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Psychology & Sociology

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    MEMORY AND MUSEUM COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
    (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2024-12-11) Wallen, Linnea
    In the past two decades, numerous scholars have highlighted the value of engagement with memory in museum projects. However, what memory – a complex and multifaceted concept – actually refers to in such projects has previously not been investigated in depth. In this thesis, I explore how memory is used, understood and conceptualised in museum community engagement activities in Scotland. Adopting a multiple instrumental case study approach underpinned by the theoretical perspectives of bricolage, hermeneutic phenomenology and practice theory, I examine the memory work in community engagement projects at three museums: The Scottish Crannog Centre, The Devil’s Porridge Museum and The Open Museum. The proximity to living memory varies significantly across the projects – from prehistory, to the First World War, to present day autobiographical memories – and through this variety I expose the nuanced and disparate memory work in the different museum contexts. I examine how the work is shaped by sectoral, institutional and project infrastructures that make certain kinds of participatory and collaborative community engagement practice (im-)possible. Through a combination of interviews, observations and document analysis analysed through reflexive thematic analysis, I critically discuss what memory work looks like and how it is achieved, accounting for museum practitioners’ and project participants’ understandings of what memory ‘is’, where it exists and how they work with it. I present the key findings as three conceptual theses: 1) The Constitution of Memory and Memory Work in Museum Community Engagement; 2) Caring For and About Memory; and, 3) Problematisation as Product and Process. In offering a multiplicitious conceptualisation of memory and critical engagement with the factors that shape memory work, I propose a refined understanding of the meaning, impact and processes of memory work in museum community engagement spaces.
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    REDUCING AND MEASURING THE CROSS-RACE EFFECT
    (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2024-10) TÖREDI, DILHAN
    Individuals recognise same-race faces better than different race faces, a robust phenomenon called the cross-race effect (CRE). The CRE can contribute to mistaken identifications, making it crucial to study it. This project included two studies. The first aimed to reduce the CRE using targeted interventions and to evaluate how individual differences, confidence, and response time predict eyewitness accuracy. The second focused on creating a reliable measure of eyewitness accuracy for White and Asian witnesses and targets. Both studies examined the confidence-accuracy relationship for White and Asian targets. The first study compared known interventions to reduce the CRE (discrimination training, individuation instructions) against no intervention and explored new variables— individual differences in working memory capacity, selective attention, and need for cognition—and extant variables—confidence and response time—predicting accuracy. Contrary to expectations, participants (White, n = 403) showed similar identification accuracy of Asian and White faces. A CRE was observed for target-absent accuracy. Discrimination training altered the CRE (cf. control group): it increased correct rejections for cross-race faces but decreased them for same-race faces. Working memory capacity, confidence, and response time reliably predicted identification accuracy. Confidence and response time explained unique variance, but the variance explained by working memory capacity overlapped with these. The second study developed the CRE Inventory, combining known predictors of the CRE to improve the prediction of same- and cross-race eyewitness accuracy. A CRE was observed for White participants (n = 202). However, Asian participants (n = 203) recognised White faces similar to Asian faces—potentially because of their minority status. Exploratory factor analysis produced reliable scales with expected factors that significantly predicted identification performance: general face recognition ability, race-specific face recognition ability, racial attitudes towards White individuals, quantity of contact with Asian individuals, motivation to individuate White individuals, and cognitive disregard of Asian individuals. Three scales that predicted identification accuracy also explained unique variance compared to that explained by the eyewitness’ confidence. This research advances the CRE literature theoretically—by identifying factors that relate to recognition—and practically—by testing multiple predictors of accuracy and developing a tool to enhance the reliability evaluations of White eyewitnesses.
