The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicted that the incidence of HIV/AIDS among the American population aged 50 years and over would account for 50% of all HIV/AIDS cases in the United States by 2015. Yet there is little research available about the reason for the high prevalence or the availability of interventions available for this population. The purpose of this study was to explore factors related to HIV/AIDS awareness in a group of older recipients of health care and their health care providers. This study was intended to help fill the information gaps in this area by using a conceptual framework based on systems theory and social network theory. A mixed-method design was used to collect data; semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of 17 health care providers and analyzed using thematic content analysis. Structured exploratory surveys were distributed to a sample of 99 HIV/AIDS-positive adults, aged 50 and over, to understand common factors likely to have contributed to their infection and the results were compared to common factors already identified in the general population in the literature. Results of this study indicate possible communication barriers that exist between care providers and their older clients when discussing topics related to behavioral factors contributing to HIV/AIDS. This study contributes to social change by adding support to the importance of education programs and awareness campaigns about factors related to HIV/AIDS to curtail the spread of this disease among older adults.

Certains athlètes pratiquant la course en fauteuil roulant utilisent des gants durs pour obtenir l’adhérence nécessaire leur permettant de pousser le fauteuil avec leurs bras et le balancement de leur corps d’avant en arrière. Dans le cadre d’un projet de recherche visant à améliorer les performances des athlètes, une étude portant sur le contact gant – cerceau a été menée. Plusieurs opportunités d’amélioration sont présentées pour améliorer les gants durs et ainsi éviter les glissements en condition de pluie et les rebonds de la main sur le cerceau. Deux paramètres majeurs influent sur la performance : la forme du gant et le matériau permettant l’adhérence avec le cerceau. La forme du gant optimale dépend de la configuration de l’assise de chaque athlète ainsi que de la manière de pousser. À la suite d’une étude théorique et expérimentale, il a été conclu qu’une rainure en forme de V modelée directement dans un gant dur augmente la force normale aux surfaces et ainsi contribue à améliorer l’adhérence sur le cerceau. Cette rainure placée sur l’avant du gant, dans la zone d’impact, ne doit pas présenter un angle d’ouverture trop resserré pour permettre une sortie rapide du cerceau dans la zone de dégagement située en arrière du gant. Le matériau permettant l’adhérence sur le cerceau doit avoir des aspérités de tailles adaptées à la vitesse d’impact du gant sur le cerceau, et à la présence potentielle d’eau. Le matériau recherché doit également résister à l’usure de frottement pour permettre à l’athlète de terminer la course sans difficulté. Au final, le matériau suède semble répondre à tous ces critères : assez résistant, il présente un revêtement qui garde une certaine adhérence sur le cerceau en condition de pluie.

Whilst a significant body of research exists related to quality assurance in UK higher education (HE), few questions appear to have been raised about the commonplace practice of validation or approval of degree courses. Overall, current research tends to focus on complications arising from the procedural effects of the process, rather than exploring ways that staff dealt with the demands of these systems. This study examined staff experiences of course approval within Allied Health Profession degree courses in a UK university. The research focused on how governance structures surrounding the regulation of health professionals and universities shaped the practice(s) of approval, alongside ways in which this experience affected staff. Influenced by the work of theorists in critical and social theory traditions, this indepth study adopted narrative inquiry. Purposive sampling was used to locate twelve participants and included academics, manager-academics, staff who worked in professional bodies and within teams supporting quality in HE. In order to examine the issues related to the approval process, data was collected through interview conversations, participants’ drawings and prose, along with documentary analysis. This research revealed the narrative of approval as complex and akin to a journey involving a series of challenges, contradictions and multiplicity of stakeholders. Interpretation of the data illustrated that those participating were both constituted by, and contributed to the nature of approval. In other words, rather than being docile recipients’ of policy, it was apparent that staff appeared to take various approaches to thinking, acting and relating. A sense of adopting a position (termed here as positional identities) emerged and influenced not only participants’ journey through the approval process, but also that of others, as well as the shape and nature of courses being approved. Four positional identities were identified, namely: the Governance Trustee, Professional Guardian, Enabling Strategist and Boundary Broker. Each of these positions was subsequently explored through an exploratory conceptual map of positional identity. The emergent map stimulated the re-assessment of current conditions. Consequently, future possibilities in which approval scenarios may evolve are presented. Considering how policy changes within HE have promoted increasingly performative practices, and the ways in which participants in approval events have presented them ‘selves’, it is likely that the positional identities adopted by staff here may have resonance for academics across the sector, and that this study will inform wider debates about policy and validation of courses within HE in general.

