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High work ability in the scientific activity of older and experienced academics
Abstract
At present the health of people in theirs 60s is the same as in theirs 50s around fifty years ago. Using older academics is a topical problem for universities in remaining efficient. Data regarding academics' scientific productivity at universities were collected and questionnaires compiled in the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Tallinn University of Technology in Estonia. Studies showed that the productivity of academics at university increases as they grow older (into their 60s). These academics are valuable to the university. The choice of academics should be made according to the candidates' knowledge and ability to work.
... Businesses are understanding that people may become physically slightly weaker as they approach their 60s, but they are very productive mentally and this idea of retirement is not beneficial but detrimental and they can be fruitfully utilized [19]. Academicians also tend to show high productivity during the old age [20][21]. According to contemporary economic research, demand for older worker is on the rise [22]. ...
This research, therefore, takes a step ahead from only deliberating on the economic dimensions of aging in India in particular and the world in general. Improving the healthcare provisions and geriatric care is only one aspect of the larger agenda of making the life of the aging population meaningful. This research will be done with the objective of and as a quest for developing an empathetic model of an aging. This can act as an alternative to the neglected life the aging population has to live in lack of care without family and societal support. Free governmental and subsidized private social security and health schemes can only solve the physical health issue not their social and emotional well-being and hence overall health and well-being.
Thus, the question of interest is – “How can aged people be utilized in a more productive way to make their lives more meaningful for themselves, their families, and neighbourhoods especially children who are the real wealth of nations? This is taking break from the older connotations for wealth of nations i.e., money, gold, and Kohinoor diamond etc. and pursuit of its accumulation. The authors believe that productive and meaningful engagement of the old age people substantially reduces aging affects and early death (though it is inevitable)? This belief is based on experiences and observation of several cases of retired bureaucrats, academicians, primary school principals and teachers from the formal sector, semi-formal workers like Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs), Anganwadi workers etc. and many voluntary workers especially women.
... En la primera mitad del siglo XX, la mirada de los especialistas se ha concentrado en identificar las habilidades metacognitivas que propician resultados favorables en tareas intelectuales, como la memoria, la imaginación, el razonamiento, la inteligencia y la creatividad (Rivas, 2011;Kristjuhan & Taidre, 2012;Araujo, Cruz, Sié & Yakhlef, 2017). Recientemente, la discusión sobre este último elemento se ha extendido en buena parte de las investigaciones, pues se considera a la creatividad como una cualidad de la mente que permite asumir riesgos y cambiar perspectivas teóricas. ...
The objectives of this article are to construct a theoretical framework that supports the study of the excellence of university faculty in future research and to identify the professional traits that contribute to the successful development of teaching and research. Twenty-six articles in Spanish and English were reviewed, as well as three books which have been published on the subject in Mexico, Spain, the United States and China, whose most relevant contributions were systematically analyzed and grouped into three competencies: personal, teaching and scientific. The results allowed us to know that this is a polysemic concept that is under constant construction and that has gained importance in the last ten years due to educational policies that promote quality in universities. This practice contains a set of intellectual and social-emotional qualities and abilities that favor scientific production, the construction of meaningful learning environments, collegial work and a good relationship with the students.
... 19 On the other hand, however, Thomas Edison was apparently still active in the laboratory at the age of 80. 20 Similarly, an early study of mathematicians and scientists found that their annual citations did not peak until a mean age of 59. 21 A more recent investigation found that the productivity of university academics increased as they grew older (into their 60s). 22 Motivation probably has less to do with financial reasons by this age, however, with one study reporting that academics who worked beyond the age of 70, usually did so because of the intrinsic rewards of their work. 23 Although establishing the most productive age among EOH researchers is a difficult task, a brief look at some early pioneers in our field suggests that outstanding performance was often evident at relatively young ages. ...
Aim of the study was to measure telework usage and to explore interactions between health, workload and telework. Telework is work that is carried out outside the central office, involving new technology that permits communication. Work carried out at any time, at any place, has been very common in the case of research institutes and universities. This type of work has advantages and disadvantages for both an employee and employer. The study of telework was carried out in Tallinn University of Technology (TUT) where working at home has been very common for a long time. The questionnaires were sent to academic personnel. The study shows that academic employees preferred teleworking for better concentration on work and saving time and money. There was no significant difference in telework usage by age and teleworkers had fewer complaints about tired eyes, arterial hypertension and stress.
Declining research productivity with age is implied by economic models of life-cycle human capital investment but is denied
by some recent empirical studies. The purpose of the present study is to provide new evidence on whether a scientist's output
generally declines with advancing age. A longitudinal data set has been compiled for scientists and mathematicians at six
major departments, including data on age, salaries, annual citations (stock of human capital), citations to current output
(flow of human capital), and quantity of current output measured both in number of articles and in number of pages. Analysis
of the data indicates that salaries peak from the early to mid-60s, whereas annual citations appear to peak from age 39 to
89 for different departments with a mean age of 59 for the 6 departments. The quantity and quality of current research output
appear to decline continuously with age.
A special exemption from the 1986 Age Discrimination Act allowed colleges and universities to enforce mandatory retirement of faculty at age 70 until 1994. We construct a survey that permits us to compare faculty turnover rates before and after the law changed at a large sample of institutions with defined contribution pension plans. After the elimination of compulsory retirement the retirement rates of 70- and 71-year-olds fell by two-thirds and were comparable to rates of 69-year-olds. These findings indicate that U.S. colleges and universities will experience a rise in the number of older faculty over the coming years. (JEL J26, I21)
This interview study uses both quantitative and qualitative data to: (1) compare personal and professional characteristics of professors who continue to work in their career jobs after age 70 with professors of the same age who retire; (2) explore reasons professors give for continuing to work or to retire; and (3) compare satisfaction levels of the employed and retired groups. Respondents were 17 employed (response rate 94%)and 54 retired (response rate 83%) professors aged 70-74 from a major research university, the type of institution most likely to be impacted by the end of mandatory retirement (Hammond & Morgan, 1991). Results indicated that employed professors were (1) less likely to be married or to have children and grandchildren and (2) were more strongly oriented to the professional role and professional ties outside the university than were their retired counterparts. Employed professors said they continued to work mainly because they enjoyed it, whereas retired professors said they retired because they wanted to do other things, felt it was time to retire, or had workplace concerns. Both faculty groups showed high levels of life satisfaction.