<p>The aims of this thesis are threefold: (1) To investigate cancer patients’ satisfaction with and utilisation of an Individual Psychological Support (IPS) intervention. (2) To evaluate the effects of Individual Support (IS), comprising IPS combined with Intensified Primary Health Care and Nutritional Support, on psychological distress and quality of life during the first year after diagnosis. (3) To explore to what extent aspects of quality of life and emotional functioning one year after diagnosis can be predicted by medical, psychological and socio-demographic factors at diagnosis. The analyses are based on data from the Support-Care-Rehabilitation project, using a prospective randomised design to compare four conditions: (1) Individual Support (IS) starting at diagnosis, (2) Group Rehabilitation (GR) starting three months later, (3) a combination of IS and GR, and (4) Standard Care (SC). The study sample consisted of patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer or prostate cancer. A total of 481 patients were randomised and followed for 24 months.</p><p>The IPS was an individually tailored, problem-focused intervention based on psychosocial oncology and cognitive behaviour therapy. Half of the patients receiving IPS had more than 2 sessions. Patients reporting that they had problems to address received more IPS sessions and reported more benefits of the intervention. Receiving an extensive medical treatment, young age, and not having someone besides the family to rely on in times of difficulties increased the odds of receiving tree or more sessions of IPS. The IS had limited impact on psychological distress and quality of life in intention-to-treat analyses. Additional analyses with stratification for baseline anxiety and/or depression levels suggested that for IS patients with higher levels of anxiety and/or depression, these problems continued to diminish below those of Control patients during the first year after diagnosis.</p><p>Linear regression models were used to explore, one year after diagnosis, quality of life aspects indicative of rehabilitation needs. High levels of baseline anxiety and / or depressive symptoms were associated with lower levels of Emotional Functioning, and high self-rated well-being was associated with higher levels of Emotional Functioning. Extensive medical treatment and presence of comorbid conditions during the year before diagnosis predicted a low Global Quality of Life, whereas self-rated wellbeing predicted a high Global Quality of Life. Advanced disease, one or more comorbid conditions and high age were found to be associated with lower levels of Physical Functioning. A high level of activities outside the home during the year before diagnosis and high self-rated wellbeing were predictive of a better Physical Functioning. </p><p>In conclusion, a large proportion of cancer patients offered IPS in conjunction with diagnosis and primary treatments seized this opportunity to discuss their situation, and perceived the experience as beneficial. Thus, offering newly diagnosed cancer patients these psychosocial support services may facilitate their situation.</p>

The aims of this thesis are threefold: (1) To investigate cancer patients’ satisfaction with and utilisation of an Individual Psychological Support (IPS) intervention. (2) To evaluate the effects of Individual Support (IS), comprising IPS combined with Intensified Primary Health Care and Nutritional Support, on psychological distress and quality of life during the first year after diagnosis. (3) To explore to what extent aspects of quality of life and emotional functioning one year after diagnosis can be predicted by medical, psychological and socio-demographic factors at diagnosis. The analyses are based on data from the Support-Care-Rehabilitation project, using a prospective randomised design to compare four conditions: (1) Individual Support (IS) starting at diagnosis, (2) Group Rehabilitation (GR) starting three months later, (3) a combination of IS and GR, and (4) Standard Care (SC). The study sample consisted of patients newly diagnosed with breast cancer, colorectal cancer, gastric cancer or prostate cancer. A total of 481 patients were randomised and followed for 24 months. The IPS was an individually tailored, problem-focused intervention based on psychosocial oncology and cognitive behaviour therapy. Half of the patients receiving IPS had more than 2 sessions. Patients reporting that they had problems to address received more IPS sessions and reported more benefits of the intervention. Receiving an extensive medical treatment, young age, and not having someone besides the family to rely on in times of difficulties increased the odds of receiving tree or more sessions of IPS. The IS had limited impact on psychological distress and quality of life in intention-to-treat analyses. Additional analyses with stratification for baseline anxiety and/or depression levels suggested that for IS patients with higher levels of anxiety and/or depression, these problems continued to diminish below those of Control patients during the first year after diagnosis. Linear regression models were used to explore, one year after diagnosis, quality of life aspects indicative of rehabilitation needs. High levels of baseline anxiety and / or depressive symptoms were associated with lower levels of Emotional Functioning, and high self-rated well-being was associated with higher levels of Emotional Functioning. Extensive medical treatment and presence of comorbid conditions during the year before diagnosis predicted a low Global Quality of Life, whereas self-rated wellbeing predicted a high Global Quality of Life. Advanced disease, one or more comorbid conditions and high age were found to be associated with lower levels of Physical Functioning. A high level of activities outside the home during the year before diagnosis and high self-rated wellbeing were predictive of a better Physical Functioning. In conclusion, a large proportion of cancer patients offered IPS in conjunction with diagnosis and primary treatments seized this opportunity to discuss their situation, and perceived the experience as beneficial. Thus, offering newly diagnosed cancer patients these psychosocial support services may facilitate their situation.

