Vocational and occupational counsseling: a strategy of preventive intervention directed to Young men and women from the interior of the province of Buenos Aires

This work belongs to one of the activities that are carried out in the Vocational and Occupational Guidance Center (V.O.G.C.) of the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences at the L.P.N.U. In the year 1994 the Vocational/Occupational Guidance Programme for Municipalities was created, destined for work with adolescents who are attending their last year at secondary schools in the interior of the Province of Buenos Aires . The Programme aims at fostering the development of spaces for reflection related to the educational/working projects of the adolescents who are close to entering university. The proposal is based on the methodology of work groups, in the journeys preoccupations are sheared, the worries and fears experienced by the students are shared with their hosts, possibilities are used as ground for construction, dealing both with aspects of their current situation and their future possibilities. From the analysis of the group productions collected throughout these years, we have developed a student's profile that - although it resembles the one obtained from local adolescents- adds new questions and points of view, thus increasing the complexity of the balance of forces related to the question of having to make a choice.

Vocational guidance in people with special educational needs as the result of visual impairment during the transition stage from high school to advanced education

This work proposes to seek for the factors related to the choices that people with special educational needs make as the result of the visual impairment, during the transition stage from high school to advanced education. Therefore, we have taken into consideration that Vocational Guidance and the transition towards adulthood get specific characteristics in case of visually impaired young people, particularly in what's related to continue with advanced education. The focus of this work is to be able to clarify the existence of factors that make this transition stage easier or harder, through the observation of visually impaired and blind people who complete high school. This matter has aroused interest and concern about the strategies to follow to ensure the successful entrance and remaining in the selected advanced education. However, if we don?t know the factors involved in the described fact, it's difficult to design an appropriate intervention strategy. Then, in order to take acknowledge about the specific issues of visually impaired young people who complete high school, we chose a special school for this disability and some students who will join this project

A paradox : Increased psicho-social problems-less counselling intervention

This work is based upon conclusions drawn from the research project: "A Profile of vocational occupational counselling and placement and employment services" in La Plata and greater La Plata (Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina). This research was carried out between 1998 and 2002 and explored four axes or systems: Health - Labour-Social Policies and Education. In the case of this last axis, reference was made to information about school counselling teams (psychologists, psycho-pedagogues, social workers, etc.) who should have the responsibility for the counselling task, and moved their activity towards the attention of urgencies requested by educational institutions, to cope with current psycho-social problems, losing sight of the importance of counselling from a prevention perspective, for avoiding possible risk situations. Results achieved within this context (La Plata, capital of the Province of Buenos Aires, Ensenada and Berisso), due to the strategic importance of the region in the national context, allowed us to establish meaningful relationships, correlations and projective inferences in other social and regional spheres.

Vocational and occupational counsseling: a strategy of preventive intervention directed to Young men and women from the interior of the province of Buenos Aires

This work belongs to one of the activities that are carried out in the Vocational and Occupational Guidance Center (V.O.G.C.) of the Faculty of Humanities and Educational Sciences at the L.P.N.U. In the year 1994 the Vocational/Occupational Guidance Programme for Municipalities was created, destined for work with adolescents who are attending their last year at secondary schools in the interior of the Province of Buenos Aires . The Programme aims at fostering the development of spaces for reflection related to the educational/working projects of the adolescents who are close to entering university. The proposal is based on the methodology of work groups, in the journeys preoccupations are sheared, the worries and fears experienced by the students are shared with their hosts, possibilities are used as ground for construction, dealing both with aspects of their current situation and their future possibilities. From the analysis of the group productions collected throughout these years, we have developed a student's profile that - although it resembles the one obtained from local adolescents- adds new questions and points of view, thus increasing the complexity of the balance of forces related to the question of having to make a choice.

