Improvements in diagnostic measures over the years have resulted in more accurate diagnosis of ADHD. Whilst many studies have focused on ADHD as a disorder, few studies have looked at the experience of raising a child with ADHD. The aim of this study was to explore the experience of Black parents raising children with ADHD. The sample consisted of five Black parents who live the experience of raising children, between the ages of six and twelve years, with ADHD. An interview schedule with semi-structured open-ended questions was used. The study followed a qualitative research design with descriptive phenomenology as the worldview. The themes that emerged from the data were around the experience of their child, the experience of ADHD and the experience of self. Black parents experienced their children’s behaviour as hyperactive and uncontrollable. They also believed their children were socially withdrawn and isolated. Problems with inattention, not listening and being unable to concentrate were highlighted as experienced at school and at home. Black parents also stated that their children were clever and popular at school and at home, but had problems with speech. However, most were hopeful for their children’s future. Black parents raising children with ADHD had a reasonable understanding of ADHD as a disorder, even though the results of the study suggest that ADHD is still misunderstood in the Black population. Black parents experienced others as insensitive and blaming. The support from professionals was experienced as not satisfactory and there were concerns about the medication. Black parents experienced their style of parenting as harsh but accommodating. They experienced guilt and shame, blaming themselves for their children’s condition. They also felt trapped, frustrated, alone, lonely, helpless, in despair and even depressed at times. However they viewed themselves as generally coping well. Core values such as respect for others, discipline and boundaries have remained in how they parent. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

Architecture extends far beyond the structuring of basic shelter. The role of architecture is to have a positive contribution on the human being and the surrounding environment. The dissertation proposes to re-address the experience of architecture in the public realm and investigate its responsibility and potential contribution towards cultural and environmental heritage. The selected project is an Interpretation centre for the Tswaing Meteorite Crater, located within the historic salt and soda factory in the Tswaing Nature reserve, Gauteng, South Africa. Copyright / Dissertation (MArch(Prof))--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Architecture / unrestricted

Background: Stroke is the disease that leads to most days of care in hospitals and which leads to the most disabilities in adults. With these disabilities, the patient often end up in a dependence to both relatives and healthcare professionals to cope with their daily lives. Previous research on family experience shows that they feel regret, stress and do not find time for relaxation. Describing how people experience their quality of life and their everyday life after stroke is important in order to give the nurse a better insight and understanding of the care of these patients.   Aim: To describe how people perceive their quality of life and their daily lives after a stroke and describe the study groups in the selected articles.   Method: A descriptive literature study. 13 scientific articles were used, with both quantitative and qualitative approaches.   Results: When the authors compiled the thirteen articles of this literature study, a continuous theme was seen on how stroke affected the quality of life of the participants and their everyday life. Stroke led to a changed life, both physically and mentally. Many suffered from speech disorders and disabilities, which meant isolating themselves from society. Quality of life was considered to be done by itself, having goals in life and having good social relations. To not have to rely on others and to be independent was a goal that the stroke sufferers constantly sought after.   Conclusion: Both physical and psychological problems arise that affected everyday life after a stroke. Finding new meaningful activities, establish goals, managing oneself and having good social relationships were important for a good quality of life after a stroke.

Background: Due to the growing number of individuals suffering from dementia, many will require acute hospital care as other indirectly related conditions appear throughout the course of the disorder. Significant concerns have been raised about the provision of quality care. Understanding their experiences is essential. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with caregivers and people with dementia after acute hospitalization. Data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results: Twenty-nine participants experienced hospitalization and commented primarily on the negative experience. Despite the importance of caregiver involvement, and evidence of caregiver burden, they commented they were rarely included in care plans and lacked support. Continuity of care was said to be affected by absent communication amongst health care team members. The acute hospital process and environment was perceived as not supportive of dementia person-centred care principles, with reports of poor staff knowledge and recognition of the disorder. Conclusion: Reports of acute care hospital experiences of people with dementia and their caregivers provide insights for potential gaps in care delivery.

This instrumental qualitative case study sought to explore the experiences of four Ontario elementary French immersion teachers with the factors that influence elementary student attrition, where French is the minority language. The study used the social constructivist approach to learning and development (Vygotsky, 1978), as well as the principles of interaction and continuity in experience (Dewey, 1971), to show that experience shapes learning within a social context. The three research questions that guided this study were: 1) According to a group of Ontario elementary French immersion teachers, what academic and social factors influence student attrition from French immersion?; 2) How are this group of teachers’ current teaching practices affected by their previous experiences with the academic and social factors that influence student attrition in French immersion, by their personal and professional learning experiences, as well as by their social context?; and 3) How might these teachers encourage students to stay in or leave French immersion? Two semi-structured individual interviews with each of the four participants were conducted. The interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim for coding and analysis. Results suggest that academic and social factors influence student attrition, that the teachers regularly change their teaching approaches and strategies to address student attrition and to help their students learn French, and that the teachers have experience encouraging students to stay in and leave French immersion. The findings of the present study contribute to the literature on French immersion teachers’ experiences with the factors that influence student attrition.

