Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Polish and Irish students'

Przedmiotem niniejszej rozprawy doktorskiej jest analiza porównawcza jednego z grzecznościowych aktów mowy, a konkretnie, aktu mowy wyrażania próśb w komunikacji interpersonalnej pomiędzy przedstawicielami dwóch różnych społeczności językowo-kulturowych: irlandzkiej i polskiej. Autorka przeprowadziła pragmatyczna analizę kontrastywną próśb używanych w różnych kontekstach w angielszczyźnie irlandzkiej oraz w języku polskim, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem różnic i podobieństw na płaszczyźnie leksykalnosyntaktycznej. Badanie miało również charakter ilościowy – dla lepszego zilustrowania dyskutowanych zagadnień uzyskany materiał empiryczny został przeanalizowany procentowo, a następnie przedstawiony w postaci tabel oraz wykresów. Praca składa się ze wstępu, pięciu rozdziałów, konkluzji, bibliografii oraz dodatku zawierającego kwestionariusz, który stanowi podstawę analizy. Rozdział pierwszy przedstawia zarys historyczny rozwoju Językoznawstwa kontastywnego, przybliża również definicje podstawowych pojęć związanych z wyżej wymienioną dziedziną nauki o języku. W rozdziale drugim opisane zostały językoznawcze teorie aktów mowy Austina (1962) i Searla (1969), ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem próśb. Wprowadzone zostało tutaj także pojęcie pośrednich aktów mowy używanych w celu nakłonienia rozmówcy do wykonania danej czynności. Rozdział trzeci omawia teorie komunikacyjne – zasadę kooperacji Grice’a (1975), podkreśla jej istotną rolę w rozwoju późniejszych badań, które doprowadziły do powstania wielu nowych studiów mających na celu poszerzenie dotychczasowych maksym i reguł konwersacyjnych. Po przedstawieniu Teorii Relewancji Sperbara i Wilsona (1986), opisane zostały teorie grzeczności (zasady grzeczności sformułowane przez Lakoff (1973), teorie grzeczności Leecha (1980, 1983), Brona i Levinsona (1987)). W rozdziale tym nawiązano również do kulturowych systemów wartości charakterystycznych dla kultury irlandzkiej i polskiej. Rozdział czwarty zawiera pragmatyczną analizę kontrastywną próśb w języku angielskim i polskim. Omawia poszczególne strategie wyrażania wyżej wymienionego aktu mowy w obu językach. W celu usystematyzowania poszczególnych typów strategii, posłużono się schematem kodowania próśb, który stworzono na potrzeby międzynarodowego projektu CCSARP (1989). W związku ze stosunkowo mała ilością dostępnej literatury zajmującej się badaniem próśb w angielszczyźnie irlandzkiej, autorka wykorzystuje tutaj materiał językowy uzyskany przez językoznawców na drodze badań różnych dialektów języka angielskiego. W rozdziale piątym niniejszej rozprawy doktorskiej przedstawiono opis przeprowadzonego projektu. Na wstępie podane są: cele podjętego badania, charakterystyka uczestników oraz metodologia badania, która stanowiła podstawę badań i nakreśliła tok analizy. Przeanalizowano wszystkie sytuacje zawarte w kwestionariuszu, scharakteryzowano nie tylko poszczególne strategie realizacji aktu prośby użytego przez respondentów w podanych kontekstach, lecz także typy modyfikacji owych próśb pojawiających się w uzyskanym materiale językowym. Całość rozważań podsumowana jest w konkluzjach końcowych. Jak wykazała analiza zebranego materiału empirycznego, odmienna realizacja próśb w badanych językach może wynikać z odmiennych wartości kulturowych postrzeganych przez przedstawicieli danej grupy językowo-kulturowej. Dla przykładu przeważający indywidualizm w kulturze anglosaskiej, a kolektywizm w kulturze polskiej ma wpływ na sposób formułowania próśb – irlandzkie prośby są pośrednimi aktami mowy, formułowanymi za pomocą konstrukcji zdań pytających, chroniącymi „twarz” mówców oraz słuchaczy, natomiast polskie prośby występują często w postaci trybu rozkazującego, który nie narusza reguł uprzejmości i jest akceptowany w kulturze polskiej. Dystans do władzy – stosunkowo wysoki w kulturze polskiej, a niski w kulturze irlandzkiej znajduje również swoje odzwierciedlenie w sposobie formułowania aktu prośby. Ponadto analiza leksykalno-syntaktyczna oraz pragmatyczna próśb dowiodła, iż teza Leecha (1980) mówiąca, że bezpośredniość wypowiedzi jest odwrotnie proporcjonalna do jej grzeczności została podważona. Stwierdzenie to może być prawdziwe dla kultury anglosaskiej, ale niekoniecznie dla polskiej. Pomimo, iż przedmiotem badań był tylko jeden akt mowy, autorka ma nadzieję, iż analiza materiału empirycznego może zostać wykorzystana w dalszych badaniach z zakresu językoznawstwa kontastywnego, pragmatyki oraz komunikacji międzykulturowej. Z wyników przeprowadzonych badań będą mogli skorzystać zarówno nauczyciele języków obcych, tłumacze, osoby uczące się języków obcych, jak i przeciętni użytkownicy języka, którym zależy na poprawnym komunikowaniu się z uwzględnieniem form grzecznościowych stosowanych w określonej kulturze.

