News & Highlights
A Note From IOA Director Victor Marshall
I invite comments and suggestions from our readers about the statewide mission of the Institute on Aging. We note elsewhere in this newsletter that a reconstituted Statewide Advisory Council has been appointed effective March 1. We have moved to a much smaller Council of 13 members, to replace a very large Statewide Advisory Committee of 26 people. This change will reduce the financial and administrative costs of gaining advice, and I am confident that this can be done without a reduction in the quality of advice. The names and contact information of the new Council members are now posted on our website, and you should feel free to pass your ideas to them—but also to me directly at (919) 843-8067 or victor_marshall@unc.edu
Read Dr. Marshall's entire column...
Come To The Aging Exchange On March 27th
Visit the UNC Institute on Aging 2007 Aging Exchange web site today to find out how we celebrate aging education, research and service at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Then come to the Exchange on March 27 to view the contributions of graduate students and fellows through paper and poster presentations illustrating diverse activities in all fields of aging research, including social sciences, public health, basic science, clinical and translational research, and health and social services. The event is scheduled for 1:00 to 7:00 pm at The Carolina Club on the UNC campus in Chapel Hill.
Research Stimulus Grants Available;
Apply By 4/2/07
The UNC Institute on Aging invites applications for the 2007 Research Stimulus Grants in Aging program. This will be the second year that the grants have been offered. The goal of the program is to build greater strength in multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary aging research on the UNC Chapel Hill campus. Up to four grants will be awarded. Letters of intent are due by April 2, 2007. More information on the program, with a description of previously funded projects, is available on the Stimulus Grants web site.
IOA To House Journal Of Applied Gerontology; Cutchin Will Edit
Malcolm Cutchin, Senior Research Scientist at the UNC Institute on Aging and Associate Professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at UNC at Chapel Hill, has been named editor of the Journal of Applied Gerontology. The official journal of the Southern Gerontological Society, it will be housed at the IOA as of May 1, 2007. Read more...
DEAR Funding Available
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Demography and Economics of Aging Program (DEAR) is soliciting proposals from Chapel Hill faculty for seed funds to support the development of applications for external funding for research in the area of the demography and economics of aging. Applications are due by April 2, 2007. The call for proposals can be found at http://www.cpc.unc.edu/dear/proposals.html. Contact David Blau or Edward Norton with any questions.
NCCOA Call For Presentations
The call for presentations for the 2007 North Carolina Conference on Aging is now available on the Conference web site. The deadline to submit an application to present is Friday, March 30, 2007. The preferred method of submission is an on-line form. Information about an alternative submission method is provided on the web site as well.
NC Gerontology Consortium Fall 2007 Courses
A list of courses available through the North Carolina Gerontology Consortium for the fall semester, 2007, is available on the Consortium web site.
NC LTC Advocacy Conference
On April 16-17, 2007 the Fifth Biennial Long Term Care Public Policy Conference & Advocacy Day will be held in Cary and Raleigh, NC. This event educates North Carolina citizens and legislators about quality issues for North Carolinians receiving and providing long term care. This year’s key topics are: addressing the needs of mental health clients in long term care settings; increasing resources and supports for families providing long term care; and looking at ways quality rating systems help consumers and facilities. The IOA is one of numerous organizers of this event. More information: www.forltc.org; LTCconference@mindspring.com; 1-888-411-7571.
Women And Aging Workshop
Dr. Eleanor Krassen Coven, Director of the Gerontology Program at UNC-Wilmington will present a workshop entitled "Women and Aging" on May 7 from 12-4 PM at The Cedars, Chapel Hill. The workshop is free and open to the public. The University Woman's Club will be sponsoring the event. For further information call Donna Falvo, UWC President at 933-4599.
NC IOM Releases LTC Plan Update
The North Carolina Insitute of Medicine has recently published a 2007 Update on Progress on the Long Term Care Plan for North Carolina: 2001. The 44-page update details the work of the most recent task force of citizens, professionals and legislators working on this issue.
Good News For NC Colleagues
Dr. Neal Cutler, Associate Director of the UNC-G Gerontology Program and Aging and Business Education Advisor to the AARP Office of Academic Affairs, has been named a fellow of the TIAA-CREF Institute, recognizing his leadership work in developing the field of financial gerontology.
Aging And Disability Conference
The Syracuse University Gerontology Center will host a 3-day Conference on Aging and Disability from May 3-5, 2007. Topics will include health, care arrangements, policy trends, work and HIV as they relate to aging with a disability. Conference sessions are free and open to the public, but attendance requires an RSVP.
Call For Papers:
Social Theories Of Aging
A special edition of the International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy will focus on theorizing aging studies.
