Evaluation of a treatment program for individuals with an intellectual disability who have high risk behaviours

In the past two decades numerous programs have emerged to treat individuals with developmental disabilities who have sexual offending behaviours. There has, however been very few studies that systematically examine the effectiveness of long term treatment with this population. The present research examines the therapeutic outcomes of a multi-modal behaviour approach with six individuals with intellectual disabilities previously charged with sexual assault. The participants also exhibited severe behavioural challenges that included verbal aggression, physical aggression, destruction and self-injury. These six participants (5 males, 1 female) were admitted to a Long Term Residential Treatment Program (LTRTP), due to the severity of their behaviours and due to their lack of treatment success in other programs. Individualized treatment plans focused on the reduction of maladaptive behaviours and the enhancing of skills such as positive coping strategies, socio-sexual knowledge, life skills, recreation and leisure skills. The treatment program also included psychiatric, psychological, medical, behavioural and educational interventions. The participants remained in the Long Term Residential Treatment Program (LTRTP) program from 181 to 932 days (average of 1.5 years). Pre and post treatment evaluations were conducted using the following tools: frequency of target behaviours, Psychopathology Inventory for Mentally Retarded Adults (PIMRA), Emotional Problems Scale (EPS), Socio-Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes Assessment Tool (SSKAAT-R) and Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOL-Q). Recidivism rates and the need for re-hospitalization were also noted for each participant. By offering high levels of individualized interventions, all six participants showed a 37 % rate of reduction in maladaptive behaviours with zero to low rates of inappropriate sexualbehaviour, there were no psychiatric hospitalizations, and there was no recidivism for 5 of 6 participants. In addition, medication was reduced. Mental health scores on the PIMRA were reduced across all participants by 25 % and scores on the Quality of Life Questionnaire increased for all participants by an average of 72 %. These findings add to and build upon the existing literature on long term treatment benefits for individuals with a intellectual disability who sexually offend. By utilizing an individualized and multimodal treatment approach to reduce severe behavioural challenges, not only can the maladaptive behaviours be reduced, but adaptive behaviours can be increased, mental health concerns can be managed, and overall quality of life can be improved.

The impact of social welfare reform and workfare on lone-parent female headed households in the Niagara Region

This thesis explores the impact of recent social welfare reforms on the lives of social assistance recipients. The focus is on single mothers who are dependent on social assistance in a small city in southern Ontario. This detailed examination is complemented with existing case studies in Canada, the United States and New Zealand, as well as aggregate data on poverty in Canada. Participants for the research study were recruited by flyer distribution and referral. Following recruitment, selected participants were scheduled for a tape- recorded interview. The final sample population consists of eight single mothers on social assistance and/or workfare participants. This information is supplemented with interviews from two Ontario Works caseworkers and two Women's Advocates from a local crisis housing organization. This research project is guided by a socialist feminist framework. Evidence from interview participants suggest that single mothers continue to struggle in terms of meeting basic needs, such as food, clothing and medications. Housing for low-income families is a concern expressed by the participants as well as by Women's Advocates who operate within the region. In addition, subsidized housing continues to be problematic in terms of both safety and availability. Recent social welfare refonns (reductions in welfare income and introduction of workfare features) have intensified the economic and social marginalization of these women. Participants, for example, voice concerns about valuing self-evaluation in their Ontario Works and workfare activities. Considerable evidence from interview participants suggest that single mothers remain economically marginalized.

Analyzing the learning of the taking personal and social responsibility model within a new physical education undergraduate degree program in El Salvador

EI Salvador presents an unfortunate history that includes a military regime and a civil war that together created a legacy of violence in which the country still struggle nowadays. Salud Escolar Integral (SEI) was created in 2005 as a program to combat youth violence throughout the re-formulation of physical education (PE) classes in public schools, promoting life skills learning that supports the resolution of conflicts with nonviolent ways. In 2007, SEI supported the creation of a physical e~ucation teacher education (PETE) degree at the Universidad Pedag6gica de EI Salvador (UPES), having the goal to assist pre-service teachers with a better understanding of humanistic principles. The present research analyzed if after attending all three years ofUPES PETE program, students presented high self-perception levels of competence and confidence related to attitude, skills and knowledge to teach PE within humanistic principles. Taking Personal and Social Responsibility (TPSR) was the theoretical framework used to analyze the development of humanistic principles. The study had a mixed-method longitudinal design that included questionnaires, reflection templates and interviews. In conclusion, although it is suggested that UPES should provide better support for the development of the teaching principles of empowering students and transfer learning, most of the humanistic principles were highly promoted by the program. At last, it is suggested that future research should track teachers' progress while teaching in schools, in order to analyze if the theory of promoting humanistic principles have also become a daily practice.

