In the city selected for this study, only 29% of inner-city students scored proficiently on standardized tests, whereas 71% of their peers at nearby suburban and affluent schools achieved the proficiency level. To address the gap, the local district implemented ability grouping in one charter school. The purpose of this ex post facto quasi-experimental study was to examine the effect of ability grouping among inner-city students in mathematics as an instructional intervention for improving student achievement. Ability grouping theory as an instructional strategy was used as the theoretical framework for this study. The criterion measure of mathematics improvement was provided by the test results from the Northwest Evaluation Association's Measure of Academic Progress (NWEA-MAP), a computer-adaptive assessment of mathematics. Using population data for 2012-2014 inner-city 8th graders who took the pretest and posttest NWEA-MAP (N = 234), two 1-way analyses of variances were used to test for mean differences in the NWEA-MAP improvement scores between ability-grouped (n = 115) and non-ability-grouped (n = 115) students, then specifically between students who were grouped as high ability (n = 55) and low ability (n = 55). The ability-grouped students had significantly higher improvement scores than did the nongrouped students. For those students who were ability grouped, no statistically significant difference existed in improvement between the high and low ability groups. A position paper was developed recommending student grouping to improve academic performance of inner-city school students. Positive social change will occur as the achievement gap is closed for students who attend inner-city schools.

It became very obvious, during my research, that alchemy was much more than just aspects of practical metallurgy and much more relevant in terms of symbolic and psychic investigations into the significance of the unconscious mind, the individual and the journey to discover the 'centre.' I use the concept of alchemy as a means to explore the unknown mystery of existence, being and the inner self. 'One Square Inch Between the Eyes' is a phrase used by Taosists to describe that area of the body that contains the highest form of energy and is the centre of spiritual development and transformations. Important aspects of true alchemy appear through Taosist manifestations and is expressed by the unity of nature and humankind. It is seen as a principle of universal understanding and a means to get behind or within appearances. This thesis begins to inquire into aspects of how alchemical notions have developed, both on a practical and symbolic level and how both have impacted on our lives. In the research process, several definitions of alchemy have been identified together with how these definitions have been adopted culturally. I begin to look at areas of art and creativity, science and chemistry, medicine and illness and how people see these aspects of cultural necessities through alchemical concepts and notions. / Master of Arts (Hons) (Visual Arts)

This thesis contends that trainee counsellors are disempowered when they are expected to conform to the patterns provided by the trainer or agency. Empowerment results from the encouragement of the trainee to develop his/her own eclectic approach to their counselling, and this is only possible if a range of elective training programs are made available. This thesis also contends that no one agency or trainer is in a position to provide such a range of counselling approaches, and trainees should be motivated to use the service of other agencies, as well as being involved in independent studies. This inquiry proposes that one of the most effective foundations for the development of effective counsellors is the active encouragement of the trainee's self-awareness and the exploration of the trainee's inner life. If the success or failure of counselling depend on the ability of the counsellor to create an environment in which the client can explore his/her own issues, then it requires counsellors who have been empowered to make this discovery for themselves. This thesis also shows the author's own transformational journey, from a directed learner to a self-directed learner, and this paradigm shift in his own life has become the motivating force for empowering others to move into a position where they can exercise their own choices, and be empowered through participatory and transformative learning approaches. / Master of Science (Hons)

<p>Centrally located problem areas of today, with suburban-like modernist architecture, are an anomaly in Sweden. The purpose of the present study is to investigate this Swedish anomaly by comparing three such city sections – Norrby in Borås, Nyfors in Eskilstuna and Öster in Gävle – and to try to answer the question: what type of case is this? To answer this question, a theoretical perspective distinguishing habitation, population and images is developed using concepts from Bourdieu, Elias and Scotson, Goffman, Lefebvre and Østerberg. Methodologically, this is a detailed comparative case study of the history of these three city sections in three or four phases, from before to after their thorough urban renewal in the 1960s. Once, these habitations developed in concert with their city into a working-class area, just beside the city centre, but beyond the railway station. After WWII, they became subjects of renewal, thus afflicted by a slum process that preceded demolition. The new habitation was planned for housing a working-class population. Suburban-like in shape, it was nevertheless part of an inner-city renewal. The new habitation became a target for critique already during the renewal process, a critique that was cast in the same terms as the critique of the suburbs of the time: Images of poor and troublesome outdoor milieus, social problems of different kinds, empty apartments, high turn over, immigrants and refugees were produced, in the media but also by the inhabitants and their organizations, giving the city section a bad reputation. This was to last until the present. Yet with new investment in attractive housing in adjacent brown field areas, these areas have once again become the subject of renewal. Consequently, these areas can be identified as a case of a good location with a bad reputation, emerging from the inner-city renewal of a former working-class habitation.</p>

