In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), little is known about Saudi educational researchers' perspectives concerning the issue of ethics when recruiting children to participate in research. It has come to light that researchers use children to collect their data from but do not give them the opportunity to express their wishes regarding participation in that research, and no ethical consent form is specifically required for children's use unless the topic of research is sensitive. Accordingly, in the context of KSA, this research aims at identifying and exploring educational researchers' perspectives about children's rights when conducting research with children. This research used two methods: Q-methodology and interview. Q-methodology was used to determine the viewpoints of educational researchers working in education departments at two universities in Riyadh city in the KSA (King Saud University and Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University). Fifty-two (52) female educational researchers sorted 54 Q-methodology statements, according to personal opinion, ranging from (+5) most agree to (-5) most disagree, while the interviews were conducted with three policymakers from the National Commission for Childhood and the Ministry of Education. Following analysis of the data, a number of findings were identified from the Q analysis, five factors, and the interview analysis: the need for more childhood and children's rights studies; the challenges facing researchers when including children as research participants; the weak belief pertaining to children's capabilities; the low level of awareness of children's participation rights and how the ethics process is in the KSA. These findings illustrate the acceptance of ethics as a process in research. Finally, the effectiveness of using Q-methodology as an approach was confirmed. This research is in a position to inform the Saudi research community and policymakers about current understandings and practices in terms of children's participation in research. The viewpoints that emerged strongly indicate agreement with the concept of ethics when children participate in research. Educational researchers call for ethics guidelines and for them to be compulsory in the KSA and, more significantly, policymakers support their demand.

This study took place on the campus of a Hispanic-serving institution, and used Q methodology to assess the attitudes and perceptions of academic librarians toward a social justice role for the university library. Among librarians and others in higher education, there is a great deal of confusion around social justice as a concept because over the past forty years, it has often been subsumed under, or diverted by the neoliberal discourse of multicultural education, which conflates social justice with providing equal opportunities for under-represented students primarily as a means of enabling them to obtain jobs and become consumers in our neoliberal capitalist society. Unfortunately, this perspective dovetails neatly with the positivist traditions of the library profession, which also eschews political involvement and exhorts librarians to remain neutral in the services and collections they provide. Within this discourse, universities and their libraries are stripped of their political and social potential for addressing the structural problems and inequalities which circumscribe the lives of the very students they purport to serve. The results of this study indicate that many librarians believe that their profession’s ethos of neutrality renders the debate over social justice within the library moot. These librarians equate social justice as equivalent to giving equal access to materials that promote the advancement of marginalized groups, and to those that encourage the continuation of the status quo or opposition to equality. Only a small number of librarians envision themselves as well positioned to promote social justice by empowering students to use the resources currently available within the library. Despite the different viewpoints represented by the factors uncovered in this study, there did emerge areas of consensus from which library leaders can mediate conversations aimed at uncovering and evaluating the principles, practices, and attitudes within the library that arise from the dominant White worldview and hinder the library’s ability to serve all students equitably. Conversations about topics such as those implicated in this study, including institutional racism, diversity, social justice, and White privilege are not always comfortable conversations, but they are required if the library is to enact the changes necessary to allow it to serve all students more effectively and more justly. These discussions are especially needed at this time, when academic librarians as a profession remain 86 percent White, while many of our campuses are becoming increasingly racially diverse. If the library is to retain its place as the center of social and political discourse within the university, it is critical that it fully represent and respect the perspectives of non-dominant groups and recognize alternative epistemologies. Breaking with the positivist traditions of the library will allow opportunities for librarians to authentically connect with more of our students, which is particularly needed at Hispanic-serving institutions.

