Edelman's (1967,1977) analysis of political processes is used as the theoretical framework within which to examine the role of international conferences such as the recent World Assembly on Aging. The function of such international assemblies and the role of participating policymakers and experts are interpreted as part of a symbolic process which legitimates problem definitions and national policies, and validates the roles of policy makers, bureaucrats and experts. The paper questions whether these meetings have real potential for influencing national policies and discusses the factors which limit their relevance and usefulness for developing countries.

Current scholarship in the sociology of age relations suffers from conceptual ambiguity and confusion in the area of age and generational relations. This paper recommends precise definition and use of the terms cohort, generation, age grade, age stratum, age group, and generation groups. Concrete or real definitional constructs are distinguished from nominal constructs and their advantages are described. The central thrust of the paper is a call for a return to the conceptualization of Mannheim about generations and a parallel conceptualization concerning age groups. The usefulness of this approach is discussed in terms of the political sociology of age relations.

Two hundred and seventy three married, independently living adults completed an 11-item Likert questionnaire of perceived attitudes of various reference groups toward sexual relations among the elderly. Multivariate analysis of variance of Helmert contrasts revealed no significant age, sex or age X sex interaction effects among the respondents. With the exception of elderly females, the younger the age of the reference group, the less favorable the perceived attitude toward sexual activities among the elderly; the self, the doctor and spouse were seen as more favorable toward sex among the elderly than friends, clergy or children.

This study's objective was to determine the extent of agreement between experienced Registered Nurses (RNs) and Registered Nursing Assistants (RNAs) in their use of pain indicators in assessing elderly nursing home residents for the presence of pain. Twenty-three pain indicators were judged appropriate by seasoned clinicians for assessment of pain in the elderly. Structured interviews with a card-sort technique were administered to 30 RNs and 30 RNAs from five nursing homes. Respondents were asked to rank the indicators in order of their perceived usefulness. Substantial agreement (Kappa=0.74, p<0.001) was found between the two groups. Personal characteristics of the two groups were not significantly different (p<.05). Clinical, educational and research implications are discussed.

A retrospective study was conducted in a large multilevel geriatric centre to analyse the deaths reported in the year 1981. This centre provides accommodation for 750 elderly and/or chronically ill persons in three agencies—an apartment complex, a home for the aged, and a long-term care hospital The study revealed that the hospital is the place of death for a high proportion of the elderly residents of the centre. In particular, residents of the home for the aged are unlikely to remain in the “home” to die. It was found that patterns of death and dying for individuals admitted to the hospital from the general community differ in several ways from the patterns of those who are already living in the centre in terms of age and probable cause of death.