This thesis discusses the concept of "apprehension of Jesus" in the Gospel of John by focusing primarily on John's use of seeing, hearing, knowing, witnessing, remembering and believing terms. After briefly clarifying what is meant by a concept from a linguistic perspective, I analysed and examined the grammatical features of the key apprehension terms used. In view of the errors committed in previous studies of Johannine synonyms used for the apprehension terms, I set up the semantic fields for the concept of apprehension. On the basis of this linguistic foundation, I offer an exegetical analysis to investigate how the apprehension terms and related terms function in the contexts of the Gospel of John in order to show how John intends to affect his readers. Through my analysis of the selected passages and the persuasive strategies used in them, I argue for a new reading of the Gospel of John, proposing that there is a four-phased apprehension of Jesus where ideas of seeing, hearing, knowing, witnessing, and remembering collaborate with believing: (1) John 1-4. Initial encounters are characterised by a generally positive and sincere reception of Jesus which are guided by the message of the Jonannine preamble and monologues (1:1-5, 9-18; 3:16-21, 31-36); (2) John 5-12. Subsequent encounters are characterised by a largely negative and hostile response to Jesus; (3) John 13-17. Deepening encounters are focused on knowing Jesus in a more personal way and even beyond the time-frame of his earthly life; and (4) John 18-21. Heightened and climactic encounters engage the readers in a manner climactic to the overall plot. In a collaborative and progressive manner, the apprehension terms function in the four phases so as to demonstrate to the readers the multifaceted importance of faith; they highlight the characters' apprehension of Jesus and contribute to encourage faith in the readers. After identifying the author's persuasive strategies we shall be able to work out what his intended impact on the readers was. First, by depicting different characters' apprehension of Jesus, I shall show that John has a dual goal of faith-engendering and faith-fostering targeted to believing as well as non-believing readers. Second, by understanding how Jesus' own apprehension of the spiritual reality is relevant to the readers' perception of him, I shall show that the Gospel of John reminds readers of the importance of the "present"-ness of a living, omniscient, and divine Jesus. Third, an evaluation of John's strategy in helping his readers to understand the role of Jesus' signs and words will show that the activities of seeing signs and hearing words function complementary to bring about apprehension. The activities of "seeing" signs and "hearing" words in the parst are now associated with reading John's trustworthy testimony in the present. Finally, regarding the role of faith in perceiving Jesus, I explain that readers' belief/unbelief, as part of their apprehension/perception process, is open to challenging possibilities upon encountering and knowing the narrated Jesus. The readers of the Gospel of John should be struck by the fact that belief/unbelief is not only the end result of their process of apprehension of Jesus; it is also paradoxically their presupposition prior to the same apprehension in the Gospel of John. Thus, these four impacts generated from the four apprehension phases highlight the author's thoughtful concerns for his readers in subsequent generations. These findings present an original contribution to the significance of the concept of apprehension of Jesus which is insufficiently appreciated in current Johannine scholarship. They serve as the basis for opening new avenues for reflection and research.

Touching a sensibility will attempt to locate the exchange when the living body physically touches the world. Exploration into the emotive response that the lived body creates as it moves through the world, both as a passive receptor and as an active initiator, will be explored where a relationship between the touched and the toucher is formed. This project will use photographic processes in an attempt to facilitate the viewer to engage in the work with their own personal sensibility. The emotional tension created, within an individual when their desire to physically touch something in the world is forbidden, impossible or illicit, will be investigated. This tension manifests itself in the form of apprehension, vulnerability, anticipation, romanticism and the sensibility of possible unpredicted connection. Photographic portrayal will be used to articulate this research and bring into fruition ideas which sit around the haptic.

