The overall aim of the thesis was to explore the perspectives of Chinese women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) focused on their beliefs about health and illness and self-care behavior, the quality of care in China, and their lived experience.                       All the studies were conducted with qualitative methodology using individual interviews. Data were collected in obstetric clinics or wards at three different hospitals or the participants’ workplaces in the south east of China. Content analysis, according to Mayring, was used for data analysis in Study І (15 interviews) and Study II (17 interviews). Content analysis, according to Graneheim & Lundman, was used for data analysis in Study III (44 interviews). In Study IV (18 interviews), data were analyzed by using phenomenological hermeneutics, according to Lindseth & Norberg.      Three styles of beliefs about GDM among the Chinese women were explored in the thesis: GDM should be considered seriously; GDM was not a severe illness; and GDM was nothing to worry about. Correspondingly, three self-care behavior models were revealed: women strove to control GDM, and maintained their blood glucose values at a normal level; or women tried to control GDM based on the knowledge they received, but some of them felt helpless because the blood glucose level could not be maintained within the normal range; or women almost ignored GDM. They mainly sought help from professional sector and popular sector, and regarded health professionals and husbands as important people. They showed, however, that they sought a balance between following professionals’ advice and avoiding practical difficulties, which demonstrated the influence of health professionals, people around, and Chinese culture. The thesis highlighted a lack of knowledge, a lower level of risk awareness and poor self-care behavior among the women with GDM, as well as a lack of professional care resources for GDM and the lack of high-quality personalized care for the women. The core problem could be an resource imbalance between over-stretched hospitals and low-efficiency under-utilized primary healthcare centers. Their lived experience showed an eagerness to be cared for.     The thesis highlighted women’s call for caring care in China. The care of GDM for these women can most likely be improved by reform of clinical practice, particularly in primary healthcare services. It is necessary to increase the number of health professionals and material resources to a reasonable level, and to strengthen caring care in China.

It is important for students to engage in adequate deliberate practice in order to develop programming expertise. However, students often encounter anxiety when they begin to learn. This can present a challenge to educators because such anxiety can influence practice behaviour. This thesis situates this challenge within the Control- Value Theory of Achievement Emotions, emphasising a need for domain-specific research and presenting new research tools which can be used to investigate the area. Analysis of data collected from three cohorts of introductory programming students on web programming (2011-12) and robot programming (2012-13 and 2013-14) courses show that programming self-concept and programming aptitude mindset can predict programming anxiety and that programming anxiety is negatively correlated with programming practice. However, levels of anxiety remained consistently high across this period. A method to enrich these psychological constructs through a multimedia-rich learning environment is proposed. Drawing upon the interplay between narrative reinforcement and procedural rhetoric that can be achieved in a fantasy role-play, students' self-concept can be enhanced. A double-blind randomised controlled trial demonstrates promising results, however small effect sizes suggest further research is needed.

Early detection of autism plays an important role in enhancing developmental outcomes for affected children. Identifying potential characteristics of the disorder evident during infancy and toddlerhood aids efforts to screen for such symptoms, which may lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses; however, it is unclear to what extent certain factors encourage or impede early detection. Because parents are responsible for making decisions on behalf of their children based upon their perceptions of children's developmental progression, caregivers were queried in terms of their beliefs about the development of autism characteristics in their children. Participants included 393 caregivers of children with autism, Asperger's syndrome, and PDD-NOS from the U.S. and 5 other English-speaking countries who completed an online questionnaire containing both closed- and open-ended questions. Rich, descriptive information on children was provided in terms of demographic variables, comorbid diagnoses outside of the autism spectrum, the type of autism onset (congenital or regressive) children experienced, the presence of a family history of autism or other mental-health disorders, and the ages at which behavioral difference were detected for 11 early symptoms indicative of autism. Analyses were conducted with the last 4 variables within this list and with an additional variable reflecting parents' beliefs about the etiology of autism (genetic versus some external mechanism). Significant relationships existed between a variety of these variables with the exception of a family history of autism or other mental-health disorders. About half of the sample reported that their children developed autism in a congenital fashion while the remaining half, a regressive fashion. Those indicating a congenital onset reported noticing all 11 early characteristics at younger ages relative to those indicating a regressive onset; however, significant differences between groups existed for only 4 of these 11 early symptoms. Parents who indicated a congenital onset were also more likely to espouse a genetic etiology for autism relative to parents indicating a regressive onset who were more likely to attribute the disorder to some external mechanism. Type of autism onset and presence versus absence of child comorbidity independently predicted the ages at which parents detected anomalies in 7 of the 11 early characteristics. Interpretations of the findings are discussed in detail, followed by suggestions for future directions of research in this area.

