This study investigated the effects of output stimulus tasks and glosses on L2 incidental vocabulary learning. Two meta-analytic studies were conducted. The first was intended to provide a systematic statistical synthesis of the effects of output stimulus tasks on L2 incidental vocabulary learning. A total of 12 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Results showed that language learners gained more benefit from using output stimulus tasks to learn vocabulary than those who only read a text. Results also supported the involvement load hypothesis that language learners who perform a task with a higher extent of involvement load gain more L2 vocabulary. As opposed to studies with the low level of design quality, studies with high and medium levels of design quality were more likely to detect statistically significant differences among groups with different output stimulus tasks. Moreover, results suggested that time on task had a positive impact on L2 vocabulary learning. Learners who read a combination of expository and narrative texts outperformed those who only read either an expository or a narrative text in the vocabulary posttest. Learners who read a text with text-target word ratios of less than or equal to 2 percent did not learn significantly more vocabulary than those who read a text with a ratio of 2 percent to 5 percent. The second meta-analysis study used meta-analytic techniques to explore the effects of L1 textual and image-based glosses on second language (L2) incidental vocabulary learning while reading. Results revealed that language learners who were provided with textual glosses gained more vocabulary than those who had no access to glosses. Results suggested that text-target word ratios played an important role in second language vocabulary learning. Language learners who read a passage with a text-target word ratio of ≤2 percent outperformed those who read a passage with a text-target word ratio between 2 percent and 5 percent. No statistically significant difference was found between the groups that were provided with multiple-choice and single glosses. Compared to paper-and-pencil environments, computer-assisted settings did not significantly enhance L2 vocabulary learning. Language learners who read narrative reading materials did not significantly outperform those who were exposed to expository texts with regard to incidental vocabulary learning. No significant difference in L2 vocabulary learning was observed between groups who were given L1 textual glosses and those who had access to L1 textual image-based glosses.

Since the global financial crisis of 2008-9 and the deficit reduction measures introduced by the British government from 2011, a new strategic deinstitutionalized model of community engagement has begun to emerge to address issues of social justice and environmental concern. Cloke (2011) identifies this new space of engagement as ‘rapprochement’. This research develops this concept, arguing that this organic, radical, social enterprise form of partnership offers the Established Church1 a potential means to engage in community-based social action in a postwelfare, post-regeneration age. A redistribution of power that seeks to enable agency and release enterprise, innovation and hope is at the heart of this new community-based model of partnership. These innovative enterprises are particularly evident in inner urban areas, although it is a model also appropriate for suburban and rural communities. This fresh model of partnership is a consequence of a developing nexus between rapprochement and austerity. Rapprochement emerges in what Habermas (2001 onwards) identifies as the postsecular. This acknowledges that religion, despite expectations to the contrary (Wilson 1982; Bruce 2002), continues to have a significant role in the public square. The global financial crisis and austerity measures imposed by the last two governments (2010-2015; 2015-2017) reflect a neo-liberal ideology leaving those least able to cope increasingly vulnerable and in need of support. A hermeneutic ethnographic approach accesses the experiences of leaders engaged in public, private and third sector organizations in a time of on-going austerity and considers their knowledge and understanding of partnership working. Data consists of 14 interviews and is triangulated with participant observation in two partnerships identified as examples of rapprochement. Case study helps clarify understandings of this new form of partnership. Dynamics characterizing these organic partnerships include a deep respect for hermeneutical integrity; a desire to create a sense of place, rather than space; a transformative form of hospitality and a style of leadership that enables the different stakeholders to acquire and develop a sense of agency. Innovative frameworks clarifying these dynamics include ideas of postsecularity, progressive localism, smart pluralism, and enablement. Alongside terms like personal responsibility, passion and vision, usual in partnership vocabulary, the research uncovered a more nuanced and sophisticated lexicon. This includes terms such as autonomy, brokering and process enablers. Rapprochement primarily encapsulates a person’s love for their neighbour. Those engaged in these partnerships practise a welcome engendering inclusivity, which offers a fresh theological understanding of hospitality. It also suggests a distinct theological understanding of leadership, espousing a model that draws others in, helping them to discover their gifts and constantly expanding and sharing leadership. This strategic deinstitutionalized model of partnership offers the Established Church an opportunity to join with others and to show, through praxis and community engagement, God’s bias for the poor and his longing for their enablement.

