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Harden, Samantha M. "Group Dynamics in Physical Activity Promotion: Research, Theory & Practice." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/38690.
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The use of group dynamics principles such as group goal-setting, distinctiveness and cohesion has been the basis of a burgeoning area of physical activity (PA) promotion. Recent reviews of literature suggest that these interventions are robust and increase PA in a wide variety of populations. Still, a number of questions remain unanswered in the areas of theory development, intervention implementation, and translation of research into practice. This dissertation includes a series of manuscripts that focus on research, theory, and practice of group dynamics interventions intended to promote PA. Within research, a systematic review of literature explores group dynamics-based PA interventions in terms of generalizability (through RE-AIM evaluation) and the degree to which the interventions use research techniques that are more pragmatic (reflect typical practice) or more explanatory (testing under optimal conditions). This exploration is based on an initial review of 17 interventions that employ group dynamics strategies to increase PA, fitness, and/or adherence. The results suggest that this body of literature includes a range of pragmatic and explanatory trials, but still has gaps in reporting related to external validity. Embedded within the context of a PA promotion program for minority women, the second manuscript addresses a theory-based questionâ to what degree do group-interaction variables (cooperation, communication, and competition) differentially predict group cohesion over time. The results suggest that friendly competition is the strongest and most consistent predictor of different dimensions of group cohesion while task and socially related communication are consistent predictors of task and socially related cohesion, respectively. Two manuscripts are included in addressing the use of group dynamics principles within practice settings. The first practice manuscript details a small pilot study in which obese, limited income women successfully (p<0.05) limited gestational weight gain to the Institute of Medicine (2009) recommendation of 11-20 pounds. This study attempted to integrate a group dynamics approach into a group visit model for pregnant women. The quantitative findings were promising, but qualitative findings indicated a number of difficulties in implementation. The purpose of the final manuscript was to determine the attributes of the program agents consider when deciding to adopt a PA and fruit and vegetable promotion program and their understanding of key strategies related to group dynamics theory. Delivery agents were able to identify key underlying principles and propose adaptations that align with those principles.Ph. D.
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Greenfield, David. "Semigroup representations : an abstract approach." Thesis, University of Oxford, 1994. http://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:ebe5ecaf-e400-41de-bcd2-e168475ac76e.
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Chapter One After the definitions and basic results required for the rest of the thesis, a notion of spectrum for semigroup representations is introduced and some relevant examples given. Chapter Two Any semigroup representation by isometries on a Banach space may be dilated to a group representation on a larger Banach space. A new proof of this result is presented here, and a connection is shown to exist between the dilation and the trajectories of the dual representation. The problem of dilating various types of spaces, including partially ordered spaces, C*-algebras, and reflexive spaces, is discussed, and new dilation theorems are given for dual Banach spaces and von Neumann algebras. Chapter Three In this chapter the spectrum of a representation is examined more closely with the aid of methods from Banach algebra theory. In the case where the representation is by isometries it is shown that the spectrum is non-empty, that it is compact if and only if the representation is norm-continuous, and that any isolated point in the unitary spectrum is an eigenvalue. Chapter Four An analytic characterisation is given of the spectral conditions that imply a representation by isometries is invertible. For representations of Z+n this con- dition is shown to be equivalent to polynomial convexity. Some topological conditions on the spectrum are also shown to imply invertibility. Chapter Five The ideas of the previous chapters are applied to problems of asymptotic behaviour. Asymptotic stability is described in terms of the behaviour of the dual of a representation. Finally, the case when the unitary spectrum is countable is discussed in detail.
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Melhuish, Kathleen Mary. "The Design and Validation of a Group Theory Concept Inventory." PDXScholar, 2015. https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2490.
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Within undergraduate mathematics education, there are few validated instruments designed for large-scale usage. The Group Concept Inventory (GCI) was created as an instrument to evaluate student conceptions related to introductory group theory topics. The inventory was created in three phases: domain analysis, question creation, and field-testing. The domain analysis phase included using an expert consensus protocol to arrive at the topics to be assessed, analyzing curriculum, and reviewing literature. From this analysis, items were created, evaluated, and field-tested. First, 383 students answered open-ended versions of the question set. The questions were converted to multiple-choice format from these responses and disseminated to an additional 476 students over two rounds. Through follow-up interviews intended for validation, and test analysis processes, the questions were refined to best target conceptions and strengthen validity measures. The GCI consists of seventeen questions, each targeting a different concept in introductory group theory. The results from this study are broken into three papers. The first paper reports on the methodology for creating the GCI with the goal of providing a model for building valid concept inventories. The second paper provides replication results and critiques of previous studies by leveraging three GCI questions (on cyclic groups, subgroups, and isomorphism) that have been adapted from prior studies. The final paper introduces the GCI for use by instructors and mathematics departments with emphasis on how it can be leveraged to investigate their students' understanding of group theory concepts. Through careful creation and extensive field-testing, the GCI has been shown to be a meaningful instrument with powerful ability to explore student understanding around group theory concepts at the large-scale.
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Cook, Edward. "Group Decision-Making." VCU Scholars Compass, 2019. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/5928.
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The present work explores improvements in group decision-making. It begins with a practical example using state-of-the-art techniques for a complex, high-risk decision. We show how these techniques can reveal a better alternative. Although we created an improved decision process, decision-makers were apt to protect their own organizations instead of the project. This tendency was reduced over the course of the decision-making process but inspired the first conceptual component of this work.
The first concept describes the “Cost of Conflict” that can arise in a group decision, using game theory to represent the non-cooperative approach and comparing the outcome to the cooperative approach. We demonstrate that it is possible for the group to settle on a non-Paretto Nash equilibrium. The sensitivity of the decision-maker weights is revealed which led to the second conceptual portion of this work.
The second concept applies social network theory to study the influence between decision-makers in a group decision. By examining the number and strength of connections between decision-makers, we build from intrinsically derived weights to extrinsically derived weights by adding the network influences from other decision-makers. The two conceptual approaches provide a descriptive view of non-cooperative decisions where decision-makers still influence each other. These concepts suggest a prescriptive approach to achieving a higher group utility.
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Wier, Stewart Scott. "Object relations middle group and attachment theory : gender development, spousal abuse and qualitative research on youth crime." Thesis, University of Sheffield, 2003. http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/14759/.
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The basis to Freud's view that men and women are essentially separate entities with their own unique psychological construction and human potential which arises from their anatomical differences, will be challenged from the paradigm of object relations theory and related research from attachment theory. It will be argued that while a substantive understanding of gender development and the related issue of spousal abuse are influenced by such important factors as patriarchal domination, social oppression, socialized roles, and economic inequality between the sexes, these forces are considered to have a secondary psychological effect when compared with the formative influence of early object relations. The object relational paradigm to be outlined is that it is the distinctive emotional impact of the contents and attitudes that occur between the members of each family that establish the blueprints for subsequent feelings about oneself and others, from which particular relational patterns with others are pursued and acted upon within the larger social structure. Freud may be credited for his recognition and pioneering systematic investigation into the central importance of the unconscious in the development and functioning of human beings. Beyond this being a theoretical entity that is devoid of any scientific rigour which cannot be tested, proven, and therefore accepted as a legitimate therapeutic modality, information will be offered that suggests otherwise. Spousal relationships in which abuse constitutes a chronic pattern of interaction between the persons involved is understood to occur within contemporary North American society as a collusive arrangement between two emotionally impaired individuals. The argument will be made that they enter into an unconscious dialogue wherein each perpetrates and perpetuates the hopes and disappointments of their own and their partner's past intrapsychic relational experiences. Incarceration alone does not serve the emotional needs of young offenders, but instead, generally provides conditions which advance what is accepted, within this paper, to be a frequently disturbed psychic structure. The emphasis within the Canadian correctional system seems to emphasize incarceration over rehabilitation with the expectation that punishing those who break the law will result in an abstention from such acts in the future. The argument will be presented that in addition to ensuring public safety through imprisonment for some, there is mounting evidence which demonstrates the success of treatment programmes both within and outside of correctional institutions for those who break the law, and whose primary emphasis is on treatment and rehabilitation rather than detention and retribution. Contrary to therapeutic intervention being carried out as an adjunct to existing penal institutions, or that it be directed principally at the conscious acquisition of skills and information, it is proposed that such efforts are best administered within 2 comprehensive therapeutic environments. Further, it will be argued that rather than the previous and current emphasis which is directed primarily at a cognitive and behavioural level of the offender, it is the emotional foundation of the individual which has a direct influence on their long-term behaviour. Therefore, this aspect should constitute a fundamental component of the treatment program for the forensic patient for which psychoanalytic psychotherapy may play an important role.
