<p> Aboriginal people in Canada are less likely to complete postsecondary education than are non-Aboriginal people. This lack of education leads to increased rates of unemployment and poverty and the need for additional government supports. The purpose of this project study was to identify and examine barriers faced by Canadian Aboriginal adult students as they return to school for postsecondary education. The conceptual framework for this qualitative study was based on the work of Ertmer, which suggests barriers can be placed into broad categories of extrinsic and intrinsic barriers. A case study design was used with a purposeful sample from a local academic institution. Eleven Canadian Aboriginal adult students were interviewed, 6 who successfully completed the college entrance program and 5 who did not complete the program. One counselor from the program was also interviewed to help provide a better understanding of the complexities of the identified barriers. Data analysis included substantive and theoretical coding. Thematic analysis led to 8 overall themes or barriers that affected these students&rsquo; success: level of self-confidence, social environment, racism, spirituality, government policies, mental health and addictions, perceived value of education, and perceived need to demonstrate leadership. Recommendations include the development of a professional learning community made up of students, teachers, and the Aboriginal communities where the students lived. The project emanating from this study is a 3-part workshop intended to identify and mitigate barriers of Canadian Aboriginal adult students. Understanding and mitigating the barriers will promote positive social change by increasing the success rates of this population of students as they attempt to return to postsecondary education.</p>

BACKGROUND There is an extraordinary common medical condition that affects millions of people, mostly women. It is associated with high levels of disability, discomfort and loss of productivity. People seldom talk about it and suffer in silence and have a fear of being ridiculed or embarrassed. It is not breast cancer, nor osteoporosis, nor heart disease nor is it depression. It is urinary incontinence – the loss of bladder control, which affects the lives of millions of people globally. General Practitioners (GP‟s) do not have a good knowledge about the topic and are therefore not managing Urinary Incontinence (UI) appropriately. AIM To assess the knowledge, attitudes and reported practices of general practitioners related to adult female patients with urinary incontinence in Greater Johannesburg. OBJECTIVES To determine the demographics of the respondents belonging to the various Independent Practitioner Associations (IPA's). Variables include age, sex, year qualified, postgraduate qualifications, and the number of years in clinical practice. To determine the demographics of the respondents practice. Variables include, age distribution, gender distribution, and the number of patients seen with urinary incontinence per month. To determine the knowledge of the respondents regarding urinary incontinence in adult females. Variables include prevalence, aetiology, types of urinary incontinence, associated risk factors and reversible factors. v To determine the attitudes of the respondents regarding urinary incontinence in adult females. Variables include feelings of empathy, frustration, etc. To determine the management of the respondents regarding urinary incontinence in adult females. Variables include access of referral facilities, screening, examination, investigation, and medication. METHODS The study was done amongst the Independent Practitioner Associations in the greater Johannesburg area. A questionnaire was administered to GP‟s attending IPA meetings, data was collected with regards to the demographics of the GPs and their practices as well as the knowledge, attitudes and reported practices of the GPs. RESULTS The response rate cannot be calculated as the number of GPs who attended the IPA meetings is not known. One hundred and thirteen respondents met the inclusion criteria for the study. The data was collected over a 10-month period during 2006. Males accounted for 76 (68.5%) and females for 35 (31.5%) of all respondents. Two (1.8%) respondents had three postgraduate qualifications, 11 (9.7%) respondents had two postgraduate qualifications and 38 (33.6%) respondents had one postgraduate qualification. The prevalence of patients with UI was higher amongst female respondents, 33 (97.1%) as compared to male respondents 67 (88.2%). Feelings of empathy was experienced by 94 (88.7%) respondents and 81 (81%) respondents would never avoided the discussion about UI with patients. Most respondents rated their knowledge on aetiology 82 (78.1%), diagnosis 79 (73.8%), investigation 58 (54.2%) and management 58 (54.7%) as good and very good.

