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Excerpt: Interventions that include a combination of behavioral and lifestyle modifications— including decreased caloric intake, specific aids to changing diet, increased physical activity, and treatment of binge eating disorders—have modest benefit with appropriate use (strength of recommendation [SOR]: A, based on multiple randomized controlled trials). Hypnosis can be used as an adjunct to behavioral therapy for weight loss (SOR: A, based on systematic reviews).

The aim of this thesis to high lights the Afghanistan complex situation and itsimplications on Pakistan. Though out the history, Afghanistan complex situation andweak government create a security threat for Pakistan. Since the late 1970s Afghanistanhad suffered brutal civil war in addition to foreign interventions in the form of the 1979Soviet invasion and the 2001 U.S. invasion. Pakistan is significantly and directly affectedby the foreign invasion in Afghanistan. Pakistan is facing a variety of security threats; aninternal threat, an Indian threat, and the threat from Afghanistan. In order to comprehendPakistan's security dilemma, it is necessary to start our discussion with analyze theAfghanistan geographically importance, foreign intervention in Afghanistan, pak-afghanrelation, Pakistan’s foreign policies towards Afghanistan, the resistance movement andrefugee problems, and then evaluate the security situation. Admittedly, the India factorcannot be ignored in studying Pakistan's security dilemma.

As America’s schools strive to educate a diverse population of students, some of these students, who are identified as low-achieving, find school to be difficult. The need to improve low-achieving students’ reading skills has been the focus and concern of educators for many years. This study, which utilized a causal comparative research design, investigated third and fourth grade students’ literacy achievement scores for participation or non-participation in the Students Reading Enrichment Program (SREP), which is an in-school and/or after-school program, in the Jenkins School District (JSD). The SREP provides low-achieving students the opportunity to work in small groups with interventionists, teachers, and tutors who offer structured support based on each student’s ability level. The purpose of the study was to determine if the SREP in-school and after-school programs affected student achievement in Grades 3 and 4. Students’ MCT2 and STAR Reading scores were statistically examined. Existing data from a convenience sample of students were used. A multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and Pearson correlations were used to answer the research questions for this study. The independent variables for the study were: (a) level of participation, (b) grade level, (c) sex, and (d) attendance. The dependent or treatment variable, Reading Achievement, was comprised of students’ reading scaled scores on MCT2 and STAR Reading. No statistically significant differences were found to indicate that reading interventions affected student achievement in Grades 3 and 4. Recommendations for future research include: (a) conducting longitudinal studies to determine long term effects on students attending in-school and after-school programs over the remaining four years of the SREP, (b) analyzing other variables such as classroom teachers, in-school interventionists, after-school teachers, and after-school tutors, (c) investigating the unique contribution that each of these variables has on student achievement, (d) comparing data for the interventionists who are certified teachers and the interventionists who are not certified teachers, and (e) examining the professional development of classroom teachers, in-school interventionists, after-school teachers, and after-school tutors.

Vocabulary knowledge is essential for children’s reading success (Dickinson & Porche, 2011; Ouellette, 2006). Unfortunately, even before formal schooling begins, glaring differences in language ability exist between children from disadvantaged backgrounds and their more advantaged peers (Hart & Risley, 1995, Golinkoff et al., 2018; Fernald, Marchman, & Weisleder, 2013). Despite efforts to redress differences in vocabulary knowledge, previous interventions have made little progress (Wasik et al., 2016). Researchers have suggested that the translation of knowledge from the science of word learning to literacy research may be one way to increase the effectiveness of vocabulary instruction (Hassinger-Das et al., 2017). The current study is a vocabulary intervention for preschoolers that employs, and expands upon, principles from the psychology of word learning (that deep word knowledge can be built through semantic networking and through category formation) used in previous projects (Neuman et al., 2011; Neuman & Kaefer, 2018). Specifically, this project assesses if participants who are provided with an advanced organizer that aims to provide a foundation upon which to build richly-connected word knowledge show enhanced learning from the intervention. Results from this dissertation demonstrate that, when comparing two groups who received equivalent vocabulary instruction, the addition of an advanced organizer did not lead to enhanced depth of target word knowledge, categorization ability, or induction ability. However, overall, children in the study made significant gains on categorization ability and depth of target word knowledge. This study offers a first step into how vocabulary researchers might incorporate a foundational component to improve upon interventions. / Psychology

