This grounded theory driven study explored the predominant categories and concepts involved with perceptions of exercise among school aged children with asthma. Ten children (five males, five females), ages 8-12, with various asthma disease severity, were interviewed in their homes. In addition, nine parents completed a health history questionnaire. The emergent grounded theory: The process of creating perceptions of exercise was identified from the data. The ongoing creation of perceptions of exercise was influenced by four predominant categories: perceived benefits, striving for normalcy, exercise influences, and asthma's influence. Because process is an ongoing occurrence, the four predominant categories may influence the creation of exercise perceptions simultaneously, or at different times and in various ways dependent upon the characteristics of the child and their unique situations and experiences (context). Perceived benefits, striving for normalcy, exercise influences, and asthma's influence were identified categories involved with the interactions, actions, and consequences interwoven throughout the creation of perceptions of exercise process. These categories help explain how exercise perceptions are developed from the participants' perspective. The process of creating perceptions of exercise is a continuous, circular, happening with the consequences leading to the development of exercise perceptions. The context may change but the overall process retains applicability to creating perceptions of exercise. The subjective insight gained throughout the development of the theory: the creation of perceptions of exercise, gives light to numerous areas for future nursing research and practice in hopes of improving the overall quality of life among this population.

The literature reports controversy among teachers about the value of an alternate assessment for students with significant cognitive disabilities (SCD) (Kampfer, Horvath, Kleinert, & Kearns, 2001).The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of special education teachers about the value and implementation of the Arizona Alternate Assessment (AIMS-A) for instructional planning.Twelve elementary special education teachers from three school districts in Southern Arizona were placed in one of two focus groups. They were asked questions about the value of the alternate assessment, the impact on instructional planning, the allocation of time to complete the assessment, and the usefulness of the data collected for the alternate assessment. Later, in-depth interviews were held with three of the 12 teachers representing each of the districts. The teachers' responses to the questions asked in the focus group and interview sessions were tape-recorded, transcribed, and organized into themes.Results revealed four major themes and 11 sub-themes. Most teachers valued the AIMS-A information in guiding their teaching. Some teachers, however, believed the instrument did not accurately assess students with the most severe disabilities. Teachers reported the assessment helped guide their instructional planning. The limited time allocated during the school day to complete the assessment resulted in an additional burden on teachers' personal time. Teachers found documenting and collection data throughout the school year was necessary to be able to accurately assess students during the spring testing period. Most of the teachers found the progress data useful.Six recommendations for State (SEAs) and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) resulted from the implications. The first recommendation is to acquire positive teacher perceptions and support for the AIMS-A by providing teachers with a thorough understanding of the benefits of the assessment. A second recommendation is for LEA administrators to assist teachers in finding time to administer the AIMS-A. The third recommendation is that the LEA's must provide in-service training. The fourth recommendation requires modification of existing policies when needed. The fifth recommendation is to create a state-wide data base that articulates student progress on the AIMS-A. The final recommendation is to modify existing policies where needed.

Relatively few studies have specifically compared L2 teacher's perceptions of effective FL teaching with their own students (Beaudrie, Brown, Thompson, 2004; Brosh, 1996, Kern, 1995a). The current study explores FL teachers' and students' perceptions of FL teaching by analyzing matches between each group's perceptions. The principal objectives of this study were threefold: 1) the identification and comparison of post-secondary L2 students' and L2 teachers' perceptions of effective teaching behaviors on a Likert-scale questionnaire; 2) the comparison of students' and teachers' perceptions of how often specific teaching behaviors are performed; 3) the comparison of students' evaluations of teaching to their instructors' self-evaluations on a similar questionnaire. A secondary objective of the study was to compare students' responses on selected items from the university's TCE form with their responses on the discipline-specific questionnaires used in this study.Forty-nine teachers and their 83 intact beginning-level language classes (101-202) across nine languages at the University of Arizona voluntarily participated in the study during Spring semester, 2005. Participating students and teachers filled out questionnaires regarding perceptions of 1) what effective FL teachers should be doing in the classroom, 2) how often certain target behaviors are performed, and 3) how effective teachers perform them. An additional component of the study involved the comparison of the students' ratings on the language-teaching questionnaire with selected questions relative to teaching taken from the standard TCE form used university wide. Statistical analyses demonstrated that teachers and students, overall and by teacher, do have very different perceptions regarding FL teaching. Issues such as immediate error correction, task-based teaching, students' use of FL early on, use of pair and small-group work, and grammar teaching all reflected differing opinions between groups. Participants' responses to the use of English in testing, the importance of native-like command of the target language by the teacher, the simplification of the FL by the teacher, and the necessity of situating grammar into real-world contexts were similar. In summary, students and teachers seem to have dissimilar views on grammar teaching and communicative language teaching strategies with students favoring a grammar-based approach and teachers favoring a communicative FL classroom.

