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Interracial contact in South Africa continues to be fraught with tension. Many investigators have used the contact hypothesis to explore the relationship between contact and prejudice in South African samples, which has revealed the highly complex character of interracial contact. With much of the research on interracial contact being quantitative in nature and comparatively little qualitative work being done, few studies have looked at perceptions of interracial contact and none can be found which have used Q-methodology as the method of investigation. The aim of the study was to uncover groups of people who have similar perceptions about interracial contact in South Africa through the factor analytic process inherent in Q-methodology. Q-methodology is a comprehensive way of looking at people’s views, attitudes, opinions and beliefs on a topic and has both qualitative as well as quantitative dimensions, making it unique method which can shed a different kind of insight into the subjectivities of interracial contact compared to traditional research methods. Q-methodology is explained in some detail and supported as the best approach for exploring perceptions of interracial contact in South Africa given the country’s history of racial segregation and complexity of intergroup dynamics. The study used a non-probability, volunteer sample of 55 undergraduate students at the University of the Witwatersrand. A centroid factor analysis was performed on the data followed by a varimax rotation, which yielded four groups (“factors”) of people with similar patterns of subjectivities on the topic of interracial contact in South Africa. The groups were labelled the experientialists, ethnocentrists, segregationists, and integrationists based on their distinct patterns of perceptions of interracial contact in South Africa.

The purpose of this dissertation is to gain an understanding of the subjective perceptions and methods of framing used by various entities to understand the concept of the contemporary publicness of the publicly open space. The main research methods of this dissertation include 1) a systematic literature review and 2) the Q-methodology, which is a useful method of illuminating cognitive characteristics according to the internal criteria of individuals. By doing so, this study emphasizes the importance of everyday discourse and perceptions of publicness and public spaces. First, the literature review reveals that various statutes or actions have related to the realization of contemporary spatial publicness across contexts. Drawing a line between "continuous" and "new" characteristics of contemporary spatial publicness proves abstruse. To distinguish the two, this study will delineate the predominant positions on new characteristics of contemporary spatial publicness, derived from three distinct types of conditions: (1) prerequisite conditions, (2) subjective conditions, and (3) practical conditions. Findings from the systematic literature review of 49 published articles show that types of spatial publicness are divided into three categories: (1) subjective publicness, regarding who ultimately takes responsibility for publicness; (2) procedural publicness, in terms of whether democratic procedures are being followed; and (3) contextual publicness, regarding whether publicness conforms to social values. Since the type of spatial publicness can vary depending on how it is interpreted, these key dimensions of publicness adequately provide answers to discursive questions about what constitutes spatial publicness. This study also systematically categorizes the attributes of contemporary spatial publicness expressed in the academic literature. Measured items of spatial publicness stem from three key dimensions, each containing three elements: (1) procedure (openness, communication, and democracy); (2) contents (commonality, distribution, and sustainability); and (3) features (accessibility, quality, and specificity). Lastly, as a result of the Q-analysis, the perceptions of the general public toward the concepts of spatial publicness are divided into five types. Factor A is the open condition-oriented group, Factor B is the critical communication-oriented group, Factor C is the distribution value-oriented group, Factor D is the diversity recognition-oriented group, and Factor E is the instrumental discussion-oriented group. This study is expected to provide a foundation for publicness research to promote the realization of socially oriented values in the future. Another Q-set of 40 images showing analysis of publicly open spaces illustrates that three opinion groups have been classified: an experience-based group (Factor AA), a green-preferring group (Factor BB), and a convivial atmosphere-based group (Factor CC). This research provides helpful insights for the planning of publicly open spaces as well as the design and public engagement process, along with baseline data that can be used to enhance policymakers' and design professionals' understanding of people's attitudes toward spatial publicness and preferences for different publicly open spatial types. / Doctor of Philosophy / We live in an era where private and public spaces are hard to distinguish. Private spaces, such as a shopping mall, have been lauded as a parody and a caricature of an authentic public space. Locations without authentic public places, such as suburbs or rural areas, shopping malls are one of the few places that are spatially substituted as, and utilized as, public spaces. This research centralizes spatial publicness by congealing various insights from disciplinary fields with acknowledgement that an absolute, universal definition is nearly impossible to achieve. While utilizing publicness in a single register of meaning reduces its multidimensional nature, it also allows for a unified explanation by isolating a particularly relevant aspect to publicness in a given space. In this way, utilizing publicness opens up the potential to clearly conceptualize public spaces over obscure and esoteric definitions that limit practical applicability. This dissertation poses a broad question, "what makes a public space public?" In other words, it asks "how can conceptualize and measure the publicness of publicly open spaces?". Appropriations considered in relation to the micro-practices of place indicate that the spatial publicness is planned, designed, practiced, and contested in different stages and scales, and that the consequences of these relationships are interwoven and observed in space. Accordingly, the spatial publicness is contingent and in constant flux. Users practicing publicness are affected not only by larger policies that grant them physical and social accessibility, but also by spatial experiences such as unconscious togetherness or desired places. As appropriations reveal, spatial publicness is not a product of or compatible with planning, designing, or using space, nor is it only an effect of each stage of the production process, such as rules, forms, or behaviors. Rather, contemporary spatial publicness is affected by the interstices between these processes. Therefore, the spatial publicness of each case can be described in terms of different emergent meanings based on the levels and types of appropriations.