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    INTERGENERATIONAL INCLUSION FOR PEOPLE LIVING WITH DEMENTIA GLOBALLY AND NATIONALLY: A TWO-PHASE STUDY
    (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2023-06-28) Emond, Heather
    Importance: This research explores the topic of intergenerational inclusion for people living with dementia. Both in Scotland and internationally, intergenerational programmes have been implemented with the aim of fostering inclusive relationships between people of different age groups. A sub-set of intergenerational programmes, moreover, have focused on the inclusion and participation of people living with dementia in particular. Such programmes are perceived to be important due to the potential they have to combat trends of loneliness and social isolation that may affect people of all ages. Programmes are also perceived to have the potential to generate positive outcomes for both younger and older participants, such as increased knowledge and understanding of ageing and dementia among younger age groups and enhanced enjoyment and engagement among older participants. Research Gap & Questions: However, intergenerational practice has been recognised to unfold in the absence of an adequate conceptual framework (Vanderven, 2004). This research uses a comparative and evaluative methodology to analyse how the concept of intergenerational inclusion for people living with dementia has been understood and operationalised internationally and in Scotland. Using insights from this analysis of international and national practice, the research further explores how intergenerational practice and policy can be further developed. Methodology: The research uses a two-phase study design informed by realist evaluation (Pawson, 2013) and thematic analysis. The first phase of the study comprises a realist synthesis review method to explore the understanding and operationalisation of intergenerational inclusion for people living with dementia internationally. The second phase of the study comprises a qualitative, semi-structured interview method to explore the understanding and operationalisation of intergenerational inclusion for people living with dementia in Scotland. Interviewees involved in the study are Scottish stakeholders with expertise in the provision of dementia services and/or intergenerational practice. Results: Results have been thematically analysed according to the context-mechanism-outcome configuration of realist evaluation. Mechanisms identified at the international level include role provision; matching and preferences; and meaningful and structured activities. Mechanisms identified within the Scottish context include preparation and planning; purpose and roles; preferences, lived experience and personhood; and sharing and learning. Higher- level findings are presented regarding intergenerational inclusion for people living with dementia, policymaking, and partnership working in Scotland. Implications: The implications of this research include, firstly, presenting a definition of intergenerational dementia programmes along with reflections on current ambiguities and tension in regard to existing definitions. Secondly, synthesised findings regarding how intergenerational dementia programmes ‘work’ in terms of their contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes are presented, with explanatory factors including the provision of roles for participants, the use of individual preferences to inform programme design, the development of meaningful and structured activities, flexible planning, and processes of sharing and learning between different age groups. Finally, an exploration of how the understanding and operationalisation of intergenerational inclusion is linked to key theories and concepts is undertaken along with recommendations for future theoretical development, encompassing personhood, intergroup contact theory, relationship and activity theory, and generativity. Directions for further research are also presented.
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    I am pretty sure but not 100%: obtaining, interpreting and presenting eyewitness confidence statements
    (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2022) Pennekamp, Pia
    Eyewitness identification confidence is typically studied using scales (generally numeric); in practice, eyewitnesses typically provide confidence in their own words. Verbal and numeric confidence similarly predict accuracy, but verbal confidence is difficult to interpret reliably (Mansour, 2020). To minimize miscommunication, eyewitnesses could provide scale ratings after verbal judgements or vice versa, but we do not know if the order in which such confidence statements are obtained affects the confidence-accuracy relationship. I tested the utility of requesting both verbal and numeric confidence and whether order effects exist. Participants (N = 198) viewed a mock-crime video with two perpetrators. After a delay, they viewed two simultaneous lineups with one perpetrator each and provided confidence for each perpetrator verbally (in their own words) and then numerically (0-100%) or numerically and then verbally. Numeric confidence in identifications was higher when provided first, t(393.82) = 2.40, p = .02, d = 0.24. Confidence-accuracy characteristic (CAC) curve analysis indicates the effect is driven by medium-confidence judgements (numeric range). No order effect was found for verbal confidence (p = .32). However, for low and high numeric confidence, verbal followed by numeric was better calibrated than numeric followed by verbal. When the numeric judgement came first, none of the subsequent verbal judgements could be categorized as high confidence using our coding scheme. These data provide preliminary evidence that eyewitnesses should provide only a single confidence judgement.