The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the social and educational contexts that impact students' perceptions of their mathematical learning and students' use of resistance in regard to these social and educational impacts within the sixth grade environment. Specifically, this study addressed the following overarching questions: (1) What makes the relationship between student self-perception and (mathematical) learning specific to these Latino student's circumstances/experiences? (2) How do students apply their individual prior knowledge, experiences, and beliefs to their situated classroom context and content? (3) What role do student relationships with teachers, parents, and peers have in the development of student self-esteem and self-perceptions?Data collection included: self-perception questionnaires, student work, mathematical task-based interviews, classroom observations, and focal group interviews.The findings of this study suggest that in the context of this advanced mathematical setting, the teacher and the case study students came together to create an accepting mathematical space. It is possible that students' academic confidence, liking for mathematics, relevance of mathematics to their future career goals, and seeing themselves as capable of having career goals beyond their current economic situations, helped them agree to the classroom situation rather than resist it.The case study students placed themselves in opposition to peers that did not share in the interest that they had toward mathematics. Students were capable of expressing themselves in linguistic forms that were comfortable to them and were allowed to see their language as a tool for learning mathematics. By creating a space that was academically and linguistically supportive to the case study students, the teacher found a means to nurturing his students to be intellectually confident, curious, and engaged. If the teacher-student relationship and student interest in mathematics are strong enough to overcome educational hurdles that students face then there are possibilities for researchers to investigate how to develop this relationship and mathematical interest in order to replace the presence of resistance with approval for students who struggle to connect to school and mathematics.

The childhood obesity epidemic continues to escalate, disproportionately impacting Mexican American children. It is unclear how Mexican American mothers, who are at high-risk of rearing obese children, perceive childhood obesity, prevention or their role in prevention. Three studies - a systematic literature review, a qualitative study focusing on Mexican American mothers' perceptions of childhood obesity, and a qualitative study examining Mexican American mothers' perceptions regarding childhood obesity prevention and their role in prevention - were used to address this research question. The first study is a systematic review of the literature regarding Mexican American mothers' perceptions of childhood obesity and their role in prevention. Four databases were searched for relevant articles and 22 studies met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Social Cognitive Theory was used to sort similar findings across studies and identify scarce areas researched. Major findings included: (a) mothers felt inadequate to be role models for their children's healthy behaviors, (b) mothers did not identify short-term consequences of childhood obesity, (c) only 23% of studies explicitly used a theoretical framework to guide their study, and (d) most studies used heterogeneous groups (including all caretakers, including all Hispanics/Latinos) to discuss perceptions. The second study used naturalistic inquiry to examine mothers' perceptions regarding childhood obesity, its causes and its consequences. Using a Social Ecological Model adapted to childhood obesity, the study examined causes of childhood obesity at different levels of influence - intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community. Obesity was identified as an adult issue by the mothers. Mothers were more aware of the health risks associated with having underweight children rather than overweight children. Lastly, mothers identified overweight children as those who are suffering from consequences. The third study used a narrative inquiry approach to qualitatively investigate mothers' perceptions. Mothers suggested several ways parents could prevent childhood obesity and overweight among their children. However, fathers, grandparents and schools could unintentionally counter mothers' efforts to encourage healthful behaviors. Mothers identified a lack of ability to speak English, feelings of guilt associated with limiting food intake, and a lack of knowledge and skills as impediments in carrying out obesity preventive behaviors within the home.