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Vörös, András. "The emergence of multiple status systems in adolescent communities : a multiplex network theory of group formation." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2015. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9590194f-84e9-4548-b1fe-cf2f64ffc329.
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How do informal groups emerge in adolescent communities? What distinguishes a group from just a set of students? Who will end up together in a group and who will be left out? Why are there more groups in some classrooms and fewer in others? What determines whether these groups overlap in their members or they are completely segregated, perhaps antagonistic? While a huge body of research in sociology and social psychology focuses on these questions, an integrated approach that is able to answer all of them is yet to be developed. Without realizing that these five issues are interrelated, we cannot hope to understand how groups influence individuals and how they shape our communities. This thesis proposes an integrative theory of informal group formation in communities. Based on the tradition of Social Network Analysis, it develops a framework in which interpersonal relations and reputations are formed through a process called informal status production. Groups emerge from this micro-process by the alignment of positive relations and agreement in peer-perceptions between actors. The main micro-mechanisms predicted by the theory are tested on a unique longitudinal network dataset from school classrooms. To this end, a new empirical procedure was developed, by which a few aggregated networks can be constructed from tens of relational items. This allows the analysis of rich network data with several relational dimensions. The empirical studies of multiplex network dynamics confirm that there are strong interdependencies between friendships and perceptions. Students who agree about their peers tend to become friends, but more so when they hold a minority opinion in the class. This contributes to group formation. Friends also influence each other's perceptions, but we manage to show that the presence of groups around them interferes with this process by moderating the influence of individual peers.
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Tyber, Steven Jay. "Cutting planes in mixed integer programming: theory and algorithms." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/47560.
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Recent developments in mixed integer programming have highlighted the need for multi-row cuts. To this day, the performance of such cuts has typically fallen short of the single-row Gomory mixed integer cut. This disparity between the theoretical need and the practical shortcomings of multi-row cuts motivates the study of both the mixed integer cut and multi-row cuts. In this thesis, we build on the theoretical foundations of the mixed integer cut and develop techniques to derive multi-row cuts.
The first chapter introduces the mixed integer programming problem. In this chapter, we review the terminology and cover some basic results that find application throughout this thesis. Furthermore, we describe the practical solution of mixed integer programs, and in particular, we discuss the role of cutting planes and our contributions to this theory.
In Chapter 2, we investigate the Gomory mixed integer cut from the perspective of group polyhedra. In this setting, the mixed integer cut appears as a facet of the master cyclic group polyhedron. Our chief contribution is a characterization of the adjacent facets and the extreme points of the mixed integer cut. This provides insight into the families of cuts that may work well in conjunction with the mixed integer cut. We further provide extensions of these results under mappings between group polyhedra.
For the remainder of this thesis we explore a framework for deriving multi-row cuts. For this purpose, we favor the method of superadditive lifting. This technique is largely driven by our ability to construct superadditive under-approximations of a special value function known as the lifting function. We devote our effort to precisely this task.
Chapter 3 reviews the theory behind superadditive lifting and returns to the classical problem of lifted flow cover inequalities. For this specific example, the lifting function we wish to approximate is quite complicated. We overcome this difficulty by adopting an indirect method for proving the validity of a superadditive approximation. Finally, we adapt the idea to high-dimensional lifting problems, where evaluating the exact lifting function often poses an immense challenge. Thus we open entirely unexplored problems to the powerful technique of lifting.
Next, in Chapter 4, we consider the computational aspects of constructing strong superadditive approximations. Our primary contribution is a finite algorithm that constructs non-dominated superadditive approximations. This can be used to build superadditive approximations on-the-fly to strengthen cuts derived during computation. Alternately, it can be used offline to guide the search for strong superadditive approximations through numerical examples.
We follow up in Chapter 5 by applying the ideas of Chapters 3 and 4 to high-dimensional lifting problems. By working out explicit examples, we are able to identify non-dominated superadditive approximations for high-dimensional lifting functions. These approximations strengthen existing families of cuts obtained from single-row relaxations. Lastly, we show via the stable set problem how the derivation of the lifting function and its superadditive approximation can be entirely embedded in the computation of cuts.
Finally, we conclude by identifying future avenues of research that arise as natural extensions of the work in this thesis.
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Warren, Scott Joseph. "A Multi-Methodology Study of the Historic Impact of Soft Systems Methodology and Its Associated Data Visualization Approach in the Context of Operations and Business Strategy." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2018. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1404615/.
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The purpose of this three-essay dissertation was to expand knowledge and theory regarding soft systems methodologies (SSMs) and data visualization approaches in business, engineering, and other social sciences. The first essay depicts a bibliometric analysis study of the historic impacts of SSM from 1980-2018 on business, engineering, and other social sciences fields. This study found 285 articles that described or employed SSM for research and included outcomes such as top SSM authors, author citation impacts, common dissemination outlets, time-bound distribution of publications, and other relevant findings. This study provided a picture of who, what, why, when, and where SSM has had the greatest impact on academic thought and practice. The second essay presents research on the academic impact of Systemigrams, an associated data visualization approach, finding examples of conceptual or research development that employed Systemigrams to depict complex problem situations. Recommendations for improvement of designing these data visualizations to increase their field use resulted from this study. The final essay leverages a selection of the articles as use cases to produce a grounded theory study to identify phenomena that arose from the use of SSM for operations and firm strategy research. This study identified two broad themes including (i) scope, structure, and process challenges and (ii) performance and evaluation limitations. These themes were explained by six patterns that emerged from the publications. Each produced change recommendations for SSM process, practice, and reporting to support its continued viability and adoption in business and operations research.
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Faigin, David Adam. "Community-Based Theater and Persons with Psychiatric Disabilities: An Investigation of Individual and Group Development, Social Activism, and Community Integration." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1272138390.
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Salmon, John LaNay. "A methodology for quantitative and cooperative decision making of air mobility operational solutions." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/49039.
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Many complex and interdependent systems engineering challenges involve more than one stakeholder or decision maker. These challenges, such as the definition and acquisition of future air mobility systems, are often found in situations where resources are finite, objectives are conflicting, constraints are restricting, and uncertainty in future outcomes prevail. Air mobility operational models which simulate fleet wide behavior effects over time, in various mission scenarios, and potentially over the entire design life-cycle, are always multi-dimensional, cover a large decision space, and require significant time to generate sufficient solutions to adequately describe the design space. This challenge is coupled with the fact that, in these highly integrated solutions or acquisitions, multiple stakeholders or decision makers are required to cooperate and reach agreement in selecting or defining the requirements for the design or solution and in its costly and lengthy implementation. However, since values, attitudes, and experiences are different for each decision maker, reaching consensus across the multiple criteria with different preferences and objectives is often a slow and highly convoluted process. In response to these common deficiencies and to provide quantitative analyses, this research investigates and proposes solutions to two challenges: 1) increase the speed at which operational solutions and associated requirements are generated and explored, and 2) systematize the group decision-making process, to both accelerate and improve decision making in these large operational problems requiring cooperation. The development of the Air Mobility Operations Design (AirMOD) model is proposed to address the first challenge by implementing and leveraging surrogate models of airlift capability across a wide scenario space. In addressing the second major challenge, the proposed Multi-Agent Consensus Reaching on the Objective Space (MACRO) methodology introduces a process to reduce the feasible decision space, by identifying regions of high probability of consensus reaching, using preference distributions, power relationships, and game-theoretic techniques. In a case study, the MACRO methodology is demonstrated on a large air mobility solution space generated by AirMOD to illustrate plausibility of the overall approach. AirMOD and MACRO offer considerable advantages over current methods to better define the operational design space and improve group decision-making processes requiring cooperation, respectively.
