Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Communication support needs'

The thesis considers how early years and primary teachers support children with speech, language and communication needs and how mentors might then support student primary teachers in advancing their understanding of language development. The study discusses how, in the process, teachers might draw on and interact with their own knowledge, the constructed reality of their work place and the wider imperatives that shape their day-to-day practice. These three interconnecting themes of knowledge, policy and practice are examined by drawing on a variety of research methods including interview, questionnaire and desk-based research. The thesis proposes that the role of the teacher as a communicator needs to be placed much more in the foreground and is the central skill to be fostered as part of the very complex and demanding position held. Initial training and ongoing continuous professional learning should promote teachers’ identification and advancement of their own communication skills. Prioritising these skills is crucial so that teachers can first recognise and then support the communication development of pupils with speech, language and communication needs, and the elaboration of these skills in all pupils. The accompanying commentary uses two vehicles to reflect on the body of work presented: a structured analytic approach to analyse the papers presented and autoethnographic interviews to contextualise the author’s research journey as a teacher-educator whose professional background is speech and language therapy and teaching.

Remote control and management functions are widely utilized in multiple industries.The remote control and management functions has allowed for peopleto connect and interact to solve technical problems more efficiently. However,the healthcare organizations have not utilized the remote controlling and managementfunctions to a degree similar to other industries. Telephoning ande-mailing are still two mainstream ways of work when it comes to solvingtechnical support issues in-house. In order to understand what the technicalpersonnel and the clinical users at a hospital desires in new solutions, thismaster thesis project aimed at finding the existing needs in terms of remotecontrolling and management functions. To find these needs, Q-methodologywas applied for collection of subjective data from healthcare personnel abouta software device that aims at providing remote controlling and managementfunctions. In addition to finding and defining the needs, this thesis also aimedat examining how well such systems can address these needs. Performing this methodology three factors where found representing three differentattitudes regarding the needs for remote functions. The three factorsare "Technical Communication is Significant", "Functionality Appreciativeand Experienced" and "Do if fast!". These factors and their interpretationhelps to be aware of and to evaluate remote support solutions in a systematicway.
Tillämpningen av tekniska distanslösningar används i flertalet industrier i olika syften. Dessa tillämpningar har möjliggjort att människor kan ansluta och interagera med varandra för att på ett effektivt sätt lösa tekniska problem. Trots detta har inte vårdgivarorganisationer tillämpat dessa typer av lösningar i en liknande utsträckning jämfört med många andra industrier. Kommunikationskanaler som telefonsamtal och e-post är fortfarande vanliga när vårdpersonal bemöter tekniska problem som ska lösas internt. Syftet med denna uppsats är att hitta och definiera de befintliga behov som teknisk personal och kliniska användare upplever på sjukhus gällande tekniska distansl ösningar. För att hitta och definiera dessa behov har Q-methodology tillämpats för att systematiskt samla subjektiv data från vårdpersonal gällande ett nytt verktyg som ämnar till att leverera tekniska distanslösningar till sjukvården. Utöver detta har denna uppsats också undersökt hur väl denna typ av nya verktyg tillfredsställer de adresserade behov som beskrivits ovan.   Applicerandet av denna metodik resulterade i tre åsiktsgrupper som representerar tre olika attityder gällande behov för tekniska distanslösningar. Dessa tre åsiktsgrupper är "Technical Communication is Signficant", "Functionality Appreciative and Experienced" och "Do it fast! ". Vetskapen om dessa existerande_åsiktsgrupper bidrar till en större förståelse och en större förmåga att utvärdera tekniska distanslösningar.

