Care assistants have a unique insight into the lives of service users and those factors which may impede or enhance the delivery of high quality dementia oriented care. To address the paucity of research in this area, the present study examined care assistant experiences of dementia care in British long-term residential and nursing environments. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight care assistants and transcripts were analysed using interpretive phenomenological analysis. Super-ordinate themes emerging from the data were psychological wellbeing of the care assistant, barriers to effective dementia care, the dementia reality and organisational issues within the care environment. The study revealed important deficiencies in understanding and varying levels of dementia training. Whilst person centred strategies were being implemented, task orientated care remained dominant. Furthermore, care assistants reported taking the perspectives of those with dementia into account, and actively using these to develop relationship centred care.

A national survey investigated the long-term effects of World War II internment on family communication, ethnic preference, confidence in personal rights, and attitudes to redress among third-generation Japanese Americans (sansei) who were infants or young children during incarceration. Findings were compared to those for noninterned sansei with and without parents who had been interned. Differences between interned and noninterned sansei were found primarily in family communication and family distance.

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The composition, abundance and distribution of macroplastics (MAPs) and microplastics (MPs) in the Vinces and Los Tintos rivers were determined in three sites (Pueblo Nuevo, Santa Marianita, Los Tintos) from the low basin in the coastal province of Guayas, Ecuador. MAPS were recorded by visual census, covering a total distance of 140 m, and MPs were extracted in the intertidal sediments via density separation using a saturated NaCl solution, and these were counted using a stereomicroscope. A total of 940 plastic items were identified. The predominant debris was plastic with 85.2%, followed by manufactured materials and metals. The Vinces River contained the highest abundance of plastic in the locality of Pueblo Nuevo. The most abundant plastic was MPs. The most common MAPs were plastic bags (23%), food packaging (17%) and foamed plastic (8%). MP size classes quantified between 0.15 and 2.52 mm in intertidal, very fine sandy sediment and decreased in abundance with increasing grain size. The most common MPs were fibres (65.2%) (black (43.8%) and blue (25.8%)), and their distribution has a high correlation with population density and water flow direction: Santa Marianita 5.55 g−1, Pueblo Nuevo 7.39 g−1, Los Tintos 8.17−1. A significant abundance of fibres was identified in Pueblo Nuevo. The plastic spatial distribution revealed major plastic pollution in areas where recreational and tourism activities have been developed. Therefore, we recommend implementing awareness campaigns by educating businesses, residents and tourists on managing solid waste (especially plastic) and wastewater. Our results can serve as a baseline for future plastic monitoring in the area.

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