Based on in-depth focus group and individual interviews, this thesis examines how Rhodes University students from socially disadvantaged backgrounds experience campus social life and how they subsequently use Facebook to perform, represent and negotiate their social identities. The study discusses utopian and dystopian positions and interrogates these theoretical perspectives in relation to the students‟ Facebook usage. The popularity and uptake of Facebook by students from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as those here at Rhodes University, is a growing phenomenon, provoking questions about the relationship between social experiences, social identity and social networks. Rhodes University‟s social space has been identified by previous studies as modern, liberal, “elite” and divided along race and class lines. The ways in which students experience this campus social space relates to their subject positions and identities. The study employs different perspectives of identity construction to interrogate the students‟ subject experiences in home and school contexts before coming to Rhodes University. The students‟ subjective positions are primarily embedded in tradition and their subject positions are sometimes in tension or come in conflict with the modern and liberal elements permitted by the Rhodes University context. The students also experience and adopt modern and liberal elements in their lifestyles which are permitted within the Rhodes University social space. The thesis found that Facebook offers a platform which facilitates a social connectivity that influences how students perform their identities in relation to their offline social identities and lived social experiences. This study concludes that the mediated symbolic materials for the construction and negotiation of identity provided by Facebook are sometimes in tension with the demands of traditional subjectivities experienced by these students at Rhodes University. Facebook allows the students to reinforce and affirm the validity of their traditional identities in this modern and liberal space. However, it also emerged that Facebook facilitates and allows students who experience and incorporate the modern and liberal elements permitted at Rhodes University to represent and negotiate their subjective positions online. The findings of the study indicate that participants primarily communicate with their friends, families, relatives and acquaintances - people they know personally offline, in line with the theoretical position which argues that online relationships are primarily shaped by offline relationships.

This thesis focuses on the academic advising and teaching needs of adult learners. It1 is a qualitative study involving twelve Ball State University adult learners, three academic advisors, three college instructors from different departments, and four Student Affairs administrators from different campus offices. The past research explores demographics of adult learners, academic advising strategies, classroom etiquette, and campus resources. The researcher used observations and interviews in the research design. The information was divided into common themes. The themes were demographics, reasons for returning to higher education, concerns, classroom procedures, advising procedures, and campus resources. The conclusion includes a discussion on adult learner needs on-campus and how to address them. There is also a discussion on the responsibilities of the institution.. Included in the thesis are recommendations for future research. / Department of Educational Leadership