It has become more and more important for creators of technical services to know whom they are designing for so they can satisfy their customers. A way to satisfy the costumers is to include a User Experience (UX) process in line with the creation process of the service. To create a good UX for the users one firstly needs to identify and understand the users. This thesis has investigated how the use of Personas can facilitate the understanding of the user in the context of User Experience (UX). A Persona is a fictive person that is a representation of a user group. A Persona is created with the objective that through the connection of the user goals, attitude and behaviours one can truly understand the users from an UX perspective. This thesis is creating Personas for a service called Streamingkollen. That is a service with the goal to help users with problems they have, connected to Video on demand (VoD) services. A video on demand service is a service that allows the users to watch videos whenever they want. Netflix, SVT play, HBO Nordic, TV4 play, are some examples of VoD services. The user data was collected through user interviews on predetermined users and then segmented into different user groups”. Personas were created, to make the different user group more realistic and easier to communicate. The different findings about the different user groups was put together as a story about one person (representing the user group) with a name, family, a job etc., and different characteristics that reflected the user group. The result is presented in three found user groups. The user groups were put together with different elements thanks to the segmentation and Personas. The segmentation made it possible to identify what causes the different needs that the users had when wanting support with a technical problems connected to VoD service and how these needs could be satisfied.. The Personas translated the user data into stories so that the findings about the users were easier to understand and adapt to. The role Personas play in the UX process is that without the comprehensive picture that is presented in the Personas and created thought data gathering and segmentation, it can be hard to identify the users needs and how they can be achieved.

A paper based survey was conducted, in which 31 Bahamian emergency management officials answered demographic, skill level, and functionality questions related to the use of hand-held communication devices to support emergency related activities including those directed toward preparation, mitigation, and response. These emergency management officials provided invaluable input based upon their practical experience in high consequence emergency situations. 155 Bahamian civilians participated in a similar survey which was a reduced version of the survey used for emergency management officials. Both surveys included questions in regard to the background information of the participants, previous handheld communication experience, device performance, and what other communication devices were being utilized. The surveys were analyzed using statistical methods of categorical data analysis and correlations were identified. Several communication needs which were categorized as infrastructure, organizational, and equipment needs as well as a hierarchy of device selection factors in regard to the use of hand-held communication devices during emergency management situations were identified. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used in order to determine the priorities of each of the identified device selection factors and a model for the selection of hand-held communication devices used to support communication flow in high consequence emergency management was proposed.; Communication has been identified as a critical component in the outcome of emergency response. Post-mortems of "what went wrong" in disaster responses often point toward breakdown in communication between first responders, those directing rescue efforts, and the general population as one of the primary impediments to rendering timely aid and communicating adequate safety and weather information. Due to the high resilience, relatively low costs, and advanced features of modern hand-held communication devices, these devices are in a position to drastically improve communication flow during emergency management situations. Due to the lack of official implementation of these devices and the lack of the establishment of standard guidelines for device selection, the use of hand-held communication devices in emergency management is yet to be optimized. Island nations such as the Bahamas, which face unique challenges in regard to emergency management due to geographical, infrastructural, political, and cultural hurdles which are found in the region, can especially benefit from the optimized implementation of hand-held communication devices in emergency management. This study examined current emergency response procedures in The Bahamas, created a baseline for the current use of hand-held communication devices by Bahamian emergency management officials and civilians, identified the communication needs of Bahamian emergency management officials and civilians, and proposed a model for the selection of hand-held communication devices based upon human factors principals and focusing on user priorities. This study began with a focus group interview which included 14 Bahamian emergency management officials in order to gain an understanding of current Bahamian emergency response procedures and the communication challenges faced by emergency management officials during high consequence emergencies.
ID: 029808904; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Thesis (M.S.)--University of Central Florida, 2011.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 118-119).
M.S.
Masters
Industrial Engineering and Management Systems
Engineering and Computer Science
Industrial Engineering

