Values matter in both legal decision (lawmaking and lawapplying) and discourse (lawshaping and lawinfluencing). Yet, their purported subjectivity means that gaining or improving knowledge about values (whether they be epistemic, legal, moral, ethical, economic, political, cultural, social, or religious) in the context of analytic legal thought and understanding is often said to be at odds with its goal of objectivity. This phenomenon is amplified at the international level where the infusion of seemingly subjective political values by sovereigns, and the decisionmakers to whom they delegate, can, and does, interfere with an idealized and objective rule of law. The discourse on value subjectivity, and its relation to the purpose and function of the law, is particularly apparent in evolving international legal orders such as investment treaty arbitration. The primary aim of this work is to provide a new method for gaining empirical knowledge about value subjectivity that can help close a weak link in all nonpositivist (value-laden) legal theory: a weakness that has manifest itself as skepticism about the possibility of measuring value objectively enough to permit its incorporation as a necessary component of analytic jurisprudence. This work proposes a theory of configurative fairness for addressing the problem related to the development or evolution of legal regimes, and how legal regimes perceived as subjectively unfair can be remedied. Such a theory accepts the premise that perceptions of fairness matter in directing the way that legal orders develop, and that perceptions of fairness relate to the manner in which values are distributed and maximized in particular legal orders. It is posited that legal orders perceived as fair by their participants are more likely to be endorsed or accepted as legally binding (and are therefore more likely to comply with the processes and outcomes that such laws mandate). The purpose of a theory of configurative fairness is an attempt to provide a methodological bridge for improving knowledge about value in the context of legal inquiry through the employment of a technique called Q methodology: an epistemological and empirical means for the measurement and mapping of human subjectivity. It is a method that was developed in the early twentieth century by physicist-psychologist William Stephenson: the last research student of the inventor of factor analysis, Charles Spearman. What Stephenson did was to create a way for systematically measuring subjective perspectives, and although not previously used in jurisprudential thought, Q methodology will facilitate a means for the description and evaluation of shared subjectivities. In the context of law generally, and in investment treaty arbitration specifically, these are the subjectivities that manifest themselves as the conflicting perspectives about value that are omnipresent in both communicative lawshaping discourse and authoritative and controlling lawmaking and lawapplying decision. Knowledge about these shared value subjectivities among participants in investment treaty arbitration will allow the legal analyst to delineate and clarify points of overlapping consensus about the desired distribution of value as they relate to the regime-building issues of evolving legal orders. The focus for a theory of configurative fairness pertains to the identification of the various value positions that participants hold about a particular legal order and to configure those values, through its rules and principles, in a manner that is acceptable (and perceived as fair) by all of its participants. If such a value consensus can be identified, then particular rules in the legal order can be configured by decisionmakers in a way so as to satisfy participants’ shared value understandings. To engage such a theory, a means for identifying shared value subjectivities must be delineated. This work conducts a Q method study on the issues under debate relating to regime-building questions in investment treaty arbitration. The Q method study asked participants knowledgeable about investment treaty arbitration to rank-order a set of statements about the way that the values embraced by this legal order ought to be configured. The results of the study demonstrate that there is significant overlap about how participants in investment treaty arbitration perceive the desired distribution of values across the regime. The Q method study identified six distinct perspectives that represent shared subjectivities about value in the context of the development of investment treaty arbitration. The Q method study was also able to identify where there is an overlapping consensus about value distribution across the distinct perspectives. It is these areas of overlapping consensus that are most likely to reflect shared value understandings, and it is proposed that it is upon these shared value understandings that the future development of investment treaty arbitration ought to aim.

Beginning in 2015 a major demographic shift in the majority income producers in the United States has moved from Baby Boomers to Millennials. At the same time, many nonprofits are not equipped to engage with Millennials and lack the knowledge and resources to tap into their philanthropic preferences. Using the theories of planned behavior, reciprocal altruism, social status, and warm glow theory, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explore opportunities for U.S. based nonprofit organizations to interact more effectively with members of the Millennial generation in terms of philanthropic behavior. Data were collected and analyzed using Q Methodology and included 36 Millennials attending the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Overall the researcher found that Millennials embrace the idea of using gamification to further fundraising. Five factors or profiles of potential donors were extracted from the Q-sort results: (a) the nongaming, knowledge seeker; (b) the high engagement, needs recognition donor; (c) the philanthropist gamer; (d) the gamer, let's play but not compete; and, (e) the transparent gamer. The findings of this study have the potential to create positive social change by providing information to nonprofits who may use it to cultivate, educate, and solicit individual charitable donations from members of Gen Y. The positive social change implications of this study include advice to nonprofit organizations on ways to increase revenue streams through donations from Millennials that could enable nonprofit organizations to better fulfill their mission and serve their constituents

This Q research designed study sought the answer to the research question, “What are the range of collectively help perceptions of leaders in the Christian and Missionary Alliance toward the impact that emotional woundedness has had on their leadership?” In doing so a conceptual framework was constructed from three psychological theories. These theories were Need Reduction Theory (Hull, 1973), Goal Theory (Adler, 1927) and finally a Theory of Cognitive Dissonance (Festinger, 1957). The 39 participants of this study were clergy leaders of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. The participants perspectives were compared and grouped, and three factors were revealed, along with one bi-polar factor. These factors were described as The Community Leader, The Alienated Leader, The Empathic Leader, And the Redemptive Leader. These factors were discussed and finally study implications and limitations, and recommendations for further research, were suggested.