Part I: Systematic Literature Review. Dysregulation of the motivational and incentive functions that underlie goal setting and goal pursuit is thought to be a key factor implicated in the aetiology of Major Depressive Disorder. Although research over the past two decades has shown that motivational and cognitive factors can play an important role in increasing negative affect and making individuals vulnerable to depression, much of this work has involved dysphoric and non-depressed samples and much less is known about their role in the maintenance of and recovery from clinical depression. The objective of the present study was therefore to identify and synthesize the evidence from studies that examined goals, goal pursuit and goal orientation in clinically depressed individuals. Only 9 studies meeting the inclusion criteria could be identified through systematic literature searches and were heterogeneous in design and quality. The results therefore do not allow strong conclusions to be drawn and need to be interpreted with caution. Bearing this caveat in mind, the findings did not support the idea that depressed individuals set fewer, less valued or more avoidant personal goals than non-depressed individual and suggested that problems were more likely to lie in the motivational and cognitive processes governing goal engagement and goal pursuit. Factors identified by the present studies likely to play a significant role in disrupting motivational processes and promoting maladaptive strategies of goal pursuit were perceived goal attainability, perceived lack of control, personal resources and skills required, type of goal focus, lack of goal specificity and goal engagement and disengagement processes. The results of two randomised clinical trials further suggested that therapies focusing on goal dysregulation in patients identified to lack adaptive strategies for goal pursuit and goal reengagement may be more effective than standard models. These findings identified promising areas for future research and highlight the importance of understanding individual profiles and subtypes of depression in order to target key areas of dysregulation and tailor treatment accordingly and in collaboration with the patient. The review highlighted the paucity of good quality studies involving samples of clinically depressed individuals and the need for more translational work focusing on clinically significant outcomes and developing reliable measures to assess day-to-day goal engagement and pursuit in depressed individuals. Abstract - Part II: Empirical paper. Goal orientation theory suggests that adopting a self-worth goal orientation (seeking self-validation and avoiding proof of worthlessness) may make individuals more vulnerable to depression, whereas pursuing learning goals (seeking personal growth and improving one's abilities) might represent a protective factor. This study examined whether adopting different goal orientations following negative performance feedback and unfavourable social comparison affected mood and performance on a subsequent performance task. Trait goal orientation was assessed in a sample of 86 U.K. university students who were allocated to three experimental groups receiving self-worth goal, learning goal and no instructions after receiving negative feedback on the first performance task. The findings provided some support for the original predictions of goal orientation theory (Dykman, 1998). Validation-seeking was associated with greater anticipatory anxiety following a negative event as well as reduced confidence when faced with a performance challenge. However, the results provided no substantial evidence to suggest that adopting a 'state' learning goal orientation vs. self-worth goal orientation mitigates the experience of negative affect or helplessness responses. Potential implications of the findings regarding the utility of the goal orientation construct as a predictor of depression vulnerability are discussed in the light of methodological limitations of the present study.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka till vilken grad studenter som använder Facebook och som studerar vid Uppsala universitet uppfattar att vissa grupprocesser (kommunikation, samarbete och koordination) stöds av Facebook och hur det i sin tur påverkar gruppen och det arbete den utför. Undersökningen är baserad på en enkät som besvarats av studenter på Uppsala universitet som använder Facebook och kvantitativa data som samlades in har legat som grund för undersökningen. Resultatet av undersökningen är en utvärdering av hur de deltagande studenterna uppfattar att Facebook stödjer de olika grupprocesserna. Undersökningen visar att studenterna tycker att Facebook är ett bra hjälpmedel i grupparbeten och att kommunikationen stödjs till stor del. Men koordinationen och samarbetet stödjs inte till så stor del av Facebook, men studenterna uppfattar ändå det som ett bra hjälpmedel. / The purpose with this essay is to examine the degree to which students, who are using Facebook, at Uppsala University perceive that some group processes (communication, collaboration and coordination) is supported by Facebook and how this in return affects the group and the work performance. The study is based on a survey answered by students who are using Facebook at Uppsala universities and the quantitative data that was collected has been the basis for the study. The result of the study is an evaluation of how these students perceive that Facebook supports the various group processes. The study shows that the students think that Facebook is a good tool in group work and communication is supported to a great extent. But coordination and cooperation are not supported in large part by Facebook, but students still perceive it as a good tool.

<strong>Background. </strong> Post-secondary institutions account for more smokers than any other occupational setting in Canada (Hammond, 2005). Unfortunately, little is known about tobacco use among this distinct population of students. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of smoking and patterns of cigarette use among undergraduates at the University of Waterloo. The current study also sought to investigate the role of school connectedness in predicting students? smoking behaviours, and to explore the relation of student smoking status as determined by a behavoural measure and self-reported smoking status. <br /><br /> <strong>Methods. </strong> A secondary analysis of data collected using the University of Waterloo Tobacco Use Survey (2004) was employed for this research. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, and percentages), non-parametric statistics (chi-square and Cohen?s kappa), principle components factor analysis and logistic regression in order to serve the exploratory purposes of the study. <br /><br /> <strong>Results. </strong> Overall, 17. 55% of the respondents reported current cigarette use (3. 37% daily; 14. 18% non-daily). Although most (85. 5%) students? self-perceptions remained as ?nonsmokers who never smoke? from university entrance to the study date, a greater proportion of students made a negative change in their self-perceived smoking status over this time period than a positive change (10. 13% vs. 4. 38%, respectively). Among students who perceived themselves as ?nonsmokers who never smoke? or ?ex-smokers? at university entrance, being more academically engaged predicted making a negative change in ones? self-perceived smoking status (OR= 1. 924, CI₉₅= 1. 064-3. 480). Finally, the proportion of non-daily smokers differed between the two measures of smoking status. Many students classified as ?occasional smokers? using the behavioural measure actually perceived themselves as ?nonsmokers who smoke sometimes?. <br /><br /> <strong>Discussion. </strong> The results of this study provide valuable new insights into smoking among Canadian university students. Students who are more academically engaged may be at risk of initiating smoking, perhaps as a means of stress reduction. Furthermore, the adult measure of occasional smoking typically used in tobacco research may be insufficient to inform tobacco control efforts for this population as it results in different proportions of non-daily smokers when compared against students? self-perceived smoking status. The findings of this exploratory research await replication with larger samples and different measures. Implications of the results for practice and further research are discussed. <br /><br /> <strong>Conclusions. </strong> This strategy of assessing connectedness to school shows promise in predicting post-secondary students? cigarette smoking behaviours. The results also provide support for continued investigation into the best ways to measure and assess current cigarette use in this unique population.

