Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of La Verne, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 184-191).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 149-160).

This study used data from the 2008 wave of the Health and Retirement Study to examine variations in relationships among selected psychosocial characteristics, race/ethnicity and expectations of nursing home utilization in the United States, with a particular focus on Latino/a subgroups. This study sought to test a modified version of the Andersen and Newman model of health service utilization. Findings revealed that expectations of nursing home utilization remained lower among Latino/as than in the Non-Latino White sub-groups, even when levels of need, enabling, and predisposing factors were controlled for. However, for Mexican Origin respondents (who are often arbitrarily combined with other individuals of various Latino nationalities as one homogenous group) never differed significantly from the White reference group. The inclusion of the selected psychosocial characteristics (attitudes towards one's own aging, personal mastery, religiosity, and perceived family support/ family satisfaction) increased the explanatory power of regression models tested. Having a high sense of personal mastery, as well as having a more positive attitude towards one's own aging, were associated with lower expectations of nursing home use. An important implication of this study is that the Latino/a population in the United States should not be treated as a homogenous, pan-ethnic group, particularly in regards to health service use. Also, psychosocial characteristics are relevant when considering expectations for nursing home use

The impact of the physical environment on communication for residents of long-term care (LTC) facilities has not been examined in depth. No study currently exists which explores environmental influences on communication within the long-term care setting. Investigation of such facilities is important because of the a large impact environmental features have on the quality of life of residents due to the often restricted nature of daily routines and reduced level of cognitive and/or physical function of residents. A definition of environment is needed in order to create a methodology for assessment and treatment of residents in LTC facilities. This study investigates what factors contribute to a positive communication environment in long-term care facilities and how the physical environment should be assessed. Observational data was obtained for three LTC residents with different types of physical and communicative impairments to determine what environmental factors inhibit or support communication. Barriers and facilitators to communication are identified, and recommendations for assessment of the long-term care environment are made. Contributions from the fields of aphasiology, environmental gerontology, and environmental psychology are described in order to contribute to the understanding of what contributes to a positive communication environment. Study results included support for: participant observation as a component of resident assessment, assessment of multiple environments, the importance considering individual needs during assessment, and assessment of resident perception of environment. Furthermore, this study presents a checklist to be used to guide observational assessments. / text

Working memory and long-term memory are two types of memory associated with children’s learning and academic performance. A number of memory models have suggested there is a relationship between working memory and long-term memory; however, there is a lack of empirical research measuring this relationship using standardized assessment tools. Further, there are currently no studies measuring this relationship in children. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between children’s working memory (i.e., verbal working memory, visual-spatial working memory, verbal short-term memory, visual-spatial short-term memory, and the central executive) and long-term memory, using standardized assessment tools. The Automated Working Memory Assessment was used to measure working memory and the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Abilities – Third Edition was used to measure long-term memory. This study utilized secondary data from a larger SSHRC funded study. Participants included 41 children between grades 1 and 8. The majority of parents who volunteered to have their children participate identified them as having a disability (e.g., speech/language difficulty; learning disability). Kendall’s tau-b revealed statistically significant correlations between four areas of working memory (i.e., verbal working memory, visual-spatial working memory, visual-spatial short-term memory, and central executive) and long-term memory. Mann-Whitney tests revealed children with higher working memory abilities differed significantly from children with lower working memory abilities on measures of long-term memory. The findings from this study may have implications for both theory and practice. The relationship observed between working memory and long-term memory appears to align with widely accepted memory models (e.g., Baddeley, 2000; Dehn, 2008). The findings also suggest interventions designed to improve children’s working memory may have the potential to enhance long-term memory abilities.

Not available / text

Within the last few decades there has been a push in the field of learning disabilities to identify students who have or who are at risk for learning disabilities as early as possible. Little to no research has been conducted on the long-term effects of age of first service provision for students with learning disabilities, however. Using multiple regression, this study will analyze data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS-2) to investigate the potential effects of age of first service provision on high school educational achievement and educational attainment in order to better understand the longer-term effects of the age of identification and age of intervention for students with learning disabilities. / text

No description available.

