Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 88-103). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2003. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 127-139). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2002. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-188). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

This thesis addresses itself to the problem of observing, interpreting and explaining ongoing behaviour in the natural environment. It maintains that the ,intention of the actor is the primary characteristic of behaviour and is concerned with how observers attribute intentions to the actions of others. Naive observers were asked to segment the behaviour of infants exhibited to them on a video tape and having done so to describe that behaviour in their own terms. The behaviour sequences selected for observation were relatively "simple",i.e. the behaviour of infants and young children, in order to gain some possible guidelines for a study of more "complex" adult behaviour. The sequences were interpreted on two levels, at the perceptual level and at the level of meaning. It was assumed that by instructing subjects to divide the observed behaviour into perceived segments and subsequently to describe those segments, that some guidelines as to how to proceed with a study of action would emerge. The findings suggest that "naive observers do identify meaningful segments in the ongoing stream of behaviour but that inter-observer agreement about the precise timing of the changes was not high, a finding which differs from studies on adult behaviour. Attributed meanings were also individual, suggesting that the actions observed are not tied specifically to the physical movements of the child but are subject to a range of meaning depending on the observer's individual interpretation. General trends in meaning were, however, observed for the children of different ages. These trends were identified by categorizing the attributions into "functional" categories, developed from a study of early utterances and are assumed to be continuous with later "uses" that language serves. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1982.

This study was an investigation of the patterns of relational communication in conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) for children with behavioral problems. This study compared the patterns of relational communication when different processes (i.e., decision-making versus information gathering) are used to meet the objectives of CBC during the Conjoint Problem Identification Interview (CPII) and the Conjoint Problem Analysis Interview (CPAI). It also explored the relationship between patterns of relational communication and the outcome of CBC. Twenty-one children with identified behavioral problems (ages 3 to 8), the mothers and teachers of these children (i.e., the consultees), and advanced graduate students (i.e., the consultants) participated in this study. Relational communication was measured via the Family Relational Communication Control Coding System (FRCCCS, Heatherington & Friedlander, 1987). The two summary variables that were derived from the FRCCCS are domineeringness and dominance (Courtright, Millar, & Rogers-Millar, 1979; Rogers-Millar & Millar, 1979).The measure of outcome was the improvements in children's target behavior from baseline to intervention at home and at school, as measured by effect size statistics. The extent to which consultants, parents and teachers intent to direct the other and how the others receive their directiveness, appear to vary as a function of the interview as well as the process use to meet objectives within an interview. Some patterns of relational communication were found to be associated with the outcome of consultation. The original contributions as well as the implications of this research are discussed.

In a semi-longitudinal exploratory study using observational and in-depth interviewing methods the following questions were explored through an intensive analysis of 10 families involving 17 allegedly abused children. / 1. What are the factors to which social work practitioners in different organisational settings (a hospital based child abuse service and a statutory child protection service) give salience in their assessment of alleged child abuse cases and what is the nature of their observed models of practice? / 2. What is the nature of the interaction between different organisations, and in particular between the core organisations (the hospital, police and child protection services) in cases of alleged child abuse? / 3. How do parents perceive their experiences related to the alleged abuse of their children, and how do they perceive their interactions with core organisations? / Professionals were interviewed about their unfolding perceptions throughout the life of each case, with a total of 134 interviews being conducted with practitioners (an average of 13.4 per case). A total of 46 practice episodes were also observed (an average of 4.6 per case), including office interviews, home visits, groups sessions, meetings, case conferences and a court hearing. For all but one of the ten families it was also possible to conduct lengthy, in-depth home interviews with the parents about their experiences relating to the alleged abuse and their contact with services, thus bringing the combined total of professionals' and parents' in-depth interviews to 143. / A content analysis of the field notes yielded a number of themes and key findings. In relation to the first question, it was found that social workers in both the hospital and the child protection service gave salience to quite different variables and both groups attended to a much narrower range of variables than the framework of psycho-social assessment traditionally taught in professional social work education. / In relation to the second question, it was found that a pattern of marked tensions was evident in the relationship between the child protection service and both the hospital and the police. This mirrored the inter-organisational tensions which existed at a broader political level between these organisations. The tensions at the service delivery level were conceptualised as gate keeping disputes, dispositional disputes and domain disputes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 151-159). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2007. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 3312.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Michigan State University. Dept. of Counseling, Educational Psychology, & Special Education, 2006. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on June 19, 2009) Includes bibliographical references (p. 70-79). Also issued in print.

Thesis (MSD (Play Therapy))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.