This thesis examines the experiences of mature students on entering Higher Education within the Republic of Ireland. The research question is “What do the experiences of mature students who are undertaking an under graduate degree programme in applied social studies reveal about the field of Higher Education in the Republic of Ireland?” A narrative approach was employed drawing on data from the narratives of 6 mature students within an Institute of Higher Education within the West of Ireland. The conceptual framework for the inquiry is built on Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice, particularly the concepts of habitus, capital and field. Six key themes emerged from the narratives these were; Experiences of first and second level education; Family support; Going to college; Balancing study and work and family commitments; Supportive networks; Pleasant surprise. The lack of economic, social and cultural capital and the disparity between their habitus and the institutional habitus impacted upon their experiences of Higher Education. They revealed the difficulties faced when trying to amass social capital, managing the transition of first year in Higher Education and the challenges they faced due to lack of cultural and economic capital. The field of Higher Education is uncompromising in terms of curricula delivery and time commitments which did not at times suit the lives of the mature students. However the mature students were pleasantly surprised by their experiences of Higher Education particularly because of the pedagogical practices of shared learning and a sense of equality between the academic staff and the mature student The narratives revealed the need to consider the overall structure of the field of Higher Education aligning systemic and structural aspects with mature students’ requirements. Educational policy should address the lack of social, cultural and economic capital through the development of flexible programmes. The habitus of the mature student needs to be valued to enhance pedagogical practice.

This thesis examines nursing students’ experiences and understanding of reflective practice in the Republic of Ireland. The aim of the study was to provide nurse educators with a deeper insight about reflection from a nursing student’s perspective, with the intention of integrating reflective practice into undergraduate nursing education more effectively. A narrative approach was employed using a convenience sample of eight newly graduated general nurses who had completed the nursing undergraduate four-year Bachelor of Science education programme in a Higher Education Institute in the West of Ireland. A narrative approach had not previously been employed to explore this phenomenon within an Irish context heretofore and therefore contributes to the body of knowledge on reflective practice in nursing. Schön’s methodological framework (1983) of reflective practice was employed for the study. Four themes emerged from the narratives: looking back at practice, seeking support, getting through, and ward reality: tensions and conflict. The data revealed that participants had a positive view of reflective practice and understood reflection to mean looking back at an occurrence to inform future practice. Students also identified models of reflective practice as beneficial in providing guidance to students for reflection. Schön’s reflection-on-action was apparent within the participants’ narratives. However, reflection-in-action was not as evident. Nonetheless participants may have engaged in this process in year four without acknowledging it. The findings indicate that participants positively regarded reflective practice as a method of learning within nurse education. Findings identified that support mechanisms had diverse levels of satisfaction. Clinical Placement Coordinators (CPCs) were considered by the participants as essential for reflective practice. Collegial support was also identified as effective. To a lesser extent the lecturing staff were acknowledged for the classroom teaching of reflective practice and for structured protected reflective time in year four of the programme but were not identified as helpful to the students while on clinical placement. Preceptors were not viewed as a significant source of support by the participants. The findings demonstrated significant variations concerning the facilitation of protected reflective time (PRT) during clinical placements which had previously not been explored within an Irish context. The study also found that the ward culture strongly influenced the facilitation of this time. The more experienced the participant became the less likely it was that PRT was offered. Furthermore, the narratives revealed conflict and confusion among qualified staff nurses about reflective practice which were motivated by power struggles between staff nurses and management. This was compounded by a perceived general lack of knowledge or understanding and value of reflective practice among nursing staff.

In the conditions of the university education reforming in Ukraine, there is an urgent necessity to bring the training-educational activities of educational institutions according to the tasks of the main moral and national principles implementing of Ukraine, providing the unity of consciousness, love to the national culture in the professional and social sphere of life of future generation. Problems of the national education of young people are constantly in the focus of educators, social workers, public and political figures.