Manuscripts that provide analytical focus on innovative perspectives in problematizing and understanding aging are welcomed from any discipline or conceptual perspective,
and may focus on any aspect of social theory of aging that relates to ideas and efforts to engender novel understanding of aging, focusing on applications of these ideas and efforts.
Abstracts of no more than 200 words should be sent to either Dr. Jason Powell or Prof. Joe Hendricks by March 15th, 2007.
Journal Back Issues Available
The UNC Institute on Aging has a number of back issues of journals in the health field available free to any student who is able to come to the Institute at 720 MLK Jr. Blvd, Second Floor, Chapel Hill, to retrieve them. (Regrettably, we cannot mail or deliver these to any off-site location.) The titles and years available are: Health Affairs, 2001-03; Journal of Health and Social Policy, 2001-03; Social Work in Health Care, 1998-2003; Women and Health, 1997-2003.
Featured Web Site
Long Life Family Study
www.longlifefamilystudy.org
LLFS is a unique international project that is studying families who have several members reaching a very old age. Families from the United States and Denmark will help determine why some people live until a very old age and why some families maintain their health far longer than the average family.
The study is funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, with the participation of
Columbia University, the University of Pittsburgh, Boston University Medical Center, the University of Southern Denmark and Washington University School of Medicine. The study is still enrolling participants.
This web site and others have been selected for inclusion in AgeLib,
the IOA's Digital Library of aging resources. Search
AGELIB now.
New Library Resources
These are selected new additions to the AgeLib Digital Library. The links below will open a new window displaying the AgeLib record.
Health insurance coverage and costs at older ages: evidence from the Health and Retirement Study
view the record
Healthy ageing: a challenge for Europe
view the record
Just getting by: unmet need for personal assistance services among persons 50 or older with disabilities
view the record
Promoting physical activity and active living in urban environments: the role of local governments
view the record
Six paths to retirement
view the record
New & Notable
Heflin, Mitchell T. (2006). The Senior Mentor Program at Duke University School of Medicine. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education 27(2): 49-58.
Resnick, Barbara; Gruber-Baldini, Ann L.; Pretzer-Aboff, Ingrid; Galik, Elizabeth; Buie, Verita Custis; Russ, Karin; Zimmerman, Sheryl. (2007). Reliability and validity of the Evaluation To Sign Consent measure. The Gerontologist 47(1): 69-77.
For a list of items recently published by North Carolina faculty, see New & Notable Publications.
Aging & Health Promotion News
Arthritis Foundation features exercise advice. The Arthritis Foundation's web site contains an 'Exercise and Arthritis' section with articles on the various types of physical activity that are most beneficial and appropriate for osteoarthritis patients seeking to manage their condition. Also included are links to more resources and programs.
Upcoming Events in NC
March 20, 2007 IOA Seminar Series
Recruitment and Retention of Ethnic Minorities in Research
Peggye Dilworth-Anderson
Health Policy & Admin. & Institute on Aging ECRA
3:30-5 PM, 720 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 2nd floor conference room
March 22, 2007
"The Many Faces of Dementia 2007: Issues, Trends and Perceptions"
14th Annual Spring Education Conference, Western Carolina Chapter, Alzheimer's Association
Charlotte, NC
http://www.alz-nc.org/conference.htm
March 26, 2007
Duke University Center for Study of Aging/Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center
The George L. Maddox, Jr., Ph.D. Lectureship: “Social Origins of Major Depression in Later Life: Are We Poised for a New Social Psychiatry?”
Dan Blazer, Ph.D
5:00-6:00pm, Searle Center lecture hall
March 27, 2007
Fourth Annual Aging Exchange: Education, Research and Service at UNC at Chapel Hill
Distinguished lecture by Dr. Laura N. Gitlin
1-7pm, The Carolina Club
Save The Dates
April 11, 2007
"Aging is Good Business: Residential Choices and the Boomers Coming of Age"
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Gerontology Program Annual Summit
Cone Ballroom, Elliott University Center, UNCG, Greensboro, NC
April 11-14, 2007
28th Annual Meeting, Southern Gerontological Society
Improving Elders' Lives: A Collaborative Enterprise
Greensboro, NC
Early registration ends on March 15, 2007.
Community Bulletin Board
Don't forget to check the Community Bulletin Board for other aging-related announcements for seniors, educators, students and professionals.
Current listings include research studies in need of subjects.
View our complete events calendar at www.aging.unc.edu/events/.
Publication of this newsletter is announced via email listserv. To view current and past issues at any time, visit http://www.aging.unc.edu/news/newsletter.html To join one of our lists, please visit www.aging.unc.edu/news/lists.html for more information. If you have information that you would like to see included in this newsletter, please send it to aginginfo@unc.edu.