Acquiring language is understood to be a key part of a child’s development (Siraj-Blatchford & Clarke, 2003), impacting skills including literacy and behaviour. The number of children identified as having speech, language and communication needs has been increasing by 4-6 percent each year since 2011 and is the most common primary need of children with on the SEN register (Whitaker, 2014). Early intervention is argued to have the greatest impact on the outcomes for children, as well as being the most cost-effective (Law et al., 2001). However, there has been a call to improve the provision for children with these needs due to the variability of the provision children receive (Bercow, 2008). Due to the diverse workforce, as well as the recognised importance of practitioners viewpoints, there has been a call for research into the viewpoints of early years practitioners regarding strategies to support children with SLCN (Marshall & Lewis, 2014). The present research uses a Q methodological research approach (Stephenson, 1953) to explore the viewpoints of 42 early years practitioners on strategies to support children with speech, language and communication needs. Q methodology utilises the advantages of both qualitative and quantitative research methods and creates open communication around complex topics in order to clarify participants’ views and explore subjective and diverse viewpoints. The data generated by Q methodology was analysed using a by-person factor analysis. Three distinct viewpoints were identified within the group of early years practitioners who participated in the research. These viewpoints were: • One: Tailor interventions and seek professionals’ advice • Two: Emphasis on stand-alone strategies, alter instructional language and don’t use visuals • Three: Understand a child’s background and utilise environmental strategies Follow-up interviews were carried out to strengthen the validity of the findings and explore what has informed the viewpoints captured, as well as to identify what helps and hinders practitioners working in line with their viewpoint. Numerous implications for professional practice have been identified that could support the effective implementation of strategies to support children with SLCN.

Many adults with intellectual disability are unable to meet their everyday communication needs due to various communication difficulties. Opportunities for meaningful social interactions, self-determination and community participation are thus significantly restricted. Support staff working within residential facilities for adults with intellectual disability play an important role in facilitating and interpreting the adult’s communication as staff frequently interact with the adults. Studies have found that AAC strategies and tools prove effective in supporting the understanding and use of language in adults with ID, however the success of AAC intervention rests on the extent to which it is implemented and maintained by those interacting with and supporting them. The aim of this research is to describe the communication skills, resources and needs of adults with intellectual disability living in residential facilities in the Western Cape and their support staff, as reported by facility managers. Managers of 19 residential facilities for adults with ID in the Western Cape agreed to complete a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was developed based on a range of both local and international previous studies and aimed to gain information pertaining to the (1) background of the facility and adults (2) communication- and related skills of the adults (3) communication skills of the care staff working directly with the adults as well as (4) current availability of communication-related resources and support for the adults and staff. The results obtained indicated that approximately a third of nearly 1000 adults with ID were unable to communicate effectively. Adults with no or limited functional speech most often relied on informal, unaided AAC strategies to communicate requiring interpretation from the care staff. Facility managers reported most care staff used a variety of practices that facilitated communication. Furthermore, aided and unaided AAC strategies and tools to support comprehension were implemented by some of the facilities which were obtained from individuals or organisations knowledgeable in AAC. However, few facilities implemented a formal mode of aided or unaided AAC to support expressive language due to a variety of environmental barriers relating to a lack of staff skill and knowledge as well as limited access to appropriate professions such as speech-language therapy for AAC related training or support. More than three quarters of participants indicated that was some or an extensive need for training pertaining to communication support. Broadly, a need exists for (1) aided AAC to support the comprehension and expression of language for adults with ID in residential facilities (2) staff to obtain knowledge and skills in more formal AAC strategies through ongoing training as well as (3) access to professionals who are knowledgeable and skilled in AAC to provide individualised support to the adults and guidance to the multi-disciplinary team supporting the communication skills of the adults.
Mini Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2019.
Centre for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (CAAC)
MA
Unrestricted

Background and aims: Professionals, including Educational Psychologists, may find it hard to gather the views of children with communication support needs and learning difficulties on their educational provision. This research looked at the use of advocates, including peer advocates with learning difficulties, to gather these views. The research aimed to establish whether advocacy was affected by the role of the advocate and whether peers with learning difficulties could enrich the information obtained. The research also looked at the reported feelings of the advocates on giving advocacy Sample: Twenty advocates were interviewed, four for each of five focus children with communication support needs and learning difficulties. All of the advocates knew the focus child well and were drawn from a teacher of the child, a teaching assistant from the class, a parent of the child and a peer from the same class. Method: Advocacy was obtained from 4 advocates for each focus child about their educational provision. Semi structured interviews were used to ask how they felt about giving advocacy. The data was analysed using thematic analysis. Results: The main results were that: a) The role of the advocate appeared to affect the advocacy given; b) peers with learning difficulties were able to enrich the information gathered and c) giving advocacy was a positive experience for the peer advocates. Conclusion: This study was small scale and exploratory but points to the usefulness of using a peer advocate with learning difficulties for children with communication support needs and learning difficulties. It also points towards the fact that different people may offer differing advocacy according to their role in the focus person's life.