The previous research on student debt indicates that the financial concerns associated with being in debt have a significant effect on the individual's academic performance. In the present study, a sample of 328 current students at the University of Canterbury was questioned to identify the effects of student debt on students' course selection, motivation, happiness and academic performance. Students' debt levels increased with the level of university study, and the largest form of student borrowing was from the Student Loan Scheme. While students with no debt performed better academically than those with debt, students' attitudes towards debt were found to influence the relationship between debt level and academic performance. Students who were tolerant towards debt performed better as they accumulated more debt while students who were intolerant performed worse. In general, there is little indication that student debt has a direct effect on students' course selection, motivation, happiness and academic performance. Implications of current findings are mentioned. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Attitudes of primiparous women toward childbirth were studied longitudinally as they varied with the intervention of childbirth education classes before delivery; and as they varied with the experience of labor and deli very and having a baby in the home after delivery. An anxiety scale was used measuring anxiety toward labor, delivery, the parenthood role, and stress on the marriage relationship. Measurement on the anxiety scale was taken prior to childbirth education when primiparous mothers ranged from 4 months to 7-l/2 months gestation. Measurement II on the anxiety scale was taken after childbirth education, one month prior to delivery. Measurement III on the anxiety scale was taken one month following delivery . The sample consisted of primiparous women selected from two Childbirth Education Classes at the Logan L. D. S. Hospital, Logan, Utah, in September and October of 1974. The following numbers of women responded on each of the three questionnaires: Measurement I - 77 Measurement II - 69 Measurement III - 66 Total Matched sample including all three measurements - 56. H was found that anxiety toward delivery increased significantly alter childbirth education and as time for delivery drew nearer, while anxiety toward labor decreased slightly but not significantly. One month following delivery, however, anxiety decreased toward both labor and delivery, as was expected, but anxiety toward delivery decreased to a lower level than did anxiety toward labor. It appears that these primiparous women experience more anxiety toward delivery prior to the experience, but after experiencing labor and delivery, some feel more anxious about labor than about delivery. No difference was found between any of the three measures on anxiety toward the role of parent. The participation of husbands in labor and delivery was viewed by over 90 percent of these primiparous mothers as a positive factor, on all these measurements. Earlier in pregnancy, prior to childbirth education on Measurement 1, a strong positive correlation was found between physical symptoms of pregnancy and overall anxiety level. However, this relationship seemed to disappear after childbirth education, one month prior to delivery on Measurement II. An analysis of variance showed significant variation in the anxiety or stress of the childbearing cycle on the marriage relationship with the highest stress being just prior to delivery.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of family sculpting on perceptual agreement among family members. Thirty families, each consisting of a father, a mother, and a child twelve years old or older, from areas of northern Utah and eastern Idaho participated in the study. The following instruments were administered to all individuals: a biographical questionnaire containing items regarding age, sex, occupation, education, number of years married for parents, and birth order position for children; the Interpersonal Check List in which each family was to describe him/ herself and the other members of the family; the Family Life Questionnaire which measures satisfaction in the family; and, finally, the experimental group was also administered the Subjective Check List which is a self report measure of the subject's experience with the experimental treatment. Three hypotheses were made regarding the effect that family sculpting would have on perceptual agreement among family members in the experimental groups: 1. There would be no significant difference between experimental and control groups in terms of perceptual agreement among family members after family sculpting as measured by the Interpersonal Check List. 