This thesis examines the cultural background of students and investigates differences in the way teachers interact with students of different cultural backgrounds. The study comprises three parts. Firstly, it validates the new classroom environment measuring instrument, the Cultural Learning Environment Questionnaire (CLEQ). This instrument is used for the first time to assess the cultural factors that students bring to their classrooms. Secondly, as well as providing validation data for the use of the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI), it investigates associations between students' cultural background and their perceptions of student-teacher interactions. The third part of the study looks at whether the students' cultural background affects their attitudes and achievement. This study is significant because teachers in multicultural classrooms need to be informed about how cultural factors interact with student perceptions of their preferred student-teacher interpersonal behaviours. As a result of this study, a tool is now available that can be used by teachers to monitor what is occurring in their own classrooms and to guide improvements in their teaching, thereby leading to improved learning among students.

The classroom learning environment has increasingly been recognised as an important factor in education. However, over recent years the increasing research in this area has focussed on humanities or science classrooms. Virtually no investigations have been reported into the learning environment of the secondary mathematics classroom.The study reported in this thesis focusses on the perceptions of 490 grade 9 mathematics students in 23 classrooms in 14 schools in Adelaide, South Australia. Students' perceptions of their mathematics learning environment were measured using a new classroom environment instrument which has been developed in both a Personal Form (which focusses on students' perceptions of their personal interaction with the learning environment) and a Class Form (which focusses on students' perceptions of the class's interactions with the learning environment).This study confirmed the reliability and validity of both forms of the new instrument in its use with this sample of students, and examined the differences between the Personal and the Class Forms of the instrument. The sub-populations of male and female students were also profiled and differences between their perceptions of the classroom learning environment were examined. Differences between students' perceptions of their teacher's interpersonal behaviour in the classroom were also explored.The study identified associations between students' perceptions of their mathematics classroom learning environment, their perceptions of their teacher's interpersonal behaviour, and student outcomes. The association between students' perceptions of their mathematics classroom environment and attitudinal outcomes was stronger than the association with cognitive outcomes.Finally, the commonality and uniqueness of the two instruments measuring classroom learning environment and teacher's interpersonal behaviour ++ / in terms of predicting outcome variance were established, as were associations between the perceptions of students in these two areas.

Numerous educational research studies have shown that students perceptions of teacher-interpersonal behaviour and classroom environment are positively associated with students attitude to science and students cognitive achievement in science. Laptop computers have become increasing popular in science classrooms since the late 1980s; however, their effects on students perceptions of teacher interpersonal relationships or classroom environment have not been studied.The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of laptop computers in science classrooms, in terms of the effects laptops had on students perceptions of teacher-student interpersonal behaviour and classroom environment. Students attitude to science and their cognitive achievement in science were also assessed.Student data were collected from 433 grades 8 and 9 science laptop students in 23 classrooms, in 14 Independent schools, in four Australian states. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected.The study confirmed the reliability and validity of the QTI and ICEQ for use in science laptop classrooms, described students perceptions of teacher-student interpersonal behaviour and classroom environment in science laptop classrooms and identified associations between students perceptions of teacher-student interpersonal behaviour and classroom environment with each of the student outcomes. The attitudinal outcomes were found to be more strongly associated with both perceptual areas, than were the cognitive achievement outcomes.The study also found that there was a difference in the way science laptop and non-laptop students perceived teacher-student interpersonal behaviour and classroom environment, but that there was no significant difference I the attitudinal and cognitive achievement outcomes between science laptop and non-laptop students.

Interpersonal power, defined as the asymmetrical control over valued outcomes, has important effects on the way cognitive processing unfolds. This work explores the effect of power on basic cognitive processes, in addition to broader processes that appear at the level of social behaviour. I begin this thesis with an introductory chapter, followed by a chapter describing the theory and practice behind electro-encephalogram recordings. In Chapter 3, I explore the effect of power on attention selection using a task that requires the ability to focus or divide attention in space, while varying the amount of distractors. The results suggest that low-power participants (subordinates) are more susceptible to the presence of distractors, regardless of whether the task necessitates focused or divided attention. In this context, inhibition accounts for the results to a greater extent than spatial orienting. In Chapter 4, I explore the effect of power on early inhibition processes in the context of executive control, in a task which allows participants to allegedly observe each others’ performance and receive feedback. The results show that high power is associated with reduced behavioural accuracy on trials that require executive control. Event-related potential analyses show that power-holders devote reduced motivational resources to their targets compared to subordinates, but do not differ at the level of early conflict detection. Their feedback potential results show a greater expectation of rewards, but reduced subjective magnitude attributed to losses. Subordinates, on the other hand, are asymmetrically sensitive to power-holders’ targets. They expect fewer rewards, but attribute greater significance to losses. In Chapter 5, I show that subordinates are asymmetrically competent at remembering diagnostic choices made by power-holders. In a final general discussion chapter, I integrate the findings of the experiments, which point to multi-layered effects of power, conferring those who possess it and those who lack it with distinct cognitive processing styles that suit their adaptive needs. The results are consistent with a hypothesized link between subordination and up-regulation of vigilance and environmental sensitivity. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

