This study is concerned with the obscurity surrounding the boundaries of a socio-political context and a metaphysical context, especially as it correlates to Contemporary Performance Art. This dichotomy seemingly results in symbolic conflation and therefore necessitates the inclusion of social science as part of Performance Studies discourse. The intersection of these disciplines aligns with respect to the significance of context: the role of communication when considering the phenomenon of interpreting the perspective of other individuals. In this study, the various layers appropriated to the contextualisation of Performance art are explored: how it pertains to the theatrical framework, audience, art, social order, and the sublime. To this end, the influence of the socio-political construct of reality on the theatrical framework of a performance is examined. The premise is that a socio-political context both precedes and follows a performance and likely affects 5 how a performance is experienced. This investigation relies upon the methodological approach of Grounded Theory that allows the freedom of exploring this phenomenon in conjunction to the development of a communicative model. To delimit the scope of this study, I primarily focus on the symbolic, insofar as it affects the context of a performance. The analysis of this study supports the development of a theorisation that introduces an approach to the theatrical framework, defined as Neo-Surrealism. Drawing upon Immanuel Kant's philosophical work on judgement, a precept is introduced for a theatrical framework: Neo- Surrealism is a platform that constitutes the demarcation of sacred space, where the signification of the aesthetic has symbolic authority over the signification of the socio-political construct. In the present study, the term transgression as situated in a metaphysical context of sacred space, changes its symbolic signification from a complicit act against the socio-political construct to a complicit act against the limitations of perception, positioning this semiotic sign to constitute an aesthetic infinitude. This theorisation serves to support a philosophical dialectic that incorporates performative methods from Ritual Studies. This aspect of the dissertation acts as a counterpart to the documented artwork aimed at reinforcing the specific purposes as outlined through the research. The practical portion of this study consists of three performances that rely upon the platform of Neo-Surrealism. Each performance strategically responds to the influence of the socio-political construct in separate ways. Neo-Surrealism: What is Performance art? (2015) contains a fictitious narrative that is integrated in an academic context. I portray several different archetypes; this theoretically makes my identity impalpable to an audience comprised mostly of students that are unfamiliar with my work. Neo-Surrealism: The Audition (2016) is centred on the site specificity of the performance, challenging the application of the communicative model in an unfamiliar socio-political context, Anchorage, Alaska. Neo-Surrealism: The Rehearsal (2017) is aimed at asserting the relevance of the platform of Neo-Surrealism by expanding the symbolic boundaries of Performance Art.

