Doctor of Philosophy / This study addresses the situation of adults who become deafblind. To date, their everday lives have received little attention in the research literature. Of the few studies conducted many involve surveys, the findings of which present the characteristics of people who are deafblind such as their rates of employment, need for support, or use of equipment. There are also a small number of qualitative studies that have explored the effects of having dual sensory impairment, and particularly in relation to communication and psycho-social wellbeing. Important as these research efforts have been, there is little empirical information available about the everyday lives of people who become deafblind and their concerns, nor any systematic attempt to theorise their experiences. There are however many personal anecdotes typically presented at conferences or through community publications and newsletters. This project aimed to redress the gap in the literature by developing a theoretical framework to explain the everyday experiences of adult who become deafblind. In doing so, it built upon the research and anecdotal literature with an overall purpose of presenting, through rigorous research, the experiences of adults who become deafblind and to do so within the broader discourse on disability and disablism. The study was informed by the social relational understanding of disability developed within the Nordic countries. Grounded theory was the method of choice to examine the lives of adults who become deafblind from their own perspective.Participant observation was employed through direct engagement in shared experiences with adults who have become deafblind both at a social group and via an e-mail list group. Mulitple in-depth interviews were undertaken both face to face and by e-mail with a smaller group of eight participants.The core finding from this study is that people who become deafblind are rendered interactionally powerless in a society predicated on seeing and hearing. The powerlessness that they experience comes from having this dual impairment in a world in which being able to see and hear are expected both in the physical and social environment. The inability of people who become deafblind to 'know and be' in the world in the same way as others results in them feeling, and experienceing, interactional powerlessness. In response, people who become deafblind actively engage in trying to minimise or remove their powerlessness. They do so by working to negotiate a place in this hostile world. They adopt four interrelated strategies, namely, doing things differently, managing support relationships, survivings others' perceptions and presenting sides of self.This study, with its central tenet that interactional powerlessness drives ongoing attempts to negotiate a place makes a theoretical contribution to understanding the experience of becoming deafblind. The findings support the concept of disbaility as social relational. Disability is not the same as the sensory impairment, rather it is expressed in the organisation of personal relations in society which render some more powerful than others and in this case, some less powerful due to their inability to use the natural means of communication of hearing and sight. Moreover, the study findings propose that professionals working with people with this dual sensory impairment must endeavour to reduce their part in the hostile world by providing information about options and support available; recognising the complexity of these adults support requirements; and considering the link between psycho-emotional issues and disablism. Further research is needed to understand empirically and theoretically the relative contribution of personal relationships vis a vis organisational or structural relationships in disabling people who become deafblind.

The primary purpose of this study was to develop a two-tier multiple choice diagnostic instrument to assess Singapore Grade 10 students' (15 to 17 years old) understanding and alternative conceptions of qualitative analysis. Additional and related purposes were to determine whether more advanced chemistry students, for example, junior college (Grade 11 and 12) students, undergraduates and graduate trainee-teachers have a better understanding of basic qualitative analysis than secondary students, and to develop appropriate teaching strategies and materials on qualitative analysis based on the findings of this study and a review of the literature on practical work.The results from the administration of the diagnostic instrument showed that Singapore Grade 10 students had many alternative conceptions related to qualitative analysis, and these were grouped under the headings of 'Displacement', 'Redox', 'Dissolution', 'Addition of acid' and 'Heating'. The cross-age study showed that the more advanced chemistry students generally had a better understanding of basic qualitative analysis but had similar alternative conceptions as the Grade 10 students. However, the alternative conceptions identified were consistently held by only a small number of students across all contexts examined in the diagnostic instrument, suggesting that a number of students either had more than one conception for a particular concept or no conceptions at all. The results from the trial of the qualitative analysis teaching package indicated that the teaching package was feasible. Teachers involved in the trial found it structured and comprehensive, and the students who experienced the teaching package performed better on the diagnostic instrument than a comparison group.The study recommends that better ways of conducting qualitative analysis practical work are required, and using the teaching ++ / package may be a step in this direction. The study also raises questions about the value of teaching qualitative analysis in secondary schools when important reactions involved in qualitative analysis are omitted from the syllabus, and when there is little incentive and time in the school curriculum for learners to understand what they are doing in qualitative analysis.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Full text release at OhioLINK's ETD Center delayed at author's request

Universiẗat, Diss--Trier, 2007.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2008. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 188-199).

Konstanz, Univ., Diplomarbeit, 2007.

Mannheim, Univ., Diplomarbeit, 2004.

Zugl.: Halle (Saale), Univ., Diss., 2008

Zugl.: Zürich, Univ., Diss., 2007

Zugl.: Hohenheim, Univ., Diss., 2008