The problem addressed in this project was poor medication acceptance among patients with bipolar disorder in an outpatient psychiatric clinic. The practice-focused question asked about the factors that contribute to medication nonacceptance in patients with bipolar disorders and further sought to determine strategies that promote medication acceptance. The project took place in an outpatient psychiatric clinic in the southern United States. The Iowa model and the Orem self-care deficit nursing theory were used to guide the project. Deidentified data from 55 patients in an outpatient mental health clinic formed the basis of the project. The data included a survey made up of 6 open-ended questions asking about reasons for not taking prescribed medications. A second source of deidentified data was the results of the medication adherence questionnaire, a Likert-style questionnaire that asked about the level of adherence to medications. Qualitative data were examined by manually coding the results, and the quantitative questions were analyzed for frequencies and percentages. Results from the analyses indicated that 70% of patients with bipolar disorder had missed doses of medications and were not adherent to their prescribed medications. Results of the project were then used to develop recommendations for addressing medication nonadherence among patients with bipolar disorder. Recommendations included education for nursing staff on how to teach patients and their families the advantages of medication adherence and to promote self-care consistent with Orem's model of self-care. Positive social change is possible as a result of this project as patients with bipolar disorders learn self-care strategies for medication adherence.

Thesis (M.A) (Media Studies)--University of Limpopo,2009. / This is a qualitative comparative study on sustainability challenges facing the community radio sector in Limpopo Province, South Africa. The study explores and determines community radio’s social acceptance to target communities, identifies its fundraising and marketing strategies, and evaluates its governance and management policies. The research draws from theories of community development and mass communication, namely: development theory and participant media theory. Detailed literature review, focus group discussion, in-depth interviews, and analyses of archival records and institutional documents were used as research methods. The case study purports that the quality of a community radio service is often a product of its resources. Furthermore, it appreciates the open access approach to broadcasting as fulfilling the original and moral imperative of community radio. However, it views sustainability issues, more specifically financial resources, as having far reaching effects on the sector’s independence and the ability to fulfill its functions. Often in community radio, the concept of sustainability tends to be narrowly used to refer to financial sustainability alone. The conclusions drawn from the comparative study of three community radio stations, namely: Botlokwa, Mohodi and Radio Turf reveal that a comprehensive approach to sustainability should recognise the role of social, organisational and financial aspects of the medium. Despite marked progress with respect to social acceptance, more innovative marketing and fundraising strategies, appropriate organisational and management policies in the sector are essential. In their absence, community radio continues to lack access to a fair share of resources and can barely raise funds to meet its obligations. Consequently, poor performance in community radio is largely attributable to sustainability challenges, particularly in rural communities where resources are often scarce as compared to urban centres. / Not listed

A number of objective personality questionnaires have been published which aim to measure the six processes related to Acceptance and Commitment Therapy's model of treatment (acceptance, defusion, present moment awareness, self-as-context, values, and committed action). These measures operationally define these hypothesized processes in research settings. However, little research has been done to investigate whether these processes, as measured by these questionnaires, are differentiable from each other or from other, seemingly similar constructs such as distress tolerance and coping styles. Additionally, it is unclear whether these questionnaire measures have differing relationships with other potentially relevant constructs, such as psychopathology, functioning, and personality. The structure of these process measures was investigated across two participant samples. A multi-trait structure of ACT processes was found, with three higher order dimensions consisting of psychological inflexibility/cognitive fusion, mindfulness, and avoidance, as well as a number of distinguishable lower order traits. This structure was found across multiple samples, and measures of these factor analytically-derived traits were found to have incremental validity and to be distinguishable from other, superficially similar psychological processes. These results provide guidance for measurement selection and suggest future directions for scale development. Relevance to treatment outcome research is also discussed.