Thesis (Th.D. (Pastoral))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

Centrally located problem areas of today, with suburban-like modernist architecture, are an anomaly in Sweden. The purpose of the present study is to investigate this Swedish anomaly by comparing three such city sections – Norrby in Borås, Nyfors in Eskilstuna and Öster in Gävle – and to try to answer the question: what type of case is this? To answer this question, a theoretical perspective distinguishing habitation, population and images is developed using concepts from Bourdieu, Elias and Scotson, Goffman, Lefebvre and Østerberg. Methodologically, this is a detailed comparative case study of the history of these three city sections in three or four phases, from before to after their thorough urban renewal in the 1960s. Once, these habitations developed in concert with their city into a working-class area, just beside the city centre, but beyond the railway station. After WWII, they became subjects of renewal, thus afflicted by a slum process that preceded demolition. The new habitation was planned for housing a working-class population. Suburban-like in shape, it was nevertheless part of an inner-city renewal. The new habitation became a target for critique already during the renewal process, a critique that was cast in the same terms as the critique of the suburbs of the time: Images of poor and troublesome outdoor milieus, social problems of different kinds, empty apartments, high turn over, immigrants and refugees were produced, in the media but also by the inhabitants and their organizations, giving the city section a bad reputation. This was to last until the present. Yet with new investment in attractive housing in adjacent brown field areas, these areas have once again become the subject of renewal. Consequently, these areas can be identified as a case of a good location with a bad reputation, emerging from the inner-city renewal of a former working-class habitation.

The role of emotion with regard to human functioning and human well-being has been a topic of much consideration and debate throughout the ages. In both secular and Christian fields of study (e.g. philosophy, theology, biology, psychology, and psychotherapy) people have examined emotional experience from different vantage points. Since the second half of the 20th century renewed interest in the importance of affect in human life is especially notable in disciplines such as neuroscience, psychology, and psychotherapy. This is reflected, for example, in the development of a secular psychotherapeutic model that understands experiential engagement to be a crucial key to psychological change, namely Emotion-Focused Therapy (EFT). There is no distinctive Christian counseling model that has as its main paradigm emotion experience. Yet, several Christian models exists in which experiencing emotions is considered to be important in the process of change. The thesis of this work is that the theologically and psychologically sophisticated Christian emotion-focused model of therapy suggested in this dissertation will correct and enhance existent Christian and secular emotion-focused models. Chapter 1 covers the thesis of the dissertation, reasons why the dissertation makes a helpful contribution to the field, background information, methodology, and delimitations. Chapter 2 presents theological reflections on the topic of emotion, especially as it pertains to topics such as the nature of emotions, emotional health and disorder, and emotional healing. Chapter 3 consists of an examination of secular Emotion-Focused Therapy. This chapter will discuss this model and assess what aspects can or cannot be used by a Christian Emotion-Focused approach. In chapter 4 three contemporary Christian models that use emotion experience in their counseling approach are described and evaluated. These are Theophostic Prayer Ministry developed by Smith, Inner Healing Prayer as defined by Tan, and the Elijah House model of the Sandfords. The purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the field of Christian psychology by proposing the necessary elements of a comprehensive Christian Emotion-Focused model that is a corrective to existent models. Based on the research of the previous chapters, a preliminary outline of such a model is presented in chapter 5.

The purpose of this 1-year case study was to understand how 5 elementary school teachers in an inner-city school foster social inclusion. Through classroom observations and interviews, the study examined the variations of classroom practices the teachers used to create inclusive environments, the challenges they faced in the process, and the strategies they developed to address these challenges. How their work in the classroom interacted with the school's organizational structures was also explored. Three concepts frame the study: a broad conception of social inclusion that addresses multiple aims for creating an environment of belonging and takes students of all social identities into account; a detailed conception of the practice of social inclusion from a range of theoretical perspectives and teachers' experiences; and a situated conception of context that interrelates the classroom with the school and the community. Three dimensions of pedagogy—content-based practices, relations, and structures—are used to identify and compare principles of inclusive practice. The study portrays the interactions of daily classroom life through cross-case analysis and reveals the complex decision-making processes that teachers use to foster social inclusion. This study builds on growing scholarship in the field of social inclusion in education (Ainscow et al., 2006; Dei, 1996a; Kosnik & Beck, 2009; Kumashiro, 2002; Topping & Maloney, 2005) and on the increased interest in inclusive pedagogical practices. The in-depth portraits of the teachers’ classroom practices are compared to literature in 4 areas: citizen-based pedagogy, culture-based pedagogy, race-based pedagogy, and anti-oppression pedagogy. The teachers’ practices are analyzed in relation to 2 principles of social inclusion: connecting content to students’ lives and creating mutually supportive social spaces. The study revealed that the participants' practices were mainly associated with pedagogies based on citizenship and culture, with some connections to race-based and anti-oppression pedagogies. What differentiates this study from most other studies in this area is its detailed attention to the dynamic complexity of applying principles of social inclusion to practice. The portraits offer insights into inclusive work in classrooms that will benefit teachers, teacher educators, and researchers interested in expanding the field of social inclusion in education.

