This study examined the developmental value of Japanese student intercultural interaction during short-term study abroad in the United States. It utilized a modified version of the Study Abroad Social Interaction Questionnaire for data collection and an approach to analysis framed by Bronfenbrenner and his colleagues’ bioecological theory of human development. Past research framed by the bioecological theory has identified sojourner personal characteristics as the most significant factors influencing the amount and quality of intercultural interaction that students experience during study abroad; this study, which included participants of two different programs, found characteristics of context and time to be equally if not more significant. Implications are presented as practical recommendations for programs, participants, policymakers, and other stakeholders in intercultural development during study abroad.

Masters of Art / High rates of substance use and its associated problems afflict Cape Town, underscoring the need for easily accessible substance abuse treatment. Despite the substantial benefits for both individuals and society at large that substance abuse treatment confers, substance abusers often first have to negotiate considerable challenges in order to access treatment and accumulate these gains. That is, experiencing barriers to accessing treatment, together with the presence of socio-demographic features, rather than “need for treatment”, decides who accesses treatment. Referrals are the gateway to inpatient substance abuse treatment in the Western Cape. While several barriers to accessing treatment have been identified by prior studies, none examine these phenomena from the point of view of the agents responsible for referring substance users for treatment. Moreover, access barriers to inpatient substance abuse services are a neglected area in extant literature. To address this gap, this study explored the perceptions of referring agents‟ of the barriers to accessing state-funded inpatient substance abuse treatment centres in the Western Cape. This enabled the researcher to compare existing access barriers to treatment as identified by prior research, to those elucidated in the study. Bronfenbrenner‟s Process-Person-Context-Time model was employed as the basis for understanding identified barriers. In accordance with the exploratory qualitative methodological framework of the study, six semi-structured individual in-depth interviews were conducted with referring agents‟ of differing professional titles who were purposefully selected and expressed a willingness to participate in the study. Interviews were audio-recorded, and transcripts were analysed and interpreted by means of Thematic Analysis. Two broad thematic categories of access barriers were identified: Person-related barriers (denial, motivation for treatment, gender considerations, disability, active TB disease, homelessness, psychiatric co-morbidity) and Context-related barriers to treatment (cultural and linguistic barriers, stigma, community beliefs about addiction and treatment, awareness of substance abuse treatment, affordability/ financial barriers, geographic locations of treatment facilities, waiting time, lack of collaboration within the treatment system, beliefs of service providers‟, lack of facilities/ resources within the treatment system, practices at inpatient facilities, referral protocol and uninformed staff). Results suggest that by targeting the aforementioned barriers, access to inpatient and outpatient treatment services can be improved, and recommendations for interventions are offered in this regard. Ethical principles such as obtaining informed consent and ensuring confidentiality were abided by throughout the study and thereafter.

This study focused on stress and resilience among teachers in 15 urban secondary schools serving areas of multiple and complex disadvantage in the Greater Manchester and Merseyside regions of England (UK). It utilised the mixed-methods approach to gather and analyse the data. This consisted of a questionnaire survey of 150 teachers and interviews of 20 teachers. It examined person characteristics of teachers in these schools; key stress risks in the schools; coping strategies employed by these teachers and their protective factors. The main quantitative analysis methodologies used in the study were descriptive analysis; factor analysis and regression analysis. Qualitative findings were analysed using thematic analysis and teacher pen portrait and school case study presentations. Integrative analysis of quantitative and qualitative findings was then conducted in the discussion of main findings. This study found that the teachers’ major force characteristics were self-efficacy; persistence; personal attitudes towards one’s job; personality and temperament and commitment to the job. Their main resource characteristic was experience while their major demand characteristic was their professional role. These teachers were also exposed to person, proximal processes, context and time risks. There were risks associated with force and demand person characteristics. The main process risks were within their interactions with pupils, parents, colleagues and senior management. There were also context risks in their microsystem, mesosystem, exosystem and macrosystem. There were also time risks across the microtime, mesotime and macrotime. To cope, teachers in this sample utilised both direct-action and palliative coping strategies. Results also indicated that these teachers’ protective factors were in their resource and force characteristics; proximal processes; context and time.