ERA 2005 – 4th National Conference of Emerging Researchers in Ageing
The 4th National Emerging Researchers in Ageing Conference, ERA 2005, was held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Tuesday the 8th of November, and was a great success! For those of you unfamiliar with ERA it is an annual conference hosted by the Australasian Centre on Ageing which showcases the research conducted by PhD students from around the country. This year presenters were drawn from every Australian state, and even New Zealand.
The theme of the conference was “The Diversity of Ageing: Pooling the Evidence” and ERA 2005 definitely delivered a program that emphasized diversity. ERA 2005 highlighted the diversity of research topics and approaches to the study of ageing, with presenters drawn from many varied disciplines such as: medicine, nursing, human movement, social work, sociology, political science, anthropology, psychology, business, management, law and the leisure sciences.
Even the audience was diverse, with representatives of older people’s organizations and all levels of government, as well as providers, practitioners, the media, academics, students and members of the public attending.
The day was thoroughly enjoyed by all, and the feedback from delegates was very positive. The post-conference evaluation revealed that everyone was satisfied with the quality of the presentations (with 50% very satisfied), the conference organization (with 54% extremely satisfied), the conference venue (with 57% extremely satisfied) and the keynote speaker (with 45% very satisfied). Delegates found the diversity of topics presented (41%) and the quality of the presentations (22%) to be the highlights of the day.
Some of the comments from delegates were:
“A great conference, I came away enthused and invigorated. I’m only sorry it has taken me so long to find out about it!”
“You’ve made it possible to hear some very informative and insightful presentations on ageing”.
“A very encouraging forum to attend. I’d recommend it highly to all gerontology students in the future”.
For general photos of the day please click here
The opening panel & keynote speaker
The opening panel included representatives of the Commonwealth Government and the Chancellor of the University of Queensland. Professor Hal Kendig, National Convenor of the ARC-NHMRC Research Network on Ageing Well, gave the Keynote Address on “Research Approaches to Understanding Diversity in Ageing”. Professor Helen Bartlett, Director, welcomed delegates on behalf of the Australasian Centre on Ageing, and Donna Pinsker gave the welcome on behalf of the students.
The presentations
Fifty-nine PhD students presented their research on the day. The day highlighted the diversity of older people (e.g. of different ages, rural and urban, different ethnic backgrounds), the diversity of situations older people find themselves in (e.g. living independently, living in aged care facilities, raising their grandchildren), the diverse issues they face (e.g. financial issues, retirement and workforce issues, transport issues, cognitive impairment and memory loss, mobility issues and falls, health problems, crime, depression, suicide), and the diverse activities that they participate in (e.g. physical activity, leisure activities, alcohol consumption, driving, etc). These diverse topics were divided into the following sessions:
• Ageing and society
• Aged care
• Cross-cultural ageing
• Diversity within Australia
• Health Outcomeshotos
• Caring
• Mobility issues and falls
• Physical activity
• Self-rated health, well-being and quality of life
• Work, retirement and financial issues
• Cognition
• Older people at risk
The prizes awarded
As in previous years, prizes were awarded to acknowledge outstanding performances.
• Best Proceedings Paper - Anne Hillman
• Runner-Up Paper - Wendy Lee Kyle
• Best Presentation - Siobhan O’Dwyer
• Runner-Up Presentation - Will Edwards
In memory of Norman Smith, Adjunct Professor of ACA, an encouragement award was presented by Helen Cameron-Smith to Robab Sahaf who conducted her first presentation in English at ERA 2005. In honour of Norman, the Norman Smith Encouragement Award will become a regular feature of ERA.
Special thanks go to all those that made ERA 2005 such a huge success: the official speakers, the PhD presenters, the delegates, the staff at ACA, and especially our sponsors: The Australian Government, Department of Health and Ageing; Queensland Government, Department of Communities and Queensland Transport; Blue Care; Aged Care Queensland; and the Brisbane City Council.
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