Fifty older and 50 younger adults with varying familiarity with standard keyboards performed 3 trials with the Dvorak keyboard. Older participants performed worse, but there was no relationship between age and familiarity. The amount of new information and not preexperimental interference from prior knowledge may account for age differences. (SK)

Israeli men aged 23-95 (n=198) rated the importance of sources of meaning in life. The oldest groups rated social causes, human values, culture/tradition, financial security significantly higher. The lack of significant differences among middle aged, young old, and old old suggested that continuity strategies are used to adapt to the aging…

Quantitative methods such as logical positivism often view nondominant groups as deviant and purport to be objective. Qualitative methods such as ethnography help educational gerontologists understand diverse elderly populations and allow elders to participate in the process of defining reality and producing knowledge. (SK)

Describes a program designed to help rural elderly African Americans acquire daily living skills, conducted in their homes to reduce transportation problems and increase participation. The design takes into account characteristics of the population, such as age, health, economic conditions, race, educational level, and support systems. (SK)

A group of 51 young and 52 older adults read science articles and predicted their future test performance. Predictions were compared to comprehension and memory tests. Both groups made similar predictions, but those of older adults were related to their assessment of ease of processing, those of younger adults to their assessment of comprehension,…

Thirty adults ages 53-85 and 28 adults ages 19-38 were randomly assigned to three groups to read six passages. One group received advance organizers prior to reading, the second got orienting instructions plus advance organizers, and the controls received neither . Orienting instructions significantly helped both age groups and greatly reduced…

Courses on memory improvement were taught to 46 older adults. Their most frequent complaint was inability to remember names. Almost all reported reduction in anxiety following training. Immediate and four-week follow-ups showed significantly better memory performance than on the pretest. (SK)

Meta analysis of interviews with 11 groups of four learners and their instructors identified the affective and cognitive content and dynamics of classroom exchanges. Reciprocity was not symmetrical: older learners expected to receive more from instructors than they gave; instructors received almost as much as they gave. (SK)

Seminars on financial, estate, and leisure planning for retirement were attended by 34 adults. Measures of formal seminar participation and informal gathering of retirement information over time indicated that leisure planning had a stronger impact on expectations than financial planning. Informal, longer-term planning had a significant impact on…

Most of the nine older adults in learning-in-retirement institutes at universities developed strong feelings of loyalty to their school. Loyalty derived from their perception of the value received from participating. Various actions higher education institutions can take to serve older adults were identified. (SK)

Frail elderly nursing home residents (n=19) in Israel were taught computer use, some with adaptations for disabilities. Men used computers slightly longer, perhaps due to the type of software they chose. Both the trainees and 14 controls improved attitudes toward computers; the controls may have benefitted from observing others using them and…

Surveys of 181 Mexican American grandparents, 148 parents, and 173 grandchildren found the following: Spanish-speaking grandparents had greater information needs than English speakers and experienced more frustration dealing with adolescents than with younger grandchildren. Length of time spent with grandchildren increased effectiveness in the…

More than half of Italian retirees (n=478) surveyed experienced no problems with retirement, but many were still interested in retirement preparation programs. They wanted programs to address a wide range of psychological and social subjects. (SK)

On spelling tests taken by 159 adults over 50, younger subjects had significantly higher scores. Statistically removing effects of crystallized intelligence and education had no effect, but removing effects of fluid intelligence made the difference insignificant. Although spelling is considered a crystallized skill, in older people it may rely…

Responses from 159 of 837 health and mental health professionals in Alaska showed the following: (1) 54% said community services for the aging were inadequate; (2) 55% felt health professionals' knowledge of aging was insufficient; and (3) 91.8% needed further training in aging and geriatrics, especially regarding mental health and Alzheimer's…