increase their employment possibilities. Rezekne Academy of Technologies implemented a project, where one of the objectives was integration of problem-based learning (PBL) into study processes. The aim of the research study is to investigate problem-based learning experiences among students and lecturers. Research methods – the monographic method, the analysis and survey methods. Problem-based learning is much more exciting for students and faculty than traditional learning, but it is also more time consuming and expertise intensive.

scholarly journals Evaluation of edna: arts and dance for older people

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann Skingley ◽  
Stephanie De'Ath ◽  
Luci Napleton
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Older People ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Life Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Art Forms

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact on health and well-being of participation in dance and arts activities by older people living in the community. Design/methodology/approach – A small-scale, mixed methods research design comprising pretest-posttest evaluation of a three month dance and arts programme. Two groups of older people underwent physical measures and completed a self-report quality of life questionnaire. Written comments and interview data were also gathered. Findings – Physical tests (n=14) demonstrated improvements in posture, shoulder mobility and balance in both groups following the intervention, with some measures reaching statistical significance. Quality of life evaluations (n=21) also showed improvement, with the mental health subscale reaching statistical significance. Qualitative data showed that participants enjoyed the programme and felt physical, psychological and social benefits. Research limitations/implications – The research involved only a small sample of volunteers and a limited programme length which limits its generalisability. The absence of a control group means that causality cannot be inferred. Future research should extend recruitment to a wider geographical area and a longer intervention which includes a control group. Practical implications – Future arts interventions for older people should include consultation prior to, and throughout the project. Commissioners should consider supporting arts for health projects, building in additional funding for evaluative work. Originality/value – This study has added to the evidence base through combining art forms within a mixed methods framework, illustrating the interplay between the art forms, the outcomes and the potential role of social context.

Improving access to adult vaccination: a tool for healthy ageing

2014 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 58-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Scrutton ◽  
David Sinclair ◽  
Trinley Walker
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Grey Literature ◽  
Healthy Ageing ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Potential Benefits ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Uk

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how access to vaccination for older people in the UK can be both improved and used as a tool for healthy ageing. Design/methodology/approach – ILC-UK released a report “Adult Immunisation in the UK”, which applied a UK perspective to a 2013 Supporting Active Ageing Through Immunisation (SAATI) report on immunisation. The ILC report combined the SAATI findings with a traditional literature review, a policy review incorporating grey literature and the outcomes of a focus group discussion. This paper highlights the key findings of the ILC-UK report. Findings – Vaccination needs to be included as part of proactive strategies to promote healthy and active ageing. Initiatives need to be explored that increase the rate of delivery of vaccinations. Barriers to the vaccination of health and social care professionals working with older people need to be removed. The government should explore using psychological insights into human behaviour to improve the take-up of vaccinations amongst adults. The range of settings where older people can receive vaccination needs to be expanded. Information on the potential benefits of immunisation should be made readily available and easily accessible to older people. Practical implications – The paper calls for a structural shift in how vaccination services in the UK are organised. Social implications – The paper calls for a cultural shift in how society views immunisation and the role it has to play in the healthy ageing process. Originality/value – The paper uses new European research on immunisation and applies it to the UK's situation.

Locating Central and Eastern European emerging welfare regimes: is the youth welfare citizenship typology useful?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Broka ◽  
Anu Toots
Keyword(s):  
Welfare Regime ◽  
Welfare Regimes ◽  
Similar System ◽  
Economic Dimension ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Youth Welfare ◽  
Baltic Countries ◽  
Regime Types ◽  
The Baltic ◽  
The Eu

