This work is presented in defence of the thesis that it is possible to measure the social expectations and perceptions that humans have of robots in an explicit and succinct manner, and these measures are related to how humans interact with, and evaluate, these robots. There are many ways of understanding how humans may respond to, or reason about, robots as social actors, but the approach that was adopted within this body of work was one which focused on interaction-specific expectations, rather than expectations regarding the true nature of the robot. These expectations were investigated using a questionnaire-based tool, the University of Hertfordshire Social Roles Questionnaire, which was developed as part of the work presented in this thesis and tested on a sample of 400 visitors to an exhibition in the Science Gallery in Dublin. This study suggested that responses to this questionnaire loaded on two main dimensions, one which related to the degree of social equality the participants expected the interactions with the robots to have, and the other was related to the degree of control they expected to exert upon the robots within the interaction. A single item, related to pet-like interactions, loaded on both and was considered a separate, third dimension. This questionnaire was deployed as part of a proxemics study, which found that the degree to which participants accepted particular proxemics behaviours was correlated with initial social expectations of the robot. If participants expected the robot to be more of a social equal, then the participants preferred the robot to approach from the front, while participants who viewed the robot more as a tool preferred it to approach from a less obtrusive angle. The questionnaire was also deployed in two long-term studies. In the first study, which involved one interaction a week over a period of two months, participant social expectations of the robots prior to the beginning of the study, not only impacted how participants evaluated open-ended interactions with the robots throughout the two-month period, but also how they collaborated with the robots in task-oriented interactions as well. In the second study, participants interacted with the robots twice a week over a period of 6 weeks. This study replicated the findings of the previous study, in that initial expectations impacted evaluations of interactions throughout the long-term study. In addition, this study used the questionnaire to measure post-interaction perceptions of the robots in terms of social expectations. The results from these suggest that while initial social expectations of robots impact how participants evaluate the robots in terms of interactional outcomes, social perceptions of robots are more closely related to the social/affective experience of the interaction.

The aim of the Narrabundah Companionship programme was to provide young children ("Kids") from deprived cultural backgrounds with opportunities to learn appropriate social behaviours by pairing them with older students ("Companions") for activities involving social interactions. Unlike the typical work of the School Counsellor, which tends to be problem centered and crisis oriented, the Companionship programme is seen as a preventive activity which uses "peer helpers" as a means of extending the outreach services of the School Counsellor. The effects of this programme on the Companions, rather than on the Kids, was the focus of this study. The purposes of the present investigation were: a) to identify characteristics of A.C.T. secondary college students who volunteered to be Companions; b) to identify appropriate Companion selection procedures; c) to assess the effects of communications skills training on an initial group of Companions in comparison to late-entering Companions who did not receive such training; d) to assess the drives and sentiments which motivated college students to volunteer for the programme and to ascertain any changes in those drives and sentiments which might occur during the programme; e) to determine whether the Companionship experience influenced a change in vocational preference toward a career in social service; and, although not the major thrust of the study, f) to assess the effects of the Companionship experience on the Kids' social adjustment. After pilot programmes in 1978 and 1979, the present study was undertaken during Terms One and Two, 1980. Thirteen A.C.T. secondary college students volunteered to become Companions. Eleven A.C.T. primary school students and one junior secondary school student were selected to participate as Kids in the programme. Prior to active participation, volunteers completed the Kuder Preference Record - Vocational (Kuder) and the Motivation Analysis Test (MAT). The teachers of the Kids assessed them using the Bristol Social Adjustment Guide (BSAG) and completed a brief questionnaire to aid the Researcher in his pairing of Kids with Companions. The Companions attended six (1 1/2 hour) sessions of a communications skills training programme adapted from the Peer Counselling Student Training Course (Varenhorst & Hamburg, 1972). Based on perceptions formed during the training period, the Companions then rated each other using the Group Assessment of Interpersonal Traits (GAIT) developed by Goodman (1972). The Researcher also made a subjective ranking of each participant in relation to his perception of the individual's potential to be an effective Companion. Contrary to expectation, only two new Companions joined the programme at the beginning of Second Term. The Companionship activities terminated after two school terms, at which time all Kids were reassessed by their teachers on the BSAG and post-measures on the Kuder and MAT were completed for those Companions remaining in the programme. Four Companions who had left the programme before the termination of activities had completed these measures at the time of their withdrawal . The results of the present investigation included: a) Significantly more females than males volunteered to become Companions, and their family birth-order position as last-born was highly significant. b) The results of the ratings for potential effectiveness as a Companion on the GAIT and on subjective ranking by the Researcher produced a highly significant correlation (.01 level), indicating that either method of selection is appropriate. c) Because only two new Companions joined the programme at the start of Term Two, it was not possible to adequately compare the effects of training versus no training. d) As a group, there were two significant changes in the motivations of the older students. There were increases in MAT scores measuring the drive "Narcism-Comfort" and the sentiment "Sweetheart- Spouse," significant at the .05 level. e) The results of the initial administration of the Kuder revealed that volunteers already had a high preference for careers in social service areas. There was no significant change in this orientation following participation in the Companionship programme. f) The second administration of the B3AG revealed no significant changes in the teachers' perceptions of the Kids' social adjustment. The Companionship programme is considered to have been beneficial to both Kids and Companions. Although there were no statistically significant changes in the Kids in the short term of this study, it appears likely that there is potential for long term benefits. Several of the relationships are continuing on an informal basis. Companions spontaneously expressd the enjoyment and personal growth they had derived and their willingness to participate in the next programme. Some parents of Kids were enthusiastic in their evaluations and have sought to keep in touch with the Companion. The Companionship programme is seen to have been a valuable preventive programme in community mental health.

