The premise that idioms are an important feature in second language learning and teaching is what underpinned the present study. The aim is to investigate what teaching method is the most effective for idiom retention; etymological elaboration or context elaboration. It is a small scale study run focusing on two groups of 9th grade students were approximately 80% of the students had Swedish as their mother tongue, whilst the remaining 20% had other languages. One group of 18 students where taught 15 opaque idioms. The idioms were presented with their etymology. The preference group consisted of 19 students and the same idioms were presented to this group in context. A pre-test was given to both groups in order to establish what idioms they already knew. A post-test was run immediately after the ecture, where the idioms were presented either in context or with their etymology, in order to determine the methods’ effect on immediate retention. After three weeks, a second post-test was run in order to discover the degree to which the idioms had reached the students’ longterm memory and compare the two teaching techniques accordingly. A questionnaire was also conducted in order to gauge out the students’ idiom awareness and to what degree they believed that the teaching method helped them to remember the idioms. The results of the study show that both teaching techniques are beneficial on idiom retention. Context elaboration, however, turned out to be most effective on immediate- and long-term retention.

Internet of Things (IoT) is on the verge of experiencing a paradigm shift, the focus of which is the integration of people, services, context information, and things in the Connected Society, thus enabling Internet of Everything (IoE). Hundreds of billions of things will be connected to IoT/IoE by 2020. This massive immersion of things paves the way for sensing and analysing anything, anytime and anywhere. This everywhere computing coupled with Internet or web-enabled services have allowed access to a vast amount of distributed context information from heterogeneous sources. This enormous amount of context information will remain under-utilized if not properly managed. Therefore, this thesis proposes a new approach of logical-clustering as opposed to physical clustering aimed at enabling efficient context information management. However, applying this new approach requires many research challenges to be met. By adhering to a design science research method, this thesis addresses these challenges and proposes solutions to them. The thesis first outlines the architecture for realizing logical-clustering topology for which a two-tier hierarchical-distributed hash table (DHT) based system architecture and a Software Defined Networking (SDN)-like approach are utilized whereby the clustering identifications are managed on the top-level overlay (as context storage) and heterogeneous context information sources are controlled via the bottom level. The feasibility of the architecture has been proven with an ns-3 simulation tool. The next challenge is to enable scalable clustering identification dissemination, for which a distributed Publish/Subscribe (PubSub) model is developed. The massive number of immersed nodes further necessitates a dynamic self-organized system. The thesis concludes by proposing new algorithms with regard to autonomic management of IoT to bring about the self-organization. These algorithms enable to structure the logical-clustering topology in an organized way with minimal intervention from outside sources and further ensure that it evolves correctly. A distributed IoT context information-sharing platform, MediaSense, is employed and extended to prove the feasibility of the dynamic PubSub model and the correctness of self-organized algorithms and to utilize them as context storage. Promising results have provided a high number of PubSub messages per second and fast subscription matching. Self-organization further enabled logical-clustering to evolve correctly and provided results on a par with the existing MediaSense for entity joining and high discovery rates for non-concurrent entity joining. The increase in context information requires its proper management. Being able to cluster (i.e. filter) heterogeneous context information based on context similarity can help to avoid under-utilization of resources. This thesis presents an accumulation of work which can be comprehended as a step towards realizing the vision of logical-clustering topology.

Strömmande musiktjänster erbjuder ett stort utbud av musik. Förutom att användare kan skapa egna listor från detta utbud, erbjuder tjänsterna ofta personliga rekommendationer. Även om rekommendationerna passar användaren väl, passar de inte alltid för situationen de befinner sig i. I denna studie presenteras en artefakt i form av en kontextmedveten musikapplikation som använder Spotify för rekommendation och uppspelning av musik. En kontextmedveten musikapplikation är en applikation som tar användarens kontext i beaktning vid musikrekommendation. I denna studie refererar kontext till den situation som en potentiell användare befinner sig i, exempelvis "ute och springer i parken klockan tre". Vi presenterar en enkätundersökning om vilka kontextuella faktorer användare tycker är viktiga, och frågor kring lyssnarbeteende. Artefakten testas i en användarstudie och resultaten analyseras och diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning. Vi ser att användare har en positiv inställning till att kontextuella faktorer påverkar vilken musik de lyssnar på, och att det finns en positiv inställning till kontextmedvetna musikapplikationer. Vidare ser vi att aktivitet är den mest relevanta kontextuella faktorn för användare. / Music streaming services offer a large quantity of music. Apart from users being able to create their own playlists, these services also offer personal music recommendations. Even though these recommendations meet the users preferences, they don't always fit the users current situation. In this study, we present an artifact in the shape of a context-aware music recommender application, that uses Spotify services to recommend and handle playback of music. A context-aware music application is an application that takes a users current context in consideration when recommending music. In this study, context-aware refers to the situation a given user might find themselves in, e.g. "jogging in the park at 3pm". We present a questionnaire about which contextual factors users think are important, and questions about listening preferences. The artifact is tested in a user study, and the results are analysed and discussed in relation to previous studies. We found that users have a positive attitude towards contextual factors influencing which music they listen to, and that there is a positive attitude towards contextual music recommenders. Furthermore we found that activity is the most relevant contextuall factor to users.