In the State of Indiana, for students over the age of 14 who have been diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the transition from special education to Medicaid waiver oversight should occur seamlessly, but gaps in integrated and aligned goal development strategies remain. As a consequence, students who need adult-based support may not be receiving the full scope of services to which they are entitled. Using common-pool resource theory as a foundation, the purpose of this explanatory case study of transitional services to Indiana Medicaid was to understand, from the perspective of disability support service staff, the barriers to effective quality of life outcomes and collaboration among government agencies involved in the transition process. In-depth interview data were collected from a total of 6 vocational rehabilitation specialists, directors, and transition coordinators. These interview data were inductively coded and thematically analyzed according to identified common pool action areas. Key research findings included: (a) the need for implementation of student self-determination principles, (b) a strengthening of sustainable goal development directed toward student employment, and (c) an overall enhanced collaboration between key disability service support staff roles to create sustainable structures. Positive social change opportunities include recommendations to the Indiana Division of Disability and Rehabilitation Services to improve the overarching student-to-adult transition process, reduce redundant funding streams, and streamline goal development to create a sustainable, collaborative experience for students over their lifespan of support.

Diploma thesis "Free Time Activities of Adults with Mental Disability in Prague - the Possibility of Support in the Planning and Implementation" was written with the general objective to point out this issue in the Czech Republic. The theoretical part is aimed at introduction into areas, which are closely related with this issue. It deals with free time in general, characteristics of mental retardation and the adulthood of a person with intellectual disability. The final chapter, which deals specifically with leisure of people with intellectual disabilities, is based primarily on foreign studies and experience. The practical part consists of two investigations. The first was focused on finding organizations providing support to people with intellectual disabilities in leisure time and on precise determination of their activities (through interviews). A directory has been created with a list of offered individual support and group activities. In the second 18 interviews were conducted with adults with intellectual disability living in the current environment to determine how they think of their free time. Common characteristic of free time most of the respondents were: the popularity of group activities designed for adults with mental disabilities, as well as an interest in common activities with...

<p>The overall aims of this research were to develop methods of identifying adolescents with unhealthy and/or risk-taking behavior with special reference to sexuality, and to evaluate support measures for young people in need of such interventions. A further aim was to assess strategies for preventing unhealthy and/or risk-taking behavior. Data were obtained by questionnaires (studies I, III, IV and V) and interviews (study II).</p><p>The results showed that young men involved in unintended pregnancies would benefit from active participation in the decision making regarding continuation or termination of the pregnancy, and from support at Outpatient Clinics for Adolescents in Sweden, including information together with the partner (I).</p><p>It was also concluded that consideration should be paid to questions and problems, e.g. feelings, apprehensions, moral issues and psychosocial factors, that require individual support from personnel with knowledge and resources to help young men in this difficult situation (II).</p><p>Among the most important findings regarding young men who had been involved in an unplanned pregnancy were that in this group a high percentage had previously considered suicide and that anabolic steroids were frequently used, compared with young men without experience of pregnancy (III).</p><p>The finding that unprotected intercourse occurred in a fairly high frequency among 13- to 18-year-olds, despite massive education and easy access to contraceptives, gives reason for further considerations regarding appropriate ways of providing information to young people (IV).</p><p>Girls and boys in vocational programs in Swedish high schools exhibit more risk-taking behaviors than those in theoretical programs and these two groups differ in clustering and accumulation of these behaviors. This means that preventive interventional strategies need to be elaborated with regard to these differences, with the aim of improving health maintenance among adolescents (V).</p><p>Child-and-youth centers with a developmental and research capacity need to be established with the broad purpose of drawing up health prevention programs for children and young people.</p>