In Ireland, formal mentoring as a mechanism for supporting student learning in the Teaching Practice (TP) phase of Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is at a developmental stage. The Irish Government appears to support mentoring initiatives in ITE, however, there is little evidence of a clear policy on student teacher learning, and the role of mentoring within it. This study investigates physical education teacher education (PETE) student learning on TP within a community of practice framework. Currently, the process of informal mentoring of PETE students during TP is undertaken by untrained cooperating teachers (CTs) as an unacknowledged gesture of goodwill. This has implications for the quality of PETE student learning during TP and became the subject of this research. Employing a range of qualitative data collection methods, this study focused on one umbrella case study (Greendale University, schools and PETE students) and five individual case studies: tetrads of PETE student, CT, university tutor (UT) and school principal (SP) during one academic year. PETE student learning was investigated from the perspectives of each member of the tetrad and data collected were analysed using grounded theory. Findings from this research concluded that (a) untrained CTs were unsuitable mentors and (b) untrained UTs were inappropriate tutors for PETE students as they both needed teaching expertise, a positive disposition and adequate training to embrace their respective roles. The study also found that within TP, there was a perceived lack of parity between the schools and university, with SPs feeling excluded and taken for granted by the university. This often led to open hostility between CTs and UTs, who were unclear about their respective TP roles. The combination of these factors resulted in PETE students learning the powerful hidden curriculum of TP which encouraged them to learn pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) in an unsupported and often isolated manner.

Over the last three decades there has been a significant amount of research conducted in the area of novice computer programming. Within the Irish context however, there has been limited amount of research in this area with the vast majority of studies conducted being quantitative in nature. Given the fact that Ireland is becoming hugely dependent on its knowledge economy, the attrition and non-completion rates in computer science reported in both Irish and international studies is becoming a cause for concern. In this study, the actual experiences of Irish novice programming students are presented in the form of a theory and the implications of this theory for the teaching and learning of the subject are discussed. This thesis presents findings from research conducted across four Irish higher education institutes with 31 participants studying first year computer programming as part of a formal course in computing. Data collection and analysis was conducted using the Strauss and Corbin (1988) variation of the Grounded Theory methodology. This model was chosen based on its suitability for inductive theory generation and learner type categorisation. The outcome of this study is a twofold. Firstly, it generates a grounded theory containing the major phenomena experienced by first year programming students. Secondly, it uses this theory to identify a number of novice programming learner types presented in the form of a learning continuum. This thesis analyses the various phenomena experienced by students as they progress through a programming syllabus and how the challenge posed by the subject may affect them in both positive and negative ways.

The need for workers during Ireland’s so-called ‘Celtic Tiger’ era attracted migrants from many countries. In 2004 Ireland opened its borders to the New Member States (NMS) favouring migrant workers from the accession countries. This resulted in migrants from the NMS entering the country seeking employment, the largest group being from Poland. When the Irish economy started to decline in the late 2000s both nationals and migrants started to leave the country. However, many Polish migrants have continued to remain in the country. This thesis explores the reasons why Polish migrants came to Ireland and why they continue to remain in the country despite its economic decline post 2010 when austerity became a reality. This thesis argues that most of those Polish migrants who took part in this study are well educated. Most claim that they have not been discriminated against in terms of their social needs, conditions of employment, salary, or promotion in their place of work. Although they originally migrated to Ireland for economic reasons the recent measurers of austerity introduced since 2010 has not had any major impact on their standard of living. This thesis argues that despite high unemployment and measurers of austerity introduced by the Irish government since 2010, most Polish migrants wish to remain in Ireland because of their quality of life, better job opportunities and personal commitments. It concludes that leaving Ireland is not that simple, their domestic circumstances have now changed, and some have got married, have families and enjoy a better quality of life in Ireland than in Poland. Their decision whether to remain or leave Ireland no longer rests solely with them. They now have to consider their domestic situation, their family’s opinions, and their future. Most are of the opinion that even if they became unemployed while in Ireland they could survive financially and returning to Poland is an option that they do not wish to contemplate.

