Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Holistic Understanding'

Abstract In this study the notion of domestic democratic peace will be examined by using a holistic understanding of internal conflicts. Domestic democratic peace has most commonly been studied by using quantitative methods. This study will be qualitative using an abductive approach when understanding why mature democracies are more stable than other types of regimes. The holistic understanding of internal conflicts used in this study is based on the concepts of relative deprivation, instrumentalisation of politics and politicisation of identity. Burton’s sources of conflict are used to show how relative deprivation can be experienced. The questions to be answered in this essay are as follow: How can the proposed holistic understanding explain why mature democracies are more stable than newly established democracies and autocratic states? - In what ways do mature democracies decrease experience of relative deprivation and thereby safeguarding Burton’s sources of conflict? - In what ways do mature democracies cater to a more peaceful process of politicisation of identity and instrumentalisation of politics?Key Words: domestic democratic peace, holistic understanding of internal conflicts, mature democracies

Doctor of Philosophy<br>Department of Family Studies and Human Services<br>Sonya L. Britt<br>There has been increased interest in understanding the significant disparity in U.S. households’ retirement preparedness due to concern about the stability of Social Security benefits, the shift from defined benefit plans to defined contribution plans, and the decreased rate of saving. This dissertation explores a model that can be utilized to understand and enhance retirement preparedness by individuals, educators, practitioners, and policy makers. Retirement preparedness was measured in two different ways—using the income replacement rate and the capital accumulation ratio—for two separate empirical models. The general conceptualization of the framework is based on the retirement planning work of Hershey (2004). This study utilized the 2008 Rand version (Version L) of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and 2006, 2008, and 2010 psychosocial and lifestyle questionnaire. The Rand HRS data file is a user-friendly version of the HRS data and contains cleaned data. The two hierarchical regressions were used to analyze the association between retirement preparedness and the theoretical concepts of cultural influence, environmental influence, task components, and psychological influence. Entering the conceptual components as four separate blocks allows for observation of changes in R[2] based on the addition of the conceptual components. This research investigates the following research questions: (a) How strongly are cultural influences associated with retirement preparedness?, (b) How strongly are environmental influences associated with retirement preparedness?, (c) How strongly are task components associated with retirement preparedness?, and (d) How strongly are psychological influences associated with retirement preparedness? Current retirement planning practices are often based on structural profiles such as financial resources, financial needs, and goals. The holistic approach used for this dissertation is based on the awareness of the influence of psychological and personal factors on financial decision making. The results showed that the variables positively associated with the retirement income replacement rate were self-perception of aging, homeownership, stock ownership, household pension ownership, IRA/Keogh ownership, and business ownership. Pre-retirement income log had a highly negative association with the retirement income replacement ratio. Big Five personality and perceived mastery were not significant. However, when asset ownership (excluding homeownership) was not controlled, conscientiousness and low emotional stability became significant and showed a positive association for conscientiousness and a negative association for low emotional stability. Self-perception of aging was a significant psychological variable in both models. The significant variables from the second model measured by the capital accumulation ratio were asset ownerships including homeownership, stock ownership, IRA ownership, real estate ownership, and business ownership. None of the psychological variables were significant, except for agreeableness, which was related negatively to the capital accumulation ratio when the asset ownerships (excluding home ownership) were not controlled. Other significant variables, when asset ownership was not controlled, were home ownership, pre-retirement income log, being non-White.

Master of Regional and Community Planning<br>Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional and Community Planning<br>Jason Brody<br>Today, achieving higher residential densities is an integral part of most discussions on concepts such as sustainability, placemaking, smart growth and new urbanism. It is argued that high density environments can potentially improve quality of life through a range of social benefits. In attempting to achieve these benefits, often times, developments that provide more than a certain number of dwelling units are considered desirable and successful high-density developments. However, understanding high residential density merely in terms of an increase in the number of dwelling units over an area of development might not help realize meaningful social benefits; in fact it could result in problems such as parking constraints, increased vehicular traffic, crowding, and eventually abandonment. This implies a dilemma of understanding high density environments holistically. Using literature review and design exploration as two key research methods, this project aims at resolving this dilemma by presenting a holistic understanding of desirable high-density environments. The research works on the idea that high densities are a matter of design and performance. Through synthesis of literature review and explorative design findings, this research focuses on the qualitative aspects of high density environments that make them meaningful and desirable. Through synthesis of literature review and design findings, the research finds that desirable high density environments should (a) Be Physically Compact; (b) Support Urbanity; and (c) Offer Livability and Sense of Place. These three qualitative aspects of high density environments are critical in determining how well such environments perform. The research further proposes eight meaningful goals and seventeen specific guidelines to achieve aforementioned three qualities that influence the performance of high density developments. In addition to these principles and guidelines, opportunities and challenges posed by explorative design exercises also allows identifying certain supplementary guidelines necessary to strengthen the framework. Together, these findings result in a theoretical framework that may be used as an effective design and evaluation tool in considering high density environments. This framework is named “Density Dynamics” to signify various morphological and socio-economic dynamics involved in a holistic understanding of high density environments.