Community pharmacy practice is changing, putting a greater emphasis on patient involvement and empowerment than on physical drug products. Developing practice philosophies, such as pharmaceutical care, are operationalised through an ever-evolving service proliferation. There is, however, a paucity of studies addressing the patients’ subjective perceptions of pharmacy services. The few studies that measure the impact of pharmacy services on humanistic outcomes show little or no effect. This might be due to the services, or the assessment instruments used. The aim of this thesis was to enhance the understanding of how patients perceive community pharmacy services, their preferences for community pharmacy services, and how these services could be evaluated from the patient perspective. This was done by: 1.exploring patients’ perceptions of an existing pharmaceutical care service using in-depth interviews; 2. exploring patient preferences for the ideal pharmacy visit using Q methodology, and characterising those patient groups that have different preferences and; 3. testing the validity of the Swedish version of the Pharmaceutical Therapy-Related Quality of Life (PTRQoL)-instrument, using think aloud methodology. Patients had vague, and sometimes erroneous, understandings about a pharmaceutical care service that they were currently receiving. They reported that the service had increased their feeling of safety, enhanced their knowledge, provided drug treatment control, and empowered them. Seven different viewpoints of the ideal pharmacy service were identified, which could be broadly divided into two groups, those emphasising the physical drug products as central to the encounter and those seeking a relationship with the pharmacist. Some differences between the group characteristics were identified, but not specific enough to guide individualised care practice. Several problems with the validity of the PTRQoL-instrument were detected. Overall, the thesis has highlighted various aspects of patient perspectives on community pharmacy services that could be used for the development andassessment of such services.

The high prevalence of sexual violence warrants continued research into its prevention. Understanding consensual sexual experiences holds promise for sexual violence prevention; however, sexual consent is a surprisingly understudied phenomenon. Existing research focuses on the tactics used to coerce consent and the ways in which college students initiate and indicate consent. Research that begins to articulate a theory of consent may help engineer situations antithetical to sexually violent experiences. This study is a first step toward that objective. This paper presents findings from an exploratory research study on college students’ conceptualizations of sexual consent. The purpose of this study was twofold: To investigate how college students define consent and to understand how context influences the consent process. To explore these research questions, quantitative and qualitative data were collected using Q methodology. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two groups of college students who conceptualize consent differently. One group focuses on the importance of consent to rape prevention, the other to healthy sexuality promotion. Qualitative interview data suggest contextual variables such as definition of consent and relationship type influence consent to a lesser extent than alcohol use, personal sexual experience, discrepant levels of sexual experience between partners, and feelings for a potential sexual partner. Results support replacing the current model of consent, in which consent is a contractual obligation between sexual partners, with one of sexual communication, where consent is woven into a broader conversation about healthy sexuality. The strengths and limitations of doing so are discussed and directions for future intervention research are presented.

This thesis examines the way in which youth between the ages of sixteen and eighteen envision their future possible selves with respect to their possible careers and roles in the community. The youth were recruited from members of the Fusion Youth Activity and Technology Centre (a.k.a. Fusion) in Ingersoll, Ontario; population 12,146 (Statistics Canada, 2011). Situated in the context of small-town youth who attend afterschool activities aimed at providing skills in business, the arts, media and technology, the study asked youth to consider what their future possible selves would look like ten years from now. Using Q-methodology, the participating youth were asked to complete a 55-statement Q-sort with statements relating to careers and community roles generated by a focus group of Fusion youth and from the relevant literature. Using identical statements, the sort was conducted under two conditions of instruction; thinking of your hoped-for self in the future and; thinking of your feared self in the future. Factor analysis was conducted on both sets of Q-sorts (hoped-for and feared) and three factors were extracted for each. In keeping with Q-methodology, composite sorts were generated giving three distinct profiles of statement placement for each of the hoped-for and feared selves. Hoped-for profiles included community-minded professionals, independent creatives and no-plan dreamers. Feared self profiles included, disengaged problem citizens, trapped labourers and unhappy average citizens. These six different viewpoints of their possible futures indicate that youth see their futures (both good and bad) very differently and that their career foci and community involvement hopes and fears are far from homogeneous. This opens an opportunity for youth programs like Fusion to develop programming specific to these groups that may help to make hoped-for selves the more probable outcome.