Mokiniai, turintys kalbėjimo, kalbos ir komunikacijos sutrikimų, mokydamiesi bendrojo lavinimo mokyklose, susiduria su specifiniais sunkumais, kuriuos lemia sutrikę ar nepakankamai išlavinti kalbiniai gebėjimai. Jiems turi būti teikiama individualizuota, mokinių poreikius atitinkanti pagalba. O vienas iš svarbių pagalbos teikėjų – mokytojas. Iškelta hipotezė, kad pedagogai bendradarbiaudami su mokyklos logopedais, kitų institucijų specialistais aktyviai dalyvauja vaikų, turinčių kalbėjimo, kalbos ir komunikacijos sutrikimų, ugdymo procese bei teikiant jiems pagalbą įveikiant šiuos sutrikimus. Atliktas empirinis tyrimas, kurio tikslas – išsiaiškinti pedagogų požiūrį į mokinius, turinčius kalbėjimo, kalbos ir komunikacijos sutrikimų bei jų taikomus ugdymo metodus, bendradarbiavimo su kitais specialistais aspektus. Siekiant užsibrėžto tikslo tyrimui naudota anketa bei interviu. Tyrime dalyvavo 100 pradinių klasių pedagogų iš įvairių miesto pradinių bei vidurinių mokyklų.
Pupils with speech, language and communication disorders in secondary schools face specific difficulties caused by impaired or underdevelopped language skills. Students must be given individualized support. And one of the major donors is the teacher. The hypothesis shows that teachers in collaboration with the school speech therapists and other specialists from different institutions actively participate in children‘s with language and communication disorders educational process and assist them in dealing with these problems. An empirical study is made to find out teachers' approach to students with speech, language and communication disorders. In order to achieve the objective study a questionnaire and an interview are used. The study involved 100 primary school teachers from various primary and secondary schools in town.

Nesta dissertação descreve-se uma proposta de implementação de uma plataforma de desenvolvimento de Sistemas de Comunicação Aumentativa e Alternativa para programadores, com o objectivo de melhorar a produtividade e diminuir os tempos despendidos na implementação deste tipo de soluções. Esta proposta assenta numa estrutura composta por widgets configuráveis por código e integráveis em novas aplicações, numa filosofia de reaproveitamento de objectos e funcionalidades, permitindo ainda a uniformização da estrutura do código no desenvolvimento de softwares deste tipo. Esta plataforma pretende ainda dar flexibilidade aos programadores, através da possibilidade de introdução de novas funcionalidades e widgets, permitindo também que se testem novas abordagens ao software durante a investigação. A implementação em tecnologias open source independentes da plataforma, permitirá ainda utilizar os objectos deste toolkit em vários sistemas operativos. ABSTRACT: ln this master thesis we describe an implementation proposal for an Augmentative and Alternative Communication Framework for developers, with the objective of improves the productivity and reduces the implementation times for these types of solutions. This proposal is based on a customized widgets structure that can be integrated in new applications, with the purpose of reuse common features of these applications, also allowing standardize the code structure in this kind of software development. This framework intends to provide flexibility to programmers giving them the possibility of introduce new functionalities and widgets, allowing them to test new approaches during research. The implementation based on open-source technologies, platform independent, allows the use of this toolkit in several different operating systems.

