The learning environment has been the focus of considerable educational research over a long period of time. The study reported in this thesis utilises the perceptions of 208 junior science students from a North Queensland state secondary school to inform classroom environment improvement plans developed and implemented by their teachers' in an attempt to improve the cognitive and attitudinal outcomes of the students. The five stage process on which the study is based combines theory and practice in providing the participating teachers with a structured means of bringing about change in their classrooms. Students' perceptions of actual and preferred teacher interpersonal behaviour and the laboratory learning environment are measured using the QTI and SLEI respectively. Particular aspects of teacher interpersonal behaviour and the laboratory learning environment are targeted for change through the classroom environment improvement plans. The study identified which aspects of the learning environment had changed after a period of intervention. It also identified associations between students' perceptions of aspects of their laboratory learning environment and attitudinal outcomes as well as associations between teacher interpersonal behaviours and attitudinal outcomes. While no direct associations were found between aspects of the laboratory learning environment or teacher interpersonal behaviours and cognitive outcomes, students' cognitive outcomes did improve over the duration of the study thus supporting a previously established link between student attitudes and cognitive outcomes.

The purpose of this study was to examine teacher and students' perceptions of teacher-student interpersonal behaviour in regional secondary classrooms. Teachers were then presented with this information so that a comparison between teacher ideal, teacher actual and student perceptions of their classroom could be examined. The results were then able to be used by teachers to reflect on and seek to improve their teaching practice. This study utilised the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) to collect data about the classroom learning environment of Australian regional mathematics and science classrooms. Qualitative information in the form of classroom observations and informal interviews has also been collected from a small subset of the student sample. This qualitative information was collected by the researcher in the dual roles of teacher and researcher. Triangulation of the methods of data collection sought to better validate the data collected, and assess multiple perspectives in the classroom. The study has involved a large sample of students from one country high school in Western Australia. All the mathematics classes from Years 8, 9 and 10 and all science classes from Years 8 and 10 have been included in this study. A particular focus for this study was the inclusion of both streamed and non-streamed classes from the mathematics and science areas. / The value of this research has been enhanced in that the results have been used as a teaching feedback tool for participants involved in the study to examine, reflect and improve on their teaching practice. The research is a real world, authentic example of one instance where results from the study were used immediately on a local scale by participants. A unique feature of the outcomes from this project is that the teacher appears to play a greater role in determining the classroom climate than does the homogeneous or heterogenous grouping of students within a subject.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety and pain are prevalent symptoms experienced by inpatients in acute, long-term and rehabilitation care settings. There is a need for effective relief from these symptoms without increasing the risks as a result of the intervention. Empirical evidence supports the use of music as a complementary therapy for the management of anxiety and pain. However, there is limited knowledge of nurses’ awareness of and intention to use music therapy in clinical practice. AIMS: This study examined nurses’ awareness of and intention to use music therapy for the management of anxiety and pain, and factors that influenced nurses’ intention to implement music therapy in practice. A conceptual framework incorporating elements of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Triandis’ Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour guided the study. METHOD: A correlational, survey-type design was used. The sample consisted of 161 Registered Nurses who were currently providing direct care to patients in acute, rehabilitation and long-term care settings in Ontario. Data were collected using adapted instruments that were pilot tested. RESULTS: Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, moral norms, and awareness were positively and moderately (all β > 0.20, p < .05) associated with nurses’ intention to use music therapy for the management of anxiety and pain. Role beliefs, selected demographic and professional characteristics were not significantly related to nurses’ intention to use music therapy for either anxiety or pain management. Nurse, client and unit factors were additional factors reported by nurses as affecting their use of music therapy in practice. IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggested the need for strategies to educate nurses about music therapy to facilitate its implementation in clinical practice. Research exploring why nurses are unaware of music therapy as an intervention and revisions to the current conceptual framework to incorporate additional factors influencing intervention use are required.

