This thesis explores the design of a community center tailored for autistic adults, aiming to foster inclusivity and blur boundaries between neurodiverse and non-neurodiverse individuals. Through interdisciplinary approaches, it investigates spatial and sensory elements to create an immersive experience where everyone can perceive the world through an autistic person's perspective. By prioritizing sensory inclusivity and participatory design, the center aims to provide a supportive environment for exploration and interaction. Additionally, it explores how immersive experiences can cultivate empathy, bridging gaps and fostering genuine connections. Ultimately, this thesis advocates for a paradigm shift in community space design, celebrating neurodiversity and promoting unity. / Master of Architecture / This thesis explores the design of a community center tailored for autistic adults, aiming to foster inclusivity and blur boundaries between neurodiverse and non-neurodiverse individuals. Through interdisciplinary approaches, it investigates spatial and sensory elements to create an immersive experience where everyone can perceive the world through an autistic person's perspective. By prioritizing sensory inclusivity and participatory design, the center aims to provide a supportive environment for exploration and interaction. Additionally, it explores how immersive experiences can cultivate empathy, bridging gaps and fostering genuine connections. Ultimately, this thesis advocates for a paradigm shift in community space design, celebrating neurodiversity and promoting unity.

Yes / Most studies investigated the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) for healthcare and educational purposes, but little is known on the effectiveness of VR in social interaction. Our aim was to examine whether VR would be similar to in-person interaction in reducing loneliness. A total of 73 participants participated in this study. They were randomly assigned to in-person or VR condition and interacted for 15 minutes about a tourist landmark. Participants completed a set of questions that measured belonging – acceptance and exclusion, positive and negative affect, wellbeing, trust, and mood before and after the interaction. Results showed that in both conditions, loneliness was significantly lower, with higher wellbeing, higher positive and lower negative affect, feeling happier and had more fun post task. Trust was higher in the VR condition post task but not for in-person. Our regression analyses showed that having higher wellbeing was a significant predictor in reducing loneliness for in-person condition and that being older and higher belonging – acceptance were significant predictors on feeling lonelier for the VR condition. In sum, our results demonstrated some success in reducing loneliness in VR but may not be sufficient to develop lasting friendship.

New developments often lack regional identity and distinctiveness of place. Before the industrial revolution, landscapes were the result of social, cultural and environmental constraints. Currently, a strong sense of place is lacking in many American cities. Santa Fe, New Mexico, as an example, faces the challenge of integrating new development with existing historic areas. While the downtown central core of Santa Fe has a distinctive and unique character, the outlying fringes of Santa Fe County are being developed in ways that undermine the sense of place that is valued by its residents and visitors. Current county development patterns do not meld with the intimate, small-scale character of the older neighborhoods in the downtown central core areas of the city. To address this issue, this thesis uses theory related to sense of place to identify distinctive characteristics that can be adapted for projects outside Santa Fe's central core. The study uses a mixed method approach, including a literature review and field study methods to assess Santa Fe's distinctive physical characteristics. The results are a set of contemporary community design guidelines for the Santa Fe, New Mexico region that address sense of place in the following categories: (a) Spatial Planning and Architecture: street design characteristics and their physical relationship to architecture; (b) Environmentally Responsive Architecture: architecture design characteristics that respond to the regional environment and Santa Fe Style; (c) Decorative Architectural Details: architectural detail design characteristics that respond to the regional vernacular and the Santa Fe Style; (d) Integration of Architecture and Landscape: open space design the physical relationship between the local landscape and architecture; and, (e) Landscape and Cultural Character: regional landscape and art design characteristics that respond to Santa Fe's environment and culture. The resulting design principles are expressed as guidelines to support sense of place and their application to new development in Santa Fe County. / Master of Landscape Architecture / Many 21st century communities in the United States are being planned to look alike. Before the industrial revolution and the advances in railroad, freight transport and increased mechanization; landscapes were built with local materials and governed by regionally limited social, cultural, environmental and physical characteristics. Currently, a meaningful and distinctive physical appearance of a place (termed “sense of place”) is lacking in many American cities. <i>Santa Fe, New Mexico</i>, as an example, faces the challenge of designing current suburban communities to meld with the existing historic character of older downtown centers. While the historic downtown of <i>Santa Fe</i> has a distinctive personal scale and unique architectural style; the outlying suburban settlements of <i>Santa Fe County</i> are being developed in ways that promote a sameness and monotony that is uncharacteristic of the city’s core and not valued by its residents and visitors. Current county development codes and plans do not match the intimate, small-scale character of older neighborhoods in the downtown central core areas of the city. To address this issue, this thesis researches and studies the concept of sense of place; to identify distinctive characteristics that can be adapted to design new communities incorporating these characteristics in Santa Fe County. The study uses a <b>literature review;</b> research of the history of Santa Fe and sense of place and a <b>field survey;</b> photographs, sketches and a recording of Santa Fe’s physical qualities - to analyze <i>Santa Fe's</i> distinctive physical characteristics. The results are a set of current community design guidelines for the <i>Santa Fe, New Mexico</i> region that address sense of place by noting the following: <b>overall planning, architecture, street design, architectural details, open space design and Santa Fe’s native environment and culture.</b> This thesis adds to the body of knowledge in the field of landscape architecture by establishing a method to design for sense of place, through guidelines, that can be applied to new community development in <i>Santa Fe County</i>.