The purpose of this study is to generate further knowledge about preschool teachers' work with newly arrived children who are in need of special support. Presently, there is a small amount of research in this subject and therefore I think it is a relevant topic to study. The study is conducted with semi structured interviews as a qualitative method for accessing the preschool teachers’ description of their work with newly arrived children in need of special support due to disabilities. It appears that it is a challenge for preschool staff to know what the need for special support is based on, whether due to disability or of being a refugee and the difficulties it contains. In order for preschool teachers’ to have the opportunity to use appropriate support, they need to have knowledge of the child's background and they also need to have well function communication with the parents. It is usually the staff at the preschool who first notice when a child needs supplementary support. With the preschool teachers' descriptions this study examines what perspective preschool teachers’ have on their work with newly arrived children in need of special support. This is done with help of four different special educational perspectives. This study shows that it is important to have good cooperation between preschool and parents, the parties are then dependent on well-functioning interpretive opportunities for the cooperation to function, which turns out to be varied.

Detta examensarbete har utförts hos Projekt AB i Stockholm. Företaget är ett kvalificerat projektledningsföretag som arbetar med alla typer av byggprojekt oberoende av komplexitet och storlek. Företaget grundades 1993 och är idag ett av de ledande projektledningsföretagen i Storstockholm. Bakgrunden till arbetet ärt att företaget har velat kartlägga den psykosociala arbetsmiljö som råder bland projektmedarbetare inom olika projekt i företaget. Målgruppen i denna studie är beställaren, dvs. företagets ledning. Vårt syfte med studien är att ge utökad kunskap och förståelse kring temat psykosocial arbetsmiljö genom att undersöka psykiska och sociala arbetsförhållanden bland olika projektmedarbetare inom olika projekt. Komplexiteten i den psykosociala arbetsmiljön är stor och för att få fram en helhetsbild av den psykiska och sociala arbetsmiljön tänker vi i denna studie fokusera på psykiska arbetskrav, egenkontroll, socialt stöd och konflikter, ledarskap, kommunikation och lärande samt motivation. Vi har valt att göra en studie där vi använder en kvantitativ metod med en enkätundersökning som har skickats till samtliga projektmedlemmar på Projekt AB. I enkäten har vi berört centrala frågor inom området psykosocial arbetsmiljö. Resultatet är en beskrivning av hur den psykosociala arbetsmiljön upplevs inom Projekt AB. Svaren från undersökningen ger ett samlat underlag för verksamhetens ledning att utveckla sin psykosociala arbetsmiljö inom projektverksamheten på ett gynnsamt sätt, både ur ett medarbetar- och företagsperspektiv. Svaren på enkätstudien visade en hög arbetstillfredsställelse bland projektmedarbetarna. Det framkom i studien att den psykosociala arbetsmiljön på Projekt AB upplevs i stort sett positivt trots att medarbetarna anser att de har mycket att göra. Följande förbättringsområden har identifierats: bättre återkoppling, förbättrat lärande i stort, ökad erfarenhetsöverföring, ökad delaktighet hos projektmedarbetare, minskad arbetstempo och ökad social kontakt. Utifrån resultatet i denna fallstudie kan företaget diskutera möjliga åtgärder och förändringar som skulle kunna bidra till bättre psykosocial arbetsmiljö. Ett formellt forum för erfarenhetsöverföring samt positiv och negativ återkoppling som ges oftare både inom projektgruppen och mellan projektmedarbetare och projektledare anser vi är de viktigaste åtgärderna som företaget bör fokusera på i sina arbetsmiljöarbeten.
This thesis has been performed in a small company in Stockholm called Projekt AB. The company is a qualified project management company that works with all types of construction projects regardless of the complexity and size. The company was founded in 1993 and is today one of the leading project management companies in the Stockholm area.The background of this thesis was the fact that the company wanted to describe the psychosocial work environment from project members´ point of view. The purpose of this study is to provide and increase knowledge and understanding on the theme of psychosocial work environment by examining the psychosocial work environment among members of different projects in Projekt AB. The target group of this thesis is the client i.e. company´s management. The complexity of the psychosocial work environment is great and to obtain an accurate picture of the psychosocial work environment we intend to focus on the mental work demands, social support, conflicts, leadership, communication, self-control, learning, and motivation. We have chosen to write this study with the use of a quantitative approach. We have sent a survey to all project members in Projekt AB. In the questionnaire, we have asked about the key issues linked to the field of the psychosocial work environment. The result of the survey and the analysis of the data are presented in this thesis. The essay describes how the project members experience the psychosocial work environment in Projekt AB. Main outcomes from this thesis will provide an integrated basis for the company´s chiefs to develop their psychosocial work environment in the project activity in a favorable way, from both employee´s and business´ point of view. The result of our case study showed a high level of job satisfaction among project members. The study showed that the project members are quite satisfied with their psychosocial work environment in Projekt AB even thou they at the same time consider that they have too much to do. There is a number of possible areas for improvement, which is better feedback, improved learning in general, increased transfer of experience and involvement of project members, reduced work rate and increased social contacts. Based on the outcome of this case study, the company may discuss possible actions and changes that could contribute to better psychosocial work environment. A formal forum for the transfer of experience and both positive and negative feedback given more frequently both within the project group and between project members and project leader are the most important actions that the company should focus on in their work with the work environment.

Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to describe and explore how sexuality, body image and HRQoL were affected in patients treated for hematologic malignancies, and their need for support. A further aim was to describe nurses’ conceptions of dialogues about sexuality. Methods: Ten nurses in cancer care (I) and twelve patients were interviewed (II). Data were analysed according to phenomenography (I-II). Data were also collected from patients (≥45 years) included consecutively: at baseline (n=32), one month (n=25; III-IV) and six months (n=20; IV) after treatment. Three instruments were used: SAQ-S, BIS and EORTC QLQ-C30. The data were analysed statistically. Main findings: The nurses (I) conceived that they should talk about sexuality with cancer patients, but usually did not due to their own attitudes, lack of knowledge about sexuality, communication skills and environmental conditions. The patients (II) experienced negative effects on sexual function and sexual relationship due to affected strength and sexual desire. The patients’ sexuality, body image and HRQoL were affected during (II-III) and one month after treatment (III-IV). Patients recovered with regard to these issues within six months, except for sexual relationship (IV). However, when the disease and side effects were experienced as severe, thoughts about and interest in sexuality were overshadowed, and the need or wish for support related to this issue was low (II). Sexuality and body image seemed to influence changes in HRQoL (IV). Conclusion: Patients above the age of 45 treated for hematologic malignancies with chemoimmunotherapy experienced problems related to sexuality, body image and HRQoL. However, as sexuality was found to be of low priority due to concerns for life when the disease and side effects were severe, support must be timely and individualized. Patient-centered care, with patients continuously meeting a nurse guided by the idea of holistic individual nursing care throughout the care trajectory, is suggested.
Sexuality is to a large extent seen as a private and sensitive topic by both patients and nurses in cancer care. The patients in this thesis were above the age of 45 and treated with chemo- or chemoimmunotherapy for hematologic malignancies. They experienced affected sexuality, body image and HRQoL during and after treatment. The importance of sexuality was low and sexuality seemed to be overshadowed when the disease and side effects were experienced as severe. Few patients described that information might have been helpful.  In order to avoid violating patients’ integrity, one challenge is to identify patients who ascribe importance to sexuality and who also want support regarding sexuality. One way is to organize care in a patient-centered way, with patients continuously meeting a nurse guided by the idea of holistic individual nursing care throughout the care trajectory. Furthermore, nurse educators’ need to acknowledge this area and the health care leaders should provide nurses opportunities to discuss attitudes and personal barriers to sensitive issues such as sexuality

