Loneliness has long been understood as a part of the human condition, however, its ability to be measured remains a struggle, much due to its subjective nature and many complexities. As loneliness has recently been highlighted as a global health concern in need of intervention, an accurate measurement of the phenomenon is perhaps more crucial than ever. This study aims to give an in-depth understanding of loneliness, in particular how it pertains to a practical tool of measurement. The text discusses limitations of previous measurements and analyzes which areas of loneliness still remain to be underrepresented in established measuring scales. To reach the goal of the study and find the best way to measure loneliness, we implemented our own loneliness scale using both questions from established questionnaires as well as our own formulated questions. Three distinct categories within loneliness emerged- social networks, actual loneliness and experienced belonging. These, along with relevant descriptive factors of the participants, were used to measure loneliness. The final measurement scale was shared in the form of an online questionnaire to a total of 479 participants. The results showed all categories to be distinct aspects of all significant to one another and in the measurement of loneliness as a whole. Both socioeconomic, participants origin, as well as age-related factors also proved to be relevant in measuring loneliness but they did not have the same predictive strength as the main three variables. Furthermore, this scale included previously underrepresented questions which aimed to distinguish trait and state loneliness and situational loneliness-triggers. These all proved significant in the wider category of experienced belonging but did not warrant a distinct category of its own. The final loneliness scale measures both more subjective and qeualitative as well as objective and quantitative aspects of loneliness. As the measurement showed good internal consistency, it can be considered a valid and reliable tool to gain an in-depth understanding of loneliness.

This study examined the relationship between supervisee attachment orientation, rapport of the supervision working alliance over time, the change of supervisee attachment orientation, and the perceived impact of supervision on the lives of the supervisees. Participants were 117 master?s level counseling student at the entry (34), practicum (45), and internship (38) levels, counseling clients with supervision. This study used the Relationship Questionnaire and the Rapport score from the Supervision Working Alliance Inventory. Data was collected via e-mail at the beginning, middle, and end of the semester. Data was examined using Two-Way Factorial ANOVAs, Bowker Tests, and Chi-Square Tests. There were statistically significant changes in attachment orientation over time, and a statistically significant relationship between working alliance rapport scores and supervisee attachment. A change in attachment from preoccupied and fearful toward secure and dismissing orientations occurred. These findings may indicate the importance of considering attachment in the supervision relationship.

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The overall purpose of this dissertation was to assess the Weightlifting team’s athlete and coach perception of the athlete monitoring program at East Tennessee State University over the course of a mesocycle. This was accomplished by conducting a single investigation using eleven well-trained weightlifters and three coaches. Five data collections were carried out over the course of a single mesocycle leading up to a competition. No statistically significant perceptual changes throughout the training program were observed among any questions for weightlifters or coaches. Interpretation of the means for each question indicate that both weightlifters’ and coaches’ perceptions of the SPEC program’s ability to influence the components assessed by the questionnaire were positive ranging from no different to much better. Participants agree that they do understand why they take part in both SPEC testing and monitoring, and coaches indicated that data from testing and monitoring is used to develop and alter their athletes training. Results further indicate regular communication between coaches and their athletes about the purpose of their programming.

No / In the culture domain, questionnaires are often used to obtain profiles of users for adaptation. Creating questionnaires requires subject matter experts and diverse content, and often does not scale to a variety of cultures and situations. This paper presents a novel approach that is inspired by crowdwisdom and takes advantage of freely available structured linked data. It presents a mechanism for extracting culturally-related facts from DBpedia, utilised as a knowledge source in an interactive user modelling system. A user study, which examines the system usability and the accuracy of the resulting user model, demonstrates the potential of using DBpedia for generating culture-related user modelling questionnaires and points at issues for further investigation.