Abstract
In this article, the writer notes that while the mind remains the most important aspect of being human, the brain is physical and has physical characteristics that can be measured. This paper presents an overview of the human brain and cognitive measures that assess the state of the mind during the life of an individual, from prenatal formation through the end of life in either a normal manner or down the more unfortunate path of dementia. Specific attention is focused on adolescence and particularly the onset of puberty as well as effects on the adult brain from damage occurring during adolescence; a discussion of the occurrence of neurogenesis in the adult brain; the brain aging processes; newly emerging ideas of how the brain does its work and how these ideas may affect research and treatment of dementia related brain degradation.

Outline:
Conclusions
References

From the Paper
"Raz also found no relationship between education and the onset of these various physical changes. It is interesting to consider the actions of neurogenesis in relation to both depression and aging, in light of the Schmitt and Raz studies. The long held belief of non-neurogenesis in adulthood may not only be wrong, but cessation of neurogenesis may actually be a trigger to move toward the final stage of life.
"While physical changes can be measured, providing opportunities for relatively rigorous statistical analyses, measuring changes in behavior as humans and human brains age, is a much more difficult task. A primary question - What is normal behavior? - must be assessed before any measurements can be made."

Tags:cognitive, dementia, nervous, system

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to offer an examination of an area of personal practice where intervention was required on the behalf of a service user. The case study is taken from a recent intervention the author undertook while working at a nursing home and concerns an 87 year old man who, as a result of spinal cord compression had been left severely disabled. The paper outlines the practice situation itself and the nature and characteristics of the intervention that the author undertook.

From the Paper
"In general social work discourse the concept of anti discriminatory practice is an integral component of both theoretical understanding and practical application (Adams et al, 2002). Moreover, in relation to my case study the need to ensure that discrimination was effectively combated was pivotal. Above all, social work practice with the elderly must ensure that anti ageist practice is avoided. Indeed, as one commentator has noted there is a tendency within general social and psycho practices "to demean, marginalise and disempower older people" (Adams et al, 2002; p. 288). Furthermore, the fact that the service user in my case study was also disabled increased the possibility for actions and processes that allowed for discriminative and oppressive practice to be instilled. "

Tags:social, work, elderly

Abstract
General summaries of the last four stages of human development: Adolescence, Young Adulthood, Middle Adulthood, and Late Adulthood. Examines physical, cognitive, and psycho-social aspects of development.

Adolescence
Definition
Reproduction
Risky behavior
Cognitive: Piaget (Formal operations), Elkind
Identity vs. identity confusion (Erikson)
Peer and Family relations

Young Adulthood
Cognitive: Postformal thought, Triarchic theory of
Intelligence (Sternberg), Emotional Intelligence
Personality: 5 factor model (Costa & McCrae)
Intimacy vs. Isolation (Erikson)
Levinson & the Grant Study
Culture: Marriage, childbirth, remaining single

Middle Adulthood
Physiological changes ? hearing, sight, endurance,
metabolism
Ailments ? hypertension, osteoporosis, stress
Seattle Longitudinal Study: Fluid and Crystallized
intelligence
Cognitive ? Hoyer and Schaie
Jung ? Individuation
Generativity versus stagnation (Erikson)
Psychosocial ? identity style, assimilation,
accommodation

Late Adulthood
Biological aging ? genetic programming, variable rate
theories
Physical changes
Cognitive ? Metamemory, semantic, procedural, sensory
Ego integrity versus despair (Erikson)
Disengagement, continuity, and activity theories
Retirement
Marriage, family, peer relationships
Living arrangements

From the Paper
"Adolescence is the developmental transition from childhood to adulthood. Although its beginning or end is not clearly marked in Western societies, adolescence lasts about a decade from age 11 or 12 until the late teens or early twenties. Adolescence carries many risks to healthy development, as well as opportunities for physical, cognitive, and psychosocial growth."

Tags:erikson, geriatric, jung, middle-age, old, piaget, stage, young

Abstract
History
Location
Occupations
Schooling
Family
Context of Interview
Discussion
Activity in normal day: sleep, exercise, groups
Diet
Sensory changes
Memory assessment
Changing relationships: family & peers
Retirement and goals
Analysis
Physical performance: causes of illness, injury, and
sensory dysfunction
Education - Engagement process (Schaie), memory
Ego integrity versus despair (Erikson), Grant Study
Role of religion
Continuity theory (Atchley)
Balanced investment - role of siblings and family
members

From the Paper
"Born in 1932, AB is a sixty-eight year old female from the central New York state area. AB grew up in a small town with her twin brother and two sisters. Her father passed away when she was two, and her siblings were then raised by their single mother. In her adult life, AB has worked as a dietitian at a University Hospital. Currently, AB resides at the retirement community in New York."

