Social isolation is a concern for the health of older adults in Canada. Community-engaged arts (CEA) programs are thought to support social inclusion but how such programs contribute to building community connections for older adults at risk of social isolation is poorly understood. This study, therefore, is aimed to explore the experience of community for this population in the context of a CEA program as well as the role the program plays in that experience. A qualitative study using ethnographic methods was conducted to answer two research questions: (1) What does community mean to seniors in the Arts, Health and Seniors program? (2) What is the role of the Arts, Health and Seniors program in the participants’ experience of community? Data were collected over a six week period using participant observation, semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The sample was a group of 20 urban-dwelling seniors at risk for social isolation who participated in a CEA program once a week. Regular group art sessions were observed by the researcher and extensive field notes were recorded. Interviews were conducted with five senior participants and four other key informants (including two artists, a senior worker, and an administrators), and documents related to the community were reviewed. Data were analyzed throughout the data collection process and interpretations were noted. Through immersion in the data and a movement between the data and interpretations, themes were developed. Connections between themes were explored and taken back to the data. Findings were presented as a detailed description of the participants’ experience of community. Community for the participants focused around the Seniors Centre where the program was held. The participants expressed that the meaningful relationships at the centre made it ‘another home’ and was a place they could find resources to adapt to challenges. The CEA program provided a unique experience of community through working together as a group and making new social connections. For health professionals working with older people at risk for social isolation, this research will add to the understanding of how community is experienced by older adults and how community is supported by CEA programs. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

Le processus d’extension des marchés financiers à la périphérie de l’économie politique globale, dans des endroits où ils étaient auparavant inexistants, est l’objet de la thèse. En prenant le cas exemplaire de la microfinance et de l’inclusion financière au Pérou, je m’interroge sur la manière dont se construisent ces marchés, sur les processus et sur les mécanismes qui s’activent pour les mettre en pratique. L’inclusion financière vise à ériger des espaces économiques centrés sur la finance dans des lieux vierges, en créant de nouvelles machines technico-sociales capables d’approfondir la pénétration des marchés financiers et d’y insérer les masses d’individus jusque-là laissés en marge. J’affirme qu’il est important de s’intéresser à ce processus créatif parce qu’il vise à enrôler dans l’économie capitaliste à dominance financière un immense réservoir de valeur, certainement périphérique, mais absolument pas accessoire: l’économie informelle. Ma thèse vise à comprendre les motifs, les moyens et les incidences de l’insertion de ce réservoir. Je soutiens que la logique de l’accumulation capitaliste de la finance et celle de la croissance inclusive du développement néolibéral président au projet d’inclusion financière en tant que motivation. J’explique que la microfinance s’étend moyennant une proximité grandissante avec la haute finance: les fournisseurs de services financiers et les clientèles s’alignent autour de son mode de fonctionnement. Je soutiens que l’inclusion financière articule un mécanisme central —la différenciation— pour étendre et rentabiliser la finance périphérique, et que c’est ce mécanisme qui porte à conséquences sur la forme de marché qui est créé: on admet certaines manières de faire la finance et on en rejette d’autres, on insère dans le marché les personnes potentiellement fonctionnelles alors qu’on rejette les plus récalcitrantes, et on applique aux inclus une tarification adaptée. En alliant des institutions, des produits financiers et des consommateurs différenciés, il devient possible d’activer l’inclusion de l’économie informelle dans les circuits financiers dominants, pour pouvoir ensuite s’approprier la valeur qui y est créée. En mobilisant des théories structuralistes et des outils de l’approche de Bourdieu, ma thèse cerne une impulsion, la croissance de la microfinance, qui provient des champs de la finance et du développement et qui est relayée vers les acteurs au moyen de l’habitus et des doxais. Ma thèse dépasse cependant les impératifs verticaux et leur mode de transmission en exploitant l’approche par agencements (assemblages) pour éclairer les moyens d’inclusion financière à l’échelle méso, pour exposer pleinement leurs conséquences et pour comprendre comment on arrive à rallier concrètement des impératifs logiques qui entrent en tension. La thèse analyse deux agencements en profondeur: l’agencement ‘BCP-Edyficar-Mibanco’ entre des institutions phares de microfinance et la plus grande banque commerciale péruvienne; et l’agencement d’une structure de coordination public-privé des pratiques d’extension des marchés financiers, la ‘Stratégie nationale d’inclusion financière’. Avec une approche de l’agencement, dont les tendances au délitement du social et à la négligence des macrocontextes politiques sont corrigées par l’articulation avec les impératifs structuraux et certains éléments de la théorie des champs, ma thèse expose ce qui fait courir les composantes de l’économie politique vers l’inclusion financière, ce qui les rends capables de s’aligner et d’être fonctionnelles autour du même projet et ce qui porte politiquement à conséquences pour l’inclusion et l’exclusion.

