Background: Segregation, within the context of this study, is the removal of a prisoner from the wider prison to an environment that is regimented and controlling, and functions through enforced solitude. There is very little research that explores this environment from the perspective of the prisoners who experience it. By using the voices of the prisoners this study provides rich description of the conceptual understanding of how they and resolved their segregation experiences. Research Aim: The aim of this research was to develop a grounded theory of how prisoners gave meaning to their segregated environment experience. Methodology: This study was guided by a constructivist epistemology and the principles and process of grounded theory (Constructivist Grounded Theory) as described by Glaser, Strauss, and Charmaz. Data was gathered from a participant group of prisoners who were experiencing, or had experienced within the previous two months, time in segregation, from one specific Category A prison, as well as comparable case studies. Data was collected through semi structured interviews, and case study documentary analysis, and analysed using the concurrent processes of constant comparative analysis, data collection, and theoretical sampling. Results: The participants expressed that the main concern of their time in segregation was a desire to survive this experience. They expressed this desire, and the actions and behaviours necessary to achieve it, through a process conceptualised as reframing contextual power. This has three 'subcategories‘ 'Power Posturing', 'Power Positioning', and 'Power Playing', each comprising of further subdivisions of the conceptualisation of the participants main concern. These consisted of 'Knowing Fixed Rules', 'Reading Emergent Rules', 'Relating', 'Resistance', 'Being Bad', 'Being Mad', and 'Being Cool'. Power was the major interlinking concept and this was fundamental to the strategies and actions necessary for the participants to achieve their main concern. While presented as three distinct 'subcategories‘ they are neither independent nor hierarchical, rather they are interconnected and interlinked. The participants were active in the utilisation and enactment of power actions and not passive recipients of power. A theoretical exploration of the power inherent in reframing contextual power demonstrated that no one theory or approach can sufficiently explain power within this context. It is proposed that, drawing from a number of theorists, an integrated approach to viewing and understanding such power is required to allow for a more sophisticated understanding of how the participants reframe contextual power. Conclusions: The findings of this study provide a method of understanding how the participants engaged with, and utilised complex strategies to survive the segregated environment experience. The findings also contribute to how we understand the processes of power within this current (and similar) context(s). I consider that the uniqueness of this thesis is important as it contributes to the extant body of knowledge in this field and thus offers a salient message relating to the (potential) future of segregation and the solitary confinement of prisoners.

Spurred by the work of the Battered Women's Movement, domestic violence has been responded to since it emerged as a problem in the 1970s. At first the response was providing places for victims to stay and recover from the violence while also providing opportunities for consciousness raising and empowerment work. As domestic violence became a more recognized problem, policies were created and enacted to end the problem. Through the 1980s and 1990s, changes in federal policies in regards to domestic violence were incorporated. The criminal justice system began incorporating such policies as mandatory arrest and no-drop prosecution policies as well as using batterer intervention programs (BIPs) to provide services to those accused of domestic violence charges.In Virginia, domestic violence advocates, batterer intervention program service providers and members of the criminal justice system worked together to create coordinated community responses with the stated goals of safety for domestic violence victims and accountability for perpetrators of domestic violence. The coordination, however, seemed to be fraught with difficulties, as domestic violence advocates, BIP providers, and the criminal justice system continued to struggle with the implementation of the standards. It seemed that although all three groups were able to agree upon the goals of accountability and safety, there were underlying issues of difference that were not being considered.The participants of this inquiry had congruent understandings of the term domestic violence; however their understandings of the social problem domestic violence were quite different. Because the way a social problem is understood influences policy as it is created, implemented, and experienced, it is important to strive for clarity concerning the social problem to which the policy is responding.This inquiry is an exploration of the multiple understandings of the social problem domestic violence as understood by those who participated in the inquiry. The tentative findings, or lessons learned, are not to be understood as generalizable findings, but as the unique, co-created understandings of the multiple meanings of the social problem domestic violence as understood by the participants and the inquirer.