This Q methodology study focused on those intrinsic attributes that successful African American men who had adverse childhood experiences attributed to their success. Using the purposeful and snowball sampling recruitment process, forty-two successful African American men participated in this research project. Five distinct factors were identified and labeled as, Factor 1: The Godly Working Men, Factor 2: The Competitive Men, Factor 3: The Charismatic Men, Factor 4: The Expectation Driven Men, and Factor 5: The Proud African American Men. The main findings were that respectful African American boys who are taught to understand who they are spiritually, be proud of their racial history, have a sound sense of purpose, and a desire to work hard are tooled to become successful African American men. The findings in this study support the wealth of research regarding strength-based youth development approaches, such as the Positive Youth Development’s 40 Developmental Assets framework. The six top intrinsic attributes that the participants in this research project ranked as most contributing to their success were 1) faith and trust in God, 2) desire to learn and understand how to apply the word of God to their life, 3) being respectful of others, 4) having a sense of purpose and value for life, 5) pride in racial identity and history, and 6) the ability to work hard and do their best. However, the intrinsic attributes relating to spirituality and pride in racial identity and history are not explicitly identified within the internal assets of the Positive Youth Development’s 40 Developmental Assets framework. For this framework to be meaningful for African Americans, the pride in racial identity and history attribute should be added to the positive identity group and a new group should be included to account for the two spirituality attributes. This study provided evidence that African American men from adverse backgrounds have voices and want to share their experiences to help other young people overcome and be successful. It is highly recommended that additional study be conducted on the impacts that extrinsic and intrinsic attribute have to the success of African American men.

The food industry's focus has shifted to growth, profits and efficiency through new production processes. In response, people feel they have lost control over the food they eat. Media has a direct impact on consumer perceptions. Chicken has received extremely negative publicity compelling consumers to question the safety of chicken as a protein source. The aim of the study is to determine the different perceptions that exist in the mind of consumers regarding chicken as a generic food brand and to assess the role of communication in a consumer-brand relationship. Q methodology is the research methodology chosen as it is able to communicate an individual's subjectivity. The researcher considered factor loadings of 0.37 and more as significant. The varimax rotation produced four dominant factors. The variance in the correlation matrix was calculated at 70 percent. The factor scores were determined once the total number of factors with pure loadings had been identified. / Communication Science / M.A. (Communication)

