VOLUME 9, NUMBER 1, 2006

From The Culture of early retirement to the active ageing strategy
Vlado Dimovski, Jana Žnidaršič

The European population is ageing. It is expected that there will be a 20% increase in the 50-64 age category over the next 15 years. Within the Lisbon strategy, the European Union (EU) has set itself the goal to increase the work participation rate of this age group to reach 50% by 2010. The profile of the EU workforce is older now due to other factors too. For example, sectoral restructuring has resulted in the deferral of planned recruitment, pre-retirement schemes are not as prevalent as they used to be, and the postponement of pension age is currently being considered in several member states. Instead of replacing people to fit existing workstations, companies must rethink work to adapt it to ageing workers - they need to develop good practices in managing an ageing workforce with emphasize on the retention, retraining and reintegration of older workers. Especially for Slovenia, having extremely low rate of activity in the age group 55 to 64 (around 23% in 2000 and 28% in 2004), it is urgent to take actions on this field, using holistic approach and involving social partners, policy makers and direct actors (workers and employers) in striving to combat age issues. The conceptual model of holistic approach toward age management is presented in the following article.

Key words: ageing of workforce and population in general, EU, age management, good practices, active ageing strategy.

The use of new information-telecommunication technologies among Komenda community residents age of sixty and over
Blaž Lenarčič, Jože Ramovš

In the article we present the data taken from the Good Quality of old age and intergenerational relations in the Komenda community research, which took place during the summer of 2005. The research was implemented on the sample of 271 individual ages of 60 and more. Presented here the part of the research relates to the possession and use of new information-telecommunication technologies (ICT) and ordinary telephone. Results show that minority of population use computer and internet services, meanwhile ordinary and GSM telephone use almost all interviewed population. The large telephone use means that this form of (personal) long distance communication is often the most important link between relatives and friends. It's importance lays also in loneliness and to increase safety among old people. At the end we present some ideas how to teach old people the use of new ICT in the intergenerational relations context.

Key words: old people, new information-communication technologies, information society, intergenerational communication

Meaning of life in the old age
Peter Tavel

On the extent of the experienced meaning and existential frustration different factors exert their influence which can be shown by our survey with different groups of the inhabitants of the Czech republic, Germany, Austria and Slovakia. The most important influence comes from the age of people, and in this field we see that the least problematic group are those between 30 and 39 and the most problematic group are the pensioners, especially those who live in old people's homes.

Key words: meaning of life, existential frustration, faith, belief, old age

The Use Of Creative Activities In Occupational Therapy With Elderly Persons Suffering From
Dementia
Špela Hlede

This article is a presentation of author's diploma where the occupational therapy in the age of elderly with dementia is presented. The discussion is above all about leisure time of dementic clients in the home for elderly. There is a short presentation of dementia, concept of creativity and types of creative activities in the occupational therapy area. The contribution also explicits the importance of creative expression and its influence on the quality of life of people with dementia. As method of work the author used an observation of clients with dementia in different institutions where they live, the observation of activities which are used by occupational therapists for the treatment of these clients and their response to such activities.

Key words: occupational therapy, creative expression, dementia, elderly

Aging society in the USA: condition, trends and concepts
Blaž Lenarčič

In the article are presented some findings concerning aging society in USA, which are taken from the literature available on the World Wide Web in the year 2005.

Key words: old people, USA, retirement, prejudice