This study investigated the level of leadership practices and retention rates of freshman students at Texas Woman's University. The data for the study were collected using the Leadership Practices Inventory, Student Version. The sample for the study consisted of 151 freshman students. The students were each placed in one of three control groups. Group A students (the treatment group) were in the Neighbors Educated Together Program (NET). Group B students (control group) were in one of two university-sponsored programs (COLORS or University 1000), and Group C students (control group) were the residual group of first-time college freshmen. These three groups were surveyed prior to their participation in the NET program or a university-sponsored program and again at the end of 14 weeks. In addition, retention rates were examined on the 12 class day of the spring semester. The study found statistically significant differences (p <. 05) on the pretests and posttests between Group C, residual students, and the other two groups on the Enabling the Followers to Act subscale, the Inspiring a Shared Vision subscale, and Encouraging the Heart subscale. Group A, NET students, and Group B, COLORS/University 1000 students, showed no statistically significant differences between groups. The difference from the residual group could indicate that students who self-select into programs such as NET, COLORS, and University 1000 are more likely to engage in practices measured by the subscale prior to enrollment in the respective programs. No statistically significant differences were found on the Challenging the Process or Modeling the Way subscales. The lack of significance shows that there are no differences in practices for any of these groups prior to enrollment at the university or as a result of participation in a university-sponsored program such as NET, COLORS, or University 1000. A chi-square test was performed following the 12 class day for the Spring 2001 th semester. Approximately 89% of the students in Group C Residual, 97% of Group B COLORS/University 1000, and 91% of Group A NET were retained. The chi- square frequency test revealed no statistically significant differences in level of retention between groups.

Background: An unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to public health and causes of many non-communicable diseases. Purpose: The aim of the study was to investigate nutritional habits and physical activity among university students in Bangkok, Thailand. Method: This is a cross-sectional study with a quantitative method using a structured questionnaire where 121 second level students from the public health program answered. Result: This study showed that the majority of the participants more or less followed the national recommendations in Thailand regarding nutrition and physical activity. A lot of the students wanted to increase their daily intake of fruit and vegetables. The students showed less interest in physical activity but still met the recommended levels of activity. The males wanted to increase their daily intake of fruit and exercised in a greater extent than the females and the females weighed themselves more often. Conclusion: The results from this study showed that the Thai public health students followed the national recommendations regarding nutrition and physical activity. From what the students have stated in the questionnaire, there is no need for further interventions among this particular population.

This research examines the disclosure of psychological distress by university students on an anonymous mobile application called Yik Yak which allows users to communicate anonymously with other local individuals, creating virtual communities. Using online ethnography and qualitative analysis, I examine what the narratives presented by Yik Yak users reveals about the mental health concerns of University of Manitoba students and the characteristics of this virtual community. The findings show that exam anxiety and academic stress, depression, suicidality, anxiety, sleep disturbance, excessive stress, loneliness, sadness, and loss of motivation, were significant sources of distress, especially during final exam periods. Thematic analysis indicated that emotion-sharing on the app fosters social support, a sense of belonging, and helps build community. Individuals are also able to disclose repressed selves and counter stigmatizing beliefs. Examining distress disclosure by individuals on this anonymous platform may help develop better interventions and mental health programming for students. / October 2016

The purpose of the study is to determine if significant differences and relationships exist between students who enrolled late and those who enrolled on time at Tarleton State College between the years 1955-1962 inclusive. The study involves comparing the records of 325 freshman and sophomore students who registered late with those of 325 matched freshman and sophomore students who enrolled on time.

The purposes of this study were to describe the North Texas State University campus environment as perceived by the students, to compare perceptions of certain of the campus environmental characteristics with those of other colleges and universities throughout the nation, and to compare selected subgroups within the student body with respect to their perceptions of campus environmental characteristics.