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    Adjustment to a brain tumour diagnosis: A mixed methods investigation
    (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2021) Trejnowska, Anna
    A primary brain tumour diagnosis is known to elicit higher distress compared to other forms of cancer, and is related to high depressive symptomatology. It poses unique challenges in the process of psychosocial adjustment, with social networks and roles often being disrupted. Despite emerging evidence regarding the importance of social support in maintaining well-being when living with a chronic condition, literature on adjustment to living with a brain tumour rarely focuses on social relationships. The current mixed methods project was therefore designed to address an overarching research question: How do people cope with a brain tumour diagnosis in the context of their social relationships? The aim of the first study was to examine the associations between insecure attachment dimensions and coping strategies, with a proposed mediating role of perceived availability of social support. In this cross-sectional study, participants diagnosed with primary brain tumours (N = 480) were recruited online. Multiple regression analyses revealed significant positive associations between both attachment anxiety and avoidance and helplessness/hopelessness. Attachment anxiety was found to be significantly related to anxious preoccupation, while attachment avoidance was associated with fighting spirit and fatalism. Mediation analyses indicated that perceived social support mediated the relationships between both attachment dimensions and helplessness/hopelessness and fatalism. The findings indicate that individuals higher on insecure attachment dimensions seem to respond with a more maladaptive coping repertoire when adjusting to a diagnosis. The second study sought to gain an in-depth understanding of the lived experience of being diagnosed with a brain tumour, with a focus on exploring participants’ understandings of the meaning of social support. Twelve individuals took part in semi-structured interviews, which were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis framework. Five inter-related themes were identified: (1) Making sense of the diagnosis, (2) Working it out in the family, (3) Giving and receiving support, (4) Feeling appreciative, and (5) Negotiating a new normal. The results emphasise that the diagnosis does not affect only the individual but a whole network of closest relationships, often with a price or negotiation that needs to take place within these relationships. Collectively, the results of the project highlight that coping is never an individual task. Both studies were integrated and interpreted jointly through narrative and joint display methods. Overall, the project portrays a complex interplay between family dynamics and individual coping and concludes by proposing that coping is deeply socially embedded. Implications of the findings are discussed. Keywords: Coping, adjustment, brain tumour, adult attachment, social support, mixed methods
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    A POST-NORMAL SCIENCE APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING THE REAL ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND CONTEXTS OF MUNICIPAL SOLID WASTE (MSW) MANAGEMENT IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES – A CASE STUDY OF ABA-URBAN IN ABIA STATE, NIGERIA.
    (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2019) Nwankpa, Stanley Onyeonoziri
    Effective management of waste is a complex task requiring appropriate technical solutions, sufficient organisational capacity and the collaboration of a wide range of stakeholders. The more advanced, high-income economies and developed nations of the world have evolved their current systems in a series of steps. It is now widely recognised that it is counterproductive for developing countries to use strategies and policies developed for high-income economies. There are no quick fixes. Therefore, it is unrealistic for a developing country to expect to go from uncontrolled dumping of waste to a ‘modern’ state of the art waste management system in one great leap. Rather, the process should be locally sensitive, critical and creative and owned by the community of concern. By adopting this approach, many cities and small towns in other developing countries have recorded considerable progress while the same cannot be said of cities in Nigeria, where there appears to be a lack of understanding and appreciation of the enormity of the challenges posed by MSW. The main aim of this study therefore, is to understand the real issues, challenges and contexts of MSW management in developing countries, using the Nigerian city of Aba as a case study. The study adopted a purely qualitative methodology, and by utilising the approach of Post Normal Science (PNS) and Adaptive Methodology for Ecosystem Sustainability and Health AMESH), particular attention was given to the oral testimonies and lived experiences of the participants drawn from the wider peer community of stakeholders of MSW management in the city. The results provide the first historical