This thesis explores the relationship between time, gender and moments of conflict in the Mystery Plays. Examining a range of encounters between male and female characters in the plays, I propose that characters’ differing and subjective experiences of time are often at the heart of their conflict. Time, moreover, provides a new methodology with which to understand the ways in which both gender and narrative operate within the plays. In doing so, I chart a number of conflicts staged between characters in plays concerned with biblical narratives which signify transition or rupture: the Incarnation; the Flood; and the slaughter of the Bethlehem Innocents. Engaging with established critical approaches towards medieval models of supersession and typology, as well as recent works in the field of Jewish Studies concerning the medieval Christian preoccupation with what it asserted was a superseded, yet nevertheless ‘present’ Jewish past, I interrogate the ways in which such models are subverted when placed into dialogue with characters whose world-view supports alternative readings of time. First, I provide a reading of Joseph’s age and error in the N-Town Joseph’s Doubt as a meeting of ‘Old’ and ‘New’ theologies. I argue that Joseph’s journey from disbelief in Mary’s virgin pregnancy to eventual acceptance performs as a primarily linear conversion narrative, whilst also proposing that, as a medieval performance of a New Testament time, the N-Town Marian plays’ engagements with multiple levels of time work to complicate models of temporal, supersessionary linearity. I then examine Noah and his wife in the Chester and York Flood plays as participating in very different understandings of time from each other. While Noah adheres to a supersessionary understanding of the Flood which demands a full erasure of the past in order to begin the world anew, his Wife engages with temporal models that promote collapse between medieval and Old Testament times and command the explosive ability to performatively recall the past into the present. Finally, I engage with Serres’ model of topological time in examining the highly complex, multi-linked times operating in the Towneley play Herod the Great. Here, I examine how the play amplifies the ways in which its biblical sources work to bring together events from the Old and New Testaments in processes of prophecy and validation, whilst also asking whether characters such as Herod and the mothers defending their children from him may be said to command agency over their time. In bringing together theories of time, gender, antisemitism and periodization, I not only nuance the ways in which moments of conflict between the mystery plays’ male and female biblical characters are analysed, but also highlight the complex ways in which the late medieval producers and audiences of the mystery plays were themselves encouraged to question, experience, read and understand time.

Forskning visar att barn i behov av särskilt stöd inte deltar i lek med kamrater i samma utsträckning som sina kamrater och därmed riskerar att missa viktiga delar i sin utveckling såsom samspel och delaktighet. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka möjligheter och hinder med det evidensbaserade materialet Play Time/social Time som metod för att utveckla sociala färdigheter och samspel i lek hos barn i behov av särskilt stöd och deras kamrater. Studien belyser ett sociokulturellt perspektiv där lärande och utveckling sker genom samspel med andra. Det empiriska materialet har samlats in genom fyra observationer på två förskoleavdelningar och fem fokussamtal med två förskollärare. Ett framträdande resultat visar att förskollärarna ser positivt på att använda sig av ett evidensbaserat material för att träna lek och samspel med barnen då de kan se att det skulle gagna alla barn på flera plan. Att synliggöra leken och lekfärdigheter för både barn och pedagoger som en demokratisk rättighet i förskolans verksamhet ses också som en vinst med programmet. Ett dilemma deltagarna uppmärksammar handlar bland annat om hur kamrater kan motiveras att vara rollmodeller i leken. Diskussionens tyngdpunkt ligger i resultatets synliggörande av miljöns betydelse för sociala möten och kamraternas roll i programmet. / Research shows that children in need of special support do not participate in play with peers to the same extent as their peers and therefore risk missing important parts of their development, such as interaction and participation. The purpose of this study was to examine opportunities and possible barriers in the application of the evidence-based program Playtime / Social Time, as a method to develop social skills and interaction in the play of children with special educational needs and their peers, using a peer-mediated approach. The study highlights a socio-cultural perspective where learning and development takes place through interaction with others. The empirical data were collected through four observations in two inclusive pre-school classes with XX children aged 3-5, and through five focus conversations with two preschool teachers during 5 weeks, when the application of some program activities was carried out by the teachers in their classes. One prominent result shows that preschool teachers welcomes the use of an evidence-based material to practice play and interaction with the children. The teachers believe that it would benefit all children on many levels. Another perceived benefit of the program is that it contributes to making play and play skills visible for teachers and children and give support in considering play as a democratic right for children. An issue, which the participants acknowledge they have to think more about, concerns if and how peers would be motivated to be role models in the play situation. The focus of the discussion lies in the result of the importance of the environment for social encounters and on the importance of the role of peers in the program. / Lek och samspel för alla barn i inkluderande förskolemiljöer