2. There would be no significant difference between the low-satisfaction experimental group and the control group in terms of perceptual agreement among family members after family sculpting as measured by the Interpersonal Check List. 3. There would be no significant difference between the high-satisfaction experimental group and the control group in terms of perceptual agreement among family members after family sculpting as measured by the Interpersonal Check List. To test the hypotheses, analyses of covariance were computed for pre and posttest scores on all eight scales of the Interpersonal Check List, and on the Family Life Questionnaire. It was found that when the pretest means were held constant there was a difference on posttest means between the group which received family sculpting and the group that did not, on five of the twenty-four analyses. As a result of these findings all three hypotheses were rejected. However, notwithstanding a difference did exist, an examination of the unadjusted and adjusted means showed paradoxical results in that the level of perceptual agreement for the group which received family sculpting increased in three instances and decreased in two instances. Thus, it was determined that family sculpting may have facilitated changes in the perceptions of family members, however, it was not found to be effective in increasing perceptual agreement among family members. Further consideration would suggest that, in terms of a therapeutic approach, these possible changes in perception may be of value in breaking down maladaptive family communication patterns and establishing more adaptive ones.

During late adolescence and the transition to college, students often experience weight increases and significant lifestyle changes including the adoption of unhealthy eating habits and decreased physical activity levels. To address this concern, a science-based, interactive course, designed from a framework of behavioral theories was developed to target improvements in energy balance knowledge and determinants of dietary and physical activity behaviors. The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of this course using a comparison group pre-test/post-test design. Thirty-three undergraduate students, ages 18-25, participated in the course, while twenty-six students served as controls. Paired samples t-tests compared pre- to post- responses to knowledge assessments and self-perception surveys. Independent samples t-tests compared mean changes between the intervention and control group. Course evaluations were reviewed to determine to what degree behavioral strategies were perceived to influence student motivation to eat a healthy diet and engage in the recommended amount of physical activity. Significant increases were observed in energy balance knowledge (P < .001) and perceived behavioral control (P = .004) towards eating a healthy diet in the intervention group when compared to the control group. Diet and physical activity recalls and analyses were perceived by students to have the greatest influence on their motivation/ability to engage in the targeted behaviors. We conclude that an online, interactive, science-based energy balance course developed from behavioral theories can be effective at improving energy balance knowledge and dietary perceived behavioral control in a college population.

The proliferation of drug courts throughout the world over the last two decades presents an opportunity and a challenge. The drug court approach involves a combination of treatment and judicial supervision which is a diversion from incarceration and/or ‘traditional’ criminal justice supervision. Despite widespread study of drug courts, there is much that researchers still do not know and there is still controversy as to how and why drug courts work. This research study is an examination of secondary data from an urban, mid-Atlantic drug court to attempt to correlate factors that contribute to success (as defined by graduation) in drug court. This study examines drug courts using Life Course Theory, Social Capital Theory and Recovery Capital Theory as a theoretical foundation for understanding the influences of drug courts on participants. Findings from the Discriminant Function Analysis employed in this study demonstrate low to moderate ability to predict drug court graduation and program attrition based on a combination of demographic information and drug court program requirements. Among the factors found to contribute to drug court success were participants having children, their employment status, 30-day abstinence, age, and race. Additional implications for social workers practicing in drug courts are discussed as well as suggestions for future research directions in the study of drug courts.