Social development of primary aged children through a movement education program

Unique in Canada, is a university based movement program offered to children aged 1-12 which is diverse and inclusive in its design to foster healthy physical, cognitive, affective and social development. The purpose of this study is to investigate how children's involvement in a weekly movement education program influences their social development. The primary-aged children involved in this research are participants in the university based Saturday morning program, The Children's Movement Program (CMP), in which creative dance, educational gymnastics and developmental games are employed to enhance optimal development. The 15 participants were systematically observed for 8 weeks as they naturally engaged in the program's activities. Interviews were conducted with both children and their caregivers throughout the duration of the program. Particular attention was paid to the perceptions of caregivers regarding the advantages of a program based upon principles of movement education. Results indicate that participation in the program increases children's opportunity to interact socially and address ways in which program content, pedagogy and context encourage social development. A figure was developed with these components to assist teachers in creating inclusive and meaningful movement experiences. 'Content' is referred to as the material to be learned or the desired outcome for the learner. 'Pedagogy' refers to the process in which the student will engage and 'Context' refers to the environment in which the experience occurs (eg. skating rink with playground balls). It is recommended that each is thoroughly addressed individually for its potential in lesson design.

The effects of a general excercise program on task self-efficacy and social physique anxiety in older adults

Older adults represent the most sedentary segment of the adult population, and thus it is critical to investigate factors that influence exercise behaviour for this age group. The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a general exercise program, incorporating cardiovascular, strength, flexibility, and balance components, on task selfefficacy and SPA in older adult men and women. Participants (n=114, Mage = 67 years) were recruited from the Niagara region and randomly assigned to a 12-week supervised exercise program or a wait-list control. Task self-efficacy and SPA measures were taken at baseline and program end. The present study found that task self-efficacy was a significant predictor of leisure time physical activity for older adults. In addition, change in task self-efficacy was a significant predictor of change in SPA. The findings of this study suggest that sources of task self-efficacy should be considered for exercise interventions targeting older adults.

Wild Civility: Cultivating the Foundations of Social Justice through Participation in a Wilderness Program

This heuristic inquiry examined if the foundations of social justice knowledge and beliefs were developed as a result of participation in a wilderness program and what knowledge and beliefs were developed. There were six participants in this study. Data collection involved participants completing pre- and post- program interviews and daily journals during the program. Through inductive analysis six themes emerged. Three of these were related to the development of certain foundations of social justice: (a) experienced conflict development and resolution; (b) experienced relationship change and development; and (c) shift from “me” to “we” mentality. The remaining three themes were included as additional findings: (a) experienced personal change and development; (b) identification of specific factors of the program responsible for changes; and (c) bringing learning back to everyday life. Results highlight wilderness program impacts on participants’ social justice knowledges and beliefs and inform wilderness program providers and social justice educators.

Outcome Evaluation of a Campus-Based Quit and Win Contest

This study examined abstinence outcomes of a provincial, campus-based Quit and Win contest relative to contestants’ assessments of the prize, buddy support, social support network, and emails. Of the 288 participants providing baseline data, 201 self-reported their smoking and quitting behaviours, use of quit aides, and perceptions of contest components. On 5-point scales, perceived values of the contest prize, buddy support, social support network and email were 4.42, 3.95, 3.89, and 3.46 respectively. Intention to treat analysis showed 27.8% of participants achieved 6-week contest-period abstinence; 19.8% achieved 3-month sustained abstinence. Odds of achieving 3-month abstinence were influenced by age (OR = 1.10, CI =1.03, 1.18) and use of pharmacological quit aides (OR = 0.42, CI = 0.20, 0.88), but not smoking behaviours or contest components. Contest prizes and support were valued, but played an uncertain role in quitting success. Future research might examine their roles in contestant recruitment or retention.