Today mobiles are a standard, multiple sensors that gathers data about the user is embedded within those mobiles. But the use of this data is not as common as one would think in the mobile game market. To observe and analyse how an implementation of this data would affect a mobile game from a common genre such as time-passing games a prototype were built. This prototype could be seen as a reversed gamification using training data, in this case footsteps, in order to enhance the game and make it more interesting for the user. Findings of how the data could be integrated within the game in a way that would interest users more have been gathered through a survey and are discussed and presented.

Existing studies on the formulation of regulations for online ride-hailing platforms merely see the process as a struggle between interest groups. They do not address how policymakers perceive this struggle and act on their own initiative to govern these platforms. This study supplements existing studies by exploring how the metropolitan governments of two Chinese cities, Beijing and Shanghai, perceived conflicts between contending forms of chauffeur businesses and brought in regulations for new platform ventures. This thesis employs a policy change approach in the Chinese authoritarian context and reaches three conclusions. Firstly, it explains that the "special interests" of taxi entities institutionalized by the old regulatory regimes for taxi businesses incentivized the two metropolitan governments to protect taxi entities. Thus, even if Beijing and Shanghai had different first responses towards platforms with one initially emphasizing "cracking-down" and the other working on a "loose" regulatory approach, they adopted similar platform-capping policies. Secondly, this thesis finds that the two metropolitan governments cautiously disobeyed the central government's "loose" directives for platforms by combining their capping policies with selectively implementing a central directive of differentiating the markets of ride-hailing platforms and taxi operators. Thirdly, this thesis addresses obstructions to the establishment of "new regulation" that respects the business logic of platforms, which is proposed by the platform coalition. It argues that the interaction between the vested "special interests" and the fragmentation of authority makes local governments resistant to this "new regulation." / Graduate

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a problem that is present and pervasive globally and in South Africa. In the South African context, IPV exists within a larger context of high levels of interpersonal violence and violence against women. Understanding the context in which IPV occurs from the perspective of survivors is important for informing effective intervention and prevention programs to counteract its effects. This study explores the life histories of South African women who have experienced IPV. Framed through the lens of intersectionality, it gauges the broader context within which IPV emerges and is sustained, and explores how experiences of IPV are shaped at the intersection of women’s identity markers of race, class and gender. This study is one of a few studies that have used life history methods with women to explore their life contexts and experiences of IPV. Purposive sampling was used to recruit a sample of 11 women based in a Cape Town women’s shelter for abused women and children. Two semi-structured qualitative life history interviews were conducted with each participant. The interviews were transcribed and analysed through thematic narrative analysis, where four noteworthy narrative themes emerged, namely An unsteady and violent beginning, No place called home: A search for belonging and survival, IPV: The unanticipated cost of love and belonging, and Normalisation of IPV experiences: The effects of withdrawal from support. The findings and their relation to existing literature as well as recommendations for future IPV research are discussed. One of the key findings of the study was that the childhood context of the participants was the first point of identifying intersectional oppression and marginalisation that may have shaped a vulnerability to the women’s later experiences of IPV. Another key finding was recognising the value that women place on love and belonging in the context of a difficult, violent and low socioeconomic childhood background, and how this could have an impact on the vulnerability of women to IPV. The use of a life history approach framed by intersectionality thus demonstrated significant benefits in tracking the contextual experiences of women who have experienced IPV. These benefits are of significance because they made it possible to identify points of intervention and prevention of IPV amongst marginalised South African women.

There has been much controversy over the effectiveness of bilingual education in helping English language learning (ELL) students to become successful students. One variable overlooked in this literature has been the use of effective instruction in these programs. This investigation compared students in a schoolwide reading program that utilizes research-based practices, Success for All (SF A) and its Spanish counterpart Éxito Para Todos (EPT). Three groups of third-grade students were compared at 8-week intervals throughout the school year: English-speaking students in SF A, ELL (English language learning) students in SF A with ESL (English as a Second Language), and ELL students in EPT. All three groups experienced gains over the school year, with the gap between the EPT and SF A only groups narrowed and no statistically significant differences discovered between the EPT and SF A + ESL groups.