More than 400 Polish medical refugees were associated with the Polish School of Medicine (PSM) at the University of Edinburgh between 1941 and 1949. This dissertation argues that the history of the PSM can fully be understood only as a part of the refugees’ broader experience of impelled or forced migration during and immediately after the Second World War. The key findings of this case study demonstrate that the opportunity to study or work at the PSM enabled the majority of Polish exiles to overcome, to a varying extent, their refugee predicament, while medical qualifications, transferable skills and trans-cultural competency obtained in wartime Britain allowed them to pursue professional and academic careers in different countries of post-war settlement, thus in turn contributing to a global circulation of medical knowledge and practice, especially between the University of Edinburgh and Poland. This specific case study contributes to the existing knowledge of Polish wartime migration to Britain in three interrelated ways. Firstly, an overarching transnational approach is used to combine and transcend Polish and British scholarly perspectives on, respectively, emigration or immigration. Secondly, the conceptual insularity of the existing literature on the topic is challenged by analysing archival, published and digital sources pertaining to the PSM with the help of various theoretical models and concepts borrowed from forced migration and diaspora studies. Thirdly, the conventional historiography of Polish-British wartime relations is challenged by emphasising the genuinely global ramifications of the PSM’s history. By interpreting the history of the PSM with the help of different analytical tools, such as Kunz’s and Johansson’s models of refugee movement and Tweed’s theory of diasporic religion, this dissertation provides a conceptual blueprint for further research on Polish wartime migration to Britain. In turn, this case study contributes to the development of forced migration and diaspora studies not only by empirically testing the explanatory power of existing theoretical models, but also by suggesting possible new conceptual avenues, such as analysing the pre-existing trans-cultural experiences of both Polish medical refugees and their hosts at the University of Edinburgh, and adding to the ‘triadic relationship’ of diaspora, homeland and host society a fourth dimension, i.e. conflict and cooperation between different migrant or refugee communities within the same host society.

This is the first study into resident students and commuter students in Ireland and was carried out to facilitate a more informed and targeted approach to supporting specific student groups. The research is based on secondary data analysis of three national Eurostudent surveys undertaken in 2006, 2009 and 2013. Four different student groups were studied to examine differences in their living and social conditions and their levels of student engagement. The groups were: resident students; those living with their parents; renters; and home-owners. Much of the previous research into student residential arrangements has taken place in the US, and this study finds that the US research may not be applicable to the Irish situation. The research indicates that, contrary to research from the US and the UK, students who live with their parents in Ireland are not from lower socio-economic groups. Indeed, they rank highest on many socio-economic indicators. As annual household income increases, the likelihood of a student living with their parents increases. It was also found that student halls in Ireland primarily serve students from higher socio-economic groups, and do not appear to serve the needs of mature students, who are more likely to own their own home or rent. International research indicates that living in student halls has a positive impact on student engagement, which is not supported by this research. Students living on-campus spend a lower amount of time in educationally purposeful activities than average. Those in rented accommodation or home-owners spend the most time on these activities. However, resident students do spend the most amount of time on college activities (extra-curricular), which is positive for student engagement. Resident students are more likely to drink, consume more alcohol than students in other living arrangements, and are more likely to exceed safe limits for alcohol consumption on a regular basis. Several recommendations are made to improve the student engagement of the different groups.

This thesis forms a critical inquiry into historical and contemporary ideologies of musical value within Irish higher music education and it documents significant implications for issues of access and opportunity at all levels of music education. In particular, it explores cultural, structural and agential conditions that affect student and lecturer experiences in higher music education. Drawing from Bourdieu, the study considers the ways in which musical habitus, cultural capital and social class impact on students' access to formal musical knowledge and skills and their experiences and opportunities in higher music education. Through an application of Bernstein's theory of classification and framing to musical knowledge, the study highlights the extent to which ideological assumptions of musical value shape curricula, the 'hidden curriculum', and pedagogy. Employing complementary research methods, data gathering tools include documentary analysis in addition to surveys and interviews with students and lecturers across eleven out of thirteen Irish higher education institutions offering music at undergraduate level. Findings reveal that unequal access to musical knowledge and skills relates to broader structural inequalities such as social class background, statutory music education provision, and state music curricula. The implicit advantage enjoyed by some students with private music theory tuition in meeting the demands of the higher education curriculum, contrasts with unequal access to requisite musical knowledge and skills for those who have relied on the state for music education. In addition, data highlight the role that higher education structures and political agendas play in bringing ideologies of musical value and knowledge into sharp focus. Drawing from theories of social realism by Moore and Young, the thesis argues that epistemic access to musical knowledge and skills is vital for access, opportunity, and success within and beyond higher education. Through the construction of a conceptual model, the relationship between cultural capital within the field of higher education reveals structure/agency as pivotal in student and lecturer experiences. To conclude, the thesis proposes a reconsideration of epistemological and pedagogical approaches at all levels of music education. For it is in reappraising the ways in which musical opportunities ought to be equally accessible, as well as appropriately challenging, that musical disadvantage can be addressed.

This thesis is a study into the risks and capability expansion that mature students experience in higher education. It argues for lifelong learning through increased participation of mature students in Irish higher education from the perspective of social and democratic as well as individual economic benefit.

