There are few neuropsychological or neuroimaging studies of HIV-positive children with "slow progression". "Slow progressors" are typically defined as children or adolescents who were vertically infected with HIV, but who received no or minimal antiretroviral therapy. We compared 12 asymptomatic HIV-positive children (8 to 12 years) with matched controls on a neuropsychological battery as well as diffusion tensor imaging in a masked region of interest analysis focusing on the corpus callosum, internal capsule and superior longitudinal fasciculus. The "slow progressor" group performed significantly worse than controls on the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence Verbal and Performance IQ scales, and on standardised tests of visuospatial processing, visual memory and executive functioning. "Slow progressors" had lower fractional anisotropy (FA), higher mean diffusivity (MD) and radial diffusivity (RD) in the corpus callosum (p= <0.05), and increased MD in the superior longitudinal fasciculus, compared to controls. A correlation was found between poor performance on a test of executive function and a test of attention with corpus callosum FA, and a test of executive function with lowered FA in the superior longitudinal fasiculus. These data suggest that demyelination as reflected by the increase in RD may be a prominent disease process in paediatric HIV infection.

The identification of aetiological factors and the description of demographic profiles of children sustaining TBI constitutes a basis for preventative policy administration and intervention strategies in SA.

Social psychologists have long been interested in the effects of ‘contact’ between racial groups. The conditions under which this contact can manifest have usually been experimentally manipulated in order to determine optimal combinations. A shortcoming of this approach is that it constructs contact situations that are unnatural and contrived. Some researchers have proposed an approach that examines contact as a natural phenomenon (Dixon & Durrheim, 2003). The present research adopts this approach, and reports on a naturalistic, observational study of ‘contact’ between students in university residence dining-halls. Seating patterns of students were observed for one month and analysed along dimensions of spatial variation. The results show high levels of informal segregation and that the segregation manifests as a specific spatial configuration. Such results, which occur despite the presence of apparently favourable conditions, illustrate how this approach may lead to different conclusions to those achieved through experimental manipulation.

Using a combination of observational and questionnaire methods, this longitudinal study investigated interracial contact in a university residence dining hall, focusing on the organization of seating patterns. The results showed that informal division by race was extensive, with indices of interaction (xPy*) and evenness (D) indicating the existence of high levels of racial segregation. Moreover, although they had ample opportunities for regular contact, students' preferences for sitting with same-race peers remained relatively constant across the study period. Their explanations for seating choices emphasised the role of wider friendship patterns as well as the importance of eating with people with whom they felt ‘comfortable’.

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