Africa, and Southern Africa in particular, has been identified by both South African and international retail chains as an area for growth. Because conflict on the continent has all but dissipated, economic growth naturally follows political stability. Africa, with its wealth of resources, provides attractive markets for international investors. This increased investment leads to a growing middle class, with growing needs for goods and services. The reason for the interest from organised retail is therefore obvious. The challenge, however, is that, given the size of the individual markets in Southern Africa, it is not financially viable to have an independent marketing strategy for each market. There is no cross-national empirical research that has measured customers’ expectations and perceptions, allowing marketers to develop financially viable marketing strategies. This research, which can be considered an exploratory study, attempted to fill that void. Quality is an elusive and indistinct construct, and as such, it is difficult to measure. A large body of customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction literature acknowledges the importance of expectations in the customers’ evaluation (perception) of their service experience. Although there are several models which have been used to measure service quality, SERVQUAL remains the most popular. It has been successfully adapted to a range of service and retail environments, more especially in emerging markets. This study also employs an adapted SERVQUAL instrument to measure customer satisfaction levels in Southern Africa. The main objective of this study was to investigate the similarities in and differences between the perceptions and expectations regarding service quality of the customer groups of retail stores in different Southern African countries in order to develop financially viable retail strategies. In order to achieve this, the following secondary objectives were identified: *To determine the applicability of the adapted SERVQUAL model in Southern African countries. *To determine, by means of a cross-national study, whether other dimensions of service quality are relevant in the development of a service quality model in a Southern African context. The research population constituted all the existing and potential customers of Beares, Ellerines and FurnCity stores in Namibia, Botswana, Zambia, Swaziland, Lesotho and South Africa. Six hundred questionnaires in total were distributed, one hundred being sent to different stores in each of the six countries. Stores were chosen from both rural and metropolitan areas. This was a convenience sample and an interviewer-administered survey. Existing and prospective customers were intercepted in the store and interviewed by store managers. The findings indicated that there were statistically significant differences between expectations and perceptions in two factors of the measuring scale. Although the measuring instrument SERVQUAL was found to be both valid and reliable, only two factors were loaded during the analysis stage, and, as a result, the adaptability of SERVQUAL is questionable. The effect of culture does not form part of the SERVQUAL measuring scale yet service quality literature indicates that national cultures affect both the perceptions and the expectations of service quality. / PhD (Business Management), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2014

Until 1996, all women in South Africa were prohibited, by law, from working underground. With the introduction of the Mining Charter all this changed and companies started hiring women for different positions. The objectives of the study were: to determine the perceptions of the working environment of women in the mining activities, to establish what changes were made to accommodate women in this specific mine and to establish if women can advance in this company. A field study was done at a chrome mine and a random sample of 100 employees participated. The central research tool utilised was a questionnaire using a Likert-type 5 rating scale. The findings were that mining companies will have to work hard on the perception that women are not wanted in the industry, but that a lot has happened since 1996. As expected the study found that there are significant resistance towards women working in the core mining industry. Mines are making changes to accommodate women. Women are receiving a lot of support from management to become part of the mining environment. Different programs are being implemented to develop skills of women and ensure their progression within the mining companies. The study concluded with recommendations as to what can be done to improve the perception of the working environment of women. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

It is common to find farm schools some distance from the villages where learners reside, and in most cases these do not look good from the outside and are normally not given as much support as they should get. There are many challenges facing educators who are teaching learners in farm schools. Some of the problems emanate from home, including the socia-economic status and parental involvement. Other problems are as a result of the environmental conditions, including a lack of basic services like water, electricity and others. The education system is believed to be failing farm school learners in a way when it comes to issues like a lack of teaching or learning aids, a lack of a referral system, a lack in high schools, a lack of funding, managing and controlling the feeding scheme. At times some additional problems are caused by the learners themselves, including latecoming, absenteeism, a high drop-out rate, teenage pregnancy and vandalism. The bad road conditions and the fact that learners have to walk long distances to school, also impact negatively on the learners. Educators in farm schools feel that they are over-burdened in their task of teaching because of issues like multi-grade classes, too much administration, and lack of support from the department and the parents, as well as financial constraints. The above factors cause much frustration in the teaching profession and educators become drained and experience serious fatigue, which impacts negatively on their work. The aim of this study is to investigate the general perceptions of educators about the health status of farm schools. To attain this aim, the study had following specific objective: To determine the perceptions of educators about the health status of farm schools. A qualitative research design was considered to be the most appropriate for gaining in depth insight into the educators' perceptions about the health status of farm schools. Data was collected through phenomenological semi-structured interviews and direct observations. This data was then organised into categories and subcategories, and direct quotations were presented verbatim. Research findings were compared to the relevant literature to identify existing information and possible differences, and the findings were then recorded The study showed that there are many barriers in farm schools that hinder the smooth running the of school, in other words the learning and teaching. It is necessary to eliminate these barriers where possible, and to minimise and control the barriers that can be detrimental to the health status of farm schools. Findings from this research were classified according to the following main categories: • Difficult working conditions experienced by educators in the classroom. • Poor socio-economic status of learners. • Lack of support to learners from outside the school. • Dissatisfaction with the Department of Education's management. Lack of transport and bad road conditions on the way to school. • The adverse effect of the status quo on educators. • Learners’ negative attitude. • Struggles with helper mothers. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