Yes / We examine how managers in Oman make sense of localization policies (Omanization) through their use of talent management (TM). Through an institutional logics (IL) lens, it is possible to examine how organizations confront institutional complexity and understand the interplay between state, market and societal logics. The paper analyses twenty-six interviews with managers in the Petroleum and Banking sector and is the first to examine TM within the context of Omanization using a layered, IL perspective. The paper finds that punitive state logics encourage organizations to focus on the societal wellbeing of their TM measures and inspires a sense of corporate social responsibility. Yet, the market logic dictates a stratified and differentiated approach that manages impressions of inclusivity while safeguarding organizational interests.

Yes / Illness representations shape responses to illness experienced by the self or by others. The illness representations held by family members of those with long-term conditions such as dementia influence their understanding of what is happening to the person and how they respond and provide support. The aim of this study is to explore components of illness representations (label, cause, control and timeline) in caregivers of people with dementia. This was an exploratory study; the data reported came from the Memory Impairment and Dementia Awareness Study (MIDAS). Data from semi-structured interviews with 50 caregivers of people with dementia were analysed using content analysis. The majority of caregivers gave accounts that appeared to endorse a medical/diagnostic label, although many used different terms interchangeably. Caregivers differentiated between direct causes and contributory factors, but the predominant explanation was that dementia had a biological cause. Other perceived causes were hereditary factors, ageing, lifestyle, life events and environmental factors. A limited number of caregivers were able to identify things that people with dementia could do to help manage the condition, while others thought nothing could be done. There were varying views about the efficacy of medication. In terms of timeline, there was considerable uncertainty about how dementia would progress over time. The extent of uncertainty about the cause, timeline and controllability of dementia indicated that caregivers need information on these areas. Tailored information and support taking account of caregivers' existing representations may be most beneficial.

Yes / Informal caregivers of people with dementia develop their own beliefs about the condition, referred to as Dementia Representations (DRs), as they try to make sense of the changes they are observing. The first aim of this study was to provide a profile of the types of DRs held by caregivers. The second aim was to examine the impact of caregivers’ DRs on their well-being, satisfaction with life (SwL) and caregiving stress. Methods: Participants were 1264 informal caregivers of people in the mild-to-moderate stages of dementia from time-point 1 of the IDEAL cohort study. Measures: DRs were measured using questionnaire items covering: Identity, Cause, Control, and Timeline. Results: Almost half (49.2%) of caregivers used a diagnostic term to describe the person’s condition, although 93.4% of caregivers stated they were aware of the diagnosis. Higher well-being, SwL, and lower caregiving stress were associated with the use of an identity term relating to specific symptoms of dementia, attributing the cause to ageing or not knowing the cause, and believing the condition would stay the same. Lower well-being, SwL, and higher caregiving stress were associated with believing there was little that could be done to control the effects of the condition. Conclusion: Healthcare professionals should assess and gain an understanding of caregivers’ DRs in order to provide more tailored information and support. / Economic and Social Research Council (UK) and the National Institute for Health Research (UK) grant ES/L001853/2