<p> </p><p>In a time when the amount of biological data present in the public domain is becoming increasingly vast, the need for good classification systems has never been greater. In the field of glycoscience the necessity of a good classification for the enzymes involved in the biosynthesis, modification and degradation of polysaccharides is even more pronounced than in other fields. This is due to the complexity of the substrates, the polysaccharides, as the theoretical number of possible hexa-oligosaccharides from only hexoses exceeds 10¹² isomers! </p><p>An initiative to classify enzymes acting on carbohydrates began around 1990 by the French scientist Bernard Henrissat. The resulting database, the Carbohydrate Active enzymes database (CAZy), classifies enzymes by sequence similarity into families allowing the inference of structure and catalytic mechanism. What CAZy <em>does not </em>provide however, are means to understand how members of a family are related, and in what way they differ from each other. The top-down approach used in this thesis, combining phylogenetic analysis of whole CAZy families, or sub-families, with structural determinations and detailed kinetic analysis allows for exactly that.  </p><p>Finding determinants for transglycosylation <em>versus </em>hydrolysis within the <em>xth </em>gene product family of GH16 as well as restricting the hydrolytic enzymes to a well defined clade are integral parts of paper I. In paper II a new bacterial sub-clade within CE8 was discovered. The structural determination of the<em>Escherichia coli </em>outer membrane lipoprotein YbhC from from the new sub-clade explained the difference in specificity. The information provided in the two papers of this thesis gives a better understanding of the development of different specificities of diverse CAZY families as well as it aids in future gene product annotations. Furthermore this work has begun to fill the white spots uncovered in the phylogenetic trees.</p><p> </p><p> </p>

One aim of holistic image understanding is not only to recognise the things and stuff in images but also to localise where they are exactly. Semantic image segmentation is set up to achieve this goal. The purpose of this task is to recognise and delineate the visual objects. The solution to this task provides detailed information to understand images and is central to applications such as content-based image search, autonomous vehicles, image-editing, and smart glasses for partially-sighted people. This task is challenging to address not only because the visual objects from the same category could have a variety of appearances but also because of the need to account for contextual information across images such as edges and appearance consistency. The objective of this thesis is to bridge the gap between the pixel-based image representation in computer devices and the meaning extracted by humans. Our primary contributions are fourfold. Firstly, we propose a factorial fully-connected conditional random field that addresses the problem of jointly estimating the segmentation for both object class and visual attributes. Secondly, we embed the proposed factorial fully-connected conditional random fields framework in an interactive image segmentation system. This system allows users to refine the semantic image segmentation with verbal instructions. Thirdly, we formulate filter-based mean-field approximate inference for fully-connected conditional random fields with Gaussian pairwise potentials as a recurrent neural network. This formulation allows us to integrate fully convolutional neural networks and conditional random fields in an end-to-end trainable system. Fourthly, we show the relationship between fully-connected conditional random fields with Gaussian pairwise potentials and iterative Graph-cut: We found that fully-connected conditional random fields with Gaussian Pairwise potential implicitly model the unnormalised global colour models for foreground and background.

The relationship between music and emotions has been the focus of the study of musical experience. However, previous studies have focused in particular on what psychologists understand as the "basic emotions", which are rigorously defined. This thesis argues that the focus on basic emotions has indeed limited our understanding of what we feel when we listen to music. A narrative review of the recent literature has been carried out to closely examine the existing findings and limitations of previous studies have been revealed. In addition, a positive tendency is observed in listeners' responses to music. Participants' ratings of happiness were overwhelmingly high among different music excerpts. This suggests that listeners tend to feel positive when they listen to music regardless of the specific emotions aroused by music (e.g. happiness and sadness). The high level of happiness observed in the review may actually point to the experience of pleasure. Taking this as a starting point, this study moves on to introduce the psychological notion of pleasure and how it can be applied to the study of musical experience. The experience of pleasure involves an evaluation process and is not necessarily tied up with particular emotions. The relationship between pleasure and musical expectations is also explored. An explorative empirical study has been carried out to investigate listeners' experiences of pleasure and emotions when they listen to music. Participants listened to several music excerpts and they had to report the affective response induced by the excerpts in them. They also gave ratings to the level of pleasure they experienced with the music excerpts. Results show that different excerpts induced different responses in the participants, but the levels of pleasure they experienced towards different excerpts were not significantly different. Taken together, this study suggests that pleasure is commonly experienced when we listen to music and it is a psychological experience independent of emotions. A better understanding of musical pleasure can lead to a more comprehensive understanding of our musical experience.<br>published_or_final_version<br>Music<br>Master<br>Master of Philosophy

Parents teach their children about emotions through a process called emotion socialization and one way that they can do so is through shared discussions about emotions. Research in developmental psychology indicates that parental emotion socialization strategies through discourse such as elaboration and labels and explanations are related to children's emotion understanding and social competence. In the current study, I apply the concept of indirect communication, which has been used in linguistics since the 1970s, to parental emotion socialization with preschool-age children (n= 55; 31 females, 24 males). I define indirect communication as parental speech in which the form and function of a subject-verb phrase do not match and examined relations of parental indirect communication to the previously established strategies in developmental psychology of elaboration and use of labels and explanations. To understand whether this type of communication may influence children's development, I also examined relations of indirect communication to preschoolers' emotion understanding and social competence. Results indicate that parental indirect communication during positive events was related to parental explanations during negative events. Parental indirect communication did not significantly predict children's emotion understanding or social competence, but showed a trend for the association between indirect communication during negative event discussions and children's nonstereotypical emotion understanding. However, the direction for this association was opposite than hypothesized. These results do not suggest consistency of indirect communication across positive and negative event discussions as an emotion socialization strategy.<br>Master of Science

The subject of domestic architecture in ancient Egypt has attracted less attention than other aspects of Egyptian culture. The traditional approach to the study of ancient Egyptian houses has been formal and largely focused on the site of Amarna, and context and material have not been actively integrated into the study of ancient Egyptian domestic architecture. Moreover, a methodology for the study of ancient Egyptian mudbrick houses has never been developed. Thus, the aim of this research is to develop a methodology for the recording, analysis and interpretation of ancient Egyptian house remains. For that purpose, this research has adopted a broad theoretical approach, which includes the consideration of universal interaction, contextual and material factors. Its main objective was to carry out an ethnoarchaeological study in order to further explore the associations between humans and buildings and their physical reflection on the house (material and distribution and use of space). Through the collection of interviews, architectural surveys and observation data in three different areas of modern Egypt – the Nile Delta, Upper Egypt and the Dakhleh Oasis – a series of categories were developed and key concepts for interpretation identified. These were applied to a number of archaeological sites across different areas and periods of ancient Egyptian history. The application of the modern data categories and concepts to the archaeological data allowed for the identification of a series of key variables responsible for architectural features and for distribution and use of space within the house. These were articulated into a methodology that, it is expected, will provide a standard means of recording, analysis and interpretation of ancient Egyptian mudbrick houses in the future.