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Hedman, Ragnhild. "Striving to be able and included : Expressions of sense of self in people with Alzheimer's disease." Doctoral thesis, Ersta Sköndal högskola, Palliativt forskningscentrum, PFC, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:esh:diva-3543.
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According to research applying a social constructionist perspective, the sense of self is not lost in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). It is, however, greatly influenced by the symptoms and by how they are treated by other people. Without support, it is difficult to preserve a positive sense of self, when living with progressing cognitive impairments. The stigma associated with cognitive impairment also threatens their sense of self. Harré’s social constructionist theories of self and positioning have been used to study how people with AD express their sense of self. As there is a need to expand the previous research by involving additional participants and research contexts, the aim of the present thesis was to describe, in accordance with Harré’s theories of self and positioning, how people with AD expressed their sense of self in personal interviews and in support groups with other people with AD. The research consists of four substudies (I–IV), and has a qualitative, descriptive, and theory-testing approach. Thirteen people with mild and moderate AD were included, 11 of whom had the early onset form of the disease. Two support groups were formed, led by facilitators who supported the communication and the participants’ expressions of self. Each group met 10 times during an eight-month period. Topics were not predetermined, and introduced by both facilitators and participants. Semistructured interviews were conducted before the groups started and after they ended. The interviews and support group conversations were audio-recoded and analysed with qualitative content analysis, guided by Harré’s theories. In substudy I, the initial interviews were deductively analysed. The findings showed that Self 1 (the sense of being a singular, embodied person) was expressed by the participants without difficulties. Self 2 (the perception of one’s personal attributes and life history) was expressed as feeling mainly the same person. While some abilities had been lost, other had been developed. Self 3 (the socially constructed self) was described as mostly supported, but sometimes threatened in interactions with other people (I). In substudy II, support group conversations were analysed abductively with respect to expressions of Self 2. It was found that participants expressed Self 2 in terms of agency and communion, and a lack of agency and communion (II).In substudy III, a secondary analysis of the data from substudy II was performed inductively with the aim of describing how Self 3 was constructed in the interaction of the support group. Five first-order positions, generating lively interaction, were described: the project manager, the storyteller, the moral agent, the person burdened with AD, and the coping person (III). In substudy IV, all the collected data were reanalysed inductively, focusing on how participants expressed the experience of being research participants. Three themes were constructed: contributing to an important cause, gaining from participating, and experiencing risks and drawbacks (IV). In conclusion, it was found that participants constructed positive social selves through the support from each other, the facilitator, and researchers in the support group (III), and as research participants (IV). Agency and communion were central to Self 2, and decreased with the progression of AD (II). In spite of change, participants perceived themselves as basically the same people, with a potential to learn and develop as persons (I).
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Heath, Julia. "A portfolio of academic, therapeutic practice and research work including and investigation entitled : A process of counteracting forces: A grounded theory investigation of group therapy with older adults." Thesis, University of Surrey, 2010. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.527025.
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Boel-Studt, Shamra Marie. "Examining typologies and outcomes of children and adolescents in psychiatric residential treatment facilities." Diss., University of Iowa, 2014. https://ir.uiowa.edu/etd/4580.
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The purpose of this dissertation was to expand the understanding of youth in psychiatric residential treatment facilities by using psychosocial indicators to develop subgroup profiles. Additionally, differences in treatment outcomes between subgroups and the extent to which within-treatment factors accounted for observed differences in treatment outcomes between subgroups were examined. Data were extracted from the case records of 447 youth who were served in psychiatric residential treatment facilities over a seven year span of time. A latent class analysis was used to identify and describe subgroups. A series of multivariate regression analyses were used to examine group differences in functional impairment at discharge. Next, a path analysis was used to determine if there were differences in average change in functional impairment from admission to discharge between subgroups and to test within treatment factors as potential mediators of group differences. Finally, a logistic regression was used to determine if there were differences between groups in the probability of discharging to a community-based placement or discharging to another congregate care facility. The latent class analysis revealed four distinct subgroups of youth. The analyses of treatment outcomes revealed statistically significant differences in the level of functional impairment at discharge and average change in impairment between groups. Results from the path model of indirect effects supported that within treatment factors accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the observed difference in change between groups. No differences were found in discharge placement outcomes between groups. Implications for future research, practice and policies focused on youth in residential treatment are discussed.
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Frey, Terrell Kody. "CAT IN THE CLASSROOM: UNDERSTANDING INSTRUCTOR BEHAVIOR AND STUDENT PERCEPTIONS THROUGH COMMUNICATION ACCOMMODATION THEORY." UKnowledge, 2019. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/comm_etds/85.
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Adjusting one’s communication is a fundamental requirement for human interaction (Gasiorek, 2016a). Individuals adapt communication behavior according to the circumstances surrounding the situation, resulting in different patterns and forms of speech relative to spouses, family members, coworkers, or friends. Yet, researchers in instructional communication have not yet substantially applied adjustment as a theoretical lens for understanding instructor-student classroom interactions (Gasiorek & Giles, 2012; Soliz & Giles, 2014; Soliz & Bergquist, 2016). Apart from overlooking this useful theoretical approach, instructional communication scholarship can also be improved by accounting for 1) shifting group identities in higher education that change how instructors and students communicate, 2) incomplete conceptualizations of student perceptions in existing research, and 3) a consistent lack of concern for the hierarchical structure of educational data. This dissertation seeks to resolve these limitations through an application of one of the most prominent theories of adjustment: communication accommodation theory (CAT; Giles, 1973; Giles, Willemyns, Gallois, & Anderson, 2007a). The research specifically extends the CAT framework to an instructional setting by investigating how student perceptions of instructor nonaccommodation across several modes of communication (i.e., nonverbal, linguistic/verbal, content, support) influence information processing ability, relationships with instructors, and beliefs about instructors. Data were collected from 573 undergraduate students across 38 sections of a basic communication course (BCC). Students completed an online questionnaire assessing perceptions of the appropriateness of their instructor’s behavior (i.e., nonaccommodation), extraneous load, communication satisfaction, instructor-student rapport, instructor credibility, and instructor communication competence. The results first forward a nuanced measure for assessing nonaccommodation in a manner consistent with the theoretical propositions of CAT. Second, a series of analyses using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM; Raudenbush & Bryk, 2002) showed significant associations between perceptions of nonaccommodation across modes and students’ reported classroom outcomes. Interestingly, several of the individual, direct relationships disappeared when multiple modes of nonaccommodation were considered simultaneously, introducing the possibility that individuals may prioritize the appropriateness of certain behaviors within context. The data hierarchy (i.e., students enrolled in course sections) did exert some influence on the relationships between variables, yet the majority of variance accounted for across models occurred at the student level. Implications of the results related to both theory and practice within the basic communication course are presented in the discussion.
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Zhang, Ruonan. "Beyond Narcissism: Developing a Comprehensive Model of Motivations for Selfie-Taking and Selfie-Posting on Social Media." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1558521422150505.
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Vogt, Bettina. "Just assessment in school : - a context-sensitive comparative study of pupils' conceptions in Sweden and Germany." Doctoral thesis, Linnéuniversitetet, Institutionen för utbildningsvetenskap (UV), 2017. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-68985.
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This thesis examines pupils’ justice conceptions regarding educational assessment. Due to the context-dependency of norms and values as well as of assessment, the study compares the justice conceptions of pupils in two different’socio-educational’ contexts: Sweden and Germany. The main interest of the study is to understand and to reconstruct pupils’ own relevance structures and what just assessment means from a pupils’ point of view. Here, the study aims to reach beyond the level of mere description by providing theoretical conceptualisations of pupils’ justice conceptions regarding assessment. Thus, the study´s methodological foundation is characterised by a combination of a context-sensitive comparative approach on the one hand, and on the other hand a pragmatist Grounded Theory approach. Data were mainly generated through focus group interviews with pupils attending the last year of the lower secondary level in the Swedish comprehensive school as well as in different school types in the German school system. In total, the sample consists of 95 pupils, who were interviewed in 21 focus group interviews. In addition, other sources of data were included, such as regulations and guidelines that supported a context-sensitive analysis of pupils’ conceptions. The theoretical conceptualisation that explains pupils’ justice conceptions is ‘meta-assessment’. ‘Meta-assessment’ refers to pupils’ evaluation of the assessment they experience in terms of justice and represents the shared, abductively derived and overlying analytical category regarding pupils’ conceptions. Pupils’ ‘meta-assessment’ is based on normative justice conceptions as well as on justice conceptions that are related to pupils’ situation and context-bound experiences with assessment. The first ones are about the ethico-moral character of pupils’ justice conceptions. The second shed light on the contextual conditions and consequences of the logics and practices underlying educational assessment as experienced by pupils on an everyday basis. This implies that just assessment from a pupils’ perspective needs to be understood in its wider contextual embedment; and in relation to teaching and learning in order to understand the complex interrelations of what just assessment ‘is’, and ‘should be’ from the perspective of those, who are mainly affected by it.
