Gerald D. Weisman

Sketch-map variables as predictors of way-finding performance

Abstract In a study of way-finding problem solving ability, 45 participants were individually taken to and given a tour of the downtown business area of a small town. Twenty buildings were pointed out in the course of the tour. Following the tour, participants drew sketch maps of the downtown area including as many of the buildings as they could remember. A performance task in which they had to find eight of the buildings then followed. Individual difference measures including self-efficacy, visualization, orientation, and sense-of-direction were administered. Sketch map variables were the best predictors of way-finding performance with the adjacent building score, a measure of topological accuracy of sketch map accuracy the best predictor.

Professional environmental assessment procedure for special care units for elders with dementing illness and its relationship to the therapeutic environment screening schedule.

The Professional Environmental Assessment Procedure (PEAP) was developed as a global quality-assessment measure for use by trained professionals in special care units for older people in dementia units of nursing homes. The PEAP consists of nine ratings whose relationship to another assessment device, the Therapeutic Environment Screening Schedule (TESS), is reported. Although designed to be multidimensional, the PEAP as tested in 43 special care units seems to reflect primarily a single evaluative dimension. It correlates highly with the TESS and may be used either separately or in combination with the TESS.

Vision and Values

Abstract As the formative figure in the emergence and development of Environment-Aging Studies, M. Powell Lawton influenced virtually every facet of this realm of research. Among his many contributions, Lawton helped shape the philosophical foundations which underlie the field and give direction to goals, theories, methods, and strategies of research. These philosophical foundations of Environment-Behavior Studies are analyzed from five complementary perspec-tives-axiological, ontological, epistemological, methodological, and praxeological-with particular attention paid to Lawtons position on each. Though unwavering in his position with regard to values, Lawton explored a variety of philosophical positions and continued to work to ward a meaningful synthesis of what are often seen as conflicting world-views.

Impacts of a therapeutic environment for dementia care

This study explores the association ofphysical environments with the behaviors and care ofpeople with dementia. In order to have a comparative understanding, environmental settings of a traditional nursing facility and an innovative dementia care unit on the same campus were selected. Behavioral observations were done on 12 residents before and after their move ftrom the traditional facility to the dementia care unit. Resident and staffusage and behaviors in the shared spaces were systematically recorded and analyzed Findings include increased use ofthe activity spaces, increased social interaction among the residents, and more interactive than assistive behavior between the staff and residents

Differences in dementia services and settings across place type and regions

People with dementia have complex and unique social, environmental, and communication needs arising from impaired cognition. One response to dissatisfaction with the medical model of care in nursing homes has been the creation of more homelike and social options for care in the community. These options include community-based residential facilities and a variety of more independent senior dwellings. Staying in residential settings longer may be associated with benefits, including decreased financial burden and improved quality of life. However, with the boundaries between these place types often less than clearly drawn, it has become increasingly difficult to anticipate the specific services and environmental features provided by each. It is also difficult to effectively match facilities to the specific needs of older persons with dementia. Even social workers responsible for placements, especially in urban areas, may not be able to visit all local residential options. To better understand these new venues for dementia care, this study explored the range of services and settings available to people with dementia in three different place types in five Wisconsin counties: nursing homes, community-based residential facilities, and independent senior housing.

Environments for Older Persons with Cognitive Impairments

The relationship between older persons and the environments they occupy has constituted a continuing focus for both research and practice since the earliest days of environment—behavior (EB) studies. Environment—aging work has made major contributions in shaping the goals, theories, and methods of the larger field of EB studies of which it is a part. A number of the pioneering studies of both personal space and territoriality were carried out in geriatric settings (e.g., DeLong, 1970; Lipman, 1967; Sommer, 1959). Two major volumes on theory development in environment and aging (Lawton, Windley, & Byerts, 1982; Pastalan & Carson, 1970) have been widely utilized outside of an aging context, as has Lawton and Nahemow’s Ecological Theory of Aging (Lawton & Nahemow, 1973; Nahemow, 1990). Proceedings of the annual conferences of the Environmental Design Research Association regularly include multiple entries related to the elderly (Wener & Szigeti, 1988).