Este trabalho tem por objetivo coletar e analisar evidências relacionadas a um teste de classificação em Inglês, mediado por computador, aplicado em uma Faculdade de Tecnologia Pública que está localizada a 60 km da capital de São Paulo. Os dados obtidos foram coletados nos testes de classificação aplicados a alunos ingressantes dos cursos de Eventos, Logística (manhã e noite) e de Gestão da Tecnologia da Informação, no período compreendido entre o 2º semestre de 2010 ao 2º semestre de 2012. Outros dados complementares foram obtidos em dois questionários de apreciação da prova, um deles respondido por 141 (cento e quarenta e um) ingressantes no 1º semestre de 2012 e o outro por dois professores de inglês da instituição, que serviram de base para o estudo da validação do teste. O propósito da pesquisa foi o de avaliar a pertinência e qualidade dos itens que compõem cada nível dos testes de classificação, em comparação com o que está previsto como conteúdo programático de língua inglesa nos cursos, apresentado nas ementas das disciplinas Inglês I a VI. A pesquisa foi tratada como um estudo de caso, de caráter descritivo e exploratório, considerando para análise dados quantitativos e qualitativos, com o objetivo de verificar e discutir a validade de construto, de conteúdo e de face nos testes de classificação, consideradas como aspectos substanciais para o processo de sua validação. Os resultados da análise comparativa revelaram que o teste necessita de modificações, uma vez que o construto que permeia as ementas dos cursos não está nitidamente definido no teste, especialmente no que se refere à ausência do componente oral em alguns dos seus níveis. Entretanto, quanto à validade de conteúdo, observou-se que a maioria dos itens contempla o que está previsto nas ementas. Em relação à validade de face, os resultados apontarem que os examinandos e professores que participaram da pesquisa consideraram o teste adequado. A análise do desempenho dos examinandos e a avaliação dos itens do teste permitiram diagnosticar aspectos das práticas avaliativas da instituição e sua relevância para o processo ensino/aprendizagem de língua estrangeira. Nesse sentido, espera-se que este trabalho possa contribuir para futuras pesquisas sobre elaboração, processamento e validação de instrumentos avaliativos em língua estrangeira. / The objective of this study is to collect and analyze evidences related to an online English placement test which is being administered in a public technological college located 60 km from the capital of São Paulo. Data were collected on this test administered to freshmen students of Events, Logistics (morning and evening) and Management Information Technology courses in the period between the second half of 2010 to the second half of 2012. Other complementary data were obtained by two questionnaires, one of them answered by 141 freshmen in the first half of 2012 and the other answered by two English teachers of the college, which formed the basis for the study of the validation of the test. The purpose of the research was to assess the relevance and quality of the test items that make up each level of the placement test in comparison to what is foreseen as syllabus for English language courses I through VI. The research was treated as a case study, with a descriptive and explanatory character considering quantitative and qualitative data analysis in order to verify and discuss the construct validity, content validity and face validity of the online placement test considered as substantial aspects for process validation. The results of the comparative analysis revealed that the online placement test requires modifications, since the construct that permeates the syllabus of the courses is not clearly defined in the test, particularly there is an oral missing evaluation in some levels. However, as to content validity, it was observed that most of the items that are part of the test include what is referred to on the syllabus. Regarding face validity the results suggest that most of the examinees and teachers who participated in the survey considered the test appropriate. The performance analysis and evaluation of the examinees and the way the test was constructed helped diagnosing aspects of evaluation practices in the institution and its relevance to the teaching / learning of a foreign language. We intend through this study to contribute to the current research on development, implementation and validation of evaluation instruments in a foreign language.

Customer comfort is an important factor in developing and maintaining relationships between customers and service providers. For example, it plays essential roles in selecting service provider. In spite of its importance, the concept of comfort has not been fully explained in the service marketing literature. Although, comfort has been discussed as a fundamental element in healthcare, its role in developing and maintaining customer relationships has not been fully explored in the boarder marketing literature. The present study focuses on the concept of comfort (physical and psychological) as a crucial factor in marketing health care services, particularly in Saudi private hospitals This thesis examines a number of the antecedents and consequences of physical and psychological aspects of comfort in the marketing arena. Antecedents investigated included: functional and technical dimensions of service quality, the environmental and social aspects of hospital life and service costs (monetary and non-monetary). Patients’ satisfaction was the consequence of customer comfort explored in this thesis. When the relationships between the physical and psychological aspects of comfort and their antecedents were examined, it was concluded that a number of these constructs were shown to have positive effects in the concept of comfort in Saudi private hospitals. For example, the construct of functional service quality appears to have a positive effect in the perception of psychological comfort. The construct of technical service quality, such as staff behaviours, also tends to have a positive effect in the perception of psychological comfort. The social and environmental aspects of hospital life stood out as the only construct that has a positive effect in the perception of physical comfort. While the monetary and non-monetary costs of the service were VII found to have no effect in the perceptions of both physical and psychological comfort. In testing the consequence of the physical and psychological aspects of comfort, it was found that psychological comfort tends to have a positive effect in satisfaction. Finally, the findings showed that the technical dimension of service quality appears to have significant effects in the perceptions of both psychological comfort and satisfaction. This implies that the technical dimension of service quality tends to promote psychological comfort and satisfaction for Saudi patients. The perception of physical and psychological comfort in Saudi private hospitals is also influenced by the roles of the Islamic religion which is based on the holy Quran and Sunnah of Profit Mohammed (peace be upon Him). In addition to the basic dimensions of comfort, these roles can be used to shape the perceptions of the concept of comfort. It may be useful for Saudi private hospitals to direct their efforts towards promoting patients’ comfort and satisfaction by providing healthcare quality experience that focuses on the functional and technical dimensions of healthcare services, the environmental and social aspects of hospitals and the costs of their services. Data has been collected using an established questionnaire to examine the relationship between comfort, service quality, hospital life and costs.