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Larsson, Helena. "På väg mot en personcentrerad vård." Thesis, Högskolan Kristianstad, Sektionen för hälsa och samhälle, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hkr:diva-8812.
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Forskningsresultat når inte alltid ut i vården till patienter och kliniskt verksam personal. Detta kan leda till att den vetenskapliga grund, som vården enligt svensk lagstiftning ska vila på, inte erbjuds. Anledningen till att vetenskapligt belagd kunskap inte når ut kan vara til lexempel avsaknad av kunskap om hur forskningsresultat sprids och om hur resultat kan omsättas till den egna verksamheten. Ett omfattande forskningsfält inom omvårdnad rör samtal, kommunikation och reflektion kopplat till relationen mellan vårdpersonal och patient. Reflektion bör ses som en central företeelse inom vården dels för att förstå patienten dels för att förändring skall komma till stånd. Reflektioner inom ramen för ett aktionsforskningsprojekt torde leda till förändringar i relation till vårdpersonals förståelse och attityder till patienten. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om förändringar sker i personals syn på sig själv och på patienten i samband med att de deltog i ett aktionsforskningsbaseratutvecklingsarbete. Fokus för utvecklingsarbetet var bedömning av patienters smärta. Studien är kvalitativ. Data har inhämtats i samband med fokusgruppsamtal, transkriberats och analyserats utifrån en hermeneutisk analysmetod. Följande tre huvudteman framkom vid analysarbetet; patienten blir en person; professionell identitet blir tydligare; teamanda förstärks. Innebörderna i dessa tre teman tolkas i relation till teorier om personcentrerad vård och transition. Deltagarbaserad aktionsforskning kan vara ett sätt att öka användning av forskning och omsätta den nya kunskapen till egen handling. I studien gav deltagarna uttryck för att deras arbete resulterade i ett förändrat arbete med smärta och smärtbedömning mot en patientnärmre vård.Research results do not always reach out in care to patients and clinically active personnel. This can lead to the result that the scientific basis, as health care, according to Swedish law must rest upon are not offered. The reason that scientifically knowledge does not reach out can be such a lack of knowledge about how research is disseminated and how the results can be translated into its own practice. An extensive field of research in nursing relates conversation, communication and reflection related to the relationship between health professionals and patients. Reflection should be seen as a central phenomenon in health care to gain new understanding and lead to develop and change. Reflection in the context of anaction research project should lead to changes in relation to health professionals understanding and attitudes to the patient. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether changes occur in the staff´s view of oneself and the patient in an action research basedproject. Focus of the development project was the assessment of patients' pain. The study is qualitative. Data have been collected during focusgroup, transcribed and analyzed based on a hermeneutic method of analysis. Three main themes emerged from the analysis:the patient becomes a person, professional identity becomes clearer, team spirit is strengthened. Meanings of these three themes interpreted in relation to theories of personcentered care and transition. Participatory action research can be a way to increase the use of research and translate new knowledge to its own practice. In the study, participants expressed that their work resulted in a changed work with pain and pain assessment.
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Ziegler, Lena M. "A Revisionist History of Loving Men: An Autoethnography and Community Research of Naming Sexual Abuse in Relationships." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2021. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1616688614469166.
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Salim, Al Mazro'ei Lubna Badar. "Questioning women's empowerment through tourism entrepreneurship opportunities : the case of Omani women." Thesis, Edinburgh Napier University, 2017. http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/995563.
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This thesis adopts critical feminist theory, which is a combination of both critical theory and feminist theory, to explore the nature and experiences of Omani women involved in tourism entrepreneurship with particular regard to empowerment. Several studies have identified the potential role of tourism entrepreneurship to empower women due to the many benefits that it provides. However, this potential, and the extent that it empowers women, has been questioned. A review of the literature on women in tourism entrepreneurship reveals that there are several issues that have theoretical and practical implications for women's empowerment through this activity. Furthermore, a review of the development studies literature indicates that there are many prevailing issues and debates surrounding the concept of women's empowerment thatmerit further investigation. The fieldwork for this research took place in Oman during 2013-‐2014 and included an examination of a hosting group, sewing group and a number of women tourism entrepreneurs. Participant observations and semi-structured/unstructured interviews were conducted to collect information about these women. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the collected information and to develop three ethnographic case studies. The findings of this research reveal that tourism entrepreneurship does not inevitably bring about empowerment for Omani women. It is far from being an activity for women's individual and collective empowerment, given that the scope for such remains dependent on the embedded environment and is influenced by the nature of tourism enterprise work. An empirically informed conceptual framework was developed from the data to present this phenomenon. A grounded conceptualization was also developed from the data to conceptualize the process of women's empowerment for Omani women in tourism entrepreneurship. Theoretical implications of the findings areidentified in relation to the appropriate use of the concept of women's empowerment in tourism research. Practical implications of the findings are also identified in relation to local and international tourism organisations that utilises tourism entrepreneurship opportunities for women's empowerment purposes.
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Catterall, Miriam. "Focus groups in market research : theory, method and practice." Thesis, University of Ulster, 2001. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.369987.
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Lyons, Joanne Patricia. "Using collaborative action research to support adoptive parents in their communications with school staff." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2017. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/using-collaborative-action-research-to-support-adoptive-parents-in-their-communications-with-school-staff(8499eee6-9489-4593-9fdc-7062526ab9f8).html.
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To address a gap in the empirical literature on Educational Psychology (EP) practice and on adoption, and to gain perspectives from the Local Authority (LA), this thesis describes collaborative action research conducted by an Educational Psychologist (EP) with adoptive parents to support their communications with school staff. Participants were members of an Adoption Support Group and colleagues in Social Care. Information was gathered via focus groups and semi-structured questionnaires to ascertain the types of difficulties expressed by adoptive parents and inform the processes of communication systems. Participatory action research empowered participants to engage in meaningful and purposeful actions of planning, designing and evaluating information. The research narrative reports on first person inquiry through personal reflection and learning. Second person inquiry was generated in the course of research interactions with participants and the data that emerged from their realities to inform practical learning in action. Third person inquiry moved towards thinking around explanations for issues and the generation of knowledge. Knowledge was developed about parents’ perspectives on the barriers and enabling factors involved in their communications with school staff. The action research approach captured the potential of the insider position to generate rich data in situ while promoting a collaborative response to the social situation faced by the adopters when communicating with school staff. My insider position as researcher, holding multiple roles as an adoptive parent, as an EP and LA officer, is actively acknowledged as influencing understanding and the conceptualisations of the findings. The participants collaborated in the generation of a resource that provided opportunities for insight into issues to improve working practice and may provide a tool to allow parents to communicate effectively with school staff. The resource supported two main recognised functions: practical structure and emotional support. Empowering approaches were those that respected their knowledge, used their language and meanings in an emancipatory way that removed barriers, and were inclusive of them and their children. Communication is enhanced by and depends on systems that are empowering for parents and staff to co-construct shared understandings.
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Prantl, Daniel. "Talking about music lessons: implicit and explicit categories of comparison." Georg Olms Verlag, 2018. https://slub.qucosa.de/id/qucosa%3A34629.
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This chapter presents a grounded-theory-oriented analysis of central discussions of the ICMLV symposium which tries to clarify which tertia comparationis the participants referred upon. In total, nine implicitly and seven explicitly used T.C. are presented. An additional analysis yields that a meaning-oriented understanding of culture was in majority used throughout the symposium.