BACKGROUND: Anxiety and pain are prevalent symptoms experienced by inpatients in acute, long-term and rehabilitation care settings. There is a need for effective relief from these symptoms without increasing the risks as a result of the intervention. Empirical evidence supports the use of music as a complementary therapy for the management of anxiety and pain. However, there is limited knowledge of nurses’ awareness of and intention to use music therapy in clinical practice. AIMS: This study examined nurses’ awareness of and intention to use music therapy for the management of anxiety and pain, and factors that influenced nurses’ intention to implement music therapy in practice. A conceptual framework incorporating elements of the Theory of Planned Behaviour and Triandis’ Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour guided the study. METHOD: A correlational, survey-type design was used. The sample consisted of 161 Registered Nurses who were currently providing direct care to patients in acute, rehabilitation and long-term care settings in Ontario. Data were collected using adapted instruments that were pilot tested. RESULTS: Attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, moral norms, and awareness were positively and moderately (all β > 0.20, p < .05) associated with nurses’ intention to use music therapy for the management of anxiety and pain. Role beliefs, selected demographic and professional characteristics were not significantly related to nurses’ intention to use music therapy for either anxiety or pain management. Nurse, client and unit factors were additional factors reported by nurses as affecting their use of music therapy in practice. IMPLICATIONS: The findings suggested the need for strategies to educate nurses about music therapy to facilitate its implementation in clinical practice. Research exploring why nurses are unaware of music therapy as an intervention and revisions to the current conceptual framework to incorporate additional factors influencing intervention use are required.

This thesis investigates individual and interpersonal predictions of future affect and explores their relation to implicit theories of emotion, prediction recall, debiasing, and focalism. Studies 1, 2, and 3 assessed affect predictions to upcoming reasoning tests and academic results, and Studies 4, 5, and 6 concerned predictions for self-identified events. The first study investigated the influence of implicit theories of emotion (ITE; Tamir, John, Srivastava, & Gross, 2007) on impact bias and prediction recall manipulating ITE between participant pairs who predicted and reported their affective reactions to feedback on a test of reasoning skills. Neither impact bias nor recalled predictions were affected by the manipulation. Recalled affect predictions differed from original affect predictions, but were not influenced by experienced affect. Study 2 further investigated the effects of target event timing on impact bias and affect prediction recall. The results showed no differences between individual and interpersonal impact biases across conditions. Again, recalled predictions differed from original predictions, and were not influenced by experienced affect. Study 3 investigated the influence of prior information about impact bias on interpersonal affective forecasting involving real-world exam results. The results demonstrated no differences in predictions due to information, however, significantly less unhappiness was predicted for participants’ friends compared to self-predictions. Study 4 examined the effect of different de-biasing information on affective predictions. The results demonstrated no differences in affective predictions by condition and found that participants’ ITE were not associated to affect predictions. Study 5 examined individual and interpersonal affect predictions using a between-subjects design in place of the within-subjects design. The results demonstrated no differences between the affect predictions made for self and for friends, and ITE were not associated with predictions. Study 6 examined the impact bias in interpersonal affective forecasting and the role of focalism. The results demonstrated distinctions between individual and interpersonal affecting forecasting with individual impact bias for positive reactions for negative events and individual and interpersonal reverse impact bias for calm emotional reactions to positive events. Immune neglect was found not to be associated with predictions. Overall, the studies found evidence for similar individual and interpersonal predictions which are resistant to influence.