Adults who stutter (AWS) are reported to have increased levels of anxiety compared to adults who do not stutter (AWNS), particularly in social interactions (Kraaimaat, Vanryckeyham, & Dan-Baggen, 2002; Mahr & Torosian, 1999; Messenger, Onslow, Packman, & Menzies, 2004). However, the level of perceived anxiety in AWS according to specific speaking situations has not been critically evaluated. In addition, most studies addressing state anxiety (i.e., communication apprehension) are based on self-judgments (Craig, 1990; Craig, Hancook, Tran, & Craig, 2003; Ezrati-Vinacour & Levin, 2004; Gabel, Colcord, & Petrosino, 2002; Lincoln, Onslow, & Menzies, 1996; Messenger et al., 2004; Miller & Watson, 1992; Mulcahy, Hennessey, Beilby & Byrnes, 2008) which have not been verified using a physiological evaluation of anxiety. The present study sought to examine the relationship between a physiological measure of anxiety (i.e., cortisol) and perceptual judgments of communication apprehension across different speaking situations. Ten AWS aged between 19-62 years, and ten sex- and aged-matched AWNS provided salivary cortisol samples during distinct speaking situations across a one-week period. The speaking situations consisted of (1) speaking face-to-face with a friend, (2) speaking face-to-face with a single stranger, (3) speaking in front of a group of four strangers, and (4) speaking to a stranger on the telephone. Each participant also provided self-perception assessments of their perceived anxiety levels using an adaptation of the Speaking Task Response Scale (STRS; Bray & James, 2009) before and after each speaking situation. Results of the cortisol analysis revealed no statistical difference in cortisol levels across the four speaking situations between AWS and AWNS. A significant difference was found between self-perceived anxiety levels in the pre-speaking situation between AWS and AWNS. Speaking face-to-face with a friend was perceived by the AWS to result in the lowest level of anxiety compared to the remaining three situations. Correlational analyses revealed a significant relationship between cortisol levels and self-reported anxiety in the AWS group but no such relationship was evident for AWNS. On the basis of the combined results from the cortisol and self-perception analyses it can be concluded that AWS differ from AWNS in their communication apprehension, most notably in regard to speaking in any situation other than a familiar person (e.g., friend). This difference between AWS and AWNS is most evident in measures of self-perception, although it is likely there is an associated physiological contributing factor.

Touching a sensibility will attempt to locate the exchange when the living body physically touches the world. Exploration into the emotive response that the lived body creates as it moves through the world, both as a passive receptor and as an active initiator, will be explored where a relationship between the touched and the toucher is formed. This project will use photographic processes in an attempt to facilitate the viewer to engage in the work with their own personal sensibility. The emotional tension created, within an individual when their desire to physically touch something in the world is forbidden, impossible or illicit, will be investigated. This tension manifests itself in the form of apprehension, vulnerability, anticipation, romanticism and the sensibility of possible unpredicted connection. Photographic portrayal will be used to articulate this research and bring into fruition ideas which sit around the haptic.

Anxiety in the language classroom is an important issue because it affects student performance (Woodrow, 2006). The majority of research conducted has focused on anxiety or apprehension that language learners experience in a foreign language classroom, including students learning English as a foreign language (EFL) context. Only a few studies have been done, however, that address the needs of learners experiencing anxiety in an ESL setting. Data were gathered from 179 students attending a university sponsored intensive English program using a modified version of the Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS) (Horwitz, Horwitz & Cope, 1986) and focus groups. Initial scores on the FLCAS were obtained via student survey responses. In addition to the survey results, students also identified additional factors affecting their anxiety in the ESL classrooms in the areas of student beliefs (Price, 1991) and communication with peers. Furthermore, statistically significant results were found when comparing the students' first language (L1) with the survey results. Different types and levels of anxiety were shown to occur for Spanish and Portuguese students as well as Chinese, Korean, and Japanese students. The data gathered from the focus groups and open-ended questions provided clarity too to the overall scores obtained on the FLCAS.

Apprehension negatively impacts student learning. As online and hybrid communication courses continue to be offered it is important to expand and update research regarding the following constructs: communication apprehension, receiver apprehension, writing apprehension, and computer apprehension. This study examines correlations between and among these constructs, differences by gender and course format, and changes between pre- and posttest results. Students enrolled in traditional and online sections of a basic communication course completed pre- and posttests consisting of a demographic survey, the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, the Receiver Apprehension Test, the Writing Apprehension Test, and the Computer and Web Attitude Scale. Results suggest positive and negative correlations between and among various constructs, differences in apprehension levels based on gender and format, and various changes between pre- and posttests. Research on expression-based apprehension is important to improve pedagogical practices and encourage the development of communication skills regardless of course format.