In this thesis we exploit the generality and expressive power of the Associative Hierarchical Random Field (AHRF) graphical model to take its use beyond that of semantic image segmentation, into object-classes, towards a framework for holistic scene understanding. We provide a working definition for the holistic approach to scene understanding, which allows for the integration of existing, disparate, applications into an unifying ensemble. We believe that modelling such an ensemble as an AHRF is both a principled and pragmatic solution. We present a hierarchy that shows several methods for fusing applications together with the AHRF graphical model. Each of the three; feature, potential and energy, layers subsumes its predecessor in generality and together give rise to many options for integration. With applications on street scenes we demonstrate an implementation of each layer. The first layer application joins appearance and geometric features. For our second layer we implement a things and stuff co-junction using higher order AHRF potentials for object detectors, with the goal of answering the classic questions: What? Where? and How many? A holistic approach to recognition-and-reconstruction is realised within our third layer by linking two energy based formulations of both applications. Each application is evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively. In all cases our holistic approach shows improvement over baseline methods.

New Urbanism is an all-encompassing term that refers to an increasingly popular set of design tenets that draw upon traditional urban forms in the creation or redevelopment of residential communities. Although design professionals are increasingly adopting these design tenets in the creation of new communities, there is no research that either supports or rejects New Urbanism's underlying assumption that neotraditional design tenets are capable of fostering a “sense of place.” Therefore, this research explores how a ”sense of place” arises for residents of a neotraditional neighborhood located in Blacksburg, Virginia. This research then investigates the influence physical form has on the development of a sense of place for the individuals living within this community. In an attempt to answer these questions, this research project employs an existential-phenomenological approach to understand the specified people-place relationships. The transformation of space into place for the participants living within the study area was consistent with two distinct, existing theories regarding the development of a sense of place. Analysis indicates that social interaction in the form of un-structured chance encounters with neighbors heavily influences the transformation of mere space into place. Further analysis indicates that such encounters are not directly related to density. Rather, the proximity of the housing, the connection between the public and private realm, and the relationship of the housing to the un-built environment all emerge as key factors in encouraging such residential experiences. The results are discussed in the context of TND design tenets and a theory of neighborhood design is presented.<br>Ph. D.

<p>From the theories of Ackoff about system theory and how the management of an organization should perform, the concept of situation awareness is discussed. A short history of the situation awareness concept is given in the light of aviation and human cognition. Motives are given why it is of interest to explore the concept of SA. The Russian Theory of Activity (Activity Theory) is presented with the focus on the orientational activity to give the background for a comparison against the adaptive-learning management system as presented by Ackoff. As result a definition of SA is presented, the result of the comparison of theories is presented, discussed and summarized in a conceptual design and future research is presented.</p>

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2010.<br>Title from electronic title page (viewed Jun. 23, 2010). "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Music." Discipline: Music; Department/School: Music.

In view of the increasing prevalence of female breast cancer in the global and local arenas, this disease has become a critical problem affecting women’s physical, psychological, spiritual and social conditions. With medical technology advancements, women can receive early diagnosis and effective treatment. However, maladjusted rehabilitation affects women’s long-term recovery. In order to improve women’s rehabilitation, more attention is being paid to breast cancer survivorship care after treatment. Therefore, how women experience and perceive breast cancer during the transition period is the important information for us to understand women’s breast cancer survivorship. The present study aims to explore how women perceive their breast cancer experiences during the transition period from a holistic perspective. This study adopted the qualitative inquiry approach. Movement-based focus group design was the present research design, in which dance/movement activities and group discussions were included. It is based on the belief that expressing through dance/movement enables an individual to reveal the experiences which have been stored in the body. Four focus groups were used, with a total of twenty recruited informants. Data collected from the focus group interviews included verbal (transcriptions) and non-verbal (writing/drawing and created body shapes) expressions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the ATLAS.ti 7 qualitative data analysis software. The findings indicated that women's descriptions of their experiences during the transition period were associated with bodily, emotional, cognitive, spiritual, and self and social relational perspectives. Five domains (bodily, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and self and social relational experiences) were generated after data processing. Analysis of the contents in each domain reveals the body-mind-spirit connection. During this period, women consider their health and exercise to be important, they were relaxed and happy, they reflected more, they searched for purpose and meaning in life, and they appreciated developing relationships with others and self. Furthermore, the results showed that these women attained self-growth through their breast cancer experiences. Nevertheless, the self-growth areas and pace were different for each individual. The results also revealed that the non-verbal information (writing/drawings and created body shapes) enriched the women’s expression by illustrating their in-depth or hidden breast cancer experiences. The results provide practitioners with insight and direction into designing rehabilitation programmes for breast cancer survivors. Therefore, the contents of the programme include not only psychosocial aspects but also bodily, cognitive and spiritual perspectives. Furthermore, the present movement-based focus group demonstrated the use of non-verbal expressions, as well as dance/movement, to enhance communication. To conclude, this study sheds light on our understanding of women’s breast cancer experiences during the transition period, as well as on the use of the movement-based focus group research method. The present practice and experiences may contribute to qualitative research and psychosocial oncology research. Further research with larger sample size is recommended. The present methodology can also be extended to other cancer populations such as cervical cancer survivors. Furthermore, studies examining the additional benefits of using movement in focus group interview are also recommended.<br>published_or_final_version<br>Social Work and Social Administration<br>Master<br>Master of Philosophy

