Thesis (D. Min.)--Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia, 1993. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 183-186).

People with learning disabilities constitute about 2% of the general population. Epilepsy is more prevalent among people with learning disabilities compared with the general population. Effective communication is central to the management of people with learning disabilities and epilepsy. It has both therapeutic and health promotion functions including psycho-social benefits to the individual and their carers. Carers play vital roles in supporting individuals who live in the community to manage their conditions and the need for effective communication between service users and health care professionals is crucially important. Effective communication may not only lead to improved quality of life but may reduce mortality through the promotion of better understanding of seizures and encouraging efficient use of medication. Despite this communication regarding community-based adults with mild learning disabilities has not been fully studied, in particular the service users‘ views and experiences regarding communication has been a neglected area. Yet, the service users‘ views may be the best source for the definition of effective communication. This study was triggered by the paucity of research that investigated service users‘ views and experiences regarding communication. Furthermore, numerous health policies have been formulated that emphasise the involvement of patients as consumers in the provision and delivery of health services. This study is purported to bridge this communication gap by offering service users a rare opportunity for them to express their views and experiences regarding communication to inform health policies and clinical practice. This study adopts a naturalistic qualitative approach and employs in-depth semi-structured interviews to solicit service users‘ and their carers‘ views and experiences regarding communication. The interviews also investigated service users‘ and carers‘ perspectives in regard to communication with health care professionals‘. Carer communication diaries were used to supplement the carers‘ interview data and also to endorse the credibility of the study findings. Six main findings emerged from this study that described service users‘ and carers‘ views and experiences regarding communication: communication needs and expectations; ‗engagement‘ as a predictor of effective communication; strategies of communication; facilitating factors of communication; methods of communication; barriers to communication. This study suggests that effective communication with people with learning disabilities and epilepsy requires a reflective model that incorporates self-assessment and awareness of the individual‘s communication needs and expectations. The model and recommendations that emerged from this study may be a useful resource for health and social care professionals.

A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA in Communication Science University of Zululand, 2001. / In this thesis I present my recommendations regarding the role of direct small group communication and public communication in an envisaged Communication Science curriculum within the Language, literacy and Communication learning area in the Further Education and Training band. I show that the fundamental switch from the traditional educator-centred teaching to learner-centred teaching in OBE requires that both educators and learners be in command of a range of communica¬tion strategies in order to construct meaning in real-world social contexts. Intraper-sonaL, interpersonal and small group involvements are all essential for successful teaching. I also stress the need for knowledge of verbal as well as nonverbal com¬munication skills to give learners the confidence they need in the workplace. The cooperative method of teaching brings democracy into the OBE classroom with learners contributing from their daily lives as well as having their needs met. I examine an array of forms of communication that learners and educators must be in command of to succeed in OBE. I argue that since the human mind integrates knowledge, the demarcations between learning areas are mainly posited for heuristic convenience. An analysis of the Revised National Curriculum Statement (C2005) shows that most of the components required to form the basis for offering Com-munication Science as a coherent formal discipline in the Further Education and Training (FKI) band, can be found, dispersed throughout the General Education and Training (GET) band, (Grades R to 9) within the Language, literacy and Communication learning area. In the penultimate chapter I utilise the insights gained to suggest what the curriculum could include for teaching direct small group communication and public communication as part of the envisaged Communica-tion Science curriculum. Finally, I would like to point out that my thesis forms part of a number of coordi-nated studies on the feasibility of including particular aspects of human communication as part of the envisaged Communication Science curriculum.

Project Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-192).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Melbourne, Faculty of Education, 2006. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 265-288).

Project Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-192).

Project Thesis (D. Min.)--Denver Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1998. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 178-192).