A large body of research has examined the appropriate time course of psychotherapy across a variety of therapeutic modalities. Research in the area of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) has indicated the efficacy of single-session interventions in improving anxiety, depression, and even weight loss. These findings, though promising, are accompanied by the question of how much ACT is enough to make a statistically and clinically significant difference in symptoms. The present study sought to clarify this question among individuals with depression. Adults (N = 271) with elevated depressive symptoms were recruited via mass emails for a study comparing the relative effectiveness of time-variant single-session ACT interventions (90 minutes, 3 hours, 6 hours). Inclusion criteria included PHQ-8 score 10, no history of TBI, no current psychotherapy, and no medication changes in the past 60 days. Eligible participants completed a screening interview, which included modules from the M.I.N.I. Exclusion criteria included active suicidality, past or current mania, and past or current psychoses. If interested in participating (n=351), eligible participants could complete the baseline measure after enrolling in the study. Participants were randomized to a single-session 90-minute, 3-hour, or 6-hour group ACT intervention. About half (51.2%) of enrolled and randomized participants completed their assigned group intervention. Follow-up assessments were completed at 1-month and 3-months post-intervention with limited attrition. Longitudinal mixed-effects modeling was used to examine change over time and between conditions. Findings indicated that depressive symptoms and avoidance decreased over time, and social satisfaction increased over time. Differences between conditions and interactions between time and condition were not observed. Equivalency analyses revealed that the 3- and 6-hour groups were not within the margin of equivalence in terms of depressive symptoms. Mindfulness analyses revealed that at 3-month follow-up, the 3- and 6-hour groups reported higher mindfulness than the 90-minute group. The findings have public health implications in terms of reaching a larger number of patients with increased efficiency. Given the far greater patient demand than number of therapists available, increased access and efficiency are of great importance. The results also suggest that individuals with depression can make rapid, sustainable changes, and this is of critical importance clinically. Limitations included a homogenous sample of primarily white, highly educated females, and the lack of a no-treatment control group. The findings of the current study indicate that brief group ACT interventions can result in change in both processes (avoidance, mindfulness) and functioning (depressive symptoms, social satisfaction) months after the single-session intervention. Future research should examine the effectiveness of brief interventions with other symptomatology as compared to a no-treatment control or a more traditional course of psychotherapy.

This study was conducted to determine whether learning specific writing techniques and discussing them in a small group is more beneficial to women than writ ing a journal using self-taught techniques, or not writing at all. Instruments used included the Beck Depression Inventory and the California Personality Inventory (Self-Acceptance and Well-Being scales). The literature review covers four general areas: a brief discussion of the impact of contemporary feminism on traditional therapy; an examination of feminist therapy, specifically its advocacy of consciousness-raising groups as a therapy alternative; women's self-reports on diary or journal writing; and information on modern non-literary journal uses including an investigation into the status of therapeutic uses of journal writing. A group model was developed and examined for this study using a modified consciousness-raising format to teach journal writing techniques and provide for group discussion of the writing practices. Pre- and posttest scores were compared among three groups of women (N = 52). An additional follow-up sub-sample was contacted (n = 25) to test statistical differences in writing frequency, number of writing techniques used and level of subjective satisfaction with personal writing. No empirical evidence was found to justify the supposition that structured journal writing groups are more beneficial than either self-taught, solitary diary writing or not writing at all. Includes bibliography for journal writers, outline for 8-week structured writing group, references, and recommendations for possible further investigation.

This study describes the effects of gender and age on peer acceptance in primary-grade, multiage classrooms at Edith Bowen Laboratory School at Utah State University. The population described consisted of six multiage classrooms composed of male and female students from 6 to 8 years old. The classrooms were approximately balanced by gender and age. Students spent the entire day and received all instruction in the multiage setting. Students completed "Work With" and "Play With" sociometric rating-scale instruments. For both instruments, results revealed the existence of "gender cleavage"--both genders preferred work and play partners of their own gender. In general, age accounted for more variance in peer acceptance scores for older students than younger students. However, eta-squared statistics demonstated that except for 8-year-old males, gender accounted for much more of the variance in peer acceptance scores than age. The correlation coefficient for paired peer acceptance scores for each student on the two instruments was .94. These results support the conclusion that students did not differentiate responses based on "Work With" and "Play With" criteria . Test-retest reliabilities for the "Work With" and "Play With" instruments with a 1-week testing interval were .94 and .92, respectively.

