The work deals with the implementation of CRM solutions, it's representation in the reference model MBI, which is the main goal of the work. In the first part the market of CRM products is analyzed and the current trends in the industry are introduced. The second part is focused on the aforementioned extension of the reference model MBI based on the knowledge and the experience of professional literature in the implementation of CRM solutions. The extension is realized in the form of four tasks which generalize practices for implementing customer relationship management, further work is completed by factors that describe the practical procedures and instructions for working in CRM solutions. The application used is also defined in this work.

The problem of the present study was to investigate the effects of verbal praise and reproof on digit-symbol task performances of two groups of children.

Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is an emerging neuroimaging modality with high temporal and good spatial resolution. In this thesis, NIRS was applied to understand functionality of the fronto-temporal cortex in response to language-related tasks. A 32-channel NIRS system (Imagent ISS Inc.) was used to perform experimental studies on 15 right-handed normal adults. Block-design based Word Expression and Word Reception paradigms were independently presented to participants. Activation, functional connectivity and cortical lateralization analyses were performed. From word expression studies, results showed left anterior region (encompassing Broca) is majorly involved over right homologue and posterior regions. From the word reception studies, results showed that right posterior region (encompassing right homologue of Wernicke) is highly involved in language reception, with right anterior region (encompassing right homologue of Broca) also involved. The current study has potential future applications in surgical evaluation of language regions in populations with neurological disorders such as epilepsy, and schizophrenia.

Magister Philosophiae - MPhil / Task based language instruction has generated some debate among researchers. Some argue in favour of task based language instruction by claiming that tasks focus learners' attention on meaning and thus facilitate second language acquisition (Prahbu, 1987; Pica and Doughty, 1986; Pica, Kanagy, and Falodun,1993). Others argue against task based language instruction and call into question the concept of comprehensible input, the idea upon which the whole task based approach is based (Sheen, 1994).

To test the hypothesis that a discrepancy between expectation and experience with regard to the controllability of outcomes would produce the greatest effect on later task behavior, 70 undergraduate volunteers were directed individually in a multiphase experiment. The first phase was designed to induce expectations of control or lack of control over outcomes. The second phase was designed to confirm or not to confirm the expectations induced. The third phase tested for the effects on later task behavior. The results indicated that the first phase procedure failed to induce the required expectancies, thus preventing a test of the experimental hypothesis. Possible procedural changes were discussed.

In the model room task, children watch as a miniature toy is hidden somewhere in a scale model of a room and are asked to find the larger version of the toy in the corresponding place in the actual room. Previous work has shown that children under age three often perform very poorly on this task. One prominent theory for their failure is that they lack the ability to understand the model as both a physical object and as a symbolic representation of the larger room. An alternative hypothesis is that they need to overcome weak, competing representations of where the object was on a previous trial, and where it is in the present trial, in order to succeed in their search. Children aged 33-39 months were tested on measures of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, recognition memory, and receptive vocabulary, as well as the model room task. Results showed that performance on the model room task was not predicted by measures of inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility or vocabulary, but was predicted by performance on the Delayed Recognition Span Test (DRST), a measure of recognition memory. These findings lend support to the theory of competing representations. Given the predictive nature of the recognition memory task and the task’s sensitivity to lesions in the hippocampus, implications for the development of the hippocampus and its role in success on the model room task are discussed.

Electropalatography (EPG) is a computer-based system that tracks and measures contact patterns between the tongue and palate during speech production. The present study is focused on how the lingua-palatal contact patterns of native English speakers learning German as a second language (L2) differ as a function of task type. The fricatives ich-Laut [ç] and ach-Laut [x] were used as the target sounds, placed in nonsense words, short sentences, and spontaneous speech. The productions of the fricatives in the varying speech tasks were gathered from 12 university students enrolled in their second semester of a university level course of German. Comparisons were made using electrode mappings, percentages of regional contact, duration, and center of gravity measures. Duration measures showed that nonsense words were found to have the greatest duration for both fricatives when compared to the other task types. Percentage of activation measures showed that [ç] presented with similar activation in the medial and posterior regions of the palate across task type, whereas the activation in medial and posterior regions for [x] were found to differ more significantly across task type. Specifically, short sentences and spontaneous speech had similar posterior activation, but differed in medial activation, while nonsense words were different in both regions. Center of gravity measures were also greater in short sentences and spontaneous speech compared to nonsense words for [x]. It is anticipated that the data and information in this thesis will provide insights into the role of linguistic task type and EPG technology as instructional tools for L2 learners.