Background: Interpersonal touch is an irreplaceable contributor to our daily social life. It is a powerful tool for communicating emotions and, at this, enables the formation and maintenance of relationships. Affective touch is one of the first interactions in parent-child-dyads and contributes positively to the cognitive and social development of children and adolescents. In recent years, a group of nerve fibres was detected and identified as a key player in the perception of affective touch. These so-called C-tactile afferents are specialized in the perception of human-to-human caress-like touch. They are optimally activated/stimulated by light and slowly stroking touch at velocities between 1 and 10 cm/s (Löken et al., 2009). Interestingly, in a standardized experiment, these tactile stimulations are likewise hedonically rated and perceived as most pleasant. C-tactile afferents project to the insular as well as somatosensory cortex at a slow speed of around 1 m/s. The insular cortex is suggested to be involved in emotional processing and integration of sensory impressions, above else. Against this background, C-tactile afferents are characterized as key players in affective touch perception and mark an antipole to discriminative touch perception and Aβ-fibres. Affective touch contributes to the cognitive and social development in children (Field, 2010) and C-tactile mediated affective touch perception is altered in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Kaiser et al., 2016). First evidence further suggests a contribution of C-tactile afferents in the perception of erotic touch (Jönsson et al., 2015). Against this background of evidence for the role of C-tactile afferents, the social-touch-hypothesis was formed (Olausson et al., 2010), stating a contribution of C-tactile afferents in the formation and maintenance of interpersonal relationships. Still, only few approaches thus far have investigated the actual influence of C-tactile mediated affective touch perception on interpersonal behaviour. Individuals seem to differ in their peripheral and central characteristics and processing of affective touch, but a method to quantify these differences is still missing. Aim: In the presented articles, we first investigated the relationship between C-tactile mediated touch perception and sexual desire and behaviour (paper 1). Next, a procedure to test the individual preference of affective touch was developed and examined (paper 2). Recent research described C-low-threshold mechanoreceptors – the equivalent of C-tactile afferents in rodents - to be arranged around certain hair follicles (Li et al., 2011). We thus hypothesized in paper 3, that hair follicle density might be related to the density of C-tactile afferents and that affective touch perception might be predicted by hair follicle density. The article describes and examines a method for quantification of C-tactile afferents in humans. Materials and Methods: Papers 1 and 3 present the results of a psychophysical study conducted on a sample of relatively young and subjectively healthy participants at the Medical Faculty of Dresden University of Technology. In paper 3, the study is compared and analysed in relation to another study as part of a cooperation together with the University of Gothenburg (Sweden). The study design involved the standardized application of different CT-optimal as well as –suboptimal stroking stimuli on the forearm using a computer-assisted robotic device (Rotary Tactile Stimulator). The participants were asked to rate these tactile stimuli concerning different hedonic qualities (pleasantness and eroticism) on visual analogue scales. Sexual Desire and sexual behaviour were determined indirectly through questionnaires. The study design further included the Cyanoacrylate Skin Stripping Method that enables sampling of the upper layer of the skin – the stratum corneum. These samples were analysed light-microscopically in order to determine the hair follicle density of the participants. Paper 2 reviews a different study which was conducted at the Center for Social and Affective Neurosciences at the University of Linköping (Sweden). In this study, the Test of Preferred-Velocity was