Buildings make it possible for people to work together in organizations. In organization studies research, the physical aspects of organizations have been neglected in favor of intangible aspects (Gagliardi, 1996; Strati, 1999). Much of the research in management and organizational studies about physical workplaces concentrates on the instrumental aspects of offices, such as the relationship between open-plan offices and employee attitudes and behaviors (e.g. Hatch, 1987; Oldham, 1988), but it does not address the aesthetic aspects of offices. The physical workplace is part of the field of organizational aesthetics, which encompasses a range of topics and theoretical approaches, from aesthetics as a way of knowing organizations to the arts and related industries. This study explored the importance of aesthetics--beauty or its lack--in the day-to-day lives of people in organizations by exploring individuals' meanings of and experiences of their offices. At the same time, it examined the relationship between aesthetics and instrumentality of the physical workplace. How do office aesthetics matter in the way that work gets done in an organization? This study used Q-methodology (Brown, 1980; Stephenson, 1953) to explore individuals' experiences of their physical workplaces. Aesthetics and instrumentality were connected through site selection. Sites were chosen based on their combination of good/bad aesthetics and good/limited functionality. Twenty-one participants in four locations were interviewed about their offices--what they liked and disliked, and why. From the interviews, a Q-sample of statements was developed, and 19 participants sorted them into a normal distribution from "most like my opinions of my office" to "most unlike my opinions of my office." The sorts were factor analyzed and interpreted using statement content, demographic characteristics of participants, and information about the organizations and participants that was learned through the interviews. The resulting four factors gave four different perspectives on office aesthetics. One group of participants loved their work and saw their offices as an avenue of self-expression, an extension of themselves. Another group experienced considerable emotional distress because their offices did not reflect the quality of their organizations' work. For a third group, functionality was primary. For the last group, the office stood in for the organization as a whole-- their feelings about their workspaces mirrored their feelings about their organization.

This study seeks to contribute to an understanding of student attitudes toward global citizenship at the classroom level. Previous quantitative studies of civic attitudes have generally been designed for large sample sizes, and qualitative assessments are time consuming for researchers. This dissertation presents a tool utilizing Q methodology to bridge the gap between quantitative and qualitative measures of attitudes. The first phase of the study focuses on the design and validation of the research tool. The second phase of the study describes the implementation of the tool using a pre and post design to capture the shifts in attitudes that high school students have about global citizenship after completing a course in the subject. The results demonstrate that Q methodology is an effective measure for analyzing attitudes at the classroom level. Teachers and researchers can use the information from this tool to ensure that curriculum is effectively moving students toward attitudes of global competence, social responsibility, and global civic engagement.

Orientador: Linda Gentry El-Dash / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-10T23:54:15Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Carvalho_AndreaBarrosde_M.pdf: 819186 bytes, checksum: bad295db1a166fe2b62d2cefe0cd696d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008 / Resumo: O principal objetivo deste estudo é realizar um levantamento entre professores e estudantes de inglês acerca de suas concepções pessoais sobre leitura. Foi usada a Metodologia 'Q¿ nos procedimentos aplicados entre estudantes de inglês instrumental e de cursos de inglês geral, bem como entre professores. Foram observados os aspectos subjetivos dos participantes em relação ao tema da leitura em língua inglesa e dos processos nela envolvidos. Entre os procedimentos de pesquisa utilizados podemos mencionar as entrevistas iniciais de onde foram selecionados os itens para compor a amostra 'Q¿, a aplicação do procedimento denominado Distribuição Q entre 69 participantes (estudantes e professores), a análise fatorial das respostas e as entrevistas finais com os sujeitos mais típicos de cada ponto de vista revelado na análise fatorial. A análise fatorial das opiniões reveladas por meio da Distribuição Q revelou quatro pontos de vista compartilhados entre os sujeitos, denominados pontos de vista A, B, C e D. Os sujeitos do ponto de vista A relacionam a leitura com o conhecimento lexical e valorizam o uso de dicionário. Os participantes identificados no ponto de vista B valorizam o uso de inferências e acreditam que acreditam que a leitura também se presta à função de aquisição de vocabulário. Os sujeitos do ponto de vista C manifestam uma visão de leitura instrumental em que ler é útil para ter acesso às informações do texto. As pessoas identificadas no ponto de vista D revelam uma forte associação entre leitura e aspectos fonológicos e valorizam a leitura em voz alta / Abstract: The main purpose of this study is to reveal the points of view of teachers and students of a foreign language about reading and the relationship between vocabulary and reading . The procedures and techniques of Q-Methodology were used with English for Specific Purposes students and general English students, teachers were also included in the study. At first, individual interviews were made with students and teachers to get the statements for the Q-sample. Then, 69 participants took part in the Q-sorting step, which was followed by the factor analysis of the Q-sorts. Factor analysis showed four resulting factors, A, B, C, D, each one representing a different viewpoint shared between the subjects loaded on each factor. The participants loaded on A consider knowledge of word meaning to be the central component of text comprehension, and that is why they favor the use of a dictionary during reading. The respondents who share the point of view represented on B give importance to the strategy of guessing the meaning of unknown words from context; they also consider reading as the basis for lexical acquisition. The participants on factor C share the idea of language learning as resulting mainly from listening and speaking practice. They see reading in two ways: silent reading (related to comprehension) and reading aloud (focusing on pronunciation evelopment). The subjects on factor D consider the reading process as strongly affected by phonological aspects / Mestrado / Lingua Estrangeira / Mestre em Linguística Aplicada

