Ismail Tufan

History, Memory, and Disasters Among Older Adults: A Life Course Perspective

This article is based on a review of a growing literature that examines disasters as experienced globally by older adults. The authors utilize a life course perspective that allows them to view the impact of experiencing a disaster for individuals within the context of their life experiences, memories, values, and views. The authors urge consideration of how individual and social history and memory affect the experience, coping strategies, and effects of disasters on older adults. The analysis is organized by the following four themes derived from the literature: (a) physical impact, (b) psychological impact, (c) social support issues, and (d) predictors of mental health distress. The authors highlight the challenges and issues of disasters, specifically for the aging population, including age, gender, and coping styles.

Understanding the disaster experience of older adults by gender: the experience of survivors of the 2007 earthquake in Peru.

We examine the experiences of older adult survivors of the August 2007 “Southern earthquake” in Peru within the cultural context of gender roles and family relationships. The data include 24 semistructured videotaped interviews conducted in Pisco in December 2007 with survivors of the earthquake aged 60–90. The responses, experiences, and adjustments of the older adult disaster survivors will be discussed in terms of their family and social support systems and gender roles. These older adults sustain their personal identities and deal with their health concerns in the aftermath of the earthquake in the context of these cultural systems of support.

Health Behavior among the Elderly in Turkey: An Early Evaluation of the Geroatlas Study

Scientific investigations have revealed that behaviors about health and illness states are related to socioeconomic status, gender, and cultural factors. Chronic diseases and comorbidity are common in elderly people when compared to the rest of the population. Major problems of the elderly in Turkey are related to health behaviors, financial status and social security. We examine the association of the above with health and illness status using data from our longitudinal study, called Gerontology Atlas of Turkey (nicknamed GeroAtlas). This study was conducted in seven different cities from seven geographic regions of Turkey and investigated the attitudes of older people about their health and disease status. The early results of this study are reported in this paper.

Status of the disabled in Turkey. A theoretical approach to the perception of the disabled in Turkey

Purpose. Although the ratio of the disabled population is higher in Turkish society than the average value in the world, studies in this issue have been limited to statistical surveys and no firm theoretical bases on investigation of the perception of disability in the perspective of Turkish society have been established. Reliable theses on the form and manners of Turkish societys responses to disability have not been put forward, yet. Therefore, existence of the sociology of disability in Turkey, which is a relatively new field also for western societies, cannot be stated. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the perception of disability and responses to the disabled in Turkish society in the light of the findings of research, which was conducted in 2002, into the disabled in Turkey. Method. Theoretical assessment is carried out from the perspective of two viewpoints: The structural-functional and interactional theses. Conclusion. It is concluded that the interactional thesis sets a better ground for explanation of the circumstances of the disabled and response of the society to them in Turkey.

Institutional Authority and Traces of Intergenerational Conflict

While societys level of education increases in a modernization process, the knowledge monopoly is taken over by the young. Increasing demand on knowledge attained through organized education leads to increasing power by the young. In the modernizing society of Turkey, this kind of struggle will occur between intellectual groups. Results of this study reveal a conflict between the elder generations granted institutional authority and the young population having the capability of seizing this authority. Obtained results demonstrate that there exist remarkable negative aspects in the attitudes of the university youth towards the institutional authority of the elderly. The importance of the study lies in the fact that it is the first study introducing the concept of “intergenerational conflict” to the sociological society of Turkey and, thus, paving the way to further research.

Working and supporting people with dementia when you are a student: a qualitative research: Working people with dementia

Participation of young people in the care of older people will provide important contributions to improving older peoples health.

Das Altern der türkischen Gesellschaft und neue Herausforderungen für die Sozialpolitik der Türkei

In der Turkei wird die zunehmende Zahl alterer und alter Menschen bislang nur randstandig diskutiert. Internationale gerontologische Tagungen, wie z.B. das Symposium der sozialen und angewandten Gerontologie, das seit 2005 jahrlich an der Universitat Antalya durchgefuhrt wird, erfahrt zwar Zuspruch von WissenschaftlerInnen weltweit, fur turkische SozialpolitikerInnen sind diese Tagungen jedoch bislang von untergeordnetem Interesse. Das Thema „Alter“ und dessen soziale Sicherung wird in der Turkei bislang nur von einer kleinen Gruppe von WissenschaftlerInnen diskutiert.