No description available.

Falls are the most frequent cause of injury-related hospitalization and death for people 65 years and older in Canada (Canadian Institute of Health Information, 1998; Langlois et al., 1995; Raina & Torrance, 1996). Studies show the etiology of a falls to be a complex combination of factors that reflect physical, behavioral and social conditions operating alone, or in conjunction with environmental hazards (Speechley & Tinetti, 1991; O'Loughlin et al., 1993). However, the particular role of these factors in relation to falls that result in injury— the subject of this study— is less well understood. Fall-related injuries among frail, older, community-dwelling adults are the focus of this study due to the growing numbers of seniors living in the community who have multiple chronic conditions, the serious consequences of many of these events for this population, and the mounting costs related to treatment. The purpose of this study was to understand the extent and nature of fall-related injuries among frail older adults and to examine the patterns and compounding effects of a wide range of variables representing biological, behavioural, environmental, social and economic risk factors. Differences were examined for risk factors among fallers, nonfallers, injured and non-injured persons. The secondary data used for this study were provided through the University of Victoria Centre on Aging in British Columbia and are based on the Capital Regional District (CRD) Patterns of Care Survey 1995-96 (Centre on Aging, 1996). The data from the CRD Survey are based on interviews with frail community-dwelling seniors represented by two purposefully selected groups. One group consisted of over 3,000 seniors in the CRD receiving publicly-funded home support services in 1995, and the other, a matched sample of 810 seniors screened by age, gender and functional limitations, drawn from the 56,774 seniors in the CRD not receiving home support services. Five hundred and six participants were randomly selected from each group. Of the 1012 respondents to the CRD Survey, 245 reported a fall with an injury, 91 reported falling without an injury and 675 were non-fallers (fall data were missing for one case). Findings showed that 72.9% of those who fell reported being injured as a result of one or more of their falls. This injury rate is considerably higher than that found in other studies that look at the general population of persons aged 65 and over. These differences are explained by the precondition of frailty that defines the population in the CRD Survey. Findings also differ from most other studies in the lack of association found between falls with injury and advanced age or female gender, indicating the strong influence of frailty, regardless of age or gender, for this sample. The results indicate that considerable differences exist in the patterns and combined effect of multiple risk factors between older adults who fall and sustain an injury and those who do not. The findings both confirm and contradict the findings of earlier studies, as well as shedding light on factors not previously studied. This study was conducted from a critical gerontological perspective. This perspective is particularly relevant to the study of seniors’ issues that are influenced by a complex combination of factors— such as fall-related injuries— as it enables an examination of multiple perspectives of the issue within larger social, economic and political contexts. A critical gerontological framework was use in this study to guide the selection of variables, to explain the findings in light of previous knowledge, and to critically examine social policies that influence the ability to implement strategies for prevention. / Graduate