examined and validated as a measure of individually preferred touch stimuli on a sample of young and healthy participants. Analogous to the study design described in paper 1 and 3, tactile stimuli were applied using the Rotary Tactile Stimulator as well. The Test of Preferred-Velocity includes a forced choice paradigm in which the preferred stimulus out of different pairs needs to be reported. The paper describes two different set-ups applying the test: First, the Test of Preferred Velocity was validated and tested for retest-reliability. Afterwards, a short version of the test was applied on both the forearm and the palm of the hand, where it was each validated and compared in-between. The following measures were determined in order to analyse and describe the individual sensitivity for C-tactile mediated affective touch perception: In paper 1, the erotic touch differentiation was determined as the difference of eroticism ratings between C-tactile optimal (1 cm/s) and C-tactile suboptimal (30 cm/s) tactile stimuli. Pleasant touch awareness equally reflects the sensitivity for pleasant touch in paper 3. However, this measure further considers the average level of hedonic ratings. Results: C-tactile optimal stroking stimuli at velocities between 1 and 10 cm/s were perceived as both pleasant and erotic. This confirms the results of a previous study by Jönsson et al. (2015), where a contribution of C-tactile afferents to erotic touch perception was suggested. According to the presented hypotheses, a gender-specific relation between C-tactile mediated erotic touch perception and sexual desire as well as sexual behaviour could be detected (paper 1): Within the group of female participants, erotic touch differentiation was positively correlated with the desire for sexual interaction with a partner. In the male sub-group of participants however, erotic touch differentiation was negatively related to the actual frequency of sexual interactions with a partner in the course of the last month. The Test of Preferred-Velocity was reviewed as a reliable procedure for determining the individually preferred stroking velocity of C-tactile-targeted touch, presented a high test-retest-reliability and was validated with the hedonic ratings of the participants (paper 2). The short version of the test presented equally reliable features and was related with the hedonic ratings when tested on the forearm but not the palm of the participants. Hair follicle density, however, could not be confirmed as a method to quantify C-tactile mediated affective touch perception or fibre density (paper 3). In the described extended sample of paper 3, the previously suggested and well-known rating patterns of C-tactile mediated affective touch perception were confirmed. Interestingly, a gender-specific difference in the hedonic evaluation of touch could be determined when female participants consistently rated the applied stimuli as significantly more pleasant and erotic than men. Conclusions: The presented articles confirm and extend previous assumptions on the properties and function of C-tactile afferents in humans. At this, C-tactile afferents seem to contribute significantly to the complex concepts of pleasant and erotic touch perception and have an impact on interpersonal behaviour. The results give insights into how gender might modulate C-tactile-mediated touch perception and did not find support for the hypothesis that hair follicle density and C-tactile sensitivity might be related. The Test of Preferred-Velocity however, might be used as a tool to investigate the individually preferred stroking stimulus in further studies.:Abbreviations 1 Figure legend 1 Introduction 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE SOMATOSENSORY SYSTEM: DISCRIMINATIVE AND AFFECTIVE TOUCH 2 C-TACTILE AFFERENTS – PERIPHERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH 3 SPINAL AND CORTICAL PROCESSING OF C-TACTILE STIMULATION 5 THE “SOCIAL TOUCH HYPOTHESIS” 6 C-TACTILE MEDIATED EROTIC TOUCH PERCEPTION 7 INDIVIDUAL LEVELS OF C-TACTILE SENSITIVITY 9 HAIR FOLLICLE DENSITY AND NERVE FIBER DISTRIBUTION 11 Discussion 14 C-TACTILE AFFERENTS AND EROTIC TOUCH PERCEPTION 14 GENDER DIFFERENCES OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH PERCEPTION 15 STABILITY AND QUANTIFICATION OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH PERCEPTION: INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH AND HAIR FOLLICLE DENSITY 16 LIMITATIONS 19 CONCLUSIONS 21 Zusammenfassung 22 Summary 26 References 29 Publication data 34 Annex I: C-Tactile Mediated Erotic Touch Perception Relates to Sexual Desire and Performance in a Gender-Specific Way. Annex II: The individual preferred velocity of stroking touch as a stable measurement. Annex III: The relation between human hair follicle density and touch perception. / Hintergrund: Zwischenmenschliche Berührung ist ein wichtiger Bestandteil unseres täglichen sozialen Lebens. Sie trägt wesentlich zur Entstehung und Aufrechterhaltung von Beziehungen bei und kann ein sehr kraftvolles, emotionales Kommunikationsmittel sein. In der Interaktion zwischen Eltern und Kind wirkt sich affektive Berührung positiv auf die kognitive und soziale Entwicklung der Heranwachsenden aus und ist im Allgemeinen unter anderem mit einem gesunden Körperbewusstsein und Interozeption verbunden. In den 1990er Jahren konnte eine Gruppe unmyelinisierter Nervenfasern in der behaarten Haut des Menschen identifiziert werden, welche auf die Wahrnehmung solch zwischenmenschlicher, affektiver Berührung spezialisiert sind. Diese sogenannten C-taktilen Nervenfasern werden von langsam streichelnden Berührungen (Geschwindigkeit 1 – 10 cm/s) mit nur leichtem Druck – ähnlich dem sanften Streicheln durch eine menschliche Hand - optimal aktiviert (Löken et al., 2009). Interessanterweise wird diese Stimulierung gleichermaßen in Experimenten als besonders angenehm beschrieben und empfunden. Die Stimuli werden von C-taktilen Nervenfasern mit einer langsamen Leitgeschwindigkeit (ca. 1 m/s) an den somatosensorischen Kortex, aber auch an die Inselrinde des Gehirns weitergeleitet. Letztere trägt unter anderem zu emotionaler Verarbeitung und Integration von Sinneseindrücken bei. Mit diesen Eigenschaften stellen die C-taktilen Nervenfasern einen funktionellen Gegenpol zu den Hauptakteuren der diskriminativen Berührungsempfindung, den Aβ-Fasern, dar. Affektive Berührungswahrnehmung wirkt sich positiv auf die kognitive und soziale Entwicklung von Kindern aus (Field, 2010) und C-taktil vermittelte Berührungswahrnehmung wird in Individuen mit Autismus verändert verarbeitet (Kaiser et al., 2016). Erste Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass C-taktile Nervenfasern weiterhin an der Wahrnehmung erotischer Berührungen beteiligt sind (Jönsson et al., 2015). Vor diesem Hintergrund wird diese Form der taktilen Interaktion auch als „soziale Berührung“ beschrieben, die für die Formung und Aufrechterhaltung zwischenmenschlicher Beziehungen eine wesentliche Bedeutung hat (Olausson et al., 2010). Dabei haben nur wenige Studien bisher die tatsächliche Auswirkung C-taktil vermittelter affektiver Berührungswahrnehmung auf das zwischenmenschliche Verhalten untersucht. Individuen scheinen sich hinsichtlich ihrer peripheren oder zentralen Charakteristika der affektiven Berührungswahrnehmung zu unterscheiden – eine Methode zur Quantifizierung dieser Charakteristika wurde jedoch bisher noch nicht entwickelt. Fragestellung: In den hier vorgestellten Arbeiten wurde zunächst die Beziehung zwischen C-taktil vermittelter Berührungswahrnehmung und sexuellem Verhalten und Verlangen untersucht (Paper 1). In einer zweiten Veröffentlichung wird ein Testverfahren zur Bestimmung der individuell bevorzugten affektiven Berührung vorgestellt. Studien an Nagetieren haben ergeben, dass die den C-taktilen Nervenfasern entsprechenden Mechanorezeptoren um bestimmte Haarfollikel herum angefunden werden (Li et al., 2011). Daraus resultierte die Fragestellung aus Paper 3, einen Zusammenhang zwischen der Haarfollikeldichte am Unterarm und der C-taktil vermittelten Berührungswahrnehmung zu untersuchen. In der Arbeit wird auf dieser Grundlage eine Methode zur Quantifizierung C-taktiler Nervenfasern getestet. Material und Methoden: Paper 1 und 3 präsentieren die Ergebnisse einer psychophysischen Studie an jungen und subjektiv gesunden Probanden, welche an der Medizinischen Fakultät der TU Dresden durchgeführt