Research on international retirement migration has so far focused on quantitative measures of migration, migrants' wellbeing, reasons for migration and consequences of migration in the receiving areas, while paying scant attention to the transnational experiences of the migrants. Research on transnational forms of living, on the other hand, has largely ignored the life projects of retirees. This paper tries to bridge that gap, by investigating experiences of transnational mobility, multiple place attachment and cultural differences among Swedish retirees pursuing seasonal migration between Sweden and Spain. Qualitative interviews were made with 46 respondents who spent at least three months per year in each country. The analysis of the interviews produced three ideal-typical transnational lifestyles: translocal normality, multilocal adaptation and routinised sojourning. These lifestyles reflect different strategies for managing cultural difference, but also different forms and aspects of place attachment and different ideals of mobility.

Within the framework of an international research project aimed at studying the impact of different cultural settings on gerotranscendent development, six groups of older people distinguished by religiosity and cultural origin were studied. A life history approach, followed by thematic semi-structured interviews, was applied. One of the objectives was to inquire about the possible impact of religion, conceived of as a cultural setting, on development towards gerotranscendence. The findings of this inquiry gave rise to two hypotheses as to the relationship between gerotranscendence and religiosity. The first hypothesis is that the internalisation of mystical-type ideas in individuals' ways of thinking is probably a factor involved in the development of a gerotranscendent view of life. In other words, whether individuals practice their ‘religion’ in a spiritual, nonorganisational way, or in an organisational way, may play a role for development towards gerotranscendence. The second hypothesis is that certain characteristics, such as the secular and individualistic features of modern societies, may delay development towards gerotranscendence.

Autonomy is considered to be one of the central ethical principles of health care practice and as such is a significantly relevant concept for health care practitioners. With the many political and ideological drivers that challenge the way health care for older people is currently delivered, it is important to consider how the autonomy of older people is facilitated in everyday practice. In this paper I challenge the dominant understanding of autonomy as ‘individualism’. Through research undertaken with nurses who work with older people, it identifies the conflicts that arise between an individualistic understanding of autonomy set alongside an emphasis on ‘person-centred’ practice.

Data were collected by recording ‘naturally occurring’ conversations between nurses, patients and associated practitioners. Primary nurses recorded conversations occurring between them and four patients throughout their hospital stay. In addition, a recognised expert gerontological nurse and a community nurse specialist participated as a means of testing out initial themes generated by the primary nurses. A total of 14 case studies were recorded. The data were analysed using principles of conversation analysis and thematic analysis set within a hermeneutic interpretive framework. In order to illuminate presentations of autonomy in practice, focus group discussions with nurses and older people were used as part of the interpretative process. I discuss the factors that prevented the operationalisation of an individualised rights-based concept of autonomy for older people. Issues including information-giving, the conversation style of nurses, internal and external constraints and patients' competence to decide are considered. In addition, the role of families in decision-making is addressed. The paper ends with a discussion of an alternative view of autonomy based on ‘interconnectedness’ in the nurse-patient relationship. This perspective is not based on either the patient or nurse being the ‘final arbiter’ of decisions, but is instead set within a framework of negotiation.

The study investigated marital relations among a sample of 569 Israeli participants at three stages of late adulthood: remote pre-retirement (seven to ten years prior to retirement), near-retirement (up to two years prior to retirement), and post-retirement (up to two years after retirement). The following variables were examined: spousal resources, marital power relations, quality of marriage, and division of household tasks. The study attempted to determine whether there were differences in marital relations during the three life stages, and whether those differences were evident for men and women. The findings reveal that for both men and women, marital relations were more intensive in remote pre-retirement than in the two subsequent stages. In addition, division of feminine household tasks was found to be more egalitarian at later stages of marital life. However, similarities were revealed in most aspects of power relations as well as in spousal resources and performance of masculine household tasks during the three life stages examined. Several gender-based differences were also noted in all three stages. Specifically, the men tended to report an advantage in financial and social resources, as well as in emotional hardiness. With respect to power relations, the men also showed a greater tendency to make major decisions, whereas the women tended to make minor decisions and contributed more toward strengthening the family.

It is argued that conflicts arise in social gerontology because conceptual frameworks are not sufficiently developed. Taking a broad definition of conceptual frameworks that includes political awareness, I argue that the theoretical works of Anne Phillips and Nancy Fraser have much to offer when applied to social gerontology. It is, however, essential first to theorise later life in terms of difference and diversity and the potential for conflict between concepts. The main argument is that when researching a devalued group such as elders, the political aspects of research cannot be ignored even when researchers aim to be ‘apolitical’, and that research will be helped by considering the politics of equality under the headings of: universalism and particularism; convergence and recognition; cultural valorisation and redistribution; and redress and transformation. These categories are not completely separate and may overlap. Just as aspects of disadvantage are complex and interact, so are the remedies or theorisations that can be deployed.

Mirroring the development in the social sciences as a whole, social gerontology has been characterised by an increasing internationalisation in recent years. While the English language remains the prime medium for communication, there is a rapidly expanding research literature published in other major world languages. This raises practical difficulties for researchers lacking the relevant linguistic skills to engage with the findings of research published in languages other than English. It is within this context that this Ageing Update addresses the current state of social gerontology in Germany. Drawing primarily upon sources published in the German language between 1997 and 2000, the article provides an overview of the historical development of research on social and behavioural aspects of ageing in Germany. It then proceeds to address some of the main themes and trends associated with what, by any measure, is a substantial amount of recent research. This analysis offers a basis for illustrating, in a short concluding section, the significant strengths and some areas of apparent weaknesses in the current state of German social gerontology.

Pat Thane. Old Age in English History: Past Experiences, Present Issues. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2000. 536 pp. £25.00 ISBN 0-19-820382-9.

John Macnicol. The Politics of Retirement in Britain, 1878-1948. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. 425 pp, £47.50, ISBN 0-52162273- 5.

Research on the history of old age has been an important area of scholarship in gerontology over the past two decades. From the impetus provided by Laslett's work in the 1960s and 1970s, historical research had opened out by the 1980s into what Stearns and Van Tassel viewed as a ‘promising and provocative subfield of social history’ (1986: ix).