Wind power is a fast growing alternative energy source. Since 2000, wind energy capacity has increased 24 percent per year with Texas leading the U.S. in installed wind turbine capacity. Most socioeconomic research in wind energy has focused on understanding local opposition, especially aesthetic impacts on the surrounding landscape. Recent studies have addressed reasons for social acceptance of wind farms, suggesting that positions both favorable and unfavorable to wind power are subtle and intricate, rather than monolithic, and rooted in place-specific issues. In the case of Texas, scholars have reported that the minimal permitting process is the dominant variable that explains the rapid rise of wind power in the state?s western region. However, scholars have yet to study the place-based local or regional factors that structure and inform acceptance of wind energy by key actors who negotiate with wind-energy firms. This thesis presents empirically determined, statistically significant social perspectives regarding socioeconomic wind energy impacts. I determined social perspectives by using Q-Method in Nolan County, Texas, a major site of wind-power development. Q-Method allows researchers to generalize about social perspectives, but not about how widely or deeply populations ascribe to social perspectives. Q-Method combines qualitative and quantitative techniques beginning with semi-structured interviews to collect statements on wind power, followed by participant ranking of statements on a ?most disagree? to ?most agree? scale. Key actors surveyed included landowners with wind turbines, elected and civilservice government officials, and prominent local business and community leaders. My findings identified five significant clusters of opinion, two of which shared strong support for wind energy on the basis of perceived positive economic impacts. Three clusters of opinion were less favorable to wind energy; these arguments were based upon opposition to tax abatements, support of tax abatements, and concerns over negative impacts to the community. Consensus emerged over the idea that positive views toward wind-energy development were unrelated to broader commitments to renewable energy. The support of key actors in favor of wind energy is contingent upon direct financial benefits from wind-energy royalties, political views on taxes, notions of landscape aesthetics, and sense of community.

The critical need for access to network technology resources supporting advanced tools of academics and research is evident across disciplines and locations around the world. As research conducted by and in partnership with higher education institutions continues to increase in demand, it is incumbent on institutions to ensure the resources for this work are available as standard features for their faculty and students. The purpose of this study was to identify opinions of end users on the challenges to adoption of research and education (R&E) network resources at their local higher education institutions. The intent is to inform the R&E community about these challenges and to consider them when planning for the life cycle of network design and deployment. Study participants represented Information Technology (IT) leadership at 23 higher education institutions located within a regional R&E network consortium. Q methodology was applied to an established technology adoption model, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (Venkatesh, Morris, G. Davis, F. Davis, 2003) and informed by Rogers’ (2003) theory on the diffusion of innovations. The UTAUT model was modified to address attitudes toward technology resources enabled through access to R&E networks. Statistical analysis of the Q-sort data and examination of additional qualitative data were completed on data collected in this study. The combined methods served to identify factors based on the most prominent characteristics of each group and interpreted in alignment to the study framework. Results demonstrated the diversity of institutions and locations represented. Salient viewpoints expressed by respondents implied themes related to the value of a collegial environment within which to develop and deploy new projects, the critical need for institutional capacity and support, and the challenges of accessing and use of network resources. Theory can benefit from these results as a resource for exploring further modification of the initial UTAUT model to include technologies and audiences not previously included. Practitioners will benefit through reference to the findings when planning for the human and technological infrastructure capacity needed to support research and academic at their institutions.