Master of Visual Arts / This thesis is an exploration into the ether of the digital aesthetic. It attempts to capture a segment of the continually morphing space then deconstruct and analyse it through electronic and new media art. Herein you will find a questioning of technology and control within electronic and new media art as an investigation into better understanding the current media image and visual culture that so powerfully influences the modern social construct. By nature this argument has existed for some years but only now with advancements in technology and more affordable realisation of ideas by media artists, the topic of the digital aesethetic, technology and control has become relevant for popular debate. As war lingers in our minds, terrorism hits headlines, and experiements in cloning human DNA take place, the technology that society demands can only necessarily be seen as a major contributing factor to today's strange times. However, strange or not, the questions I wish to discuss; Does technology determine contemporary society or do we determine technology? Where does the control exist?

Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008

<p>This study is located within the theoretical framework of construct validation theory. Data for this Secondary Data Analysis study was drawn from the &ldquo / Impact of Hope and Exposure to Community Violence on children&rsquo / s perception of Well-being&rdquo / study. The primary study employed stratified interval criterion sampling to select 565 grade 9 learners, aged 14-18 from six public schools. The dataset for the current study comprised all participants (N=565) of the broader study. As the initial step in validation of the KIDSCREEN-52 within South Africa, the current study examined the factor structure of the KIDSCREEN-52 within this context by means of exploratory factor analysis using principal component analysis with oblimin rotations. It also assessed the internal consistency reliability of each of the scales using Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha. Exploratory factor analysis revealed the same 10 factors as identified by previous European studies with some deviation in the last two factors, which warrants further examination. Internal consistency of the measure was shown to be acceptable, with Cronbach&rsquo / s alpha values ranging from 0.76 to 0.81 for the 10 scales.</p>

Pain management in hospitalized infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit continues to be substandard despite the development and availability of evidence-based guidelines. The Evidence-based Practice Identification and Change (Lee et al., 2009) strategy is a multifaceted tailored intervention that has been used to promote evidence-based practice. However, the process of delivering the components of the intervention is not well understood and no valid measure for evaluating the fidelity of intervention implementation exists. The overall objective was to develop and determine the face validity, content validity, construct validity, feasibility, and clinical utility of the Process Evaluation Checklist. Three prospective studies were conducted. In Study 1, the face and content validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist was determined. In Study 2, the construct validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist was examined by assessing the fidelity of implementing the Evidence-based Practice Identification and Change intervention in a clinical setting. In Study 3, the feasibility and clinical utility of the Process Evaluation Checklist was determined. Overall, the face and content validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist was achieved. The intervention was implemented with high fidelity, supporting the construct validity of the measure. A Research Practice Council, with assistance from an external facilitator and internal facilitators, implemented multifaceted knowledge translation strategies in the form of constant reminders to improve sucrose administration practices. Post intervention admission orders were significantly more likely to include sucrose, and odds of being administered sucrose were 13 times greater compared to baseline. Beginning support was provided for the content and construct validity, feasibility, and clinical utility of the Process Evaluation Checklist for use with complex interventions. Using this measure to monitor intervention fidelity in different contexts and with different users over longer periods of time will provide additional support to the validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist.

Pain management in hospitalized infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit continues to be substandard despite the development and availability of evidence-based guidelines. The Evidence-based Practice Identification and Change (Lee et al., 2009) strategy is a multifaceted tailored intervention that has been used to promote evidence-based practice. However, the process of delivering the components of the intervention is not well understood and no valid measure for evaluating the fidelity of intervention implementation exists. The overall objective was to develop and determine the face validity, content validity, construct validity, feasibility, and clinical utility of the Process Evaluation Checklist. Three prospective studies were conducted. In Study 1, the face and content validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist was determined. In Study 2, the construct validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist was examined by assessing the fidelity of implementing the Evidence-based Practice Identification and Change intervention in a clinical setting. In Study 3, the feasibility and clinical utility of the Process Evaluation Checklist was determined. Overall, the face and content validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist was achieved. The intervention was implemented with high fidelity, supporting the construct validity of the measure. A Research Practice Council, with assistance from an external facilitator and internal facilitators, implemented multifaceted knowledge translation strategies in the form of constant reminders to improve sucrose administration practices. Post intervention admission orders were significantly more likely to include sucrose, and odds of being administered sucrose were 13 times greater compared to baseline. Beginning support was provided for the content and construct validity, feasibility, and clinical utility of the Process Evaluation Checklist for use with complex interventions. Using this measure to monitor intervention fidelity in different contexts and with different users over longer periods of time will provide additional support to the validity of the Process Evaluation Checklist.