The Bangladesh gender gap in education : biased intra-household educational expenditures

By investigating the educational expenditure of children over the ten years (2000 to 2010), we evaluate whether there exists any gender specific discrepancy at the household level and the trend of such discrepancy over the years. Using three rounds of nationally representative Household Income & Expenditure Surveys this study reveals that households spend less on education for their school-going girls compared to boys. By disaggregating the total expenditure into fixed and variable components, we find persistent gender imbalance in educational expenditure where households provide better quality of education for boys. Moreover, we find that gender based discrepancy has a very persistent trend and does not show any significant sign of narrowing the gap over the years. Cohort wise difference-in-difference estimation also reveals that the gap has initially widened and later converged but has not diminished beyond the initial level of discrepancy, which may warrant targeted policy intervention.

Preparing Mexican Americans for mathematics- and science-based fields : a guide for developing school and college intervention models /

"Prepared with funding from the National Institute of Education, U.S. Department of Education under contract no. NIE 400-83-0023"--T.p. verso.

Research and intervention : preventing substance abuse in higher education /

"FIRST 94-7001"--P. [4] of cover.

Oral Health Experiences of Social Workers Serving Children in the Foster Care System: Assessing the Feasibility of a Social Worker-Driven Oral Health Intervention

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Socio-Historical Factors Mediating Collaborative Teaching and Learning: A Design-Based Investigation and Intervention

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Promoting better use of the PSA test in general practice: Randomized controlled trial of educational strategies based on outreach visits and mailout

Background. Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing for prostate cancer is controversial. Demand for PSA testing is likely to rise in the UK, Australia and other western countries. Primary care needs to develop appropriate strategies to respond to this demand. Objectives. Our aim was to compare the effectiveness of educational outreach visits (EOVs) and mailout strategies targeting PSA testing in Australian primary care. Methods. A randomized controlled trial was conducted in general practices in southern Adelaide. The main outcome measures at baseline, 6 months and 12 months post-intervention were PSA testing rates and GP knowledge in key areas relating to prostate cancer and PSA testing. Results. The interventions were able to demonstrate a change in clinical practice. In the 6 months post-intervention, median PSA testing rate in the EOV group was significantly lower than in the postal group, which in turn was significantly lower than the control group (P < 0.001). Statistically significant differences were not, however, maintained in the 6-12 month post-intervention period. The EOV group, at 6 months follow-up, had a significantly greater proportion of 'correct' responses than the control group to questions about prostate cancer treatment effectiveness (P = 0.004) and endorsement of PSA screening by professional bodies (P = 0.041). Conclusions. Primary care has a central role in PSA testing for prostate cancer. Clinical practice in this area is receptive to evidence-based interventions.

Increasing male involvement in family planning decision making: trial of a social-cognitive intervention in rural Vietnam

We tested a social-cognitive intervention to influence contraceptive practices among men living in rural communes in Vietnam. It was predicted that participants who received a stage-targeted program based on the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) would report positive movement in their stage of motivational readiness for their wife to use an intrauterine device (IUD) compared to those in a control condition. A quasi-experimental design was used, where the primary unit for allocation was villages. Villages were allocated randomly to a control condition or to two rounds of intervention with stage-targeted letters and interpersonal counseling. There were 651 eligible married men in the 12 villages chosen. A significant positive movement in men's stage of readiness for IUD use by their wife occurred in the intervention group, with a decrease in the proportions in the precontemplation stage from 28.6 to 20.2% and an increase in action/maintenance from 59.8 to 74.4% (P < 0.05). There were no significant changes in the control group. Compared to the control group, the intervention group showed higher pros, lower cons and higher self-efficacy for IUD use by their wife as a contraceptive method (P < 0.05). Interventions based on social-cognitive theory can increase men's involvement in IUD use in rural Vietnam and should assist in reducing future rates of unwanted pregnancy.