In the last twenty years, governments around the world have signed policies and enacted legislation concerning the right of every child to be provided with education. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2006), which states that every child with SEN should receive education in a mainstream setting, whenever possible stimulated, at least partly, the enactment of such policies. To some extent, the Mexican government has responded to the UN initiative by reporting a gradual increase in the number of children with SEN being placed in mainstream schools over the last ten years. However, despite the efforts of some parents and teaching assistants, there is an increasing concern that many children with ASD are not educated in mainstream schools or they have been included but without the support of a qualified teaching assistant or teacher, which has a negative effect on the quality of education. This situation has emphasized the need to improve strategies in order to overcome the barriers to effective inclusion for these children. Thus, the main aim of this study was to explore the extent to which children identified as having Autistic Spectrum Disorder are included within in mainstream schools in Mexico with the support from DOMUS a non-profit parent led organisation. This is done by examining the facilitators and barriers that affect the success of inclusion of children with ASD in Mexico. Multiple case studies of children with autistic spectrum disorders were conducted. The data on the perceptions about inclusion was gathered from interviews with head teachers, teachers, teaching assistants, and parents of children with ASD. In addition, observations of the children with ASD both in class and in the playground were carried out along with focus groups conducted with secondary age classmates, sociometric data, and a review of DOMUS’ records. Participants offered many perspectives on the facilitators and barriers that should be overcome in order to include a child with autism in mainstream schools in Mexico. Seven key themes and related subthemes that can act as facilitators or barriers emerged from the analysis. These included family factors, children with ASD’s social and academic abilities, school ethos, role of teaching assistant and DOMUS, and the influence of stakeholders’ experience in overcoming anxieties about inclusion, teachers’ competence, and stakeholders’ attitudes towards children with ASD. The findings are discussed in relation to the literature review. It was concluded that the Mexican government’s inclusive education policies should be taken further, although the teachers involved should initially receive further training in order to help them feel more confident. An ASD friendly school ethos, positive attitudes from stakeholders, and financial resources can also support inclusion. Stakeholders need to overcome their anxieties, and they can achieve this by embracing the opportunity to experience inclusion. This study provides a starting-point in by identifying the facilitators that should be strengthened and the barriers that should be reduced in order to enhance the inclusion of children with ASD in Mexico.

Sub-surface precipitations of UH3 have been modelled with Finite Element methods. The model includes a pre-stressed oxide layer, metal anisotropy, metal plasticity and a hyper elastic coherent hydride. The model was used to investigate UH3 precipitating at a variety of depths from 0 to 2um (spherical shape), with a variety of sizes from 0.08 to 0.8 um diameter (spherical shape) and with a variety of shapes from horizontal ellipsoid to vertical ellipsoid (depth 0.5 um). UH3 precipitation close to the surface was found to be energetically favourable as observed in experiments. Simulations on the shape of the precipitate found that the vertical ellipsoidal precipitates were found to be energetically favoured in contrast to what has been experimentally observed. In all cases the system could not accommodate the phase change by elastic deformation alone but by a combination of elastic and plastic deformation. When anisotropy is introduced into the metal matrix, the precipitate is surrounded by compressive and tensile regions. Tensile regions are found in the x-y plane adjacent to the precipitate and it is suggested that these regions are more likely to transform into further UH3 (through increased hydrogen diffusion, solubility or ease of phase change). Such precipitate development in the lateral direction would result in the experimentally observed horizontal ellipsoids. Multiple sub-surface precipitates were simulated (0.5 um depth) and it is suggested that compressive regions that develop between the precipitates could act as a barrier to coalescence. The surrounding stress regions and energetic factors suggest that there is a barrier to amalgamation for a distance of 1.5 um. Whereas for precipitates closer than 1.5 um there is an energetic benefit to coalescence. The transformation from sub-surface UH3 precipitates into growth centres (exposed UH3 on the surface) was examined by monitoring the oxide stress. This work also suggests that the transformation of sub-surface UH3 to growth centres could be retarded by an increased oxide thickness and the presence of a work hardened layer. To aid confidence in the model nano-indentation experiments were carried out on constrained UH3 surface films in the absence of air. Collected data shows a bulk modulus of 180 +/- GPa which is more in line with DFT calculated results as compared to Diamond Anvil Cell experimental work. The nano-indentation work represents the first time this type of data has been derived for UH3 in this way.