wurde. In Paper 3 wird diese Studie im Rahmen einer Kooperation mit der Universität Göteborg mit einer dort durchgeführten ähnlichen Studie verglichen und ausgewertet. Die Teilnehmer dieser Studie haben mithilfe eines computer-assistierten Roboters standardisierte dynamische Berührungen mit sowohl C-taktil optimalen als auch suboptimalen Stimuli am Unterarm erhalten. Diese Berührungen wurden hinsichtlich verschiedener hedonischer Aspekte (Angenehmheit, Erotizität) anhand von Visuellen Analog-Skalen bewertet. Sexuelles Verhalten und sexuelles Verlangen wurden mithilfe von Fragebögen ermittelt. Mithilfe der Cyanoacrylate Skin Stripping Methode wurde den Probanden außerdem eine Probe des Stratum corneum der Unterarmhaut entnommen. Anhand dieser Proben wurde lichtmikroskopisch die Haarfollikeldichte pro cm² bestimmt. Die Ergebnisse einer weiteren Studie, welche an der Universität Linköping (Schweden) durchgeführt wurde, werden in Paper 2 aufgearbeitet. In dieser Studie wurde an einer Kohorte von jungen und gesunden Probanden ein Testverfahren (Test of Preferred Velocity) entwickelt und validiert, mithilfe dessen die individuell bevorzugten Berührungs-Stimuli bestimmt werden können. Der Test of Preferred Velocity verwendet ebenso den computer-assistierten Roboter Rotary Tactile Stimulator, mithilfe dessen in einem Forced Choice Paradigma verschiedene Berührungs-Stimuli vergleichend angeboten wurden. Die Studie beinhaltet zwei Teile: Zunächst werden Validierung und Test-Retest-Reliabilität des Testverfahrens beschrieben. Eine Kurzform der Methode wird im zweiten Teil vergleichend an der Handfläche und dem Unterarm von einer neuen Kohorte getestet und validiert. Verschiedene Werte werden für die Einschätzung der individuellen Sensitivität für C-taktil vermittelte affektive Berührung herangezogen: In Paper 1 wird die sogenannte erotic touch differentiation als Differenz zwischen den Erotizitäts-Bewertungen von C-taktil optimalen (1 cm/s) und C-taktil suboptimalen (30 cm/s) Berührungs-Stimuli ermittelt. Die pleasant touch awareness spiegelt einen ähnlichen Wert für die Sensitivität angenehmer Berührungen in Paper 3 wieder, wobei dieser zur durchschnittlichen Höhe der jeweiligen hedonischen Bewertung in Bezug gesetzt wird. Ergebnisse: In der hier vorgestellten Arbeit zeigt sich, dass C-taktil optimale Berührungs-Stimuli mit einer Geschwindigkeit zwischen 1 und 10 cm/s gleichermaßen als angenehm und erotisch empfunden werden. Dies bestätigt die Ergebnisse einer früheren Studie, welche bereits eine Beteiligung C-taktiler Nervenfasern an der Wahrnehmung erotischer Berührungen feststellen konnten (Jönsson et al., 2015). Entsprechend der vorgestellten Hypothesen konnte ein geschlechtsspezifischer Zusammenhang zwischen Werten C-taktil vermittelter erotischer Berührungswahrnehmung und sexuellem Verlangen und Verhalten beschrieben werden (Paper 1): Während unter den Probandinnen ein signifikanter Zusammenhang zwischen der erotic touch differentiation und dem Verlangen nach einer sexuellen Interaktion zu verzeichnen war, konnte in der Gruppe der männlichen Studienteilnehmer ein negativer Zusammenhang zwischen der erotic touch differentiation und der Anzahl tatsächlich stattgefundener sexueller Interaktionen im letzten Monat beobachtet werden. Der Test of Preferred Velocity zeigte sich als geeignet, um individuell bevorzugte Berührungs-Stimuli zu bestimmen und bewies eine hohe Test-Retest-Reliabilität (Paper 2). Mithilfe der hedonischen Bewertung der verwendeten Stimuli konnte der Test weiterhin validiert werden. Die Kurzversion des Testes zeigt ähnlich zuverlässige Eigenschaften und steht bei der Anwendung am Unterarm, nicht jedoch auf der Leistenhaut der Handfläche, mit den hedonischen Bewertungen in Zusammenhang. Die Haarfollikeldichte als Möglichkeit der Quantifizierung C-taktil vermittelter Berührung ließ sich nicht bestätigen (Paper 3). Anhand einer großen Stichprobe können allerdings die bisher bekannten Bewertungsmuster C-taktil vermittelter Berührungen erneut bestätigt werden. Auch hier wird ein geschlechtsspezifischer Unterschied in der hedonischen Bewertung zugunsten der Studienteilnehmerinnen beschrieben. Schlussfolgerungen: Die vorgestellten Arbeiten bestätigen und erweitern