review of MSW management in Aba and show that, over the period reviewed; the MSW management processes remained rudimentary, often involving the evacuation of refuse from one point to another. It also shows that currently, indiscriminate dumping, littering and illegal dumping of refuse is common in the city. Further analysis of the data revealed the inadequacies in the national sanitation policy and the current MSW management system implemented by ASEPA – the agency responsible for MSW management in the city. The level of planning and organisation of MSW management activities was found to be shambolic and there were shortages in manpower and availability of equipment needed to effectively collect and dispose waste. The common method of waste disposal was found to be open dumping in dumpsites that were unplanned and unsanitary. Despite these realities, the study found that contrary to the commonly held popular notion that residents of Aba prefer a dirty environment to a clean one, most participants in this study showed a good understanding of the implication of poor MSW management practices on public health, and expressed willingness to pay higher sanitation fees if it will guarantee a cleaner environment. To curb most of the conflicts that currently exist between ASEPA and other stakeholder groups and move towards sustainable MSW management as indicated in the sustainable development goals (SDGs) and millennium development goals (MDGs), the direction of travel of MSW management in the city must change form a modernisation approach of expending scarce public resources on imported sophisticated refuse collection and transportation vehicles, that are unsuitable and does not stand the test of time for various reasons; to adopting a local approach that encourages genuine participation of all relevant stakeholders in the policy decision making, design, implementation and evaluation of the MSW management system. Such approach will help improve the livelihood of informal waste workers who are currently maligned, intimidated and harassed by MSW management authorities.
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    MIXED METHODS INVESTIGATION OF DISTRESS RELATED TO PSYCHOSIS EXPERIENCES
    (Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, 2019) Akoral, Melissa
    Distress associated with psychosis experiences has been related to the maintenance of psychosis experiences and people’s need for care. However, the mechanisms responsible for its maintenance remain unclear. Thus, this mixed methods project investigates experiential and psychological vulnerability factors contributing to distress related to psychosis in a clinical sample living in the community. This is done in order to determine whether specific vulnerability factors also act as maintenance factors for people in care. Therefore, these are assumed to be distinct. In the first study, a cross-sectional design (N= 60) was used to investigate the role of specific emotion regulation and metacognitive difficulties in the relationship between insecure attachment dimensions and distress related to psychosis experiences. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to determine which subscales predicted distress related to psychosis and significant predictors were taken forward to mediation models. Mediation analysis showed that only need for control mediated the relationship between insecure attachment and distress related to positive symptoms. Further, only limited access to emotion regulation strategies mediated the relationship between attachment anxiety and distress associated with both negative symptoms and to depressive symptoms in psychosis. These results expand on previous research by suggesting specific vulnerability factors that are related to distress associated with different symptoms. In the second study, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was used to analyse 10 in-depth qualitative interviews which explored people’s appraisals of their experiences of psychosis. Four inter-related themes emerged; (1)lacking control, (2)change – renegotiating a personal and social identity, (3)living in fear, and (4)multiple realities. The importance of ‘control’ is highlighted throughout all the themes, as negative appraisals about perceived control underpins experiences. This study demonstrates the importance of people’s appraisals to how they make meaning of and respond to psychosis experiences. Together, these studies emphasise that distress relates to psychosis experiences as a whole rather than specific symptoms. The two studies were integrated and interpreted using a joint display method. People’s perceived lack of control and unhelpful interpersonal relationships were found to contribute to the maintenance of distress related to psychosis experiences. Implications of these findings are discussed. Keywords: Psychosis, distress related to psychosis, emotion regulation, metacognition, attachment theory, mixed methods
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    Lay and professional constructions of childhood ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder): a discourse analysis.
    (Queen Margaret University, 2008) Gray, Carol A.
