This project investigates the benefits and practicality of applying Zimmerman's (1994) dimensions of self-regulated learning to co-curricular activities so as to increase students' willingness and opportunities to communicate in English in the hallways of intensive English programs. Three of these dimensions (social environment, motivation, and physical environment) work together to create a semi-structured liaison between in and out of class communicative environments and give students an occasion, location, and motivation to speak English with one another. To evaluate the effectiveness of such activities and conceptualize a means in which to assist intensive English programs effectively incorporate co-curricular activities in their curricula, the principal researcher designed and conducted a co-curricular activity based self-regulated learning. She obtained student feedback using surveys and interviews and found that the majority of students spoke mostly English, made new friends, practiced listening and speaking skills, and enjoyed themselves at this activity. As a result of this data, the principal researcher created a booklet to assist in the planning of future co-curricular activities. While only a preliminary study, this data and resulting booklet have great potential to fill the hallways of intensive English programs with English and thus create a holistic learning environment.

Enligt förskolans läroplan (Skolverket, 2018) ska alla anställda i förskolan motverka stereotypa könsmönster. Forskning visar att det handlar om förskollärarens förhållningsätt till barn och verksamhet genom de styrdokument som förskolläraren ska förhålla sig till. Det handlar också om vilka miljöer som barnen erbjuds i verksamheten. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka förskollärares medvetenhet om den fysiska miljöns betydelse för arbetet med jämställdhet och genus. Vi ställer oss frågorna på vilka olika sätt förskollärare arbetar med den fysiska miljön ur ett genusperspektiv samt vilken medvetenhet som finns hos förskollärarna gällande miljön ur ett genusperspektiv. Undersökningen bygger på en enkät med öppna och slutna frågor som delats på två olika forum för förskollärare. Vi fick in 49 svar och dessa har analyserats och ställts i relation till aktuella styrdokument och relevant forskning inom ämnesområdet. Studiens resultat visar att det finns en viss medvetenhet kring den fysiska miljöns betydelse för jämställdhetsarbetet hos de deltagande förskollärarna. Förskollärarna upplever ett hinder med äldre medarbetares och vårdnadshavares syn på genusarbetet i förskolan. När de arbetar i team stärker de varandras yrkesprofession och hjälper varandra med förskollärarens olika styrkor och svagheter.

This thesis was presented to the Department of Geography in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Arts. / An abstract is not provided. / Thesis / Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Syftet med studien var att beskriva arbetsterapeuters upplevelser av stöd och hinder i den fysiska miljön i deras arbete inom kommunal hälso- och sjukvård. Som metod användes en kvalitativ ansats för att få en samlad bild av upplevelser hos arbetsterapeuter. Intervjuform var semistrukturerad och det insamlade datamaterialet analyserades enligt kvalitativ innehållsanalys.. I resultatet framkom fyra kategorier: Geografiska avstånd kan bidra till aktivitetsbalans, Den fysiska miljön kan underlätta och stimulera arbetet, Avstånd över geografiska områden kräver tid och planering och Den fysiska miljön kan komplicera arbetsuppgifter. Dessa kategorier tydde på att fysiska dimensioner i form av avstånd, rum, föremål och digitala miljöer verkade både stödjande och hindrande i arbetsterapeuternas dagliga arbete. Slutsats: Resultatet ansågs bidra till ökad förståelse och fördjupad kunskap om arbetsterapeuters upplevelser av stöd och hinder inom den fysiska miljön i arbetet inom kommunal hälso- och sjukvård. / The aim of this study was to describe occupational therapists experiences of enablers and barriers within the physical environment in their work in municipal healthcare. A qualitative interview study was chosen as method in the pursuit of gathering a comprehensive understanding of the experiences of occupational therapists. The form of interview was semi-structured. Of the results emerged four categories; Geographic distance can support activity balance, facilitating and stimulating factors of the physical environment, distance over geographical areas is time consuming and challenges planning and the physical environment can complicate work tasks. These categories indicated that the physical dimensions of distances, rooms, objects and digital environments can act both as enablers and barriers in different contexts. Conclusion: The results were considered to contribute to the increasing knowledge of occupational therapists experiences in the field of municipal healthcare.

No description available.