As we come to the end of the decade declared as United Nations Decade for Biodiversity 2011-2020, the impact humans are having our planet is clear. The current primary school children are the future decision makers, consumers and electors; therefore, they must be exposed to approaches that can assist development that is sustainable and that will prevent further degradation of our planet. A key way to achieve this is to transform the education current and future generations of children will receive. Education must address sustainable development to support the formation of responsible citizens, eager to actively engage in decision-making processes, environmental issues and societal matters. This can be assisted through a focus on a specific approach to Education for Sustainable Development, Biodiversity Education. To add to current research about this approach to ESD, I investigated the effect biodiversity education had on the sustainability consciousness of primary school children. I chose a qualitative method of data collection and analysis through focus group, semi-structured interviews with 5th class students. The results showed that the participants' sustainability awareness, regarding two of the three dimensions of sustainable development, was highly developed; the environmental dimension and the social dimension. There was less evidence of a consciousness for the economic dimension of SD. Therefore, biodiversity education had a positive influence on the participants' sustainability consciousness, making them more aware of sustainability issues and action-oriented to address these issues. However, they lacked one dimension of sustainability; therefore, their sustainability consciousness was not fully developed. Further research is needed to analysis and interpret the rationale as to why the economic dimension was less developed in these participants who attended a school that promotes biodiversity education.