Until the last decade or so, our entire knowledge of planets around Sun-like stars consisted of those in our own Solar System. This is no longer the case. Over 200 planets have been discovered through radial velocity surveys and photometric studies, both of which depend on observing the planet's effects on its host star. Much of our knowledge of the planets orbiting these stars is uncertain, based on assumptions about the stars' masses and the planets' orbital inclinations. This dissertation is comprised of two main sections. The first involves measuring the angular diameters for a sample of exoplanet host stars using Georgia State University's CHARA Array in order to learn more about the nature of these stars. These direct angular measurements are not dependent on the exoplanet systems' inclinations or the masses of the stars. Improved angular diameters lead to linear diameters when combined with HIPPARCOS parallax measurements, which in turn tell us of the stars' ages and masses. Of the 82 exoplanet systems observable with the CHARA Array, 31 host stars were observed and stellar angular diameters were measured for 26 systems. In the special case of an exoplanet system with a transiting planet, this direct measurement of the star's angular diameter leads to a direct measurement of the planet's diameter, when the planet-to-star-radii ratio is known from photometric studies. This was done for HD 189733. The star's angular diameter is 0.377 +/- 0.024 mas, which produces a stellar linear radius of 0.779 +/- 0.052 R_Sun and a planetary diameter of 1.19 +/- 0.08 R_Jupiter. The second part of this project involved the inspection of the exoplanet systems for stellar companions masquerading as planets. From radial velocity studies alone, it is impossible to distinguish between a planet in a high-inclination orbit and a low-mass stellar companion in a low-inclination orbit. Using the CHARA Array, it was possible to rule out certain secondary spectral types for each exoplanet system observed by studying the errors in the diameter fit and searching for separated fringe packets. While no definitive stellar companions were found, two expolanet systems, upsilon Andromedae and rho Coronae Borealis, exhibited behavior that were not consistent with the host star being a simple limb-darkened disk.

Over the past half century, multiplicity studies have provided a foundation for the theories of stellar formation and evolution through understanding how likely it is that stars form alone or with companions. If spectroscopic orbits are combined with techniques that can determine visual orbits, we can access the most fundamental parameter of stellar evolution, stellar mass. This dissertation is composed of two main sections. The first involves the investigation of the seminal multiplicity study of Duquennoy & Mayor (1991b) which has been the ``gold standard" for solar-type stars for nearly 20 years. Improvements in technology in the intervening years have improved the measurement accuracy for radial velocities and distances on which the study was based. Using Georgia State University's CHARA Array to search the systems in Duquennoy & Mayor's multiplicity survey for overlooked companions along with a literature search covering regimes unreachable by the CHARA Array, we have found that more than 40% of the Duquennoy & Mayor's sample was further than originally believed and the uncorrected multiplicity percentages change from 57:38:4:1:0% (single:double:triple:quad:quint%) to 48:42.5:7.5:1:1% with the discoveries of multiple previously undiscovered companions. The second part of this project describes the application of separated fringe packets for resolving the astrometric position of secondaries with small angular separations on long-baseline optical interferometers. The longest baselines of the CHARA Array allow access to a previously inaccessible range of separations compared with other techniques (<40 milliarcseconds) and the ability to very accurately angularly resolve a large number of single- and double-lined spectroscopic binaries. Combining astrometric and spectroscopic orbits provides assumption-free stellar masses and using the CHARA Array allows access to many previously unreachable systems available for high-accuracy mass determinations. We report the first angular separation measurements of seven spectroscopic binary systems, five additional separated fringe packet detections, ten systems with probably overlapping fringe packets, four systems with new data on pre-existing orbits, one completely new visual orbit for a SB2 system previously unresolved, and the detection of two previously unknown companions.

