Evaluating cognitive rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis: on the bumpy road to establishing evidence

There is marked enfeeblement of the memory; conceptions are formed slowly; the intellectual and emotional faculties are blunted in their totality,” Charcot (1877) reportedly noted about people with multiple sclerosis (MS) [1]. Despite these early observations of what we now refer to as ‘cognitive deficits’ and ‘mood disorders’, the magnitude and severity of these problems in MS were not considered seriously until over 100 years later. By the early 1990s, studies had begun to consistently demonstrate that people with MS reported cognitive problems

Editorial – Using sexual identity labels to move beyond them

This is the first issue of the Psychology of Sexualities Review. As mentioned in my previous Editorial, this change in name reflects the change made to the Section’s name, following a ballot of the Section’s membership. I trust that the papers in this issue are a testament to the Editorial Team’s promise to continue the legacy of the Lesbian & Gay Psychology Review’s of publishing high quality papers. In this Editorial I focus on the idea of using sexual identity labels, which have served us well and continue to do so, to move beyond them. I must clarify that by suggesting movement beyond these labels, I am in no way implying that we discard them, but permit a flexibility to incorporate other labelled identities and label-less identities to the fold. This plurality and inclusivity, I believe, forms the spirit of the Psychology of Sexualities Review. When thinking about plurality and inclusivity related to sexuality, two landmark judicial judgments in the recent past come to mind, perhaps because of their personal relevance to me, both from my own subject-ship and from those of some of my clients I see in therapy. The first, the Delhi High Court’s reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a section which criminalises private consensual sex between adults of the same sex (reported in the papers as ‘India decriminalises gay sex’, Mitta & Singh, 2009); and the second, the UK Supreme Court ruling related to ‘gay asylum seekers’ (‘Gay asylum seekers’, 2010). There is no question about the importance, the worthiness, the triumph, and the desperate need for both these judgments. A close reading, however, examining the language used in the official judgments and the English language newspaper reporting of these, exposes a certain conservative economy of terms that both reports employ. This is particularly pertinent as both judgments are related to minorities from India, and ‘gay asylum seekers’ from Cameroon and Iran, countries where some sexual minorities2 do not identity as ‘gay’ or even ‘homosexual’. The collapsing of sexual identities (and associated labels) into seemingly ‘neutral’ terminology employing behavioural categories of ‘men who have sex with men’ (MSM) and ‘women who have sex with women’ (WSW) is also problematic. While such usage has almost become the mainstay of epidemiological and public health studies (since the 1990s), social constructionists have highlighted the limits of such terms, but have also critiqued the use of identity labels such as ‘gay’, instead arguing for a ‘more textured understandings of sexuality that do not assume alignments among identity, behaviour, and desire’ (Young & Meyer, 2005, p.1144). My argument is that just as terms such as MSM and WSW tend to obliterate self-determination regarding sexual identities, terms such as ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’, when applied indiscriminately or as global categories, can be as alienating; obfuscating text and subtext of sexual identities, desires, and practices. These terms then have the potential to become essentialist concepts

Editorial – Using sexual identity labels to move beyond them

This is the first issue of the Psychology of Sexualities Review. As mentioned in my previous Editorial, this change in name reflects the change made to the Section’s name, following a ballot of the Section’s membership. I trust that the papers in this issue are a testament to the Editorial Team’s promise to continue the legacy of the Lesbian & Gay Psychology Review’s of publishing high quality papers. In this Editorial I focus on the idea of using sexual identity labels, which have served us well and continue to do so, to move beyond them. I must clarify that by suggesting movement beyond these labels, I am in no way implying that we discard them, but permit a flexibility to incorporate other labelled identities and label-less identities to the fold. This plurality and inclusivity, I believe, forms the spirit of the Psychology of Sexualities Review. When thinking about plurality and inclusivity related to sexuality, two landmark judicial judgments in the recent past come to mind, perhaps because of their personal relevance to me, both from my own subject-ship and from those of some of my clients I see in therapy. The first, the Delhi High Court’s reading down of Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, a section which criminalises private consensual sex between adults of the same sex (reported in the papers as ‘India decriminalises gay sex’, Mitta & Singh, 2009); and the second, the UK Supreme Court ruling related to ‘gay asylum seekers’ (‘Gay asylum seekers’, 2010). There is no question about the importance, the worthiness, the triumph, and the desperate need for both these judgments. A close reading, however, examining the language used in the official judgments and the English language newspaper reporting of these, exposes a certain conservative economy of terms that both reports employ. This is particularly pertinent as both judgments are related to minorities from India, and ‘gay asylum seekers’ from Cameroon and Iran, countries where some sexual minorities2 do not identity as ‘gay’ or even ‘homosexual’. The collapsing of sexual identities (and associated labels) into seemingly ‘neutral’ terminology employing behavioural categories of ‘men who have sex with men’ (MSM) and ‘women who have sex with women’ (WSW) is also problematic. While such usage has almost become the mainstay of epidemiological and public health studies (since the 1990s), social constructionists have highlighted the limits of such terms, but have also critiqued the use of identity labels such as ‘gay’, instead arguing for a ‘more textured understandings of sexuality that do not assume alignments among identity, behaviour, and desire’ (Young & Meyer, 2005, p.1144). My argument is that just as terms such as MSM and WSW tend to obliterate self-determination regarding sexual identities, terms such as ‘gay’ and ‘lesbian’, when applied indiscriminately or as global categories, can be as alienating; obfuscating text and subtext of sexual identities, desires, and practices. These terms then have the potential to become essentialist concepts

The internationalisation of supermarkets, the nature of competitive rivalry between grocery retailers and the implications for local suppliers in Southern Africa