Cancer and heart disease account for the largest proportion of morbidity and mortality among all adult diseases in the United States. Research has focused on identifying causal risk factors among adolescents. However, theories of health behavior change also stress the intermediary factors of intention and efficacy for effective behavior change. Existing research supports the potential of physical activity (PA), particularly learned through the domains of exercise and sport, as a means to developing these necessary skills (Danish, Petitpas, & Hale, 1993). The current investigation examined the influence of PA and television watching (TV) on intentions and efficacy to engage in health-enhancing behaviors. This was achieved by analyzing data from Building a BRIDGE to Better Health, a school-based health promotion program. Results indicate that independently, PA and TV significantly influence specific as well as general intentions and efficacy. These findings have important implications for adolescent health behavior.

Doctor of Philosophy / School of Family Studies and Human Services / Sonya Britt / The purpose of this research study was to investigate the determinants that explain and predict Christian’s intentions to make lifetime gifts to charities. The research was guided by the theory of planned behavior (Ajzen, 1991) utilizing an expanded model that anticipated Christians who have (a) a favorable attitude toward giving, (b) a perceived pressure from social norms, (c) high levels of perceived behavioral control in their ability to make gifts, (d) a positive moral responsibility toward charitable giving, (e) a history of charitable giving, and (f) a faith based spiritual desire to pursue the Christian way of life would be more inclined to have giving intentions. Survey data were obtained through two pilot studies and a main study (N = 250). The pilot study participants were recruited through the researcher’s social network. The main study participants were enlisted through a contract with Qualtrics, an online survey organization that maintains panels of likely research subjects. Hierarchical linear regression identified support for traditional and expanded models of the theory of planned behavior. In the traditional model, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control, all predicted donative intent. In the expanded model, not moral norms, past behavior, and the Christian way of life predicted donating intentions; however, perceived behavioral control a significant predictor in the traditional model, did not predict donative intent. The traditional theory of planned behavior accounted for 65%, and expanded predictors added 11% to the explanation of intention to donate to non-profit organizations in the coming year. The current research has both theoretical and applied implications. Consistent with Fishbein and Ajzen’s (2010) encouragement to improve the traditional model, the expanded model enhanced the predictive ability of the theory of planned behavior with a new determinant, the Christian way of life. The current research also reaffirms the predictive ability of the previously tested factor past behavior and not moral norms. Non-profit organizations may apply these findings by targeting the salient beliefs that are foundational to all predictors of intentions. The current research has identified beliefs associated with attitudes, social norms, perceived behavioral control, moral norms, past behavior, and the Christian way of life that offer non-profit organizations educational opportunities to intervene with donors to improve charitable behavior.

Understanding pathways to physical child abuse may aid in creating and implementing abuse prevention services. Yet studying child abuse in community samples of parents is fraught with challenges. One solution to these challenges is to examine markers of physical child abuse, rather than asking about abuse directly. The goal of the current investigation is to test a theoretical model of processes that increase the presence of four proximal risk factors, or markers, which have been linked to increased risk for physical child abuse in mothers of young children. The four markers of physical child abuse include: child abuse potential, over-reactive discipline, spanking acceptance, and mothers’ negative child perceptions. Positive associations between an accumulation socio-contextual risk and markers of physical abuse are hypothesized. An accumulation of socio-contextual risk is expected to indirectly predict markers of physical abuse by reducing parenting locus of control, or parents’ perceptions of control in the parent-child relationship. Furthermore, social support and children’s externalizing behavior problems are expected to diminish or intensify this mediated process, respectively. Participants included 85 mothers of young children (ages 1½ to 5 years) from diverse backgrounds. Of the four markers of abuse, cumulative risk and parenting locus of control were correlated only with mothers’ child abuse potential and no statistical association between cumulative risk and parenting locus of control was found. Limited support for moderation hypotheses emerged. Theoretical implications are discussed.

Student Number: 0400580V Master of Arts in Forced Migration Studies. Graduate school for the Humanities and Social Sciences / This research report looks at Somali refugees’ conceptions concerning entitlement to protection and assistance. It seeks to find out what Somali refugees’ conceptions about assistance and protection are and on what they are primarily based. It explores how the personal and ideological beliefs of Somali refugees living in Johannesburg influence their expectations for receiving and extending assistance. Ethnographic methods, mainly, personal interviews and informal group discussions were used to find that, though Islam has a major role in the lives of Somali migrants and on their conceptions about assistance, religion is only one among many influencing factors on their conceptions. Daily lived experiences, pride, tribal affiliation, and conflict within the community equally impact Somali refugees’ conceptions of entitlement to protection and assistance.