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Chang, Edward C., Christina A. Downey, Jameson K. Hirsch, and Natalie J. Lin. "Positive Psychology in Racial and Ethnic Groups: Theory, Research, and Practice." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://www.amzn.com/1433821486.
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Positive psychology has become a vibrant, well-regarded field of study, and a powerful tool for clinicians. But, for many years, the research in areas relevant to positive psychology, such as happiness, subjective well-being, and emotional intelligence, has been based on findings from largely White samples and has rarely taken the concerns of the ethnic community into consideration. Now, for the first time, leaders in the field have come together to provide a comprehensive reference that focuses specifically on how a culturally-informed approach to positive psychology can help capitalize on the strengths of racial minority groups and have a greater potential to positively impact their psychological well-being.
Acting as a bridge between positive psychology theory and research—largely based on an essentialist view of human behavior—and the realities of practice and assessment in diverse groups, Positive Psychology in Racial and Ethnic Groups focuses on four main ethnic groups: Asian Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, and American Indians.https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu_books/1133/thumbnail.jpg
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Carnio, Michel Pisa [UNESP]. "A experiência formativa de professores no trabalho com uma questão sociocientífica: potencialidades e obstáculos em um Pequeno Grupo de Pesquisa." Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/11449/152066.
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Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)
Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)
Neste trabalho, analisamos aspectos formativos do trabalho com uma questão sociocientífica (QSC) por um Pequeno Grupo de Pesquisa na interface universidade-escola. Trata-se de uma abordagem qualitativa de pesquisa que, assentada na epistemologia da Teoria Crítica da Sociedade, reflete a relação entre sujeito e objeto na construção do conhecimento e a inserção do pesquisador no contexto de pesquisa. A constituição dos dados se centrou nas gravações das reuniões do PGP durante o ano de 2013, período no qual o grupo elaborou uma sequência didática interdisciplinar sobre uma questão sociocientífica (QSC) – sobre “Padrão de Beleza, Consumismo e Saúde” – que foi elegida, discutida e construída a partir de suas demandas locais; iniciativa esta que teve como um de seus aspectos motivadores a expectativa de que o trabalho coletivo interdisciplinar contribuísse com a busca de melhores índices da escola em matemática perante as avaliações em larga escala (ALE). Diários de bordo e materiais elaborados pelos professores foram resgatados e contextualizados a partir do olhar do pesquisador, que era também participante do PGP. A partir de conceitos críticos de Theodor Adorno e Walter Benjamin, propomos uma metodologia de análise composta de três momentos: i) a descrição e contextualização dos episódios vivenciados pelo grupo naquele ano, por meio de uma rememoração do pesquisador; ii) a construção de imagens dialéticas na forma de ensaio; e iii) a elaboração de sínteses que representassem o potencial formativo das questões sociocientíficas para a formação dos professores. Como principais apontamentos, indicamos: uma concepção dialética imanente ao conceito de PGP, que se coloca como um espaço ampliador de autonomia docente ao mesmo tempo em que acaba refletindo – consciente ou inconscientemente – imposições sistêmicas; a importância de se manter presente a história de constituição do grupo em prol da continuidade de um trabalho coletivo e comunicativo; a defesa de que os projetos de formação de professores reconheçam o ciclo fechado da semiformação do sistema educacional, e construam compreensões de formação pela negativa (de resistência); a constante relação com a estrutura de choque da realidade escolar, que, intermitentemente, afeta o trabalho docente com imposições mais ou menos diretas na sua prática educativa; a defesa das QSC como subsídios para uma educação científica crítica, potencializando a compreensão dos fenômenos estudados e da própria natureza da ciência; e a potencialidade que o processo de construção de uma QSC oferece para enriquecer a experiência formativa do professor. Por fim, a partir de uma vivência intensa e direta com as condições e variáveis presentes no cotidiano escolar, elaboramos algumas orientações para a construção de QSC nas condições reais da escola básica atual.
In this work, we analyze formative aspects of the job with a socio-scientific question (QSC) by a Small Research Group at the university-school interface. It is a qualitative research approach that, based on the epistemology of the Critical Theory of Society, reflects the relation between subject and object in the construction of knowledge and the insertion of the researcher in the context of research. The compilation of data focused on the recordings of the PGP meetings during the year 2013, when the group developed an interdisciplinary didactic sequence (QSC) - on the "Standard of Beauty, Consumerism and Health" - that was chosen, discussed and built from their local demands; an initiative that had as one of its motivating aspects the expectation that the interdisciplinary collective work would contribute to the search for better indeces of the school in mathematics in the face of large scale evaluations (ALE). Logbooks and materials prepared by teachers were rescued and contextualized from the researcher's perspective, who was also a participant in PGP. From the critical concepts of Theodor Adorno and Walter Benjamin, we propose a methodology of analysis composed of three moments: i) the description and contextualization of the episodes experienced by the group that year, through a recollection of the researcher; ii) the construction of dialectical images in the test form; and iii) the elaboration of syntheses that represent the formative potential of socio-scientific questions for the formation of teachers. As the main notes, we indicate: a dialectical conception immanent to the concept of PGP, which is seen as an amplifying space for teacher autonomy while at the same time it ends up reflecting - consciously or unconsciously - systemic impositions; the importance of keeping in mind the history of the group's constitution for the continuity of a collective and communicative work; the defense of teacher training projects recognizing the closed cycle of the semiformation of the educational system and constructing understandings of training by the negative (resistance); the constant relation with the shock structure of school reality, which intermittently affects the teaching work with more or less direct impositions in its educational practice; the defense of the QSC as subsidies for a critical scientific education, enhancing the understanding of the studied phenomena and the very nature of science; and the potential that the process of building a QSC offers to enrich the formative experience of the teacher. Finally, from an intense and direct experience with the conditions and variables present in the daily school life, we developed some guidelines for the construction of QSC in the real conditions of the current basic school.
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Chang, Edward C., Christina A. Downey, Jameson K. Hirsch, and Natalie J. Lin. "Challenges and Prospects for Positive Psychology Research, Theory, Assessment, and Practice in a Multiracial and Multiethnic World." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2016. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/444.
Full textAbstract:
Book Summary: Positive psychology has become a vibrant, well-regarded field of study, and a powerful tool for clinicians. But, for many years, the research in areas relevant to positive psychology, such as happiness, subjective well-being, and emotional intelligence, has been based on findings from largely White samples and has rarely taken the concerns of the ethnic community into consideration. Now, for the first time, leaders in the field have come together to provide a comprehensive reference that focuses specifically on how a culturally-informed approach to positive psychology can help capitalize on the strengths of racial minority groups and have a greater potential to positively impact their psychological well-being.
Acting as a bridge between positive psychology theory and research—largely based on an essentialist view of human behavior—and the realities of practice and assessment in diverse groups, Positive Psychology in Racial and Ethnic Groups focuses on four main ethnic groups: Asian Americans, Latin Americans, African Americans, and American Indians.
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Wagner-Ferreira, Elizabeth Catharina. "'n Prakties-teologiese ondersoek na die inkleding van die erediens met die doel om die verskillende generasies in 'n gesamentlike familie-erediens aan te spreek." Thesis, Pretoria ; [S.n.], 2008. http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-11052008-140050/.
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Coetzee, Louise. "Exploring the discourse construction of the Basic Human Values Theory across South African Racial Groups." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62691.