The use of visual aesthetics has been found to contribute to feelings of a positive Web experience. Accordingly, studies report strong correlations between aesthetics and facets of user experience like usability and credibility, but does this hold for accessibility also? Some believe that Web aesthetics impedes accessibility, while most Web designers perceive that the accessibility initiative is restrictive design-wise. These misconceptions have slowed down the advancement of an inclusive Web. Firstly, it is clear that the relationship between Web aesthetics and accessibility is still poorly understood. Secondly, tools capable of analysing the aesthetic quality of Web pages and relaying associated accessibility status information are lacking. This thesis addresses these two problems. In order to investigate this relationship, the aesthetic judgements of 180 users were elicited to help classify Web pages based on their visual quality using Lavie and Tractinsky's framework. The classified Web pages were then technically and manually audited for accessibility compliance using 4 automated tools, and 11 experts who used a heuristic evaluation technique known as the Barrier Walkthrough (BW) method to check for barriers which could affect people with visual impairments. Our results consistently showed that Web pages judged on Lavie and Tractinsky's classical aesthetic dimension as being `clean' had significant correlations with accessibility, suggesting `cleanness' to be a suitable proxy measure for accessibility. Expressive dimensions showed no such correlations. This insight was used to develop the EIVAA tool aimed at predicting the aesthetic quality of Web pages and using the information to provide accessibility ratings for the pages. Quantitative evaluations show that the tool is able to predict aesthetic quality in a way that mimics gold standards, especially along the design dimension `clean' where we observed tool-human correlations as strong as 0.703, thus making the associated accessibility predictions also acceptable. We envision that our findings will give the Web community a more holistic understanding of the interactions between the use of aesthetics and accessibility, and that our tool would inform Web developers of the implications of their designs.

This research sets out to explore how counsellor trainers understand and experience their role in the context of early twenty-first century Britain. The training sector is facing significant pressures connected with the shifting context for counselling and changes within the educational sector itself. These are occurring against a wider backdrop of economic recession and a lack of published research into rank-and-file trainer experiences and viewpoints. The methodology of choice is Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), a qualitative approach which focuses on the production of rich individual accounts of subjective experience. Sixteen trainers were recruited from across Great Britain via purposeful convenience sampling using the professional networks of the researcher, herself a trainer. The trainers were individually interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. The result is four separate but interconnected studies of the experiencing and understanding of the role on the part of trainers within programmes based on person-centred, integrative, psychodynamic and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) approaches. The four studies are analysed separately and contextualised within the literature. Tentative overall themes are then drawn out and implications discussed. The findings highlight the multifaceted and demanding nature of the training role. A commonality and difference in understanding of the role is evident across the studies. Discernible differences focus primarily on the relational nature of the role and the centrality accorded to critical thinking and the evidence-base. There are also different levels of identification and reconciliation expressed in relation to professionalising processes. A dominant finding in terms of the experience of the role is its high-reward and high-stress nature. Across all four studies, there is an identifiable vulnerability to substantial levels of stress and a developed potential for burnout. Workload pressures, the emotional demands of the role, a limited sense of autonomy and a perceived lack of appropriate support are among some of the major factors cited. In parallel trainers report a high level of reward and vocational commitment. The experience of the role’s rewards and challenges is a dynamic one, the balance shifting in the longer or shorter term. The context of the work carries significance with trainers in the private sector reporting substantially less stress. On a wider note, the shifting professional, educational and economic contexts are perceived as adding a new note of threat and uncertainty and leading some trainers to question their vocational commitment. The continuing divisions amongst differing theoretical schools are evident as well as a continued sense of non-belonging within institutional contexts. The findings are not presented as generalisable truths but as a contribution to the development of a case-based context-dependent understanding, regarded as important to effective practitioner development.

