Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Prepare for your exams
Study with the several resources on Docsity
Earn points to download
Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan
Community
Ask the community for help and clear up your study doubts
Discover the best universities in your country according to Docsity users
Free resources
Download our free guides on studying techniques, anxiety management strategies, and thesis advice from Docsity tutors
A thesis that examines the applicability of activity theory in two community programs, the Oxford Senior Center and the Institute for Learning in Retirement, and the lives of their participants. The author conducts an observer as participant study and presents her findings through a series of journalistic feature articles and an essay. Activity theory suggests that individuals must maintain or increase their productive activities or involvements as they transition from middle to older age to preserve quality of life. The document also discusses the connection between the individuals' approaches and the productive activities deemed necessary by activity theory.
Typology: Lecture notes
1 / 70
This page cannot be seen from the preview
Don't miss anything!
i
Honors Program in partial fulfillment of the^ A thesis submitted to the Miami University requirements for University Honors with Distinction
by Lisa N. Joseph May 2005 Oxford, Ohio
ii
By Lisa N. Joseph
The aging process has garnered extra attention as life expectancy in the United States stretches upward and dramatic increases are projected in the percentage of the population over age 65. Along with added interest in this topic, a shift has occurred in the focus of research on aging from focusing on genetic and biological factors to the control that the individual has over the process of aging. Activity theory is one framework addressingsuccessful aging. Activity theory suggests that in order to experience a long, healthy and fulfilling life a person must maintain the level of activity and productive roles he or she possessed in middle age through the transition into older age. This thesis examines the applicability of activity theory in two community programs (the Oxford Senior Center and the Institute for Learning in Retirement) and in the lives of the participants throughan observer as participant study. My findings are presented in a series of journalistic feature articles and an essay that details the successes of activity theory and builds upon its weaknesses. The purpose of presenting the information in two forms, the articles and the more traditional essay is an attempt to synthesize my interests in journalism and social work. The feature articles allow me use writing to inform community members ofpotentially life enriching servic es available to them while the analysis allows me to explore what the responsibilities and appropriate societal responsibilities toward aging are.
iv
The Manifestation of Activity Theory in an Aging Community: An Explorative Collection By Lisa N. Joseph
Approved by: ________________________ , Advisor Hugh Morgan _______________________ _, Reader Christine Caffrey _______________________ _, Reader Patricia Gallagher Newberry Accepted by: ______________________ _, Director, University Honors Program
v
vii
Introduction…………………………………………………….… Story #1……………………………………………………………4“Director, Senior Center Age Together” Story #2…………………………………………………………… Story #3……………………………………………………………25“Lehmkuhl Lives Own Advice: Don’t Sit and Vegetate” Background, Methods and Analysis………………………………36“Oxford Couple Embraces Retirement, Returns to Class” Personal Goals and Reflection……………………………………. Bibliography……………………………………………………….
viii
such as Meals on Wheels; traveling in Europe; and taking up new hobbies like singing in the senior center “Songbirds” chorus. However, although activity theory was applicable, it only revealed a surface explanation for the successful aging I observed. I suggest three other layers or contributing forces that enhance the significance of activity in relation to successful aging. First, it appeared that in addition to simply being active for activity’s sake, these individuals were exhibiting a degree of continuity or patterned behavior in the forms of activity each individually practiced throughout his or her lifespan. Secondly, these individuals were attaching meaning to the activities they were participating in and feel a sense of purpose in connection to each of these involvements. Thirdly, the contexts surrounding the activities these subjects are involved in are worth noting as there are certain structures in place that allow these individuals to carry out this activity due to their physical location or the community environment and due to economic factors internal and external to the participants. Using the data from my observations and interviews I then wrote a series of articles that are intended to exemplify the manifestation of activity theory in these community programs and everyday life. These articles combined with the supplementary analysis of my observations in terms of activity theory allow me to share my findings with two audiences. The analysis is a more social scientific approach to the problem while the feature articles make the information available to the general public. The feature articles present my observations in a form that I hope will serve several purposes. First, I intend them to inform community members of some of the services that are available to them. Secondly, I hope they dispel some false perceptions
of aging and reveal how enriching life can be at this stage. Lastly, I hope they initiate a dialogue surrounding aging including issues of what successful aging means, what needs must be fulfilled to achieve this level of satisfaction, and how society currently provides or fails to provide the means conducive to healthy aging. The idea for this project originated from an in-depth feature article I wrote about the Institute for Learning in Retirement program, a program which provides opportunities for continued learning and exploration in older age, as part of my senior capstone class. The reporting of this story required that I observe several of the courses offered through this program and that I interact with several of the participants. The experiences involved in the completing this story generated my interest in what role this program and others contribute to the process of healthy aging through the potential intellectual, physical and social involvement they offer. The experience also led me to consider the connection between the writing produced and the content it contained. Next fall I will be attending graduate school at Ohio State to obtain my master’s degree in social work but I am still interested in using my undergraduate degrees in English-journalism and sociology. The ultimate goal in the creation of this project was to attempt to combine this journalistic background with my goal to become a social worker. I attempted in this work to use writing as a strategy to connect individuals with life enriching services while also considering what actually needs to occur for an individual to age successfully and consequently be better able to evaluate current social services or suggest appropriate ones.