Musculoskeletal disorders are a considerable burden to the individual and the society at large. Therapeutic exercise and psychosocial interventions are longer-term therapies for relieving pain, improving function and outcomes after musculoskeletal disorders, and for enabling patients to manage their conditions. Healthcare professionals such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists widely use therapeutic exercise as part of a single or complex intervention. However, adherence to supervised or home exercise remains low among patients with musculoskeletal disorders. Understanding the barriers and facilitators of exercise adherence has the potential to improve the delivery of exercise programs and the design of interventions to improve adherence. Similarly, psychosocial interventions are recommended as a supplement to exercise therapy for the management of prolonged pain and disability after musculoskeletal disorders. Several psychosocial factors have been linked to prolonged pain and disability after hand injuries. However, while clinicians believe they have a role in managing psychosocial problems in hand therapy, barriers such as limited access and lack of knowledge pose a challenge to delivering psychosocial interventions. Current evidence shows that online-based coping skill programs provide cost-effective and accessible options for delivering psychosocial interventions in musculoskeletal care. However, there is a dearth of literature on the design, development, and implementation of online-based psychosocial interventions in hand therapy. This thesis includes four manuscripts with three overarching objectives. The first objective was to synthesize the qualitative evidence on barriers and facilitators of therapeutic exercise towards closing the gaps in adherence literature. The second objective was to understand the beliefs, attitude, knowledge and practice behavior of clinicians with regarding to managing psychosocial problems in hand therapy. The third objective was to provide a report on the design and development of a web-based coping skill training program for psychosocial problems specific to hand therapy. The fundamental aim is to provide toolkits that can be used to increase the knowledge and clinical practice behavior of physiotherapists and occupational therapists to optimize musculoskeletal health using therapeutic exercise and psychosocial interventions. The second and third manuscripts are a protocol and completed meta-synthesis of qualitative literature outlining the factors influencing adherence to therapeutic exercise in individuals with musculoskeletal disorders from the perspective of patients and healthcare professionals. We identified numerous factors influencing adherence to therapeutic exercise, which were organized according to the World Health Organization (WHO) multidimensional adherence framework. Based on the meta-ethnography line of argument, interpretation of identified themes: personal and lifestyle characteristics, health status and illness perception, nature of the program, health system, and social/environmental resources, showed that while some factors interact, others could be conceptualized as being on a continuum. These findings expanded the original model introduced by the WHO. The fourth manuscript presents a qualitative descriptive study designed to understand the knowledge, attitude, beliefs, and practice behavior of hand therapists practicing in Ontario with regards to psychosocial problems. The findings informed by the Theoretical Domains Framework provide insights into factors influencing the decision of clinicians to assess and manage psychosocial interventions in hand therapy. Addressing factors such as knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about psychosocial factors at the individual and organizational level has the potential to increase the capacity of clinicians to adopt a clinical practice behavior that promotes the assessment and management of psychosocial problems in hand therapy. The fifth manuscript is a mixed-methods study describing the design, development, and usability testing of Hand Therapy Online COping Skills (HOCOS) training online program to support hand therapists in the management of psychosocial problems. Using a three-step process that involved needs assessment, heuristic testing, and user testing, we sought feedback from Information and Communication Technology experts and clinicians in hand therapy to develop the HOCOS prototype using iterative cycles. The results revealed heuristic violations and usability related to task performance, navigation, design aesthetics, content, functionality, and features and desire for future use. All violations were corrected in the final prototype, and participants expressed a high degree of satisfaction with using the final prototype in practice. The next phase of HOCOS design would require user testing by patients with hand injuries. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / Bone and joint injuries are very common in orthopedic practice and massive burden to individuals and society at large. Many patients are given exercises as part of their treatment to reduce pain and improve function. Unfortunately, many individuals continue to struggle with attending therapy sessions and doing exercises by themselves. Starting and continuing exercises are required to maximize the benefits from exercise recommendations. However, many barriers continue to make exercising a challenge. Research is needed to identify the challenges of starting and continuing exercises from the perspectives of both patients and healthcare professionals. In some situations, some patients with bone and joint injuries such as hand injuries continue to have pain and reduced function even after the original injury has healed. The weak relationship between the initial injury and present experience of pain and reduced function means other reasons like the mental, emotional, and social factors need to be considered in clinical practice. Healthcare professionals have reported several difficulties when dealing with psychosocial problems and want to learn strategies and skills for dealing with the mental, emotional, and social challenges affecting recovery after injuries to bones and joints. The use of the web-based coping skills training for managing psychosocial problems in individuals with bone and joint conditions has shown positive results. However, these strategies are yet to be explored in individuals with injuries to the hand and upper limb. This thesis includes four papers with the first two papers aimed at examining the literature on adherence to therapeutic exercise. Findings from these papers showed the interactions among the five factors influencing adherence to exercise according to the World Health Organization’s model: patient, health condition, treatment plan, health system, and socioeconomic factors. The third paper sought to understand the opinion of clinicians working in hand therapy about the mental, emotional, and social issues of patients. The result showed that participant’s beliefs, attitudes, knowledge and behavior concerning the assessment and management of psychosocial issues are shaped by several factors organized into six themes. The final paper reports on the steps involved in the making of a new internet coping skill program developed for use in individuals with hand and upper limb conditions. Review of the website by technology experts and clinicians showed areas for improvement which were subsequently amended until the participants reported satisfaction with the system. The clinicians expressed interest in using the online coping skill program in their hand therapy practice.

