title: Teen pregnancy: Tailoring a pregnancy app to the needs of pregnant adolescents

authors: Bealing, Jordana

subjects: Teen Pregnancy

abstract: Teenage pregnancy is an important issue; adolescence is associated with various challenges and changes, as a result, pregnant adolescents have fewer cognitive,
emotional, and social resources to meet the challenges of pregnancy. Stress and
distress are often associated with these challenges and many adolescents lack the coping strategies to manage them. Research suggests that stress during pregnancy can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of both mother and child. E-health interventions are being used more frequently to support adolescents with their challenges however, only a small number of these are aimed at pregnant  adolescents. Psychosocial interventions for pregnant adolescents have been developed and evaluated, and most of them aim to provide social support, access to professionals and pregnancy related resources. Psychosocial interventions targeting adolescents in general often focus on improving or maintaining their emotional and social wellbeing. E-health interventions are a relatively new yet highly successful mode of support for teenagers as they are easily accessible, less time consuming, inexpensive and therefore more widely available than face to face interventions. ‘Positively Pregnant’ is an E-health intervention using a resilience-focussed model to improve the wellbeing of pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to introduce the ‘Positively Pregnant app’ to pregnant adolescents and professionals working alongside them, to gain their feedback on how we might tailor the app to the needs of pregnant adolescents.
Three professionals working alongside pregnant adolescents were recruited through email and social media. One parenting teen and one pregnant teen were recruited from their Teen Parent Units (TPU). Feedback was given in individual interviews. Participants were asked their opinion on the challenges that pregnant adolescents experience, the supports they need to manage these challenges and then to give feedback on the ‘Positively Pregnant app along with suggestions for
how we can tailor the app to the needs of pregnant teenagers.
Three key themes were identified for the challenges and needs of pregnant adolescents: Emotional wellbeing and support, Access to resources, and Cognitive immaturity. Participants responded that the app appeared to be easy to use, interactive and helpful to pregnant teens. Only the professional participants responded with negative feedback which was that the app could be overwhelming for pregnant teens in terms of the layout and wording. Lastly, all five participants provided recommendations for changes, such as: downsizing the app, making it possible to use alongside the users healthcare provider and, adding teen specific and pregnancy related material.

text: Teen pregnancy: Tailoring a pregnancy app to the needs of pregnant adolescents Teenage pregnancy is an important issue; adolescence is associated with various challenges and changes, as a result, pregnant adolescents have fewer cognitive,
emotional, and social resources to meet the challenges of pregnancy. Stress and
distress are often associated with these challenges and many adolescents lack the coping strategies to manage them. Research suggests that stress during pregnancy can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of both mother and child. E-health interventions are being used more frequently to support adolescents with their challenges however, only a small number of these are aimed at pregnant  adolescents. Psychosocial interventions for pregnant adolescents have been developed and evaluated, and most of them aim to provide social support, access to professionals and pregnancy related resources. Psychosocial interventions targeting adolescents in general often focus on improving or maintaining their emotional and social wellbeing. E-health interventions are a relatively new yet highly successful mode of support for teenagers as they are easily accessible, less time consuming, inexpensive and therefore more widely available than face to face interventions. ‘Positively Pregnant’ is an E-health intervention using a resilience-focussed model to improve the wellbeing of pregnant women. The purpose of this study was to introduce the ‘Positively Pregnant app’ to pregnant adolescents and professionals working alongside them, to gain their feedback on how we might tailor the app to the needs of pregnant adolescents.
Three professionals working alongside pregnant adolescents were recruited through email and social media. One parenting teen and one pregnant teen were recruited from their Teen Parent Units (TPU). Feedback was given in individual interviews. Participants were asked their opinion on the challenges that pregnant adolescents experience, the supports they need to manage these challenges and then to give feedback on the ‘Positively Pregnant app along with suggestions for
how we can tailor the app to the needs of pregnant teenagers.
Three key themes were identified for the challenges and needs of pregnant adolescents: Emotional wellbeing and support, Access to resources, and Cognitive immaturity. Participants responded that the app appeared to be easy to use, interactive and helpful to pregnant teens. Only the professional participants responded with negative feedback which was that the app could be overwhelming for pregnant teens in terms of the layout and wording. Lastly, all five participants provided recommendations for changes, such as: downsizing the app, making it possible to use alongside the users healthcare provider and, adding teen specific and pregnancy related material.

year: 2019

title: Developing EFL students' communicative skills through content-based instruction: A case study of EFL teaching in an undergraduate degree program at a tertiary institution in Indonesia

