Studies support the assumption that social connection and support are essential to adequately cope with a life-threatening illness. This exploratory study surveyed a small sample of cancer patients to ask them what they needed at the time of their initial diagnosis and what reactions to their illness that they perceived in others. The ability to clearly identify needs and reactions was deemed as important as the content of their responses. This study supports the premise that when asked cancer patients can identify their own needs and are clearly aware of others' reactions to their illness.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Education in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education (Educational Psychology) in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Needs Education at the University Of Zululand, South Africa, 2016 / Data was collected using qualitative methodology. The purposive sampling was used in selecting nine teachers and eight parents for the study. To collect data, semi-structured interview questions were formulated. Interview questions consisted of open-ended questions were conducted to teachers and parents in determining the role they play in empowering special needs learners with psychosocial skills. Observation was done in different phases during lessons/learning. Qualitative data analysis was used in order to draw conclusion about the role of teachers and parents in empowering special needs learners with psychosocial skills in a special school. Research findings led to the following conclusions: teachers empower special needs learners in various ways compared to the role played by parents. They believe in teaching special needs learner’s skills to be independent, sociable, and presentable and be recognised by the society. Others teach skills by focusing on the learner’s strengths to overcome their weaknesses. Some teachers empower learners through sports in order for them to participate and compete with other children outside school while others believe in teaching discipline so that learners should be able to obey the rules outside school. The results reveal that the empowerment of learners depends on the child’s condition/disability. The findings revealed that hundred percent of parents believe in giving their special needs children love and support in whatever skill that has been identified by teachers as their role of empowering them. They also make their children feel important to the family and to the community. Parents believe that once the child feels loved, she or he is able to love themselves and others. The results show that there is a gap between the role played by teachers and that played by parents which needs to be filled. The findings revealed that partnership between teachers and parents in supporting special needs learners to benefit from their education is good although there are challenges mentioned. The programmes available in the school and in the community also empower special needs children even they exit school. On the basis of the findings, recommendations for teacher training in special education were put forward in order for the empowerment of special needs learners with psychosocial skills in special schools to be effective.

Yes

Consultants are frequently called to help organization leaders identify and solve problems. However, few research reports reveal the holistic nature of the process. This case study helps fill that void with naturalistic inquiry into a process consulting intervention. This action research describes an external consultant's intervention with leaders of a large federal agency over an 18-month period to help conduct and implement a training needs assessment (TNA). A naturalistic inquiry design used multiple methods to gather quantitative and qualitative data through three action cycles. The first cycle describes the TNA process and deliverables answering the organization's questions "What training was required and was being done, for whom, by whom, at what cost?" The second cycle revolves around the research questions "How do the organization's leaders view, value and make use of the TNA?" and "What happens as a result of the consultant/researcher's intervention?" The third cycle answers the question "What are the organizational dynamics that facilitate or inhibit the adoption of planned change?" Research findings were: 1) Organizational leaders valued and used the TNA to reorganize and centralize their training; 2) The intervention provided documentation and recommendations for short and long-term planned changes; 3) Cultural biases cast training as important but a low priority with hierarchical structures complicating centralizing actions. The case study frames complex change through a systems perspective that combined theories from multiple disciplines. Action learning in the process reflects the paradoxes of learning that are often unrecognized and usually unreported. The open-ended nature of the inquiry reveals the need for a high tolerance for ambiguity, extensive knowledge, flexibility, networking ability, and trust in the process. Research theories, methodologies, and assumptions were reassessed with some revealing conclusions: action research is not intuitively obvious nor widely recognized in fields of practice reinforcing the need to continuously improve ways to intervene. Future recommendations are to: encourage more candid holistic reporting of action research; recognize that traditional research paradigms make action research riskier to pursue and defend; encourage leaders in all fields to continuously develop and use more tools, models, and networks to help improve our future organizations. / Ed. D.