The problem discussed in this thesis is the optimization of the process of planning, tracking and evaluating tasks in the management area of the department Corporate Technology in Siemens, Brno. Having studied theories of CMMI and principles of ISO 9001, the given process is optimized by automating certain manual tasks. As Corporate Technology uses a SharePoint server to manage tasks, the application is developed to improve his functionality. This application has therefore been tested in the environment of the organization with real-life data and complies to all necessary requirements to be able to save at least 50 % of time in the optimized process. The results of this thesis prove the usability of automating manual repetitive tasks being conducted in the processes of the organization and introduce possibility of increasing process level by preventing human errors.

This research was conducted in the Sekhukhune District in Limpopo Province with a particular focus on the Department of Education's Malokela circuit. The main purpose of this study was to probe how school governing body (SGB) stakeholders work collaboratively to manage school finances and implement finance policy effectively in the public schools of Limpopo Province. The following research question was used to investigate the problem: How collaboratively do school governing bodies (SGBs) govern the financial affairs of public primary schools in the Malokela Circuit of Limpopo Province? It is in the interest of schools and their learners that SGB stakeholders work collaboratively to effectively manage school finances and properly implement finance policies. The identified problem was investigated by means of a qualitative research approach, using semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample from two selected public primary schools in the Malokela Circuit in Limpopo Province. The qualitative research approach was considered suitable because the study was intended to be an exploratory one aimed at gaining a better understanding of a phenomenon. The case study was used as a research design; it was assumed to be more appropriate for this research because it helped the researcher understand how people interact with, and relate to, one another. The research findings revealed that governing bodies in public primary schools are faced with many problems which, among others, include levels of education of stakeholders, especially parents, and their lack of knowledge and the skills needed to execute their duties when they are required to perform their roles and carry out their responsibilities in managing school finances. In order for public schools to meet these challenges successfully, this research makes a number of recommendations based on conclusions reached from findings. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2016. / Education Management and Policy Studies / MEd / Unrestricted

Organic Chemistry has been described as a challenging and confusing course for undergraduate students. Novices in the field have been struggling to understand fundamental concepts relating to organic mechanisms and organize their knowledge around surface features such as functional groups rather than deep underlying features. At the University of Ottawa, a new “Mechanistic patterns and principles” curriculum was designed and implemented, organized by the underlying mechanistic patterns that govern reactions rather than the traditional surface features approach. The redesigned curriculum emphasizes principles of reactivity in organic chemistry and is organized in a gradient of difficulty. The three studies included within this work act as part of a larger evaluation of the redesigned curriculum, specifically investigating an instrument to assess the formation of expertise in organic chemistry and an instrument to capture self-efficacy beliefs in organic chemistry as students progress throughout the curriculum. In the first two studies, an open and closed online categorization task was delivered to Organic Chemistry II students at both the beginning and end of their course. The open sort provided insights regarding how participants choose to sort, while the closed sort measured participants' ability to categorize reactions according to their underlying mechanistic pattern. In the first study, we provide an in-depth analysis of the changes in expertise that occur with respect to the expertise of their choices and ability. Findings from this work demonstrated a positive shift from students attending to surface to process-oriented features in the open sort, as well as an increase in students’ ability in the closed sort. The following-up study investigates the relationship between the expertise demonstrated by participants in the open and closed sorts. Additionally, this work compares these measures of expertise against varies other metrics, including a high-stakes categorization task, and academic performance to increase the validity, and probes at the reliability of findings. Findings from this work demonstrate a strong relationship between the expertise demonstrate in the online task and academic performance, as well as describe an evolving relationship between the expertise demonstrated in students’ choice and ability as they progress throughout the course. While previous work in the evaluation of the curriculum demonstrated that students possess greater ability, it is unknown whether this also translates to an increase in their beliefs about their abilities. The last study included within this work moves beyond cognitive outcomes of the curriculum to investigating the role of self-efficacy beliefs in the curriculum. Self-efficacy beliefs are defined as an individual’s belief in their capability to perform a specific task or objective successfully. This work intends to construct and validate a task-specific, multi-dimensional self-efficacy beliefs instrument for undergraduate students in the domain of organic chemistry. Pre-administration validity evidence, including test content and response process validity, was collected. Data for internal structure validity evidence was collected from a single administration with Organic Chemistry I students (N=78) to 7-factor structure within the final 39 item instrument. Due to the small sample size, these results are interpreted with extreme caution. Future work with this instrument aims to improve the validity evidence collected by expanding the sample size and evaluate the influence curriculum on self-efficacy beliefs, and who, based on demographic variables, may be benefiting the most from the transformed curriculum.