L'objet de cette recherche porte sur l'apprentissage du chinois et l'adaptation interculturelle d'un groupe d'étudiants irlandais du supérieur en Chine.Elle s'inspire du corpus de recherches sur l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants étrangers du supérieur et vient s'y ajouter. Parmi ces recherches, celles de John W.Berry sur l'acculturation,de Geert Hofstede sur les dimensions de la culture, la théorie de Young Y. Kim sur l'adaptation interculturelle, et la théorie de Kalervo Oberg sur le choc culturel ont été privilégiées. L’objectif principal de cette recherche étant d’arriver à une meilleure compréhension de l'adaptation interculturelle d'étudiants irlandais qui étudient le mandarin en Chine, nous avons retenu les quatre questions de recherche suivantes:Nous recourons à une méthodologie de recherche qualitative pour analyser vingt-quatre entretiens approfondis et six journaux écrits en Chine par les étudiants, afin de décrire l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants irlandais en Chine.Les principales conclusions de notre recherche sont les suivants:1. Choc culturel. Les données montrent que même si ces étudiants s'étaient bien adaptés au pays d'accueil, ils avaient en majorité connu un certain choc culturel. Ils ont signalé divers niveaux de frustration et d'incompréhension découlant du fossé entre leur culture d'origine et celle du pays d’accueil. Ils ont également signalé des difficultés d'adaptation liées au mal du pays, à la solitude,, aux problèmes de pollution, d'hygiène alimentaire et à des difficultés de niveau linguistique.Cependant, ils ont eu recours à leurs stratégies d'adaptation pour minimiser les effets du choc culturel. dentité et compétence interculturelle adoptées par les étudiants.Les donnés révèlent le degré de réussite de l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants irlandais qui étudient en Chine ainsi que les implications de ce phénomène sur la perception de leur identité culturelle.Les étudiants ont procédé à des ajustements et sont devenus plus tolérants, plus larges d’esprit du point de vue interculturel. 3 – Acquisition de la langue. Les données suggèrent que ces étudiants irlandais ont amélioré leurs compétences linguistiques (écoute, parole, lecture et écriture) et communicationnelles (grammaticales, stratégiques et sociolinguistiques) grâce à leur immersion dans la langue et la culture cibles. Les étudiants profitent considérablement de l'apprentissage de la langue en milieu immersif particulièrement en ce qui concerne l'acquisition des compétences verbales et de vocabulaire et la conscience sociolinguistique.4 – Facteurs qui facilitent ou entravent l'adaptation interculturelle des étudiants irlandais. Une recherche thématique des données a identifié six facteurs qui ont facilité l’adaptation interculturelle des étudiants: motivation, expériences interculturelles antérieures, soutien perçu, attitude intégrative et caractéristiques de la personnalité interculturelle. Les facteurs qui entravent leur apprentissage de la langue et leur adaptation interculturelle sont : l’écart culturel, la bureaucratie et une perception de discrimination. Cette recherche suggère également que la compétence linguistique et l'utilisation de technologies modernes peuvent être à la fois des facteurs facilitant ou entravant l'acquisition de la langue et l'adaptation interculturelle.Cette recherche, la première de ce genre en Irlande, permet une compréhension approfondie de l'adaptation interculturelle d'étudiants irlandais en Chine et constitue un complément utile à la recherche sur les programmes d'études à l'étranger en particulier dans le domaine de l'adaptation interculturelle
This research presents an original qualitative study on Chinese language acquisition and the cross-cultural adaptation process of Irish university students studying Mandarin in China. It draws upon, and adds to, an existing body of research exploring intercultural adjustment of international students in higher education. Frameworks that inform this study include John W. Berry’s theory of acculturation, Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions theory, Young Y. Kim’s theory of cross-cultural adaptation, and Kalervo Oberg’s culture shock theory. The overall aim of this research is to develop a deeper understanding of intercultural adjustment of Irish students studying Mandarin in China. In order to fulfil this aim, the following four research questions were developed:1. What culture shock has Irish university students experienced in China? What difficulties did these students encounter? What strategies did they employ to overcome these difficulties?2. What kind of culture identity have the Irish students developed after their study-abroad in China?3. What are their Chinese language learning experiences in China?4. What are the facilitators of and hindrances to their intercultural adjustment process. Using a thematic analysis approach, twenty-four in-depth interviews and six journals were analysed to produce findings grounded in Irish students’ cross-cultural adaptation experiences. This project’s four primary research findings are as follows: Research finding 1 - Cultural shock experienced by Irish studentsData demonstrates that although these Irish students adapted successfully in the host country, the majority of the students experienced a certain degree of culture shock. Students reported various levels of frustration and misunderstanding arising from the mismatch of their own culture and that of the host culture. These students also encountered adjustment difficulties including: homesickness; loneliness; pollution and food hygiene problems; and difficulties with language. However, students utilized their coping strategies to minimize the effects of culture shock.Research finding 2 - Intercultural identity and intercultural competence developed by Irish studentsData reveals the successful cultural adaptation of the Irish students studying abroad in China, with ensuing implications for the perception of their cultural identity. There was a positive adjustment by the Irish students who became more tolerant and open-minded, intercultural individuals. Research finding 3 – Irish students’ language acquisition in ChinaData suggests that Irish students increased their language proficiency (listening, speaking, reading, and writing) and communicative competence (grammatical, strategic, and sociolinguistic) as the result of immersion in the target language and culture. Students benefit considerably in the learning of the Chinese language in the immersive environment, particularly regarding oral skills, vocabulary, and sociolinguistic awareness. Research finding 4 – Facilitators and hindrances to Irish students’ cross-cultural adjustmentSix facilitators were identified through a thematic analysis of the data: motivation; prior cross-cultural experiences; preparation; perceived support; integrative attitude; and intercultural personality characteristics. Three hindrances were identified: cultural distance, bureaucracy and perceived discrimination. This study also suggests that Chinese language proficiency and the use of modern technology can operate as both facilitators of and hindrances to language acquisition and cross-cultural adaptation. Overall, this study brings a unique insight into the intercultural adjustment of Irish students studying in China and contributes to existing knowledge in the field of intercultural studies, targeting the specific area of cross-cultural adaptation
论文中文提要本研究是有关在中国留学的爱尔兰大学生的中文语言习得和跨文化适应的独创研究。本研究借鉴并补充了现有的在高等教育范畴内有关国际学生跨文化适应的研究。本研究所借鉴的跨文化研究领域一些著名学者的框架理论包括约翰.贝瑞 (John W. Berry) 的文化适应策略理论，格尔特.霍夫斯泰德 (Geert Hofstede) 的文化维度理论，金 (Young Y. Kim) 的跨文化适应交际理论和卡莱沃.奥伯格 (Kalervo Oberg) 的文化冲击理论。 本研究的总体目标是加深对在中国学习中文的爱尔兰学生跨文化适应进程的理解。 为了实现这个目标，制定了以下四个研究问题：1.爱尔兰大学生在中国经历了何种文化冲击？ 这些学生遇到了什么困难？ 他们采用什么策略来克服这些困难？2.爱尔兰学生在中国留学后有什么样的文化归属？3.他们在中国的汉语学习经历是什么？4.爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应调整过程的促进因素和障碍因素是什么？研究者本人作为一名来自中国的国际学生在爱尔兰学习和生活拥有跨文化适应的经验有助于理解爱尔兰学生在中国经历跨文化适应的进程。定性研究方法被用来分析和解答本研究提出的问题。研究数据的收集包括与二十四位爱尔兰大学生进行的深入的访谈和6篇爱尔兰学生在中国留学时写的日记。 通过主题分析过程对数据进行分析，该研究项目的四项主要研究成果如下：研究发现之一 - 爱尔兰学生在中国留学期间经历的文化冲击数据表明，虽然这些爱尔兰学生在东道国跨文化适应比较成功，但大多数学生都受到一定程度的文化冲击。 学生们报告说，他们自己的本土文化和东道国文化之间的文化差距导致了各种的挫折和误解。 学术环境中的文化冲击对爱尔兰学生构成了最大的压力，因为它对学业成绩和心理健康可能产生负面影响。 爱尔兰学生还遇到跨文化适应调整的困难，包括：思乡情绪; 孤独; 环境污染和食品卫生问题; 语言障碍; 出租车司机危险驾驶和滥收费用等。 然而，这些学生采取了不同的应对策略来减少文化冲击的影响。研究发现之二 - 爱尔兰学生发展的跨文化归属和跨文化能力数据显示，爱尔兰留学生在中国的文化适应成功，对他们的文化归属产生了影响。 爱尔兰学生发展了跨文化归属，变得更加宽容和思想开放，培养了跨文化人格特征。研究发现之三 - 爱尔兰学生在中国的语言习得数据显示，爱尔兰学生在目标语言和目标环境沉浸环境中学习汉语将获得了相当大的收益，提高了汉语语言水平（听，说，读，写）和交际能力（语法，交际策略和社会语言学），特别是在口语技巧，词汇和社会语言意识方面。研究发现之四 - 爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应的促进因素和阻碍因素通过对数据进行主题分析确定了六个促进跨文化适应的因素：学习动机; 以前的跨文化体验; 出国留学前的充分准备; 得到的帮助和支持; 融合的态度; 以及跨文化人格特征。 通过探索爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应所经受的困难和压力，本研究确定了三个障碍因素：文化距离，官僚主义和受到的歧视。 本研究还表明，汉语语言能力和使用现代技术交流既可以成为跨文化适应的促进因素也可能成为障碍因素。本研究的研究结果突出了国际学生跨文化适应的高度复杂性和挑战性。本研究通过分析归纳影响在中国留学学习汉语的爱尔兰学生跨文化适应的各种因素，希望能帮助和促进国际学生的跨文化适应的进程。研究结果还表明，跨文化适应的过程是一个不确定的和艰难的过程，要求有决心和适应力。爱尔兰学生面对中国这个全新的生活和学习环境，经历了不同程度的文化冲击。然而，本研究中的所有学生都对他们在中国留学的经历感到乐观。他们相信留学经历不仅帮助他们开阔了视野，而且让他们变得更加独立和成熟。研究显示，留学不仅为爱尔兰学生提供了在沉浸式环境下学习目标语言的绝好机会，还为爱尔兰学生提供了真正的个人成长的空间和发展个人潜力的机会。总之，本研究填补了有关国际留学生在华学习汉语的经验的研究方面的空白。本研究针对爱尔兰学生的跨文化适应体验有独到的见解，对于跨文化交际研究领域中特别是有关国际学生跨文化适应方面的研究有所贡献。