<p> The Grand Cameo for France is the largest cameo surviving from antiquity. Scholars have debated who is portrayed on the stone and what its scene means for centuries, often, although not always, limiting their interpretations to this narrow area and typically only discussing other causes in passing. This pattern can and should be broken, allowing the stone to be what all objects truly are: windows to the lives that that objects have lived, just as all physical things are; evidence of an experience part of the world went though, whose meanings have and continue to be part of a wider network of object-meanings. The underlying purpose of this thesis is to use the Grand Cameo to prove this point. It does so by asking why the Grand Cameo came into being using Aristotle's four-part fragmented "Why" to widen this meaning broadly enough to expand the scope of what cause means from the vernacular use of the term to include material, formal, efficient and final causes. This allows for a sufficiently satisfactory exploration of many elements of the ancient world. </p><p> This thesis comprises an introduction, five chapters, and a conclusion. The first chapter discusses the material sardonyx itself, its possible origin points and how it would have been seen and used in its time in both the India and the west. It discusses the development of trade routes through the Indian ocean and Hellenistic and Egyptian ties to the east which were later taken over by Rome, as well as the Ptolemies, who they replaced. The second chapter discusses the relationship between Rome and Egypt, how their imagery and materials were usurped, and how this connects to the cameo, a medium that became Roman. Chapter three discusses Rome's absorption and reuse of Hellenistic kingdoms, their people and their culture to see how these influenced images of Roman Rulers in the transition from the Republic to the Julio-Claudians. The fourth chapter details the nature of Julio-Claudian power in Rome, the roles the family took over, and how they made themselves essential to the state, especially in how this relates to imagery from the Grand Cameo. Finally, the fifth chapter allows for the exploration of final cause by using a process of elimination based on living number of family members to establish a coherent narrative for the stone's scene, allowing an interpretation of message and intent. It seems most likely to be justifying the handing over of power to Emperor Claudius as intended by the heavens regardless of the plans of his relatives. </p><p> A roughly chronological understanding of this stone's role from being plucked from the ground to the imperial court is presented by assessing available material. The expansive nature of the question "Why?" allows for an explanation of the stone both broader and more satisfactory than the intentions of one emperor alone, however interesting. The Grand Cameo intersects with the highly international and interactive dynamics of the ancient world as well as specific elements therein which earlier interpretations do not allow for room to explore. </p><p>

Adopting Rugby League (RL) as a vehicle through which to examine Talent development (TD) processes, the current thesis aims to further the understanding of TD environments (TDEs) and their role in athlete development by examining a range of factors that influence TD. Utilising an ecological approach and acknowledging the complexity of TD, the current research incorporates a variety of methodological approaches interwoven into four separate but sequentially linked studies. These include: an initial retrospective design examining the behavioural developmental trajectories of 224 professional RL players; a mixed method and subsequent longitudinal analysis of ecological context ‘strengths’ of three anecdotally ‘effective’ school-based RL TDEs to triangulate ‘strengths’, explore perceived change and association between environment ‘processes’ and the individual psycho-behavioural ‘outcomes’; and a concluding quasi-experimental designed professional club embedded intervention promoting psychosocial and coping skill development to assist player transition. Overall findings highlight the value of multiple trajectories to expertise, the key role of the environment and looking beyond the quantity and quality of training to a more holistic approach to development. The strong influence of supportive cultures and the provision of resources to enhance individual abilities such as coping, self-regulation and self-evaluation to ensure any opportunities afforded are maximised were identified as important. Given TD is multifaceted, and expertise requires several years to achieve, findings may practically assist the efficiency of TD process, allocation of resources and provide broad implications that may assist the effectiveness of current TD practice for individuals and sports.

The central argument in this thesis is that the workplace environment has an impact upon users and that perceptions of the environment are related to overall satisfaction with the workplace, stimulation and perceived productivity. In addition, it is proposed that changing the environment can influence users’ perceptions and stimulation levels. To test this argument a methodology was developed to allow the collection of both objective and subjective data relating to a range of aspects of the workplace environment. A questionnaire was developed to test users’ attitudes towards aspects of the workplace environment including the internal climate, spatial layout, interior design and workplace features. These user perceptions were analysed in relation to corresponding objective measures of these workplace aspects. Data was collected in 16 workplaces and analysed to determine the relationship between user perceptions and objective measurements of the workplace and establish how these were related to overall satisfaction, stimulation and perceived productivity. The results revealed that users were satisfied with the more quantitative aspects of the workplace: internal climate and spatial layout, but were not satisfied with the qualitative aspects of the workplace: decoration, furniture, personal control and choice, window provision and break areas. All aspects of the workplace were significantly correlated with satisfaction with the workplace and stimulation. There was also an effect on perceived productivity. The findings of the workplace evaluations were tested to determine whether changing the environment in the afternoon could affect stimulation. The results revealed some evidence of a positive impact upon stimulation levels through variation of the workplace environment. Implications for the design of future workplaces and further research in light of the findings are discussed.

In rural catchments of developing countries, land use change, inadequate access to education, health care, water and sanitation, and lack of institutional support are common problems which affect poor people. Integrated Water Resource Management (IWRM) which advocates for the coordinated management of water, land and related resources, and EcoHealth which holds that human health and wellbeing are outcomes of effective ecosystem management, promote catchments as tangible contexts to fulfil overlapping objectives across fields. This research links IWRM and EcoHealth using System Dynamics (SD) as a tool to increase the level of shared understanding of the socioeconomic and environmental factors influencing environmental health and human health and wellbeing in an Andean rural microcatchment in Colombia. Stakeholders´ knowledge was elicited through semi-structured interviews and documents. A Causal Loop Diagram was prepared to organize this knowledge and to identify the model structure. Information on socioeconomic and environmental variables was collected through three surveys: i) household; ii) stream water, and iii) drinking water. The household survey captured relevant social determinants of health. The stream water survey investigated stream health in relation to point and non-point pollution sources. The drinking water survey identified risks to water quality. Using SD principles and the Stella software, a series of focus groups enabled stakeholders to develop a semi-quantitative model. The resultant model comprised six interrelated sectors: population, economic, land use, stream health, human health, and management. The modelling process increased stakeholders´ understanding of their system, and helped them to identify interactions of distal and proximal factors to produce outcomes on catchment and human health. The model was a strategy for integration and a communication tool. The process allowed the incorporation of knowledge, concerns and perceptions from the different actors, disciplines, institutions and sectors involved. The process facilitated identification of limitations and benefits of existing policies and the need for policies to address neglected problems. The research contributed to methodology development in the field of IWRM – EcoHealth, testing System Dynamics Modelling as a strategy to elucidate complex social, economic and environmental linkages at the catchment scale that could be applicable to similar rural mountainous contexts.

