No description available.

No description available.

Research suggests that for many older people with dementia living in residential care, communication with staff often provides the most significant element of their day. It seems likely that the quality of the interactions provided by staff during their care of people with dementia will be an essential factor in affecting the person's quality of life. Research also suggests that the attitudes of nursing and care staff towards people with dementia is a central component in the quality of care they deliver, however, to date, there has been no empirically established evidence that staff attitudes have a direct effect on the quality of life of the people cared for. This study aims to examine the impact of staff attitudes on both the quality of care delivered and on the quality of life of residents and to examine whether there are any changes in any of these areas as a result of training and development interventions. The research includes a review of existing attitude measurements and the development of a new attitude scale for use with dementia care professionals, offering evidence for its reliability and validity. In order to evaluate quality of care, a new observational technique is developed, which draws on previous observational methodologies, with a focus on the behaviour of staff during their care of people with dementia. Results suggest that staff with more 'hopeful' attitudes about people with dementia are more likely to engage in social interactions and activities with residents and use more quality indicators (such as giving choice and information) during physical care tasks. The study also showed improvements in staff attitudes, the quality of care provided and in resident well-being following a number of training and development inputs. The implications of the results are discussed in relation to the limitations of the research.

The systemic orientation to behavioral change and the use of paradoxical interventions has been predominantly associated with the family therapy movement. Recently practitioners have been experimenting with the use of strategic/systemic methods in residential treatment centers, schools, and hospital inpatient settings. The literature suggests that these interventions may be ideally suited for oppositional or reluctant clients who resist cooperating in the treatment process. This thesis provides a case study description of an adolescent treatment home which has developed a strategic/systemic approach to residential care. The implementation of a systemic perspective to residential treatment required substantial changes to traditional child care philosophy and practice. These changes are described and discussed and actual intervention examples are presented which help to illuminate this novel approach to residential treatment. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

Colin Clark's model of the negative exponential population density decay function is applied to the Vancouver case. Though the model is claimed to hold true for all places at all times, it does not offer sufficient explanations why the process is occurring, nor does it pay due regards to the topographical effects. The application of the model to the east and south sections of Vancouver may throw some light to the rationale of the city growth process. We are able to compare the density gradient of the east and south due to the different timing of transportation improvement and physical morphology. By examining two sections of the same city we can isolate the effect of transportation on the density of development, since both sections are subject to the same growth pressures. The density profiles of the whole city, and the eastern and southern sections of it (in the shape of ring, single airline, sector and band) are prepared; and for each plotting of population density, two parallel regression runs are made with regard to both radial distance and travel time. The model is tested at four points in time; and its goodness of fit is measured by the coefficients of determination. The conclusions reached are as follows: 1. The quality of the model in replicating the Vancouver experience is similar to that found for a wide range of cities. 2. The east and the south are marked by the differential rates of density decline, which are mainly due to the date at which the development takes place. 3. The distance parameter measured in travel time from the CBD does not give a significantly better fit to the model than radial distance from the CBD. 4. The coefficients of determination of the model decline over time, suggesting variable pattern of population density within the city over time. 5. The imputed central density does not show a consistent decline over time. 6. The steepness of density decline decreases in the course of time. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Community and Regional Planning (SCARP), School of / Graduate

The goal of this study is to examine racial residential segregation in U.S. metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas. The study uses 1990-2010 decennial census data to answer a broad theoretical question: is the historical black-white color line being replaced by a black-nonblack or white-nonwhite color line? The results show that blackwhite segregation is higher than black-nonblack and white-nonwhite segregation in metropolitan areas, nonmetropolitan areas, and the United States as a whole. A multivariate analysis reveals that population size tends to be associated with higher segregation in metropolitan areas and lower segregation in nonmetropolitan areas. As a control variable, diversity seems to play an important role in segregation by U.S. region. The study concludes that further research is needed to examine how the color line might change, especially in nonmetropolitan areas, which experienced rapid minority population growth during the 2000s.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Using the Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) 212 th session of the National Academy, a residential adult learning environment, as a case study and the 1996 research on participant's perception of residential adult learning environments by Dr. Jean Anderson Fleming, this study examined the relationship among the characteristics (overarching themes: detachment and continuity and descriptive themes: building relationships in residence, learning in residence, and individual change in residence) and how this relationship impacts the participant's attitude of satisfaction with the program. A 33-item Likert scale, developed by the researcher, was used to collect the data from 244 police officers and the Kropp-Verner Attitude Scale was used for measuring the overall participant attitude of satisfaction with the residential learning environment. Demographic data were also collected from the participants to provide an overall profile of the respondents and each police officer had the opportunity to respond to an open-ended question at the end of the survey. Six hypotheses formed the basis of the study and were investigated through bivariate and multivariate analysis. Univariate analysis was used to describe and summarize the collected demographic data, as well as the frequency responses to each statement by the participants, while multivariate analysis was used to determine the best model for the prediction of satisfaction. Positive relationships existed between each of the five independent variables (detachment, continuity, building relationships in residence, learning in residence, and individual change in residence) and the dependent variable, satisfaction. The overarching themes of detachment and continuity were combined to form a new variable, DECONTI. Individually, (bivariate regression) DECONTI was the most significant predictor of satisfaction, while building relationships in residence exhibited no significance. Multivariate analysis (standard and stepwise regression) suggested that the model of DECONTI, learning in residence, and individual change was the best predictor of satisfaction. The analysis of the characteristics of residential adult learning environments and their impact on participant satisfaction was quantitatively supported in this study. The results of this study supported the assertions of Fleming, the literature, and the research questions, while offering new observations and insights into the effectiveness of residential adult learning environments. / Ph. D.