L’objectif de ce travail était d’examiner la prévention des blessures du complexe pied-cheville chez les athlètes adolescents au travers de trois approches: les facteurs de risque de blessure du complexe pied-cheville liés à la course, l’épidémiologie des blessures du complexe pied-cheville et la mise en œuvre de stratégies de prévention. L’approche relative aux facteurs de risque de blessure du complexe pied-cheville liés à la course avait pour objectif de déterminer (i) comment la fatigue induite par la course pouvait affecter la force et la fatigabilité des fléchisseurs plantaires et dorsaux de la cheville, la répartition des pressions plantaires, la mécanique de la course et la raideur de l’arche médiale, (ii) comment le chaussage (chaussures à pointes ou “runnings”) pouvait affecter la répartition des pressions plantaires en sprint et enfin (iii) comment l’allure de course pouvait influencer la répartition des pressions plantaires. L’approche relative à l’épidémiologie des blessures du complexe pied-cheville avait pour objectif de recueillir et d’analyser, sur trois saisons, les blessures subies au niveau du complexe pied-cheville par de jeunes athlètes très entrainés et leurs relations potentielles avec le niveau de maturité de ces athlètes. L’approche présentant la mise en œuvre de certaines stratégies de prévention avait pour but d’abord de concevoir puis de valider une méthode pratique et fiable pour mesurer la souplesse. Le second objectif de cette approche était d’évaluer sur le terrain les effets d’un protocole de renforcement musculaire par électrostimulation sur la raideur de l’arche médiale du pied puis les effets d’un programme de renforcement musculaire combiné sur la répartition des pressions plantaires et la performance en sprint. / The aim of this work was to examine the foot-ankle injury prevention in adolescent athletes through three approaches: the running-related foot-ankle injury risk factors, the epidemiology of foot-ankle injuries and the implementation of prevention strategies. The approach dealing with the running-related foot-ankle injury risk factors aimed to determine (i) how running-induced fatigue may affect the force and the fatigability of the ankle plantar and dorsal flexor muscles, the foot plantar pressure distribution, the running mechanics and the medial arch stiffness, (ii) how the shoe wear (spikes or running shoes) may affect the plantar load distribution while sprinting and (iii) how running velocity may alter the plantar load distribution. The approach related to epidemiology of foot-ankle injuries aimed at collecting and analysing, over three seasons, the foot-ankle injuries sustained by highly-trained adolescent athletes and their potential relations with the maturity status of these athletes. The approach presenting some prevention strategies implementations aimed firstly to design and validate a convenient and reliable flexibility measurement method. The second purpose of this approach was to assess on the field the effects of a neuromuscular electromyostimulation strengthening protocol on the foot medial arch stiffness and the effects of a combined foot-ankle strengthening training on the foot plantar pressure distribution and the performance while sprinting.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning / Howard Hahn / Golf landscapes have been cast as selfish land use, only for the recreation of those who are fortunate enough to play (Kiss, 1998). Recently, golf has been used by precedent programs like the Salute Military Golf Association (SMGA) and American Lake Veterans Golf Course (ALVGC) for its perceived therapeutic value, specifically for those who are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The following study presents an academic exploration of the potential therapeutic benefits a therapeutic golf landscape can provide U.S. combat veterans and service members suffering from PTSD. Ownership at a golf course in House Springs, Missouri is inspired to renovate their facilities to incorporate a playing experience of honor and healing for combat veterans. The golf course at Deer Creek USA is used as a model landscape for the purpose of this study. An analysis of the existing literature on the subjects of golf course design, therapeutic landscapes and memorial landscapes provided the foundation for the study. Precedent studies were used to extract specific design principles from each subject which was next interpreted and presented into two design frameworks. The design frameworks informed a series of design consideration for both memorial landscapes and therapeutic landscapes. A detailed analysis of the existing conditions at Deer Creek USA revealed that the golf course needed an intensive renovation in order to meet the report’s goals and objectives. The final Renovation Master Plan is one of many potential applications of the design guidelines to illustrate a vision for Deer Creek USA as a therapeutic landscape for U.S. combat veterans and service members. The following report reveals an innovative approach to the renovation of a golf course specifically designed to foster a complementary form of therapy for PTSD. If built, Deer Creek USA would be a place where U.S. combat veterans and service members suffering from PTSD can go to feel honored while benefiting from the potentially therapeutic sport of golf in a landscape optimized for stress reduction.