Qualitative interviews of college students with disabilities indicated that students were reporting significant discrimination and disability stigma effects. Until recently, however, no formal instruments had been developed specifically to measure disability stigma in college students. The purpose of this study was to develop the Postsecondary Student Survey of Disability-Related Stigma (SSDRS), a Likert-type scale that measured amount of perceived stigma in college students with disabilities. The SSDRS was patterned after similar instruments developed to measure race-related stigma and other forms of perceived social discrimination, and was designed to be administered through disability support service offices. The SSDRS consisted of five subscales: personal feelings, global events, academics, group identity, and personal relationships. The questionnaire was pilot tested at two schools, a small, private liberal arts college and a medium-sized, urban community college (n=85). A preliminary exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis suggested minor changes to the instrument. The pilot results also provided justification for further sampling and more formal analysis of the instrument with a larger data set. The scale was then administered to students with disabilities at a large urban research university. The results were similar to those from the pilot.After aggregating the data (N = 121), another exploratory factor analysis was conducted to identify the underlying structures measured by the instrument. The five subscales suggested by the literature were confirmed, and subscale reliability of scores improved. Analysis of the aggregate data also suggested the removal of several items that did not appear to function well in the instrument.The results of the study suggested that disability stigma is a significant issue for college students with disabilities. Disability support personnel at the postsecondary level could use an instrument like the SSDRS for benchmarking, analyzing the disability climate on campus, or designing specific student interventions. The results also suggested that the phenomenon of disability stigma is measurable, and worthy of future study.

MEd thesis / Abstract This study explores teachers’ understanding about ways in which assessment supports learning and teaching within the context of grappling with the new curriculum. It argues that formative assessment, supports a socialconstructivist view of learning and teaching. It suggests that formative assessment functions in a fundamentally different way to summative assessment, and could assist teachers in moving towards a more conceptual approach to learning and teaching. Teachers’ views are explored in focus groups in which teachers discuss their choice and use of either traditional or alternative assessment tasks, in their mathematics lessons. The findings suggest, however, that teachers’ ability to use assessment in this way is influenced by their own views of mathematics learning, their current views of assessment, the amount of support provided in the assessment materials, and the practices of the school. Key words Formative assessment Social constructivist Focus groups Phenomenography Primary school Mathematics Assessment Investigations

The current democratic climate in South Africa, along with current educational reform has called for a re-consideration of assessment and intervention procedures in the education and psychology context. Historical procedures of assessment and intervention programmes have been seen to be culturally biased, unfair, and unethical to children. These methods have been further regarded as too simplistic. A call for an approach to assessing and supporting children, which takes into consideration many factors of the child’s environment, has been placed. This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the constructivist ecosystemic approach to assessment and intervention used with a case study, Matthew, who was assessed and supported in this approach prior to the onset of this study. A constructivist, ecosystemic assessment process, The Initial Assessment and Consultation (IAC) was used in understanding the child’s development. Such an assessment process called for an ecosystemic intervention programme, including, learning support through the application of the Cognitive Approach to Literacy Instruction (CATLI) as well as play therapy for the child and parent counselling for the parents. Methods of qualitative data collection were used, such as surveys completed by all the participants and extant data, such as learning support exams, lesson plans and a journal as well as counselling process notes. Thematic content analysis was employed to analyse the data. The findings of this study suggest that a holistic constructivist ecosystemic approach to assessment and interventions is a viable process in understanding and supporting an underachieving anxious child. However, it is acknowledged that a considerable body of research needs to be achieved before this finding can be considered conclusive. In addition, certain constraints to using this approach were acknowledged, such as time and expertise.

[pt] Este trabalho tem como objetivo investigar os clientes masculinos e como eles têm reagido às recentes mudanças nas relações de gênero, segundo o olhar do psicólogo clínico. Para tanto, realiza-se, inicialmente, uma revisão dos estudos de gênero, dos estudos psicológicos de gênero e dos estudos da masculinidade à luz da perspectiva construtivista. Dado que a maior parte da bibliografia encontrada sobre estes temas é de origem estrangeira, apresenta-se em seguida um capítulo tratando das relações de gênero no Brasil, e os trabalhos desenvolvidos nesta área. Por fim, apresenta-se a pesquisa de campo, realizada com 10 psicólogos clínicos. Os principais resultados obtidos foram divididos em dois grandes temas. O primeiro, gênero na clínica, discute a clínica psicológica como espaço construtor de gênero e como os psicólogos vêm realizando isto. O segundo, as relações de gênero, discute alguns dilemas presentes no processo de mudança das relações de gênero, e qual pode ser o papel do psicólogo neste. / [en] The present thesis aims to investigate the male clients and how they have been reacting to recent changes on gender relations, trough the psychotherapists´ eyes. A theoretical review of existing gender studies, psychological studies of gender, and of masculinity studies, in the light of the constructivist perspective, is done initially. Since most of the available bibliography about those themes is of foreign origin, a chapter about the relations of gender and works developed in this area in Brazil, is presented next. Finally, the research carried out with 10 clinical psychologists is presented. The main results obtained from this research were divided in two main subjects. The first one, gender in the clinic, discusses the psychological clinic as a space of gender construction, and how the psychologists are doing this. The second one, relations of gender, discusses some present dilemmas in the process of gender relations´ changes, and which may be the psychologist´s role in that.