There has been in recent years a marked decline in college entrance examination test scores. Declines have been documented both on the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and the American College Testing Program (ACT). In turn there has been an increasing interest concerning the test score declines as well as possible sources of influence on test scores. These sources or factors seem to be functions of three main "contexts." These contexts are: (a) school-related factors, (b) student-related factors and (c) family-structure related factors. It was of interest to attempt to explain the relative association of each variable to composite ACT scores and of each "context" to composite ACT scores. In turn, it was of interest to attempt to assess the extent to which combinations of two, or all three sets of variables aid in explaining the variance on composite ACT scores. The sample population consisted of entering college freshmen at Utah State University for the fall quarter of 1976. All Ss were from one of the six major feeder high schools to Utah State University. Information was gathered through the use of a questionnaire distributed at freshmen registration and by mail. Other sources of information included school principals and official student ACT transcripts and school records. Using composite ACT scores as the dependent variable both stepwise and hierarchical multiple regression analyses were done. As a result of stepwise multiple regression using all ten factors, it was found that academic course taking had the greatest partial regression coefficient. Next -in predictive power was the level of educational aspiration of the student. Size of school entered the prediction equation on Step 3 and was negatively associated with composite ACT scores. Student-related factors helped to explain 38 percent of the total variance on composite ACT scores and as such comprises the most significant "context" of association. More modest support has been demonstrated for school-related factors. Family-structure factors do not appear significantly related to composite ACT scores. Recommendations were made for a larger sample sjze from a more diverse geographic region.

The purpose of this study was to test the relative effectiveness of a linear and a context program in teaching some selected Persian words to English speaking people. A survey of the literature did not reveal studies closely related to the present study, but it revealed studies verifying the usefulness of programed instruction in general, and also some limited attempts made to set up programs for teaching Persian to Americans o There has been increasing attention by educators to programed instruction in the last fifteen years. The idea was also supported that there is a need in the United States for the study of some foreign languages, including Persian. Sixty subjects of both sexes were assigned randomly to either the linear or the context program. The programs included the same words, and they appeared in the same order in each program. The level of performance of students on three posttests given to them was the criteria for judgment of achievement. The amount of time each group spent on the program was the criteria for time comparison. The principal finding was that there was a significant difference in favor of the context program at the P < .05 level in terms of time spent. Females in the linear program received significantly higher mean scores on list meaning and overall posttest scores at P < .05 level.

The frame-of-reference (FOR) effect refers to the finding that validities for personality measures can be improved by asking respondents to consider how they behave in a particular context (e.g., "at work"). Recently, Lievens, De Corte, and Schollaert (2008) demonstrated that a FOR serves to reduce within-person inconsistencies in responding, which then improves the reliability and validity of personality measures. Despite this important step forward in FOR research, Lievens et al. note that there is still very little known with regard to how respondents complete non-contextualized personality inventories (i.e., inventories where no FOR is provided). The present studies sought to fill this significant gap in the literature by addressing the question: Do people think of themselves in particular situations or contexts when responding to non-contextualized personality inventories and, if so, what are these contexts? In addition, does the use of context vary by the personality dimension being studied? Two studies were conducted in order to fully address these Research Questions. The first of these studies was a qualitative study which examined the number and types of contexts spontaneously generated by test-takers for non-contextualized personality items. Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with college students who held a variety of life roles (e.g., student, employee, parent, spouse). Interview data demonstrated that participants considered themselves in general, at school, at work, with friends, with family, at home, and in other more specific situations (e.g., driving a car) when responding to non-contextualized inventories. Data for Study 2 were collected from 463 college students using a self-report methodology that asked participants to indicate which FORs they were using in responding to the same non-contextualized inventory used in Study 1. Results indicated significant differences in FOR endorsement across factors, such that participants endorsed the highest number of FORs for agreeableness items and the lowest number of FORs for openness to experience items. In addition, there were significant differences in the use of FORs within factors such that, for example, the "With Family" FOR was used most frequently for agreeableness but the "At School" FOR was used most frequently for openness to experience. Finally, results of Study 2 indicated that while the using more FORs in responding may increase error variances, it does not have a substantial impact on the factor structure of the Big 5. The present studies contribute to the literature by being the first to examine the role that situations play in responding to a non-contextualized inventory, and they do so using both qualitative and quantitative methods. In addition, the present studies represent a person-centric approach to the study of I/O psychology in that they focus on the individual experience as the basis for research.