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MSc (Med), Population-Based Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 2009 / Introduction: Although socioeconomic inequality in health and mortality is currently on the top of the epidemiologic debate, studies however on the subject among adult population in Africa has been hampered due to the long absence of data in many countries. With the present reliable records of deaths from emerged demographic surveillance systems on the continent, adult mortality can now be accurately estimated. Objectives: The study‟s main objectives were 1. To calculate and show trend in adult mortality rate in ACDIS between 2001 and 2007. 2. To measure the association between mortality and individual‟s socio-economic status in the ACDIS. Methods: Individuals were selected based on age (15-64 yrs) and residency (Resident in the DSA on 1st January 2001). The total number of adults who met the criteria was 33,677; out of whom 4,058 died during the seven years follow up period. Mortality rates were computed using Kaplan-Meier survival estimates expressed per 1000 PYO. Household wealth index was constructed by use of PCA. The association between SES and adult mortality was assessed using Cox proportional Hazard model controlling for potential confounders such as age, sex and marital status. Results: The High group of the socioeconomic quintile had the highest mortality rate of 22.2 per 1000 PYO, 95% CI (20.7 - 23.7). There was no significant trend in the rates among the SES groups. After adjusting for the potential confounders; the effect of socioeconomic status in the highest SES category was 0.10 times less likelihood for death compared to the lowest SES group [HR=0.90, p=0.042, 95% CI (0.81 - 0.99)]. Conclusion: This study revealed that adult socioeconomic status is not significantly associated with adult mortality. Reducing the gap between the rich and the poor might not be the effective way in reducing adult mortality.

Although much has been written on cooperation and coordination, there has been little documentation of statewide efforts to promote such activities in the field of adult and community education. In 1976, the Florida Legislature mandated the establishment of Community Instructional Services (CI / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-01, Section: A, page: 0060. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

Cooperative Extension in New York State has as its primary purpose to help people to improve their lives, families, and communities through interpretation of research and extension of new knowledge from the land grant university to deal with their concerns. Attainment of this purpose depends greatly on the effectiveness of elected program committees responsible for guiding informal educational programs and services in each county. / In 1978, a project was conducted, the purpose of which was to design a plan of action for helping county extension agents improve program committee effectiveness. A design method created by Roy J. Ingham (1972) was used to develop the plan of action. Project steps were performed in accordance with his "Method of Designing Action Systems" (MODAS). Implemented steps are: / (1) Description of the present state of the situation (S). In 1977, less than 30% of all New York counties had program committees rated as performing at or above a "good" level of effectiveness. / (2) Description of the desired state (S(,1)). The preferred situation was to have no less than 75% of the counties with program committees performing at or above a "good" level by June 1980. / (3) Formulation of a rationale for S(,1) to substantiate its value. / (4) Identification of a more encompassing class of phenomena which includes the observed situation (S). Through a literature search it was learned that a rating of performance could be classified as an instance of organizational effectiveness. / (5) Location of a relevant and reliable knowledge base. Rensis Likert's (1967) theory of organizational behavior was selected as the explanatory system most adequate to explain the means for achieving member acceptance of high goals, a concept identified as having strong potential for controlling organizational effectiveness. The identified means concepts are high leader goals, supportive leadership, group methods of leadership and leader work facilitation. / (6) Design of a specific plan of action (POA(,1)) by translating identified means concepts into concrete observable actions. Sixteen activities, attributes of which specifically matched the means concepts, were designed for the plan of action for increasing member acceptance of high goals. / (7) Identification and measurement of exogenous variables (external environmental factors) which, if in a certain state, might prevent the POA(,1) from attaining the desired state; then, modification of the plan of action (POA(,2)) to account for these variables. The three program leaders in a county selected for POA implementation and their state supervisors were interviewed and available records were examined in light of variables identified in social science literature. The organization climate was examined by a survey of committee members. / (8) Preparation of a plan for process and product evaluation. Interviews of committee members were planned to determine what, and how, components of the plan of action were implemented. Pre- and post-project member surveys were planned to measure the present and desired states of the means concepts in the selected county and a comparison county. / (9) Implementation of the POA(,2). One new and two experienced program leaders in the project county implemented POA(,2) with different program committees over a period of ten months. / (10-12) Evaluation of the process with necessary modifications and determination of the state of member acceptance of high goals in the program committees through product evaluation. Evidence obtained from survey responses, corroborated by reported member actions, supports the claim that attainment of (S(,1)) can be attributed to POA(,2). / Fellow extension administrators urge that POA(,1) be used in other counties of New York. Also, they suggest using MODAS to assist extension agents in designing plans of action for improving other aspects of Cooperative Extension. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0898. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