This thesis presents a Constructivist Grounded Theory study that explores the impact that life science specific intermediaries have on knowledge exchange and commercialisation. Many of the life science intermediaries (LSIs) that operate to bridge the divide between industry and academia receive public funding, and many have come and gone. It is important for us to better understand the reasons behind this turnover and how we can develop LSIs that have staying power. The research explores what LSIs are and the different ways they can impact on knowledge exchange and commercialisation. The study engaged 22 different LSIs sites from the UK, Holland and France. These 22 different LSIs have been placed into five different Case intermediary models, moreover, 30 interviews were conducted, informal observations were collected and field notes also known as memos were taken throughout the research process. Through the use of Constructivist Grounded Theory five theoretical concepts emerged, these included the following: that a LSI needed to have commercialisation targets, those with KEC objectives embedded had more chance of gaining further funding, and they require sufficient time and that funding resources are adequate and they should employ staff from both academia and industry within the LSI. A theoretical framework model that can be used to help design and develop a high functioning LSI is presented. Discussions with policy decision makers and the expectations from a range of stakeholders feed into this framework model. The theory development adds to the knowledge on innovation intermediaries and in particular the sectoral systems of innovation (SSI) which allows for a more focused approach on innovation intermediaries from a single sector viewpoint. Furthermore, the study feeds into more recent research on the reason why intermediaries fail.

This is a descriptive phenomenological study of a 3rd grade classroom in East Tennessee that was transformed in late spring 2009 to be consistent with principles incorporated in the 21st Century Model for Teaching and Learning and Educational Change (Evanshen, 2010). The objectives of this study were 1)to document the current physical and learning environment and 2)interview the participant regarding a classroom transformation in relation to teaching and learning. Methods of data collection included: interview questions related to the classroom environment pretransformation and posttransformation, observation field notes, and photographs of the current environment. In addition, archival photographs of the pretransformation environment were used in analysis of data. Data were gathered and systematically analyzed and then compared to recommended best teaching practices for early childhood. Based on findings, one can conclude that a classroom environment based on principles of the 21st Century Model for Teaching and Learning and Educational Change (Evanshen, 2010) enhances teacher attitude in relation to role of the environment in the teaching and learning process.

Cancer patients worldwide receive care from multidisciplinary teams, and patients sometimes have little or no knowledge about the different treatment options available, making communication with their care providers an important influence in how they perceive their care. Patient satisfaction with care is an important factor in determining survivorship. The increasing prevalence of cancer worldwide has become a huge public health issue. The World Health Organization has warned that the potential gains from combatting infectious diseases in Nigeria might be lost because of the increasing prevalence of cancer. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to obtain the perceptions of 30 cancer survivors in Nigeria about their care in federally funded hospitals to improve cancer care in the country. Through a constructivist grounded theory (CGT) approach, data from 30 in-depth interviews with the cancer survivors were analyzed. Data analysis included open coding, selective coding, theoretical coding, and memo writing. Three themes emerged from the data analysis: positive perception of care (P), service improvement (S), and good care experience (G), all of which were cyclically related to form the PSG substantive theory, which indicates that better health care to cancer patients will improve preventative and curative cancer care services in Nigeria. This theory was validated by relating it to 3 theories in the literature as recommended in CGT research. The implication for positive social change is that the results might provide information that can help health care professionals to improve how they communicate with, relate to, and care for cancer patients and their families in Nigeria and other countries.

There is a national, state and local concern that focuses upon the rapid growth of our elder population as well as those within the cohort that suffer with mental illness. However, other than the numerous Alzheimer’s related headlines, there is little national or state consideration being given to non-dementia-related elder mental illnesses. The lack of existing mental health service programs to assist the elderly community merits attention. The Constructionist paradigm was the basis for this study, due to its reliance upon recognized leaders in the field engaging in an interactive group process. These leaders included politicians, governmental agencies, non-profit organizations, and other community leaders. Outcomes from this study produced five action oriented initiatives: Leadership, Funding Campaign, Elder Sensitivity Campaign, Enhancement of Existing Programs, and New Program Expansion. These initiatives, if implemented, could drive change and positively affect the elderly population with mental illness within this central California county research site.