the participants and joins in the class’ motions as she moves unobtrusively to where the woman is exercising. Not wanting to interrupt, she maneuvers quietly in her multi-colored plaid suit jacket and New Balance tennis shoes. A string of salutations such as “Hi Sharon,” follow her anyway. “You look like a dance team,” Sharon responds as she too spins an invisible hula- hoop around her waist. “Sharon, you’re getting to the age you need to do this too,” instructor Carol Schunk jokes.” It is true that at age 60, Sharon qualifies to participate in the screening, physical and educational programs the center provides to citizens over the age of 55.
For Sharon, it is difficult to believe that 21 years have passed since the senior center became a part of her life. Her interview for the job is still vivid in her mind. The two stages of the interview took place in the library of the building where she was seated at a long table – surrounded by approximately 16 people. The director of Miami University’s Department of Human Resources had been asked to conduct the interview and sat at the head of the table. The rest of the room was occupied by people with questions: the board of trustees, center participants and interested individuals from the community. “Apparently, the committee had been very stunned by the personal young man they hired previously,” Sharon offers as an explanation for the stringent selection process
she went through. This young man, the second of the center’s directors, had a physical recreation background and lasted approximately nine months before his attire of cut-off jeans and flip- flops combined with his work ethic of wandering aimlessly and playing some shuffleboard when he felt like it could not be tolerated any longer. Sharon remembers being asked by a member of the center what she would do if someone came to the door at 5 p.m. and needed assistance. Another question asked was how her family would be able to cope if she had a full- time position instead of staying at home. At the time of the interview Sharon was close to 40 and had lived in Oxford since 1971 when her husband, Chris, accepted a position teaching at Miami University in the Department of Paper Science and Engineering. They moved from New York State and Sharon was a full-time mother to their two children. When their daughter was in college and their son was a junior in high school, Chris noticed an ad in The Oxford Press for the position and Sharon decided to apply. It was only after her first interview that she contemplated the significance taking the job would have in her life and in the life of her family. After she posed the same question to her son that she had been asked about how her family would cope with her working, he said, “I don’t really need you here with milk and cookies in the afternoon Mom.” Sharon thought about it and decided to accept the position in March of 1984; she does not have any regrets. “Monday through Friday I get to know people and love them,” she says of her job.
This relationship enabled the center to increase its transportation program under Title B and offer congregate meals at the center through Title C. After the senior center was approved for federal funds Sharon was approached by McCullough-Hyde Memorial Hospital and asked to administer the Meals on Wheels Program. She agreed under the condition that the hospital continue to provide the food for the meals at the center. This relationship has been maintained since that time. Every weekday, a driver picks-up the food for the senior center lunch and delivers it at noon. Other individuals are responsible for packing the hot lunches for the Meals on Wheels program into insulated containers and placing them in order backwards of delivery into the van. Volunteers distribute these meals and Sharon explains that “if Mrs. Johnson is first on the route, her container is right on top and ready to be delivered.” Sharon is now additionally responsible for overseeing the institution of the Butler County Elderly Services, which is managed through the senior center. This programming, which is funded by local tax dollars and is up for renewal every five years, provides the center with a case manager, Licensed Social Worker Diana Cox. Among other things, Diana is primarily responsible for administering in- home services to non Medicaid eligible individuals and the PASSPORT program, a Pre-Admission screening program to Medicaid eligible individuals. These services allow individuals on the brink of entering a nursing facility to stay in their homes with help related to personal care and housecleaning. Not only does this mean that the costs to care for these individuals is kept at hundreds of dollars per month compared to the three to four-thousand dollars it would cost them to live in a nursing home, it also allows them to maintain their independence.