This thesis concerned with understanding what makes young people as future leaders. It sets out to explore leadership development for secondary school students (12-to-18-year), focussing on what makes young leaders and how they become future leaders. The fundamental purpose of this explanatory and exploratory qualitative study was to investigate leadership development at the age of adolescence. There are three key objectives for this study: (1) to explore and investigate what contributes to forming young people as future leaders; (2) to clarify and understand how young people become future leaders; and (3) to create a multidimensional and holistic framework for developing secondary students as future leaders. These aims were achieved via conducting qualitative in-depth interviews (N=46) with established leaders (N=19) and university professors (N=27) in both the UK and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Additionally, as this study focuses on adolescence, it was important to conduct three focus groups with secondary school students in KSA (N=27). Succinctly this study aims to deepen our understanding of the issue of developing young people as future leaders. This study used multi-levels of analysis and multi-domains of purposive sampling via using maximal variation sampling, both leaders and academics are categorised into six domains (business, education, social, voluntary sector, YLD programmes directors, and developmental psychologists). The secondary school students were selected from government school, private school, and gifted students. Due to the extensive sample gathered (46 interviews and 3 focus groups) and significant data generated (287.000 words), the author’s study produces both emergent themes and abundant numerical results. However, these large quantities can encourage various quantitative studies in the future. There are several key contributions of value in this study; (1) creating and conceptually testing a comprehensive framework to develop young people as future leaders; (2) the theoretical contribution as the qualitative analysis has generated massive number of new emergent themes related to the research questions; (3) analysis of the empirical contributions revealed lots of variables, factors, criteria, tools; (4) a cross-cultural YLD which verify that there are both differences and similarities between the UK and KSA; (5) the findings proved that leadership for young people is learnable to a great extent; that adolescence is a critical period for developing leaders; that sparking the motivation to lead is important at this age; there are serious obstacles facing YLD; generic leadership is more applicable for YLD; and finally, one of the significant contributions of this study is its focussing of attention on a long-term approach for young people leadership development. The further contribution of this study is creating a multi-dimensional and holistic framework for YLD based on theories of adult leadership and intensively reviewing the literature review on YLD. It has been developed via pilot study and finally developed and validated throughout a cohort of stablished leaders and university professors (N=41). This study’s findings can benefit policy and practice to a great extent since it focuses on the secondary school students; as they are the future leaders, this study can be of significant help to the strategic planning of policy makers in the Ministry of Education, Youth Ministry, and generally within the political context, family business. This study inspires me to establish a leadership-based academy, which focuses on high-school students and develops them as national leaders.

Spirituality is an integral part of a persons wholeness and therefore has an effect on and plays an important role in health and illness. Nurses are required by national and international nursing bodies as well as hospital accreditation agencies, to identify patients spiritual needs and intervene by integrating spiritual care into their nursing care. However, to date, no nursing studies have described Tanzanian nurses experiences of spirituality and spiritual care. The qualitative method of interpretive description was used. A purposive sample of fifteen registered nurses who were engaged in direct clinical practice at one of the private not-for-profit hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania was drawn. In-depth interviews using open-ended questions were carried out, tape-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. The data collection and analysis occurred concurrently. The transcripts were coded using inductive analysis. Themes related to spirituality and spiritual care that emerged from data were: meaning of spirituality, meaning of spiritual care, recognition of spiritual needs, interventions to respond to spiritual needs, challenges addressing spiritual care, and factors positively influencing the provision of spiritual care. Several recommendations for enhancing spiritual caregiving practices were given by participants. The findings from this study offer a basis for assessment, planning, and intervention strategies that nurses can apply in integrating spiritual care in clinical practice.