The overall aims of this research were to develop methods of identifying adolescents with unhealthy and/or risk-taking behavior with special reference to sexuality, and to evaluate support measures for young people in need of such interventions. A further aim was to assess strategies for preventing unhealthy and/or risk-taking behavior. Data were obtained by questionnaires (studies I, III, IV and V) and interviews (study II). The results showed that young men involved in unintended pregnancies would benefit from active participation in the decision making regarding continuation or termination of the pregnancy, and from support at Outpatient Clinics for Adolescents in Sweden, including information together with the partner (I). It was also concluded that consideration should be paid to questions and problems, e.g. feelings, apprehensions, moral issues and psychosocial factors, that require individual support from personnel with knowledge and resources to help young men in this difficult situation (II). Among the most important findings regarding young men who had been involved in an unplanned pregnancy were that in this group a high percentage had previously considered suicide and that anabolic steroids were frequently used, compared with young men without experience of pregnancy (III). The finding that unprotected intercourse occurred in a fairly high frequency among 13- to 18-year-olds, despite massive education and easy access to contraceptives, gives reason for further considerations regarding appropriate ways of providing information to young people (IV). Girls and boys in vocational programs in Swedish high schools exhibit more risk-taking behaviors than those in theoretical programs and these two groups differ in clustering and accumulation of these behaviors. This means that preventive interventional strategies need to be elaborated with regard to these differences, with the aim of improving health maintenance among adolescents (V). Child-and-youth centers with a developmental and research capacity need to be established with the broad purpose of drawing up health prevention programs for children and young people.

Online Language Learning Counseling (OLLC) is a new method in language learning counseling. It employs various forms of communication (email, chat, and internet telephone) and various instruments (i. e. surveys, plans, and learning journals) in order to systematically complement and support foreign language students\' self-directed learning and work processes between face-to-face and online advising sessions. The specific communicative conditions in OLLC lead to benefits and challenges for the counseling process, which can mainly be traced back to the different modalities of the communication (oral vs. written) and synchronous vs. asynchronous forms of interaction. Based on seven cases, the study describes and analyzes possible applications of this counseling approach. Its methodological framework is a longitudinal action research design with evaluative elements. The cases, which show varying formats of OLLC, are analyzed using qualitative methods applied to different sets of data, including session transcripts, participant interviews, and the counselor\'s reflections. The learners differed in their evaluations of most of the counseling forms and instruments utilized. However, most of them valued the emails that helped them prepare for the sessions and written summaries of the meetings. The in-depth analysis of three paradigmatic cases illustrates varying scenarios of OLLC, taking into account different attitudes, motivation, and working habits. The study thus shows the necessity for a counseling method that is flexible considering both the content as well as the media. The most important benefits of OLLC found in the study were the possibility to trigger self-reflection and to support motivation to learn. The composition of written texts posed a considerable difficulty to the students due to the demands of content creation and foreign language use. For the counselor, technical problems made practicing a non-directive counseling approach difficult. / Online-Sprachlernberatung (OSLB) ist eine Form der individuellen Begleitung von selbstgesteuertem Fremdsprachlernen im universitären Bereich. Dabei werden unterschiedliche digitale Beratungsformen (E-Mail, Internet-Telefon, Chats) und Beratungsinstrumente (z. B. Fragebögen, schriftliche Pläne und Lernertagebücher) eingesetzt, um den Lern- und Arbeitsprozess systematisch zwischen den Präsenz- oder Online-Sprachlernberatungstreffen zu begleiten. Die spezifischen Kommunikationsbedingungen in der OSLB bergen Potenziale, aber auch Herausforderungen, die sich vor allem aus der Synchronität bzw. Asynchronität und der Modalität (Mündlichkeit bzw. Schriftlichkeit) der Interaktion ergeben. Die Studie beschreibt und analysiert anhand von Einzelfallstudien diesen Beratungsansatz. Die Untersuchung stellt eine longitudinal angelegte Aktionsforschung mit evaluativen Elementen dar. Auf Grundlage von sieben Beratungsfällen, die unterschiedliche Profile des Einsatzes von OSLB aufweisen, wurden unterschiedliche Datensätze ausgewertet, die u. a. Beratungstranskripte, Abschlussinterviews mit den Lernenden und die Reflexionen der Beraterin mit einschlossen. Die Lernenden unterschieden sich in ihrer Bewertung der meisten einzelnen Formen und Instrumente, jedoch wurden beratungsvorbereitende E-Mails und schriftliche Zusammenfassungen nach den Sitzungen als hilfreich benannt. Die Analyse dreier paradigmatischer Einzelfälle illustriert verschiedene Szenarien der OSLB unter Berücksichtigung unterschiedlicher Einstellungen, Motive und Arbeitsweisen im digitalen Kontext und belegt damit die Notwendigkeit einer individuellen Beratung, in der flexibel auf die Bedürfnisse der Lerner eingegangen werden kann. Als bedeutendste Potenziale der OSLB erwiesen sich die Möglichkeiten der Anregung zur Selbstreflexion und die Unterstützung der Motivation zum Lernen. Als Herausforderung stellte sich für die Lerner aufgrund inhaltlicher und fremdsprachlicher Anforderungen die Erstellung schriftlicher Texte dar. Für die Beraterin erschwerten technische Gegebenheiten die Durchführung nicht-direktiver Beratung.