This study was done to evaluate the simultaneous prompting procedure when teaching math skills during play time to young children with disabilities. The research included 5 students who participated in a special education resource classroom and general education classroom. The researcher used a design similar to a multiple probe design. The study found all participants who began intervention met criterion. The research also found students who participated in maintenance and generalization met criterion during those stages.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att undersöka hur pedagoger beskriver möjligheter och hinder med användningen av interaktionsfärdighetsprogrammet Play Time Social Time (PTST) i svensk förskoleverksamhet samt att undersöka hur de upplever att programmet kan främja en inkluderande verksamhet genom arrangerade lekstunder. Fem intervjusamtal har genomförts med två pedagoger som är verksamma på en förskola i Stor-Stockholm. På förskolan genomfördes även en observation under en arrangerad lekstund. Datainsamlingen analyserades kvalitativt och förslag på hur programmet kan anpassas till svensk förskoleverksamhet synliggjordes. Det framkom att de arrangerade lekstunderna bidrog till att samspel uppstod mellan barn som i vanliga fall inte interagerar med varandra samt lockade till lek hos alla barn, men framförallt hos barn som var i behov av särskilt stöd. Studien visar även att arrangerade lekstunder upplevs underlätta för pedagoger i skapandet av en inkluderande verksamhet. Avslutningsvis diskuteras hur pedagoger kan förhålla sig till barnet och lärmiljön och hur PTST kan anpassas till svensk förskoleverksamhet utifrån ett barnperspektiv. Vidare diskuteras vilka förutsättningar pedagogerna behöver för att skapa meningsfulla situationer där barnen kan interagera och inkluderas, samt hur specialpedagogen kan bidra med sin kompetens i detta arbete. / The aim of this study was to investigate how two preschool teachers describes possible applications and difficulties that might arise when using the interaction program Play Time Social Time (PTST) in a Swedish preschool. The aim was also to investigate how the playtime activities suggested by PTST that the teachers arranged in their preschool were evaluated by the teachers and if they were viewed as beneficial in promoting inclusion and participation in interactions among the children.   Five interviewa with two preschool teachers were conducted who are operating in a preschool in Stockholm, and one observation has been conducted during one arranged playtime. The data collection was analysed qualitatively and gave indications about how PTST can be adapted into Swedish preschool.   According to the teachers the arranged playtimes facilitated interaction between children that usually did not interact, as well as they attracted to play for every child, but mostly those children who were in need of special support. The teachers experienced that arranging playtimes contributed to the pursuit of inclusive education. The preschool teachers beliefs about children's learning and the role of the environment in preschool are also discussed and how PTST could be adapted and used into Swedish preschools.   The paper discusses how the preschool teachers may create situations so that children interact and participate in an inclusive learning environment and also how special pedagogues  may support these processes. / Lek och samspel för alla barn i inkluderande förskolemiljöer