Some studies have demonstrated that Adult day services (ADS) benefit elders' and caregivers' well-being; however, others indicated that infantilization exists in some ADS centers where staff ignore the lifetime of elders' experiences. Many ADS environments in the United States are socially constructed as places for incompetent elders, and ADS clients may be labeled as child-like dependents. Most ADS research has been performed in Western society; little is known about ADS centers in Asian countries. Because ADS programs are promoted by the Taiwanese government to meet the needs of a growing aging population, it becomes essential to examine ADS centers and their practices in Taiwan in order to provide suggestions for future research and professional practice that supports respectful care of elders. This dissertation examined how elders experienced their daily life within the physical and social environment of two different types of ADS centers in Taiwan. I utilized theories of environmental press, place rules, and the total institution to shape my research framework. Using ethnographic data from two ADS centers with 270 hours of observations and 23 interviews with staff and clients, I analyzed staff-client interactions and clients' reactions toward staff behavior. The results are based on the analysis of clients' competencies, each center's approach to care, and their physical and social environments. Staff-client interactions within the two centers occurred not only in the form of infantilization but also with age-appropriate treatment in which staff paid respect to clients. I found two formats of staff-client interactions that reflected a culture of care uniquely Taiwanese yet also reminiscent of western programs: teacher-student format and nurse-patient interactions predominated. In one center, staff-client interactions were oriented toward a teacher-student relationship in which staff played the role of a teacher during activities by giving directions that controlled clients' behavior. In the other center, staff-clients relationships were focused on physical care and therapeutic practices. Staff treated the clients as patients and had the power to rule over clients' behavior by directing them how to eat and when to use the restroom. These patterns were neither inherently ageist nor absent of ageism. These differences stemmed from different models but each was supported within the context of Taiwanese culture derived from Confucianism and Japanese colonization, which emphasize hierarchical relationships. The findings also reveal that clients' individual differences influenced how they reacted toward both infantilizing and age-appropriate interactions. The differences were not only related to their competencies but also their different life experiences. These findings may inform a new approach to professional practice that incorporates a home-like environment that fosters autonomy and inhibits ageist treatment of differently-abled adults, thereby achieving a positive person-environment fit in the long-term care setting. / Ph. D.

Older people are as diverse a group as they were as younger people. Home environments should reflect these diverse individuals' varying interests, preferences, and needs. In spite of efforts to remain independent and at home, some elderly people have to leave conventional housing and move into long-term care facilities because of factors such as mental or physical health problems or the loss of family members. Most elderly people who move into these facilities do not feel "at home" in their new living arrangements. Assisted living facilities (ALFs) have been developed as a response to these issues. The major goal of assisted living is to create a supportive social setting that elderly residents can call home. Although assisted living is the fastest growing long-term care alternative, it still needs to continually change in response to the needs of older residents and the desires and interests of family members. The purpose of this study was to examine the features that make residents feel "at home" in ALFs in Southwest Virginia and to suggest further policy and design guidelines for better quality of ALFs as a "home." For this purpose, residents' needs, experiences, and opinions of the physical environment, the social environment, and the organizational environments such as policies and programs of ALFs were identified. As a multi-site case study, I studied five ALFs in Southwest Virginia and did a cross-case analysis. In addition to face-to-face interviews with 25 residents and five administrators of five ALFs, I also conducted observations and recorded my feelings in a personal journal with document review. To analyze the data gathered in this study, I used the constant comparative method of data analysis. The respondents' age range was between 64 and 95 and the average age was 82. There were 6 males and 19 females among the respondents and most of them were widowed. They came from a wide geographic area, and most of them have lived in single-family homes for a long time. Many had children or family members nearby. Overall, the five sites selected presented homelike features showing the philosophy of assisted living which combines housing and services. Each facility was designed to be a single-family house or multi-family dwelling in outside appearance. However, the older the structure, the fewer homelike features were provided. As a whole, residents felt isolation and loneliness and they did not have active interaction with other residents because of diverse background among the residents. During meals, people had active interaction with one or two residents. However, all of them had close relationships with the staff. The staff's attitude and behavior seemed to influence greatly the residents' feeling "at home." Friends and family members also provided an important role for the residents to adjust to their new environment. Despite the provision of diverse activities by the facilities, many residents did not participate in the programs. Among the services provided, there were only a few complaints about food and mealtimes. Most of the residents agreed that the rules and regulations were fair; however, one person disagreed with the smoking rules. For the meaning of "home," many residents talked about love, fellowship, privilege, stability, and security. The administrators tried to make the residents feel "at home;" however, they mentioned the limitation of providing a real "home" for the residents due to the residents' diversity. Some categories which could contribute to the perception of ALFs as a "home" were classified by the researcher: safety and security, services and care, autonomy/privacy, independence, social life/friendship, family support, daily routine, personalization, physical environment, and management. Regardless of the type of facilities and the residents' characteristics, most of the respondents were satisfied with their current dwelling. In spite of high satisfaction with the facility, many people did not think of their current dwelling as a real "home." As the biggest difference between living in their own homes and living in the ALF, people pointed out a lack of independence, freedom, and autonomy. Moreover, they talked about the loneliness stemming from living with strangers who are not their family or friends. Residents of ALFs may have reordered their priorities in their current life situation so that safety, security, and care were more important to them than feeling "at home." Among the four factors --personal, physical, social, and organizational-- that affect the residents' perception of ALFs as a "home," many emphasized the importance of social factors such as relationships with the staff and residents, and social support from their family or friends. / Ph. D.

