The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of 16 weeks of a comprehensive exercise routine to supervised walking and social conversation on depression in nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease (AD). Method: This study was a three-group, repeated-measures design with random assignment to treatment group. Forty-five nursing home residents with moderate to severe AD were randomly assigned to a 16-week programme of comprehensive exercise, supervised walking or social conversation. Raters were blinded to treatment group assignment. Major outcome variables were depression measured by the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia, mood measured by the Dementia Mood Assessment Scale and the Alzheimer's Mood Scale, and affect measured by the Observed Affect Scale. Depression was reduced in all three groups with some evidence of superior benefit from exercise. Depression is a common problem with serious and costly consequences for nursing home residents with AD. Exercise as a behavioural approach to treatment of depression in nursing home residents with severe AD evidenced a clear benefit to participants in this study. More research is needed to clarify the relative benefits of different types of exercise in conjunction with or without pharmacological intervention.

The purpose oF this study was to examine the eFFects oF 3 behavioral interventions on aFFect and mood in nursing home residents with Alzheimer's disease. In a pre—post design, 90 residents with Alzheimer's disease were randomized to 3 groups: supervised walking, comprehensive exercise (walking plus strength training, balance, and Flexibility exercises), and social conversation (casual rather than therapeutic themes). Interventions were provided 5 days a week and progressed up to 30 minutes per session over 16 weeks. Interventions were conducted primarily indoors. Outcome measures included the Lawton Observed AFFect Scale, Alzheimer Mood Scale, and Dementia Mood Assessment. At posttest, participants receiving comprehensive exercise exhibited higher positive and lower negative aFFect and mood. The social conversation group exhibited the least positive and most negative mood and aFFect. Results suggest that exercise programs be emphasized in long-term care, particularly whole-body involvement rather than walking alone.

Acilities. Participants: Eighty-two long-term care residents with mild to severe AD. Intervention: An activity specific exercise program was compared to a walking program and to an attention control. Measurements: Ability to perform bed mobility and transfers was assessed using the subscales of the Acute Care Index of Function; functional mobility was measured using the 6-Minute Walk test. Results: Subjects receiving the activity specific exercise program improved in ability to perform transfers, whereas subjects in the other 2 groups declined....

The high-tech industry is the world's most powerful and profitable industry, and it is almost entirely dominated by white, Asian American, and Asian men. This article reviews research on social inequality in the high-tech industry, focusing on gender and race/ethnicity. It begins with a discussion of alternative ways of defining the sector and an overview of its history and employment demographics. Next is an analysis of gendered and racialized pathways into high-paying jobs in the industry, followed by a review of research on workplace organization that emphasizes how sexism and racism are embedded inside the firm and beyond it, through the design of high-tech products and services. Finally, gender and racial disparities in attrition rates are discussed. The conclusion calls for future research on social inequality and the funding structure of the industry, age discrimination inside tech, effective diversity policies, and labor movement activism throughout the high-tech industry.

This paper reports findings related to the transition from hospital to home during the first month after discharge following acute stroke.

Background: Being an informal carer of a person with dementia (PwD) can have a negative effect on the carer’s health and quality of life, and spouse carers have been found to be especially vulnerable. Yet relatively little is known about the care provided and support received by spouse carers. This study compares spouse carers to other informal carers of PwDs regarding their care provision, the support received and the psychosocial impact of care. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of a stratified random sample of the Swedish population aged 18 or over. The questionnaire explored how much care the respondent provided, the support received, and the psychosocial impact of providing care. Of 30,009 people sampled, 11,168 (37.7 %) responded, of whom 330 (2.95 %) were informal carers of a PwD. Results: In comparison to non-spouse carers, spouse carers provided more care more frequently, did so with less support from family or the local authority, while more frequently experiencing negative impacts on their social life and psychological and physical health. Spouse carers also received more carer support and more frequently experienced a closeness in their relationship with the care-recipient. Conclusions: Spouse carers of PwD differed from non-spouse carers on virtually all aspects of their care situation. Policy and practice must be more sensitive to how the carer-care-recipient relationship shapes the experience of care, so that support is based on an understanding of the individual carer’s actual needs and preferences rather than on preconceptions drawn from a generalised support model.