I have investigated how municipalities support children with ADHD. I have interviewed persons responsible in five different municipalities. The persons have had the authority to decide how the support funds are to be shared in the municipality. Mostly I was interested to know if the support was the same in all these municipalities and if the children with ADHD really got the help and support they were entitled to. I discovered that the support varied; in some the children were correctly diagnosed but in others municipalities I was not convince. It became obvious that all municipalities were aware of that children with "messy" behaviour ought to get special professional support. They agreed that the support ought to consist of encoring and strengthening the child’s positive abilities. As well as that the child’s self-confidence ought to be encouraged and situations with a lot of stress, anticipation and changes ought to be avoided. I have working experience of preschool child groups and of children in need of special support and this have given me an extra motivation to research and to learn to know more.

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Research data revealed that Mexican Americans have the highest dropout rate of any other Hispanic group. Since Hispanics are becoming the highest minority group in the U.S., the primary purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate what helped third generation low socioeconomic Mexican American A.I.S.D. students successfully graduate from high school. Three former students were selected from three different high schools. The researcher collected data through individual interviews with each participant and with key informants such as parents and school personnel. Issues examined included participant perceptions of factors that kept them in school, the support systems they believed were important, and the challenges they encountered. The overall findings revealed that the three participants had a strong sense of control, positive relationships with peers and school staff, parents who valued education, and strong school support through programs or personnel. Recommendations for educators based on the findings include 1) staff development on building relationships with students and communicating with parents, 2) creation of nurturing and academically rigorous school environments.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2001. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xiv, 170 p.). Includes abstract and vita. Advisor: J.F. Rathman, Dept. of Chemical Engineering. Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-165).

Thesis (M.S. in Information Technology Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, March 2004. / Thesis advisor(s): Alex Bordetsky, Glenn Cook. Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-79). Also available online.

Thesis--PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2003. / Field problem. Includes bibliographical references.

New mothers struggle to combine breastfeeding and employment. Employers may not realize the benefits of breastfeeding for mothers, their infants, or the businesses themselves. A cross-sectional, descriptive design was used to investigate the characteristics of Central Texas small business employers, their attitude toward supporting breastfeeding in the workplace and explored factors that may mediate or moderate employers' support of breastfeeding in the workplace. Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovation theory guided the study. Data were collected using a Business Characteristics Survey and the Employer Intention to Support Breastfeeding Questionnaire (ESBQ). The final response rate was 148 complete surveys out of the 3817 sent, resulting in a 3.8% response rate. Descriptive statistics showed that 65.5% had some type of lactation support (n = 97) in place for their breastfeeding employees; however only 34.5% provided a designated, private room/place to pump breast milk. Logistic regression of the independent variables attitude (b = .034, p = .535), centralization (b = .045, p = .222), and interconnectedness (b = .002, p = .695) did not predict the presence of lactation support. Business size was not a significant predictor of the presence of lactation support (b = .001, p = .921). The moderator of intent was added to the model and interaction terms created by multiplying intent with each of the following variables: business size, attitude, centralization, and interconnectedness. These results did not support the presence of a moderating effect. Finally, mediator effects were only tested with the independent variable attitude. A significant direct association between attitude and the presences of lactation support was found (p = .045). Attitude appears to be a significant predictor of relative advantage (b = 4.583, p <.001). Relative advantage, while controlling for attitude, was not a significant predictor of presence of lactation support (b = .013, p = .220); however, the direct relationship of attitude to the presence of lactation support was less significant than before (b = .029, p = .655). Attitude appears to be a significant predictor of complexity (b = .407, p <.001). Complexity, while controlling for attitude, was not a significant predictor of presence of lactation support (b = .059, p = .285); however, the direct relationship of attitude to the presence of lactation support was less significant than before (b = .065, p = .181). Attitude appears to be a significant predictor of observability (b = .916, p = .003). Observability, while controlling for attitude, was not a significant predictor of presence of lactation support (b = -.003, p = .834); however, the direct relationship of attitude to the presence of lactation support was less significant than before (b = .091, p = .047). The implications and recommendations based on these findings can help to guide future studies and the planning and implementation of workplace lactation programs. / text

This study assessed the utility of the theory of planned behavior components [attitude (A), subjective norm (SN), perceived behavioral control (PBC)] in predicting patients’ willingness to work with a peer supporter for medication management, determined if prior experience (PE) with peer support adds to the prediction of willingness, assessed the importance of peer supporter characteristics, and explored patients’ communication preferences. This study also explored medication outcomes important to patients. A 72-item survey was administered to 130 adult patients with diabetes, hypertension, and/or hyperlipidemia. Willingness was measured with a 7-point scale (1-very unwilling to 7-very willing). A (6 items), SN (6 items), and PBC (4 items), were measured with 7-point scales [−3 (e.g., very unlikely) to +3 (e.g., very likely)]. Variable relationships were examined using multiple regression analysis. A plurality of respondents were white (45.3%) and most were female (56.2%). Their mean age was 58.6±11.5 years. Overall, respondents indicated a moderate willingness level (mean=4.76±1.65). A (β = 0.341, P < 0.001), SN (β=0.168, P=0.122), PBC (β=-0.043, P=0.692), and PE (β=0.290, P<0.001), together with age and ethnicity, accounted for 35.8 percent of the variance in willingness (F=9.041, df=8,109, P<0.001). The most important peer supporter characteristic was having experiential knowledge (mean=4.20±0.94; range: 1-very unimportant to 5-very important). Most preferred to communicate by telephone (82.3%) and at a frequency of once a month (34.4%). The most important outcome was preventing future health problems (mean=4.63±0.83; range: 1-very unimportant to 5-very important). Among patients who reported hypertension and hyperlipidemia as most bothersome, “clinical values” was the most endorsed method of judging/deciding control. Among patients who reported diabetes as most bothersome, “how my body responds” was the most endorsed method. A and PE were significant predictors of willingness, and PE significantly increased the explanatory power of the regression model. Peer support programs should focus on informing patients of the value of working with a peer supporter in order to positively modify their beliefs and attitudes. Several findings can be used to tailor peer support programs, including selecting peer supporters who have experiential knowledge, providing telephone-based communication options, and assessing outcomes most important to patients. / text

No description available.

Lone-parent families were in the news in 1993 as never before. The Child Support Agency, and the question of lone-parent families' entitlement to state support were the feature of many news reports. This study examines this media coverage and, using concepts from agenda-setting and issue definition literature, examines the roles that political actors have played in the construction of these media reports. A content analysis of a complete sample of 77ie Times and 7he Sunday Times comprises the primary analytical method, with a policy process framework organising the analysis. It has been found that government ministers played the greatest part in setting the media agendas for these and other issues. It seems that other actors can be successful in shaping coverage, however, if they make use of certain tactics, particularly if they provide 'ready-packaged' stories to journalists that combine a human interest element (involving 'real' people) with a political slant. By mobilising on a mass level absent fathers were able to provide such stories and were thus able to take control of press coverage of the Child Support Agency. The lone parents' groups Gingerbread and the National Council for One Parent Families, on the other hand, found mobilisation and particularisation more difficult due to the social and economic situation of their client group - nine out of ten lone parents are women, and around eight out of ten claim income support benefits - and for this reason were less successful in shaping either coverage of the Child Support Agency, or of lone-parent families and their right to state support.