Grounded in sociocultural theory, peer feedback can help students engage in interaction and negotiation of meaning, which serve as a basis for the construction of knowledge (Vygotsky, 1978). It can also contribute to the development of self-regulation, as well as of reflection on one's own learning (Doolittle & Hicks, 2003). Its strategic incorporation into foreign language instruction can help students use the language they are in the process of acquiring to mediate language acquisition (Shrum & Glisan, 2005). Research shows that peer feedback can help students develop and advance their Zone of Proximal Development through their engagement in collaborative interaction with their peers (De Guerrero & Villamil, 1994, 2000; Donato, 2004; Lantolf, 2004; Lantolf & Thorne, 2006; Liu & Hansen, 2005). Peer feedback can also help students improve their writing proficiency, including organization of their texts and awareness of the mechanics of the language necessary for successful communication of the intended message (Kinsler, 1990; Hu, 2005; Williams, 2005). Framed within a sociocultural perspective on foreign language learning and development, and following a manuscript approach, this dissertation consists of a series of studies that aim to explore: (a) whether participation in a peer feedback experience has a positive impact on students’ foreign language writing proficiency; (b) whether guidelines plus training in how to provide meaningful feedback have a different impact on students’ foreign language writing proficiency than guidelines alone; (c) around what themes students focus the feedback they provide to their peers; and (d) what students’ perceptions of the peer feedback experience are. The results of the first the study, which consisted of a pre-test post-test quasi-experimental design, showed that students significantly improved their writing proficiency after participating in a peer feedback experience, regardless of training. Further the results of this study indicated that, on average, trained and untrained students provided written peer feedback focused mainly on global aspects rather than local aspects. The results of the second study, which consisted of a mixed methods approach, showed that, on average, students had high perceptions of the peer feedback experience and that they perceived that their partner's feedback had helped them improve the global aspects of their composition more than the local aspects. Students expressed that what they liked the most about the experience was getting a different perspective on their writing, and what they liked the least was that they felt they were not proficient enough in the foreign language to provide meaningful feedback to their peers. / Ph. D.

This dissertation consists of two empirical papers and one methods paper. The first two papers use quasi-experimental methods to evaluate the impact of universal health insurance reform in Massachusetts (MA) and Thailand and the third paper evaluates the validity of a quasi-experimental method used in comparative effectiveness research (CER).

abstract: A major challenge in health-related policy and program evaluation research is attributing underlying causal relationships where complicated processes may exist in natural or quasi-experimental settings. Spatial interaction and heterogeneity between units at individual or group levels can violate both components of the Stable-Unit-Treatment-Value-Assumption (SUTVA) that are core to the counterfactual framework, making treatment effects difficult to assess. New approaches are needed in health studies to develop spatially dynamic causal modeling methods to both derive insights from data that are sensitive to spatial differences and dependencies, and also be able to rely on a more robust, dynamic technical infrastructure needed for decision-making. To address this gap with a focus on causal applications theoretically, methodologically and technologically, I (1) develop a theoretical spatial framework (within single-level panel econometric methodology) that extends existing theories and methods of causal inference, which tend to ignore spatial dynamics; (2) demonstrate how this spatial framework can be applied in empirical research; and (3) implement a new spatial infrastructure framework that integrates and manages the required data for health systems evaluation. The new spatially explicit counterfactual framework considers how spatial effects impact treatment choice, treatment variation, and treatment effects. To illustrate this new methodological framework, I first replicate a classic quasi-experimental study that evaluates the effect of drinking age policy on mortality in the United States from 1970 to 1984, and further extend it with a spatial perspective. In another example, I evaluate food access dynamics in Chicago from 2007 to 2014 by implementing advanced spatial analytics that better account for the complex patterns of food access, and quasi-experimental research design to distill the impact of the Great Recession on the foodscape. Inference interpretation is sensitive to both research design framing and underlying processes that drive geographically distributed relationships. Finally, I advance a new Spatial Data Science Infrastructure to integrate and manage data in dynamic, open environments for public health systems research and decision- making. I demonstrate an infrastructure prototype in a final case study, developed in collaboration with health department officials and community organizations. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Geography 2017

本研究旨在探討「曼陀羅課程」與「創造思考力」之間的關係，設計一套適合我國國小學生學習的課程方案，最後依據研究結果提出建議。首先，針對「曼陀羅課程」與「創造思考力」進行文獻探討，俾作為研究立論基礎與分析之依據；其次，本研究採「準實驗研究法」，以國小甲校五年A班為實驗組進行共200分鐘的實驗課程，以國小甲校五年B班為對照組。研究工具包括研究者編製之「曼陀羅課程教材」、「曼陀羅課程學習成效評量」，以及「Torrance創造思考測驗圖形版」、「Torrance創造思考測驗語文版」；接著，以統計方法對實驗結果加以探討分析，包括描述性統計、t考驗、皮爾森積差相關以及逐步迴歸法；最後，依據結果形成結論與建議。茲將本研究之主要結論歸納如下： 壹、實驗組與對照組「Torrance創造思考測驗圖形版」後測分數有顯著差異。 一、實驗組在接受「曼陀羅課程」學習後，後測分數顯著高於對照組。後測分數包含標準分數平均數、創造力指數及創造潛能優異表現三個項目。 二、在本測驗包含的五項創造力特質中，實驗組在「獨創力」之後測分數顯著高於對照組；在「精密力」和「開放力」之後測分數與前測相比有提升。 貳、實驗組與對照組「Torrance創造思考測驗語文版」後測分數有顯著差異。 一、實驗組在接受「曼陀羅課程」學習後，後測總分顯著高於對照組。 二、在本測驗包含的三項創造力特質中，包含「流暢力」、「獨創力」、「變通力」，實驗組的後測分數皆顯著高於對照組。 參、實驗組學生多能充分理解「曼陀羅課程」，學習成效評量結果佳。 肆、「實-虛」課程對「語文創造力」具顯著相關及預測力。 最後，根據後續研究研究結果，提出相關建議，俾供對曼陀羅課程之內容設計、教學方式，以及對教育工作者與後續研究之參考。

A handful of studies have shown that National Inter-religious Councils (NIRCs) contribute to electoral violence prevention. However, no quantitative study has evaluated the impact of their interventions and the conditions under which they lower electoral violence. Using data on African national elections from 1992-2019, I examine whether NIRCs' electoral-related peacebuilding interventions lower the severity of electoral violence and if their ability to do so depends on NIRCs' social power. The results in this thesis indicate that the presence of NIRCs' interventions during electoral rounds lowers the likelihood of severe electoral violence. The findings also reveal a significant disordinal interaction between NIRCs' interventions and their power, where the predicted probability of severe electoral violence reduces by 42% when powerful NIRCs implement peacebuilding interventions and, on the other hand, increases by 20% when less powerful NIRCs intervene. While this thesis fails to explain the disordinal interaction effect, it details this study's methodological tools and limitations and contributes an original dataset of NIRCs' interventions and power for future research.

An intoxicated police employee can never keep the community safe and secure, as mandated by law enforcement prescripts. However, limited attention is given to harmful or hazardous substance abuse or the binge drinking habits of police employees. Substance abuse being a ‘culture’ in law enforcement agencies and the maintenance of the blue wall of silence as a protective measure necessitates scientific research to explore how a collaborative working relationship between the occupational social worker and especially First Line Managers (FLMs) can contribute to addressing this phenomenon in a timeous manner. The researcher applied a quantitative research approach and utilised a switching replication quasi-experimental design to determine whether the collaborative working relationship between South African Police Service (SAPS) FLMs and Police Social Workers (PSWs) can be strengthened to the extent that they effectively and efficiently deal with the harmful or hazardous substance abuse or binge drinking habits of SAPS employees by exposing the FLMs to a social work intervention, namely the Sober Workplace Programme for Managers. The pre-, mid-, and posttest measurements are based on knowledge, attitude, and behaviour constructs to determine if the two hypotheses formulated were supported. The study, however, did not indicate that the Sober Workplace Programme for Managers strengthens the collaborative working relationship between the FLMs and PSWs to address the harmful or hazardous substance abuse or binge drinking habits of employees in the workplace. Alternative research and occupational social work strategies are recommended to establish if and how the Sober Workplace Programme for Managers can be implemented to strengthen the collaborative working relationship between the FLMs and PSWs to address the harmful or hazardous substance abuse or binge drinking habits of employees. / Social Work / Ph. D. (Social Work)