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This study examined if the wellness of older adult residents of a continuing care retirement community was enhanced through the promotion of a sense of mattering to others. A ten-session reminiscence therapy protocol (REM) was developed as a treatment baseline for this study and four tenets of mattering promotion were developed as an additive to the baseline protocol (REMAIR). The hypotheses that drove this study posed that wellness would be enhanced for all participants and that those participants in the REMAIR group would demonstrate significantly greater gains in wellness and mattering than participants in the REM group. It was further hypothesized that females would demonstrate greater gains in wellness and mattering than did males but there were not a sufficient number of males in the sample to permit meaningful statistical analysis. Nineteen independent living residents with a mean age of 83.26 years (SD = 4.99) participated and were randomly assigned to either the baseline REM group (n = 10) or to the REMAIR group (n = 9). Two instruments were administered using a pre- and post-test design to compute gains in wellness and mattering and Chi square tests, Pearson correlations, and independent and dependent sample t-tests were used to analyze the data. Results failed to support the hypotheses however, additional analysis of within group gains indicated that members of the REM group and females as a whole achieved significant positive gains in wellness. Despite the lack of significant findings indicating that wellness can be enhanced through the promotion of mattering or that the mattering promotion tenets produced an increased sense of mattering to others and wellness, the study is the first attempt at translating the strong positive relationship between wellness and mattering established in the research literature into a specific tenets that can be used in clinical settings. The results at least partially support the body of literature that establishes the usefulness of employing reminiscence groups for enhancing older adult wellness and suggests that the constructs of wellness and a sense of mattering to others differ by gender. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

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U.M.

This thesis is a contribution towards the subtitling practice of audiovisual programmes for deaf children. It starts by offering an overview of relevant research on Subtitling for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing (SDH), conducted both in the UK and abroad. A descriptive and comprehensive study on how children’s programmes broadcast in British television are subtitled for deaf children constitutes the starting point of the project. In an attempt to gain an understanding on how deaf children read subtitles, the linguistic difficulties encountered in the acquisition of a spoken language as well as their reading characteristics are examined. In doing so, contributions from both Deaf Studies and Audiovisual Translation are considered. Deaf children are placed in their social context and the different types of hearing loss, prelingual and postlingual deafness, and cochlear implantation are discussed. Education for the deaf is also tackled, encompassing the history, philosophies and current trends. The ultimate aim of the project is to contribute to the subtitling practice of deaf children by conducting empirical analysis. Hands-on research is conducted with a group of deaf children recruited from a mainstream school. Case studies are used in the piloting leading to the main experiment, which consists of exploring techniques to enhance word recognition and content comprehension. The findings of the main experiment, analysed using statistics, and the children's feedback, obtained orally at the end of the main activity and presented in a narrative form, are discussed as a contribution towards future research.