The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the relationship between locus of control (measured by the Locus of Control Inventory), work engagement (measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale) and sense of coherence (measured by the Orientation to Life Questionnaire); (2) determine whether coping and non-coping individuals (measured by a coping scale) differ significantly regarding these variables, and (3) the strategies they employ to deal with change in their lives (determined by means of structured interviews). A survey design, and correlational and inferential statistical procedures were used to achieve the quantitative research objectives. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyse and interpret the research data obtained from the open-ended questions on coping strategies. A convenience sample (n = 69) of individuals employed in the manufacturing sector participated in the study. The quantitative results revealed a significant relationship between the three variables and that copers and non-copers differ significantly regarding their coping. The qualitative data analysis indicated that copers and non-copers differ in terms of the coping strategies they employ to deal with change. The study represents original research which contributes new knowledge and insights for organisational employee wellness practices aimed at helping employees cope more positively with organisational change in the South African organisational context. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M.A. (Industrial and Organisational Psychology)

When clustering together synonyms, complications arise in cases of the words having multiple senses as each sense’s synonyms are erroneously clustered together. The task of automatically distinguishing word senses in cases of ambiguity, known as word sense disambiguation (WSD), has been an extensively researched problem over the years. This thesis studies the possibility of applying an unsupervised machine learning based WSD-system for analysing existing synonym clusters (N = 149) and dividing them correctly when two or more senses are present. Based on sense embeddings induced from a large corpus, cosine similarities are calculated between sense embeddings for words in the clusters, making it possible to suggest divisions in cases where different words are closer to different senses of a proposed ambiguous word. The system output is then evaluated by four participants, all experts in the area. The results show that the system does not manage to correctly divide the clusters in more than 31% of the cases according to the participants. Moreover, it is discovered that some differences exist between the participants’ ratings, although none of the participants predominantly agree with the system’s division of the clusters. Evidently, further research and improvements are needed and suggested for the future.

<p>Isberg, A. & Lidén, S. (2008). <em>KASAM- livsfrågeformulär som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. </em>Högskolan i Gävle; Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och psykologi.</p><p> </p><p>Tidigare studier visar samband mellan KASAM, Känsla av sammanhang och människors upplevda hälsa. Då psykisk ohälsa tenderar att öka växer behovet av hälsofrämjande åtgärder. I och med detta ville vi studera om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär kunde användas som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ ansats för att få en djupare förståelse för hur deltagarna tänker och känner. Fyra deltagare med psykisk ohälsa har fyllt i KASAM- livsfrågeformulär samt intervjuats med syfte att undersöka om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit en förändrad förståelse för deltagarnas livssituation. Resultatet visar att deltagarna upplevde att KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit nya reflektioner över sig själv och sin livssituation.</p>

Isberg, A. &amp; Lidén, S. (2008). KASAM- livsfrågeformulär som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. Högskolan i Gävle; Institutionen för pedagogik, didaktik och psykologi.   Tidigare studier visar samband mellan KASAM, Känsla av sammanhang och människors upplevda hälsa. Då psykisk ohälsa tenderar att öka växer behovet av hälsofrämjande åtgärder. I och med detta ville vi studera om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär kunde användas som intervention vid psykisk ohälsa. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ ansats för att få en djupare förståelse för hur deltagarna tänker och känner. Fyra deltagare med psykisk ohälsa har fyllt i KASAM- livsfrågeformulär samt intervjuats med syfte att undersöka om KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit en förändrad förståelse för deltagarnas livssituation. Resultatet visar att deltagarna upplevde att KASAM- livsfrågeformulär inneburit nya reflektioner över sig själv och sin livssituation.