Orientador: : Linda Gentry El Dash / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-23T01:29:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Azzari_ElianeFernandes_M.pdf: 1624237 bytes, checksum: 949a7a3f8413557ad237cd1db2a627d3 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013 / Resumo: Situado no âmbito da Linguística Aplicada, este estudo apresenta nossa investigação acerca das opiniões de alunos do Ensino Fundamental II sobre o seu progresso na aprendizagem da Língua Inglesa na escola pública. Fazemos um resumo sócio-histórico do ensino dessa língua no Brasil, seguido pelo debate sócio-cognitivo estabelecido na pesquisa sobre a aprendizagem de Língua Estrangeira. Em seguida, discutimos o papel da metacognição e das estratégias de aprendizagem na formação de aprendizes autônomos e a proposta pedagógica dos multiletramentos para um ensino situado de línguas na escola. Utilizando instrumentos de pesquisa de cunho qualitativo e quantitativo característicos da Metodologia "Q", realizamos nove grupos focais com alunos entre o 6º e o 9º anos de uma escola da prefeitura de Valinhos, SP. Das falas desses alunos e da leitura de artigos da área obtivemos opiniões, na forma de 120 assertivas, das quais selecionamos 49, formando a Amostra "Q". Em seguida, 26 alunos participaram da Distribuição "Q" mediada pelo software FLASHQ Offline v.1.0, em que comunicaram seu maior ou menor grau de concordância com as ideias das assertivas. Utilizando o software de domínio público PQ Method v.2.3.1, fizemos uma análise estatística e fatorial que gerou quatro perfis diferentes de alunos. O perfil um, denominado Os Falantes é composto por sete participantes que associam sua percepção de progresso na aprendizagem com sua capacidade de falar o inglês com precisão linguística. Para esses alunos, a aula de inglês da escola é considerada "fraca". O segundo perfil, chamado Os Escritores é formado por seis participantes cuja percepção de progresso na aprendizagem de inglês está associada a sua capacidade de produção escrita da língua e acham que, ainda que seja "fraco", o ensino de inglês não deve ser retirado dos currículos da escola pública. O perfil três, com cinco participantes, foi nomeado Os Leitores, uma vez que seus integrantes percebem na capacidade de ler em inglês um fator para a identificação do progresso de sua aprendizagem. Eles dissociam a ideia de progressão da concepção de tornar-se um falante sob os moldes de um nativo idealizado. Finalmente, Os Ouvintes, com cinco participantes, representam sua percepção de progresso através da capacidade de compreender oralmente o inglês. Para eles, progredir na aprendizagem dessa língua os tornará aptos a trabalhar com pessoas que a falem, assim como compreender o que ouvem hoje, por exemplo, na televisão. Há, entre os perfis, consenso quanto à importância do conhecimento gramatical para a produção escrita da língua; e quanto à irrelevância do uso do CD (encarte do livro didático) para memorização de vocabulário. Todos discordam ainda que um visitante de outro país tivesse que aprender português, percebendo como "dever" do brasileiro capacitar-se para o uso do inglês. Os dados apontam para a caracterização de um aluno tradicional (especialmente nos três primeiros perfis), fruto de um ensino que privilegia uma visão sistêmica e descontextualizada da língua, bem distante da proposta de ensino de língua estrangeira oferecida nos documentos vigentes / Abstract: This work, situated within the field of Applied Linguistics, presents our investigation of the opinions of Elementary students? progress in learning English as a Foreign Language (FL) in a regular public school. We provide a sociohistorical summary of the teaching of English in Brazil, followed by the social-cognitive debate in research of FL learning. We then discuss the role of metacognitive and learning strategy knowledge in the construction of an autonomous learner, followed by a review of the proposal of the pedagogy of Multiliteracies for situated language learning. Using both qualitative and quantitative research tools within the framework of Q Methodology, we conducted nine focus groups with 6th to 9th graders in a public school in the vicinity of São Paulo. We selected 49 of the 120 statements gathered containing opinions based on the literature and students' comments to form the Q Sample. Then, 26 students were invited to participate in the Q Distribution, mediated by the free software FLASHQ Offline v.1.0, which showed the level of agreement / disagreement of the participants with the stated ideas. The students' distributions were submitted to a factor analysis mediated by the PQ Method v.2.3.1 software, and 4 different factors or points of view emerged. Seven participants formed the first factor, named "The Speakers". These students associate their perception of progress in learning with their ability to speak English accurately and consider their English lessons at school to be "weak". The second factor, "The Writers", is composed of 6 participants whose perception of progress is linked to their ability in written production. They also think that even though their English classes are week, this FL should remain a component in the public schools curriculum. The third factor was called "The Readers", since the participants consider reading ability to be an indication of their progress in the learning process. They separate the idea of progress from the concept of becoming a native-like English speaker. Finally, "The Listeners", with 5 participants, perceive learning progress in relation to their oral comprehension. According to these students, learning English will enable them to work with people who speak it, as well as allowing them to understand what they hear on the radio. There is a certain consensus about the importance of knowing grammar in order to write English, as well as the irrelevance of the use of the CD (which is distributed as part of their didactic material) for the memorization of new vocabulary items. All the participants disagree that foreigners in Brazil need to communicate in Portuguese. The data point to a traditional view of learning, probably as a result of a language teaching perspective which puts a premium on a systematic and decontextualized language, far from the concept proposed by the official documents for the FL teaching / Mestrado / Lingua Estrangeira / Mestra em Linguística Aplicada

In this thesis the intricacies of service user and staff perceptions of psychological interventions for mental health difficulties were explored. Expanding upon this theme, mothers and staff on a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) were asked about their views regarding the acceptability and feasibility of the implementation of a parenting intervention, Baby Triple P Positive Parenting Programme (Baby TP). This investigation is presented as four papers: a literature review, two empirical papers (a & b) and, a critical review and personal reflection of the research process.The literature review, a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies, explores service user and staff perceptions of psychological interventions for mental health difficulties. Twenty-eight studies were synthesised to develop comprehensive understanding of subtle, specific and overlapping elements involved in the implementation of psychological intervention. Guided by Noblit and Hare’s (1988) approach, 11 over-arching themes and 25 sub-ordinate themes emerged from the synthesis. Findings provide a detailed description of the concepts pertinent to both service users and staff. Implications are identified for service managers and clinicians in obtaining optimum efficiency and outcomes of psychological intervention. The empirical study is a Q-methodological investigation into service user and staff perceptions of the acceptability and feasibility of a parenting intervention, Baby TP, on a MBU. This study is split into two population-specific papers. Overall five main factors were identified (service users: three; staff: two), which provides new insights into the acceptable and feasible elements of a parenting intervention within this specialist setting. The findings highlight a positive consensus as to the acceptability and feasibility of Baby TP in a MBU setting alongside a number of identified needs pertinent to service users, staff and the setting. Clinical implications and recommendations are provided to address identified areas of need for both populations within this setting. The third paper is a critical review of the thesis illustrated through personal reflections of the research process.