Tags:aging, cognitive, elkind, erikson, geriatrics, late, old, social

Abstract
In this article, the writer assesses what factors may lead to the loss of identity in one particular group in society; the elderly. Indeed, the writer notes that examining the loss of identity in old age is a very pertinent subject for the social scientist. Identity loss is very often accompanied by the onset of old age and therefore this preponderance makes it a valid place to begin. The study of what causes identity loss in old age therefore forms the first part of this work. Following this, the writer offers a brief examination as to what methods social care practitioners can employ when attempting to counter such developments in the elderly.

From the Paper
"One of the most prominent factors that can result in loss of identity occurs when significant and prolonged change takes place within an individuals life circumstances. Now although such change can occur under a variety of auspices, the onset of old age is one of the most prominent. The general factors that allow identity to be fostered and nourished, i.e. work, home environment, family and friends, societal contacts etc are the very factors that tend to become unstable in later life. Family and friends, particularly if they relative contemporaries in age often die, leaving only the individual remaining. The individual concerned may be living in the same house, alongside all the identity forming belongings they have accumulated over the years. However, without the human element of the home environment, identity loss can often be the result of such circumstances. Naturally, retirement leads to the almost complete loss of identity provided by employment."

Tags:social, activities, past, experiences

Abstract
This piece assesses in detail the issue of community based care for the elderly and disabled. The progressive nature of community care is examined with specific reference to issues such as aging population rates and the ever changing societal makeup that underlies the provision of social care. Above all, the work examines the extent to which in recent years, greater emphasis and importance has been placed on the availability of institutional care places. However, the writer notes that this progression has simultaneously developed alongside a concerted wish on the part of service providers to retain strong elements of independent living. The paradox is explored on the basis of the availability of resources measured against service needs.

From the Paper
"Underlying this matter is a process of social and communal change that has developed over recent decades, not only in Britain but in the wider Western world. With specific reference to elderly people, developments in science and medicine have resulted in an aging population that has placed greater weight upon systems of care both inside the community and beyond. However, such developments have coincided with a relative breakdown in the societal norms that previously accounted for the care of the vulnerable in society. These breakdowns include issues such as: changes in the patterns and breakdowns of marriages; percentage decline of single women within the population; changes in family sizes; and the ever increasing participation of women in the labour market. When such developments are conceptualized in conjunction with the issues of ageing population and the wish to remain in ones community, it is clear why the numbers of elderly people forced to seek places in institutions have determinedly refused to reduce."

Tags:aging, community, institutions, population

Abstract
This paper discusses the best treatment and management of venous leg ulcers in order to provide benefit in the form of optimal healing time to an increasing number of patients with this type of wound. The writer, after developing a focused question to critically review evidence derived from research regarding the management and treatment of venous leg ulcers, explores the cost implications associated with the reviewed treatments. The paper includes tables and graphs.

Outline:
Introduction
Focussed Question
Aim and Rationale
Search Strategy
Randomised Controlled Trials
Limitations of RCT
Strength of RCT
General Observation Of Published Material
Abstract
Literature Review
Methodology
Sample Groups
Results/Findings
Discussion, Limitation And Implications To Practice
Conclusion
References
Appendix 1
Sources of evidence for patient-centred, evidence-based practice.
Appendix 2
Hierarchy Of Evidence: Ranking Of Research Evidence Evaluating Health Care Interventions.
Appendix 3
The Randomised Controlled Trials Analysed To Determine; "Do Venous Leg Ulcers Heal Faster When Treated With Four Layer Bandages Or When Treated With Short Stretch Bandages?"
Study 1
Study 2
Study 3
Study 4
Study 5

From the Paper
"To acquire propositional knowledge an electronic search of specialist databases was made; Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Cochrane, National Electronic Library for Health and PubMed, this further extended to Blackwell Synergy, Swetswise and Science Direct. The search terms; wound healing, venous leg ulcer, compression therapy, short stretch, four layer, bandages and dressings were used and only quantitative evidence was collected as the studies required were on information regarding healing rates. To narrow the search further and to gain recent evidence the timeframe was limited to within the last ten years and limited to primary literature; a superior source of knowledge direct from the author which has not been misinterpreted before re-presentation in another publication (Cluett and Bluff 2006). Further to this a hand search was made in the library to acquire books and journal articles which supported or discredited opinions."

