Thesis (Ed.D.)--Teachers College, Columbia University, 1956. / Typescript. Type C project. Includes tables. Sponsor: Helen Judy-Bond, Laura W. Drummond. Dissertation Committee: Arno A. Bellack. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [170]-175).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-106). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--Bowling Green State University, 2006. / Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 57 p. : ill. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2004. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-106). Also available on the Internet.

Leaders in the field of home visiting and family support research have indicated that the inclusion of home visiting in comprehensive services for low-income families with young children can play a key role in improving a wide variety of outcomes for at-risk children and their families. These recommendations have been based in part on selected empirical findings from the home visiting literature. However, synthesis of empirical findings has proven difficult, due to the heterogeneity of this population and the diverse applications of home visiting as a service delivery strategy. The present meta-analysis examined a representative sample of the peer-reviewed literature to provide a comprehensive, quantified description of the features and findings of this literature. The four research questions addressed by the meta-analysis provide a framework for this description. The first research question concerned a description of research designs and methodological features found in the literature. The second and third research questions concerned, respectively, descriptions of the samples and interventions employed in primary studies. The final research question concerned the examination of those domains in which primary studies measured outcomes, and the quantification of outcomes in terms of standardized mean difference effect sizes. Summarization of primary studies' methodological features illustrated specific issues that may be addressed in the design of future home visiting research, and laid a basis for the examination of meta-analysis findings. The composition of primary studies' samples reflected the heterogeneity expected from a population defined by a parameter as broad as "low-income," yet included lacunae that may represent subgroups among the poor that are not being studied. Data providing an assessment of several types of intervention features have implications for questions of treatment efficacy, and for future home visiting research. Mean effect sizes in several domains were found to have a magnitude of practical significance for child and family outcomes. Findings of this project provide a structure for continued meta-analysis of this body of literature, and highlight potential areas for further primary research. Meta-analysis data lend support to previous recommendations, as well as point out gaps in our knowledge.

It is the purpose of this study to examine the work of visiting teachers or school-social workers in various places which have employed this service for a number of years and to determine some of the contributions which such service makes to the over-all program of the elementary school from the standpoint of services to the child, to his family, and to the teachers.

Advances in science and technology have made nursing practice in acute care settings complex, rapid and demanding. Hospital visiting hours and rules are established for the comfort and safety of patients and their loved ones. In addition, there is the need to focus on the needs of 'the customer'. The researcher adopted a descriptive, exploratory approach to determine the perceptions and preferences of patients, family members/friends and nurses of visiting time in ICUs. The aim was to recommend mechanisms and measures with regard to the desired visiting schedule that would enhance patient-centred integrated care in ICUs. The study found that patients and family members/friends preferred extended visiting time and perceived this as beneficial to them, while the majority of the nurses preferred scheduled visiting time. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health Studies)

Advances in science and technology have made nursing practice in acute care settings complex, rapid and demanding. Hospital visiting hours and rules are established for the comfort and safety of patients and their loved ones. In addition, there is the need to focus on the needs of 'the customer'. The researcher adopted a descriptive, exploratory approach to determine the perceptions and preferences of patients, family members/friends and nurses of visiting time in ICUs. The aim was to recommend mechanisms and measures with regard to the desired visiting schedule that would enhance patient-centred integrated care in ICUs. The study found that patients and family members/friends preferred extended visiting time and perceived this as beneficial to them, while the majority of the nurses preferred scheduled visiting time. / Health Studies / M. A. (Health Studies)

The overall aim of this study is to explore how health visiting and mothering practices have been shaped by the implementation of Health for All Children (Hall). ‘Hall’ denotes a programme of work around child health surveillance and promotion published in four reports between 1989 and 2003. The fourth Hall report (Hall 4) marked a shift towards a more targeted approach to service provision, predominantly through the work of health visitors, yet aimed to meet the needs of all families with young children. The study explores how health visitors’ work practices have been shaped by this new policy context, including how it has influenced their relationships with families as well as the profession as a whole. It also examines the experiences of mothers, their relationships with health visitors, and how they negotiate and manage their children’s health and well-being. A review of Scottish policy reveals an early years agenda focused on risk and early intervention; and that community nursing has been at the centre of, and shown resistance to, a number of policy directives over the last decade. A review of the existing literature explores the relationship between evidence and Hall and identifies health visitors as the profession charged with its implementation. Literature on mothering and fathering exposes a focus on parenting in policy which belies the gendered nature of caring for children. The empirical study reported in this thesis is located theoretically in relation to the shifting emphasis in disciplinary practices shaping child health from normality to risk. The study uses a qualitative approach and took place within the Lothian region of Scotland. Initially, discussions with policy-makers and practitioners working in the early years, nationally and locally, were carried out to scope the context for the study. Semi-structured interviews with 16 health visitors and 20 mothers were then undertaken and analysed thematically, with the findings chapters shaped through an iteration between theory and grounded analysis of the accounts of the health visitors and mothers. The health visitors’ accounts reveal the changing nature and form of their knowledge and expertise and the implications of this for their practice and profession. The discussions of health visiting practice identify the important roles of observation and relationships work with families, in homes and clinics over time, and how these activities enable health visitors to construct knowledge of families. The interviews with mothers suggest a blurring between lay and professional knowledge where normality is defined by mothers themselves and through their relationships with health visitors. While the mothers work to construct themselves as morally adequate, attention to the stories mothers tell, and, in particular, the emotion in them, suggests that vulnerability can be experienced by any mother. This phenomenon sits in contrast to increasing attention by professionals placed on the monitoring and policing of ‘vulnerable’ families while opportunities for observation and relationships work diminish. The study concludes by exploring key conceptual issues. It considers shifts between normality and risk and how these are shaping how vulnerability is constituted through health visiting practice. In conjunction, it explores the implications of changing health visiting practices, for health visitors, as a profession. Finally, the scope for the health visiting profession to shape policy and practice are considered.

New digital technological possibilities allow physical museum artefacts to be transferred into a virtual environment using 3D computer models with rich information content for educational purposes. However, although several museum websites have applied relevant educational theories to learning activities in these 3D environments, these alone are not enough to develop 3D museum environments without consideration of virtual visiting styles in the learning context. This research addresses the relationship between visiting styles and the design of 3D museum environments based on pedagogic approaches for learning efficacy. Relevant literature on the nature of web-based museum systems was reviewed. Three stages of primary research (a critical review, observations and interviews) were also conducted in this study. The critical review examined the use of 3D technologies in current museum websites in terms of informational aspects and the learning context. The observation studies identified the relationship between visitor behaviours and associated learning activities within 3D museum environments. The interviews further elicited experts’ views and were used to test the research hypotheses. A theoretical design reference model was developed. Initially based on the Reeves multimedia design model, the model consists of three phases: analysis, design and assessment. A prototype 3D exhibition was created based on the theoretical model and two pedagogic approaches. Evaluation of this showed that the design of the exhibits with rich multimedia formats had the potential for more effective visitor learning. The two pedagogic approaches encouraged the related visiting style(s), leading to a deeper engagement with the content and ultimately improving learning efficiency.