Playing and socializing is of great importance for children's fellowship, participation and inclusion in preschool. Research show that children in need of special education are at risk of exclusion from playing and socializing with other children for various reasons. This study takes a qualitative approach aimed at describing and analyzing the Play Time/Social Time (PT/ST) program and its utility in the inclusive milieu of the Swedish preschools.  The PT/ST program strives to give each and every child the opportunity to develop the skills needed for social interplay in order to create a positive experience that can contribute to increased participation and inclusion for all. Data was collected from five semistructured interviews with a preschool teacher as well as observations from two lessons and two activities from the program PT/ST, all of which were supervised by the same teacher and involved four children. The analysis takes its inspiration from phenomenology, which seeks to find the units of purpose and meaning within the studied phenomenon. We explore the meeting between, and utility of, the PT/ST program with regards to the Swedish preschool system. The interrogated preschool teacher holds the learning of social interplay and social competence to be the most significant lesson the preschool can impart on young children, and that PT/ST could be useful towards this end. It could also create a unified approach towards giving all children equal opportunity for participation. The conclusion we draw is that the intentions of the preschool teacher will matter greatly for how they assess and work with the interplay and socializing between children. The PT/ST program will not alone guarantee any increased social competence, but could create the conditions and opportunities for each and every child to gain the experience and knowledge of social interplay through playtime in an inclusive preschool setting. / Lek och samspel har en mycket stor betydelse för barns gemenskap, delaktighet och inkludering i förskolan. Forskning visar att barn i behov av särskilt stöd av olika anledningar kan riskera att inte bli delaktiga i lek och samspel med andra barn. Denna studie har en kvalitativ forskningsansats där syftet med studien har varit att beskriva och analysera programmet PlayTime/Social Time (PT/ST) och dess användbarhet i den svenska inkluderande förskolemiljön. Programmet PT/ST syftar till att ge alla barn och varje barn möjlighet att utveckla samspelsfärdigheter. Detta för att ge positiva erfarenheter av gemensam lek och social samvaro för alla barn och varje barn, vilket därmed kan bidra till ökad delaktighet och inkludering för barn i förskolan. Empirin samlades in genom fem semistrukturerade intervjuer med en förskollärare, samt observationer där förskolläraren genomförde två samlingar och två arrangerade lekstunder ur programmet PT/ST. Vid observationerna deltog fyra barn. Analysarbetet har inspirerats av fenomenologin, vilken syftar till att finna de studerade fenomenens meningsbärande enheter. Studiens resultat belyser programmet PT/STs möte med och användbarhet i svensk förskola. Resultatet visade att förskolläraren anser att arbetet med barns sociala samspel och att utveckla barns sociala kompetens är förskolans viktigaste uppgift, och i detta arbete skulle PT/ST kunna vara användbart för att ge barn erfarenheter och kunnande av samspelsfärdigheter. Resultatet visar även att programmet PT/ST skulle kunna vara användbart i syfte att skapa ett gemensamt förhållningssätt i barngruppen om alla barn får möjlighet att delta. Studiens slutsats är att förskollärares intentioner har stor betydelse för hur de värderar och arbetar med barns lek och samspel. Att förskolor arbetar utifrån programmet PT/ST, är ingen garanti för att barnen blir mer socialt kompetenta, men det kan skapa förutsättningar och ge möjligheter för alla barn och varje barn att få erfarenheter och kunnande i samspelsfärdigheter och gemensam lek i inkluderande förskolemiljöer. / Lek och samspel för alla barn i inkluderande förskolemiljöer

According to recent studies, the number of schools that have severely limited or eliminated recess and free-play opportunities is on the rise across the nation. School officials cite the increasing levels of state and federal pressure to perform on standardized tests as the primary reason for this shift away from the playground. The threat of lawsuits and safety concerns are also listed as factors in this change of policy. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine the perceptions of directors of schools, supervisors, principals, assistant principals, teachers, and students regarding recess and free play in three East Tennessee school systems. Representative schools were chosen from each system and examined. In addition, results from standardized test scores as provided by the state of Tennessee were examined for the selected schools. The findings of this study revealed that directors, supervisors, principals, teachers, and students were in favor of recess and stated that offering recess and free-play opportunities provided some benefit to students. Even so, two schools in the study had chosen to limit recess and free-play opportunities to varying degrees whereas the third school maintained a policy of recess breaks. In examining the test data, the two schools that had limited recess were found to have lower test scores than the school that had maintained the integrity of recess. Other factors could attribute to the lower scores. The findings did reveal that limiting recess appeared to offer no significant gain in scores just as providing recess did not appear to cause any decrease in test scores. Stakeholders interviewed expressed the perception that the benefits of having recess outweighed any potential threat of time lost in the classroom. Recommendations for further research include repeating this study in other school settings on a larger scale to see if the same results are realized.

Objectives To examine the relationship between Concussion Symptom Clusters (CSCs) and return-to-play time using a representative sample of U.S. college athletes with sports-related concussions. Background Recent evidence regarding concussion symptoms have been observed to be an important element of concussion severity, and potentially a predictor of return-to-play time. However, there is a paucity of data examining the associations between Concussion Symptom Clusters (CSCs) and return-to-play time in the U.S. college athlete population. Methods Data from the 2009-2010 to 2013-2014 academic years (n=1670) were obtained from the Datalys Center for Sports Injury and Prevention Inc. database. Exploratory factor analytic methods were applied, and the resulting factors were used in multinomial regression modeling to identify associations between CSCs and return-to-play time. ResultsA 4-factor solution accounted for 48.8% of the variance and included: audio-vestibular, somatic, amnesic, and affective factor structure. Audio-vestibular symptoms were associated with increased odds of prevented participation at 7-13 days, 14-29 days, greater than 30 days, and out for remainder of season, respectively (p Conclusion Specific CSCs were significantly associated with return-to-play time in college athletes, (p<0.05).

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