“I am of course an advocate of these programs,” Sharon says. She hates to see people living in nursing homes when they do not require 24- hour care. Another change Sharon has observed over the years that she is very pleased with is the growth in habitation options for older individuals. Sharon explains that as people grow older they are usually forced to either move- in with family or to an assisted living facility; often when they would be capable of maintaining their independence if provided with a few minor forms of assistance. She sees the emergence of retirement communities, such as the Knolls of Oxford, and the PASSPORT and Elderly Service programs as positive alternative to these choices. “I am pleased to see the Knolls. People can now stay in Oxford,” Sharon says. One couple Sharon knows moved to Hamilton to live in retirement community before the Knolls of Oxford was established. The man, a former superintendent of schools, and his wife had lived their entire lives in Oxford and consequently all their friends were still in Oxford. “They would drive back to Oxford practically every day of the week,” Sharon remembers. The Knolls allowed them to return to Oxford, occupying the last vacant cottage, for five-and-a-half years now. Another positive feature of the Knolls is the continuum of care that it offers. There are different levels of assistance available to residents: the cottages, one- or two- bedroom apartments, and a nursing center. This way, if residents do need more living assistance than they once did, they are able to receive that additional care without being forced to uproot their lives and move.
Peewee can now be found any number of places in the center: sleeping in a chair or running around during exercise class. Pictures of him with green accessories at the St. Patrick’s Day party decorate the door to the craft room. It appears that Peewee is at the senior center to stay.
Pam Sprague, the craft coordinator has also fallen in love with the atmosphere of the senior center and the director. Her involvement with the senior center began 17 years ago when she started out driving the help van. After doing this for seven years, three- and-a-half days a week, she gave it up when her mother became ill. After a year away from the center and the death of her mother, Pam says, “I missed everyone so much I started coming in as a volunteer dispatcher.” When the position of craft coordinator opened up she asked Sharon if she could give the job a try and has occupied the position ever since. According to Pam, Sharon is very flexible and an excellent boss. “I have very high regards for Sharon,” Pam says. “We have gone through lots of ups and downs together; babies, losing family members, etc.” Pam is standing in the craft room, a room overflowing with beautiful works in progress and finished products that are available for purchase, while she talks. She explains that the proceeds from the items that are sold go back into the fund for buying additional supplies for the arts and crafts program. These items include wood, glass, cloth, yarn and any other imaginable materials. The arts and crafts creations made under her supervision have spilled over into the great room as well. It is decorated with quilts,
crafts and woodcarvings that are constantly being added to and changed; often to reflect the season. One of the last projects Pam came up with were flowerpot centerpieces for the upcoming volunteer recognition banquet. When the fake flowers are pulled out of their pots a surprise is revealed – they are actually ink pens! The next assignment in the works is making macramé plant hangers; Pam and one of the center’s members are planning the pattern and the colors now. Pam says that whether it is making a specific craft or doing her a personal favor, the senior citizens she works with would do anything for her. “They’re good friends. They won’t let you down,” Pam says. “Overall I just love these people. They’re like my grandma, my mother, my aunt…my family.”
Seated in her office, Sharon glances at an advertisement in the newspaper that she cut-out and placed on her desk. Valentine’s Day is approaching and the clipping is a love poem written by a woman to her husband; the couple, both widowed, met at the senior center and ended up marrying. Sharon sighs happily as she reads it and says, “A person is never too old to find that special relationship.” There are many stories of the people who have partaken in the senior center’s many offerings and who have offered their services to the center. Marjory Leflar, who is now in her 80s, has been teaching classes in stained glass since she first started coming 20 years ago. This is one of the most popular classes,
