Physical Home Environment as a Determinant of Aging in Place for Different Types of Elderly Households

The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between physical housing features and home modifications to aging in place or precipitating a housing transition among elderly households. Data was taken from two waves (1998 and 2000) of the Health and Retirement Survey. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses were performed. Residing in a multi-family home without an elevator was a predictor for housing transition for couple households, while residing in a home with small interior modifications was a predictor for remaining in place for single households. Implications for policy makers, health care providers, housing industry and elderly are discussed.     

宜居城市与北京城市居住适宜性评价

基于北京城市性质定位为宜居城市这一背景,提出居住适宜性评价的必要性与紧迫性。概要介绍针对北京所作的居住适宜性评价工作路线、方法,重点介绍如何从居民主观认识方面进行相关分析和研究。一是如何建立主观评价指标体系,并设计相关调查问卷;二是评价单元与调查区域划分问题;三是确定抽样调查样本量的问题;四是调查数据取得问题;五是适宜性综合结果评价问题。最后结合实际的适宜性评价结果,从宜居城市建设角度对北京城市的发展提出对策建议。     

The Segregation of Social Interactions in the Red Line L‐Train in Chicago

This study documents how residential segregation is visible in social interactions in the (semi) public space of the red line L‐train in Chicago. While public spaces are often celebrated as spaces of cosmopolitanism, people tend to interact mainly with people who look similar and appear to be living in the same area in Chicago. People of different race and class, represented by the station where they board the train, do not encounter each other much in the L‐train because of the existing residential segregation in the city of Chicago. Blacks ride from the south to downtown while whites ride from the north to downtown. Different time frames are reserved for different people. Furthermore, on the train itself people prefer to be interacting with and sit next to people who appear alike; who seem to be from the same part of the city. Hence, I argue that social interactions on the subway are mainly an expression of geographical and social exclusion in the city. Residential segregation is visible in the “segregation of social interactions” in the red line L‐train. Consequently, while de jure segregation has been abolished in the 1960s in Chicago, segregating practices are still going on de facto in everyday life.     

A Valued Relationship with Nature and Its Influence on the Use of Gardens by Older Adults Living in Residential Care

ABSTRACT

While there is growing interest in inclusion of gardens and outdoor spaces in residential care facilities for older adults, these spaces are often underutilized despite many identified, evidence-based benefits. A qualitative study of participant observations with behavior mapping, and individual and focus-group interviews, using a grounded theory methodology was used to understand value versus use of outdoor garden spaces. Individual and focus-group interviews were conducted with 32 residents from two facilities. Results revealed that views of nature are fundamentally important to resident well-being, that access to nature influences facility choice, and use of garden spaces is influenced by the way in which individuals prefer to enjoy nature.     

Middle‐Class Parents,Urban Schooling,and the Shift From Consumption to Production of Urban Space

Dominant approaches to the study of gentrification tend to attribute this process either to the production of urban space by elites or to the consumption of urban space by individual consumers. In this article, we take a preliminary step toward bridging this gap by illustrating how these groups may, in some cases, be the same actors. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with middle‐class parents in Boston, we explore the transitions that gentrifiers undergo as they age and have children. As young singles and childless couples, our respondents interacted with the city mainly as passive consumers. Years later, however, facing pressures to relocate in search of high‐quality educational options, these parents emerged as active producers of the urban landscape through their substantial involvement in their children's public elementary schools. This school‐based engagement reinforced their loyalties to their neighborhoods, dissuading them from moving to the suburbs. Since it is based on intense interactions with small local institutions, though, this strategy will likely be more difficult for parents to sustain in larger, less personal high schools. Thus, these parents may reconsider their dedication to city living as their children age. We discuss the implications of this research for urban theory and policy.     

Monitoring Quality of Care in Residential Care for the Elderly: The Information Challenge

This study assesses the administrative data compiled on residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs) by the state of California and considers the feasibility of their adaptation into a comprehensive information system. Required state RCFE reporting forms were reviewed for potential data elements. Recording and reporting variation was evaluated using a stratified probability sample of 340 facilities licensed in Northern and Central California. Stratification was by facility size and state district office. Data collection included a 5-year retrospective review of forms and documents in each facility's public file. Little of the information required from RCFEs is computerized. Most of it is maintained at the individual facility and not included in public files. Basic information, while included in the public file, is commonly either not available or not current. Resident characteristics and outcomes are not compiled, except indirectly in citations. The information required from RCFEs, if appropriately compiled and maintained, would produce a comprehensive quality assurance system and more effectively support consumer information and policy needs.     

Elder Mistreatment in U.S. Residential Care Facilities: The Scope of the Problem

Many in the United States believe elder mistreatment in long-term care is serious and widespread, but until recently few studies focused on the problem. This study was designed to describe the scope of mistreatment in assisted living facilities (ALFs) in Arizona during a 3-year period. Findings showed that receiving citations for elder mistreatment was relatively rare. However, analysis of narrative reports from only 7% of facilities showed 598 allegations of mistreatment in complaint investigations, of which 372 (62.2%) were substantiated and given citations for something other than mistreatment. Results show that elder mistreatment in ALFs is seriously underidentified, even by state inspectors.     

Health System Reform and the Elderly: The Case of Israel

Abstract

Following the implementation of the National Health Insurance Law in January 1995, major changes have taken place in the provision of health services by Israel's sick funds and the way these services are funded. This article presents the principal changes that have occurred and assesses their impact on those aged 65 and older, using findings of a survey conducted one year after the law's enactment. While the findings show that the elderly's situation has improved in some areas, they also raise concerns that the elderly are having difficulty navigating the reformed health system and that they are not benefiting from the new competition among the sick funds.     

Developmental,Familial, and Peer Deterrents to Adoption Placement

ABSTRACT

This article focuses on the developmental, familial and peer deterrents that form barriers to adoption placement among teen mothers in a residential facility. An Eriksonian developmental model is used to explore developmental issues of identity, projective identification, and industry among teens. The findings suggest that family “cutoffs” and “re-admissions” also serve as deterrents to adoption placement. Additionally, peer pressure from residents of the facility form barriers to adoption placement. Teen mothers express how they were deterred from adoption placement and constrained into child-rearing as pregnancy resolution strategies. This qualitative study gives family therapy interventions as suggestions to facilitate adoption placement through addressing the constraints teen mothers face.     

全面推进上海“城中村”改造土地政策研究

“城中村”作为城市化的一种特有现象,已逐渐演化为影响城市品质和居住品质的巨大障碍,同时制约着城市土地的集约利用水平的提高。在上海市城市化进程加速、人口日益膨胀、中心城区土地资源供应越来越少的背景下,“城中村”所贮存土地的战略重要性越加明显。上海可通过健全现有土地储备制度、完善土地出让办法、完善安置补偿政策、加大规划政策支持力度等举措,全面推进“城中村”改造。