The purpose of the current study is to revise the wording of the items in the Strong Black Woman (SBW) attitudes scale and investigate the psychometric properties of this revised scale (renamed the SBW Cultural Construct Scale, SBWCCS). Another goal is to determine if the scale predicts racial identity, stress, and social support. The sample consisted of 152 women of African descent, who were recruited from a community based organization. An exploratory factor analysis on the SBWCCS scale suggested a 3-factor model consisting of (1) caretaking, (2) affect regulation, and (3) self-reliance. These factors parallel those found in the original scale (Thompson, 2003). The internal consistency was adequate for the overall scale and the caretaking subscale, but somewhat low for affect-regulation and self-reliance. The SBWCCS scale predicted centrality of racial identity and stress (measured as perceived stress and number of stressful events). Specifically, women who reported higher levels on the SBWCCS also reported higher levels of centrality and stress. In addition, higher levels on the caretaking subscale predicted lower reciprocity of social support. Other aspects of racial identity (public and private regard) and social support (received and satisfaction) were not predicted by SBWCCS. Methodological limitations and implications for future research are discussed.

Studien belyser hur kvinnor upplever ungt moderskap och möjligheter till att fullfölja gymnasiestudier. Intervjuer har genomförts med fyra kvinnor som blivit föräldrar under sin tid i grundskolan/kring 15/16 års ålder. Undersökningen bygger på kvalitativa intervjuer i form av gruppintervju samt individuell intervju som metod. Resultaten visar att kvinnorna upplever att ansvaret moderskapet medfört har bidragit till att de blivit motiverade till att få ordning på sitt liv och att barnet blivit en symbol för mognad som i flera fall stärkt självbilden. Självkänslan har dock påverkats negativt om man inte lever upp till förväntningarna på sig själv som mamma, vilket dock inte kan kopplas direkt till kvinnornas ålder. En negativ påverkan på självbilden är också om det sociala nätverket kännetecknas av instabila relationer. Resultatet visar att ingen av de intervjuade kvinnorna har fullföljt sina gymnasiestudier. Det har framkommit att den främsta anledningen till avhopp är den ekonomiska situationen. Kvinnornas sociala nätverk som omfattas av både familjemedlemmar, samt aktörer inom utbildningsväsendet möjliggjorde gymnasiestudier för den tid de hade möjlighet att gå. Unikt i denna studie är att mammorna återger att skolorna har anpassats för dem. Vidare har vi analyserat materialet och tolkat att de unga mammorna har skapat sig strategier till hur de förhåller sig till först sina egna föreställningar om andras åsikter och sedan samhällets och omgivningens faktiska åsikter om ungt moderskap. / In this study we examined how Swedish women experience young motherhood in relation to their perceived ability to complete their gymnasium studies. We have interviewed 4 women who became mothers around 15-16 years of age.  The investigation is based mainly on qualitative group and individual interviews. None of the women interviewed had completed their studies, despite that three of the women expressed desire to do so, and the acknowledgement of the existence of a social network of family and community actors making this goal achievable.  Unique to this study’s findings was the perception among the women that the schools themselves had been adapted for them and thus did not present a barrier.  Rather, economic difficulties were cited to be the most common reason for dropping out, with mental health and class identity also cited as complicating factors. We then provide an analysis from feminist and normative perspectives in order to provide a framework for understanding how social norms of gender, age, motherhood can constitute perceived barriers for young mothers who wish to complete their gymnasium education. In particular, this study highlights the importance of further investigation of how economic factors can complicate young parenthood.