Send me The Adult Years: Continuity and Change, The fastest-growing segment of our population consists of those over 85. Is psychology ready to serve an aging and aged population? The Adult Years: Continuity and Change addresses several aspects of this question with chapters and authors that lnclude:'Age-Related Changes In Basic Cognitive Processes' by Timothy A. Salthouse; "Personality Continuity and the Changes of Adult Life" by Paul T. Costa, Jr.

She has written or edited eight books and some 150 research papers, monographs, and review articles dealing with adult development, middle age and aging, the relations between age groups, and social policy issues.

D ncreased productivity is an important social and economic goal. Inflation is rising, citizens are voting for tax reductions and lobbying for limits on government spending. At the same time, the public is demanding quality in government services-in health care, housing, national defense, environmental protection, law enforcement and education. Expectations are rising while dollars are shrinking. Administrators in both the public and private sectors are caught between containing service delivery costs and maintaining, if not improving, the quality of public life.Such administrators are attempting to accrue the wisdom to manage their organizations more effectively. Most recently, they are doing so by focusing efforts on improving productivity-both of the organizations they lead as well as of the personnel they supervise. With the support of such agencies as the Office of Personnel Management, the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Policy Development and Research, the Urban Institute and the newly established National Productivity Council, administrators are trying to understand the complex constellation of factors involved in productivity improvement.Unfortunately, they are baffled. The concept "productivity" is confusing. Problems abound when one attempts to define the term, tries to measure the phenomenon and tries to implement a "productivity ethic," none-the-less a productivity improvement program. It is easy to agree with Chester Newland when he argues that if we understood the factors involved in productivity we would be better able to utilize personnel, to plan for that utilization, to design more effective employee incentive and performance appraisal systems and to be more proficient in productivity bargaining.' The difficulty is in identifying the factors that lead to improved productivity and to link cause and effect. It is comforting likewise to consider W. W. Burke's comment that if we apply what we know about motivation, human nature and productivity we can better address the persistent problems of underemployment and underutilization.' The problem is to relate what we know about human nature and motivation to behavior at work. Particularly in this era of cutback management, we need to explore some ofthe symbolism and mythology which surrounds the term productivity. We need to distinguish between the factors that influence it, the techniques which measure it, the barriers which prevent it and the methods available to improve it. In so doing, we need to be creative in the design of productivity improvements programs, understanding that people are resistant to change and that organizations are idiosyncratic in their needs.

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