The purpose of this paper is to look at the effect of social media use on social capital. This paper attempts to establish a dichotomy between 'real' and 'perceived' social capital and the effect of social media use on both. I use a survey instrument measuring both the social media use and `real' social capital of one group compared with the social media use and `perceived' social capital of the second group. I find that while social media use is related with survey respondents feeling more involved politically and in their community, there is no correlation between actual political/community involvement for other respondents.

PPI has been growing considerably in the last 15 years in the UK's National Health Service (NHS) following shifts in the relationship between institutions and the public. Various legislative changes during this period have moved the NHS towards a consumerist model of delivery with a greater emphasis on the voice of their service users and the public. High profile cases, such as the severe failings at the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust (Francis, 2013), have provided impetus for PPI. However, despite increases in PPI-related activities, research into PPI methods and their impact have indicated that both methods and impact are difficult to evaluate (e.g. Conklin et al., 2012). Many existing models of PPI appear to over simplify what is a complex social phenomenon. Relatively simple early models such as the ladder of participation (Arnstein, 1969) are still widely referenced. Many studies have focused on individual PPI activities and individual stakeholder perspectives but have paid less attention to the commonalities and differences across and within stakeholder groups and PPI contexts. This study explored the complexities of PPI by collecting detailed observational, documentary and interview data from three different healthcare provider organisations (a mental health trust, a social enterprise, and an acute hospital trust). A range of methods (observations, semi-structured interviews, and document reviews) were used to explore in depth the complex nature of PPI and capture detailed data about contextual and organisational factors. Furthermore, whilst this study aimed to explore a range of activities and individual perspectives across multiple organisations, the ultimate outcome of this research was to produce a conceptual framework that extends theory by placing greater emphasis on the influence of contextual and societal factors. This study identified a plethora of factors that contribute to successful PPI; some of which had been found in previous research (such as personal barriers for laypeople). The constraining role of organisational structures and hierarchies; the strong influence of Government policies and initiatives; and the gatekeeping role of PPI facilitators were novel to this research, or added nuances to existing literature. With regards to the latter, a key finding was the significant role PPI facilitators play in both the implementation and success of PPI work. Their role is essentially a mediator between their employer and patients and the public. This study identified that the role of the voice of patients and the public is negotiated via PPI facilitators, making these key to the success of PPI. PPI facilitators were both responsible for facilitating PPI activities and reporting back the results of that work to senior management (including Board members); the ultimate goal of which was to influence service improvements as well as long term organisational strategies. These findings indicate that a conceptual framework of PPI is needed that considers not just individual perspectives and methods of PPI, but also the process of negotiation via PPI facilitators in making PPI a success.