Online Language Learning Counseling (OLLC) is a new method in language learning counseling. It employs various forms of communication (email, chat, and internet telephone) and various instruments (i. e. surveys, plans, and learning journals) in order to systematically complement and support foreign language students\'' self-directed learning and work processes between face-to-face and online advising sessions. The specific communicative conditions in OLLC lead to benefits and challenges for the counseling process, which can mainly be traced back to the different modalities of the communication (oral vs. written) and synchronous vs. asynchronous forms of interaction. Based on seven cases, the study describes and analyzes possible applications of this counseling approach. Its methodological framework is a longitudinal action research design with evaluative elements. The cases, which show varying formats of OLLC, are analyzed using qualitative methods applied to different sets of data, including session transcripts, participant interviews, and the counselor\''s reflections. The learners differed in their evaluations of most of the counseling forms and instruments utilized. However, most of them valued the emails that helped them prepare for the sessions and written summaries of the meetings. The in-depth analysis of three paradigmatic cases illustrates varying scenarios of OLLC, taking into account different attitudes, motivation, and working habits. The study thus shows the necessity for a counseling method that is flexible considering both the content as well as the media. The most important benefits of OLLC found in the study were the possibility to trigger self-reflection and to support motivation to learn. The composition of written texts posed a considerable difficulty to the students due to the demands of content creation and foreign language use. For the counselor, technical problems made practicing a non-directive counseling approach difficult. / Online-Sprachlernberatung (OSLB) ist eine Form der individuellen Begleitung von selbstgesteuertem Fremdsprachlernen im universitären Bereich. Dabei werden unterschiedliche digitale Beratungsformen (E-Mail, Internet-Telefon, Chats) und Beratungsinstrumente (z. B. Fragebögen, schriftliche Pläne und Lernertagebücher) eingesetzt, um den Lern- und Arbeitsprozess systematisch zwischen den Präsenz- oder Online-Sprachlernberatungstreffen zu begleiten. Die spezifischen Kommunikationsbedingungen in der OSLB bergen Potenziale, aber auch Herausforderungen, die sich vor allem aus der Synchronität bzw. Asynchronität und der Modalität (Mündlichkeit bzw. Schriftlichkeit) der Interaktion ergeben. Die Studie beschreibt und analysiert anhand von Einzelfallstudien diesen Beratungsansatz. Die Untersuchung stellt eine longitudinal angelegte Aktionsforschung mit evaluativen Elementen dar. Auf Grundlage von sieben Beratungsfällen, die unterschiedliche Profile des Einsatzes von OSLB aufweisen, wurden unterschiedliche Datensätze ausgewertet, die u. a. Beratungstranskripte, Abschlussinterviews mit den Lernenden und die Reflexionen der Beraterin mit einschlossen. Die Lernenden unterschieden sich in ihrer Bewertung der meisten einzelnen Formen und Instrumente, jedoch wurden beratungsvorbereitende E-Mails und schriftliche Zusammenfassungen nach den Sitzungen als hilfreich benannt. Die Analyse dreier paradigmatischer Einzelfälle illustriert verschiedene Szenarien der OSLB unter Berücksichtigung unterschiedlicher Einstellungen, Motive und Arbeitsweisen im digitalen Kontext und belegt damit die Notwendigkeit einer individuellen Beratung, in der flexibel auf die Bedürfnisse der Lerner eingegangen werden kann. Als bedeutendste Potenziale der OSLB erwiesen sich die Möglichkeiten der Anregung zur Selbstreflexion und die Unterstützung der Motivation zum Lernen. Als Herausforderung stellte sich für die Lerner aufgrund inhaltlicher und fremdsprachlicher Anforderungen die Erstellung schriftlicher Texte dar. Für die Beraterin erschwerten technische Gegebenheiten die Durchführung nicht-direktiver Beratung.