    Childhood ADHD is a contested yet rising public health phenomenon, due to greateruse of inclusive American diagnostic classification. In the UK ADHD is considered to be 'incompletely medicalised' with rising incidences predicted. A critical approach was adopted in this thesis, based on a number of social constructionist assumptions in order to examine the emergence and increased use of the construct and to contribute to broader critical debate in the field. Parents and teachers are key adults in childhood ADHD as they may identify and care for diagnosed children yet they have been relatively neglected in the literature. How such adults account for children's difficulties was the focus of an empirical analysis. A 'critical discursive psychology' approach was adopted using Edley's (2001) framework in order to examine culturally available talk by parents and teachers about ADHD, from semistructured interviews in Scotland. Analysis highlighted how parents deployed contradictory interpretive repertoires in talk using a Biological repertoire as a genetic explanation and an Environmental repertoire in relation to various parenting issues. Such talk was organised to attend to the ideological dilemma of parental moral adequacy and accountability and which sought to accomplish the 'good parent'. Further analysis considered how parents accounted for competing versions of the difficulties and their positioning in relation to controversial medication talk. Teacher accounts of children's difficulties deployed an ADHD repertoire as a medical condition and a Not ADHD repertoire as due to temporal difficulties. Through the 'cases I know' device, teachers managed their own experiential knowledge and thereby negotiated agency and control for childhood behaviours. Analysis considered accounts of (mis)diagnosis and (mis)treatment as alternative explanations for ADHD. This innovative focus on how health policy for children's difficulties as ADHD were socially produced by lay parent and teachers accounts, highlighted the limitations for agency in ADHD diagnoses and implicated further critical debate about this topic. Parental talk which drew on current biopsychosocial models for ADHD was largely reductionistic and fragmentary. The reliance on discursive efforts about the 'good parent' identity meant that this was a temporal accomplishment in talk rather than achieved by a diagnosis. Analysis of teacher accounts originating from a Scottish context highlighted how they differed from a North American context and provided greater understanding of how teachers succeeded in offering robust alternative explanations to ADHD. The implications for health and education policy of ADHD efforts aimed at the 'education' of teachers may be limited in the face of the teacher talk. Finally, within methodological debate in discourse analysis, this work contributes to further arguments for an eclectic discourse analysis as applied to the field of ADHD.
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    An interactive classroom timetable for children with high functioning autism : development and qualitative evaluation of a computer-based timetable
    (Queen Margaret University, 2007) Murray, Susan
    Teachers report that advanced knowledge of the day's activities can considerably lessen anxiety for children with autism, especially if this information is highly visual in its presentation. Teaching children with autism often follows a highly structured approach including use of visual planning aids, such as symbolic timetables (Gillberg & Coleman, 2000; Mesibov, Browder, & Kirkland, 2002). Children with autism have been noted to be skilled at using computers and it has been suggested that the computer presents an ideal resource for both educational and recreational use (Attwood, 1998; Higgins & Boone, 1996; D. Moore, 1998; Murray, 1997). However, in spite of widespread use of visual timetables in schools by children with autism, there is little evidence of research being conducted in the area of computerised timetabling for this population. The overall aim of this particular study was to develop an interactive, computer-based timetable and to explore and assess the practical value for children with autism. The research was of an ethnographic nature and involved a case study approach. The development of the interactive timetable followed a user-centred design. Participating children attended a language and communication class attached to a mainstream primary school in Scotland. Seven males aged between six and nine years of age were involved, with four of the children able to participate in the final evaluations of the interactive timetable. Other participants included special needs teachers, nursery nurses, speech and language therapists, and parents of participating children. Examination of a symbolic timetable identified several important issues relevant to the design of an interactive timetable, whilst consideration of parental and educationalist views, gathered through interview, highlighted both benefits and concerns. By extending use to the home environment, the interactive timetable was considered to facilitate communication between child and parent. Concerns regarding access, size and position, user ability, and availability of resources were identified. Although findings were inconclusive, it was possible to communicate timetable information in a computer-based form and furthermore, the children appeared to enjoy using the timetable. Whilst the setting for this study was a single language and communication class attached to a mainstream primary school, this research has implications for a wider debate. The study found generally that the prospect of using information and communication technology to display an interactive timetable which was accessible both at school and at home, offered numerous possibilities for children with autism and their families.