Addendum fixed inside back end-paper. Bibliography: leaves 216-219. Reports a study to investigate the influence of a study skills program on a group of adult students at Thebarton Senior College, Adelaide. The researcher planned and prepared the program of work for these students and was the teacher of the subject, and the observer of the influence the course had on the students, compared with a similar control group. Analysis showed there was an observable positive effect on the students, however, it was the conclusion of the researcher that the positive result was achieved more because support had been offered to the students than through the teaching of the subject matter of the study skills course.

Over a quarter of children and two thirds of adults in Australia are overweight, with these estimates reflecting global trends. The literature review in Chapter 1 highlights that treatment of childhood overweight is an important part of the public health approach required to address the obesity epidemic. Energy moderation, behaviour modification and family support are the cornerstones of treatment of childhood overweight. However the evidence to guide best practice is limited, with a call being made for well designed studies to inform age-appropriate effective, long term child weight management. Studies are needed in a range of populations and to assess a range of health outcomes. This thesis tested the hypothesis that, pre-pubertal children whose parents participate in a parent-led, family-focused child weight management intervention comprising parent skills training and intensive lifestyle education will have adiposity, metabolic profiles and indicators of physical and psychosocial functioning after 12 months that are a) improved compared to children wait listed for intervention and b) no different to children whose parents participate in parenting skills training alone (without intensive lifestyle education). Methods of the randomised controlled trial undertaken with 111 overweight, pre-pubertal 6-9 year olds to test this hypothesis are detailed in Chapter 2. Parents were defined as the agents of change, responsible for attending intervention sessions and implementing family-focused lifestyle change to support child weight management. Two interventions, both utilising parenting skills training, but differing in the presence or absence of intensive lifestyle eduction were compared to a group waitlisted for intervention with a brief pamphlet. Program effectiveness was defined in terms of adiposity together with broader health and evaluation outcomes. Chapter 3 describes the study population, their flow through the study, the primary outcome BMI z score and waist circumference z score. With parenting plus intensive lifestyle education there was a 10% reduction in BMI z score over 12 months. However this was not statistically different to the 5% reduction observed with parenting alone or intervention waitlisting. There was a significant reduction in waist circumference between baseline and 12 months with parenting alone and parenting plus lifestyle education, but not waitlisting. There was a group, time and gender interaction, with boys receiving intervention having greater reductions in adiposity. In determining intervention effectiveness, growth, metabolic profile and psychosocial outcomes are presented in Chapter 4. While there were limited improvements in metabolic profile and body dissatisfaction, significant improvements were observed in parent-perceived HR-QOL relating to psychosocial and family functioning. Improvements were confined to the intervention groups, parenting plus lifestyle education more than parenting alone. Chapter 5 presents the study process and impact evaluation. Parents were satisfied with the program and reported that it provided the type of help they wanted. Personal, rather than program factors such as work and family commitments limited intervention attendance to 60%. Child health behaviours and parental weight status show positive change in all groups, but favour intervention. Chapter 6 highlights key findings, study strengths/limitations and areas for further research. In conclusion, a parent-led family-focused intervention utilising parenting skills training and healthy family lifestyle is a promising intervention for young overweight children.

Recent research has shown that children under two years demonstrate some early social understanding. Previous research has also demonstrated that mother talk about mental states is a factor in older preschoolers� later theory of mind understanding. In order to learn more about the predictive nature of mother mental state talk to very young children, this study examined the relation between mother talk about mental states at 15 and 24 months and their later mental state language and emotion understanding at 24 and 33 months. At all three time points, 71 mothers and 3 fathers (N=74) described pictures to their infants and mother talk was coded for mental and non-mental state language at 15, 24 and 33 months. In addition, at all three time points, children�s mental and non-mental state vocabulary levels were obtained via parental report. At the second and third time points the children were administered an emotion situation and a body emotion task. The mothers� ability to interpret emotion faces was also assessed. The results showed that mother use of desire language was more prevalent at 15 months, with references to thinking and knowledge increasing at 24 months. Partial correlations demonstrated that mother use of desire language with 15-month old children uniquely predicted a child�s mental state language and emotion situation task performance at 24 months, even after accounting for earlier child language, mother socioeconomic status, mothers� own emotion understanding, and other types of mother non-mental state language. Similarly, at 24 months of age, after accounting for potentially confounding variables, such as child language, mother use of think/know language as well as desire language were both predictors of children�s mental state language and emotion task performance at 33 months. The results further demonstrated that mothers� tendency to refer to the child�s (versus others�) desires at 15 months was the more consistent correlate of children�s mental state language and emotion understanding at 24 months. At 24 months a different pattern emerged with both references to the child�s and others� thoughts and knowledge correlating with child mental state language and emotion task performance at 33 months. It is proposed that Vygotsky�s zone of proximal development provides a framework within which maternal talk about specific mental states scaffolds the development of children�s later social understanding. I also suggest that such scaffolding motivates mothers to talk more about the child�s mental states when they are younger, before introducing talk that focuses on others� mental states.