This study investigated how educational policies and law affect the teaching and learning of inclusive education in overcrowded Gauteng classrooms. The intention of the study was to explore various challenges that teachers are facing to implement inclusion policies in the classroom; determine different ways in which teachers implement inclusive education in overcrowded classrooms; establish if inclusive education policies are realistically implemented in overcrowded classrooms in Gauteng and to determine if the needs of learners are truly met in these public school classrooms. It was a qualitative study. Teachers teaching in the Foundation Phase were interviewed and they also participated in focus group discussions. This study revealed that educational policies and law do affect the teaching and learning of inclusive education in overcrowded Gauteng classrooms. Inclusive education can only be successful if teachers have an extensive understanding of how to identify barriers to learning, obtain skills to implement inclusive education in overcrowded classrooms and plan for diversity with confidence. / Educational Management and Leadership / M. Ed. (Educational Leadership and Management)

The primary aim of the study is to investigate the effectiveness of professional teacher development for a group of teachers at full-service schools (FSSs), who are the implementers of inclusive education according to Education White Paper 6, the inclusive education policy in South Africa. The researcher used ontological and epistemological assumptions, as well as specific social research methodologies. This created a scientific grounding for the findings of the study. The methodology included a qualitative research approach and research design. Focus group interviews and observation were used for data collection. In this study purposive sampling was used. The participants in this study were chosen because of their teaching experience at full-service schools; sampling was therefore done with a purpose. Phenomenology is used in the study to decide what happens in the lived experiences of the focus group interviewees, who were teachers at full-service schools. This helped the researcher to better understand the needs and problems of the participants. During qualitative data analysis the information was organised, arranged and prepared systematically and classified into themes and categories and then coding followed. The analysis showed that in the absence of an appropriate model for professional teacher development for FSSs, the teachers at the schools were not in a position to implement inclusive education adequately. The researcher proposes a framework that is based on the ecological systems theory of Bronfenbrenner, taking the intervention collaborative framework designed by the researcher based on findings and recommendations into consideration. The collaboration among stakeholders in the different levels would encourage teamwork in the development of the FSS teacher. The full-service school teacher is influenced by various elements, the learner with diverse needs in the classroom, members of the management team, the school-based support team and colleagues at school. Members of the district-based support team, the school governing body, as well as members from the wider school community all have an influence on a teacher’s development as a professional person. / Inclusive Education / D. Ed. (Inclusive Education)