Climate change forecasts tell of significant challenges ahead for agrifood systems at all scales, from global to highly local. Farmers are often at the forefront of these challenges. How farmers perceive climate related risks, and the actions they take to protect or adapt their lives and livelihoods are therefore a critical area of inquiry. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe how farmers in Vermont, in the Northeastern U.S., think about climate change, and how their experiences and perceptions influence engagement with adaptation or mitigation activities. To this end, my research questions included: (1) what are farmers already doing to address climate impacts on their farms? (2) Do farmers perceive climate change to be a risk, and if so what are they doing to address it? (3) Are farmers and agricultural technical service providers in agreement about the current performance of climate change adaptation strategies? (4) Can a qualitative typology of farmers describe the degree to which they are resilient in the face of climate change? I conducted this research in the context of a larger, collaborative effort called the Vermont Agricultural Resilience in a Changing Climate Initiative (VAR), based at the University of Vermont. VAR served as an umbrella for transdisciplinary, participatory action research activities that capitalized on a diversity of perspectives and expertise, including the embedded knowledge of farmers and agricultural technical service providers. The VAR team as a whole and in sub-teams utilized a selection of research approaches including preliminary research activities that contributed to the development of research questions addressed in this dissertation, and primary research approaches used to answer those questions. This dissertation report consists of the following chapters: Chapters 1-2 present and introduction and background information related to climate change and agriculture, including a review of national, regional and site conditions as well as an overview of research purpose, approaches, methods, and theoretical frameworks applicable to the exploration of the questions and interpretation of findings. Chapters 3-6 address the following topics: (1) a case study in transdisciplinary participatory action research applied to climate change and agriculture in Vermont, (2) an analysis of farmer perceptions of climate related risk and associated on-farm adaptation strategies, (3) a report of farmer perceptions of climate change and comparison of farmer and technical service provider evaluations of potential climate change best management practices, and (4) a qualitative typology of farmer resilience. This research is some of the first to address these topics from the perspective of farmers in the Northeastern U.S. Through these chapters, an important story is told about role that climate change plays in farm management today. The broader application of these findings is in the design of thoughtful programming and policies that support agrifood system resilience. I argue that social programs and policies that address agriculture and climate change should be informed by the experiences of farmers. When we weave together the knowledge of agricultural practitioners and our best scientific knowledge, we can better prepare for the changes in agrifood systems that a changing climate will require of us.

The focus of the study is to understand the efficiency of Vodacom and Tigo Television animation advertisements from the perspective of university students with and without education in media analysis in Tanzania. Vodacom and Tigo television animation advertisements have been introduced in Tanzania; however, there is little research about the effectiveness of the advertisements for market purposes of the commodities.   The overall aim of the study is to investigate university students’ media literacy, their interpretations, and alternative perceptions about Vodacom and Tigo television animation advertisements. The theoretical framework focuses on social action theory which is based on exploring meanings that audience create from the texts they consume from media. The empirical basis of the study consists of interviews and questionnaire. The questionnaire was administered to two separate survey groups of 20 university students each. While one group consisted of students educated in interpreting media, the other group comprised of students not educated in media analysis. In order to achieve the aim of the study, a triangulation method was used to provide a broader and deeper understanding of respondents’ perceptions of the animation TV advertisements.   Based on the qualitative approach, five themes were found and regarded as respondents’ views and perceptions. Findings obtained through the quantitative method showed that respondents with media education had positive perceptions of the advertisements and could interpret and understanding them. While students without media education had negative perceptions and most of them could not interpret and understand the advertisements. Further research that will include a diverse sample population from different community groups is suggested.