This survey research systematically collects Information on the long term effects of Irlen tinted lenses, from a specific diagnosed scotopic sensitive population. The survey used is based on Whiting's survey (1988), with variations and extensions made to increase information attained. Although the main focus of the survey is reading and related academic skills, other areas presenting new directions for further research, have also been included. 306 diagnosed scotopic sensitive Individuals, who had been using prescribed Irlen tinted lenses for a minimum of six months, were surveyed. 82.8 percent of the respondents indicated that they (or their child) had experienced great benefits from wearing Irlen tinted lenses. 70.1 percent Indicated that the greatest benefit had been in the area of reading. Cross-tabulations were made with length of time wearing the lenses, gender, and whether the respondent was filling in the questionnaire for themselves or for their child. The results of this descriptive research support Whiting's (1988), earlier findings. A review of the available literature and the Implications of these findings are discussed.

The value of teaching foreign literature in EFL classes in China and the methods of teaching foreign literature in EFL classes in China are two questions that this paper attempts to discuss. The paper covers three major areas: 1) A brief introduction to the teaching of literature in EFL classes in China before and now. 2) Theoretical interpretations of the important role of teaching foreign literature in EFL classes in China 3) Practical application of literature teaching in EFL classes in China. In the first area, the author gives some information about literature teaching before 1950 and now and also mentions the advantages of teaching literature in China now. The second area shows what literature is and why Chinese EFL students should study foreign literature. The author intends to show in this area that the main purpose of teaching foreign literature in EFL classes in China should not be to increase students' ability to appreciate novels, but to: 1) get information and knowledge of culture, history in the target language countries 2) increase students' ability to appreciate the thought pattern of the people in the target language countries 3) improve students' four language skills. Finally, some suggestions on what to teach, how to teach and how to evaluate the teaching result are provided. In order to apply the theories that this paper has mentioned to practical teaching, the author presents two teaching plans at the end.

Accountability has become a key issue in the delivery of human services, and counsellors have been challenged to demonstrate that what they do makes a difference and that what they do meets the needs of the system in which they work. Thus proponents of the consultancy model such as Dinkmeyer (1973) have urged counsellors to move from the crisis-oriented approach in which only a few benefit from counsellor services to a consultative role which involves the counsellor with the total system. In 1979 the author was appointed to the Metropolitan West District of Sydney. This is an area with many social problems such as high unemployment, single parent families and families receiving social welfare benefits. Many students attending school are adversely affected by their home environment. To compound the problem a difference in value systems exists between home and school, which is a source of frustration to both teachers and students. As a result many children were referred for counselling because they were behaviour problems in the classroom. It was not possible for the counsellor to see all the students referred so other strategies needed to be employed. From discussions with teachers concerning the management of students who were behaviour problems it became apparent that teacher training had left them ill-equipped to deal with the student behaviours they were facing. A Classroom Management and Interpersonal Skills programme was designed and presented to a group of Primary school teachers in one of the schools to which the author was appointed. Evaluation of the effectiveness of the programme was based on the statistical analysis of pretest and post-test measures of teachers and students of those teachers participating in the programme. In addition to reporting on outcomes of the programme this study provides a theoretical rationale for its development. The statistical evidence does not strongly support the effectiveness of the programme. However there are some trends, particularly in the teacher data, which suggest that the programme was effective in bringing about teacher attitude change towards students. Teachers' written evaluations of the programme, together with informal feedback, indicate the programme was successful in providing some of the answers to behaviour problems which occur in the classroom. A corollary to the presentation of the programme has been a reduction in the number of children referred to the author as "behaviour problems". This has provided more time to work with infant children and parents, both counsellor functions which the administrative staff see as significant, and to continue in the role as a consultant to teachers.