Understanding processes that contribute to population maintenance is critical to the management and conservation of species. Sponges (Phylum Porifera) are an evolutionary and ecologically significant group. However, information on biological and ecological processes, such as reproduction, larval dispersal, settlement, recruitment, survival and growth that influence sponge population dynamics is surprisingly limited. This study aimed to quantify pre- and post-settlement processes that affect the demographics and distribution of Carteriospongia foliascens (Thorectidae, Phyllospongiinae), a common coral reef sponge widely distributed from intertidal to mesophotic zones of the Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Intertidal populations of C. foliascens from the inshore central GBR were selected for this population study. Extreme morphological plasticity induced by local environmental conditions is inherent in sponges, hence it is imperative to investigate hidden diversity and identify robust taxonomic units prior to ecological studies to avoid the confounding interpretation of data due to species misidentification. Taxonomic and phylogenetic assessments of the study species and closely related taxa were therefore conducted, forming an essential preamble to the study proper. Foliose keratose sponges of the sub-family Phyllospongiinae (Dictyoceratida, Thorectidae: Strepsichordaia, Phyllospongia and Carteriospongia) are commonly found in intertidal and subtidal habitats of the Indo-Pacific. Lacking spicules, these sponges can be difficult to differentiate due to insufficient reliable morphological characters for species delineation. Molecular phylogenies inferred from the nuclear Internal Transcribed Spacer 2 region (ITS2) and morphometrics (19 characters; 52 character states) were used to identify evolutionarily significant units (ESUs; sensu Moritz) within foliose Phyllosponginiids collected from seven geographic locations across tropical eastern and Western Australia (Chapter 2). The ITS2 topology was congruent with the tree derived from the Bayesian inference of discrete morphological characters thereby supporting expected taxonomic relationships at the genus level, and the identification of five ESUs. However, phylogenies inferred from the ITS2 marker revealed multiple sequence clusters, some of which were characterized by distinct morphological features and specific geographic ranges. Results are discussed in light of taxonomic incongruences within this study, hidden sponge diversity and the potential role of vicariant events on present day distribution patterns. The identity of intertidal C. foliascens on the inshore GBR was confirmed and facilitated further assessments of population ecology. Sexual reproduction is integral to our understanding of population dynamics. The mode of sexuality and development, seasonality, sex ratios, gametogenesis, reproductive output and size at sexual maturity were established for C. foliascens, in the central GBR, over two reproductive cycles (Chapter 3). A population sexual productivity index (PoSPi) integrating key reproductive parameters was formulated to compare population larval supply over time. C. foliascens is reproductive all year round, gonochoric and viviparous, with larvae developing asynchronously throughout the mesohyl. The influence of environmental parameters relevant to C. foliascens reproduction (i.e. sea surface temperature [SST], photoperiod and rainfall) was also examined, and SST found to have the most significant effect on phenology. The reproduction of C. foliascens exhibited annual mono-cyclic patterns closely resembling SST fluctuations. Reproductive output was depressed at SST less than 23°C, and increased at temperatures above 23°C. Peak sperm release occurred at temperatures above 25°C, while peak larval release occurred during the annual temperature maxima (> 28°C). A two-fold increase in the maximum production of larvae (PoSPi) in C. foliascens occurred in the second reproductive cycle, following a depressed PoSPi in the first cycle. This reduction in PoSPi in the first reproductive cycle was associated with increases of SST by 1.25°C and rainfall by 380%, coinciding with one of the strongest La Niña events on record. Although C. foliascens has been reported from the intertidal to the mesophotic, the distribution of C. foliascens at inshore reefs of the GBR is restricted to the intertidal with no individuals evident in adjacent subtidal habitats. The potential influence of substrate limitation, and larval pre-settlement and settlement behaviour on adult population distribution were investigated (Chapter 4). The abundance of C. foliascens and substrate availability was first quantified to investigate the influence of substrate limitation on adult distribution. Pre-settlement processes of larval spawning, swimming speeds, phototaxis, vertical migration, and settlement to intertidal and subtidal substrate cues were also quantified. Notably, suitable settlement substrate (coral rubble) was not limiting in subtidal habitats. C. foliascens released up to 765 brooded larvae sponge⁻¹ day⁻¹ during the day, with larvae (80 % ± 5.77) being negatively phototactic and migrating to the bottom within 40 minutes from release. Subsequently, larvae (up to 58.67 % ± 2.91) migrated to the surface after the loss of the daylight cue (nightfall), and after 34 h post-release > 98.67 % (± 0.67) of larvae had adopted a benthic habit regardless of light conditions. Intertidal and subtidal biofilms initiated similar settlement responses, inducing faster (as early 6h post-release) and more successful metamorphosis (> 60 %) than unconditioned surfaces. C. foliascens has a high supply of larvae and larval behaviours that support recruitment to the subtidal. The absence of C. foliascens in subtidal habitats at inshore reefs is therefore proposed to be a consequence of post-settlement mortalities. Lastly, the effect of temperature, photoperiod, rainfall and habitat on post-settlement mortality, growth, asexual reproduction (fission), larval production and recruitment were assessed over 24 months at two locations characterized by distinct hydrodynamics (wave height, Chapter 5). Location-specific differences in growth, body size and fecundity for C. foliascens occurred and are attributed to water movement, with a higher wave height range corresponding to higher abundances of larger, more reproductive individuals. The positive effects of hydrodynamics on growth and the production of larvae also translated to higher levels of recruitment highlighting a potential stock-recruitment relationship in this species. C. foliascens showed no evidence of fission, and exhibited fluctuating growth trajectories in all size classes. Decreasing variability in growth corresponded with increasing size, reflecting growth trajectories for species with indeterminate growth. These results highlight the important role of habitat for post-settlement processes, production of larvae and recruitment in sessile invertebrate species with limited larval dispersal, such as brooding sponges. In summary, C. foliascens at intertidal sites on inshore reefs of the central GBR is highly reproductive, producing larvae with behaviours suggestive of low dispersal potential and endogenous recruitment. Strict intertidal distributions are linked to post-settlement processes that limit the occurrence of sponges in adjacent subtidal habitats. These subtidal regions are less than a hundred metres away from areas of high C. foliascens abundance. The self-recruiting and self-regulating nature of intertidal C. foliascens combined with the stock-recruitment relationship supported by this study, indicate the critical impact of habitat characteristics and external environmental parameters in determining recruitment levels and population structure for C. foliascens. Taken as a whole, this thesis represents a collection of systematic investigations that are critical for a comprehensive understanding of population dynamics in sponges, and sessile benthic invertebrates in general. The integration of datasets from all life history stages from reproduction to larval recruitment, and growth and mortality in juvenile and adult life stages, allows for realistic assessments of the vulnerability of sponge populations to predicted environmental and climatic changes.

The purpose of this qualitative study is to address the problem of the silencing of adolescent girls and young women by exploring their spiritual experiences and knowledge of their inner selves. Five participants between the ages of 18 and 25 were interviewed 3 times over several weeks about their spiritual experiences, artefacts of spiritual significance, and beliefs about their inner selves. The findings of this study reveal that young women are deeply interested in nurturing their spirituality, which they are not finding in religion, and they are looking elsewhere for a spirituality that embraces a feminine ethic of care and responsibility.

