One of the most striking dimensions of population change in Canada is the marked increase of elderly persons in proportion to the total population. This phenomenon, particularly pronounced in British Columbia (B.C.), reflects in large measure the attractiveness of regions within B.C, where climatic conditions are probably the most moderate in Canada. This large concentration of the elderly creates a significant housing problem because the elderly, on the whole, have lower incomes than other housing consumers and are thus at a disadvantage in securing adequate accommodation. An attempt is made to evolve an approach to the problem of housing the needy elderly which will be generally applicable in Canada and particularly applicable in B.C. It is contended that there is need for an administrative system designed to coordinate the diverse public and private organizations that are involved, or potentially involved, in providing housing and complementary services for the needy elderly. Coordination is required at several levels including coordination of planning and welfare agencies, coordination of efforts of municipalities in housing programs designed to serve residents of several municipalities, and coordination of private housing and service agencies with complementary public housing and service agencies. As a basis for investigation it is hypothesized that: In British Columbia, the Provincial Government ought to be responsible for establishing the objectives, policies and administrative framework necessary to encourage joint participation of federal, provincial and local governments and private enterprises in implementation of a comprehensive housing program for the elderly. The hypothesis stresses the importance of objectives and policies as a necessary basis of a housing program. While Provincial responsibility is emphasized, the ideal situation would entail joint Federal - Provincial participation in the definition of housing objectives and policies because of their joint participation in financing of these programs. Accordingly, it is proposed that the overall administrative framework use the "Urban Development Board", an administrative device designed to foster effective and coordinated joint Federal - Provincial action. The Provincial Government is alone constitutionally capable of establishing the necessary administrative machinery to implement housing programs at the local level. The key issue is whether to entrust the program to a dominant Provincial mechanism or to a strongly empowered local agency. Emphasis is placed on the human ecology of the problem. The problem of housing the elderly is expected to be pronounced in regions with climatic amenity, and particularly in urban areas of those regions. In addition, the requirements of an administrative system to implement a housing program are developed and a range of alternative administrative devices analyzed in light of these criteria. The analysis suggested that the local housing authority approach could produce a coordinated housing program at the local level of Government. The Provincial Government would make housing a mandatory function of local government, at the same time providing the necessary powers and financial resources for local housing authorities. The Provincial government would coordinate the programs of all local housing authorities and administer a system of grants-in-aid to these authorities in proportion to the need and in relation to Provincially established priorities. Because of the strength of voluntary philanthropic housing effort in B. C., it is suggested that the local housing authority be closely affiliated for coordination purposes with a proposed Housing Council to be comprised of representatives of those private organizations providing housing and collateral services. The case-study method is used to determine the utility of the recommended administrative system within the context of a specific area. The focus of the case study is on the administrative arrangements for housing the elderly at the local level. Proposed changes in Federal - Provincial relations on housing problems are not examined because a case study cannot identify the influence of non-existent administrative systems. The study serves to illustrate the potential role of a local housing authority although the mechanics of implementing the approach are not detailed. The hypothesis fails to assert explicitly that the Federal and Provincial Governments should jointly participate in formulating objectives and policies and that a housing program for the elderly should not be conceived independently of an overall housing program. Subject to these limitations, the hypothesis is considered valid. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

This experiment investigated memory changes across the adult lifespan and some factors that might be associated with these changes. Adult participants of all ages (16 to 83 years old) were asked to orally describe scenic color photographs, and then following a delay, to re-describe these pictures from memory. Given information is objective, physical objects and their attributes that are depicted in a target picture, whereas beyond information is subjective, personal experiences and inferences that are not depicted in a target picture per se but are associated with a target picture. Chapter 3 examined the content of these picture descriptions for the amount of given and beyond information that was encoded and retrieved about target pictures. The results indicated an age-related decline in memory for given information and preserved memory for beyond information. Chapter 4 examined the relationship between perceptual and verbal ability and memory for given and beyond information. Perceptual ability was assessed by self-report measures of auditory and visual ability and verbal ability was measured by a standardized test. The results indicated that an age-related improvement in verbal ability, but not an age-related decline in perceptual ability, was related to memory for given and beyond information. Chapter 5 explored age-related changes in memory for feminine and masculine information across the adult female lifespan. Feminine and masculine information is information that would be considered exclusively relevant to young women and men, respectively. The results indicated an age-related increase in memory for feminine information and no age-related change in memory for masculine information. The divergent age-related changes in memory for given and beyond information and for feminine and masculine information were interpreted in terms of a developmental approach to schema theory and the lifespan psychology notions of selective optimization with compensation and loss in the service of growth. The present study suggests an integration between the domains of personality and cognitive psychology as one avenue for future research that could lead to a more complete understanding of memory and aging. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

A cross-sectional, retrospective study, using data from the Victoria Longitudinal Study, was conducted to investigate the impact of impending death on test performance on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a measure of general cognitive functioning. Test score on the MMSE of individuals collected between one to five years before death was compared to the MMSE test score of individuals who are still alive. Results revealed a significant difference between the MMSE total score of individuals who died within three years post-measurement and survivors, and those who died between three to five years after measurement. When the individual items were analyzed, only the "WORLD" and "copy pentagon" items obtained results similar to the total score, providing support for the specificity of impending death effect on fluid abilities. The cause of death (CardioKerebro-vascular disease and non-CardioICerebro-vascular disease), however, did not differentiate the groups, suggesting that the mechanism of impending death may not be disease-related. Our results revealed that the influence of impending death on cognitive functioning could be observed on the MMSE; the source of the influence is still unknown, however. Despite the statistical significance, our findings did not appear to be clinically meaningful. As a result, our findings suggest that it may not be necessary to collect new normative data that are removed of the effects of impending death.

This study investigated the influence of age and health status on verbal and visual memory and attention. The objective was to select subjects resembling participants in normative studies, and to contrast the genuinely healthy component with the "contaminants." A rigorous and detailed self-report of health status plus a standard neurological examination were used to screen and divide subjects into two health status groups: normal and super healthy. It was speculated that the strong effect of age on memory and attention commonly found among the elderly would be diminished with more restrictive control over health status.

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