Agenda: 20 March 2007language, health & aging

ReminderReview

New materials

Reminder : from the syllabus

• 15% Cross-cultural: Email/Chat Interaction with NKNU Grad Students in Network-based Learning course, on creating intergenerational lessons in any content area for any learner level, at any educational level, using Project MORE resources including Narratives, and rate useability of site resources MAR group lesson, indiv rating

• Crucial policy: You may not fall behind on your Nicenet postings and you may not default on your Chinese partners. Both hurt others.

Reminder 2: from the Syllabus

Review Intergenerational Lesson Directions

Reminder of NKNU presentationsNew Information: Aging& Society articles

Words to ponder from several sagesLinks to ProjMoreMaterial

Review: intergenerational assignment directions

• 1. Exchange a group self-introduction (photos?) and 3 email letters with NKNU students

• As part of the self-introduction, UNCC students will discuss their group’s photonovella story boards with NKNU students: STORYBOARDS http://www.english.uncc.edu/bdavis/LHA07.htm

• The primary task of the 3 week interaction– Discuss (talk/log and write) intergenerational projects

and intergenerational lessons with NKNU students, and solicit their suggestions, in order to cooperate in planning

– A good place to start: Ask each other questions about aging. Then, discuss the first 3 goals and look at Project MORE materials together, http://education.uncc.edu/more. Start with the Site Map

Review, directions #2

• 2. Participate in at least one real-time chat (text, audio or video) (can sub extra chats for email)

• You may need to schedule the real-time chat individually. I have reserved CENTRA for 7-8.30 pm every Thursday as well as Tuesday, but the NKNU system is better. UNCC students will have audio only.

Review, directions #3

• 3. Fill out an (anonymous) form on the usability of the website and satisfaction in using it for a project in cross-cultural, international cooperation: http://education.uncc.edu/more/Evaluation.htm

• And turn in your group and individual reports

Format: Int-gen-mat Report• Communications Goal for the lesson or set of

materials • Cross-cultural Goal for the lesson or set of

materials • Participants in the lesson or set of materials (For

whom is it intended? Why?) • Components of the lesson or set of materials• Conclusion

– This could include a statement about the international cooperation on the project

– It can also include additional information about cultural issues that surfaced in the email and chat discussions: include NKNU suggestions, questions or comments

• Appendix: logs of chats, texts of email

Components: any questions?Set-up: The identification of specific Project MORE materials

that will give participants in the lesson something to talk about –OR something to read or write about –Include a discussion of

– rationale for the choice of materials and – steps in using or adapting the material or resource

Set-up: rationale for the choice of Project MORE materials that shows how the materials index culture in some way for the older person.

For example, persons over 65 in each country may have memories tied to World War II. Or they may remember changes in moving from rural to urban societies. You might want to illustrate or draw on that history.

Some people will remember hearing stories from the past, or if they are over 80, they may remember the Great Depression in the US and the Japanese Occupation in Taiwan. Holidays and feasts are always useful.

The lesson or set of materials itself, and a release form

New material: powerpoints from NKNU penpals

http://www.english.uncc.edu/bdavis/LHA07.htm

NKNU Intergenerational Powerpoints (as pdf): Beginning to ask questions about Aging

Amy   Jason    Chris   Melody   Sophie   Dr-Janice 

New words to ponder: Rouse

Often times, acculturation to Western culture and beliefs leads to poorer health outcomes for immigrant populations. The higher rates of hepatitis B, breast cancer, and suicide demonstrate the way in which acculturation among Chinese-Americans can lead to poorer health outcomes. …This article demonstrates the importance of cultural sensitivity and cultural competence within the health care delivery system. Understanding the cultural factors that influence health outcomes among the Chinese-American population is important in the proper delivery of health care

New words to ponder: Chadwick

one omission I did see was the mention of Buddhism as a possibility for why the son wouldn't want to inform his mother that she had cancer (Case Study 1). Tom's summarization of Buddhism in his study mentions that “patients may not admit or realize they have health problems, as they may bring shame upon the family.” The issues said to be involved in case study one are those of karma, the protection of elderly, and liver cancer rates. Karma is tied in with Buddhism but not the aspect of saving 'face' or shaming the family. I would think the son would be avoiding giving his mother this information because he knew how deep rooted her beliefs in her religion are (being recently moved to America) and that she wouldn't hear of the diagnosis of cancer because the family would panic.