It has long been accepted in the field of EFL teaching and learning that writing in a foreign language by learners is a complex practice that involves not only cognition, but also psychology. With this in mind, in the present study, social-psychological and social-cognitive research frameworks were adopted to explore the relationship between the writing attitudes, apprehension and self-efficacy of Saudi learners of English, and their writing performance, with a view to expanding the frontiers of current scholarship. This relationship was investigated on two levels: that of writing in general, and that of writing specific types of text. This relationship has been neglected in previous research; in addition, the scope of past studies of Saudi students has been limited to only one of the two traditional genders. The current study was designed to contribute to filling these gaps. The thesis consists of six chapters. Chapter One introduces the objectives, research question, theoretical framework and background of the study. Chapter Two reviews the related literature. Chapter Three describes the sample population, data collection and procedures. Chapter Four deals with the data analyses. Chapter Five discusses the findings and implications of the investigation. Chapter Six presents a summary and conclusions. The research found no correlation between psychological characteristics and writing performance in general, nor between psychological characteristics and the writing of narrative and persuasive text types, in particular. Overall, the results conflict with those of previous studies, in that it was found that rather than psychological characteristics influencing writing performance gender difference influenced writing performance, and the psychological characteristics did not influence anything, it was the other way round, gender difference also influenced psychological characteristics. This thesis thus contributes to the growing body of knowledge in the field of EFL, by providing evidence that the influence of psychological characteristics on writing is not salient in every socio-cultural context, and that the writers' gender can have an effect on their writing performance.

The purpose of the thesis is to offer an examination of the economics of crime and corruption. By stressing the importance of Becker's seminal paper, we show how criminal behaviour is no longer considered the result of mental illness, but a decision largely based on a cost-benefit comparison from the possible legal and illegal actions. The puzzle that countries, with seemingly identical characteristics, display different corruption levels can be explained by considering the role of social stigma in the decision-making process. Additionally, we also examine the way that corruption is practised, by assuming that two regimes are possible, namely, collusive corruption and non-collusive corruption regimes. In the second part of the thesis, we examine the interrelationships between crime, fertility and economic growth. We link these variables of interest with the probability of avoiding apprehension, which is considered as one of the most important deterrence factors in crime decisions. In line with current literature, results show that a higher probability of avoiding apprehension increases crime rates, has a non-monotonic effect on fertility rates and an ambiguous impact on growth. The contribution of the model is that the relationship between the probability of avoiding apprehension and crime is not linear, but becomes positive after a threshold value of the parameter. In the subsequent part we provide an econometric analysis that examines these empirical regularities. We find that there exists a positive relationship between the probability of escaping apprehension, the rates of crime and fertility. The relationship is not linear but is subject to threshold effects. The finding of a positive impact of the probability of escaping arrest on both crime and fertility implies that the positive link between fertility and crime is an equilibrium outcome, rather than a causal one running from fertility to crime. In addition, we find that the probability of escaping apprehension has a negative effect on economic growth, an effect that becomes more notable when the probability exceeds a threshold value. Lastly, we consider the interrelationships among the three endogenous variables of crime, fertility and growth. In accordance with the theoretical section, we find that the probability of avoiding detection has a positive effect on both crime and fertility. In addition, these two variables negatively affect economic growth.

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Increased partisan apathy, affective polarization, and purposeful selection of homogenous political discussion groups are of growing concern as politics within the United States becomes more contentious. While previous work has considered when political discussions occur, if discussions are deliberative, and whether discussions affect democratic outcomes, this study focuses on the process someone undergoes when determining whether to participate in a political discussion. This paper examines political communication apprehension by considering how personality predispositions and uncertainty reduction influence the expectancy-value judgments made when determining if participating in a certain political discussion situation is worth the cost. Factors of political communication apprehension were determined through an exploratory factor analysis of a batter of questions designed to capture elements of political communication apprehension. Findings indicate that even if people are not very attached to their political parties, their political communication apprehension is largely informed by expectancy value judgements based on information they have learned from the political world.