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Shalom Schwartz invented the theory of Basic Human Values in 1987 – based on a study in which the quantitative data he collected, had been organised within an obscure manner. His theory has been validated and positioned as the universal way all individuals organise their values on a personal and cultural level, and has been researched in over 70 countries. South African researchers have however found significant challenges in replicating Schwartz's model within this multi-cultural society, and have ascribed the difficulties to ‘unintended item biases' within Schwartz's measurement instruments. This has been observed when utilising two different measurement instruments, as well as when further assessing ‘finer' sub-value types. A viable quantitative trend in utilising non-verbal assessment techniques has emerged, but has not been adapted for adults yet. In addition, Schwartz's theory has largely only been explored from a quantitative perspective, since its inception in 1987. Only four qualitative studies could be traced within Values-research which all highlighted a different way values were constructed and ordered, through utilising psycho-lexical research methodology. This type of research methodology does not necessarily highlight the effect of socio-economic and educational disparities within its participant's constructions, which Schwartz' highlighted a possible effect within South African research efforts. This study utilised a Social Constructionist approach known as Foucauldian Discourse Analysis to assist in deconstructing the ecology of values-talk from South African participants' linguistic expressions. Four focus group discussions were conducted across four different racial groups (White; Black; Indian and Coloured), as a means for unlocking the different discourses which govern the different ways in which South Africans ‘talk' about personal values. The analysis uncovered five different discourses which were activated and replicated throughout discussions – when constructing values which embraced participants socio-economic and educational positions. These discourses seemed to function in a complimentary and opposing nature at times, depending on the value being discussed. These constructions were compared to Schwartz's Basic Human Values model, and similarities and differences in constructions were discussed. In addition, the research findings were scrutinised to see how they could inform future qualitative research efforts to further explore how Schwartz's Basic Human Values model is ‘lived'. Finally, the study discusses its limitations and various considerations researchers would need to employ, when considering applying non-verbal assessment methodology within an abstract topic like values.Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Human Resource Management
MCom
Unrestricted
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Koper, Marcel, and thekopers@gmail com. "Clinical supervision in the Alcohol and Other Drugs sector as conducted by external supervisors under a social work framework: Is it effective?" RMIT University. Global Studies, Social Science and Planning, 2009. http://adt.lib.rmit.edu.au/adt/public/adt-VIT20091106.113121.
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In this thesis, I explore the impact and effectiveness of clinical supervision provided by external clinical supervisors, on workers from a variety of practice backgrounds in a residential rehabilitation centre, in the AOD sector. This thesis uses the framework of social work supervision, as defined by Kadushin (1985; 2002), with the administrative, educative and supportive elements. The research focuses closely on the latter two elements. For this purpose, I employ qualitative research methods, via a triangulation of methods, being guided by Participatory Action Research (PAR) and then conducting semi-structured interviews and focus groups as well as acting as a participant observer, to gather the data. The data was analysed using grounded theory. This research was based upon a clinical supervision project that was fully funded and provided free clinical supervision by external supervisors, providing both individual and group supervision, for a period of 10 months. There were a total of 16 respondents with varied roles and training backgrounds as well as an additional six supervisors, interviewed throughout different stages of the project. The various roles undertaken by me throughout the research process provided essential viewpoints on supervision, as well as the place of boundaries and need for support. The power of such a large scale intervention is discussed and ultimately highlights and identifies the particular benefits of supervision in this research arena. This thesis places clinical supervision in the context of workforce development in the Alcohol and Other Drug (AOD) sector. Thus, while this research elucidates a number of benefits and the factors involved with this experience, the clear separation of other modalities such as training, mentoring and Critical Incident debriefing are seen as integral additional avenues of support and professional development. This research concludes also with what the difficulties and hindrances were for people to continue with regular ongoing clinical supervision, and warrants the argument for interminable supervision in this setting. This research points to an overall paucity of literature on efficacy studies, especially in the AOD context in Australia. This research significantly adds to this dearth and examines the factors unique to the AOD sector in Australia, as well as what factors make for effective supervision. The particular impact of external supervisors and group supervision are explored, which underwrites the forwarded concept of a customised supervision for this setting. By making explicit in this research what the efficacy is on those new to supervision, it provides greater clarity for future studies. A number of recommendations are proposed as result of this research. New definitions of the supportive function of supervision and of clinical supervision are forwarded, as is a new look at the evolving history of social work supervision. This thesis highlights the impact of external supervisors and the unique contribution they offer.
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Hauser, Bradley K. Jr. "The Volunteers of Ohio Collaborative Watershed Groups, Yesterday and Today: Motivations, Activities, and Demographics." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1276804572.
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Nelson, LIsa V. "International Service Learning: Program Elements Linked to Learning Outcomes, and Six Participant Motivation Factors Revealed." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1418671274.
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DiMarco, Sandra. "Solution-Focused Family Weekends in an Addictions Treatment Facility: An Action Treatment-and-Research Study." Diss., NSUWorks, 2019. https://nsuworks.nova.edu/shss_dft_etd/53.
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For the past 69 years, since the start of the addiction treatment system in the United States, treatment providers have been utilizing the same interventions in rehab centers, the majority of which are based on outdated ideas about substance misusers. Though the premise of such interventions has been questioned by researchers, treatment providers continue to utilize them. Family therapy, in particular, shows promising results for substance misusers and their families; it has been cited as the most powerful form of intervention in addiction treatment. Nevertheless, family therapy is underrepresented in the addiction literature and rehab centers. Furthermore, postmodern models of family therapy are even more scarce within these contexts.
The purpose of this study was twofold: to explore the viability of an underrepresented, alternative approach to treatment, and to explore the personal, organizational, and clinical processes occurring throughout the development of a systemic family program implemented in an adult inpatient rehab center with an individualistic approach. The researcher modified action research methodology to analyze archival data acquired from a completed clinical project, which was implemented over the course of three weekends. The researcher adapted categorizing and coding procedures from action research in order to analyze 34 personal journal entries and 11 supervision meetings, all of which illuminated the changes in the personal, organizational, and clinical processes that occurred throughout the clinical project. To illustrate the viability of a solution-focused, multiple family group (SFBT-MFG) approach for substance misusers and their families, the researcher collected and analyzed a total of 79 client and family evaluation surveys, 19 pretreatment change questionnaires, and six staff evaluation surveys.
The results of this study support an SFBT-MFG approach for adult substance misusers and their families. The researcher identified enhanced communication, understanding, honesty, and support as key themes, along with nine other themes, in the evaluation surveys completed by the participants in the family weekends. The study can help other marriage and family therapists undergo their own processes of integration when practicing systemically in a culture guided by individualistic notions of mental health.
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Andersson, Fia, and Tilda Fredriksson. "Economic Performance and R&D." Thesis, Internationella Handelshögskolan, Högskolan i Jönköping, IHH, Nationalekonomi, 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hj:diva-39901.
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Researchers tend to disagree on the direction of the relation among R&D and economic growth, suggesting that if economic performance determines R&D investments countries might overinvest in their R&D expenditure. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to shed new light to this question by first establishing a relation among the variables and thereafter investigate the Granger causality between them. This paper is based on a panel study consisting of 60 countries, with various levels of income during the period 1996-2015. Using a fixed effects model, we can establish a positive relation between growth in R&D expenditure and GDP growth and using Granger causality tests and the Toda-Yamamoto augmented Granger causality tests, we can conclude that the growth of R&D expenditure determines economic performance in the short-run for countries in all income levels, however no conclusions can be made regarding the direction of Granger causality in the long-run. Hence, our results show that R&D investments stimulate economic growth and should, to some extent, be favoured by policy regardless of a nation's level of development.
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Matthias, Nakia M. "Structuring Legitimacy via Strategies of Leadership, Cooperation and Identity: The Comité de Motard Kisima's Engagement of Media and Communication for the Enactment of Motorcycle Taxi Work in Lubumbashi." Ohio University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438350393.
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Du, Toit Renier. "Aggression-related alcohol expectancies and exposure to community alcohol-related agression among students at the University of the Western Cape." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2010. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&action=viewtitle&id=gen8Srv25Nme4_7355_1330956118.
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The relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related violence has been firmly established in a wide array of studies concerning various forms of violence including intimate partner violence, domestic violence as well as sexual assault. One factor which has been highlighted as having a moderating effect on the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression is the specific aggression-related alcohol expectancies concerning the effects of alcohol consumption on aggressive behaviour. In light of the prevalence of alcohol-related violence in South African communities it becomes important to examine the specific factors that moderate the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression and violence. The aim of this study was to examine aggressionrelated alcohol expectancies as a moderating factor in the relationship between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression and to examine the possible influence of exposure to community alcohol-related aggression in the formulation of aggression-related alcohol expectancies. The main objectives of this were to examine aggression-related alcohol expectancies as well as exposure to community alcohol-related aggression as domains for intervention to prevent alcohol-related violence.
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Guidroz, Ashley Michelle. "How Much Diversity is Diversity?" Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2008. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1206122218.