Although academic motivation and school belonging positively influence student adjustment and experiences in school, early adolescence marks a time when motivation, belonging, and success in school tend to decline. Research has investigated ways that teachers and peers can support school success and student adjustment. However, there is less research on the role that parents play in supporting students’ success, motivation, and belonging in middle school. Additionally, most research examining the role of parents has focused on parenting styles rather than parenting practices (e.g., parental involvement and parental monitoring). Our understanding of the ways that specific parenting practices may support success, academic motivation, and school belonging is incomplete. Furthermore, studies rarely take into account adolescents’ own voices when studying the influence of parenting practices on student success, academic motivation, and school belonging. The purpose of this study was to explore which parenting practices adolescents at one large, urban, ethnically diverse middle school perceived as currently supporting and having the potential to increase their success in school, academic motivation, and school belonging. A secondary qualitative analysis of individual interviews with 18 middle school students who self-reported different levels of academic motivation was completed using the hybrid process of inductive and deductive thematic analysis (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006). This analysis process allowed for the use a priori codes and for the integration of emergent codes. The Contextual Model of Parenting; which incorporates parental involvement, parental motivation, and parental socialization goals; was used as the basis of the a priori codes. The findings indicated that participants perceived specific parenting practices as currently supportive and/or had the potential to increase their success, motivation, and belonging in school. Specifically, social-emotional monitoring emerged as a theme as currently supporting and most likely to increase participants’ academic motivation. Participants viewed the parental value, making school a priority, as currently supporting their success in school. Although participants did not identify any specific parenting practices that currently supported their school belonging, peer-based monitoring practices were perceived as ways parents could potentially increase school belonging. Some differences emerged among the different self-reported motivation levels, particularly for how parents supported motivation. Students with self-reported low levels of motivation reported that parents providing or withholding positive items or activities supported their motivation. Students with medium motivation voiced having their parents act as role models was supportive of motivation. Highly motivated students stated that words of support and encouragement from parents was a supportive practice for their motivation. Results demonstrated the need for further investigation into the role of social-emotional monitoring practices in supporting students’ success, motivation, and school belonging. In addition, result indicated the need for parents to be mindful of the social-emotional wellbeing of their children.

abstract: Research suggests that early family relationships have critical influences on later physical and psychological health, but most studies have focused on the influence of mothers ignoring the unique impacts of fathers. One mechanism by which families may transmit risk is by repeated activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis in the short-term that leads to adult neurobiological dysregulaton, evident in hyper- or hypo-cortisol levels. Using 218 father-child dyads from the Parent and Youth Study (PAYS), the current study investigated whether father involvement in adolescence predicted youth cortisol AUCg and reactivity to a stress task in young adulthood, and whether this relation was mediated by youth perceptions of mattering to their fathers in adolescence. Results revealed that higher father-reported father involvement predicted lower cortisol AUCg in youth when mattering was included in the model, although father involvement was not a statistically significant predictor of AUCg or cortisol reactivity when mattering was not included. Additionally, children who reported higher father involvement also reported higher feelings of mattering, but this association was only statistically significant for girls and European American youth. Youth feelings of mattering did not predict their cortisol reactivity or AUCg in young adulthood. Results suggest that future research should include fathers when investigating the effects of family relationships on youth psychophysiological development. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2015

abstract: This dissertation shares findings from a qualitative case study of Latina adolescent girls (ninth and 10th graders) and their mothers and fathers participating in Somos Escritores/We Are Writers. Somos Escritores was a five-week bilingual writing workshop for Latina adolescent girls and their mothers and fathers that invited them to write, draw, and share stories from their lived realities on a variety of topics relevant to their lives. The stories, voices, experiences, and ways of knowing of the Latina adolescent girls, mothers, and fathers who allowed me a window into their lives are at the center of this study. This study explored the ways a safe space was coconstructed for the sharing of stories and voices and what was learned from families through their writing about who they are, what matters to them, and what they envision for their futures. To understand Somos Escritores, and the Latina adolescent girls, mothers, and fathers who participated in this space and the stories that are shared, I weave together multiple perspectives. These perspectives include Chicana feminist epistemology (Delgado Bernal, 1998), third space (Gutiérrez, 2008), Nepantla (Anzaldúa, 1997) and sociocultural theories of writing (Goncu & Gauvain, 2012; Prior, 2006). Data were drawn from the following sources: (a) postworkshop survey, (b) audio recording and transcription of workshops, (c) interviews, (d) workshop artifacts, and (e) field notes. They were analyzed using narrative methods. I found that Latina adolescent girls and their mothers and fathers are “Fighting to be Heard,” through the naming and claiming of their realities, creating positive self-definitions, writing and sharing silenced stories, the stories of socially conscious girls and of parents raising chicas fuertes [strong girls]. In addition, Somos Escritores families and facilitators coconstructed a third space through intentional practices and activities. This study has several implications for teachers and teacher educators. Specifically, I suggest creating safe space in literacy classroom for authentic sharing of stories, building a curriculum that is relevant to the lived realities of youth and that allows them to explore social injustices and inequities, and building relationships with families in the coconstruction of family involvement opportunities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation English 2017