Submitted by Leonardo Cavalcante (leo.ocavalcante@gmail.com) on 2018-04-11T13:49:06Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 2806305 bytes, checksum: 9bc4e21e4475e5dd6b2b19aa0bbb93f2 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-04-11T13:49:06Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Arquivototal.pdf: 2806305 bytes, checksum: 9bc4e21e4475e5dd6b2b19aa0bbb93f2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-08-26 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The research understands the dialogue as the main notion in the communication and learning definitions: it is impossible to have communication without dialogue and, therefore, learning without communication. Thenceforth, with historical and empirical support in distance learning and online teaching, we investigated the use of mobile devices in education. Our empirical and exploratory research - qualitative - had as methodological approach a study of multiple cases, carried out with the objective of analyzing the devices mobility in internet spaces , applied to undergraduate courses of Pedagogy and Languages (both in distance education) and Communication in Digital Media (formal learning), of Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB). This investigation took into account the researcher's participant observations, as a student and an English teacher, in order to understand the use of mobile technologies in the learning process. The analysis allowed the understanding of the changes that the connected mobility have brought to the notions of time and space and thereby the reconfigurations on the way we learn. In this sense, participation, collaboration and interaction are seen as essential conditions for learning in mobility times. / A pesquisa entende o dialógico como noção central na definição da comunicação e aprendizagem: não é possível que ocorra comunicação sem diálogo e, por conseguinte, que intercorra aprendizagem sem comunicação. A partir daí, com amparo histórico e empírico na educação a distância (EAD) e no ensino online, investigamos o uso de dispositivos móveis na educação. A nossa pesquisa empírico-exploratória - de natureza qualitativa - teve como recurso metodológico um estudo de múltiplos casos, realizado com o objetivo de analisar a mobilidade de dispositivos em espaços da internet, aplicado aos cursos de Pedagogia (EAD), Letras (EAD) e Comunicação em Mídias Digitais (presencial), da Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB). Na condução da investigação se levou em consideração as observações participantes da pesquisadora, na condição de aluna e professora de inglês, para ajudar a compreender a utilização de tecnologias móveis nos processos de aprendizagem. A análise permitiu apreender que a mobilidade conectada alterou as noções de tempo e espaço e, com isso, reconfigurou as formas de aprendizagem. Nesse sentido, participação, colaboração e interação são vistas como condições imprescindíveis para a aprendizagem em tempos de mobilidade.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterized primarily by social skills deficits that can impair the individual’s ability to develop and maintain meaningful relationships. Research has shown that social skills training provides lasting improvement in social interactions. However, many factors can hinder the availability of intervention groups outside of major metropolitan areas. Individual online social skills interventions have been shown to translate to increases in everyday social skills, and while further investigation is required, current literature suggests that there is great potential for live, interactive online social skills groups to provide similar benefits to in-person intervention groups. Thus, online groups may be one solution to the barriers to accessing available resources. This study sought to explore the feasibility of conducting a live, interactive online social skills group by comparing two groups using the same curriculum; one in-person group that met in a lab on a local college campus, and one piloted online group that met through Zoom, a video conference platform, each for 14 weeks. Each group also participated in person in social activities on campus to gather preliminary generalization data. The online intervention was acceptable to therapists and participants, and a group of therapists who implemented both delivery models reported some advantages and disadvantages of an online format for social skills, expressing a preference for in-person delivery model when possible, but acceptability of online delivery where in-person groups are not available. The online model showed somewhat lower levels of participation, but slightly higher attendance rates than the in-person model. Understanding both the advantages and disadvantages to online social skills, clinicians can utilize the method the best fits their needs.

A well working communication between students and lecturers, both in and outside of class, has shown to be very important for a positive learning experience and an effective learning environment. Students need to have a critical mindset of their own cognitive reasoning and their learning process. With support from the lecturer, this will improve the student’s selfassessment but also their academic journey through their higher education. As students are becoming more native online, it is of utter most importance the online communication works as well as the direct physical communication does. This can be achieved through having a learning management system (LMS) that assists lecturers with handing out information and assists students with an easy way to receive information regarding their educational work. This study aims to examine whether the current LMS systems are sufficient enough. This by gathering data from both students and lecturers at two different universities through a survey and six semi-structured interviews to find out what the current issues are. The gathered data made it possible to determine the specific needs of both students and lecturers for a well-functioning LMS. DeLone and McLean created a system success model (D&M model), aimed to analyse the quality of an information system, which could be applicable to an LMS. The model consists of different variables and their relationship to one another. An adaptation of the D&M model is the Hexagonal E-learning assessment model (HELAM model) that includes similar but adapted variables for the information system. By comparing the results with the variables from these models it was concluded that both universities face similar issues, even though their systems are different. The results also indicated that there are significant variables in the D&Mand HELAM model that relates to how learning management systems are used to its best potential. / Väl fungerande kommunikation mellan studenter och föreläsare, både i och utanför klassrummet, har visat sig vara mycket betydande för en positiv läroupplevelse och effektiv lärmiljö. Studenter behöver ha ett kritiskt tankesätt över deras egen kognitiva tankegång och deras läroprocess. Med stöd från föreläsare kan detta förbättra studenternas självbedömning men även deras akademiska resa genom deras högre utbildning. Eftersom studenter bli mer vana online så är det viktigt att kommunikationen online fungerar lika väl som den direkt fysiska kommunikationen gör. Detta kan uppnås genom att ha en läroplattform (LMS) som kan assistera föreläsare med utdelningen av information men även assistera studenterna att genom ett enkelt sätt ta emot information angående deras studiearbete. Den här studien ämnar undersöka om det nuvarande LMS systemen är tillräckliga. Detta genom att samla data från både studenter och föreläsare på två olika universitet genom en enkät och sex stycken semistrukturerade intervjuer för att ta reda på vad de nuvarande problemen är. Den insamlade datan gjorde det möjligt att avgöra vad de specifika behoven är från studenter och lärare för ett väl fungerande LMS. DeLone och McLean skapade en systemframgångsmodell (D&M-model) ämnad att analysera kvaliteten av ett informationssystem som kan vara applicerbart på en LMS. Modellen består av olika variabler och deras relationer till varandra. En variant av D&M-modellen är “Hexagonal E-learning assessment model” (HELAM-modellen) som inkluderar liknande men anpassade variabler för informationssystemet. Genom att jämföra resultatet med variablerna från dessa modeller drogs slutsatsen att båda universiteten har liknande problem, trots att de inte använder samma system. Resultaten tyder även på att det finns variabler från D&Moch HELAM modellen som har signifikans och relaterar till hur en läroplattform bör användas för sin bästa potential.