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Deutsches Institut für Japanstudien

Venue

German Institute for Japanese Studies (DIJ)
Jochi Kioizaka Bldg. 2F
7-1 Kioicho, Chiyoda-ku
Tokyo 102-0094, Japan
Tel: 03-3222-5198, Fax: 03-3222-5420


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Communication in Institutional Elderly Care: Cross-cultural Perspectives

October 1 - October 2, 2009

Population ageing is a worldwide phenomenon that poses great challenges to the societies concerned. One of these challenges is an ever increasing number of elderly people in need of institutional care. This conference focuses on one fundamental aspect of care: communication. As previous research has shown, linguistic interaction in eldercare facilities takes place under a set of relatively extreme conditions such as time constraints on the part of the care workers and various physical and/or mental deficiencies on the part of the residents. It can be assumed that these conditions apply to most elderly care institutions in late modern societies. How do they shape the way people communicate in these settings? What differences and similarities can be observed across different cultures and languages? And what concepts can be derived from these findings for the linguistic training of care professionals? This conference, which is funded by Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, brings together an international group of specialists to discuss these questions.

The conference language is English. For more information, please contact backhaus@dijtokyo.org

Presentations

Day 1         October 1st (Thursday)

9:45-10:00
Welcoming Remarks

 
Session 1: Case Studies

Chair:

Florian Coulmas


German Institute for Japanese Studies

10:00-10:45
Communication Between Home Helpers and Elderly Citizens in Denmark

Trine Heineman (University of Southern Denmark)

11:30-12:15
Care of People with Alzheimer’s Disease in New Zealand

Margaret Maclagan (University of Canterbury, New Zealand) and Annabel Grant (Massey University, New Zealand)

 
LUNCH BREAK

 
Session 2: Applied Perspectives

Chair:

Heidi Hamilton

14:00-14:45
Dementia Care Communication in Residential Facilities: Intersections of training and research

Boyd Davis (University of North Carolina at Charlotte, USA)

14:45-15:30
Using Narrative Arts to Foster Personhood in Dementia

Ellen Ryan (McMaster University, Canada)

15:30-16:00
COFFEE BREAK

16:00-16:45
Strategies for Creating a Positive Communication Environment in Long Term Care Settings

Rosemary Lubinski (University of Buffalo, USA)

16:45-17:30
Elderspeak in Dementia Care: Incidence and Outcomes

Kristine Williams (University of Kansas, USA)

19:00-21.00
CONFERENCE DINNER

Day 2         October 2nd (Friday)

 
Session 3: Case Studies

10:00-10:45
Me Nurse You Resident: Institutional Role Play in a Japanese Caring Facility

Peter Backhaus


German Institute for Japanese Studies

11:30-12:15
Communication in a Dutch Caring Institution

Agnes Maria Engbersen (Hanze University Groningen, Netherlands)

12:15-14:00
LUNCH BREAK

 
Session 4: Beyond the Institution

Chair:

Ellen Ryan

14:00-14:45
At the Intersection of Art, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Discourse: Talk in Response to Museum Paintings

Heidi Hamilton (Georgetown University, USA)

14:45-15:30
Interactions Among Autonomously Living Elderly and Elderly Living in a Caring Facility

Christina K. Englert (University of Groningen, Netherlands)

15:30-16:15
Discourse of Non-institutionalized Elderly in Japan

Yoshiko Matsumoto (Stanford University, USA)

16:15-16:30
COFFEE BREAK

16:30-17:30
Final Discussion

<h3> 30.9.2009:</h3>
 

19:00-21:00
WELCOME RECEPTION

  • Each presentation includes 15 minutes for discussion

Related Research Projects

Communication between staff and residents in a Japanese nursing home for the elderly

Challenges of Demographic Change