Sense of community (SoC) positively promotes persistence and graduation rates of college students by helping them to feel cared about by others, accepted as members of the campus community, and that they matter to their peers and other community members (Cheng, 2004; Harris, 2007a; Schlossberg, 1989). The college union is one of the most influential settings in developing SoC (Barrett, 2014; Janisz, 2014; Maxwell, 2016; Smyth, 2016) and improving student persistence (Tierno, 2013). However, scholars and educators lack understanding of the ways in which the physical and organizational environments of college unions contribute to SoC development among students. The purpose of this narrative study (Clandinin, 2013) was to understand the role of the college union in developing SoC among college students. Anchored in a modified version of Strange and Banning's (2015) campus ecology framework, the study explored how physical and organizational environments within a college union influenced the community conditions necessary for supporting the educational purposes of student engagement and learning. To understand the role of the physical and organizational environments of the college union in students' SoC development, this study used photo-elicitation methods and semi-structured interviews with seven participants from one large, public, historically White university with high research activity. Students' stories revealed a College Union Sense of Community (CU-SoC) Actualization Model in which students progressed through developmental stages: feeling overwhelmed initially, connecting with campus sub-communities, building localized community, and deepening connections and strengthening bonds with administrators and peers. By progressing through these stages, students developed a SoC toward the institution. The data also highlighted how the college union's physical and organizational environments advanced the SoC development process by creating a home-like feeling, encouraging and enhancing interactions through design, cultivating lasting memories, and nurturing a student-centered culture. These findings represent a narrative account describing the students' personal experiences in relation to how the college union shaped their SoC. / Ph. D.

A safe school is defined as a physically and emotionally safe environment where faculty and staff, members of the community, and students perceive that they are safe. School safety is an important topic for both school administrators and architects who design schools. Previous research into the physical environment of a school has explored its impact on student achievement and, to a lesser extent, school climate and school safety. Overall, research into the relationship between a physical environment of a school and its influence on the perception of safety is inadequate. The study sought to determine what were the design elements that principals and architects believed promoted a safe elementary school. The main research question for the study was, "What are the design elements that principals and architects believe influence a safe elementary school?" The study replicated the methodology of Walton's study (2011) called Physical Design for Safe Schools. Walton focused on perceptions of high school principals and architects who were involved in designing and building schools. Walton's study concluded that safety was an important issue to principals and architects. Specifically, each group identified supervision, technology and cameras, and controlling access to school buildings as important to school safety. The groups also identified restrooms and locker rooms as the two most problematic areas of a school building due to inability to supervise. Data for the study were gathered through qualitative methods and utilized a phenomenological approach to exploring data. Principals from elementary schools built before 1999, principals from elementary schools built since 2011, and architects with experience designing elementary schools were included as participants in the study. Participants were asked five to nine semi-structured and open-ended questions relevant to the design elements and physical features associated with school buildings. Results of the study found that the physical design of a school building was viewed as having an influence on safety in schools. The two common themes from all three groups were access control and visibility. Sub-themes were the importance of preparation for emergencies, perceptions of inequality in funding for school safety measures, the prevalence of technology that has created greater opportunities to keep schools safe, and the need for balance between safety and aesthetics when designing schools. / Ed. D. / “A safe school is defined as a physically and emotionally safe environment where faculty and staff, members of the community, and students perceive that they are safe. The study sought to determine what were the design elements that principals and architects believed promoted a safe elementary school. The main research question for the study was, “What are the design elements that principals and architects believe influence a safe elementary school?” The study concluded that safety was an important issue to principals and architects. Results of the study found that the physical design of a school building was viewed as having an influence on safety in schools. The two common themes discussed were access control and visibility. Sub-themes were the importance of preparation for emergencies, perceptions of inequality in funding for school safety measures, the prevalence of technology that has created greater opportunities to keep schools safe, and the need for balance between safety and aesthetics when designing schools."

This thesis aims to analyze Sundby Hospital from a spatial perspective to gain a deeperunderstanding of the development of mental healthcare during the specified time period.The history of mental healthcare is often overlooked, particularly when examined through aspatial lens. By analyzing the history of Sundby Hospital, I aim not only to highlight aneglected aspect of Swedish history but also to understand how medical care interacted withthe physical and social environment.The spatial perspective is crucial for this thesis to understand how an institution like SundbyHospital viewed the landscape, the lived place of mental patients, and how the constructedspace was shaped by workers and utilized by patients. In conclusion, I examined patientsfrom Sundby Hospital through their medical records to give them a chance to highlight theirofficial space in Sundby Hospital. By addressing my three research questions, all concerningSundby Hospital and the spatial perspective, I have investigated how the spatial perspectiveimpacts an entire institution. The results have shown that the spatial perspective played asignificant role at Sundby Hospital as an institution, affecting both workers and patients.Patients' lives were restricted by the spatial arrangements, while workers tried to create asense of community and improvement through their efforts. Through my research on SundbyHospital, I have offered a more nuanced understanding of the personal implications ofintegrating a spatial perspective to explore how architecture and landscapes influenced theformation and experience of mental healthcare at Sundby Hospital.