Developing the practice of educational psychologists through theory and research

Recent research in literacy acquisition has generated detailed programs for teaching phonological awareness. The current paper will address three issues that follow from this research. Firstly, much of the past research has been conducted under conditions that are divorced from the classroom. As a result, it is not known whether the suggested teaching strategies will lead to an increase in children’s attainments when integrated into a broad reading curriculum implemented by teachers in mainstream classrooms. Secondly, these phonological interventions have been designed either to prevent the occurrence of reading difficulties or to meet the needs of failing readers. Therefore, it is not known whether the same methods would advantage all children. Thirdly, teaching children to read takes a minimum of two to three academic years. We herefore need to develop a reading curriculum that can provide the progression and differentiation to meet a wide range of needs over several academic years. We report two studies that have addressed these issues through monitoring the impact of a reading curriculum, implemented by teachers, which integrated children’s acquisition of phonological skills with broader aspects of teaching reading over three academic years. The attainments of children at all levels of ability in the experimental group were raised relative to controls, and importantly, these gains were maintained after the intervention was withdrawn. These results demonstrate that phonological awareness training can be successfully integrated into real classroom contexts and that the same methods raised the attainments of normally developing children, as well as those at risk of reading failure.

Description and preliminary results from a structured specialist behavioural weight management group intervention:Specialist Lifestyle Management (SLiM) programme

Background -  Specialist Lifestyle Management (SLiM) is a structured patient education and self-management group weight management programme. Each session is run monthly over a 6-month period providing a less intensive long-term approach. The groups are patient-centred incorporating educational, motivational, behavioural and cognitive elements. The theoretical background, programme structure and preliminary results of SLiM are presented. Subjects/methods - The study was a pragmatic service evaluation of obese patients with a body mass index (BMI) ≥35 kg/m2 with comorbidity or ≥40 kg/m2 without comorbidity referred to a specialist weight management service in the West Midlands, UK. 828 patients were enrolled within SLiM over a 48-month period. Trained facilitators delivered the programme. Preliminary anonymised data were analysed using the intention-to-treat principle. The primary outcome measure was weight loss at 3 and 6 months with comparisons between completers and non-completers performed. The last observation carried forward was used for missing data. Results - Of the 828 enrolled within SLiM, 464 completed the programme (56%). The mean baseline weight was 135 kg (BMI=49.1 kg/m2) with 87.2% of patients having a BMI≥40 kg/m2 and 12.4% with BMI≥60 kg/m2. The mean weight change of all patients enrolled was −4.1 kg (95% CI −3.6 to −4.6 kg, p=0.0001) at the end of SLiM, with completers (n=464) achieving −5.5 kg (95% CI −4.2 to −6.2 kg, p=0.0001) and non-completers achieving −2.3 kg (p=0.0001). The majority (78.6%) who attended the 6-month programme achieved weight loss with 32.3% achieving a ≥5% weight loss. Conclusions - The SLiM programme is an effective group intervention for the management of severe and complex obesity.

Using a mixed design study to develop a breast screening intervention among Chinese women in the UK

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among Chinese women living in the UK. However the literature suggests that Chinese women are less likely to attend breast screening than white British women. No studies have been conducted to explore reasons for low attendance among this specific population. The purpose of this thesis was to understand the psycho-social factors related to breast cancer prevention and screening among Chinese women in the UK, and then to inform a breast screening intervention design. Three studies were conducted. The first was a systematic review of interventions to increase breast screening among Chinese women living in Western countries. The second and third studies used focus groups to explore Chinese women’s beliefs about breast cancer prevention and screening practices among older and younger generations. Finally, Intervention Mapping was used to synthesise the findings of the focus groups with those of the systematic review to design an empirical and theoretical evidence based breast screening intervention directed at Chinese women who are non-adherent to the NHS Breast Screening Programme. The qualitative findings revealed that older participants held a more holistic view of health maintenance, and had less knowledge about breast cancer and its causes than younger participants. They showed positive attitudes to breast screening and most had responded to receiving a mammography invitation. Language was a key barrier to older participants using medical care and obtaining health-related information. Younger participants expressed high dissatisfaction with health care in UK and showed a strong ‘neo-fatalistic’ view of breast cancer prevention, believing the main cause of breast cancer to be genetic predisposition. The synthesis of findings suggest that healthcare providers need to take Chinese cultural and language concerns, but also the differences between generations, into account when designing and implementing breast screening services and educational programmes which target Chinese women.