Society seems in the midst of what many futurists, sociologists, and others predict will be chronicled as the transformation of industrial society, a theme discussed as the foundation of the study. According to Lewis Mumford, approximately six broad transformations have occurred in the history of humankind. Writing in 1956, he predicted that the next transformation would concentrate on our inner world to match our current externalism, and that learning would become the principal business of life. Based on this observation, lifelong learning and transpersonal psychology--two global movements rapidly evolving over the past decade--collectively address the composite ingredients which Mumford predicted as characteristic of, and essential to, a new transformation. / Accordingly, the underlying theme of the present inquiry was that both movements are manifestations of a much more fundamental transformation occurring in society-at-large, and that each has the potential to contribute to the other's growth. The main purpose of the study was to afford a comprehensive analysis and overview of both movements in order to understand their commonalities and complementarities, concentrating on the potential hypothetical contributions transpersonal psychology might offer to lifelong learning. The inquiry basically progressed through the following steps: (a) Exposition, (b) Analysis and synthesis, (c) Application, (d) Implications. / A comprehensive literature review provided the primary basis for an exposition of the lifelong learning movement, particularly since an elucidation and analysis of the concept-characteristics had already been explicated. Since the transpersonal field was not as well conceptualized, an identification of key contributors to the field was undertaken, followed by an intensive review and synthesis of their major publications. Based on these efforts, a five page conceptualization of the field was developed and sent to the identified group for verification/modification. The feedback received was incorporated into a refined, expanded version, which formed the basis of the chapter on transpersonal psychology. / Chapters One and Two, accordingly, presented an exposition of lifelong learning and transpersonal psychology, respectively, as two organized, collective movements. Chapter Three addressed the analytic and synthesizing components, juxtaposing the two movements in order to make their commonalities, particularly in reference to the coming transformation, more visible. Also, the various ways in which they might act in a complementary manner to each other were highlighted, emphasizing how transpersonal psychology complements and may contribute to lifelong learning. Chapter Four explored how transpersonal psychology may provide a foundation for structuring a depth dimension for lifelong learning to complement current articulation on vertical and horizontal dimensions. Vertical deals with society's responsibility to make learning opportunities available to individuals at all ages and stages of growth, while horizontal addresses the breadth of the movement, cutting across a spectrum of learning agents, spheres, and formats. The depth dimension, development of which was proposed by adult educator J. R. Kidd, would address a continuum of needs from simple to sublime. By applying the transpersonal framework to its articulation, the quality of life concept--an overarching aim of the movement--is addressed, recognizing that different definitions and descriptions will be given to both quality of life and lifelong learning at various points along the depth continuum. The combined use of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs in conjunction with Gibb's Environment Quality (EG) Scale are proposed in this regard, thus incorporating both individual and societal growth in an integrated movement toward a learning society. In conclusion, Chapter Five offered implications and recommendations for further inquiry. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-09, Section: A, page: 3834. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.