Sexually active young men are at high risk of contracting HPV and developing genital warts and penile/anal cancers. They contribute significantly to the incidence of HPV in women. The HPV vaccine, Gardasil, was approved in 2009 for use in preventing HPV 6 and 11 in young males ages 9 to 26. Knowledge and awareness of the virus and the vaccine is limited among young men. Promoting education and prevention measures regarding HPV and reducing personal risks to HPV is significant in narrowing the gap between acquisition of the HPV virus and cancer sequelae. A correlational design utilizing cross-sectional survey methodology was used for this study. Seventy participants completed a HPV vaccine survey at a university in Southwestern United States. The survey measured their knowledge and acceptance of the HPV vaccine and their intention to be vaccinated. Male participants were likely to accept or consent to receive the vaccine however they reported low intent to actually get the HPV vaccine. Acceptance of the vaccine was greater among minorities and participants who reported regular doctor visits. Knowledge of HPV and HPV prevention was low. Young men may benefit from HPV vaccine educational marketing strategies that include enhancing their communication skills on HPV, the HPV vaccine and reducing risky sex behaviors.

This novel is about Jess, a left wing trade unionist and student lawyer who, caught up in a fast-paced Sydney inner city life, goes to a hypnotist in an effort to drink less and instead has an experience of God. Her conscious self cannot cope with this and she represses it, but it still exists in a deeper part of her and the novel tracks the path by which she finally hauls and hacks her way back to it. The novel is divided into four parts, David, Jane, Padma and Jess. The first three parts tell of her emotionally dependencies on other people, and in the last section she finally finds a kind of hard-won peace and self-acceptance, and a love of God that is rooted in the small joys of her daily life. / Master of Arts (Hons) (Creative Writing)

A non-concurrent multiple baseline design across eight participants was used to determine whether working through Hayes and Smith's (2005) book would help those with public speaking anxiety. Hayes and Smith (2005) is based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. It encourages people to accept internal experiences as opposed to avoiding and struggling with them. For the purposes of this study, the book was divided into nine components, which participants discussed with the researcher. They also completed measures daily, during baseline and over the intervention period, as well as a battery of tests pre-baseline, mid and post intervention. The multiple baseline data showed that self-reported willingness to approach public speaking situations increased while self-reported avoidance decreased over the intervention. The pre and post measures also showed avoidance of internal experiences decreased significantly after the intervention. These outcomes are in line with changes suggested to result from engaging in such a therapy. The pre and post results also showed that quality of life increased significantly from mid to post-intervention. However, engagement with values did not change. While this measure is expected to change after such an intervention, this result may have occurred because the ideas about values were introduced last in the book. The intervention also led to significant decreases in anxiety, significant changes in thoughts about public speaking and significant increases in anxiety control as shown by the test battery. These findings are positive but are not predicted by processes posited for this therapy. However, there was no control group so these pre vs post comparisons must be interpreted with caution. Despite this limitation, the results suggest that the book, together with therapist contact, can help those with public speaking anxiety.

According to motivational theory physical self-perceptions are crucial to the intrinsic desire to engage in physical activity through play, games, and sport. While there has been prolific research with middle primary and older children little is known of the importance of young children's physical self-concept and their motivation to engage in physical activity. This study had three major purposes. Firstly it aimed to examine the relationship between children's self-concept, their attraction to physical activity, and level of physical activity. The second purpose of the study was to examine differences between boys' and girls' self-concept, attraction to physical activity and level of physical activity. The third purpose was to examine the effectiveness of an intervention programme designed to enhance children's level of physical activity.