People turn to others for help and advice during hard times. Early psychologists suggested a ‘talking cure’ as a remedy for emotional turmoil (e.g., Freud, 1916–7/1963; Rogers, 1942). Likewise, folk psychology often sees heart-to-heart conversations as a win-win proposition that brings relief to the afflicted person and reinforces social bonds at the time of need. However, talking about problems does not always help (e.g., Rimé, 2009; Rimé, Mesquita, Boca, & Philppot, 1991; Rimé, Philippot, Boca, & Mesquita, 1992; Rose, 2002). In some cases, problem-talk can be a lose-lose proposition that drags both discussants into depression (Rose, 2002; Rose, Carlson, & Waller, 2007). This thesis examines co-rumination (Rose, 2002), a case of emotional sharing that hurts people instead of helping them, on three levels of analysis (individuals, dyads, and groups). At the individual level, I sketch the life course of co-rumination and replicate earlier findings of gender differences. Furthermore, online survey data (N = 464) links co-rumination with agreeableness and neuroticism. I also demonstrate that co-rumination can be assessed with a brief measure that is 66% shorter than the original. At the dyadic level, data from recorded conversations between romantic couples show that face-to-face co-rumination influences people’s real-time emotional trajectories in complex ways. Furthermore, observer-ratings of the conversations suggest that third-parties can detect co-rumination, even from silent videos. Finally, I study how people react to others’ negative mood and co-rumination in a real social context by longitudinally following two cohorts of students and modelling their interactions with social network analysis tools. These models show that co-rumination appears to elicit social rejection from others, implying a possible pathway to depression via loneliness imposed on the co-ruminators.

Critical discourses on contemporary digital cinema tend to be either overtly negative, framed within a rhetoric of loss or disenfranchisement, or unilaterally positive, celebrating the user agency and freedom digital technologies enable. Both these conceptual positions are unhelpful because they either focus on what contemporary digital cinema fails to do or what it should do, without examining more closely how it actually functions. What is needed is a third, neutral approach which takes both sides into consideration but is also aware of their limitations and weaknesses. This thesis takes as its impetus Giles Deleuze’s suggestion that, just like the cinemas of the movement-image and the time-image before it, contemporary digital cinema needs a basic will to art – a new aesthetic principle, a new function of the image, a new politics, a new representational potential distinct from those that have come before it. The aim of this thesis is therefore to establish this will to art and explore its ramifications for and manifestations in contemporary digital cinema. Taking into consideration a variety of filmic texts from the 1980s to the present day which prominently feature diegetically recorded footage, as well as amateur film-making practices from the home movies of the 1960s to the video clips now uploaded to online media sharing platforms, the increasing relevance of home media in the reception of contemporary digital cinema, and most crucially the process of convergence inherent in digital media, this thesis argues that the will to art of contemporary digital cinema is intimacy.

The aim of this master thesis is to discover correlation trends between teacher interaction style and his extent of providing opportunities for teaching how to learn. According to the results the aim is to create a prototype of the teacher interaction style, who has got the best dispositions to provide opportunities for teaching how to learn. The first and the second chapter deal with theoretical basis. Key competences, especially key competence for learning are depicted in the first chapter. The second chapter focuses on a topic of pedagogical communication and interaction and it is concluded with a discussion of the interaction style of the teacher. All the details on this research are described in the third chapter. The methodology is topped with the results, discussions and the overall finish. At the end of the work the bibliographic references, attachments, lists of figures and tables are revealed.