To explore the subject of the relationship between levels of dogmatism or open-mindedness and teaching style among adult education teachers, a series of specific hypotheses were formulated based on findings reported in the research literature of social psychology and adult education and on the opinion of a series of adult educators contacted for the purposes of the study. To test these hypotheses, a specially-designed survey was administered to a random sample of adult education teachers currently employed in three districts of Florida. / The instrument administered to the adult education teachers in the sample included a questionnaire and the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, Form E. The questionnaire had two parts: part one on background characteristics was designed to collect information on the demographic characteristics, previous experience and personal attributes of the teachers; part two on teaching style was designed to determine, insofar as possible, the teaching style of the respondents by the use of a Likert-type preference scale. / The results of the study of the relationship between level of dogmatism and certain aspects of teaching style showed a negative relationship between level of dogmatism and flexibility in adaptation to classroom situations (r = .50, p = .001), and between level of dogmatism and empathy and warmth (r = .41, p = .01). More open-minded teachers were both more flexible and more empathetic in their teaching style. No relationship between the level of dogmatism and a democratic classroom style was found, however. / As concerns relationship between level of dogmatism and personal characteristics, the sex of the teachers was the only variable found to be significantly related to level of dogmatism. Women proved to be less dogmatic. None of the other background variables examined--age, level of education, number of years teaching adults, amount of professional training in adult education, or variety of former experience-showed a significant relationship with level of dogmatism in the sample. / The primary importance of the study was to open up a new field of investigation in adult education and bring into focus one socio-psychological variable that may have an impact on the teaching style of adult education teachers. Findings must be regarded as tentative. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 42-10, Section: A, page: 4246. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1981.

Illiteracy among adults is a chronic condition in the United States and elsewhere. Considerable resources have been expended to improve this condition. In the United States, the public schools through their adult education divisions have attempted to make a contribution to this effort. Impeding this effort has been their inability to create and use methods that result in attracting illiterate adults in sufficient numbers to attend their programs. / This dissertation describes a project designed to increase the number of illiterate adults enrolled in the adult basic education (ABE) program in a community school in Tallahassee, Florida. The project made use of a method for designing effective plans of action (POA) developed by Ingham and Hanks (1978), for changing existing states of affairs into preferred states. / Through Ingham and Hanks' (1978) Method of Designing Action Systems (MODAS), a plan of action (POA(,1)) was developed to increase the number of enrollments in ABE, at Godby High School, Tallahassee, Florida. / POA(,1) incorporated a series of actions which operationalized three variables or means concepts: (1) personalized recruitment, (2) significant others' influence, and (3) parenthood. / As a result of partial implementation of POA(,1) and some complementary activity by the practitioner, enrollments of Eligible adults in ABE rose from an average of 3.4 per quarter for the five previous quarters, to 30 for the Winter quarter of 1980, (i.e., a 882% increase). / Process evaluation procedures included interviews with the personnel and the Eligible adults. Time series analysis and the nonequivalent comparison group procedure served as a basis for designing product evaluation. / A revised plan of action (POA(,2)) was introduced to incorporate new data generated by process and product evaluation. A fourth means concept, structural requirements, was added to the explanatory system. / Finally, a critique of MODAS based on the experience gained from its implementation resulted in a revised design method. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-02, Section: A, page: 0339. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

The need for improvement within the nutrition education component of many congregate meals programs for the older adult has been widely discussed. Personal experience, observations and conversations with other professionals experiencing the problem suggest the need for more personalized nutrition education activities and the need for ways to arouse the participants' interest in nutrition as possible solutions to the problem. / An intensive search of the literature revealed that problems did, in fact, exist with the nutrition education component of a large number of congregate meals programs. Throughout the literature, the need to stimulate older adults to want to know more about nutrition and the need to plan the learning experiences around the needs and concerns of the older adult as they perceive them was documented. Even so, the literature as it is, does not instruct the practitioner as to how to go about determining the specific needs of the older adults nor does it provide concrete information on how to stimulate their interest in nutrition. / This study was designed to address this problem as it occurred in a specific congregate meals program. The investigator used the case study approach and diet history questionnaire to collect data on thirty volunteer participants in a congregate meals program in Tallahassee, Florida. A systematic record was kept on program participants for the purpose of deriving generalizations upon which the investigator developed a practical needs assessment technique. The practical needs assessment technique was used to determine the nutrition education needs and concerns of the older adults participating in this congregate meals program and to stimulate their interest in nutrition. / The administration of the practical needs assessment technique produced the outcome desired by the investigator. This investigation is valuable in that it provides for the practitioner involved in providing nutrition education to older adults with attributes similar to those in this study a technique that can be used to determine the needs of his/her group. Also, the pamphlet developed in conjunction with this study is useful to the individual with little background knowledge about older adults. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-02, Section: A, page: 0342. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.