Research suggests that personality may dictate specific Internet behaviours or preferences. However, literature to date has been piecemeal and has tended to focus on generic use. One area that remains relatively unexplored is the influence of personality on engagement with social networking sites (SNSs). The current thesis aims to fill this gap by exploring the influence of personality on motivations for using SNSs and behavioural patterns within them. Eysenck’s EPQ-R short form (extraversion, neuroticism and psychoticism) and Beck’s SAS (sociotropy and autonomy) were used to explore personality, both globally and specifically. Phase one of the thesis employs a ‘uses and gratifications’ framework to investigate how personality may predict motivations for using SNSs. Principal component analysis identified ten distinct motivational components, which were then successfully predicted by personality variables through regression analyses. It is therefore suggested that differing personality types vary greatly in their reasoning behind SNS usage. Results support theoretical assumptions. Phase two of the research looked at Facebook behaviours and profile construction. A content analysis of participant profiles was conducted with the help of questionnaire methodology. Data analysis suggests that personality was not a particularly strong predictor of self-presentational differences in this context; although subtle differences were present. The final phase of the research explored the perceived Facebook experience of users. A thematic analysis of an online student discussion board was conducted in order to generate distinct themes surrounding Facebook outcomes. These were used within Q Methodology to generate a concourse, through which Q sort statements were derived. Results generated four shared viewpoints of the Facebook experience, which were subsequently associated with personality through the use of traditional R methods. Again, although not particularly strong, theoretically supported associations can be seen. The thesis explores personality within SNS use in a depth previously unexplored. The conclusion makes theoretically-sound assumptions surrounding personality and SNS use as a media choice.

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Korea has become a strong influencer of global popular culture. With a handful of Korean celebrities entering mainstream U.S. pop music, Hallyu, the Korean Wave, has been growing tremendously in popularity. Following this global trend, American audiences are increasingly tuning into K-pop. The current study uses Q-sort methodology to investigate the motives, opinions, and attitudes of American fans of K-pop, specifically to find what drives people to seek music whose roots lie in an unfamiliar cultural landscape. Study results show that non-Korean K-pop fans in the United States fall into three distinct groups: the human lovers ("Honey honey, how you thrill me"), the product and production appreciators ("Music is my life"), and the social connectors ("With a little help from my friends"). Although the music appreciators and the socializers have been identified in previous K-pop research, the "Honey honey" group is a new category in K-pop culture research.

The dramatic rise in childhood obesity is a major concern nationwide. Unprecedented media exposure, drastically decreased time spent interacting as a family, and the consumption of calorie-dense foods are all heated topics of discussion with ties to weight gain. In this research, possible associations are examined between media, social groups and a favorite fast-food restaurant among children: McDonald's. Q methodology was used to analyze the various factors that draw children to McDonald's. With a theoretical background in social learning theory, this study had 29 children rank-order 30 photographs depicting elements of the McDonald's experience. Pictures included the most and least popular food items, social events like birthday parties and eating with family, physical aspects of McDonald's, such as the Playplace and dining area, famous McDonald's characters and celebrities, promotional events and giveaways, like the monopoly game, food coupons and Happy Meal toys. The participants then took part in an interview. Results of the study resemble existing research into what motivates children to go to McDonald's, including the food and Playplace. However, this study also reveals three new factors contributing to the restaurant's popularity for kids: their need to be with friends and family, frequenting the restaurant as a sort of comfortable rite or tradition, and the fame with which McDonald's is associated. The findings suggest the importance of social education about food habits from parents, in spite of an increased dependence on media and peers for information.

Thesis (M.A. (Psychology)) --University of Limpopo, 2009 / Conceptions of epilepsy were studied using Q-methodology. The study was conducted at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop Campus) and the surrounding communities. The aim was to examine perceptions of epilepsy among different categories of people and to explore and differentiate between these categories’ individual construction of what epilepsy is. Thirty three participants were recruited for the study. They included medical professionals (doctors and nurses), traditional and spiritual healers, university students (consisting of both health sciences and non-health sciences students), two ethnic groups (namely, the Bapedi and Vhavenda), people who are from both rural and urban areas, and high school teachers. Each category was represented by three people. Participants sorted thirty six statements developed from interviews. Four factors emerged from the analysis, and were labeled as medical perceptions of epilepsy, equality of treatment for epileptics, traditionalist perceptions of epilepsy, and religious beliefs of epilepsy. These factors are discussed. / National Research Foundation