Intertemporal Social Evaluation

Intertemporal social-evaluation rules provide us with social criteria that can be used to assess the relative desirability of utility distributions across generations. The trade-offs between the well-being of different generations implicit in each such rule reflect the underlying ethical position on issues of intergenerational equity or justice. We employ an axiomatic approach in order to identify ethically attractive socialevaluation procedures. In particular, we explore the possibilities of using welfare information and non-welfare information in a model of intertemporal social evaluation. We focus on the individuals’ birth dates and lengths of life as the relevant non-welfare information. As usual, welfare information is given by lifetime utilities. It is assumed that this information is available for each alternative to be ranked. Various weakenings of the Pareto principle are employed in order to allow birth dates or lengths of life (or both) to matter in social evaluation. In addition, we impose standard properties such as continuity and anonymity and we examine the consequences of an intertemporal independence property. For each of the Pareto conditions employed, we characterize all social-evaluation rules satisfying it and our other axioms. The resulting rules are birth-date dependent or lifetime-dependent versions of generalized utilitarianism. Furthermore, we discuss the ethical and axiomatic foundations of geometric discounting in the context of our model.

Development and evaluation of a nursing psycho-educational program focused on communication for family caregivers in early Alzheimer's disease

Thèse numérisée par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

EVALUATION OF THERMODYNAMIC PARAMETERS OF THE ATMOSPHERE BY A FORTRAN PROGRAM

Thermodynamic parameters of the atmosphere form part of the input to numerical forecasting models. Usually these parameters are evaluated from a thermodynamic diagram. Here, a technique is developed to evaluate these parameters quickly and accurately using a Fortran program. This technique is tested with four sets of randomly selected data and the results are in agreement with the results from the conventional method. This technique is superior to the conventional method in three respects: more accuracy, less computation time, and evaluation of additional parameters. The computation time for all the parameters on a PC AT 286 machine is II sec. This software, with appropriate modifications, can be used, for verifying various lines on a thermodynamic diagram

Effects of pulmonary rehabilitation program in a patient with severe asthma diagnosis

Objective: to present the effectiveness of pulmonary rehabilitation programs in the treatmentof a patient with asthma, this is the case of a young Caucasian girl —17 years old— with severe asthma diagnosis, with symptoms since she was eight years old, 10th grade student. Method: She was referred to the program of Pulmonary Rehabilitation after three hospitalizations during the last year due to asthmatic crises, dyspnoea in activities of daily living, and intolerance to physical exercise. In the initial evaluation, a patient with non-controlled asthma was found; she was receiving short-acting medication admitting that she was not complying with regular use and with a prescribed dose of the pharmacological treatment and that she ignored the importance of this commitment for optimal evolution. The patient expressed concern about the progressive deterioration at her respiratory and functional level during the last year and her fear and anxiety for not being able to breathe during activities befitting her age. Results: One month after receiving bronchodilators and long-acting steroids permanently and complying with recommendations about regular use and adequate inhalatory technique, the patient was included in a three-times a-week program of pulmonary rehabilitation during eight weeks for upper and lower extremity endurance and resistance training. Conclusion: This intervention showed significant changes in the patient at functional level and a greater social participation.

La inclusión social y laboral de las personas con discapacidad intelectual mediante los programas de empleo con apoyo : un reto para la Orientación. 'Social and labour inclusion of people with intellectual disability through supported employment programs : a challenge for guidance'.

Resumen tomado de la publicación. Con el apoyo económico del departamento MIDE de la UNED

Evaluation of satisfaction in an extracurricular enrichment program for high-intellectual ability participants

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

The social difficulties children encounter transitioning from a self-contained deaf education program into a general education program

This study examines the difficulties, particularly social, a child who is deaf/hard of hearing encounters transitioning from a self-contained program into the general education setting. The information gathered was used to create a children's story as a helpful tool.

Evaluation technique designed to investigate the efficacy of a group communication-based aural rehabilitation program for hearing-impaired adults

This paper studies aural rehabilitation efforts designed to address the compensatory strategies used by hearing-impaired adults and evaluates the success of an eight week group communications-based therapy program.