Visual depictions of politicians play an essential role in the impression formation of the audience because they convey visual cues and attributes related to, for example, likeability or competence. This study examines the subjective audience evaluations based on the visual portrayals of a politician by using Q methodology, a qualitative–quantitative approach of audience research. Q-sorts of 33 different pictures showing a high-ranking European politician, along with personal interviews, were used to probe the audience’s perception of a favorable or unfavorable picture. Q factor analysis yielded four groups of participants. The audience groups differ regarding their expectation toward favorably depicted political behavior and the involved balance of professional political leadership competences, social competences, and personality. In addition, technical and formal representation strategies were identified as important visual cues, but not for all audience groups.

Bildung ist ein Instrument, das zur Bekämpfung von Armut, Ungleichheit und sozialer Ausgrenzung in jeder Gesellschaft eingesetzt werden kann. Für eine nachhaltige und ganzheitliche nationale Entwicklung ist daher eine gerechte Verteilung der Bildungsressourcen unter den Menschen erforderlich. Dies ist jedoch nicht immer ohne Weiteres zu erreichen, insbesondere in Afrika, wo der Kolonialismus in vielen Ländern teilweise zu einer ungleichen Entwicklung unter den Menschen geführt hat. Schon bald nach der Eingliederung der Northern Territories of the Gold Coast (heute Ghana) in die Kolonialherrschaft vernachlässigte die Bildungspolitik der Kolonialisten den nördlichen Teil des Landes. Obwohl es einige Studien zum Kolonialismus in Afrika im Allgemeinen gibt, wurde nur wenig darüber berichtet, welche Rolle er bei der Schaffung eines ungleichen Bildungswesens spielte. Auch die Auswirkungen von aktiven Förderungsmaßnahmen, die zur Überbrückung der Kluft zwischen dem Nord-Süd-Gefälle in Ghana eingeführt wurden. Die wichtigsten Fragen, die diese Studie daher zu beantworten versucht, sind die Folgenden: Was waren die kolonialen Begegnungen mit dem Norden Ghanas, die die Unterentwicklung des Bildungswesens in der Region bewirkten? Wie überbrücken die aktiven Förderungsmaßnahmen bzw. die positive Diskriminierung die Kluft zwischen dem Norden und dem Süden des Landes? Zur Beantwortung der Forschungsfragen wurde in der Studie ein methodengemischter Ansatz verwendet, bei dem Tiefeninterviews, Q-Methoden, Dokumentenanalyse und Beobachtung als Datenerhebungsmethoden Einsatz fanden. Es stellte sich heraus, dass die Kolonialisten eine bewusste Strategie verfolgten, den Norden zu einer Reserve ungelernter Arbeitskräfte zu machen, was erklärt, warum sie dort anfangs nur wenige Schulen bauten. Die Ergebnisse der Studie zeigen darüber hinaus, dass die positive Diskriminierung die Nord-Süd-Lücke nicht wie erwartet schließt. So kommt man zu dem Schluss, dass die Ausbeutung weitesgehend für die Unterentwicklung des Bildungswesens in Nordghana verantwortlich ist. / Education is a tool that can be used to fight poverty, inequality, and social exclusion in every given society. Thus, for a sustainable and holistic national development, there is the need for an equitable distribution of educational resources among the people. This is however hardly achievable, especially in Africa where colonialism has partly brought about unequal development among the people in many countries. Soon after the Northern Territories of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) was incorporated under colonial rule, the educational policy of the colonialists did not favour the northern part of the country. Even though, there have been some studies on the colonialism of Africa in general, little has been done regarding the role it played in (re)producing unequal development of education in Africa. Likewise, the impact of an affirmative action instituted to bridge the gap between the north-south divide in Ghana has not been evaluated. The main questions this study thus seek to answer are: What were the colonial encounters with the north that brought about the underdevelopment of education in the area? How is the affirmative action bridging the gap between the north and the south? To answer the research questions, the study used a mixed-methods approach where in-depth interviews, Q methods, document analysis and observation were adapted as data collection methods. It was revealed that the colonialists adopted a deliberate strategy of making the north an unskilled labour reserve, thus accounting for why they did not build many schools there in the beginning. The findings of the study also show that the effect of the affirmative action has not been able to appreciably contribute to closing the north-south gap as expected. It is concluded that exploitation largely accounted for the underdevelopment of education in northern Ghana.

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