Coastal communities in Ecuador – and worldwide – are vulnerable to climate change due to both marine and inland pressures. Studies predict that climatic changes will impact strongly on coastal zones, with particularly negative effects on communities that rely on mangrove ecosystems for their livelihoods. Unfortunately, relatively few studies have determined how these communities perceive climate change and other environmental changes witnessed during their lifetime. This research gathered primary information from two Ecuadorian coastal communities, as well as data from non-governmental organizations, global scientists, government, and national institutes in an effort to discover where information gaps or points of collaboration exist. At the community level, environmental change was often attributed to the drastic effects of the shrimp farm industry, deforestation of mangrove and tropical forests, and El Niño (ENSO) events. Participants mentioned God, a displeased nature, and the climate being loco (crazy) as other factors affecting change. The richness of local ecological knowledge in the communities studied indicates a need for more bottom-up information through monitoring and dialogue around entry points. Addressing vulnerabilities and adaptation requires a focus on the local context and pressing issues of food security, freshwater, pollution, and diminishing fish species which are currently overshadowing climate change as priority issues. Accordingly, collaboration around mangrove restoration may be an effective win-win climate adaptation strategy. / Climate change in Ecuador's coastal communities and mangrove ecosystems: Local knowledge, perceptions, and priorities

In Canada, 3,300 children under the age of 20 are living with Crohn’s Disease (CD) (Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, 2008). When an illness such as CD occurs in adolescence, the challenges associated with it are further compounded by the developmental tasks associated with this life stage. The purpose of this study was to understand how adolescents experience living with CD; to explore the impact of disease activity on their quality of life (QOL) and the strategies utilized to maintain and improve their QOL. Using a resiliency framework and narrative inquiry as a research methodology, seven adolescents were interviewed. The results include seven individual stories exemplifying their experiences, and from the stories shared, four patterns emerged: (1) Unconditional Support, (2) Embracing and Accepting Differences, (3) Attitudes and Personal Beliefs and (4) Daily Coping Strategies. These findings may have relevance for health professionals and families and adolescents with CD.

When it comes to food, college students need help selecting healthy food choices. Students are presented with many options to purchase food at grocery stores and restaurants and many of these options include organic food. Previous studies have demonstrated a need to investigate the college demographic and their purchasing habits when selecting food. The growth of news television channels, the Internet, magazines, and reality television have given the public a variety of choices to get their information. However, the credibility of their sources is not always trustworthy when it comes to agriculture. The goal of this study was to determine students’ perceptions of food and factors that influence purchasing decisions. Texas A&M University U4 classified students in the departments of political science, animal science, biology, and agricultural leadership, education, and communications (n=578) received an online survey. The survey identified students’ perceptions of food, the sources of information used to find food, food attributes, and the demographics that influence willingness to pay for food. Students in this study were more knowledgeable than previous studies with 70.4% of students identifying the correct definition of organic and 67% correctly recognized the USDA organic seal. This study also suggests that labels influence their opinion of food and ranked package information as the most important factor when ranking food attributes. Also, the study found that family does influence students’ decision to purchase food and celebrities influence student’s students’ perceptions of organic food.

From 1603 until 1707, England and Scotland were joined by what scholars have described as the regal union. A dynastic accident that came into being when James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne as well, it forced the two kingdoms to share a single monarch without creating a unified legal system, religious hierarchy, political structure or British culture. This dissertation re-evaluates the resultant Anglo-Scottish relationship by examining what English people actually said about the Scots and Scotland during moments when this union was strained. Specifically, it explores discourses about the Scots that circulated immediately after the regal union, and those which appeared during the Bishops’ Wars (1638-40), the Cromwellian Union (1651-59), the Popish Plot and Exclusion Crisis (1679-81), and the parliamentary union of 1707 that renegotiated the terms of engagement. By doing so, it challenges widespread assumptions that an uncomplicated xenophobia dominated English approaches to the Scots, and illuminates the existence of a more nuanced Anglo-Scottish dynamic that still informs British politics today. The Scots were too similar to be Other, and too different to be wholly Same – their “familiar alterity” creating difficulties for the English. At the start of the regal union, the notion of what constituted a Scot was malleable and utilitarian, which encouraged the English to reject their partnership in the creation of a new British kingdom. During periods of outright Scottish assertiveness, however, the English were forced to remember their northern neighbours. At each of these moments, the Scots variously became beggars, locusts, radicals, worthy partners in empire, protestant deliverers and even role models, before the English were able to write them out of the equation again. Finally, in 1707, a parliamentary union mandated that within official discourse, the Scots were to be interpreted as familiars and as equals, in an attempt to cement their position and thus solidify the Anglo-Scottish relationship. In many ways, this meant nothing more than a divergence between official and popular discourses, but it did permanently intertwine English and Scottish development, no matter how intense divisive pressures became. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2011-04-13 14:40:43.595

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