Thesis advisor: Larry H. Ludlow / Teacher preparation programs face an urgent call to prepare high-quality and "highly qualified" teachers who teach all students in an increasingly culturally, racially, ethnically, and linguistically diverse student population, and who work toward closing the achievement gap that separates students along these demographic lines. In response, and as part of the current accountability context, there has been greater focus on outcomes in teacher education. Along different lines, also in response to these challenges, there has been an increase in social justice-oriented teacher preparation programs. This dissertation operates within both of these contexts. Specifically, this dissertation examines one of the many outcomes of teacher education for social justice: teacher candidates' changing beliefs about teaching for social justice and the factors that may or may not be related to their change. Using primarily Rasch rating scale and multiple regression analyses, this dissertation examines longitudinal survey data from two cohorts of undergraduate teacher candidates (N=134) who completed the same social justice-oriented teacher education program. By investigating two cohorts of teacher candidates at the time of entry into the teacher education program and again when they graduated four years later, this study investigated individuals in the aggregate, variability within and across cohorts, and change across time. In addition, this research sought to untangle and identify whether reported experiences and perceptions before and during formal teacher education are related to beliefs about and commitment to teaching for social justice. Findings suggest that from the time of entry to graduation, candidates' beliefs about teaching for social justice were significantly more aligned with the concepts and principles endorsed by the teacher preparation program. Additionally, at particular points in time and across time, there were identifiable perceptions and experiences related to their beliefs about teaching for social justice. In particular, the location of the student teaching experience and candidates' perceptions of their teacher education faculty were significant predictors of their beliefs about teaching for social justice. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

Esta dissertação de mestrado teve como objetivo conhecer as crenças de professoras alfabetizadoras de uma escola da rede do ensino público no interior de São Paulo sobre a leitura, em seu uso, aprendizagem e ensino. Para alcançar este objetivo foi realizada uma entrevista com estas professoras, utilizando a metodologia do grupo focal. As análises dos resultados e as discussões fundamentaram-se em duas principais concepções teóricas que permeiam as questões relativas à aprendizagem da leitura e da escrita: a abordagem da psicologia cognitiva e a apoiada na psicogênese da língua escrita. Com isso, buscou-se verificar expressões e aproximações das crenças dessas professoras a estes referenciais teóricos, de maneira consciente ou não. Os dados obtidos mostraram que as professoras têm como maior fonte de aprendizagem, formação profissional e sustento de suas ações docentes, a própria prática da sala de aula. Além disso, como principais resultados pode-se dizer que as professoras mostraram-se muito comprometidas com o que chamaram de uma aprendizagem significativa e contextualizada da leitura e consideram o ensino das letras, de seus sons e das sílabas muito importantes neste processo / This work sought to know the beliefs of literacy teachers of a school in the São Paulos education public system. To achieve this goal an interview with these teachers was conducted using the methodology of the focus group. The discussions and the analyzes of the results were based on two main theoretical concepts that permeate the issues related to the learning process of reading and writing: the cognitive psychologys approach and the approach supported by the psychogenesis of written language. Thus, I tried to determine which of these approaches were closest to the beliefs of these teachers, consciously or not. The data showed that the main source of teachers learning, training and support of their teaching practice is their own classroom activities. Moreover, the main results are that the teachers were very committed to what they called a meaningful and contextualized learning of reading and considered the teaching of alphabetic characters, their sounds and syllables is very important in this process

Estudo das crenças integrantes do Argumento de Vida de mulheres que sofreram agressão de seus maridos ou companhei ros. Trata-se de uma pesquisa \"ex-post facto\" realizada com populações atendidas na 2ª Delegacia de Polícia de Defesa da Mulher e no Centro de Saúde Dr. Rubens Monteiro Arruda, no bairro de Santo Amaro, na cidade de são Paulo (SP), Brasil. Na forma como é apresentada, esta pesquisa pode ser considerada inédita na área de Análise Transacional. Com ela procurou-se conhecer as crenças resultantes das experiências de vida com que cada mulher respondente construiu seu modelo de mundo. Reconhece-se que tal comportamento, por mais incongruente que seja, possui um sentido quando é analisado dentro do contexto limitado de escolhas geradas pelo próprio modelo. A interpretação dos resultados permitiu concluir que as mulheres da 2ª Delegacia de Polícia de Defesa de Mulheres e as do Centro de Saúde Rubens Monteiro Arruda, diferem em relação a maioria das crenças. As do primeiro grupo tendem a ter crenças de baixa autovalorização e de supervalorização do parceiro e, por isso, tendem a ser ,agredidas. / Study of believes integrating life script of women that suffered agression from their husbands or companions. It is an \"ex-post facto\" research done with the population attended by the Second Police District of Women Defense and Health Center Doctor Rubens Monteiro Arruda, in the district of Santo Amaro, in the city of São Paulo (SP), Brazil. In the form that it is presented, this research can be considered unheard in the area of Transactional Analysis. With it one tried to get to know the believes resulting from life experiences with which every respondent woman built their life model. It is recognized that every behaviour, the more incongruent it is, owns a sense, when analysed inside the limited context of choices generated by the own model. The interpretation of results permitted to conclude that, those women from the Second Police District and those from the Health Center Rubens Monteiro Arruda, differ in relation to the majority of the believes. The ones from the first group tend to have, believes of low self-value and super valorization of the companion and, for this reason, they tend to be victims of agression.