Tags:ulcers bandages patients, venous leg ulcers, treatment healing professional wound methodological clinical sample study recruitment pulmonary embolism rct research, national health service

Abstract
A great deal of research has been done into the way the younger generation addresses the elderly. This paper looks into the range of tactics used as well as how the way that a carer communicates with their elderly patient says a great deal about their own personal views and opinions. In particular, it examines how Coupland, N et al (1991) investigate this issue through presenting the theories of Ryan et al.

From the Paper
"The first of Ryan et al's (cited in Coupland, N et al 1991) strategies which is often chosen by younger people is overaccomodation due to physical or sensory handicaps (Coupland, Coupland and Giles 1991). In this instance the speaker adapts their speech beyond the optimal level, thus showing that they assume the receiver is handicapped in some way. A common example of this is where people speak especially loud to an elderly person. This shows how a majority of the elderly are perceived as having impaired hearing. The main aim of such a strategy is to ensure an effective, interpretable form of communication, however from another perspective such an approach may be seen as patronising and unnecessary."

Tags:analysis, discourse, divergence, elderly, identity

Abstract
This paper presents a report, written by a leading academic in the field of social policy, on means-testing for the elderly in Scotland. In the report, the author recommends that means-testing for the purposes of care for elderly people should be introduced in Scotland. More specifically, the author argues that, in terms of increasing costs, growing demand, and opposition to increased taxation, it is quite simply unrealistic to proceed with free personal care for the elderly.

Outline:
Introduction
Recommendation
Elderly Paid Taxes
Conclusions

From the Paper
"It can also be argued that since wages are going up that people could afford to pay increased taxes. People should not care about paying increased taxes, this argument continues, as it would be helping other members of the community including the elderly. However, if taxes were to rise this could cause an outcry as people are increasingly reluctant to pay such increased taxes. More and more people, realising that the state retirement pension is becoming relatively less valuable, are coming to rely more on occupational and private pensions. So the argument that taxation should be increased to fund free personal care for the elderly is quite unrealistic in the present day and age. The vast majority of people today entering the labour force today accept that they are going to have to take responsibility for providing for themselves in their retirement and would be wholy opposed to any significant increase in taxation. "

Tags:personal, care, aged, health, budget

Abstract
This paper examines Alzheimer?s; it?s aetiology and symptoms, in order to question the orthodox and alternative treatments available. It discusses the considered main causes that include zinc, copper, iron and aluminium, as well as including a brief overview of the accepted commonest risk factors. It is concluded by considering and suggesting, that ginkgo biloba is the main contender as the alternative to orthodox medicine in treating and preventing, Alzheimer?s disease.

Outline
Abstract
Introduction
Chapter 1
An Overview of Alzheimer?s Disease ? Definition, Aetiology and Risk Factors
Associated Structural Abnormalities of AD
Beta Amyloid Plaques (BAPs)
Neurofibrillary Tangles
Risk Factors of AD
Chapter 2 ? The Biometals
The ?Normal? role of Zinc
The Paradoxical Role of Zinc
Iron
Copper
Aluminium
Free Radicals and Oxidative Stress
The Cholesterol Theory
Chapter Three ? Ginkgo Biloba
Ginkgo Biloba as an Antioxidant and Preventative
Vitamin ?E? and Other Free Radical Scavengers
Chapter Four - The Role of Orthodox Treatments
Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), One of the Neurotrophic Factors
Selegiline
Oestrogen Replacement Therapy (ERT)
Metal Chelation Therapy
Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
Chapter Five ? Conclusion

From the Paper
"Copper is another essential trace mineral in the human body; it is a constituent of many enzymes and takes part in the absorption of iron and in melanin formation. Lack of copper may result in anaemia and bone changes. Estimated safe and adequate dietary intake is 1.5-3.0 mg/day for adults, and 0.4-0.6 mg/day for infants (Tortora and Grabowski, 2000). Copper plays a crucial role, with cholesterol, in nutrition and normal brain function. Recent evidence indicates that copper and cholesterol may both be important factors in the aetiology of AD. Sparks et al (2003) explains how trace amounts of copper (0.12 ppm) added to water and given to cholesterol-fed rabbits induced BAP accumulation, including senile plaque-like structures in the hippocampus and temporal lobe."

Tags:acetylcholine, aluminium, antioxidants, beta, copper, dementia, diease, zinc