This study explores contemporary cross-cultural education with 19 (nineteen) educators in Australia and the Netherlands who are holistically oriented. It takes as its core focus what happens at the centre of cross-cultural exchanges to give space to the inter-subjective and move forward by attending to feeling. The participants took part in three focus groups and three one-on-one interviews each. The methodology called bricolage was applied to process the data alongside complexity theories and the Performative Social Sciences (PSS). This enabled ways that focus on human dynamics at the centre of which knowledge transfer and dissemination are synthesised in the ‘synthetic moment’ and where boundaries are blurred to bring people and their landscape together. The reader/viewer is presented with a written and an audio-visual auto-ethnographic account that attributes to self-study. As a multivocality, the accounts reflect this study’s focus into the ‘Heart’ of the cross; an intertextual space, an I-Thou dialogic encounter that emerges from polarities of all kinds (Gangadean, 2004). Here, individual spaces overlap in maieutic inquiry as a way forward for enacting integrality in academic writing (Gidley, 2007, p. 44). Both accounts point to the significance of aesthetic engagement, and are storied within the contemporary world that is in a transition from industrial to planetary awareness (Gidley, 2007). The approach I adopt is interdisciplinary and draws mainly on three disciplines that traditionally rarely communicate with each other: (cross-cultural) education, social ecology, communication and the arts. Though challenging, the attempt to interrelate these disciplines necessitated a praxis of looking that is generative; creating agency and bringing to life the focus on the metaphor cross; a focus central to this thesis by considering it a verb and a noun, both dynamic and fixed and as such a bridge that opens up a space for people to have dialogue whilst attending to and navigating spaces in-between binary positions such as self-other, body-mind, subject-object, feminine-masculine, right-wrong and true-false. With the focus on the entity between the researcher and the researched – both in bricolage and maieutic inquiry as research methodologies – I have been able to explore and report the tension between thinking (head) and feeling (heart, stomach, gut) and subsequent cross-cultural dynamics. With that I found a hybrid application and a focus on the cross most suitable to posit a subtle subject that is inherently inter-subjective, dynamic, creative and open to interpretation; a ‘communication about communication’ (Capra, as cited in Lowe et al., 2007, p. 240). DVD (filmic part) - The Other Side of Language in X-Cultural Education : Unravelling the Cross (21:45 min.) can be viewed at UWS Library.

This research was part of the first phase of a broader action research project known as the Community Wellness Project. The project was initiated by Isaac Prilleltensky and Heather Gridley from Victoria University and involved a partnership between Victoria University and Good Shepherd Youth and Family Service, St Albans (Melbourne, Australia). The present study aimed to explore Prilleltensky’s community wellness model and cycle of praxis in qualitative research with diverse community members from the St Albans region of Melbourne. The emphasis of the study was on the ideals, needs and strengths of the community and on possible actions to improve well-being. Four focus groups with Maltese, Vietnamese, Anglo and Italian community members, and two individual interviews with Maltese and Serbian women were conducted (a total of 31 people). The analysis of findings revealed 15 community ideals or common themes, with three classified as personal, five as relational and seven as collective. The research also pointed to areas of need and strength and recommendations for action to improve well-being in the community.

This dissertation explores the need to involve churches in mission according to the Lord Jesus Christ, whose mission was indeed holistic and comprehensive. To achieve this goal, the study calls upon churches to move from a “maintenance Christianity” status, which has been almost a way of life for churches, to a holistic and comprehensive approach to mission. Practically speaking, this is to be illustrated through a case study of churches in the North Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The churches in this part of the world present many challenges that sustain such an exploration, namely, misunderstanding regarding mission, lack of well-skilled and visionary church leaders, maintenance Christianity mentality, spirit of tribalism among Christians, and poverty. The study concludes with practical recommendations on how the issues raised through the dissertation can be applied to a broader field than the churches in the North Kivu Province.<br>Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology)<br>M. Th. (Missiology)

This research explored the complexity of language teacher identity from a holistic perspective involving two features: the integration of teachers’ personal and professional experiences, and the application of conscious/rational and intuitive/tacit thought processes. The study examined four ESL teachers’ beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations about the influences of their important personal, educational, and professional experiences on the development of their teacher identity. It also investigated the overall impact of an autobiographical reflective process combined with a guided visualization activity on the re-construction of participants’ perceptions of teacher identity. The interdisciplinary theoretical orientation was grounded in theories and concepts from psychology and educational research, e.g., Personal Construct Theory (Kelly, 1955, 1963), the complementary nature of reason and intuition, and the concept of “perspective transformation” (Mezirow, 1978, 2000). The methodology was heuristic research (Moustakas, 1990, 1994) and methods included reflexive autobiographical journaling, guided visualization, and in-depth interviews. The results confirm that teacher identity is deeply embedded in one’s personal biography. Participants’ beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations nurtured in the family environment strongly influenced their school experiences, career choice, instructional practice, teaching philosophy, and teacher identity. The use of the guided visualization technique, integrated with rational reflection, considerably enhanced the depth and breadth of participants’ self-understanding and personal/professional growth, which is an important methodological contribution of the study for teacher development. The results strongly suggest that it is essential to explore teachers’ personal life experiences in order to gain a holistic understanding of the dominant influences on the development of teacher identity. The study presents a model for designing a longitudinal professional development program offered in a series of workshops to raise teachers’ awareness of the implicit influences on teacher identity and instructional practice through the application of both conscious/rational and intuitive/tacit methods to access their beliefs, perceptions, and interpretations of their life experiences.