Many older adults residing in long term care (LTC) homes have underlying health conditions and limited functionality. The objective of this research was to address the issues which might affect the health status and functionality of older adults (age ≥ 60y) living in LTC homes. To achieve this objective, the research was carried out as four studies. In the first study, supplement and medication use was examined, specifically exploring the impact of dementia, and to assess pill burden in older adults residing in LTC home. In the second study, menu served in this LTC was assessed for recommendations of Canada’s Food Guide servings, macro, micro nutrients, and diet quality score. This menu analysis was compared to a similar analysis conducted a decade ago to find out what changes had occurred over time. In the third study, LTC residents were assessed for blood inflammatory markers, 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), metabolic syndrome, physical functioning, cognition, pain, and associations between inflammation and markers of functionality. Similar analyses on healthy community dwelling older and younger adults was conducted to draw differences amongst all three groups, i.e., older frail (LTC residents), older healthy, and younger healthy (community dwelling). In the fourth study the option of adding an anti-inflammatory diet was explored to address the issues of inflammation and compromised menus in LTC. Major findings suggested that there was inappropriate overuse of supplements, yet vitamin D supplements were consumed by only one-third residents of the LTC home. The LTC menu did not meet the recommendations for Canada’s Food Guide servings except for Fruits & Vegetables. Diet quality of the LTC menu was low and indicated the need of improvement, however, the comparison of current menu to a decade old menu showed some improvements. Inflammatory markers in LTC older adults were high, and the majority of subjects had insufficient 25(OH)D. Metabolic syndrome was seen in about more than one-third of subjects. Significant correlations between C-reactive protein, cognition and activities of daily living were detected. The anti-inflammatory diet was validated from research, and strategies of incorporating it into the diets of LTC residents were addressed.

Time-dependent cosmic ray modulation in the heliosphere is studied by using a two-dimensional time dependent modulation model. To compute realistic cosmic ray modulation a compound approach is used, which combines the effect of the global changes in the heliospheric magnetic field magnitude and the current sheet tilt angle to establish realistic time dependent diffusion and drift coefficients. This approach is refined by scaling down drifts additionally (compared to diffusion) towards solar maximum. The amount of drifts needed in the model to realistically compute 2.5 GV proton and electron and 1.2GV electron and helium intensities, as measured by Ulysses from 1990 to 2004, is established. It is shown that the model produces the correct latitudinal gradients evident from the observations during both the Ulysses fast latitude scan periods. Also, much can be learned on the magnitude of perpendicular diffusion in the polar direction, K┴θ, especially for solar minimum conditions and for polarity cycles when particles drift in from the poles. For these periods K┴θ = 0.12K║ in the polar regions (with K║ the parallel diffusion coefficient)and K┴θ /K║ can vary between 0.01 to even 0.04 in the equatorial regions depending on the enhancement factor toward the poles. The model is also applied to compute radial gradients for 2.5 GV cosmic ray electrons and protons in the inner heliosphere. It is shown that, for solar minimum, and in the equatorial regions, the protons (electrons) have a radial gradient of 1.9 %/AU (2.9 %/AU), increasing for both species to a very fluctuating gradient varying between 3 to 4 %/AU at solar maximum. Furthermore, the model also computes realistic electron to proton and electron to helium ratios when compared to Ulysses observations, and charge-sign dependent modulation is predicted up to the next solar minimum expected in 2007. Lastly the model is also applied to model simultaneously galactic cosmic ray modulation at Earth and along the Voyager 1 trajectory, and results are compared with> 70 MeV count rates from Voyager 1 and IMP8. To produce realistic modulation, this model gives the magnitude of perpendicular diffusion in the radial direction as K┴r/K║= 0.035 and that the modulation boundary seemed to be situated between at 120 AU and 140 AU. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Physics))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.