The master thesis is focused on the perception of Poland as a brand among university students. The aim of the master thesis is an analysis of Poland in terms of image and identity of the country perceived by university students. The theoretical part is concentrated on nation branding as a key concept for building a nation brand. The practical part contains analysis of secondary data from rating indexes, researches about perception of Poland, national and media campaigns. The primary research included qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the perception of Poland, general image, stereotypes, opinions and attitude toward Polish products and services. The research was carried out among Polish and Czech university students.

碩士
國立高雄師範大學
華語文教學研究所
97
Because of the interference from the first language, students have difficulties in learning the second language, especially in its pronunciation. Every summer vocation, Polish students come to National Kaohsiung Normal University and take a short term Mandarin class. However, for the lack of the understanding of their speech characteristics, it is hard for teachers to catch the points during the class and help the students improve their pronunciation effectively. In order to solve this problem, the researcher attempts to do a systematic analysis of Mandarin mispronunciations by Polish students. That way, teachers can arrange the class time appropriately and correct the students’ mispronunciations effectively. The author collected pronunciation samples via a “100-character inventory by 10 Polish students. And then, two methods were adopted to analyze these samples. The first method is to ask a phonetician to listen to the samples and narrowly transcribe them with IPA. Secondly, 15 native speakers were asked to transcribe the speech samples in Chinese characters or Zhu-Yin. The errors which interfered with native speakers’ perception most were the main errors and should be correct first. As to the rest of the errors, they can be improved gradually. Additionally, it can help infer the causes of the pronunciation errors from the contrastive analysis of Polish and Chinese phonology. The research show that the main errors of initials were depalatalization, unaspiration, frication, and gliding. As to finals, ‘vowel + nasal consonant’ was most difficult to Polish students and the main errors included backing, fronting, final consonant deletion, etc. Finally, Polish students confused Tone2 with Tone3 easily. The ratio of ‘Tone3→Tone2” to ‘Tone2→Tone3’ was 37 to 24.