The purpose of this study was to identify continuing education and training needs of aquaculture Extension agents, specialists, and program administrators on the list serve AQUA-EXT. Ten competency areas were evaluated regarding perceived importance, and need for continuing education or training. In addition, 14 resources on the Aquaculture Network Information Center (AquaNIC) website were evaluated from this population for frequency of use and recommended improvements. Lastly, demographic data were collected to determine possible relationships to continuing education and training needs. The survey population was the AQUA-EXT list serve membership (N = 223), of which 174 responded. AQUA-EXT is a Web based mail group established by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service as a means of disseminating information to the Extension community with work and interest in aquaculture. Data were collected with an online survey conducted via the interactive and encrypted Web site www.survey.vt.edu. Upon completion, data were exported into, and analyzed via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). A majority of Extension agents, specialists, and program administrators did not require significant continuing education or training to accomplish their work effectively. However, general agreement among the three groups was for continuing education in the areas of program evaluation, information technologies, and human development. Regarding the AquaNIC website, 52% of Extension agents, 71% of specialists, and 81% of program administrators reported having used AquaNIC, however, use was infrequent. Recommendations to enhance Web site utility focused on requests to update and incorporate more comprehensive and in-depth information for all resource areas. Demographics indicated that mean ages for Extension agents, specialists, and program administrators were 47.9, 50.5, and 51.5 years respectively. Sixty three percent of agents indicated having master's degrees, and 63% and 72% respectively of specialists and program administrators indicated having doctorates. Means for years in their present position were 13.4, 13.2, and 8.4 years respectively for Extension agents, specialists, and program administrators, and 16.6, 16.1, and 15.5 respectively regarding total years in Cooperative Extension or Sea Grant. No statistical relationships between demographics and continuing education and training needs for Extension specialists, specialists, and program administrators were found. / Ph. D.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to examine the English language needs of Tour Guidance students of Faculty of Applied Sciences at BaSkent University by referring to the perceptions of students, English instructors and curriculum coordinators and to see whether there was a relationship between students&amp / #8217 / attitude towards English language and their self ratings of learning and target needs. The data collection instruments used for the study were the attitude scale and student needs assessment questionnaire administered to forty-five students, ESP Identification Form administered to two curriculum coordinators and English Instructor Questionnaire administered to both of the curriculum coordinators and the three English instructors. The descriptive analysis of the data revealed that there were both similarities and differences among the perceptions of students, English instructors and curriculum coordinators with respect to the learning needs and target needs of students. Paired-Samples T Test results indicated need for most of the skills referring to learning and target needs. The relationship between students&amp / #8217 / attitude towards English language and their self ratings of learning and target needs came up to be of different values for the seven subdimensions of attitude. On the basis of the results of the study, it is suggested that speaking, listening and specialist vocabulary be emphasised more in order to fulfill the ESP needs of Tour Guidance students. Applying skill based syllabus as primary and situational and content approaches to syllabus design as subordinate is suggested to be effective as well. Using instructional materials appealing to the subdimensions of attitude is another suggestion presented.

This dissertation profiles the needs of abandoned or orphaned, HIV affected or infected children living in a South African institution. The purpose of my research is to identify the needs of the children; then identify how the staff within the institution perceive that they provide for these needs; and lastly look at what Music Therapy as a discipline can offer the children in regards to the needs identified. Interviews with fulltime and part-time staff members suggest that the needs of the children relate mainly to a lack of individual attention. Inconsistent quality of care and limited opportunities for forming attachments to specific caregivers were identified foremost as resulting in difficulties with forming and maintaining relationships and social functioning with peer members and staff members, in the institutional social cultural context. The therapeutic relationship offered to the children in Music therapy sessions offers opportunities to address the individual and social needs identified. / Dissertation (MMus (Music Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Music / unrestricted

The thesis will address and address rational planning as well as neoliberal planning. A brief explanation of its significance during the 20th century as it will form an important basis for the continued work. The work contributes to an improved understanding of how we handle the environmental psychological needs at different levels in planning. The purpose of the work is to develop a planning tool that can be used in future planning to measure people's needs in an urban space. As a demarcation of the work, the author focuses on urban places instead of individual buildings. / Uppsatsen kommer att behandla och beröra rationell planering såväl som nyliberal planering. Kort förklaring till dess betydelse under 1900 – talet eftersom det kommer utgöra en viktig grund för det fortsatta arbetet. Arbetet bidrar till en förbättrad förståelse för hur vi hanterar de miljöpsykologiska behoven på olika nivåer i planeringen. Syftet med arbetet är att utveckla ett planeringsverktyg som kan användas i framtida planering för att mäta människors behov i ett stadsrum. Som en avgränsning i arbetet fokuserar författaren på urbana platser istället för enskilda byggnader.

It is well recognized that due to customers’ ever-growing material and cultural needs for a better life, an increasing number of people choose to experience premium hotels on their work trips or personal travels to keep top-tier elite membership of premium hotels. Previously, most luxury consumption research showed that higher needs drive consumer behaviour, such as identifying recognition and self-esteem. However, many people still focus on achieving job tasks, increasing income, or saving money by their membership. This phenomenon brings a puzzle about whether keeping top-tier elite membership of premium hotels is driven by spiritual needs or economic needs. To address that, this study drew on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. It investigates the effects of spiritual needs (higher need) and economic needs (lower need) on consumer willingness to keep top-tier elite membership of premium hotels and how individual education levels moderate these effects. This study administers an online questionnaire-based survey among top-tier elite membership owners of premium hotels in mainland China. It uses the PLS-SEM technique to analyse the 150 valid questionnaires we collected. Our empirical findings indicate that spiritual needs, instead of economic needs, are the key driver to encourage consumers to maintain their top-tier elite membership of premium hotels. Furthermore, we uncover the moderating effect of individual education level and determine that the positive impact of spiritual needs on consumer willingness to keep top-tier elite membership of premium hotels is strengthened among highly educated people. Therefore, this study mainly reinforces the theoretical and practical value of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs in luxury consumption research and extends its application, meanwhile, advances the research on luxury consumption and particularly in top-tier elite members of premium hotels.