PurposeThe authors’ aim is to establish the variance of youth welfare citizenship regimes in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and to revisit the applicability of the regime approach to the emerging welfare regimes (EWRs).Design/methodology/approachThe empirical analysis follows the descriptive case study strategy aiming to discover diversity of youth welfare citizenship patterns. The case selection is made within the CEE country group, which includes countries in Central Europe, the Baltics, Eastern Europe and Southeast Europe, all sharing the communist past. The subdivision of these countries in reference to the welfare states can be made via the European Union (EU) membership based on the assumption that EU social policy frameworks and recommendations have an important effect on domestic policies. We included countries which are in the EU, i.e., with a similar political and economic transition path. There were three waves of accession to the EU in CEE countries. In the first wave (2004), all the Baltic countries, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and Slovenia joined. In the second wave (2007), Romania and Bulgaria joined. Finally, Croatia joined the EU in 2013. Altogether 11 CEE countries are the EU members today, the remaining CEE countries are non-EU members and thus are excluded from the current research. Those countries which are part of the EU share similarities in social and economic reforms during the pre-accession period and after in order to reach a comparatively similar system with other member states. So, in terms of casing strategy these six countries can be named as emerging welfare regimes (EWRs) evolving transformations across different public policy areas. Handpicking of six countries out of 11 relies on the assumption that the Anglo-Saxon welfare system characteristics are more evident in the Baltic countries (Aidukaite, 2019; Aidukaite et al., 2020; Ainsaar et al., 2020; Rajevska and Rajevska, 2020) and Slovenia, while in Bulgaria and Croatia certain outcomes reflect the Bismarckian principles of social security (Hrast and Rakar, 2020; Stoilova and Krasteva, 2020; Dobrotić, 2020). This brings important variety into our analysis logic. Last but not least, we juxtapose six CEE EWR countries under analysis with six mature welfare regime countries representing different welfare regime types. Those mature welfare regime countries (Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, UK) are not an explicit object of the study but help to put analysed CEE EWR cases into larger context and thus, reflect upon theoretical claims of the welfare regime literature.FindingsThe authors can confirm that the EWR countries can be rather well explained by the welfare citizenship typology and complement the existing knowledge on youth welfare regime typology clusters in the Western Europe. Estonia is clustered close to the Nordic countries, whereas Latvia, Lithuania, Croatia and Slovenia are close to the Bismarckian welfare model despite rather flexible, non-restricted educational path, universal child and student support. Bulgaria is an outlier; however, it is clustered together with mature Mediterranean welfare regimes. Former intact welfare regime clusters are becoming more diverse. The authors’ findings confirm that there is no any intact cluster of the “post-communist” welfare regime and Eastern European countries are today “on move”.Research limitations/implicationsAltogether 11 CEE countries are the EU members today. The remaining CEE countries are non-EU members and thus are excluded from the current research. Those countries which are part of the EU share similarities in social and economic reforms during the pre-accession period and after in order to reach a comparatively similar system with other member states. At least one CEE country was chosen based on existing theoretical knowledge on the welfare regime typology (Anglo Saxon, Beveridgean, Bismarckian) for the Post-communist country groups.Practical implicationsIn the social citizenship dimension we dropped social assistance schemes and tax-relief indices and included poverty risk and housing measures. Youth poverty together with housing showed rather clear distinction between familialized and individualised countries and thus, made the typology stronger. In the economic dimension the preliminary picture was much fuzzier, mainly due to the comprehensive education in the region and intervention of the EU in domestic ALMPs (and VET) reforms. The authors added a new indicator (pro-youth orientation of ALMP) in order better to capture youth-sensitivity of policy.Social implicationsThe authors included a working poverty measure (in-work poverty rate) in order to reflect labour market insecurity as an increasing concern. Yet, the analysis results were still mixed and new indicators did not help locating the regime types.Originality/valueIn order to improve the validity of the youth welfare citizenship regime economic dimension, Chevalier's (2020) model may also be worth revisiting. The authors argue that this dichotomy is not sufficient, because inclusive type can have orientation towards general skills or occupational skills (i.e. monitored or enabling citizenship clusters), which is currently ignored. Chevalier (2020) furthermore associates inclusive economic citizenship with “coordinated market economies” (referring to Hall and Soskice, 2001), which seems hardly hold validity in the Nordic and at least some CEE countries.