Orientador: Linda Gentry El Dash / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T23:28:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Rosa_AnaAmeliaCalazansda_M.pdf: 1009466 bytes, checksum: 51765e9cfa147a65b1b02f2ffd2c3163 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Nosso trabalho consistiu em uma pesquisa com 24 professores de língua inglesa que já atuaram ou atuam na rede estadual de ensino do Paraná. Investigamos suas percepções acerca das Diretrizes Curriculares Estaduais para o Ensino de Língua Estrangeira Moderna e também acerca de outras variáveis envolvendo a prática de ensino de inglês. Primeiramente, realizamos entrevistas com alguns professores e um grupo focal com duas professoras para construir nosso Universo de Ideias com as opiniões reveladas nas conversas. Utilizando a Metodologia "Q", elaboramos a partir do Universo de Ideias, uma amostra de mais de 160 assertivas, das quais foram selecionados os 48 itens que compuseram o Q-set oficial. Em seguida, convidamos 30 professores de diferentes idades e formações para responderem ao tabuleiro "Q" selecionando de forma hierarquizada as assertivas que mais concordavam e as que mais discordavam e distribuindo as mesmas no tabuleiro segundo instruções da Metodologia "Q". Para a análise estatística e fatorial desses dados, utilizamos o software de domínio público PQ Method versão 2.11 que, ao analisar os dados, gerou quatro perfis diferentes de professores, excluindo seis participantes. O Perfil 1, com onze participantes, foi denominado Confiantes, por demonstrarem confiança no sistema atual de ensino de inglês da escola pública e por acreditaram na eficácia das Diretrizes Estaduais e na capacidade de professores e alunos em aprenderem e ensinarem inglês na escola pública, priorizando o ensino por meio de gêneros textuais. O Perfil 2, com quatro participantes, foi denominado Gramáticas do Texto, porque também prioriza o texto como objeto de ensino, porém, sugere a importância que o conhecimento gramatical tem para um bom trabalho com compreensão escrita. O Perfil 3, que é o menor contando com apenas três participantes, recebeu o nome Desbravadoras. Trata-se de um Perfil composto apenas por mulheres, sendo todas iniciantes na carreira, que demonstraram certa decepção com o sistema de ensino atual, relatando alguns problemas como a excessiva preocupação com notas e a falta de motivação dos alunos. Elas também elegem o texto como principal objeto de ensino. Finalmente, o quarto Perfil, que contou com seis participantes, foi denominado Críticos. Esse grupo revelou percepções críticas com relação às diretrizes e ao ensino de inglês. Apesar de também estar a favor do ensino por meio de gêneros textuais, o Perfil 4 questiona o lugar e a importância da gramática na sala de aula e também a formação dos professores. Nosso estudo também revelou alguns consensos: a não valorização de atividades de produção escrita, a rejeição de atividades de tradução e a indiferença quanto a atividades que envolvam o uso de vídeos parecem estar evidenciadas em todos os perfis / Abstract: This research investigated the perceptions (points of view) of 24 teachers who work or have worked in public schools in the state of Paraná, Brazil. Their opinions about the Official Guidelines for the Modern Foreign Language Teaching Curriculum and other English teaching practices were investigated. Initially, interviews and a focal group were organized in order to collect the Concourse of Ideas. A sample of more than 160 statements was extracted, and 48 items were selected to compose the official Q-sample. Then, 30 teachers were invited to participate in the Q-sorting, they ranked the statements they would most agree or most disagree with. The statistical and factorial analyses were made using the free software PQ Method 2.11 which revealed four different factors (excluding six respondents). Factor 1, with eleven participants, was named Confiantes, because they believe in the current system for teaching English, which priorizes the teaching of textual genres. Factor 2, with four participants, was named Gramáticas do Texto, because they also priorize the text as the main teaching object, although they suggest the importance of teaching grammar in order to facilitate reading comprehension. Factor 3, with three participants, was named Desbravadoras. This Factor consists only of women who are beginners in their teaching career. They are disappointed to the current educational system and they seem to be worried about the emphasis in the academic community on grades. As those participants of Factors 1 and 2, Factor 3 believes the best way to teach English is through the studies of text. Finally, Factor 4, with six participants, was named Críticos. This Factor revealed critical perceptions about the State Guidelines and the teaching of English in the public schools. Even though the participants in Factor 4 agree that the use of textual genres can lead to successful English learning, they are concerned with teacher preparation and the importance of teaching grammar. Some consensus emerged: the non-appreciation of writing activities, the rejection of translation activities and indifference to video activities / Mestrado / Lingua Estrangeira / Mestre em Linguística Aplicada

