title: Introduction

authors: Mitchell, Linda

abstract: This special issue of the Waikato Journal of Education offers three thought provoking examinations of recent research relevant to early childhood education (ECE) policy. These range from a big picture view of the changing nature of New Zealand’s kindergarten provision to a close up of one kindergarten that has collaborated with other agencies to combine parent education and support and early childhood education. Complementing the two New Zealand articles, a third from an Australian research study explores the multiple challenges in working in an integrated way across professional boundaries. These are articles for teachers, managers, and policy analysts who are interested in leading developments for offering a holistic early years curriculum.

text: Introduction This special issue of the Waikato Journal of Education offers three thought provoking examinations of recent research relevant to early childhood education (ECE) policy. These range from a big picture view of the changing nature of New Zealand’s kindergarten provision to a close up of one kindergarten that has collaborated with other agencies to combine parent education and support and early childhood education. Complementing the two New Zealand articles, a third from an Australian research study explores the multiple challenges in working in an integrated way across professional boundaries. These are articles for teachers, managers, and policy analysts who are interested in leading developments for offering a holistic early years curriculum.

year: 2012

title: A job, a dream or a trap? Multiple meanings for encore careers

authors: Simpson, Mary Louisa

subjects: aging

abstract: Governments and activists are interested in the ageing workforce, as both a problem and, 
potentially, an asset. Terms such as ‘positive ageing’ and ‘successful ageing’ are increasingly used rhetorically to (re)frame the working lives of elders, and demand careful examination. A recent entry in the discursive re-construction of work in later life is ‘encore careers’, which highlights retirement as a time when individuals choose to use their wealth of experience, engaging in  work that matters and makes meaningful contributions to society. This article reports on a study that used a multiple perspectives approach to analyse the discourse of elders engaged in encore  careers and managers who work with them.

text: A job, a dream or a trap? Multiple meanings for encore careers Governments and activists are interested in the ageing workforce, as both a problem and, 
potentially, an asset. Terms such as ‘positive ageing’ and ‘successful ageing’ are increasingly used rhetorically to (re)frame the working lives of elders, and demand careful examination. A recent entry in the discursive re-construction of work in later life is ‘encore careers’, which highlights retirement as a time when individuals choose to use their wealth of experience, engaging in  work that matters and makes meaningful contributions to society. This article reports on a study that used a multiple perspectives approach to analyse the discourse of elders engaged in encore  careers and managers who work with them.

year: 2012

title: Māori, Tongan and Chinese households: Medications and elder care

authors: Nikora, Linda Waimarie

subjects: medications

abstract: Research reveals that medicines are frequently not taken as intended, stockpiled for future use, discontinued when symptoms fade or passed to others. Medications are material objects with therapeutic uses that enter into and take on meaning within people’s lives. In this way they are culturally embedded phenomena that carry meanings and shape social relationships and practices. The symbolic meanings given to medications and cultural relations are important for understanding variations in medication practices. Households with elders often contain more medications and have more complex age-related medical conditions. In households where members are engaged in the reciprocation of care among two or three generations, medications within and between these relationships take on a range of dynamic meanings. In this paper, we explore how interactions between household members affect medicines-taking practices of elders and their families from three cultural groups: Māori, Tongan and Chinese. This research was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

text: Māori, Tongan and Chinese households: Medications and elder care Research reveals that medicines are frequently not taken as intended, stockpiled for future use, discontinued when symptoms fade or passed to others. Medications are material objects with therapeutic uses that enter into and take on meaning within people’s lives. In this way they are culturally embedded phenomena that carry meanings and shape social relationships and practices. The symbolic meanings given to medications and cultural relations are important for understanding variations in medication practices. Households with elders often contain more medications and have more complex age-related medical conditions. In households where members are engaged in the reciprocation of care among two or three generations, medications within and between these relationships take on a range of dynamic meanings. In this paper, we explore how interactions between household members affect medicines-taking practices of elders and their families from three cultural groups: Māori, Tongan and Chinese. This research was funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand and the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand.

year: 2010