bisherige Erkenntnisse zu Eigenschaften und Funktion C-taktiler Nervenfasern im Menschen. C-taktile Nervenfasern scheinen signifikant zu dem komplexen Konzept der Wahrnehmung angenehmer und erotischer Berührungen beizutragen und sich auf das zwischenmenschliche Verhalten auszuwirken. Erstmals werden in diesen Arbeiten auch geschlechtsspezifische Eigenschaften affektiver Berührungswahrnehmung näher. Der vermutete Zusammenhang zwischen Haarfollikeldichte und affektiver Berührungswahrnehmung ließ sich nicht bestätigen. Der Test of Preferred Velocity kann jedoch zur individuellen Quantifizierung der bevorzugten Berührungs-Stimuli in weiteren Studien verwendet und ggf. weiterentwickelt werden.:Abbreviations 1 Figure legend 1 Introduction 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE SOMATOSENSORY SYSTEM: DISCRIMINATIVE AND AFFECTIVE TOUCH 2 C-TACTILE AFFERENTS – PERIPHERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH 3 SPINAL AND CORTICAL PROCESSING OF C-TACTILE STIMULATION 5 THE “SOCIAL TOUCH HYPOTHESIS” 6 C-TACTILE MEDIATED EROTIC TOUCH PERCEPTION 7 INDIVIDUAL LEVELS OF C-TACTILE SENSITIVITY 9 HAIR FOLLICLE DENSITY AND NERVE FIBER DISTRIBUTION 11 Discussion 14 C-TACTILE AFFERENTS AND EROTIC TOUCH PERCEPTION 14 GENDER DIFFERENCES OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH PERCEPTION 15 STABILITY AND QUANTIFICATION OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH PERCEPTION: INDIVIDUAL PATTERNS OF AFFECTIVE TOUCH AND HAIR FOLLICLE DENSITY 16 LIMITATIONS 19 CONCLUSIONS 21 Zusammenfassung 22 Summary 26 References 29 Publication data 34 Annex I: C-Tactile Mediated Erotic Touch Perception Relates to Sexual Desire and Performance in a Gender-Specific Way. Annex II: The individual preferred velocity of stroking touch as a stable measurement. Annex III: The relation between human hair follicle density and touch perception.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether self-report measures of contact are valid for use in research testing the ‘contact hypothesis’. The vast majority of contact research has relied on the assumed validity of self-report methods of data collection (Pettigrew & Tropp, 2006), even though the potential weaknesses of self-report methodology generally have been well documented. This reliance is necessary, as self-reports remain the only practical method so far developed of measuring certain of the facilitating conditions developed by Allport (1954/1979), and particularly of direct and indirect cross-group friendship (Pettigrew, 1998; Wright, Aron, McLaughlin-Volpe, & Ropp, 1997). However, if self-reports are not a valid method for measuring contact, the derived implications of a large portion of the research effort are potentially flawed. This thesis attempted to address this important oversight, using a variety of methods to investigate whether the use of self-reports in future research on intergroup contact is appropriate. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrated that self-reports of contact show considerable resistance to context effects, particularly in comparison with self-reports of the more subjective construct of attitudes. Studies 3-5 demonstrated that self-reports of contact agree with the observer-reports of a single observer who knows the target intimately – the spouse or parent. Studies 6 and 7 replicate this agreement through the consensually supported observer-reports of three close friends of the target, thereby reducing any variance due to individual response biases. Finally, studies 8 and 9 demonstrate the concurrent criterion-related validity of self-reports of contact, in that they are able to predict contact on a very large online network called Facebook, on which real-world rather than purely online friendships are primarily represented. These findings offer considerable support for the validity of self-reports as a suitable method for measuring contact. As self-reports remain the only method which has thus far proven suitable for the measurement of those aspects of contact which are essential for exploration of the contact hypothesis, this thesis presents a very heartening and optimistic conclusion and supports the continued use of self-reports in contact research.

