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This paper aims to interrogate online comments from consumers with dementia and family carers on surveillance technology products used by or for people with dementia.

A naturalistic, observational study of qualitative posts (N = 120) by people with dementia (n = 7) and family carers (n = 38) to discussion threads on surveillance technology (ST), hosted by an online dementia support forum in the Netherlands. Kozinet’s (2002) typology was used to describe respondent characteristics, and comments on features of ST products were analysed within a pre-existing framework.

Forum users were mainly “tourists” interested in ST, with some “insiders” interested in sharing experiences of ST use. They expressed a lack of trust in information from marketers and providers to the experience of being provided with poor information. Consumer-to-consumer comments on products triangulated with previous face-to-face qualitative studies. Carers prioritised “peace of mind” through location monitoring. In contrast, people with dementia prioritised user-friendliness (simple, with capability and compatible with daily routines).

Using online discussions of ST products provides a rapid approach to understanding current consumer needs and preferences in the ever-changing world of technology.

No previous study is known to have explored the views of carers and people with dementia in online discussions about ST.

The purpose of this paper is to review marketing materials of surveillance products for people with dementia and their carers in three ageing countries, as part of a dementia-technology media analysis.

An online environmental scan was conducted using search terms for surveillance technologies (STs) and dementia through a Google search focussed on the UK, Sweden and the Netherlands. Data were extracted on the products’ and websites’ marketing messages from consumer and marketer perspectives.

Information was gathered for 382 product websites, of which 242 met eligibility criteria. The majority of products come from the UK. In the UK and Sweden, the companies behind the websites appeared to be mainly “cottage industries” which focus on selling ST. In contrast, sellers in the Netherlands included a more balanced mixture of small, medium and large companies. In all three countries, the website messaging focussed on the need to manage safety concerns, without considering privacy or consent.

Contrary to the perception of future dependence on technology, the ST sector seems to be a niche market. The media messages, equating people with dementia with animals and children, are at odds with initiatives that strive for dignity and dementia friendliness.

No previous study is known to have explored media messages from websites that market ST for people with dementia.

To better understand the social nature of dementia, it is important to understand its cultural significance and the role that it plays in re-articulating later life. In this new terrain of ageing it may be worth exploring how the idea of the fourth age can help us better understand the nature of dementia and the way in which its cultural role affects both social and health policies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Gilleard and Higgs (2010) argue that the fourth age now serves as a “cultural imaginary” of the deepest and darkest aspects of old age and that dementia figures prominently in fashioning it.

The scope for exploring dementia as a component of the cultural imaginary of the fourth age has already been demonstrated through the small but growing number of studies that have explored the fear of dementia.

An avenue for further exploration is the distinction between a fear of losing one's mind (as in the pre-modern meaning of dementia) and the fear of losing one's place (as in the loss of status associated with dependency). Arguably the former exercises a greater influence than the latter, and raises the question of distinguishing between narratives and practices that sustain the mind of the person with dementia and those that sustain the position of the person with dementia as fellow citizen or fellow countryman or woman.

Social networks are seen to influence the use of health and social care services. In a secondary analysis of data from a longitudinal study of befriending of carers of people with dementia, we studied the relationship between network type and support from family/ friends, voluntary sector befriending and residential/nursing care. Using Wenger's typology of social networks, findings suggest that the pattern of support use varies by differences in the structure of networks. It is recommended that questions on social networks should be widely incorporated into carers' assessments to help identify need for social support interventions and to enable the sensitive selection of appropriate types of carer support to be provided.

In light of the fact that the “baby boomer” generation is moving into early old age, the purpose of this paper is to examine what aspects of ageing and old age concerned an age cohort of 25 gay men aged 60 plus.

The primary data for this paper came from interviews with 25 men aged 60 and older who were recruited in Auckland, London, Manchester, Melbourne, and New York. Interviewees were contacted by a variety of means, such as by e-mail introductions, advertisements placed on social media, and recommendations of mutual friends or acquaintances. Once contacted, the men were sent a plain-language statement outlining the purpose of the study and the intention to publish the results and were asked to sign and return a consent form. Narrative identity was central to understandings of the men’s lives got from analysing their interview transcripts.

Analysis of extracts from their life stories showed the men interviewed for this paper drew on two principal narratives when discussing their apprehensions about growing old. The first related to general fears or concerns about old age that would be fairly common among members of the general population. The second narrative related to gay-specific fears or concerns. Significant claims: that class affects gay men’s experience of old age just as it does for everyone else; and that fears of being ostracised because of their sexuality were strongest when the men spoke about aged-accommodation settings.

More research is needed on gay men’s experience of in-home supported care and residential care to see if the reality of the heterosexism and/or homophobia matches the fears of some in this sample.

This is a relatively new field and there is a growing number of researchers examining the ageing concerns and experiences of the GLBT population. The originality of this paper lies in the international sample on which it is based, its use of narrative analysis, and its relevance to policy makers as well as to members of the GLBT population, carers, and owners/managers of aged-care accommodation facilities.

Schools are placed in ‘special measures’ in England if they are deemed to be under performing by failing to provide their pupils with an acceptable standard of education. This chapter explores one female headteacher’s emotional experiences as she coped in difficult circumstances during an intense period of scrutiny as she led her staff towards school improvement and out of special measures. The headteacher regulated and utilised her emotions intelligently to deliberately enhance the performance of others at work and in doing so she addressed and changed the localised culture of the school. Data are drawn from a series of interviews with the headteacher and her self-reported responses to an ‘EQ Map’ (Cooper & Sawaf, 1997). Using the EQ Map as the conceptual framework, findings show a sense of work satisfaction emerged as a result of tackling challenging situations. An increased awareness of one’s emotions led to being mindful regarding the emotional state of others, as the headteacher sought opportunities to bring about school improvement and address challenges presented by being placed in special measures. A distinctive list of 21 key features of emotional management emerged from the scales of the EQ Map capturing a model in relation to coping under internal and external pressures.

Explores the concept of diversity in organisational settings, reviewing a variety of key and associated concepts. The concept of diversity is explained as being context dependent, selective and relative. The links between diversity and performance are discussed and the implications for diversity supportive organisational development are explored. The need for support policies, networks, mentors and role models is identified. Finally the issues, barriers and implications associated with the introduction of diversity training are investigated.