School refusal occurs across a broad range of students from the first to the final years of school, and is of concern to students, parents and teachers alike. This study uses the perspective of practitioners working at the school level to identify linkages between the presenting problems, interventions and outcomes of school refusal. This pattern is then compared to the Functional Model of School Refusal to establish the relevance of the Model. A multiple single-case study approach was used with ten case histories with positive outcomes being matched against the Functional Model. As these provided some support for the model an additional six case histories with negative outcomes were then matched against the Model. Two interviews of practitioners who had worked with school refusal were also analysed. The Functional Model of School Refusal received some support through this analysis, but areas were identified which were not adequately addressed by the Model. The Model was subsequently revised into a broader functional approach which takes greater account of the role of the family and environmental factors affecting school refusal. It is recommended that a broader multi-modal approach to intervention be implemented by practitioners dealing with school refusal.

This research qualitatively explores persistent non-attendance (PN) in a southwest local authority area. Part 1 explores professionals’ conceptualisations of PN, language use and approaches to support. Part 2 explores the lived experience of non-attendance for children and families; how they make sense of the issue, the support they received and the characteristics of support that they found effective. Part 1 findings suggested no one explanation was used to make sense of PN, instead an individualistic approach was used to make sense of cases, using an ecological/systemic framework. This approach therefore influenced the support that was provided by schools. There was consistency in the language used by professionals, influenced by governmental policy and recommendations, with ‘persistent absence’ being the most prevalent term used. Part 2 findings exploration of the lived experiences of families found that PN had had an impacted on all families, in a variety of ways. In line with part 1, no one explanation was put forward for why the PN had occurred, however themes of anxiety and ASD were prevalent. Part 1’s recommendations for practice focus the use of individualised approaches to understanding and support, using an ecological/systemic model. Part 2’s recommendations related to the importance of communication between school and home, and responding to the families individual needs.

Background   The patient's rights to self-determine their own health care is described in Swedish legislation and guidelines. However, due to infancy, unconsciousness, severe brain damage or certain diseases, some patients might be unable to make such decisions. Ethically difficult situations do occur, not infrequently associated with culture. Since the patient is vulnerable, there is a risk that the patient in the treatment and care can not be bothered to maintain right to autonomy and that the nurse violates patient integrity. Aim                 The aim of this study was to illustrate the nurse's dilemma when the patient refuses vital caring efforts. Method           A literature review of eight scientific articles with a qualitative approach was performed. Results           The results revealed the following domains to describe the nurse's dilemma when the patient refuses vital care interventions: patients’ reasons for treatment refusal, the nurse's understanding of the patient's refusal of care and contradictory legislation Conclusion     More knowledge and discussion of the patient's decision-making competence is needed for both the nursing profession and those who make decisions on legislation.

The thesis analyzes the political and scientific rhetoric used to enact pharmacist refusal clauses. I examine how refusal clauses are rhetorically framed in politics as well as the "scientific" rhetoric advocates use to generate support for these laws. Additionally, I highlight the consequences these clauses have for women.Chapter one focuses on the political discourse of refusal clauses. I develop an analysis of the phrase "conscience" versus "refusal" clause. I expose how pharmacists and refusal clause advocates make discrimination claims using Cindy Patton as a theoretical framework. Finally, I examine "refusal narratives" from women who have been denied contraceptives by pharmacists. The second chapter analyzes "scientific" rhetorical strategies. Refusal clause advocates rhetorically reclassify contraceptives as an abortion method. I will discuss how this strategy of reclassification has wide implications on public policy. In the conclusion I present the negative consequences refusal clauses have on women.

Food selectivity is a common problem in many children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). While research into this area is beginning to develop, there are currently few studies investigating the use of parent-implemented interventions within this population. The present study aimed to teach parents to implement multi-component behavioural interventions at home to ameliorate the food selectivity of their children. The study also aimed to show that these interventions could increase children’s preference for previously nonpreferred foods. Five children and their parents participated. The interventions delivered to the children were tailored to meet their needs and to fit within the context of their families. Each of these interventions was composed of antecedent, positive reinforcement and escape extinction strategies. Parents recorded their children’s food acceptance and disruptive behaviours during each intervention session. In addition, preference assessments were conducted in order to track changes in the children’s preferences for the target foods. The results showed that all of the parents were able to introduce at least one new food to their children’s diets during the intervention. Further, four of the five children showed an improvement in their preference for the targeted foods. These results were maintained at follow-up, although two of the children had only maintained some of the foods that had been introduced. All of the parents reported that their children consumed more foods at follow-up than they had during baseline and indicated that they thought the interventions had been effective. These results indicate that parents are able to implement multi-component behavioural interventions to increase the range of foods in their children’s diets and improve their children’s preference for these foods.

国立情報学研究所で電子化したコンテンツを使用している。

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1992. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-53).

Thesis (M.S)--University of Florida, 2005. / Typescript. Title from title page of source document. Document formatted into pages; contains 35 pages. Includes Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

This study examines the speech act of refusal among Saudis. Specifically, it investigates the refusal strategies implemented by Saudis in Saudi Arabian Social settings. Data was gathered using Discourse Completion Task (DCT). Thirty Saudi male and female students, graduate, undergraduate, and ESL students participated in this study creating 180 natural responses. The responses were coded and classified according to the classification of refusals proposed by Beebe, Takahashi, and Uliss- Weltz. The results revealed that Saudi females and males choose to use indirectness more than directness when refusing an invitation. Even when using direct strategies, indirect strategies accompany the direct once to mitigate the threat of directness. The results also showed a great deal of implementing adjuncts as part of Saudis refusal statements. The result showed that Saudis use one new strategy, refusal-functioning acceptance, and one new adjunct, pray.

Master of Arts / Department of Modern Languages / Li Yang / This study investigates and compares politeness strategies of Turkish learners of English (TLE) and American English speakers (AE) when they produce the speech act of refusal in English. A total of 24 participants took part in this study and each of them completed a background survey, an open role play and a semi-structured interview. The role-play asked all of the participants to refuse a party invitation offered by a classmate/colleague and was audio-recorded. The refusal interactions were coded according to the classification proposed by Beebe et al. (1990), and the sequence of the refusal interactions (i.e., head act, pre- and post-refusals) was also examined. The results showed that providing excuse/reason/explanation was the most preferred strategy by both groups overall, but closer examination of the strategy revealed that the TLE group was more specific in their explanations compared to the AE group. In addition, when the conductor of the role play insisted on the invitation, the AE group continued to refuse without giving specific reasons, whereas the TLE group chose to provide elaborate reasons upon insistence. During the interview session after the role play, the TLE group commented on cultural factors that influenced their choice of refusal strategies. Based on the findings, this study also proposed implications of the teaching of pragmatics in the English as a second language (ESL) context.