abstract: ABSTRACT Students who drop out of high school experience lower incomes and greater unemployment and are at higher risk of becoming part of the adult corrections system and of needing public assistance. Historically, Latino/a youth, particularly Mexican American youth, have been at particularly high risk for underachievement and dropping out of high school. Because Latino/as are the fastest growing ethnic group in the United States, their struggle in education means a larger, undereducated work force. In spite of demographic factors such as poverty, language barriers, and discrimination that potentially can adversely impact the success of the children of Mexican immigrant parents, some of these parents are taking steps to help their children succeed in high school and to enter college. While parental involvement has been generally linked to improving students' outcomes and attitudes toward school, few studies have focused on minority parents, particularly Latino/as. Even fewer have conducted qualitative studies to develop a deeper understanding of parents' beliefs, values, and actions taken to help their children. Through semi-structured interviews and grounded theory analysis, this qualitative study investigated how and why Mexican immigrant parents help their children succeed in school. Six themes emerged from the data: 1) parents' motivations stem from childhood adversity, the belief that there are opportunities in the U.S. for people who succeed academically, and unrealized dreams to pursue their own education; 2) parents' actions primarily included behaviors at home; 3) the influence of "La Familia" (the protective force of the family); 4) the influence of discipline; 5) the influence of teachers and principals who recognized and supported their children's academic success; and 6) the influence of the children themselves. Despite variations in educational attainment and income levels, the parents' values, beliefs, and actions were similar to each other and reflect their Mexican cultural upbringing. By developing a deeper understanding of the parents' beliefs, values, and actions, more culturally informed and strength-based, parent-involvement approaches can be developed for similar Mexican immigrant parents. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are explored. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.C. Counseling Psychology 2014

M.Phil. (Business Management) / This dissertation is a theoretical study of participatory management. According to research, companies tend to neglect the employees as one of their most valuable assets in favour of the more efficient use of raw materials and capital assets. The primary goal of the study was to show that by the effective implementation of a participatory management program, it will lead to certain advantages for both the management and the employees. The first section of the study focuses on the formulation of a definition for the term "participatory management". The -connection between motivation and leadership with participatory management are shown and identified. In the following section of the dissertation the different types of application of participatory management are discussed and practical examples are shown. A practical, yet simple model of participatory management are shown and discussed in detail. The third section of the study refers to the successful implementation of a participatory management program. The barriers in the way of successful implementation and the prerequisites that both the management and the employees have to comply to, to ensure a successful implementation of a participatory management program, are discussed in detail. The resulting advantages of a successful program for both the management and the employees are shown. In the final chapter certain conclusions based on the theoretical study of participatory management are made. One of the most important conclusions is that the success of a participatory management program depends on the support from management.

The Swedish housing sector has changed from being part of the welfare state into being market-driven. During the last century political decisions has enabled this change together with changes regarding the actors involved in the building industry. The role of the architect has weakened and users are not involved in the process of designing housing at all. I propose an alternative estate agency called Bricolage where the users are involved in the design process of their homes from start to finish. Bricolage would not find you the home of your dreams but instead build it together with you. The process started with interviews with the users where functions, materials, style, common spaces, light and atmosphere were discussed. The interview resulted in a written document and a storyboard that worked as a stepping stone to build the first model of the apartment. After that a second interview was held with each family to discuss the models and storyboards. Together with the family small changes were made in the model. When the separate models were finished I assembled them, making an apartment block of eight apartments. I presented the apartment block model at an event receiving very positive feedback from the user group with many of them eager to move in. Designing housing with the architect in a driving role and with a high user involvement the future design of housing can be of much higher architectural quality. The large scale industry of housing is difficult to change but small architect originated practices such as Bricolage can be a good way to take charge over the design process. A practice like Bricolage can have a close contact with the users, conduct personal interviews and really get to the core of what a family needs and want from their home. The transparent design process ensures the user that they pay for what they requested. For the architectural profession it can be a way to strengthen our role in the housing sector.