A study case was carried out in Brazil (Não-Me-Toque, RS), during the first semester of 2004, to know main reasons for farmers that could explain their acceptance to grow transgenic soy (ST). Q methodology was used to identify those reasons. This methodology combines in a unique way that is innovating- qualitative (deep interviews) and quantitative analysis (factor analysis). Seven people (extension agents, farmers and researchers) were interviewed in order to develop the set of statements (32) to be sorted by a small sample composed of 32 producers. The data was analyzed and interpreted using a special statistical software program called PCQ. The main reason for farmers to grow transgenic soy is that is an efficient way to combat weeps, and reduce costs, without affecting levels of production. Its diffusion took place not for pressure of great associations of producers or communication media. Sustainability of ST was considered at three levels: i) environmental (in a controversial way), legal, and structural. / O presente estudo de caso foi realizado no Brasil (Não-Me-Toque, RS) durante o primeiro semestre de 2004, para avaliar as principais razões que podem explicar porque os agricultores cultivam soja transgênica. A metodologia Q foi usada para identificar essas razões. Esta metodologia combina, numa forma única e inovadora, análise qualitativa (entrevistas em profundidade) e quantitativa (análise fatorial). Sete pessoas (técnicos extensionistas, pesquisadores e agricultores produtores de soja e soja transgênica) foram entrevistadas para desenvolver um conjunto de afirmações (32) a serem classificadas por uma pequena amostra composta de 32 produtores (etapas 1 e 2). A informação foi analisada e interpretada usando um pacote estatístico especial chamado PCQ (etapa 3). A principal razão para cultivar soja transgênica é que esta é eficaz no combate de Ervas Daninhas no Estado do RS, ao mesmo tempo reduz os custos de produção e não afeta os níveis de produção. Sua difusão não se deve à pressão das cooperativas ou associações de produtores, e muito menos, pelos meios de comunicação. A sustentabilidade da soja transgênica é vista em 3 níveis: ambiental (em forma controversa), legal e estrutural.