The purpose of this study is to investigate preschool teachers' communication and treatment with children in preschool. With questions about how pre-school teachers experience the communication and what meaning they consider communication in the day-to-day activities. Sociocultural theory is used to study the communicative activities and from a phenomenological perspective, the phenomenon is described. The hermeneutic perspective conveys the experiences of the phenomenon. The methods used for the study were through qualitative interviews with preschool teachers, which consisted of structured questions and with open follow-up questions. Qualitative interview ideas were chosen when questions were made for more open answers and where the experiences form the basis of the phenomenon of communication. The result showed several different themes that formed the basis for sustainable communication in preschool. The conclusion or the very essence of the phenomenon of communication was based on the interpretative phenomenological analysis; Possibility of sustainable communication, where prototypes like time, child vision and, among other things, cooperation showed the necessity for making sustainable communication with the children in preschool and especially for children in need of special support.
Syftet med denna studie handlar om att undersöka förskollärares kommunikation och bemötande med barn i förskolan. Med frågeställningar om hur förskollärare upplever kommunikationen och vilken betydelse de anser kommunikationen har i den dagliga verksamheten. Genom sociokulturell teori studeras de kommunikativa aktiviteterna och utifrån ett fenomenologiskt perspektiv beskrivs fenomenet. Det hermeneutiska perspektivet förmedlar upplevelserna i fenomenet. Metoden för studien skedde genom kvalitativa intervjuer med förskollärare som bestod av strukturerade frågor och med öppna följdfrågor. Kvalitativ intervjuguide valdes då frågorna är gjorda för mer öppna svar och där upplevelserna utgör grunden för fenomenet kommunikation. Resultatet visade på flera olika teman som utgjorde grunden för en hållbar kommunikation i förskolan. Slutsatsen eller själva essensen av fenomenet kommunikation blev utifrån analysen interpretativ fenomenologisk analys; Möjliggörande av hållbar kommunikation, där prototeman som tid, barnsyn och bland annat samarbete visade på det nödvändiga för att möjliggöra en hållbar kommunikation med barnen i förskolan och speciellt utifrån barn i behov av särskilt stöd.

Practically all pupils leaving the nine-year compulsory school continue their studies at the upper secondary school, which consequently faces the challenge of meeting the whole range of varying needs and conditions of students. Daily school practice is constituted by a number of communicative contexts, formal as well as informal. In these social and linguistic contexts, conversations are held about and with students. The dissertation, which focuses on students in need of support, is expected to contribute to the creation of knowledge about how communication and interaction constitute daily work and how this ultimately may be manifested in exclusion and inclusion processes during the upper secondary school education of the young. The research is directed at the organisation of the work of the upper secondary school as well as at students’ experience of and learning from their participation, communication in various contexts and their own learning. The dissertation has its point of departure in the communicative relational perspective (KoRP), which is founded on socio-cultural theory formation. In addition, concepts from dramaturgy have been used as analytical tools for deepened analysis and interpretation of interaction. The study is ethnographic and longitudinal in its nature. During slightly more than three years of field work, eleven case study students have been followed on their journey through upper secondary school education. The outcome indicates the complexity of the upper secondary school, where communication and actions in a number of communicative contexts not always have the expected effect. To formal contexts that shall have a precautionary and supportive function belong pupil welfare team meetings, transition conferences and class meetings. For the group of case study students, however, these turn out to have limited significance. Among other things, the study uncovers how work organisation, mediational tools and the interaction of participants may become obstacles. Further, waiting for support efforts as well as inadequate collaboration between various communicative contexts have negative consequences for students concerned. For students who prosper in spite of complicated schooling and life situation in general, the experience of participation in a community of friends has a prominent position, but above all participation in one’s own learning process appears to be a decisive factor. This calls for continuous talks and follow-ups, in which teachers and not least class teachers/mentors have a central role.
I stort sett alla elever som lämnar grundskolan fortsätter sina studier i gymnasieskolan, som därmed står inför utmaningen att kunna möta hela variationen av elevers skiftande behov och förutsättningar. Skolans dagliga praktik byggs upp av en mängd kommunikativa kontexter, formella såväl som informella. I dessa sociala och språkliga sammanhang förs samtal om och med elever. Avhandlingsarbetet riktar intresset mot elever som av olika skäl har bedömts vara i behov av stöd och studien förväntas utgöra ett bidrag till kunskapsbildningen om hur kommunikation och samspel konstituerar den dagliga verksamheten samt hur detta i sin förlängning kan ta sig uttryck i exkluderings- och inkluderingsprocesser under ungdomarnas gymnasieutbildning. Forskningsarbetet är inriktat dels mot organiseringen av gymnasieskolans verksamhet och dels mot elevernas upplevelser och erfarande av sin delaktighet, kommunikationen i olika kontexter och det egna lärandet. Avhandlingen tar sin utgångspunkt i det kommunikativa relationsinriktade perspektivet (KoRP), som vilar på en sociokulturell teoribildning. Därtill har begrepp hämtade från dramaturgin använts som analysverktyg, för fördjupad analys och tolkning av samspelet. Studien har en etnografisk och longitudinell karaktär. Under drygt tre års fältarbete har elva fallstudieelever följts på resan genom den gymnasiala utbildningen. Resultatet visar på gymnasieskolans komplexitet, där kommunikation och handlingar inom en rad kommunikativa kontexter inte alltid får förväntad effekt. Till formella sammanhang som ska ha en förebyggande och stödjande funktion hör elevvårdsteamsmöten, överlämnings- och klasskonferenser. För gruppen av fallstudieelever visar sig emellertid dessa ha en begränsad betydelse. Studien blottlägger bland annat hur verksamhetens organisering, medierande verktyg och aktörernas samspel kan bli till hinder. Vidare får väntan på stödinsatser och bristande samverkan mellan olika kommunikativa kontexter negativa konsekvenser för berörda elever. För elever som når framgång trots en komplicerad skolgång och livssituation i övrigt, får upplevelsen av delaktighet i en kompisgemenskap en framskjutande plats, men framförallt framstår delaktigheten i den egna lärandeprocessen som en avgörande faktor. Detta ställer krav på kontinuerliga samtal och uppföljningar där undervisande lärare och inte minst klassföreståndare/mentor intar en central roll.
"Villkor och förutsättningar för delaktighet, kommunikation och lärande i gymnasieskolan" - ett projekt vid Göteborgs Universitet, IPD, Enheten för specialpedagogik

