Emotional Well-Being Following a Later Life Career Change: The Roles of Agency and Resources.

More individuals are attempting career changes in later life, as an increasing number of people face precarious retirement prospects. Although many of these older job seekers eventually find new livelihoods, little is known about their emotional well-being subsequent to these changes. Using the 2014 American Institute for Economic Research Older Worker Survey, we evaluate the contributions of demographic characteristics, agency, and resources when estimating three measures of emotional well-being following a successful later life career change ( n = 337). We found that having financial resources during the career transition was associated with all three positive emotional outcomes, while family support and intentionality were also associated with positive emotions. Conversely, prior job prestige and purposeful job training had no relationships with subsequent well-being. These results suggest that later life career changes, despite their challenges, often result in positive emotional outlooks-for those who have the resources to support them.

Survivor voices: co-learning, re-connection, and healing through community action research and engagement (CARE).

This article describes the Trauma Healing Project (THP: www.http//healingattention.org), the Survivor Voices study (n = 351), and the complementary nature of community- campus partnerships (CCP) and community-based participatory action research methodology (PAR). Survivor Voices-a random digit telephone survey developed by, conducted, analyzed, and disseminated by survivors of abuse and violence, university researchers, and students-was designed to learn from survivors about what hurt and about what helped with regard to how people responded to their trauma, and what they recommend for trauma healing. We feature our CCP, including challenges faced, how we have addressed those challenges, and profile our current findings. We describe how PAR and CCPs can be very useful tools toward the development of a community-wide effort to reduce violence and support trauma healing.

Masculinity in nontraditional occupations: ecological constructions.

The authors present Bronfenbrenner's ecological model as a conceptual framework to explore interlocking systemic and interpersonal influences on the development and perpetuation of men's gender role-related distress. To demonstrate the utility of this model, the authors present results from an exploratory qualitative study of men in nontraditional occupations. Using the constant comparison method, the authors' analysis of multiple interviews with elementary educators and medical support staff unearthed interwoven themes among the effects of cultural notions of masculinity on relationships, job tasks, and perceptions of themselves as men. Expectations about men (e.g., that men confront danger, remain calm in chaotic situations, and/or are predators) affected hiring decisions and interactions with colleagues, limited the scope of the men's work, and provided opportunities to reinforce traditional notions of masculinity and affirm the value of masculinity in their occupations. These different experiences all interacted to inform participants' senses of themselves as men.

Liquid semen storage in elephants (Elephas maximus and Loxodonta africana): species differences and storage optimization.

Artificial insemination plays a key role in the genetic management of elephants in zoos. Because freshly extended semen is typically used for artificial insemination in elephants, it has become imperative to optimize conditions for liquid storage and semen transport. The objectives of this study were to examine the interactions between different extenders and storage temperatures on sperm total motility, progressive motility, and acrosomal integrity in Asian (Elephas maximus) and African (Loxodonta africana) elephants. Ejaculates were collected by rectal massage, diluted using a split-sample technique in 5 semen extenders: TL-Hepes (HEP), Modena (MOD), Biladyl (BIL), TEST refrigeration medium (TES), and INRA96 (INR), maintained at 35°C, 22°C, or 4°C. At 0, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours, aliquots were removed and assessed for sperm total motility, progressive motility, and acrosomal integrity. After 24 hours of storage, African elephant spermatozoa exhibited greater longevity and higher values in sperm quality parameters compared with those of Asian elephants. In both species, semen storage at 35°C resulted in a sharp decline in all sperm quality parameters after 4 hours of storage, whereas storage at 22°C and 4°C facilitated sperm survival. In Asian elephants, MOD and HEP were most detrimental, whereas BIL, TES, and INR maintained motility up to 12 hours when spermatozoa were cooled to 22°Cor4°C. In African elephants, there were no differences among extenders. All media maintained good sperm quality parameters at 22°C or 4°C. However, although MOD, BIL, and INR were most effective at lower temperatures, HEP and TES maintained sperm motility at all storage temperatures. This study demonstrated sperm sensitivity to components of various semen extenders and storage temperatures and offers recommendations for semen extender choices for liquid semen storage for both Asian and African elephants.

Social factors influence ovarian acyclicity in captive African elephants (Loxodonta africana).

Nearly one-third of reproductive age African elephants in North America that are hormonally monitored fail to exhibit estrous cycle activity, which exacerbates the nonsustainability of the captive population. Three surveys were distributed to facilities housing female African elephants to determine how social and environmental variables contribute to cyclicity problems. Forty-six facilities returned all three surveys providing information on 90% of the SSP population and 106 elephants (64 cycling, 27 noncycling and 15 undetermined). Logistic analyses found that some physiological and social history variables were related to ovarian acyclicity. Females more likely to be acyclic had a larger body mass index and had resided longer at a facility with the same herdmates. Results suggest that controlling the weight of an elephant might be a first step to helping mitigate estrous cycle problems. Data further show that transferring females among facilities has no major impact on ovarian activity. Last, social status appears to impact cyclicity status; at 19 of 21 facilities that housed both cycling and noncycling elephants, the dominant female was acyclic. Further studies on how social and environmental dynamics affect hormone levels in free-living, cycling elephants are needed to determine whether acyclicity is strictly a captivity-related phenomenon.