Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 2006. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-41).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1991.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1991.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-117).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1991.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 2006. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 35-41).

The problem with which this investigation is concerned is that of determining whether utilizing self-help groups for remedial mathematics students would improve their course completion rates, achievement, and attitudes toward learning mathematics. The methods of determining the success/failure of self-help groups in this study were the Z-test from inferences concerning two proportions, the t-test from inferences concerning the difference between two independent means, and the t-test from inferences concerning the difference between two dependent means. The participants of the study were chosen from the students enrolled in "daytime" mathematics classes at Tarrant County Junior College - Northeast Campus, Hurst, Texas. The experiment was conducted over two semesters and the data combined for statistical analysis. There were one hundred four students involved in the study. Fifty-two students comprised each of the experimental and control classes. The term self-help group was utilized to describe a small group of two-to-fifteen people who engaged in discussion of responsibility, standards, confession, lay leadership, and action. The students did not study mathematics in self-help group sessions. The group meetings dealt with anxieties, attitudes, and commitment that may be associated with mathematics in general. To investigate the hypotheses of this study, data was collected to calculate the percentage completion rates, the means of the final exams taken by students, and the differences of the Semantic Differential scores given to students in the experimental class at the beginning and the end of the semester. This data was utilized for statistical analysis to determine if the experiment was successful. The report concludes that self-help groups did not significantly improve course completion rates, achievement, or attitudes of students toward learning mathematics. Forty-four per cent of the students that completed the experimental class participated in self-help groups.

This thesis research is an ethnographic account of how identity and a sense of community are discursively constructed and managed among participants in mutual aid groups. Research findings are based upon interview and observational data collected from two support groups located in a Canadian city. While members' accounts provide a basis for interpreting the meaning of support as experienced, researcher observations focus on discursive identification practices. My interpretation sheds light on the dynamic interplay between notions of community, symbolic boundary and identity. Participant stories grounded in experiential knowledge, serve as critical connecting nodes in the construction and reproduction of community and as legitimate leverage to resist denied agency. These case study findings suggest how support, community and identity are collectively accomplished, in part, by managing symbolic boundaries through positioning practices. An understanding of these micro-processes has practical implications for the development of mutual aid groups to meet health and social needs. / xiv, 310 leaves ; 29 cm.

The purpose of this study was to explore the possibility of linking the formal social service delivery system, represented by professional social work services, with the informal system, represented by self-help/mutual aid groups. The developmental research model described by Thomas (1978a, 1978b, 1981, 1985b) was selected as appropriate to the goal of moving beyond the acquisition of knowledge to that of the application of knowledge by practising social workers for the benefit of clients. In the first part of the study the historical and social factors which contributed to the development of the self-help movement in South Africa were explored. The second part of the study focused on the knowledge, attitudes and practices of Durban social workers in relation to self-help groups and established the feasibility of the proposed development. A 75,6% response was received from a questionnaire distributed to all qualified social workers in the Durban area. One hundred and sixteen social workers (51%) who indicated that they were willing to participate further in the investigation were then interviewed. Through the questionnaire and the interview, social workers became cognizant of self-help groups, the nature of their services and the range of possible roles and relationships with them. Mutual aid/self-help groups were found to be part of a strong historical and cultural tradition in South Africa. Many groups had developed as a response to the inadequacies of state welfare services. Social development and change functions coexisted with the service and citizen participation attributes of groups established in post-industrial economies. The social workers were found to have generally positive attitudes to self-help groups and to be engaged in a variety of activities in interacting with them. The conclusion demonstrates that the findings have implications: first, for social welfare policy, particularly in relation to the issue of privatisation; secondly, for social work practice, in that the linking of formal and informal services would be feasible and that the need exists for collaborative interaction between the two; thirdly for social work education which needs to combine theory-building with the application of theory in practice. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1989.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Oregon, 2008. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-107). Also available online.