The focus of this study was on the development of the POSI-COPE group program for separated or divorced parents and an investigation of its efficiency and effectiveness. A survey of the literature in this area indicated that there was a paucity of systematic research in the field of group programs for separated parents coping with relationship dissolution. Utilizing a Program Development Model of research (Gottman and Markman, 1978), formative and summative strategies for planning and developing the POSI-COPE program were implemented. Through a distillation of major themes in the literature, the goals chosen for the development of the POSI-COPE program were: 1. To provide a supportive and reassuring group environment for participants, leading to a reduction in the intensity of anxiety experienced during the relationship dissolution process. 2. To share information about relationship dissolution and to help participants meet their needs through ventilation of feelings and effective problem-solving, leading to a reduction in the accumulation of negative feelings which inhibit the process of positive family change. 3. To encourage participants to be responsible for themselves and their behaviour and to focus on their strengths as parents (with or without custody of their children), leading to a greater sense of autonomy and self-esteem. The formative strategy for the development of the POSI-COPE program consisted of systematically describing the implementation of this program and monitoring its efficiency. The latter involved the use of self report post session and post program questionnaires. The feedback generated by these questionnaires confirmed that the participants had experienced the group environment as supportive and reassuring, that they had an opportunity to share and resolve some of their concerns and had gained information about the relationship dissolution process as well as affirming their identities as concerned parents. These findings suggested that the group leaders, the group discussions and the information provided were components that facilitated the success of the program. They also indicated the value of making minor modifications to the program and to extend its length. The summative strategy for the development of the POSI-COPE program consisted of assessing its effectiveness in achieving the three goals specified through the use of three measures, the State Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Adjustment to Change Scale and the Tennessee Self Concept Scale relative to a no treatment wait list control group. Analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses generated within this segment of the study. The results indicated that: 1. The POSI-COPE program did not meet the criteria for the reduction of the intensity of anxiety experienced during the relationship dissolution process. 2. The POSI-COPE program did not meet the criteria for the reduction of the accumulation of negative feelings which inhibit the process of positive family change. 3. The POSI-COPE program met two of the seven criteria for the achievement of a greater sense of autonomy and self-esteem through reducing Self Criticism Scores and increasing positive ratings of Personal Self. It did not meet the remaining five criteria of this goal which were to increase positive self ratings on Total Score, Physical Self, Moral-Ethical Self, Family Self, and Social Self. Reasons for, and implications of these results were discussed and suggestions for program change and for further research were described. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Oklahoma is in the middle of Tornado Alley, a name resulting from the large number of tornadoes that hit the region yearly. These storms are costly to life and property. The housing in Oklahoma is currently not well enough engineered to withstand tornados. This thesis proposes a three stage response combining construction technology and the use of landscape to better protect the homes and residents of Oklahoma.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri--Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Across Scotland, there is a lack of research in care homes. This thesis explores this topic by examining links between inclusion, participation in general and participation in research and whether those who work and live in the care home environment experience social citizenship. Using a national survey and interviews with residents, staff, relatives and experts in care home research, this thesis investigated whether participation generally was linked to participation in research for residents, staff and visitors in a care home setting. The thesis further explored how social citizenship functions in a care home environment and whether there is a link between participation and citizenship. The findings suggest there is a lack of general participation which is connected with the leadership style and management within the care homes. There is misunderstanding about research and legislation amongst the care home staff, residents, visitors, as well as the junior research staff which inhibited staff and resident participation. Furthermore, citizenship is not experienced universally by residents or staff due to disempowerment, and exclusion occurs amongst residents due to age, frailty and dementia. By facilitating good leadership, communication and relationship-building such issues may be overcome. In addition, the analysis suggests a link is evident between inclusion, participation and citizenship. Where choice is provided and residents have their social position maintained, as well as have a degree of responsibility for shaping events, this leads to participation and inclusivity as described in Bartlett and O’Connor’s (2010) definition of social citizenship. Furthermore, if inclusion is adapted for cognition and frailty, then participation leads to the experience of social citizenship, encouraging a culture which can welcome research. The explicit emphasis on inclusion and participation in research has enabled this under-researched area of participation and experience of social citizenship in care homes to be more fully explored.

The purpose of this research project is to develop concepts for doing cost-benefit analyses for governmental and nonprofit homes. Such concepts should facilitate a differential diagnosis which recognizes the wide individual differences among those served. Developing relevant concepts is a first step in measurement. An aim is to develop appropriate concepts and instruments that will make an ordinal measurement of resident satisfaction possible. This study makes no effort to develop monetary measures of either costs or benefits. These measures and the related cost-benefit analyses must await further developments. Of the home's employees, the nurses and nurses' assistants usually have the most prolonged and intimate contact with the residents. The nurses and nurses' assistants often are the home personified in that they provide the bulk of a home's services to the less able residents. This explains why the environment of the home, which includes the values, needs, and attitudes of nurses and nurses' assistants, is believed to influence resident satisfaction.

This research study proposed to view a remote service delivery system from three distinct perspectives: connected home environments (user perspective), remote service delivery platform (service enabler), and remote service providers (service provider perspective); to establish a holistic view on the requirements of remote service provision to connected home environments. A reference architecture for remote service provision based on the proposed views has been devised, which provides built-in support for an “On-Demand” operating model and facilitate “Freedom of Choice” via different levels of interoperability.

Among the smart technologies - smart devices, smart cars, smart homes, smart cities - why has only the smartphone gained worldwide appeal? The aim of this paper is to explore the barriers faced by smart cities and smart homes, and highlight why the two applications of IoT have not gained significant traction despite a decade of promise. Significantly larger in scale than the smart home, the smart city is more constrained by the technical limits of IoT technology due to resource-limited nodes. Therefore this paper will explore the technical hurdles common in the smart city sphere and evaluate potential solutions. On the other side of the spectrum, the use of IoT in the home can be a deeply personal decision. From a business perspective, the smart home market grows increasingly crowded as ambitious entrepreneurs are all looking to claim a piece of an ever-expanding pie. The smart home section will strive to unpack these complex social and business dynamics, suggesting ways to expand and retain a larger user-base.