This study examined Texas high school principals' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. School leaders today face increasing demands with the revised state accountability system. For example, students with disabilities are required to take the Texas Assessment Knowledge and Skills Test (TAKS) and on grade level. Hence, one of the strategies of schools has been to mainstream or include special education students in the regular classroom. Inclusion provides the opportunity for students with disabilities to be educated in the general education curriculum with their non-disabled peers. This study investigated the attitudes of Texas high school principals' attitudes toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. The principals' personal experiences, professional training, and formal training in inclusion were examined. This study was a qualitative study using survey methodology. The Principal's Inclusion Survey developed by Cindy Praisner and G.H. Stainback was distributed electronically to 1211 Texas high schools. With the permissions of Praisner and Stainback, the survey was loaded into Survey Monkey, which is a website for creation of professional online surveys. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics. The return rate was 395 (32.1%) overall responses. The results of the study concluded that majority of the principals agreed that inclusion of students with disabilities into the general education classroom was the best placement for the disabilities listed in the survey. However, for the more severe disabilities, the principals favored a more non-inclusive setting. Those disabilities included mental retardation and serious emotional disturbance. For the cognitive disabilities, combinations of an inclusive and non-inclusive setting were chosen. Also revealed in the study is that principals did not receive inclusion training as part of their formal education, but more emphasis was placed on special education law. The results of the survey indicated more training should be provided for principals in inclusion during their formal training.

Digital technologies have penetrated so many facets of people‘s lives that access to technology has become a dimension of social inclusion. It is widely assumed that access to digital technologies would result in higher standards of living and improved social welfare through interaction, commerce and learning in a global community and individuals without digital access will be excluded from this community. In order to leverage all the benefits and opportunities that the digital revolution promises, it is essential to include more citizens to the digital society. The Digital Inclusion Index is proposed as a tool to measure and examine the digital divide in South Africa.Current digital divide measurements are limited and narrow in focus. The Digital Inclusion Index proposed in this study is based on digital access levels of individuals to various digital technologies. The bi-annual AMPS survey results, containing data of more than 20 000 personal interviews, was used as secondary data. Factor analysis was used to assign a scale to each respondent‘s level of digital access. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square cross tabulations were used to profile the different levels of digital access.The study aimed to understand the digital environment of South Africa by creating the Digital Inclusion Index which measures the digital divide. The index was then applied to profile various levels of digital access in term of individual attributes and geographical regions. A risk group was identified where individuals have limited digital access. The index was applied to 2009 data to determine whether the digital divide has been growing or narrowing between 2009 and 2010. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Orientador: Francisco Benedito Teixeira Pessine / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Quimica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-07T11:44:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Calderini_Adriana_M.pdf: 3626167 bytes, checksum: 65a0e866a04669d0055a59e424f4d2c5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006 / Mestrado / Físico-Química / Mestre em Química