German text<br>In dieser Forschungsarbeit wird qualitativ das missionarische Engagement der sansibarischen Christen den einheimischen muslimischen Sansibaris gegenüber auf förderliche und hinderliche Faktoren untersucht. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, diese Faktoren aufzuzeigen und dadurch ein Bewusstsein für die Problematik der fehlenden Ganzheitlichkeit zu schaffen, damit hier gegengesteuert werden kann. Dazu wird zunächst der ethnologische und religionsgeschichtliche Hintergrund über Sansibar vorgestellt. Danach wird die geschichtliche Entwicklung und das heutige Bild der sansibarischen Gemeinden und Kirchen skizziert, um anschließend anhand des empirischtheologischen Praxiszyklus die Planung, die Durchführung und die Ergebnisse qualitativer Interviews mit jeweils drei Pastoren und leitenden Mitarbeiterinnen sansibarischer Gemeinden und Kirchen darzustellen. Mit Hilfe der Grounded Theory lassen sich zwei Tendenzen von kaum bis bedingt gelebter ganzheitlicher Missionspraxis der Gemeinden und Kirchen und ihr jenseitsorientiertes Evangeliumsverständnis als Ursache dessen identifizieren. Abschließend wird der Ist-Zustand der Missionspraxis der Gemeinden und Kirchen beschrieben, indem basierend auf den Forschungsergebnissen Thesen formuliert werden.<br>This research work qualitatively examines the beneficial and hindering factors of the missionary commitment of the Zanzibari Christians to the native population. The aim is to describe these factors and to create an awareness for the lack of holistic mission so that countermeasures can be taken. Firstly, background information about Zanzibar is presented. Next, the historical development and current church landscape are described. Based on the empirical-theological practice cycle, the planning and execution as well as the results of qualitative interviews carried out with six church workers are then presented. Furthermore, based on the Grounded Theory, two tendencies of their mission practice ranging from negligible to minimal are identified, caused by a kingdom-come orientation concerning the understanding of the Gospel. Last but not least, based on the research results, the actual state of the mission practice of the Zanzibari churches is presented in three theses.

Summaries in German and English<br>German text<br>In dieser Forschungsarbeit wird qualitativ das missionarische Engagement der sansibarischen Christen den einheimischen muslimischen Sansibaris gegenüber auf förderliche und hinderliche Faktoren untersucht. Das Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, diese Faktoren aufzuzeigen und dadurch ein Bewusstsein für die Problematik der fehlenden Ganzheitlichkeit zu schaffen, damit hier gegengesteuert werden kann. Dazu wird zunächst der ethnologische und religionsgeschichtliche Hintergrund über Sansibar vorgestellt. Danach wird die geschichtliche Entwicklung und das heutige Bild der sansibarischen Gemeinden und Kirchen skizziert, um anschließend anhand des empirischtheologischen Praxiszyklus die Planung, die Durchführung und die Ergebnisse qualitativer Interviews mit jeweils drei Pastoren und leitenden Mitarbeiterinnen sansibarischer Gemeinden und Kirchen darzustellen. Mit Hilfe der Grounded Theory lassen sich zwei Tendenzen von kaum bis bedingt gelebter ganzheitlicher Missionspraxis der Gemeinden und Kirchen und ihr jenseitsorientiertes Evangeliumsverständnis als Ursache dessen identifizieren. Abschließend wird der Ist-Zustand der Missionspraxis der Gemeinden und Kirchen beschrieben, indem basierend auf den Forschungsergebnissen Thesen formuliert werden.<br>This research work qualitatively examines the beneficial and hindering factors of the missionary commitment of the Zanzibari Christians to the native population. The aim is to describe these factors and to create an awareness for the lack of holistic mission so that countermeasures can be taken. Firstly, background information about Zanzibar is presented. Next, the historical development and current church landscape are described. Based on the empirical-theological practice cycle, the planning and execution as well as the results of qualitative interviews carried out with six church workers are then presented. Furthermore, based on the Grounded Theory, two tendencies of their mission practice ranging from negligible to minimal are identified, caused by a kingdom-come orientation concerning the understanding of the Gospel. Last but not least, based on the research results, the actual state of the mission practice of the Zanzibari churches is presented in three theses.<br>Christian Spirituality, Church History & Missiology<br>M. Th. (Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology)

O projeto de investigação “Criatividade, filosofia e emaravilhamento” foi desenvolvido com um grupo de crianças do ensino pré-primário e duas turmas do 1º ciclo de escolaridade. A investigação decorreu em Comunidades de Investigação Filosófica, através da aplicação da metodologia de Filosofia Para Crianças, de Mathew Lipman. Sendo a matriz deste projeto holística, a dimensão cognitiva integrou a corporalidade e fê-la dialogar dialeticamente com os conceitos de sensibilidade estética (aisthésis) e razão prática (phronésis), através de uma poiésis orientada para o desenvolvimento cognitivo, ético e estético. O recurso às técnicas de criatividade de David Prado Diez, nomeadamente a Analogia Inusual, o Torvelinho de Ideias e o Relaxamento Criativo, permitiu estabelecer o diálogo entre a imaginação, a cinestesia, a criatividade e o discurso argumentativo. A cooperação, a intersubjetividade, a comunicação autêntica, a vivência imagética da beleza, da harmonia e da paz, visaram a formação de um ethos comum e de uma consciência em simbiosinergia com as comunidades bióticas e com o cosmos.<br>The research project "Creativity, philosophy and Amazement" was developed with a group of preschool children and two classes of the 1st cycle: from the 1st and the 2nd year, respectively. The research took place in communities of Philosophical Research, through the application of the methodology laid out in Philosophy for Children, by Matthew Lipman. The matrix of this project was holistic, and thus the cognitive dimension included corporeality aspects, in conjunction with the concepts of aesthetic sensitivity (aisthésis) and practical reason (phronésis) through a poiésis oriented towards a cognitive, ethical and aesthetic development. The use of the creative techniques of David Prado Diez, notably the Unusual Analogy, the Whirlwind of Ideas and Creative Relaxation, allowed for a dialogue between imagination, kinesthesia, creativity and argumentative discourse. Cooperation, intersubjectivity, authentic communication, the visual experience of beauty, harmony and peace, aimed at the formation of a common ethos and a conscience in symbiosynergy with the biotic communities and with the cosmos.