Bakgrund: Sjuksköterskor berör patienter, ibland med en speciell intention till exempel för att trösta, andra gånger på grund av nödvändighet för att kunna utföra arbetsuppgifter. Dessa två typer av beröring benämns expressiv respektive instrumentell beröring. Beröring har visat sig kunna stärka relationen sjuksköterskor och patienter emellan, samt främja patienters välbefinnande. Syfte: Syftet med denna litteraturöversikt var att belysa vuxna patienters upplevelser av fysisk beröring inom somatisk vård. Metod: Metoden för studien var en litteraturöversikt. Resultat: Fyra huvudteman och två subteman återfanns i analysen; att bli sedd som människa med subtemat kommunikationens betydelse för upplevelsen av att bli berörd, hur beröring kan ingjuta förtroende och trygghet, betydelsen av att ha kontroll och att inte vilja ha en manlig sjuksköterska med subtemat inställning till kön avseende intim beröring. Diskussion: Det framkomna resultatet bidrar till kunskapen om hur patienter upplever fysisk beröring vid omvårdnad, och kan implementeras i sjuksköterskors vårdarbete med patienter för att göra vården mer patientcentrerad. Dock anser författarna att vidare forskning inom detta område behövs för att bidra till kunskap om patienters upplevelser av beröring och en ökad förståelse som kan generera i en mer patientcentrerad vård. / Background: Nurses use touch on a daily basis in their work. They use touch to comfort, and because of necessity in their job assignments. These two kinds of touch are called expressive and instrumental touch. Touch has been shown to strengthen the relationship between nurses and patients, also to support patients’ well-being. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to illustrate adult patients’ experiences of touch in somatic care. Method: The method for the study was a literature review. Results: Four main themes and two subthemes emerged in the analyze; to be seen as a human being with the subtheme the meaning of communication in the experience of being touched, how touch can convey trust and security, the meaning of being in control and to dislike a male nurse with the subtheme attitudes towards gender regarding intimate care. Discussion: The outcome highlights the importance of making nursing care more patient-centered. Yet the authors consider that further research in this domain is needed about patients’ experience of touch to enable better patient-centered care.

Bakgrund: Personer på äldreboende uppnår sällan allmänna rekommendationer för fysisk aktivitet. Detta kan medföra förlust av viktiga funktioner, något som fysisk aktivitet till viss del kan motverka. Syfte: Att utforska äldre personers uppfattning om fysisk aktivitet på ett äldreboende med inriktning ”sport och spa”. Syftet var även att undersöka de upplevda möjligheterna till fysisk aktivitet för personer på äldreboendet. Metod: En kvalitativ studie med semistrukturerade intervjuer. Två kvinnor och tre män mellan 67-97 år intervjuades. Deltagarna rekryterades via bekvämlighetsurval. Intervjumaterialet bearbetades med en kvalitativ innehållsanalys inspirerad av Graneheim och Lundman. Resultatsammanfattning: Utifrån frågeställningen uppfattning av fysisk aktivitet framkom följande tre kategorier: ”fysisk aktivitet nu och tidigare”, ”negativa effekter av fysisk aktivitet” samt ”positiva effekter av fysisk aktivitet”. Uttalanden gällande frågeställningen upplevelsen av möjlighet till fysisk aktivitet gav upphov till fyra kategorier: ”boendets resurser”, ”yttre förutsättningar”, ”individens förutsättningar” och ”grad av autonomi”. Slutsats: Stora variationer förekom i uppfattningen av fysisk aktivitet. Allt ifrån den egna vardagsmotionen till en mängd olika organiserade aktiviteter beskrevs. Fysisk aktivitet associerades även med biologiska och psykologiska effekter av träning. Möjligheten till att vara fysiskt aktiv påverkades av individens motivation och grad av autonomi. / Background: Elderly in nursing homes rarely achieves general recommendations for physical activity (PA). This may result in the loss of important functions, which PA can partially reduce. Purpose: To explore older people's perception of PA in a nursing home with the focus "sport and spa". The purpose of this study was also to investigate the perceived opportunities for PA for the elderly in a nursing home. Method: A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews were used. Three men and two women, between 67-97 years old, were interviewed. Qualitative content analysis was conducted. Results: Based on the informants􏰀perception of physical activity, the following three categories emerged: "physical activity now and earlier", "adverse effects of physical activity" and "positive effects of physical activity". Four categories described the experience of the possibility of physical activity among the informants, "the property's resources," "external conditions", "individual circumstances" and "degree of autonomy". Conclusions: Everyday exercise to a variety of organized activities were associated with PA. The concept of PA was also reported to include biological and psychological effects. The ability to be physically active was influenced by the individual's motivation and degree of autonomy.