The study investigates the spirituality of the Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici a Catholic women religious community. This religious Congregation was founded in 1954 in the diocese of Johannesburg, to serve the needs of the indigenous people. The person who founded this Congregation was Bishop William Patrick Whelan aMI, with the encouragement and support of Father Jean Verot aMI. At first the Catholic Church was a settler Church taking care of the needs of the settlers. It is only later that the Catholic Church became a missionary Church, outreaching to indigenous people. It is in the 1950's when the Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela was founded , during the apartheid time. The history and the spirituality of the Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici are looked at. The first members of the Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici were trained and guided by the Ursulines, of the Roman Union in Munsieville, Krugersdorp. Some of the elements of the spirituality of this women 's religious Congregation that are explored are mutual love, hospitality, prayer life and education. The Sisters of the religious Congregation looked to Saint Angela Merici, their foundress and model , an Italian Saint who lived in the sixteenth century , and learned from her spirituality. The Sisters living In the twentieth century look at how relevant Saint Angela Merici's spirituality is to them, and how they as black women, in townships, can live this spirituality. Interviews were conducted to get some information about the religious Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici. A questionnaire was send to two Sisters who belong to this religious Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici but only Sister Mary Modise CSA responded positively to being interviewed. Father Thomas O'Dea, a Missionary Oblate of Mary Immaculate gave some direct information that he remembered regarding this particular Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici. A final conclusion to be drawn from this study is that the Congregation of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici is faced with the challenge to inculturate some of the elements of this spirituality and re-Iook at their charism at some General Chapters. Lastly, some of the challenges that face the present Congregation of Sisters of the Companions of Saint Angela Merici are formation and a way of practically living the charism and their prayer life. / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2003.

The restructuring of Canadian health care for more than twenty years has ushered in opportunities for growth in private home care services. Within this socio-economic reality, some seniors and families feeling the impacts of the cutbacks to health and social services have turned to other alternatives of care to fill care gaps. A new type of caregiver, the paid companion, has surfaced in this respect. Operating either independently or through private health care agencies, paid companions resemble surrogate family members or friends who perform a variety of services for the elderly who can afford to pay for private home care and support. My research objective has been to explore and develop an understanding of the experiences and relationships of paid companions and their clients within the context of the political-economic climate of neoliberalism that has supported the development of paid companions. This thesis presents research conducted between 2009 and 2010 in the Greater Victoria area with 30 participants: 15 companions, 8 clients, and 7 key informants. The two qualitative methods of qualitative (semi-structured open-ended) in-person interviews and autodriven photo elicitation were utilized in order to examine the subjective experiences of paid companions and their clients. The research revealed the ambiguity and divergence of opinion around the terms ‘companion’ and ‘paid companion,’ which are inherent in the nature of the work itself. The majority of participants emphasized that friendship and fictive kinship often form the core of a relationship that has been built on caregiving and trust. While paid companions derive fulfillment by providing care for clients, the relationships they develop with them are intrinsically linked to the companionship and care they give. Although clients’ care needs most often stem from general health and mobility issues, the relationships that are gradually formed with their companions often become as important as the task-based assistance their companions provide to them. / Graduate

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75).

Thesis (J.C.L.)--Catholic University of America, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 71-75).