This thesis adverts to an educational problems of parents, how do they perceive manner and content of information presented, how do they adapt to their child?s disease, what do they lack and what restricts them from satisfying their needs. Complex care for small patients suffering from musculoskeletal disorder should also encompass a degree of care towards parents. A nurse must, likewise, refer to their needs, knowledge, attitude, care about their mental condition, and provide them during the whole time with professional help and mental encouragement throughout coping with their difficult and demanding life situation, which the disease, the musculoskeletal disorder of their child, undoubtedly is. An outlook of nurses of this problem is also a part of this thesis.

The dissertation is dealt with student's motivation for learning at secondary school and teacher's possibilities to influence this motivation. In the desk study the author defines psychological resources and analyses teacher's possibilities to support student's motivation. Attention has been paid to communication between teachers and students, educational methods and forms and evaluation. In the empirical part the author describes investigation, which took place at secondary school. The investigation inspected influence of some motivation factors to student's motivation for learning. The next topic of investigation was students' motivation structure. The valid of investigation is limited - it is valid only for students, who took part in the investigation. Results of the investigation can be useful not only for teachers teaching in those classrooms but for other teachers too.

The effect of the academic literacy intervention programme on the SATAP English scores was evaluated. This study begins as a longitudinal study in the Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology (FSET). 120 subjects from the Electrical, Civil, Building and Mechanical departments in the FSET were randomly selected to serve as an experimental group. The research design employed a quantitative methodology. Data was collected using the Standardised Assessment Tests for Access and Placement (SATAP) English Test. The test was administered to the experimental group as a pre- test and post-test measure at the beginning of the year and at the end of the year. The SPSS statistical programme with frequency tables and graphs was utilised to analyse the data obtained. The results indicated that the difference between the pre-test scores and the post-test scores was statistically significant. The post-test scores were significantly higher than the pre-test ones. It was concluded that the academic literacy intervention programme was effective in increasing the SATAP scores and therefore addressed some of the language needs of students.
Language Education Arts and Culture
M. Ed. (Adult Education)