Social networks, migration, and care in Tanzania

This paper explores the impacts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic on children and families in northern Tanzania using the concept of social resilience.1 The study is based on the findings of childfocused research with street children and children and families from HIV/AIDS-affected households. The paper illustrates the coping strategies that children and young people, and parents and caregivers adopt at the household level. In particular, it examines how the burden of care affects different generations of women and highlights their resilience, together with the importance of social networks and the fluidity of movement between rural and urban areas. The research suggests that migrating to urban areas to seek a living in the informal sector represents a survival strategy adopted by some children and young people orphaned by AIDS when their families and communities are unable or unwilling to support them. The paper concludes by exploring parents’, caregivers’, children’s, and young people’s views on the forms of social support that would promote their resilience and thereby help to mitigate the impacts of the epidemic at the household level.

Consumer-based brand equity conceptualisation and measurement: a literature review

Although there is a large body of research on brand equity, little in terms of a literature review has been published on this since Feldwick's (1996) paper. To address this gap, this paper brings together the scattered literature on consumer-based brand equity's conceptualisation and measurement. Measures of consumer-based brand equity are classified as either direct or indirect. Indirect measures assess consumer-based brand equity through its demonstrable dimensions and are superior from a diagnostic level. The paper concludes with directions for future research and managerial pointers for setting up a brand equity measurement system.

Developmental changes in the balance of disparity, blur and looming/proximity cues to drive ocular alignment and focus

Accurate co-ordination of accommodation and convergence is necessary to view near objects and develop fine motor co-ordination. We used a remote haploscopic videorefraction paradigm to measure longitudinal changes in simultaneous ocular accommodation and vergence to targets at different depths, and to all combinations of blur, binocular disparity, and change-in-size (“proximity”) cues. Infants were followed longitudinally and compared to older children and young adults, with the prediction that sensitivity to different cues would change during development. Mean infant responses to the most naturalistic condition were similar to those of adults from 6-7 weeks (accommodation) and 8-9 weeks (vergence). Proximity cues influenced responses most in infants less than 14 weeks of age, but sensitivity declined thereafter. Between 12-28 weeks of age infants were equally responsive to all three cues, while in older children and adults manipulation of disparity resulted in the greatest changes in response. Despite rapid development of visual acuity (thus increasing availability of blur cues), responses to blur were stable throughout development. Our results suggest that during much of infancy, vergence and accommodation responses are not dependent on the development of specific depth cues, but make use of any cues available to drive appropriate changes in response.

Both younger and older adults have difficulty updating emotional memories

Objective. The main purpose of the study was to examine whether emotion impairs associative memory for previously seen items in older adults, as previously observed in younger adults. Method. Thirty-two younger adults and 32 older adults participated. The experiment consisted of 2 parts. In Part 1, participants learned picture–object associations for negative and neutral pictures. In Part 2, they learned picture–location associations for negative and neutral pictures; half of these pictures were seen in Part 1 whereas the other half were new. The dependent measure was how many locations of negative versus neutral items in the new versus old categories participants remembered in Part 2. Results. Both groups had more difficulty learning the locations of old negative pictures than of new negative pictures. However, this pattern was not observed for neutral items. Discussion. Despite the fact that older adults showed overall decline in associative memory, the impairing effect of emotion on updating associative memory was similar between younger and older adults.

Memory for medication side effects in younger and older adults: the role of subjective and objective importance

Older adults often experience memory impairments, but can sometimes use selective processing and schematic support to remember important information. The current experiments investigate to what degree younger and healthy older adults remember medication side effects that were subjectively or objectively important to remember. Participants studied a list of common side effects, and rated how negative these effects were if they were to experience them, and were then given a free recall test. In Experiment 1, the severity of the side effects ranged from mild (e.g., itching) to severe (e.g., stroke), and in Experiment 2, certain side effects were indicated as critical to remember (i.e., “contact your doctor if you experience this”). There were no age differences in terms of free recall of the side effects, and older adults remembered more severe side effects relative to mild effects. However, older adults were less likely to recognize critical side effects on a later recognition test, relative to younger adults. The findings suggest that older adults can selectively remember medication side effects, but have difficulty identifying familiar but potentially critical side effects, and this has implications for monitoring medication use in older age.

Computerised therapies for anxiety and depression in children and young people: a systematic review and meta-anaylsis

One quarter of children and young people (CYP) experience anxiety and/or depression before adulthood, but treatment is sometimes unavailable or inadequate. Self-help interventions may have a role in augmenting treatment and this work aimed to systematically review the evidence for computerised anxiety and depression interventions in CYP aged 5–25 years old. Databases were searched for randomised controlled trials and 27 studies were identified. For young people (12–25 years) with risk of diagnosed anxiety disorders or depression, computerised CBT (cCBT) had positive effects for symptoms of anxiety (SMD −0.77, 95% CI −1.45 to −0.09, k = 6, N = 220) and depression (SMD −0.62, 95% CI −1.13 to −0.11, k = 7, N = 279). In a general population study of young people, there were small positive effects for anxiety (SMD −0.15, 95% CI −0.26 to −0.03; N = 1273) and depression (SMD −0.15, 95% CI −0.26 to −0.03; N = 1280). There was uncertainty around the effectiveness of cCBT in children (5–11 years). Evidence for other computerised interventions was sparse and inconclusive. Computerised CBT has potential for treating and preventing anxiety and depression in clinical and general populations of young people. Further program development and research is required to extend its use and establish its benefit in children.

Memory for allergies and health foods: how younger and older adults strategically remember critical health information

Objectives. While older adults often display memory deficits, with practice they can sometimes selectively remember valuable information at the expense of less value information. We examined age-related differences and similarities in memory for health-related information under conditions where some information was critical to remember. Method. In Experiment 1, participants studied three lists of allergens, ranging in severity from 0 (not a health risk) to 10 (potentially fatal), with the instruction that it was particularly important to remember items to which a fictional relative was most severely allergic. After each list, participants received feedback regarding their recall of the high-value allergens. Experiment 2 examined memory for health benefits, presenting foods that were potentially beneficial to the relative’s immune system. Results. While younger adults exhibited better overall memory for the allergens, both age groups in Experiment 1 developed improved selectivity across the lists, with no evident age differences in severe allergen recall by List 2. Selectivity also developed in Experiment 2, although age differences for items of high health benefit were present. Discussion. The results have implications for models of selective memory in older age, and for how aging influences the ability to strategically remember important information within health-related contexts.

Treatment non-adherence in teenage and young adult patients with cancer

Adhering to treatment can be a significant issue for many patients diagnosed with chronic health conditions and this has been reported to be greater during the adolescent years. However, little is known about treatment adherence in teenage and young adult (TYA) patients with cancer. To increase awareness of the adherence challenges faced by these patients, we have reviewed the published work. The available evidence suggests that a substantial proportion of TYA patients with cancer do have difficulties, with reports that up to 63% of patients do not adhere to their treatment regimens. However, with inconsistent findings across studies, the true extent of non-adherence for these young patients is still unclear. Furthermore, it is apparent that there are many components of the cancer treatment regimen that have yet to be assessed in relation to patient adherence. Factors that have been shown to affect treatment adherence in TYA patients include patient emotional functioning (depression and self-esteem), patient health beliefs (perceived illness severity and vulnerability), and family environment (parental support and parent–child concordance). Strategies that foster greater patient adherence are also identified. These strategies are multifactorial, targeting not only the patient, but the health professional, family, and treatment regimen. This review highlights the lack of interventional studies addressing treatment adherence in TYA patients with cancer, with only one such intervention being identified: a video game intervention focusing on behavioural issues related to cancer treatment and care. Methodological issues in measuring adherence are addressed and suggestions for improving the design of future adherence studies highlighted, of which there is a great need.

Thirst for knowledge: the effects of curiosity and interest on memory in younger and older adults

Given age-related memory impairments, one’s level of curiosity or interest could enhance memory for certain information. In the current study, younger and older adults read trivia questions, rated how curious they were to learn each answer, provided confidence and interest ratings, and judgments of learning (JOL) after learning the answer. No age-related differences in memory were found. Analyses indicated that curiosity and interest contributed to the formation of JOLs. Additionally, interest had a unique increasing relationship with older, but not younger, adults’ memory performance after a week. The results suggest that subjective interest may serve to enhance older adults’ memory.

Interviewing children and young people with learning disabilities: guidelines for researchers and multi-professional practice

We argue that it is important for researchers and service providers to not only recognize the rights of children and young people with learning disabilities to have a ‘voice’, but also to work actively towards eliciting views from all. A set of guidelines for critical self-evaluation by those engaged in systematically collecting the views of children and young people with learning disabilities is proposed. The guidelines are based on a series of questions concerning: research aims and ethics (encompassing access/gatekeepers; consent/assent; confidentiality/anonymity/secrecy, recognition, feedback and ownership; and social responsibility) sampling, design and communication