A mentor is a qualified mental health practitioner, namely in this instance a nurse who facilitates guides and supervises the learning experience and assesses the student’s competences in practice. This longitudinal study examines the perceptions of mentorship in clinical practice from nurses, as they move from students to recognised professionals with authority to advise and assess students’ competence in practice. This ethically approved study mainly uses qualitative methods. Initially it involved interviewing eight completing mental health nursing students, and 270 mainly qualitative questionnaires were sent to qualified mental health nurse mentors in clinical practice. The final data collection of the study involved interviewing six qualified nurses/mentors who were originally the students in this study. Existential phenomenology was a valuable means of interpreting the perceptions of both the students, qualified nurses and the mentors. This ontological perspective explores the consciousness of the self, operating within a collective consciousness of their world. The data analysis initially followed Van Manen’s holistic approach; then extracting essences, identifying themes and then synthesizing essences. This was then followed by an existential processing of the data from the first and second interviews. The results reveal that the students believe that mentoring is an absolute necessity for their practical training; but the mentoring experience is precarious due to the numerous barriers. The results also highlighted incidences where students who experience ineffective mentoring are inspired to become much more effective at mentoring, because they do not want their students to experience the poor mentoring they had received. The participants in this study said students who are not competent are still passing practice, and the craft of mental health caring is not taught to an appropriate standard. However, learning from the experience of the transitional process was also revealed, and how the development of the self affected the perception of mentoring.

The clinical learning environment (CLE) provides students with an opportunity to build confidence and competence in the provision of patient care (Benner, 2010). The aim of this qualitative descriptive research was to explore and describe student perceptions of developing confidence through their clinical learning experiences, discovering what features of the CLE support their learning and the development of confidence. Ten students were recruited through purposive sampling and participated in one-on-one semi-structured interviews. Self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1997) was used as a theoretical framework to guide this research and for the interpretation of the content analysis. The analysis revealed five socio-structural themes that support student learning and development of confidence. These findings elaborate Bandura’s (1997) theory. The most influential, through verbal persuasion was the clinical nursing instructor (CNI) followed by self, the buddy nurse, peers, and the staff/unit environment. Students perceived their development of confidence through a bi-directional interaction between their cognitive/affective processes, behaviour and the CLE. Understanding student perceptions of their confidence development, signals the need for informed pedagogical strategies to support student learning and development of confidence. / October 2016

Research has shown that the police industry has entered into an era of homeland security. However, whether the core functions of policing have significantly changed since September 11, 2001, has been the topic of considerable debate. Using secondary data, the research identifies variables that are most influential in predicting whether Texas police chiefs understand their departments’ homeland security roles and responsibilities. The data was originally obtained in 2007 through self-administered surveys of police chiefs attending the Texas Chief Leadership Series (TPCLS) and the New Chief Development Program (NCDP).

The purpose of this study was to examine the retrospective perceptions of parent-child relations as measured by the Roe-Siegelman Parent-Child Relations Questionnaire (PCR), personality characteristics as they appear on the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) and types of crimes of prison inmates, specifically divided into aggressive and non-aggressive crimes.

The perception of self-efficacy is a central cognitive construct in explaining motivation. Assigned goals are established in the literature as affecting self-efficacy, but only a few researchers investigated their effects in complex tasks. One stream of research revealed the positive effects of easy goals on performance in a complex task without regard to self-efficacy perceptions. In the present study, the focus was on the effects of assigned, easy goals on self-efficacy and personal goals in complex task performance. It was expected that easy goals would be superior to moderate or impossible goals because the complexity and uncertainty of the task distorts subjects' perceptions of goal difficulty.

This study examines middle school students' perceptions of a future career in a science, math, engineering, or technology (STEM) career field. Gender, grade, predispositions to STEM contents, and learner dispositions are examined for changing perceptions and development in career-related choice behavior. Student perceptions as measured by validated measurement instruments are analyzed pre and post participation in a STEM intervention energy-monitoring program that was offered in several U.S. middle schools during the 2009-2010, 2010-2011 school years. A multiple linear regression (MLR) model, developed by incorporating predictors identified by an examination of the literature and a hypothesis-generating pilot study for prediction of STEM career interest, is introduced. Theories on the career choice development process from authors such as Ginzberg, Eccles, and Lent are examined as the basis for recognition of career concept development among students. Multiple linear regression statistics, correlation analysis, and analyses of means are used to examine student data from two separate program years. Study research questions focus on predictive ability, RSQ, of MLR models by gender/grade, and significance of model predictors in order to determine the most significant predictors of STEM career interest, and changes in students' perceptions pre and post program participation. Analysis revealed increases in the perceptions of a science career, decreases in perceptions of a STEM career, increase of the significance of science and mathematics to predictive models, and significant increases in students' perceptions of creative tendencies.