Midwives recommend antenatal HIV testing in pregnancy for all women. However,limited information is available on the experience of testing HIV positive in pregnancy.This thesis explored women’s experiences of receiving a positive HIV test resultfollowing antenatal screening in United Kingdom (UK). Black Africa women have highlevels of HIV infection in the UK and notably all participants were African in origin.The theoretical basis for the study was hermeneutic phenomenology, proposed byHeidegger (1962) and further guided by van Manen (1990), exploring essence andmeaning of this lived experience. Thirteen women were recruited and participated in asemi-structured interview. Participants were recruited from two NHS sites, several HIVsupport organisations and a national advert, in order to obtain diversity of this livedexperience.The emergent phenomenon is transition and transformation of “being,” as womenintegrated HIV into their lives. As women transformed with the HIV diagnosis theybalanced major themes. The major themes consisted of shock and disbelief; anger andturmoil; loss of old self; stigma and confidentiality issues and acceptance and resilience.Primary and secondary themes included: extreme reaction on being given a diagnosiswith a cultural belief that they would die; disbelief as the result was unexpected;sadness and loss of their old self; turmoil wanting to terminate the pregnancy; isolationfrom significant others; breakdown of their relationship and considering suicide and selfharm. Most reported the pervasiveness of stigma, and how they managed both thisstigma and HIV in their lives; growing resilience was apparent with time. Copingstrategies included keeping HIV “secret” and their child or children becoming the primefocus of life, with less importance on self.This study gives midwives a unique understanding of the complexities for womentesting HIV positive and supports Bonanno (2009) and Kübler Ross’ (1969 & 2005)findings on personal loss. Additionally this study provides a unique insight into thephenomenon of transition and transformation for women who tested positive inpregnancy and explores the factors and impact of testing HIV positive. The impact of anHIV diagnosis is culturally difficult for African women and had major implications andchallenges for their future life. Midwives are crucial in supporting and improving theexperience of women when they test HIV positive.

This thesis empirically examines the nature of consumer experiences as the result of interactions with components of the fashion store environment. It aims to further understand the consumption experience construct by adopting a multidimensional view of experience and a holistic view of antecedents, with the support of empirical data. A qualitative approach is adopted utilising face to face interviews with 5 practitioners and 20 young fashion consumers. By examining two perspectives a greater insight in to the way in which consumer experiences are created and are consumed can be gained. Data has been compared to establish differences between the way practitioners perceive the consumer experience, and the actual experiences of consumers. In doing so the research identifies several managerial implications which can be used to enhance the creation of experiences to meet the desires and wants of young fashion consumers. Findings suggest several stimuli including product, the physical setting, people, technology and brand message components contribute towards the creation of specific cognitive, emotional, sensory, physical and social experiences in fashion stores. It identifies technology as an important component affecting the consumer experience not yet discussed in existing literature concerning mid-market fashion store environments and proposes further research into this stimulus in a fashion context. Physical experiences in store are a vital element of the fashion store experience. Consumers should be immersed in physical experiences to provide unique and memorable encounters with a retailer that cannot be gained online. Furthermore the physical store should foster the relationship between consumer and consumer in order to create social experiences that engage consumers on more personal levels. In creating immersive and engaging experiences in the physical store retailers can ensure that the store format remains competitive in today’s challenging market.

Many researchers have failed to find a relationship between experience and judgment accuracy. In this study the purpose was to understand the relationship between experience and expertise in clinical judgment. Common sense suggests that experienced subjects make better quality judgments, compared to novices. Clinical judgments, however, are ill-structured and characterized by uncertainty; they take place in a dynamic context, with delayed or nonexistent feedback and are difficult to learn. Cognitive operations that translate "cues" (such as risk factors, signs, and symptoms) into judgments are not fully understood. Cognitive constructs (conceptual structure, sensitivity to patterns in data, and judgment process) and individual differences in age, education, and experience were explored to identify their relationship to judgment expertise. Indicators of judgment quality were: accuracy, consistency, latency, confidence, calibration, and knowledge accessibility. In phase 1 of this study, cues were identified that best predicted healing time for 258 surgical patients with abdominal incisions. In Phase 2, the subjects were 36 nurses with a range of experience caring for surgical patients. Generating both quantitative and qualitative data, subjects made judgments about incisional healing on the basis of information from actual patients. Multidimensional scaling was used to reveal conceptual structure, and lens modeling was applied to assess sensitivity to broad patterns. An information board task with think-aloud protocols demonstrated judgment process. The selection of tasks was based on their analysis- or intuition-inducing features, using K. R. Hammond's (1990) cognitive continuum theory. Experience accounted for a only a small proportion of variance in performance, whereas confidence in judgment was more strongly related to experience. Taken together, these findings replicated previous research. Protocol data showed that metacognition, knowledge accessibility, and reflectivity increased with experience. Conceptual structure predicted judgment accuracy under intuitive conditions. Support was found for Dreyfus and Dreyfus' (1986) hypothesized transition in cognition, from deliberate processing of discrete cues, to intuitive processing of patterns of cues encoded in memories for specific cases. This study has theoretical significance by adding to knowledge about clinical judgment, and by increasing understanding of cognitive changes associated with expertise. This study has practical significance in providing direction for the development of teaching methods aimed to increase learning from experience in probabilistic contexts. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate