This study examined psychoanalytic, physiological, and social learning models of depression in terms of etiology and symptomatology. Emphasis was placed on social learning theories of depression. First, Beck's cognitive approach stated that the root of depression was a negative cognitive set. Depressive episodes might be externally precipitated, but it was the individual's perception and appraisal of the event that rendered it depression inducing. Secondly, Seligman's learned helplessness model explained reactive depression in terms of a belief in one's own helplessness. Specifically, Seligman stated belief in the uncontrollability of outcomes resulted in depression, irrespective of the correspondence of such beliefs to objective circumstances. Additionally, depression resulted from noncontingent aversive stimulation and noncontingent positive reinforcement. Thirdly, Lewinsohn's model was based on these assumptions: a low rate of response-contingent positive reinforcement which acted as an eliciting stimulus for depressive behaviors. This low rate of response-contingent positive reinforcement constituted an explanation for the low rate of behaviors observed in the depressive. Total amount of response—contingent positive reinforcement is a function of a number of events reinforcing for the individual, availability of reinforcement in the environment, and social skills of the individual that are necessary to elicit reinforcement.

Diante de uma sociedade conectada, em que as trocas sociais ganham dimensão através da internet, nos propomos a estudar sobre aprendizagens em Massive Open On-line Course (MOOC), mais especificamente sobre os intercâmbios sociais que implicam para a aprendizagem social. Objetivo trata de identificar as interações que emergem das trocas sociais estabelecidas entre os alunos através da comunicação escrita nos fóruns, além de verificar os desdobramentos dos possíveis intercâmbios nas aprendizagens sociais e analisar as possíveis contribuições das interações para aprendizagens em contexto a distância. Para tanto, analisamos postagens dos alunos em fóruns de discussões, dentro de uma proposta pedagógica de MOOC - Aprendendo a Aprender, da Universidade Califórnia, em San Diego – A metodologia configura-se como uma pesquisa quali-quantitativa, que teve como cenário aproximadamente 4.000 pessoas matriculadas, o que contribuiu para método de análise de redes sociais (ARS) e de mineração de dados. O MOOC com duração prevista de 4 semanas foi acompanhado pela pesquisadora durante 3 meses consecutivos. O que nos permitiu descobrir o papel social do MOOC e o papel assumido pelos alunos dentro dessa proposta, que emerge das relações entre os sujeitos com os processos educacionais. O resultado desta pesquisa nos leva a acreditar que mesmo diante de uma sociedade conectada o MOOC é mais uma proposta de compartilhamento de conteúdo e consulta de material de estudo. No entanto, ao que tange a promoção de intercâmbios sociais há evidências da necessidade e presença da mediação pedagógica. No estudo realizado identificou-se que as trocas sociais estabelecidas dentro do MOOC são mínimas diante da dimensão do alcance do conteúdo e do número expressivo de alunos matriculados. No entanto, isso não desqualifica o MOOC como espaço para aprendizagens, apenas destaca limitações referente a interação quando se tem uma rede complexa, com número massivo de sujeitos. Fica à percepção de que a mediação do professor continua a ser fundamental para as interações dos alunos através de tecnologias digitais. A educação – ainda pautada em um paradigma tradicional – precisa descobrir possibilidades metodológicas advindas do ensino a distância, on-line e/ou híbrido. O desafio é conceber espaços de aprendizagens que possibilitem a mediação entre sujeito e objeto de conhecimento. / Faced with a connected society, where social exchanges take on a dimension through the internet, we propose to study about learning in the Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), more specifically the social exchanges that imply for social learning. Objective is to identify the interactions that emerge from the social exchanges established among the students through written communication in the forums, as well as to verify the unfolding of the possible exchanges in the social learning and to analyze the possible contributions of the interactions for learning in a distance context. To do so, we analyzed students' postings in discussion forums, within a pedagogical proposal of MOOC - Learning to Learn, of the University California, in San Diego - The methodology is configured as a qualitative-quantitative research, which had as scenario approximately 4,000 People enrolled, which contributed to the method of analysis of social networks (ARS) and data mining. The MOOC with a predicted duration of 4 weeks was followed by the researcher for 3 consecutive months. This allowed us to discover the social role of the MOOC and the role assumed by the students within this MOOC proposal, which emerges from the relations between the subjects and the educational processes. The result of this research leads us to believe that even before a connected society the MOOC is more a proposal of sharing of content and consultation of study material. However, regarding the promotion of social exchanges there is evidence of the need and presence of pedagogical mediation. In the study carried out, it was identified that the social exchanges established within the MOOC are minimal due to the size of the reach of the content and the expressive number of students enrolled. However, this does not disqualify the MOOC as a learning space, it only highlights limitations regarding interaction when one has a complex network with a massive number of subjects. It stands to reason that teacher mediation remains central to students' interactions through digital technologies. Education - still based on a traditional paradigm - needs to discover methodological possibilities arising from distance learning, online and hybrid. The challenge is to design spaces of learning that allow the mediation between subject and object of knowledge.

There is something unique about human culture. Its complex technologies, customs, institutions, symbolisms and norms, which are shared and maintained and improved across countless generations, are what sets it apart from the ‘cultures' of other animals. The fundamental question that researchers are only just beginning to unravel is: How do we account for the gap between their ‘cultures' and ours? The answer lies in a deeper understanding of culture's complex constituent components: from the micro-level psychological mechanisms that guide and facilitate accurate social learning, to the macro-level cultural processes that unfold within large-scale cooperative groups. This thesis attempts to contribute to two broad themes that are of relevance to this question. The first theme involves the evolution of accurate and high-fidelity cultural transmission. In Chapter 2, a meta-analysis conducted across primate social learning studies finds support for the common assumption that imitative and/or emulative learning mechanisms are required for the high-fidelity transmission of complex instrumental cultural goals. Chapter 3, adopting an experimental study with young children, then questions the claim that mechanisms of high-fidelity copying have reached such heights in our own species that they will even lead us to blindly copy irrelevant, and potentially costly, information. The second theme involves investigations of the mutually reinforcing relationship predicted between cultural complexity and ultra-cooperativeness in humans, employing a series of laboratory-based experimental investigations with adults. Chapter 4 finds only limited support for a positive relationship between cooperative behaviour and behavioural imitation, which is believed to facilitate cultural group cohesion. Finally, Chapter 5 presents evidence suggesting that access to cultural information is positively associated with an individual's cooperative reputation, and argues that this dynamic might help to scaffold the evolution of increased cultural complexity and cooperation in a learning environment where cultural information carries high value.

This thesis developed and piloted a suite of sustainability indicators for assessing the extent to which upland estate management in Scotland delivers sustainability goals. In Scotland, upland areas have a unique pattern of land ownership, with much of the land divided into ‘estates’ owned by private individuals and organisations, public bodies, and non-governmental and community organisations. Upland estate management objectives and land uses are wide-ranging - agriculture, forestry, nature conservation, property and sporting interests – set within discourses of sustainability and multifunctionality and also including new developments in tourism, renewable energy and biodiversity conservation. The complexity of upland estate management presents a great challenge, both theoretically and practically. To tackle this complexity, indicators were developed using a transdisciplinary research approach, combining academic and non-academic knowledge within a deliberative research process to address a ‘real world’ problem. A conceptual framework guided the adaptation of the Delphi technique so that the indicators were selected in a manner which: (1) increased transdisciplinary capacity; (2) facilitated knowledge integration; and (3) enhanced the potential for social learning. Using the adapted technique, the researcher facilitated an anonymous, iterative research process that took place over four rounds, and involved a mixed panel of individuals who comprised expertise in sustainability, rural and upland land use, and estate management. A contemporary and consensual definition of ‘sustainable upland estate management’ was developed by the panel, through the identification of five ‘sustainable estate principles’ (Adapting Management; Broadening Options; Ecosystem Thinking; Linking into Social Fabric; Thinking beyond the Estate) and 16 corresponding indicators (‘opportunities for sustainable estates’) within a ‘Sustainable Estates Toolkit’. The anonymous nature of the process created a safe environment for open dialogue and the researcher played an active role in stimulating participant motivation, creativity and learning.

abstract: Using an adapted Straussian Grounded Theory approach, and as a participant observer, data from members of a Facebook group made up of parents and caretakers of infants or children with Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) were collected and analyzed. During the first exploratory phase, 31 semi-structured interviews were conducted with 25 theoretically sampled members of the group. During the second phase, 604 postings (original and comments) created by members of the online social media group, for one week, were analyzed. The study explored various dimensions of informal learning in this space. These included what learning strategies members used, what types of knowledge were encouraged and shared, how community within the group was characterized and its role in the learning space, what factors led members to join and share knowledge, and what patterns of participation existed in the group. The findings revealed a core concept of a disconnect between group members and their medical community that drove participation in the online health-related social media group, as well as a substantive theory of learning to survive. A new framework for understanding online informal learning spaces in social media was developed and proposed. It was adapted from Wenger’s Community of Practice and Gee’s Affinity Spaces. Its key components include a disconnect; inherent learning processes; community and space characteristics; and types of knowledge that are encouraged and available. Findings also contributed to a better understanding of online information-seeking behaviors by introducing a new model of information-seeking within online social media groups. This model includes the stages of initiating, lurking, and browsing; requesting information; being guided by a highly knowledgeable member; reconciling; applying; and appraising. The model is a continuous cycle with entry and exit permitted at each stage based on the learner’s needs. In addition, this study’s findings demonstrate that social media spaces are a viable avenue for the transferring of experience-based knowledge. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Technology 2018

abstract: This mixed methods action research project focused on improving external teacher evaluators’ self-efficacy for providing effective feedback during teacher evaluation conferences. More specifically, this project explored how and to what extent an intervention of a professional development model influenced external teacher evaluators’ self-efficacy for providing effective feedback during teacher evaluation conferences and how the intervention influenced external evaluators’ perception of effectiveness when providing feedback during pre- and post- evaluation conferences. Self-efficacy theory, sociocultural theory, and the community of practice framework informed the intervention. Six external teacher evaluators participated in the study from July through December of 2017. The professional development model consisted of cycles of community of practice meetings, buddy shadowing experiences, post-buddy shadowing reflective conversations, and personal reflection. Data were collected in the form of pre- and post-intervention surveys, pre- and post-intervention interviews, reflective journal entries, and Wordles. The results from this study indicated an increase in the evaluators’ self-efficacy for providing feedback during teacher evaluation conferences and an increase in perceived effectiveness. Successful experiences of providing feedback during teacher evaluation conferences, experiences of observing and listening to other evaluators, and engagement in reflective conversations influenced external evaluators’ self-efficacy for providing effective feedback during teacher evaluation conferences. The external evaluators expressed value in the professional development experience. During the intervention, evaluators gained ideas and strategies to apply in their practice and engaged in high levels of reflection. Outcomes from the research project suggest two main implications for practice: professional development in the form of social learning and reflection as a process for growth. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2018

The dynamics on networks and the dynamics of networks are usually entangled with each other in many highly connected systems, where the former means the evolution of state and the latter means the adaptation of structure. In this thesis, we will study the coupled dynamics through analytical and computational approaches, where the adaptive networks are driven by learning of various complexities. Firstly, we investigate information diffusion on networks through an adaptive voter model, where two opinions are competing for the dominance. Two types of dynamics facilitate the agreement between neighbours: one is pairwise imitation and the other is link rewiring. As the rewiring strength increases, the network of voters will transform from consensus to fragmentation. By exploring various strategies for structure adaptation and state evolution, our results suggest that network configuration is highly influenced by range-based rewiring and biased imitation. In particular, some approximation techniques are proposed to capture the dynamics analytically through moment-closure differential equations. Secondly, we study an evolutionary model under the framework of natural selection. In a structured community made up of cooperators and cheaters (or defectors), a new-born player will adopt a strategy and reorganise its neighbourhood based on social inheritance. Starting from a cooperative population, an invading cheater may spread in the population occasionally leading to the collapse of cooperation. Such a collapse unfolds rapidly with the change of external conditions, bearing the traits of a critical transition. In order to detect the risk of invasions, some indicators based on population composition and network structure are proposed to signal the fragility of communities. Through the analyses of consistency and accuracy, our results suggest possible avenues for detecting the loss of cooperation in evolving networks. Lastly, we incorporate distributed learning into adaptive agents coordination, which emerges as a consequence of rational individual behaviours. A generic framework of work-learn-adapt (WLA) is proposed to foster the success of agents organisation. To gain higher organisation performance, the division of labour is achieved by a series of events of state evolution and structure adaptation. Importantly, agents are able to adjust their states and structures through quantitative information obtained from distributed learning. The adaptive networks driven by explicit learning pave the way for a better understanding of intelligent organisations in real world.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-04-16T14:49:13Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1407010 bytes, checksum: 860a3e57acdae49c7f75be2f9e2fc46c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-02-21 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The aim of this study was to analyze how de labor competences happen in a social learning environment, in a family of artisans that work with bilro. This is a qualitative research and the chosen method was the thematic oral history. The subjects of this study were seven artisans that work with bilro, aged between 32 and 73 years old, belonging to the same family and residents of Alcaçuz Thorp, situated at Nísia Floresta city, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. The theoretical references approached the handicraft and the artisan work as member of a community of practice, the social learning, community of practice and situated learning and labor competences. In the analysis, it was used data collected through observation, which resulted in a field diary, interviews and videos recorded by the researcher, in which parts of it resulted in a final video. The results showed that the learning of the artisans involved in this research happened through the social learning, inside their own family, characterized as community of practice, and it was stimulated by the legitimate peripherical participation. In this context, they developed specifics labor competences to exert their activity based on the functional, behavioral, ethical and political components, from Paiva model (2013). The results presented in this study, aim to contribute with the preservation of the labor practice, as well as indicate possible contributions for society, government, agencies related to the handicraft and the very activity. / O objetivo geral deste estudo foi analisar como ocorre o desenvolvimento de competências laborais em um ambiente de aprendizagem social, em uma família de rendeiras de bilro. A pesquisa teve caráter qualitativo e o método escolhido foi o da história oral temática. Os sujeitos desta pesquisa foram sete artesãs de renda de bilro, com idade entre 32 e 73 anos, pertencentes a uma mesma família e moradoras do povoado de Alcaçuz, localizado no município de Nísia Floresta, no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte. O referencial teórico abordou o artesanato e o trabalho do artesão enquanto membro de uma comunidade de prática, a aprendizagem social, comunidades de prática e aprendizagem situada e competências laborais. Na análise, foram utilizados os dados coletados por meio de observação, que resultou em um diário de campo, entrevistas e vídeos, cujos trechos resultaram em um vídeo final. Os resultados apontaram que o aprendizado das artesãs pesquisadas se deu por meio da aprendizagem social, dentro de sua própria família, caracterizada como comunidade de prática, e foi estimulado pela participação periférica legitimada. Nesse contexto elas desenvolveram competências laborais específicas para exercerem sua atividade, baseadas nas componentes: funcional, comportamental, ética e política, do modelo de Paiva (2013). Os resultados aqui apresentados visam contribuir com a conservação de saberes tradicionais, a partir da preservação da prática laboral, bem como indicar possíveis contribuições para a sociedade, governo, órgãos ligados ao artesanato e a própria atividade.

abstract: Social learning theory has enjoyed decades of supportive research and has been applied to a wide range of criminal and deviant behavior. Still eluding criminological theorists, however, is a meaningful understanding of the causal processes underlying social learning. This lack of knowledge is due in part to a relative reluctance to examine value transmission as a process in the contexts of mentorship, role modeling, and social learning. With this empirical gap in mind, the present study seeks to isolate and classify meaningful themes in mentorship through loosely structured interviews with young men on the periphery of the criminal processing system. The purposive sample is drawn from youth in a Southwestern state, living in a state-funded, privately run group home for children of unfit, incarcerated, or deported/undocumented parents. The youth included in the study have recently passed the age of eighteen, and have elected to stay in the group home on a voluntary basis pending the completion of a High School diploma. Further, both the subjects and the researcher participate in a program which imparts mentorship through art projects, free expression, and ongoing, semi-structured exposure to prosocial adults. This study therefore provides a unique opportunity to explore qualitatively social learning concepts through the eyes of troubled youth, and to generate new lines of theory to facilitate the empirical testing of social learning as a process. Implications for future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2012

abstract: Maternal cigarette smoking and marijuana use during pregnancy are risk factors that can adversely affect offspring. Although a large body of empirical literature has examined the adverse health effects of maternal cigarette smoking and marijuana use during pregnancy, few studies have looked at criminological factors associated with prenatal cigarette smoking and marijuana use. This thesis uses strain theory and social learning theory to explain a number of underlying mechanisms behind why some pregnant women decide to smoke tobacco and marijuana cigarettes during pregnancy. Previous drug involvement before pregnancy is also used to determine if it is a predictor of maternal cigarette smoking during pregnancy. Logistic regression was used to analyze data collected from the 1988 National Pregnancy and Infant Health Survey. This data set consists of information gathered from three different national samples of maternal and infant data occurring in 1988, which included 13,417 live births, 4,772 fetal deaths, and 8,166 infant deaths. The mothers in the sample were mailed questionnaires. Results showed that pregnant women who have unexpected pregnancies and experience financial hardship during pregnancy are more likely to smoke cigarettes and use marijuana during pregnancy, which is consistent with the general strain theory. Results also indicate that pregnant women who live in households with other people who smoke are more likely to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy, which may be explained by social learning, and that women who use illegal drugs are less likely to smoke cigarettes during pregnancy, even after controlling for strain and social learning. The practical and theoretical implications for this research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Criminology and Criminal Justice 2014