Measuring the librarians’ quality of working life in the Iranian public libraries

2019 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamta Kazemi Koohbanani ◽  
Atefeh Zarei ◽  
Nasrolah Erfani
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Public Libraries ◽  
Working Life ◽  
Social Relevance ◽  
Quality Of Working Life ◽  
Statistical Population ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Total Life

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the librarians’ quality of working life (QWL) in the Iranian public libraries. Design/methodology/approach The present study is an applied research in terms of purpose and an analytical survey in terms of data collection and analysis method. The Walton standard questionnaire was used as the data collection tool. The statistical population of this research consists of librarians in the Iranian public libraries. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used in order to analyze the data. Findings The findings showed that the dimensions of organizational social integration, constitutionalism in the organization and the capacity for human development are at a good level; the dimensions of the environment opportunity for continued growth and security and safe and healthy work are at a moderate level. Finally, the dimensions of fair and adequate payment, social relevance of work life and total life space are at a weak level are shown. Originality/value The findings of the confirmed hypothesis indicated that the librarians at the Iranian public libraries have a desirable (high) QWL.

scholarly journals How could discourse theories of identity formation critically engage patient-centered care in older adults?

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-216
Author(s):  
Anna Horton ◽  
Simon Horton
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Older People ◽  
Identity Formation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Patient Centered ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Clinical Encounters ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Conceptual Paper

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how discourse theories can contribute to the concept of identity formation within a patient- or person-centered care (PCC) orientation, to enable more critical engagement with PCC in older people. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper. Findings This paper concludes that the discourse literature has important insights for understanding identity formation in older people as operationalized in the context of PCC in three particular ways: accounting for multiplicity in patients’ identity; exploring “the devolution of responsibility” to address shifts in performing identities in clinical encounters; and attending to a “crisis of positioning” to engage empowerment discourse within a PCC philosophy. Originality/value Whilst a notion of patient identity is at the heart of PCC, the concept remains inconsistent and underdeveloped. This is particularly problematic for the quality of care in older adults, as PCC has become increasingly synonymous with care of older people. Discourse theories of identity formation can be used to critically engage with identity within the context of PCC, so as to develop more nuanced understandings of “the person” or “the patient,” with the potential to improve research into care for aging and older adults.

scholarly journals MAKING THE AGING EXPERIENCE WORTHWHILE: HOW SOCIAL INTERACTION CONTRIBUTES TO ACTIVE AGING

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S533-S533
Author(s):  
Daniel Doh ◽  
Kwadwo Adusei-Asante ◽  
Vicki Banham
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Older People ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
World Health ◽  
Active Ageing ◽  
Country Level ◽  
The World ◽  
The Individual

Abstract In most parts of the world, people are now living longer lives, which presents both opportunities and concerns over how to make the ageing process a worthwhile experience. The World Health Organisation’s Active Ageing model became a prominent global policy response since 2002 and has evolved into different country-level ageing policies. While a considerable volume of literature exists on active ageing – testing the validity of its various components, there is limited empirical evidence of how social interaction contributes to active ageing for older people and how it can be promoted through policy. In this paper, we examine social interaction and how it contributes to lived experiences of active ageing among a sample of 30 older Ghanaians living in Australia and Ghana. Our findings confirm the significance of social interaction for active ageing, and shows that social interaction creates a sense of purpose for living, which leads to the ability of the individual to build resilience, which mitigates anxieties and pains associated with ill health (especially for frail older people); enhances self-motivation for play and fun; empowers the individual to explore opportunities for continuous activity including leisure, and improves the general feeling of happiness resulting in active ageing – quality of life. The paper’s main argument is that social interaction presents potentials for improving the quality of life (active ageing) for older people and needs to be carefully considered in policy, research and practice.

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