This study will explore to what extent familiarity with English accents can influence compulsory school students’ attitudes towards them. Data from questionnaires completed by 98 students were analysed. The results show that the degree of familiarity with the English accent seems to affect the attitude attributed to it. More specifically, the results indicate that a higher degree of familiarity influences the ability to express an attitude. A lower degree of familiarity leads to similar attitudes being given to the accents, which shows a lack of differentiation between them. The results also indicate a bias towards RP. While it is not necessarily harmful, teachers should be aware of this and how their own teaching may influence how different accents are perceived. It is argued that teachers need to intervene in the process of stereotyping which will help develop an awareness of students’ language attitudes. To summarize, it is difficult to draw any wide conclusions from these results due to the study’s scope. Furthermore, the target group is not representative of Swedish compulsory school students as students from the chosen school generally finish with an above-average final grade. Further research is necessary to determine more specifically how familiarity affects attitudes of English accents and if these findings recur in other areas of Sweden where the final grade average is lower.

Celem niniejszej rozprawy doktorskiej jest rewizja obrazu konfliktów wyznaniowych w Rzeczypospolitej polsko-litewskiej obowiązującego w dotychczasowej literaturze przedmiotu poprzez analizę porównawczą tumultów w dwu stolicach Rzeczypospolitej polsko-litewskiej: w Krakowie i Wilnie. Praca składa się z czterech zasadniczych części. W części I zawarto rozdziały wprowadzające w zasadniczy temat pracy. Poza zwyczajowym wstępem (rozdział 1), szeroko omówionorawodawstwo oraz zabezpieczenia antytumultowe występujące w obu stolicach (rozdział 2). Badaniami objęto konstytucje generalne oraz mandaty dotyczące poszczególnych miast, jak również zarządzenia magistratów. Przedstawione zostały także miejskie siły porządkowe i ich organizacja. Następnie (rozdział 3) zwrócono uwagę na środowiska z których, wywodzili się główni uczestnicy tumultów wyznaniowych – Uniwersytet Krakowski i Akademię Wileńską. W rozdziale omówiono nie tylko sytuację obu wszechnic, ale także przywileje sądownicze i zakres jurysdykcji rektorów, co ma niebagatelne znaczenie w prawidłowym zrozumieniu batalii sądowniczych dotyczących sądzenia udziału studentów w tumultach wyznaniowych. W rozprawie zwrócono także uwagę na sytuację wyznaniową obu wszechnic, starając się zwrócić uwagę na złożoność badanego tematu i konieczność wyjścia poza obowiązujące schematy. Część II to zasadnicza część pracy zawierająca chronologiczną analizę najważniejszych tumultów wyznaniowych w Krakowie, a część III pracy dotyczy tumultów wyznaniowych w stolicy Wielkiego Księstwa Litewskiego. W obu częściach zawarto nie tylko analizę największych zajść, które odbijały się echem w całym kraju, np. kolejne burzenia stołecznych zborów. W pracy uwzględniono bowiem także zajścia mniejszej skali, choć w opinii autora równie istotne dla zrozumienia badanego tematu, tj. napady na cmentarze, czy poszczególnych przeciwników wyznaniowych. Część IV zawiera obszerne podsumowanie podjętego tematu z podziałem na genezę, mechanizmy i uczestników tumultów wyznaniowych.
The aim of this doctoral dissertation is to revise the image of religious riots in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth prevalent in the current literature through comparative analysis of riots in the two capitals of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: in Cracow and Vilnius. The work consists of four main parts. Part I contains the introductory chapters in the main subject of the thesis. In addition to the usual introduction (Chapter 1), the antiriots legislation and protections have been widely discussed (chapter 2). The research covered general constitutions and mandates for individual cities, ordinances of magistrates, as well as municipal security forces and their organization in the face of internal and external threats. In chapter 3 attention was paid to the the University of Cracow and the Vilnius Academy – environments from which, according to many sources, main participants of the religious riots were recruited. The chapter describes not only the situation of both universities, but also judicial privileges and the scope of the rector's jurisdiction. The latter issue is important to correctly understand many court battles regarding rights to judge students in religious riots. The dissertation also drew attention to the religious situation of the two universities, trying to raise awareness to the complexity of the subject and the need to go beyond the existing schemes. Both in Cracow and in Vilnius, in certain periods and under certain conditions, non-Catholics could participate in academic education and even enter the group of professors, which obviously complicates the simple vision of events presented so far in literature. Part II and and part III are the main parts of the work containing respectively a chronological analysis of the most important religious riots in Cracow, and religious riots in the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In both parts was included not only the largest religious riots that echoed throughout the country, but also the incidents of a smaller scale. In the author's opinion both groups of riots are equally important for understanding the phenomenon of religious hatered. Part IV contains a comprehensive summary of the subject taken, broken down into the origins, mechanisms and participants of religious riots.