Abstract : The growth and spread of supermarket chains globally has transformed how consumers purchase groceries and household consumable products and how these supply chains have developed. This thesis analyses the spread of supermarket chains in Southern Africa, with a specific focus on South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. It analyses how the internationalisation of supermarket chains in these countries has affected, and is affected by, competition dynamics and what the implications on suppliers are. This study is among the first to assess these topics in Southern Africa, particularly the implications on the competitive landscape and the effects of market power of supermarket chains on rivals and suppliers. The thesis draws on a critical review of the literature on industrial organisation-based theories of foreign investment and Ownership-Location-Internalisation (OLI) principles to understand the patterns of supermarketisation and internationalisation in the region. It identifies the significance of national policies, political economy dynamics, proximity to suppliers and firmspecific strategies related to market power in understanding the spread of supermarkets. A key finding is that internationalisation has not been to the extent that the literature predicted, including the entry and growth of transnational retailers in Southern Africa. What is seen instead is the ‘regionalisation’ of South African supermarket chains, essentially extending their home networks and oligopolistic rivalry into the region. The thesis also identifies the resilience of alternative forms of retail through buying group-led independent retailers in South Africa, alongside supermarketisation that started in the apartheid period. The complexities of how supermarket chains compete and how market power is exerted affects their spread. The study examines the impact of market power of supermarket chains, showing that competition needs to be understood narrowly by format and segment in very localised markets, possibly limited to a shopping mall in the South African context. Importantly, the analysis reveals the shortcomings of viewing competition through just a price lens and highlights the importance of understanding non-price dimensions of competition, given the characteristics of supermarkets and the way in which the positioning of supermarkets changes over time. This requires a more dynamic perspective. Through extensive firm-level and organisation interviews in each country, the thesis evaluates the impact on suppliers through a combination of a global value chains framework and industrial organisation principles of competition in markets. The forms in which buyer power is exerted in Southern Africa and the impact that this and other requirements has on regional supplier development is evaluated. It finds that supermarket chains are important in driving the upgrading of supplier capabilities to meet these requirements by providing access to wider ii markets, facilitating their climb up a regional or global value chain ‘ladder’. The study however also finds strong concerns of buyer power imposed through the trading terms negotiated with suppliers. As gatekeepers to store networks in the region, supermarkets offer suppliers the opportunity to access more consumers. However, unequal bargaining power leads to rents extraction from value chains by supermarkets, negatively affecting supplier participation and upgrading. The thesis shows that these topics are complex and inter-related, requiring multiple lenses to analyse them. Supermarketisation and internationalisation affect the structure of markets and the competitive landscape, while the degree of competitive rivalry and market power in turn impacts the pace of supermarketisation and internationalisation. Similarly, the market power of supermarket chains has a significant impact on suppliers, while the ability of supermarkets to grow into new markets hinges on the proximity and links to well-established supplier networks.D.Phil. (Economics

Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Impulse Buying and Product Value Proposition

This paper elaborates the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Impulse Buying and the resultant product value proposition for the consumer. The study is done on Impulse Buying in the apparel section by women between the age group of 18 and above in a middle class developing town on the outskirts of Mumbai Metro. It is proven in this study that Emotional Intelligence of the Consumer is a very important component in Impulse Buying. The Higher the Emotional Intelligence the lower will be the Impulse buying habit and vice versa. This becomes very important in the middle class Indian context where the women are bound by a strong sense of prioritizing family needs first before indulging in any personal wish fulfillment. Impulse Buying as this study shows creates a strong feeling of guilt which in turn reduces the value proposition of the apparel because there is less repeat usage of the apparel brought on impulse. Hence Emotional Intelligence of the consumer should be an important consideration for all stakeholders if the value proposition has to be high. Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Impulse Buying, Guilt, Value, Apparel

Cognitive rehabilitation for memory deficits following stroke

Background: Memory problems are a common cognitive complaint following stroke. Memory rehabilitation programmes either attempt to retrain lost or poor memory functions, or teach patients strategies to cope with them. Objectives: To determine the effectiveness of cognitive rehabilitation for memory problems following stroke. Search methods: We searched the Cochrane Stroke Group Trials Register (last searched September 2006). In addition, we searched the following electronic databases; the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (The Cochrane Library Issue 2, 2005), MEDLINE (1966 to June 2005), EMBASE (1980 to June 2005), CINAHL (1982 to June 2005), PsycINFO (1980 to July 2006), AMED (1985 to June 2005), British Nursing Index (1985 to June 2005), CAB Abstracts (1973 to May 2005) and the National Research Register (June 2006). We handsearched relevant journals and searched reference lists. Selection criteria: We selected controlled trials of memory retraining in stroke. We excluded studies with mixed aetiology groups unless 75% or more of the participants had a stroke or separate data were available for the stroke patients. Data collection and analysis: Two review authors selected trials for inclusion, assessed quality, and extracted data. Main results: Two trials, involving 18 participants, were included. One study compared the effectiveness of a mnemonic strategy treatment group with a 'drill and practice' control, while the other compared the effectiveness of an imagery mnemonics programme with a 'pragmatic' memory rehabilitation control programme. Formal meta‐analyses could not be performed due to a paucity of studies and lack of commonly‐employed outcome measures. The results do not show any significant effect of memory rehabilitation on performance of objective memory tests, and no significant effects of treatment on subjective and observer‐rated measures of memory. Authors' conclusions: There was no evidence to support or refute the effectiveness of memory rehabilitation on functional outcomes, and objective, subjective, and observer‐rated memory measures. There is a need for more robust, well‐designed and better‐reported trials of memory rehabilitation using common standardised outcome measures