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Seicean, Sinziana. "Exploring Sleep and the Hispanic Paradox in Mexico-born U.S. Adult Immigrants." Case Western Reserve University School of Graduate Studies / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=case1278623005.
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Cummine, Angela. "A citizen's stake in Sovereign Wealth Funds : the management, investment and distribution of sovereign wealth." Thesis, University of Oxford, 2013. https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:5c3b8fa7-768e-445f-b4f1-54297dca9582.
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Over the past five years, Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs) have become a prominent phenomenon in contemporary capitalism. Described as government investment vehicles that invest state wealth in financial markets, the majority of the world's 60-plus funds have been established since the year 2000. Despite extensive treatments of SWFs' geopolitical and international significance, ethical and domestic level analyses are sparse. In response, this thesis interrogates three key normative questions raised by the funds for the domestic citizen-state relationship: (1) How (and by whom) should sovereign funds be managed? (2) How should sovereign wealth be invested? (3) How should the earnings of sovereign fund investment be distributed? In answering these questions, this thesis aims to dispel ambiguity over the ownership status of sovereign funds, evident in popular and academic discourse and within communities that establish these entities. For this task, it draws on recently revived fiduciary theory of the citizen-state relationship to argue that the rightful owner of these funds is the citizenry - not states or governments who enjoy physical and legal possession of SWFs. It goes on to examine the implications of this fiduciary state conception of SWF ownership, asking how citizen-owners should enjoy control over and benefit from the distinct constituent parts of their SWF property: the institution of the fund, the underlying sovereign wealth and the financial returns earned on the investment of its assets. The model of citizen ownership defended demands substantially increased popular control over SWF management and the investment of sovereign wealth, as well as direct benefit rights for citizen-owners to fund income through individualised distribution of investment returns. Examination of existing practice among SWFs demonstrates that this normative ideal is far, although not impossibly distant from current institutional practice.
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Samblanet, Sarah. "Neighborhood Conditions, Self-Efficacy, and Future Orientation among Urban Youth." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2014. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1397072980.
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Higgins, Paul Anthony. "Reducing uncertainty in new product development." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2008. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/20273/1/Paul_Higgins_Thesis.pdf.
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Research and Development engineering is at the corner stone of humanity’s evolution. It is perceived to be a systematic creative process which ultimately improves the living standard of a society through the creation of new applications and products. The commercial paradigm that governs project selection, resource allocation and market penetration prevails when the focus shifts from pure research to applied research. Furthermore, the road to success through commercialisation is difficult for most inventors, especially in a vast and isolated country such as Australia which is located a long way from wealthy and developed economies.
While market leading products are considered unique, the actual process to achieve these products is essentially the same; progressing from an idea, through development to an outcome (if successful). Unfortunately, statistics indicate that only 3% of ‘ideas’ are significantly successful, 4% are moderately successful, and the remainder ‘evaporate’ in that form (Michael Quinn, Chairman, Innovation Capital Associates Pty Ltd).
This study demonstrates and analyses two techniques developed by the author which reduce uncertainty in the engineering design and development phase of new product development and therefore increase the probability of a successful outcome. This study expands the existing knowledge of the engineering design and development stage in the new product development process and is couched in the identification of practical methods, which have been successfully used to develop new products by Australian Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Excel Technology Group Pty Ltd (ETG).
Process theory is the term most commonly used to describe scientific study that identifies occurrences that result from a specified input state to an output state, thus detailing the process used to achieve an outcome. The thesis identifies relevant material and analyses recognised and established engineering processes utilised in developing new products. The literature identified that case studies are a particularly useful method for supporting problem-solving processes in settings where there are no clear answers or where problems are unstructured, as in New Product Development (NPD).
This study describes, defines, and demonstrates the process of new product development within the context of historical product development and a ‘live’ case study associated with an Australian Government START grant awarded to Excel Technology Group in 2004 to assist in the development of an image-based vehicle detection product. This study proposes two techniques which reduce uncertainty and thereby improve the probability of a successful outcome.
The first technique provides a predicted project development path or forward engineering plan which transforms the initial ‘fuzzy idea’ into a potential and achievable outcome. This process qualifies the ‘fuzzy idea’ as a potential, rationale or tangible outcome which is within the capability of the organisation. Additionally, this process proposes that a tangible or rationale idea can be deconstructed in reverse engineering process in order to create a forward engineering development plan. A detailed structured forward engineering plan reduces the uncertainty associated with new product development unknowns and therefore contributes to a successful outcome. This is described as the RETRO technique. The study recognises however that this claim requires qualification and proposes a second technique.
The second technique proposes that a two dimensional spatial representation which has productivity and consumed resources as its axes, provides an effective means to qualify progress and expediently identify variation from the predicted plan. This spatial representation technique allows a quick response which in itself has a prediction attribute associated with directing the project back onto its predicted path. This process involves a coterminous comparison between the predicted development path and the evolving actual project development path. A consequence of this process is verification of progress or the application of informed, timely and quantified corrective action. This process also identifies the degree of success achieved in the engineering design and development phase of new product development where success is defined as achieving a predicted outcome. This spatial representation technique is referred to as NPD Mapping. The study demonstrates that these are useful techniques which aid SMEs in achieving successful new product outcomes because the technique are easily administered, measure and represent relevant development process related elements and functions, and enable expedient quantified responsive action when the evolving path varies from the predicted path. These techniques go beyond time line representations as represented in GANTT charts and PERT analysis, and represent the base variables of consumed resource and productivity/technical achievement in a manner that facilitates higher level interpretation of time, effort, degree of difficulty, and product complexity in order to facilitate informed decision making. This study presents, describes, analyses and demonstrates an SME focused engineering development technique, developed by the author, that produces a successful new product outcome which begins with a ‘fuzzy idea’ in the mind of the inventor and concludes with a successful new product outcome that is delivered on time and within budget. Further research on a wider range of SME organisations undertaking new product development is recommended.
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Higgins, Paul Anthony. "Reducing uncertainty in new product development." Queensland University of Technology, 2008. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/20273/.
Full textAbstract:
Research and Development engineering is at the corner stone of humanity’s evolution. It is perceived to be a systematic creative process which ultimately improves the living standard of a society through the creation of new applications and products. The commercial paradigm that governs project selection, resource allocation and market penetration prevails when the focus shifts from pure research to applied research. Furthermore, the road to success through commercialisation is difficult for most inventors, especially in a vast and isolated country such as Australia which is located a long way from wealthy and developed economies.
While market leading products are considered unique, the actual process to achieve these products is essentially the same; progressing from an idea, through development to an outcome (if successful). Unfortunately, statistics indicate that only 3% of ‘ideas’ are significantly successful, 4% are moderately successful, and the remainder ‘evaporate’ in that form (Michael Quinn, Chairman, Innovation Capital Associates Pty Ltd).
This study demonstrates and analyses two techniques developed by the author which reduce uncertainty in the engineering design and development phase of new product development and therefore increase the probability of a successful outcome. This study expands the existing knowledge of the engineering design and development stage in the new product development process and is couched in the identification of practical methods, which have been successfully used to develop new products by Australian Small Medium Enterprise (SME) Excel Technology Group Pty Ltd (ETG).
Process theory is the term most commonly used to describe scientific study that identifies occurrences that result from a specified input state to an output state, thus detailing the process used to achieve an outcome. The thesis identifies relevant material and analyses recognised and established engineering processes utilised in developing new products. The literature identified that case studies are a particularly useful method for supporting problem-solving processes in settings where there are no clear answers or where problems are unstructured, as in New Product Development (NPD).
This study describes, defines, and demonstrates the process of new product development within the context of historical product development and a ‘live’ case study associated with an Australian Government START grant awarded to Excel Technology Group in 2004 to assist in the development of an image-based vehicle detection product. This study proposes two techniques which reduce uncertainty and thereby improve the probability of a successful outcome.
The first technique provides a predicted project development path or forward engineering plan which transforms the initial ‘fuzzy idea’ into a potential and achievable outcome. This process qualifies the ‘fuzzy idea’ as a potential, rationale or tangible outcome which is within the capability of the organisation. Additionally, this process proposes that a tangible or rationale idea can be deconstructed in reverse engineering process in order to create a forward engineering development plan. A detailed structured forward engineering plan reduces the uncertainty associated with new product development unknowns and therefore contributes to a successful outcome. This is described as the RETRO technique. The study recognises however that this claim requires qualification and proposes a second technique.