No / This introduction presents how views on ‘the local turn’ in peacebuilding has evolved into a significant discourse. Currently, it has ‘its moment’ and is widely used by theorists and practitioners alike, by normative localists as well as by liberal policy-makers, albeit for different reasons and with differing intensions. We suggest that international interventions for the purpose of peacebuilding cannot be justified a priori, but requires resonance at the ‘receiving end’, which the local dimension potentially offers. It is however an elusive and contested concept that requires thorough scrutiny and critical assessment. Here a collection of conceptual and empirical articles is contextualised and introduced, painting a broad state-of-the-art of the pros and cons of the local turn.

Psychosocial interventions to cultivate functional motivational beliefs in students are becoming increasingly popular. However, in education it is easy to prematurely place hope in promising, emerging techniques and ideas before they are fully explored through research. This study seeks to add to the body of knowledge examining psychosocial interventions by investigating one of the constructs popularly targeted in these interventions: self-theories of intelligence (STIs). Within this study, STIs are explored within a previously tested model of motivational variables (goal orientations, effort beliefs, interest, causal attributions, and failure response). The addition of metacognition to this model of achievement motivation is also investigated. Because research has suggested that STIs may be domain-specific, this study focused on STIs in the domain of science. Within this study, I used a self-report instrument comprised of seven subscales (each representing one motivational variable) to collect information on the achievement motivation of rural middle school students in the domain of science. Students from three schools in two counties in rural southwest Virginia participated in the study (n = 367). Independent and paired-samples t-tests, confirmatory factor analysis, mediational analyses, and structural equation modeling were used to answer the following four research questions. 1. To what extent are rural middle school students' self-theories of intelligence fixed or malleable in the domain of science? 2. To what extent do rural middle schools students have metacognitive knowledge and skills in the domain of science? 3. Does metacognition mediate the relationship between a malleable belief of intelligence and positive effort beliefs? 4. To what extent does the Blackwell, Trzesniewski, and Dweck (2007) model fit data obtained from rural middle school students in the domain of science? The results showed that the participants expressed a significant malleable view of intelligence, and demonstrated moderate amounts of metacognitive knowledge and skills. Metacognition was shown to be a significant mediator of STIs and effort beliefs. Standardized path coefficients for the achievement motivation model were significant; however, model fit indices revealed that this model may not be an adequate fit for these students' beliefs in the domain of science. / Ph. D.