Programs require strong support and guidance from those in leadership positions to ensure proper implementation (Fullen, 2001). Consequently, school site principals must rely on the training they have received to support them in making appropriate decisions. It is the school site principal’s leadership that is pivotal in the success of students with disabilities (DiPaola & Walther-Thomas, 2003; Monteith, 2000). In fact, the principal has a moral obligation to provide an environment that supports social justice in schools (Grogan & Andrews, 2002). The inclusion of students with disabilities does just that—it ensures that these students are not segregated to a “separate but equal” education. This study utilized a participant survey to collect data on principals’ beliefs and training in special education. This information was compared to the percentage of time students with disabilities spent with their non-disabled peers in the principals’ respective schools. An analysis was conducted to identify if a linear relationship exists between the selected variables and the inclusion percentages. Open-ended questions were included in the original survey which allowed for a thematic analysis of the responses. These responses were utilized to allow participants to further express their thoughts on the identified variables. Results indicated that there were no statistically significant relationships identified between the beliefs and training of secondary school site principals and the percentage of time that their students in special education spend with their non-disabled peers. Although the original research questions were not supported, further post hoc analysis indicated that the results obtained did support that the principals believed inclusion had a social benefit to students. Additional investigation into the academic benefits of inclusion is still needed. In addition, principals who indicated that they had some type of training in special education indicated a higher percentage that the individual student should be the focal point when making placement decisions. These results support the need for further research in the area of principal preparation programs and their relationships to the daily practice of school site principals.

Geochemical measurements of OIB (ocean island basalt) samples have demonstrated that the Earth's mantle is compositionally heterogeneous, but the cause of this heterogeneity is a point of debate within the scientific community. One such OIB location is Mangaia, Cook Islands (Polynesia). Its lead isotopic composition defines the HIMU (high μ = high ^238U/^204Pb) mantle endmember, which many attribute to recycled oceanic crust being present in the mantle source. If true, this endmember represents an important vehicle for returning surface material to the mantle and an opportunity to study volatile element cycling through the mantle. Sulfur isotopic measurements were made on sulfides hosted in melt inclusions from Mangaia. Prior to 2.45 Ga, the Earth's atmosphere was not oxygenated, allowing photochemical cycles to fractionate sulfur isotopes. This form of fractionation results in a mass independently fractionated (MIF) sulfur isotopic signature in surface materials containing sulfur. We have found such a signal in sulfide inclusions from Mangaia, indicating that the material erupted at this young (~19 Ma) ocean island was once at the surface over 2.45 Ga. This finding confirms the recycled origin hypothesis for the generation of the HIMU mantle endmember. Lead isotopes and major elements were measured in olivine hosted melt inclusions from the island. Previous studies by Saal et al. (1998) and Yurimoto et al. (2004) have revealed large lead isotopic variability, spanning half of the global range for OIBs. A more recent study by Paul et al. (2011) has shown much reduced lead isotopic variability using a different analysis technique. We find the lead isotopic variability in glassy melt inclusions to be less than previously found and attribute much of the earlier observed variability to contaminant lead. Volatile and trace elements were measured in the same olivine hosted melt inclusions, providing the first ever coupled lead isotopes, major, trace, and volatile elements in glassy melt inclusions from the island. We observe some of the highest water and carbon dioxide contents found in OIBs globally. This allows us to constrain volatile abundances in the HIMU mantle source as well as volatile cycling in the mantle, from subduction zones to hotspots.

Differentiated instruction (DI) research has shown many benefits of implementing instructional practices within an inclusive classroom. However, many teachers do not utilize this instructional practice regularly. An instrumental qualitative case study design that included teachers from one middle school in a rural school district in a southeastern state was used in this study to explore rural middle school teachers' experiences with incorporating the components of DI to support special education students in an inclusion classroom. The challenges faced when incorporating DI were also examined. Tomlinson's model of differentiated instruction framed this study, as it explores the need for teachers to provide responsive instruction to meet the needs of each of their students, regardless of a student's ability. A purposeful sample of 10 middle school teachers' Grades 6–8 from various content areas participated in an interview, an instructional observation, and submitted documents for review. Inductive analysis was used to analyze data of teacher use of DI components, and hand-coding was used to identify emerging thematic relationships and patterns. When asked about incorporating the components of DI to support special education students within an inclusion-based classroom, participants revealed concerns with class size, lack of resources, knowledge/preparation, and professional development. Based on the results, a 3 full day program was created as a project to incorporate DI into improve middle school inclusion-based classrooms for all content teachers. The program may contribute to positive social change by helping middle school teachers use the components of DI in their inclusion-based classes providing support to increase academic success for special education students.