authors: Eryansyah, Eryansyah

subjects: content-based instruction

abstract: This thesis reports on a mixed-methods case study, where the researcher as practitioner explored the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in improving the communication skills and motivation of a group of students at a tertiary education in Indonesia. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What are the attitudes of some EFL students of non-English departments towards current EFL teaching in the tertiary context? (b) Are there any differences in the intervention class EFL students’ pre-test and post-test scores measuring verbal communication performance (actual and self-reported)? (c) What factors identified in a theme-based instructional program appear to contribute to an improvement in EFL students’ communication skills? (d) Are there self-reported differences in intervention class EFL students’ motivation and attitudes following the intervention program and what reasons do they offer for this improvement?
This study used mixed-method data collection methods. It utilised a quasi-experimental design where the research participants were grouped into two groups, an intervention class (IC) and a non-intervention class (NIC). The data were collected using the following methods: questionnaires, reflective journals, video recordings, observations and various pre-test and post-test measures. The qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and the quantitative data were analysed using the SPSS statistical program.   
In terms of the main findings, first, the results revealed that the students had developed a positive attitude towards the current EFL teaching program. Most of them considered that English was very important and disagreed with the current two-credit allocation for English. They preferred a student-centred EFL class to a teacher-centred class and they also preferred an EFL teaching approach focused on their content-subjects to one focused on general themes. 
Second, the results from the pre-test and post-test mean scores revealed that the intervention class (IC) students’ mean scores improved significantly after they were given the intervention. The non-intervention class (NIC) students’ mean scores also improved but they were not significant. 
Third, the qualitative findings from students’ self-report data revealed that there were four themes (motivation and engagement, affect, self-confidence, and a sense of improvement in EFL and content-subject learning) that emerged. Finally, the results from the questionnaire given to the IC students before and after the intervention revealed that for the most part, their attitude and motivation levels appeared to increase after they were exposed to a theme-based instructional approach. Triangulation of a number of finding strengthened the argument that the content-based instructional approach, in this case, the theme-based instructional approach was effective in improving EFL students’ verbal communicative skills and enhancing their motivation in learning the target language. 
A number of limitations were identified in relation to this study, including its non-generalisability, the short duration of the intervention, the non-utilisation of NIC students’ views, and a number of ethical issues. However, the findings were promising. On this basis, this thesis recommends further study to be undertaken to investigate the effect of CBI in EFL teaching and learning in Indonesia, which involves more groups of non-English department students from different departments and a longer duration of study which will provide more substantial data related to the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in EFL teaching in this context.

text: Developing EFL students' communicative skills through content-based instruction: A case study of EFL teaching in an undergraduate degree program at a tertiary institution in Indonesia This thesis reports on a mixed-methods case study, where the researcher as practitioner explored the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in improving the communication skills and motivation of a group of students at a tertiary education in Indonesia. The following research questions guided this study: (a) What are the attitudes of some EFL students of non-English departments towards current EFL teaching in the tertiary context? (b) Are there any differences in the intervention class EFL students’ pre-test and post-test scores measuring verbal communication performance (actual and self-reported)? (c) What factors identified in a theme-based instructional program appear to contribute to an improvement in EFL students’ communication skills? (d) Are there self-reported differences in intervention class EFL students’ motivation and attitudes following the intervention program and what reasons do they offer for this improvement?
This study used mixed-method data collection methods. It utilised a quasi-experimental design where the research participants were grouped into two groups, an intervention class (IC) and a non-intervention class (NIC). The data were collected using the following methods: questionnaires, reflective journals, video recordings, observations and various pre-test and post-test measures. The qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis and the quantitative data were analysed using the SPSS statistical program.   
In terms of the main findings, first, the results revealed that the students had developed a positive attitude towards the current EFL teaching program. Most of them considered that English was very important and disagreed with the current two-credit allocation for English. They preferred a student-centred EFL class to a teacher-centred class and they also preferred an EFL teaching approach focused on their content-subjects to one focused on general themes. 
Second, the results from the pre-test and post-test mean scores revealed that the intervention class (IC) students’ mean scores improved significantly after they were given the intervention. The non-intervention class (NIC) students’ mean scores also improved but they were not significant. 
Third, the qualitative findings from students’ self-report data revealed that there were four themes (motivation and engagement, affect, self-confidence, and a sense of improvement in EFL and content-subject learning) that emerged. Finally, the results from the questionnaire given to the IC students before and after the intervention revealed that for the most part, their attitude and motivation levels appeared to increase after they were exposed to a theme-based instructional approach. Triangulation of a number of finding strengthened the argument that the content-based instructional approach, in this case, the theme-based instructional approach was effective in improving EFL students’ verbal communicative skills and enhancing their motivation in learning the target language. 
A number of limitations were identified in relation to this study, including its non-generalisability, the short duration of the intervention, the non-utilisation of NIC students’ views, and a number of ethical issues. However, the findings were promising. On this basis, this thesis recommends further study to be undertaken to investigate the effect of CBI in EFL teaching and learning in Indonesia, which involves more groups of non-English department students from different departments and a longer duration of study which will provide more substantial data related to the effectiveness of a content-based instructional approach in EFL teaching in this context.

year: 2017

title: Language Preference in a Bi-language Digital Library

authors: Keegan, Te Taka Adrian Gregory

subjects: log analysis

abstract: This paper examines user choice of interface language in a bi-language digital library(English and Maori, the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand)/ the majority of collection documents are in Maori, and the interface is available in both Maori and English. Log analysis shows three categories of preference for interface language: primarily English, primarily Maori and bilingual(switching back and forth between the two).

text: Language Preference in a Bi-language Digital Library This paper examines user choice of interface language in a bi-language digital library(English and Maori, the language of the indigenous people of New Zealand)/ the majority of collection documents are in Maori, and the interface is available in both Maori and English. Log analysis shows three categories of preference for interface language: primarily English, primarily Maori and bilingual(switching back and forth between the two).

year: 2005