The second technique proposes that a two dimensional spatial representation which has productivity and consumed resources as its axes, provides an effective means to qualify progress and expediently identify variation from the predicted plan. This spatial representation technique allows a quick response which in itself has a prediction attribute associated with directing the project back onto its predicted path. This process involves a coterminous comparison between the predicted development path and the evolving actual project development path. A consequence of this process is verification of progress or the application of informed, timely and quantified corrective action. This process also identifies the degree of success achieved in the engineering design and development phase of new product development where success is defined as achieving a predicted outcome. This spatial representation technique is referred to as NPD Mapping. The study demonstrates that these are useful techniques which aid SMEs in achieving successful new product outcomes because the technique are easily administered, measure and represent relevant development process related elements and functions, and enable expedient quantified responsive action when the evolving path varies from the predicted path. These techniques go beyond time line representations as represented in GANTT charts and PERT analysis, and represent the base variables of consumed resource and productivity/technical achievement in a manner that facilitates higher level interpretation of time, effort, degree of difficulty, and product complexity in order to facilitate informed decision making. This study presents, describes, analyses and demonstrates an SME focused engineering development technique, developed by the author, that produces a successful new product outcome which begins with a ‘fuzzy idea’ in the mind of the inventor and concludes with a successful new product outcome that is delivered on time and within budget. Further research on a wider range of SME organisations undertaking new product development is recommended.
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Geiger, Karen Audrey. "Cross-Race Relationships as Sites of Transformation: Navigating the Protective Shell and the Insular Bubble." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1289853182.
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Skira, Aaron Michael. "Consequences of Postsecondary Education Institution Policies and Practices: A Structural Model of Tuition Costs, Student Financial Aid, Selectivity, Proximity, and Enrolled Undergraduate Students’ Aggregate Capital." Wright State University / OhioLINK, 2018. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=wright1545390925706985.
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Tuckett, Anthony Gerrard. "Truth-telling in aged care : a qualitative study." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2003. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/15862/1/Anthony_Tuckett_Thesis.pdf.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis argues that truth-telling in high level (nursing home) aged care is a undamentally important aspect of care that ought to reside equally alongside instrumental care. The health of the resident in a nursing home, as with individuals in other care contexts, is directly linked to care provision that allows the resident to be self determining about their care and thus allows them to make reasonable choices and decisions. This qualitative study explores the meaning of truth-telling in the care providerresident dyad in high level (nursing home) aged care. Grounded within the epistemology of social constructionism and the theoretical stance of symbolic interactionism, this study relied on oral and written text from care providers (personal care assistants and registered nurses) and residents. Thematic analysis of data relied on practices within grounded theory to determine their understanding and the conditions and consequences of their understanding about truth-telling in the nursing home. Through an understanding of the relationship-role-residency trinity, truth-telling in high level (nursing home) care comes to be understood. It has been determined that the link between truth-telling and the nature of the care provider-resident (and residents' families) relationship is that both personal carers and nurses in this study premise their understanding of truth disclosure on knowing a resident's (and resident's family's) capacity for coping with the truth and therefore catering for the resident's or family's best interests. The breadth and depth of this knowing and how the relationship is perceived and described determine what care providers will or will not tell. That is, the perceptions both personal carers and nurses have about the relationship - how they describe themselves as 'family like', 'friend' and 'stranger', has implications for the way disclosure operates and is described. Additionally, how care providers perceive and understand their role determines what care providers will or will not tell. That is, the perceptions both carers and nurses have about their own and each other's role - how they describe themselves for example as 'hands-on' carer and 'happy good nurse' has implications for the way disclosure operates and is described. Furthermore, care providers' meaning and understanding of truth-telling in aged care is not possible in the absence of an appreciation of how the care providers give meaning to and come to understand the care circumstance - residency, the aged care facility, the nursing home. That is, the perceptions both personal carers and nurses have about the aged care facility - how they describe residency as 'Home away from Home' (and what this means), as a place of little time and a plethora of situations have implications for the operation of truth-telling as a whole. Recommendations from the study include the implementation of a telling audit to better serve the truth-telling preferences of residents and the reorientation of care practices to emphasise affective care (talk rather than tasks). Furthermore, it is recommended that changes occur to the care provider roles, that care providers define themselves as facilitators rather than protectors, and education be ongoing to improve communication with and care of residents with dementia and those dying. Finally, the language of residency as 'home' needs to capture an alternate philosophy and attendant practices for improved open communication.
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Tuckett, Anthony Gerrard. "Truth-telling in aged care: a qualitative study." Queensland University of Technology, 2003. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/15862/.
Full textAbstract:
This thesis argues that truth-telling in high level (nursing home) aged care is a undamentally important aspect of care that ought to reside equally alongside instrumental care. The health of the resident in a nursing home, as with individuals in other care contexts, is directly linked to care provision that allows the resident to be self determining about their care and thus allows them to make reasonable choices and decisions. This qualitative study explores the meaning of truth-telling in the care providerresident dyad in high level (nursing home) aged care. Grounded within the epistemology of social constructionism and the theoretical stance of symbolic interactionism, this study relied on oral and written text from care providers (personal care assistants and registered nurses) and residents. Thematic analysis of data relied on practices within grounded theory to determine their understanding and the conditions and consequences of their understanding about truth-telling in the nursing home. Through an understanding of the relationship-role-residency trinity, truth-telling in high level (nursing home) care comes to be understood. It has been determined that the link between truth-telling and the nature of the care provider-resident (and residents' families) relationship is that both personal carers and nurses in this study premise their understanding of truth disclosure on knowing a resident's (and resident's family's) capacity for coping with the truth and therefore catering for the resident's or family's best interests. The breadth and depth of this knowing and how the relationship is perceived and described determine what care providers will or will not tell. That is, the perceptions both personal carers and nurses have about the relationship - how they describe themselves as 'family like', 'friend' and 'stranger', has implications for the way disclosure operates and is described. Additionally, how care providers perceive and understand their role determines what care providers will or will not tell. That is, the perceptions both carers and nurses have about their own and each other's role - how they describe themselves for example as 'hands-on' carer and 'happy good nurse' has implications for the way disclosure operates and is described. Furthermore, care providers' meaning and understanding of truth-telling in aged care is not possible in the absence of an appreciation of how the care providers give meaning to and come to understand the care circumstance - residency, the aged care facility, the nursing home. That is, the perceptions both personal carers and nurses have about the aged care facility - how they describe residency as 'Home away from Home' (and what this means), as a place of little time and a plethora of situations have implications for the operation of truth-telling as a whole. Recommendations from the study include the implementation of a telling audit to better serve the truth-telling preferences of residents and the reorientation of care practices to emphasise affective care (talk rather than tasks). Furthermore, it is recommended that changes occur to the care provider roles, that care providers define themselves as facilitators rather than protectors, and education be ongoing to improve communication with and care of residents with dementia and those dying. Finally, the language of residency as 'home' needs to capture an alternate philosophy and attendant practices for improved open communication.
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Stachowicz, Tamara L. "Melungeon Portraits: Lived Experience and Identity." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1382444721.
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Nichols, Jennifer Lynn. "Motivation and Affective Variables in Arabic Language Learning for Iraq War Veterans: Language Learning Experiences Inside and Outside the Classroom." The Ohio State University, 2010. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1274056937.
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Brown, Kenneth J. "The Impact of a Race-Based Intervention Program on One African American Male at a Predominately White Institution: An Autoethnographic Study." University of Toledo / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1596715098658363.
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Amoah, Maame A. "FASHIONFUTURISM: The Afrofuturistic Approach To Cultural Identity inContemporary Black Fashion." Kent State University / OhioLINK, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent15960737328946.
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Hickey, Chris L. Sr. "The Phenomenal Characteristics of the Son-Father Relationship Experience." Antioch University / OhioLINK, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=antioch1366845575.
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Leary, Judith A. "Funding Faithful Felons: A Phenomenological Analysis of the Higher Education Transitions of Ex-Offender Scholarship Recipients." Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1435679528.
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