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The school to post-school transition has been identified as a time when young people with Additional Support Needs (ASN) need extra support. This thesis focuses on the school to post-school transition planning and preparation process for young people with ASN in Scotland. In particular, the author scrutinised the collaborative planning and preparation that takes place amongst professionals to support young people with ASN and their families during this transition. The author also examined the influence of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 upon the process. A mixed-methods research design was used to undertake three studies. Study 1 was a national on-line survey of professionals involved in post-school transition planning and preparation. Study 2 was a longitudinal study in which professionals involved in transition planning and preparations from one local authority were interviewed at 2 time periods (2004 before the implementation of the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 and 2010). Minutes of transition meetings from both periods were also examined. Study 3 was a case study of a further education college undertaken in the same local authority as Study 2, to understand the experiences of transition planning and preparation from the perspectives of the young people with ASN who had experienced post-school transition and their families, along with school and college professionals. Participants (young people, parents and professionals) were interviewed. Visual resources were developed by the author to support the interviews with the young people. Data in all the studies were analysed using a thematic analysis approach. Finally, the findings of the three studies are presented and discussed. These include the perception that transition planning and preparation has become more young person centred since the Act was introduced. Implications for policy makers, practitioners, and future research are also discussed.

Thesis (MSD(Employee Assistance Programme))-University of Pretoria, 2007. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references. Available on the Internet via the World Wide Web.

Background: While literature indicates a positive impact of family interventions (FIs) on people with experience of psychosis, less is known about outcomes for other family members involved with these interventions. Furthermore, there is a paucity of literature offering an understanding of how young people with a parent with experience of psychosis view themselves in relation to their parent’s care. In the context of community care for psychosis, consideration of family views and outcomes is important in establishing how their needs may best be met. Aim: The thesis aims were twofold: (a) to systematically review the literature to explore the impact of single FIs for psychosis on family members, establish whom outcomes are being gathered for, and to what extent children and young people are involved; and (b) to develop an understanding of how young people with a parent with experience of psychosis conceptualise themselves in the context of their parent’s care. Method: A systematic search of the literature was conducted in October, 2016. Additionally, 12 interviews were carried out with 11 young people (aged 14-18 years) with a parent with experience of psychosis. A grounded theory approach was employed. Results: 21 studies were included in the systematic review. 86% revealed at least one positive outcome for family members engaging with FIs. None of the studies included children or young people. In the empirical study, a provisional theory was generated and at the core of this is how young people establish and negotiate their role in relation to their parent’s care in the context of adolescence; balancing caring for and/or living with a parent with experience of psychosis with “being a teenager”. This process appears dependent on young people’s perception of parental needs and supports and among other factors, seems to be facilitated by having appropriate information (that is specific and formulation based). Young people perceiving adults to view them as “too young” appears to be a significant barrier to this. Conclusion: The systematic review points towards a generally positive impact of FIs on family members but involvement of children and young people is lacking. The empirical study highlights that parental psychosis appears to pose additional and unique challenges to young people, particularly in the context of adolescent development; emphasising the need for better support, appropriate information sharing and adults recognising and validating young people’s experiences. Future research would benefit from the exploration of inclusion of children and young people in FIs.

There is always competition between regions when it comes to their needs after facing a conflict, disaster, or long-term crisis. Donors allocating ODA or Humanitarian Assistance must decide to whom they want to allocate their support. While the literature broadly identifies the motivation for sending allocation to specific recipients and not to others, it has not yet researched the processes of the opposite, the reduction or break-off of aid allocation. This thesis researches the topic at the level of Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA). The question focuses on donors of bilateral HMA allocation and their motives of decision-making, when under financial pressure and forced to shorten their overall HMA budget. Using a most-different in-depth case study based on two steps on the cases of Australia and Germany, the question is researched, if the donors base their decisions and priorities on the needs of people when they have to reduce HMA budgets. The findings show that HMA rarely is documented separately and mostly connected either with ODA or Humanitarian Assistance. To get clear answers about the thoughts and motivations of decision-makers when it comes to the reduction or cut of HMA allocation, deeper research including interviews is needed.