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:28:59Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-02-08Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:58:27Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 marco_mnc_me_bauru.pdf: 668887 bytes, checksum: 4bb4a60fcc54319fa36fd7c1659e98df (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / O Acompanhamento Terapêutico (AT) é tema recente nas discussões da Psicologia. É um tipo de atuação clínica que nasceu dos movimentos político-ideológicos da antipsiquiatria, os quais ocorreram na década de 50 na Europa e EUA e em 1960 na América Latina. Boa parte da literatura tenta construir um perfil para o acompanhamente terapêuticom a partir do seu surgimento e contexto histórico, entretanto o conceito ainda não chegou a um consenso científico e apesar de existirem alguns fatores característicos para a conceituação do AT, sua prática diversificada dificulta a identificação das variáveis e consequentemente da construção de um conceito definitivo. A controvérsia se mantém e sua caracterização tem sido baseada em aspectos como a formação profissional, função na equipe, referencial teórico adotado e o trabalho desempenhado. Este trabalho teve como objetivo principal a caracterização de acompanhantes terapêuticos sob a perspectiva da Análise do Comportamento. Para tanto, se fez uso de descrições do trabalho deste profissional considerando tempo de atuação, inserção na área, formação básica e específica, tipos de casos atendidos e locais da atuação, além de expor as desvantagens e vantagens relatadas na prática clínica. Foram participantes desta pesquisa treze Acompanhantes Terapêuticos atuantes na cidade de São Paulo, os quais foram submetidos a uma entrevista semi-estruturada. Os resultados foram analisadas em quatro dimensões de análise e estas desmembradas em categorias e itens. Pode-se observar diante dos dados das entrevistas que o perfil do at está em constante mudança e que caracterizá-los implica observação de muitas variáveis. De acordo com a literatura, as condições fundamentais para a realização desse trabalho são o conhecimento teórico sólido, as habilidades pessoais de traquejo social e a disponibilidade de tempo... / Therapeutic Accompaniment (TA) is a recent theme in discussions of psychology. It is a kind of clinical practice that was born in a political-ideological movement of antipsychiatry, which occurred in the 50 at Europe and USA and 1960 at Latin America. Most of researches tries to built a profile for TA from the beginning of this historical context but the concept has not yet reached a scientific consensus. Although there are some characteristics for the concept of TA, the TA's diverse practice makes difficult to identify these variables and consequently the construction of a concept ended. The controversy remains and its characterization has been based on aspects such as vocational training, role in the team, adopted theoretical reference and the work performed. The main purpose of this study was to characterize therapeutic companions (tc) under the perspective of behavior analysis. For this was used this professional job descriptions, considering given time for practical, the insertion in the area, basic and specific training, types of case seen and places for the practice, beyond the expose of difficulties and benefits reported in clinical practice. Thriteen Therapeutic Comapanions participated of this research. They were from the city of São Paulo and submitted to a semi-structured interview. The results were analyzed in four dimensions of analysis and unfolded in categories. With the interview data it's possible to observe that the TA's profile is constantly changing and that characterizing them implies the observation of many variables. Corroborating the literature, the basic conditions to do this work are the solid theoretical knowledge, personal social skills and available time. These aspects were repeatedly said by participants and analyzed in this study. Although there are many similarities with the traditional therapeutists, the tc has its peculiarities, especially the setting... (Complete abstract click electronic access below)

The aim of this thesis is to use a cross-match between WISE, 2MASS and SDSS to identify a large sample of M dwarfs. Through the careful characterisation and quality control of these M dwarfs I aim to identify rare systems (i.e. unresolved UCD companions, young M dwarfs, late M dwarfs and M dwarfs with common proper motion companions). Locating ultracool companions to M dwarfs is important for constraining low-mass formation models, the measurement of substellar dynamical masses and radii, and for testing ultracool evolutionary models. This is done by using an optimised method for identifying M dwarfs which may have unresolved ultracool companions. To do this I construct a catalogue of 440 694 M dwarf candidates, from WISE, 2MASS and SDSS, based on optical- and near-infrared colours and reduced proper motion. With strict reddening, photometric and quality constraints I isolate a sub-sample of 36 898 M dwarfs and search for possible mid-infrared M dwarf + ultracool dwarf candidates by comparing M dwarfs which have similar optical/near-infrared colours (chosen for their sensitivity to effective temperature and metallicity). I present 1 082 M dwarf + ultracool dwarf candidates for follow-up. Using simulated ultracool dwarf companions to M dwarfs, I estimate that the occurrence of unresolved ultracool companions amongst my M dwarf + ultracool dwarf candidates should be at least four times the average for my full M dwarf catalogue. I discuss yields of candidates based on my simulations. The possible contamination and bias from misidentified M dwarfs is then discussed, from chance alignments with other M dwarfs and UCDs, from chance alignments with giant stars, from chance alignments with galaxies, and from blended systems (via visual inspection). I then use optical spectra from LAMOST to spectral type a subset of my M dwarf + ultracool dwarf candidates. These candidates need confirming as true M dwarf + ultracool dwarf systems thus I present a new method I developed to use low resolution near-infrared spectra which relies on two colour similar objects (one an excess candidate, one not) having very similar spectra. A spectral difference of these two colour similar objects should leave the signature of a UCD in the residual of their differences, which I look for using the difference in two spectral bands designed to identify UCD spectral features. I then present the methods used to identify other rare systems from my full M dwarf catalogue. Young M dwarfs were identified by measuring equivalent widths of Hα from the LAMOST spectra, and by measuring rotation periods from Kepler 2 light curves. I identify late M dwarfs photometrically (using reduced proper motion and colour cuts) and spectroscopically (using the LAMOST spectra with spectral indices from the literature). Also I present common proper motion analysis aimed at finding Tycho-2 primaries for my M dwarfs and look for physically separated M dwarf + M dwarf pairs (internally within my full M dwarf catalogue).