The following Master thesis deals with the problem of clothing disposal in Greece examining primarily the psychosocial factors that influence this behaviour. More specifically, the author sets a theoretical framework using the Triandis’ (1977) model of Interpersonal Behaviour and examines how the factors included in the model influence clothing disposition among young individuals in Greece as well as to what extend they do it. Furthermore, the author explores the clothing disposition behaviour of the above mentioned sample regarding an old t-shirt.The thesis consists of six chapters. In the first chapter, the author examines the problem of clothing disposal in terms of how it is formulated and what are the environmental effects deriving from it. Due to the fact that there is no information about clothing disposal in Greece, the problem is examined in relation to countries like the USA and the UK and then the findings are connected to Greece so the reader can understand the importance of the problem in the country.The second chapter sets the theoretical framework of the problem by examining the existing theories and studies in the fields of disposition and clothing disposition. Moreover, in this chapter there is a thorough analysis of Triandis’ (1977) Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour to guide the reader through the rest of the paper.In the third chapter, the research methodology is analysed in respect to the general design, the sampling technique used and the questionnaire development and distribution.After setting all the necessary elements, in chapter four the author analyses the results of the research with a statistical method based on SPSS. Findings of the three research questions are demonstrated in this chapter with a small discussion regarding them.Chapter five consists of the discussion around the findings of the research. Under this section the author discusses how and why the psychosocial factors, as presented in Triandis’ (1977) Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour, influence clothing disposal behaviour among young individuals in Greece as well as the actual disposal behaviour.Finally, in chapter six of this thesis a conclusion of the findings takes place with parallel suggestions about further research in this field and some proposals in relation to the problem. / Program: Master in Fashion Management with specialisation in Fashion Marketing and Retailing

Transactional Analysis, or TA, has been used for more than four decades to enhance interpersonal relationships and promote personal growth through counselling and psychotherapy. It has been used to advantage in organisations, principally in the business world. It was thought at the outset of this study that TA could also be of benefit to schools.The aim of this study was to find out whether TA methods could be used in schools to improve student outcomes in science and mathematics, to enhance interpersonal relationships and to promote positive behaviour. The study trialled TA by using it with a group of at-risk students to discover whether its use would bring about positive change.A group of ten at-risk students became part of a mentoring programme, using TA. This programme focussed on the behaviour and academic progress of the students, and sought to empower them to make positive changes. This group referred to as the sample group, was compared with a control group. The Adult ego-state (thinking) was promoted in the students in order to shift their 'locus of control' from their Negative Adapted Child ego-state, the source of much non-productive, inappropriate and rebellious behaviour.The study upheld the reliability and validity of the questionnaires used, namely the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction, the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (School Form) and the Mooney Problem Checklist. The study prompted the construction of an informal test, the Ego-State Questionnaire, which proved to be informative.Poor attendance and school behaviour records were good indicators of a student's 'at-risk' status. At-risk students were found to be already achieving below their potential in science and mathematics at entry to secondary school.The mentoring programme ran for six months, and at the end of this the sample group had improved behavioural records and increased self ++ / esteem. Their number of perceived problems had dropped dramatically, and their academic results were improved.Interpersonal relationships between the sample group and their science teachers were better than the interpersonal relationships with their mathematics teachers, indicating a continued difficulty with abstract ideas at the end of the programme and a need to run such programmes over a longer time span. Interpersonal relationships did improve out of school with parents and peers. Clear preferences were indicated for what students preferred in the behaviours of their ideal teacher: understanding, helping/friendly, leadership and strict behaviours.Encouragement of Adult ego-state was shown to be an appropriate and productive approach to the improvement of academic and behavioural outcomes for at-risk students in science and mathematics. The study also showed that at-risk young people had a lower than average Nurturing Parent ego-state available to them.Teachers rated their TA101 course highly, and found that it gave them a fresh perspective on classroom difficulties. Both teachers and students benefited from the use of TA in this study.

The major purposes of this study were to provide validation data for the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI) with a large Australian sample and examine the relationship of teacher-student interpersonal behaviour with student sex, cultural background and student outcomes. The sample from lower secondary science classrooms in Australia consisted of 3,215 students in 158 classes in 43 schools in two Australian states, namely Tasmania and Western Australia. The sample was chosen carefully so as to be representative, though only co-educational classes were used in order to permit an unconfounded test of sex differences. Students and teachers completed a questionnaire which included the QT1, an attitude to class scale based on the Test of Science Related Attitudes (TOSRA), a cognitive achievement measure based on items from the Test of Enquiry Skills (TOES) and a five-item cultural background survey. The study follows the current trend in the field of classroom environment research of combining qualitative and quantitative methods. The qualitative component of the study involved about 100 interviews. This study is unique in that it provides a very large database of teacher-student interaction data in science classrooms and provides new insights into the relationships between teacher-student interpersonal behaviour with student sex, cultural background and student outcomes. The study found that there were associations between teacher student interpersonal behaviour and student sex and that there were differences in the way that students from different cultural backgrounds perceived their learning environments. Student achievement and student attitude to class were also found to be positively associated with teacher-student interpersonal behaviour. As a practical outcome of this study, the 48-item QT1 has been shown to be useful to Australian lower secondary science ++ / teachers as an initiator of self reflection on teaching practice.