New words to ponder: Holt

  Another fact that also stood out was the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This act prohibited family members of Chinese workers coming to the U.S. This Act was not repealed until 1943. It took sixty years before that Act was repealed. I just found it odd that it took that long before the Act was repealed. I thought our country was farther along than that.

   I also wonder why the risk of breast cancer is higher for Chinese Americans compared to those living in Asia. I wonder what from our environment contributes to this increased risk of breast cancer.

New words to ponder: Kerns

In a philosophy class I'm taking, a philosopher listed one of the 4 main ingredients to happiness as feeling that you contribute. Intergenerational community service activities let seniors contribute, giving them one ingredient to happiness that many of them long for. After proving all the benefits of intergenerational community service activities over traditional activities, the author introduces the problem that both types of activities are currently low on funding because such studies have not been done to prove their benefits. I think this is a shame, and this article made me want to change that.

New words to ponder: Bordeman

Before reading this article [Ryan] I had never heard of the Language in Adulthood questionnaire (LIA), and I found the results of the previous study in which it was used very interesting. Particularly, I found the statement that the LIA has been shown to be sensitive to alterations in older adults' self-perception of communication skills after being exposed to elderspeak (p.345) interesting, and would like to research that aspect of the study more in the future.

Caregiver burden as a technical term

It is estimated that 80% of persons with dementia are cared for at home

Because caregivers are at increased risk for depression and anxiety, screening should be done to exclude the presence of either disorder. The caregiver's skill in managing behavioral problems in the family member with dementia should be assessed. If there are problems, family physicians should provide practical counseling about common caregiving stresses and about resources that benefit caregivers. Helping the caregiver learn strategies for coping with difficulties may help reduce some of the stress the caregiver is experiencing. (Am Fam Physician 2000;62:2613-20,2621-2.)

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20001215/2613.html

Caregiver burden scale: 4-point, self-reported

• General feelings – Not enough time for self – Over-taxed with responsibilities – Lost control of life

• Feelings regarding caring for relative – Uncertain about what to do for relative – Feeling that should do more for relative – Feeling that could do a better job of caring – Overall level of burden

• Sense of responsibility – Excessive help requests – Level that impaired relative depends on caregiver – Sense that all responsibility falls on one caregiver – Fear of future regarding impaired relative – Fear of not enough money to care for relative – Fear of not able to continue caring for relative – Wish to leave care of relative to someone else

Scale, continued• Feelings when with impaired relative

– Sense of strain – Anger – Embarrassed – Uncomfortable about having friends over

• Relationship with relative negatively impacts – Social life – Other relationships with family and friends – Caregiver health – Privacy

• Interpretation No or minimal burden: 0 to 20 Mild to moderate burden: 21 to 40 Moderate to severe burden: 41 to 60 Severe burden: 61 to 88

http://www.fpnotebook.com/GER6.htm Zarit (1980) Gerontologist 20:649-55

New words to ponder: Propst

Memory is such a complex process. How is it that a person can remember one particular memory more specifically than another past experience? The reading stated that a person can remember something better if there is a strong emotional connection with that memory (Pasupathi, 2006). But how does this work? I know a dear sweet woman who can gracefully sing her favorite “oldies song”, but cannot recognize her own photograph. What must it feel like to forget who you are? What must it feel like to be aware of the fact that you can no longer form a social memory with another individual? I think more respect should be given to those who have lost the ability to communicate past experiences.

New words to ponder: Chen Huang

In this study [by Marx], a group of 19 seniors were partnered with 21 elementary school students between grades two and five. The participants engaged in community service related events, and seniors used a scale to rate how they feel about those events. It seems like in the community-service activities the seniors participates are feeling happier and feel like they had been helping the community out. Not only do these activities give both kids and elders someone to interact with and having fun from, but it helps the community and it will make them feel even better for that reason. The idea of a more community focused visiting program seems to be very useful. It is a way for kids and older people to communicate and having fun together, and I also believed that it will make both of them happier.

New material: 4 articles from Ageing & Society

• Between elderly parents and adult children: a new look at intergenerational care provided by the ‘sandwich generation’

• The support of parents in old age by those born during 1945–1954: a European perspective

• Keeping it in the family: narrative maps of ageing and young athletes’ perceptions of their futures

• Lasting Words as a Channel for intergenerational Communication

The sandwich generation“when adults in late mid-life or early old age have

one or more surviving parents and adult but still partly dependent children.

• “In UK: 80 per cent of 20-year-olds had at least one grandparent alive, and that most adults were members of a family with three living generations

• “[This]provides a strong rationale for giving attention to the relationships within three or more extant-generation families. …Instrumental help, as with money or time spent on household and personal tasks, is critical because – unlike emotional closeness – these resources are finite, and those given to one generation cannot be given to the other or retained.

Grundy & Henretta, A&S 26 (2006)

European perspectives on baby-boomers

• “those born during 1945–54 were more likely to have a parent alive, since their parents benefited from the substantial gains in average life expectancy during the 20th century. The adult children were also likely to have living siblings, which is another influence on patterns of support to older parents.

• “Help to elderly parents tends to be most associated with the gender of givers and receivers, the living arrangements, geographical proximity and needs of the parents, and the availability of adult children who can help.

• “There is little evidence of a specific ‘baby-boomer generation ’ effect on the probability of giving help.Ogg & Renaut, A&S 26 ( 2006

Models for aging: narrative maps

• ‘’older same-sex family members are significant comparators, and influence a young person’s anticipation of whether their own experience will challenge or confirm the negative stereotypes of old age that currently dominate western views of human ageing. This raises several important issues about the gendered nature of ageing and the ways in which the social meanings associated with the ageing male or female body are reproduced through same-sex inter-generational relationships.

• “This paper examines how a group of young athletes perceived their own ageing. It is particularly concerned with the ways in which perceptions of self-ageing are shaped contextually and socially through involvement in sport, and by the ‘ signs and signals ’ about growing old that they perceive within their families.

Phoenix & Sparkes, A&S 26 (2006)

Narrative mapping of the interviews

“The analysis of the data was informed by several theoretical frames, one of which derived from Pollner and Stein’s (1996) work on narrative maps. As they explained, ‘through passage to a new status or a new social world, persons may find themselves on the threshold of uncharted territory whose customs, contours, and inhabitants are unknown’ (1996: 203). They argued that when people contemplate an unfamiliar world beyond the here and now, they refer to knowledgeable or experienced others for orientation, information and advice about the psychosocial and physical landscape that awaits them. In these situations, personal experience is the sole source of authenticity, and the only way that one can truly understand the ageing experience is through ‘having been there’. Narrative maps of ageing therefore have to be conveyed by, and learned from, those who have already traversed the territory”

Lasting words: their impact

“verbal messages that are remembered over many years and considered by the recipient to have had a significant influence on his/her life. The study of lasting words is proposed as a supplement to existing approaches to the older person as a communicator and, in particular, to intergenerational communication.

Kastenbaum, A&S 17 (2997)

Implications of lasting words

• Researchers, programme planners and others who are interested in the well-being of older people might find it useful to include the LWs questions as part of their interview protocols. The substantive answers could enhance the gerontologist’s understanding of the individual’s frame of reference while also providing the opportunity for the respondent to contribute actively to the proceedings.

Proverbs and wise sayings: Adcock suggests activities

A Dozen Choices from the Idiomatic Language Test Book• A. He’s got his head in the clouds Associated prompts/poems

on dreams, wishes, and dreamy people

• 1. I’ll give you a piece of my mind Associated: best advice I ever got from my mother/father/friend

• 2. It’s like talking to a brick wall Associated: what makes a good listener? Is there advice you gave somebody that they should have taken?

• 3. I’ve got a bone to pick with you Associated: how can you present a problem or a complaint without sounding mean or hurtful?

• 4. When our ship comes in Associated: lifetime goals, what would you do if you won the lottery, if you had all the money in the world…

Your turn --

Intergenerational gallery, Project MORE

Intergenerational gallery

Use the site map link to find the evaluation page, please!