There is a great need for competent teaching of Business English in tertiary institutions in Vietnam. At the Hanoi Foreign Trade College (HFTC) alone, about 150 students per year seek training to equip them to work in export and import organizations, banks for foreign trade and customs departments. In teaching such students, one problem is the provision of interesting and relevant materials. This study addresses the question of selection of materials and techniques for teaching business English listening skills. This Field Study Report consists of five chapters. Chapter 1 describes the purposes and aims of study, the background to this study, dealing with students, the teaching and the curriculum. Chapter 2 looks at the general theory about listening and in particular listening in business. The chapter also describes listening requirements for business graduates from the HFTC. Chapter 3 discusses criteria for selection of textbooks for language teaching in general and for teaching listening skills in business English in particular. Chapter 4 surveys the teaching of business English in two institutes of Technical and Further Education in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The final chapter makes suggestions for priorities to improve the teaching of business English. This Field Study Report should be regarded as an exploratory attempt in choosing classroom techniques and materials for teaching listening skills to students of commerce at the Hanoi Foreign Trade College.

Reading has always received a great deal of attention at both junior and senior high schools in Taiwan. However, reading ability of English after six years' learning is not satisfactory. The main problem is that students do not read for the main idea nor for the relationships between sentences. In addition, English reading skills, even at the college level, are limited to referring to the dictionary and analyzing sentence structures. The purpose of the present study is to explore this area; in particular, to determine the causes of and to provide solutions to the problem of reading difficulty by conducting a content analysis. This study focuses on a content analysis in four areas:(1) Analysis of reading comprehension questions, (2) analysis of gradation of readability, (3) analysis of gradation of structures, and (4) comparison of cohesive ties between Chinese and English written texts using similar topics. The text samples to be examined included two areas: (1) Book Six of The Standard English Textbook. This is the final volume of the series currently prescribed for senior high schools in Taiwan, and (2) three texts written in Chinese and English, with similar topics. It is hoped that some implications will be drawn from this study for improving the effectiveness of teaching reading in English at the secondary level in Taiwan.

A sample of 22 registered nurses participated in an educational program to learn comprehensive physical assessment skills. This study investigated the effects of that program on their nursing practice. Administration of tests and questionnaires provided a measure of the: (a) use of physical assessment skills; (b) knowledge of physical assessment; (c) changes in nursing practice since learning the skills; (d) barriers to the use of the skills. The model used for the program's curriculum development was adult learning theory. The curriculum focused on this theory's key aspects. Namely, adult students build new skills on their past knowledge and already developed skills. Additionally, they must see the relevance of learning the skills and be able to apply them in their current life situation. The findings suggest this model was appropriate. The nurses in the study used the majority of learned skills after they completed the program. Their knowledge concerning these skills also showed dramatic improvement. The major findings regarding the increase in knowledge and use of physical assessment skills, positive changes in nursing practice and lack of barriers to the use of skills indicate that an educational program in physical assessment can be very beneficial to nurses. The results support those of previous studies in that nurses will use the physical assessment skills they have learned in continuing education programs. The implications for nursing practice and education were discussed. Suggestions were then made for future research in this area.

My interest in coping and survival of young men is my main motivation for undertaking the field study which this thesis describes. It developed from my concern at the continuing high level of young male suicide. I begin with some background discussion which shows some examples of how the community has been informed, particularly on youth suicide, by reviewing some of the media and government attention to these issues. Because suicidal behaviour is a gendered social phenomenon, this is followed by a discussion of some of the problems inherent in the hegemonic masculinity of young men. I then set out the underlying assumptions, the purpose, aims and theoretical framework of the study. The main theoretical underpinnings of the study are the theory of poststructuralism, as explained by the noted writer on gender and education, Bronwyn Davies. The other major components are Aaron Antonovsky's concepts of Salutogenesis and the Sense of Coherence. Minor but nevertheless important reference is also made to Edward Sampson's idea of the dialogic nature of the self. Following this are two critical reviews of relevant literature. The first addresses studies of resiliency and coping, while the second examines papers given at recent Australian conferences on suicide prevention. Following that I describe the methodology of the study before undertaking an analysis and interpretation of selected transcripts of interviews. This is an exploratory attempt at applying postructuralist discourse analysis to the social problem of male coping skills and male youth suicide. The results describe various discourses young men used in unstructuied interviews to explain how they cope when they feel down or depressed. The main conclusion from the results is that formation of small, confidential, supportive discussion groups for marginalised young men can be useful for sharing and developing coping skills and improving their management of stressors, which are everpresent in the environment. It is argued that the proliferation of such support groups for young men could have long term benefits in reducing the statistics of young male suicide by encouraging young men to share their techniques or behaviours of coping with their peers.