The aim of this s tudy is to investigate the three great existential questions—anxiety, love and death—in the works of Stig Dagerman. Emphasis is placed on the novels Ormen [The Snake] (1945), De dömdas ö [The Island of the Doomed ] (1946), Bränt barn [A Burnt Child] (1948), and Bröllopsbesvär [Wedding Worries] (1949), as well as the play Den dödsdömde [The Condemned] (1948). To this end, interpretation is used in the sense given to it by Paul Ricoeur—interpretation that leads to an understanding of a double meaning. In the present case, this means that the texts' symbolic level is revealed and accorded as great an importance as the story at the surface, manifest level . The theme of anxiety is most apparent in the first novel, while the question of eroticism is central to De dömdas ö and Bränt barn. Each novel expresses a pessimistic view of erotic love as a realizable possibility. Death, which has concrete, motivational and abstract aspects , occurs in every text. Murder and suicide interact with inner, spiritual deadness. This state means acquiring a lowered or threatened inner vitality in which the psyche becomes "icebound". Inner deadness is a form of anxiety. Analysis reveals that anxiety, the complications of love and the problem of death are related to a mother figure. The mother figures in the texts are alternately the objects of destructive hatred and excessive love. Behind these mother figures is concealed the experience of a mother who has betrayed, and who is there fore the object of both aggression and longing. This longing, according to Freudian-Lacanic theory, is expressed in a desire for the mother's body, i.e. a longing fo r the lost unity with the mother in original symbiosis. Thus, the mother figure in the texts also has mythical dimensions—Mother and death are in a sense equivalent. To die is to return to the mother, but death, or the proximity of death thus also provides the opportunity for a symbolic rebirth. Both the proximity of concrete death—as in thwarted suicide attempts—and a symbolic death — as in the form of extreme self-degradation—give rise to an increased feeling of life, if only for a moment. The psychologist Robert Jay Lifton has shown that murder can be a conscious step in a process of self- destruction. Murder is in this case a phase in a search for revitaliza-tion, which is thus the ultimate aim of suicide. This phenomenon appears on the symbolic level in Dagermans works, especially in the play Den dödsdömde. The interpretation reveals that the existential question that dominates Dagerman's texts is the struggle against the threat of inner deadness. The fixation with death in the texts is, in the final analysis , an expression of a desire to live. / digitalisering@umu

Flying-wing aircraft are considered to have great advantages and potentials in aerodynamic performance and weight saving. However, they also have many challenges in design. One of the biggest challenges is the structural design of the inner wing (fuselage). Unlike the conventional fuselage of a tube configuration, the flying-wing aircraft inner wing cross section is limited to a noncircular shape, which is not structurally efficient to resist the internal pressure load. In order to solve this problem, a number of configurations have been proposed by other designers such as Multi Bubble Fuselage (MBF), Vaulted Ribbed Shell (VLRS), Flat Ribbed Shell (FRS), Vaulted Shell Honeycomb Core (VLHC), Flat Sandwich Shell Honeycomb Core (FLHC), Y Braced Box Fuselage and the modified fuselage designed with Y brace replaced by vaulted shell configurations. However all these configurations still inevitably have structural weight penalty compared with optimal tube fuselage layout. This current study intends to focus on finding an optimal configuration with minimum structural weight penalty for a flying-wing concept in a preliminary design stage. A new possible inner wing configuration, in terms of aerodynamic shape and structural layout, was proposed by the author, and it might be referred as ‘Wave-Section Configuration’. The methodologies of how to obtain a structurally efficient curvature of the shape, as well as how to conduct the initial sizing were incorporated. A theoretical analysis of load transmission indicated that the Wave-Section Configuration is feasible, and this was further proved as being practical by FE analysis. Moreover, initial FE analysis and comparison of the Wave-Section Configuration with two other typical configurations, Multi Bubble Fuselage and Conventional Wing, suggested that the Wave-Section Configuration is an optimal design in terms of weight saving. However, due to limitations of the author’s research area, influences on aerodynamic performances have not yet been taken into account.