ABSTRACT The relationship between subjective age identity and ideal age, as measured by the Subjective Age Identity Scale (Hubley, 2004), and personality domains and facets, as measured by the NEO-PI-R (Costa & McCrae, 1992), was investigated in a sample of 210 adults ages 19 to 78. Subjective age and ideal age scores were regressed, using multiple standard regressions, on the NEO-PI-R domains and facets, respectively. Results indicated that 22% of the variance in subjective age identity scores was explained by personality domains whereas 27% was explained by personality facets. Specifically, two personality domains (Openness to Experience and Neuroticism) and one personality facet (Aesthetics) made significant unique contributions to the explained variance in subjective age scores. Very little variance in ideal age scores was explained by personality domains and facets (less than 10%). One domain (Openness to Experience) and two facets (Vulnerability to Stress and Values) made significant unique contributions to the explained variance in the ideal age scores. These findings are examined in the context of the previous research on the relationship between personality and subjective age and the importance of conducting both domain and facet level analyses when using the NEO-PI-R is discussed. Implications of the present findings for counselling and clinical work with persons facing age role transitions or other age related concerns (e.g., negative attitudes towards aging) are highlighted. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The main purpose of this study was to examine some of the effects of normal aging on test performance where: (a) short-term memory was an important component (b) intellectual and psychomotor speed was involved. Six related hypotheses were investigated using a group of tests administered individually to each subject during a one hour testing period. The degree and nature of change in test performance was studied on a sample of 120 volunteers aged eleven to seventy. There were ten males and ten females in each decade group, and subjects were assigned at random to different treatments where this was necessary to avoid practice effects. Hebb's (1949, 1961) theory was used as a frame of reference, augmented by the theories of Welford (1958) and of Broadbent (1958, 1963). An attempt was made to evaluate the Maturation Degeneration Hypothesis on the basis of the experimental results, with reference to Dorken's (1958) contention that the normal effects of aging on intellectual function have often been over-emphasized. The tests were grouped into two general classes: those which measured speed of performance on familiar tasks; and those which examined the relationship between aging and interference on memory with regard to both familiar and unfamiliar tasks. The experimental results showed a tendency to follow the pattern predicted by the Maturation Degeneration Hypothesis, although analysis failed to show a statistically significant relationship between aging and performance on all of the tests. Nevertheless, it is reasonable to conclude, on the basis of these experimental results that: (l) The theoretical formulations of Hebb, Welford and Broadbent may be useful in explaining some changes in mental function which accompany advancing age. (2) Speed of performance decreases from the twenties to the sixties, although this decline is not statistically significant for all tasks involving rote repetition of familiar everyday verbal material. (3) Aging appears to have less effect than commonly supposed, on the amount of verbal and numerical material which can be grasped and retained over a short period of time under the conditions used here. (4) There was no significant relationship between aging and performance on a verbal learning test provided the recognition method was used to test retention. However, there was a significant decrease with aging and performance when tested by recall. (5) There is a relationship between aging and the effects of interference, although this relationship was found not to be statistically significant in the tasks used here. (6) Performance on a test requiring extensive reorganization of pre-existing habits declined significantly with aging which suggests that learning difficulty in older people is partly a function of the amount of interference from old habits. By and large the results were in line with expectation and tended to support Dorken's view that changes in cognitive functions with age, and in the absence of cerebral pathology, are less drastic than is commonly held to be the case. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

The modern critics offer two different approaches regarding characterization in Golden Age Spanish theatre. The first approached, used by the majority of literary critics, consists in assuming that that the reader has to discover something that is hidden in the text. According to this approach, stage characters are creations of the author who, like a great architect, produces personalities that the reader has to discover. On the other hand, there are critics who claim that the characters have to be constructed by the reader. (José María Ruano de la Haza, Víctor Dixon). The main goal of my thesis is to elaborate a methodology for the constriction of dramatic characters and apply it to the six “prototypical” characters described in the classic study by Juana de José Prades.

Prospective memory refers to remembering to carry out an intended or planned action, such as keeping a doctor's appointment or telling a friend about an upcoming party. Despite its importance in everyday life, prospective memory has received little empirical or theoretical attention. Rather, much of the literature has focused on retrospective memory, that is, memory for information learnt in the past. The current literature on prospective memory addresses five aspects that are necessary for carrying out an intended action. These are (a) formulating the plan; (b) having the knowledge necessary to carry out the plan; (c) remembering the plan at the appropriate time; (d) carrying out the plan; and (e) remembering that the plan has been performed. The literature also raises three fundamental questions. Namely, whether prospective and retrospective memory involve different processes, whether self-report and behavioral measures of prospective memory are correlated, and whether prospective memory performance varies as a function of age. These questions were the focus of the exploratory studies presented in this dissertation. The first three studies involved the development of a memory diary, a memory questionnaire, and a metamemory questionnaire, respectively. These instruments were used in the fourth and fifth studies. Studies 4 and 5 also included behavioral measures of prospective memory and objective measures of retrospective memory. The fourth study examined how community-dwelling adults feel about, and use, their memory on a daily basis. In accordance with previous research, no age differences were observed on the behavioral measures of prospective memory. Moreover, performance on the self-report measures did not differ as a function of age. As hypothesized, age was correlated with performance on a retrospective memory task. The fifth study involved an extension and replication of Study 4, with the major addition being the use of several standard laboratory tests to assess retrospective memory. This study revealed several interesting findings. First, in contrast to previous studies, performance on some retrospective memory tasks was related to performance on some prospective memory tasks. Second, by and large, self-report and behavioral measures of prospective memory were not correlated. Third, performance on the prospective memory tasks (both self-report and behavioral) did not vary as a function of age, although performance ' on the retrospective memory tasks was clearly age related. The implications of this research are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

This research involved the study of fifteen women who had their first child after the age of 30. By the use of an hour and half long unstructured interview it was discovered how these women experienced delayed motherhood, what problems they had and their coping strategies. From the transcripts of the interviews, the material was analyzed into 16 topics. From these 16 topics, 8 specific recommendations were developed to help women who delay having children in the transition to parenthood. The research concluded that although there are problems for women who delay having children, most women are content with their decision. They have developed strategies to cope with the problems they face. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

SOUTH ROAD, a novel told in third-person limited, follows Adrienne Harris as she navigates the trials of her coming-of-age summer and then must deal with the aftermath. 1997: seventeen-year-old Adrienne Harris wants nothing more than to flee her eccentric grandmother’s rule and leave Harbor Point and never look back. When she meets her new neighbors, Adrienne knows her life will never be the same. Adrienne quickly falls in love with the charismatic Quinn Merritt. They decide to keep their relationship a secret since both families disapprove. This secret starts a chain reaction that seemingly leads to the suicide of the troubled and poetic Lucas Merritt. The summer culminates with Adrienne running away, pregnant and heartbroken. 2011: thirty-one-year-old Adrienne is an out of work line cook and single mother. The story opens as Adrienne reluctantly returns home to Harbor Point to care for her ailing grandmother. Once home, Adrienne has to confront the things that haunt her—the summer she met and lost both Merritt brothers, and also her dysfunctional relationship with her grandmother—in order to heal and repair her own life and her relationship with her daughter. In the end, Adrienne discovers many truths that alter her perception of her past in Harbor Point. Adrienne is finally able to move forward and start to build a life for her and her daughter. Harbor Point, the last place in the world Adrienne Harris wanted to be, turns out to be the only place she wants to call home.

No description available.

This study documents the metal working technology employed at two major Iron Age archaeological sites in southern Africa. The research involved the description and analysis of two large metal working assemblages with a total of 2922 metal artefacts, fragments of ore, and slag, from the sites of Divuyu (6th 8th century AD) and Nqoma (7th - 10th century AD, with a later 17th - 19th century AD occupation) in the Tsodilo Hills, northwestern Botswana. This is the first systematic description and metallographic analysis of a large collection of Early Iron Age metal artefacts from southern Africa. The artefacts were small, mainly delicate items of copper and iron jewellery, and tools possibly used in their manufacture. They were classified, described, and sampled selectively for metallographic, petrographic, and chemical analysis. Seventy artefacts were studied in detail, from which the fabrication technology employed at these sites was reconstructed. During the Early Iron Age forging, and probably also smelting, of iron took place at both sites. The smelting products were inhomogeneous iron and steel, with typical fayalitic slag, characteristic of indigenous bloomery iron production. The forging was done in an oxidising hearth and the technique used was poor, with no deliberate control over carbon content, the mechanical properties of the steel, or heat treatment other than annealing. Fabrication involved hammering square wire and flat sheets, which were cut into strips for beads, clips, chains, and fibre-cored wound ornaments. Numerous finger rings were made from crude round iron wire. Copper was worked in the same way, generally leaving the metal in its annealed state. Significant chemical variation in the copper artefacts and iron slag inclusions indicated that diverse ore sources were involved. There were stylistic similarities between individual artefacts from the Tsodilo Hills and Early Iron Age material from the Upemba Depression in Zaire, as well as with a copper chain from Broederstroom in the Transvaal. Comparison of the fabrication technology with Later Iron Age material suggested that local indigenous iron and copper working technology has changed little since its introduction in southern Africa.