For adolescents with asthma, adhering to asthma regimes implies not only taking medications to relieve asthma attacks, but also adjusting their life styles in order to prevent asthma attacks. These life style modifications, such as avoiding allergens or having to limit physical activity, sometimes force adolescents to compromise their social life. On the other hand, the impact of such life style modifications on their social life may in turn force adolescents to give up adhering to asthma regimes. Indeed, adolescents are learning to be more independent while they enjoy a more complicated social life at home and at school than previously, and this rapid social development may thus be a great life challenge to adolescents with asthma. This thesis reports four studies which investigated the relationship between multi-dimensional asthma management (in medication and life style regimes) and the social life of young people with asthma at the transitional age from childhood to adolescence (or early adolescence, age 9-14), which also marks the transition from primary school to secondary school. In line with the literature on other adolescent chronic illnesses, study 1 demonstrated a downward trend of multi-dimensional asthma management in early adolescence. This developmental change was further investigated in study 2, 3 and 4, in which theories in behavioural psychology were followed to emphasise human behaviour influenced by the social activities and social relationships in the living environment, or the social environment. This was supplemented by theories in developmental psychology to identify relevant aspects of the social environment in early adolescence, especially the social relationships with parents, school staff and peers. Using quantitative and qualitative approaches, the studies not only supported the direct influence of asthma-specific social support, but also explored some mechanisms with which social relationships influenced asthma management in a more subtle and context-dependent way. By approaching asthma management behaviour with theories from behavioural and developmental psychology, it is also hoped that this thesis could be an example that shows the importance of recognising and to understanding the social life of young adolescents when adolescent behaviour is concerned.

This dissertation engages with contemporary interpretations of Nietzsche and Heidegger on the issue of self-knowing with respect to the notions of honesty and authenticity. Accounting for the two philosophers' developing conceptions of these notions allows a response to interpreters who conceive the activity of self-knowing as a primarily personal problem. The alternative accounts proposed take as a point of departure transitional texts that reveal both thinkers to be engaged in processes of revision. The reading of honesty in Chapters 1 and 2 revolves around Nietzsche's groundwork on prejudice in Morgenr&ouml;the (1880-81), where he first problematizes the moral-historical forces entailed in actuating the 'will to truth'. The reading of authenticity in Chapters 3 and 4 revolves around Heidegger's lectures on what motivates one's thinking in Was hei&szlig;t Denken? (1951-52). The lectures call into question his previous formal suppositions on what calls forth one's 'will-to-have-a-conscience', in an interpretation of Parmenides on the issue of thought's linguistic determination, discussed further in the context of Unterwegs zur Sprache (1950-59). Chapter 5 shows how Heidegger's confrontation with Nietzsche contributed to his ongoing revisions to the notion of authenticity, and to the attending conceptions of critique and its authority. Particular attention is given to the specific purposes to which distinct Nietzschean foils are put near the confrontation's beginning--in Heidegger's lectures on Nietzsche's second Unzeitgem&auml;sse Betrachtung (1938), and in the monograph entitled Besinnung (1939) which they prepare--and near its end, in the interpretation of Also Sprach Zarathustra (1883-85) presented in the first half of Was hei&szlig;t Denken? Chapter 6 recapitulates the developments traced from the vantage point of the retrospective texts Die Zollikoner Seminare (1959-72) and the fifth Book of Die fr&ouml;hliche Wissenschaft (1887). Closing remarks are made in relation to recent empirical research on the socio-environmental structures involved in determining self-identity.

Castration has a long temporal and geographical span. Its origins are unclear, but likely lie in the Ancient Near East around the time of the Secondary Products Revolution and the increase in social complexity of proto-urban societies. Due to the unique social and gender roles created by castrates’ ambiguous sexual state, human castrates were used heavily in strongly hierarchical social structures such as imperial and religious institutions, and were often close to the ruler of an imperial society. This privileged position, though often occupied by slaves, gave castrates enormous power to affect governmental decisions. This often aroused the jealousy and hatred of intact elite males, who were not afforded as open access to the ruler and virulently condemned castrates in historical documents. These attitudes were passed down to the scholars and doctors who began to study castration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, affecting the manner in which castration was studied. Osteometric and anthropometric examinations of castrates were carried out during this period, but the two World Wars and a shift in focus meant that castrate bodies were not studied for nearly eighty years. Recent interest in gender and sexuality in the past has revived interest in castration as a topic, but few studies of castrate remains have occurred. As large numbers of castrates are referenced in historical documents, the lack of castrate skeletons may be due to a lack of recognition of the physical effects of castration on the skeleton. The synthesis and generation of methods for more accurate identification of castrate skeletons was undertaken and the results are presented here to improve the ability to identify castrate skeletons within the archaeological record.