To support the professional knowledge development of all teachers, schools in North America have implemented teacher-leader roles (Angelle & DeHart, 2011; Fullan, 2003; Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008). The effectiveness of developing professional knowledge depends upon numerous variables such as school culture, collaborative environments, resources, and organizational paradigms. It follows, then, that understanding what influences teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership can determine best practices of implementing teacher-leader roles within schools and across school divisions. The literature reviewed in this study falls into four main categories: School culture, Distributed Leadership as Teacher-Leadership, Teacher-Leader Roles, and Teachers’ Perceptions of Teacher-Leadership. Furthermore, the purpose of this study was to investigate high school teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership. Research, using a quantitative instrument, focused on conducting an inquiry into teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership and what influences teachers’ perceptions. The study investigated the differences in perceptions according to these specific considerations: attained education level, teaching experience, formal teacher-leader roles, and gender. The primary objective of this research was to investigate the differences in high-school teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership within the context of one Saskatchewan urban school division according to educators’ attained education level, teaching experience, formal teacher-leader roles, and gender. To that end, the study investigated teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership based on four factors of teacher-leadership: supra-practitioner, sharing expertise, sharing leadership, and principal selection (Angelle & DeHart, 2011). Moreover, the following research questions previously referred to helped sharpen the focus of the study: 1. What are the differences in teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership according to different degree levels attained? 2. What are the differences in teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership according to varying teaching experience? 3. What are the differences in teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership according to teachers who occupy formal teacher-leader roles compared to those who do not occupy formal teacher-leader roles? 4. What are the differences in teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership according to gender? This study used a quantitative methodology to examine high school teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership through Angelle and DeHart’s (2012) Teacher Leadership Inventory resulting in empirical evidence collected via one-way between-groups ANOVA- the results of which provided both descriptive and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics indicated the spread of scores through variance, standard deviation, and range while describing independent and dependent variables (Creswell, 2012). Inferential statistics helped to “compare groups or related two or more variables” (p. 187). Independent variable of the study included; degree level attainment, years of teaching experience, occupying a position of formal teacher-leadership, and gender. Furthermore, the dependent variables included Sharing Expertise, Sharing Leadership, Supra-Practitioner and Principal Selection. The findings of the data showed statistical difference in the dependent variables Sharing Expertise and Sharing Leadership. As a result of this study, implications for theory include whether the TLI needs to consider a Canadian context. In addition, implications of practice revealed in this study supported the use of the Teacher Leadership Inventory (Angelle and DeHart, 2012) as a possible screening instrument for teachers’ perceptions of teacher-leadership. Finally, implications for further research; this is the second study to use the Teacher Leadership Inventory, as such, it will be beneficial to use the TLI in more applications to collect additional data and to identify norms for the instrument.

Historically, children with disabilities have been perceived as sources of stress, and disability has been portrayed in Western society as a tragedy to be avoided. This study used Appreciative Inquiry methodology and an integrated conceptual framework combining the Dynamic Ecological Systems Model, Cognitive Adaptation Theory, and components of the Affirmative Model of Disability. Qualitative interviews were conducted with ten children and sixteen parents to gain insight into their perceptions of the positive effects that a child with a disability has on the family. Findings suggest that children with disabilities can have some of the same positive effects on, and make some of the same contributions to, their families as any other child. They can also have unique positive effects and make unique contributions potentially unparalleled by their non-disabled peers. These findings may have implications for how disability is perceived by medical professionals, parents raising children with disabilities, and the public.

It is common to find farm schools some distance from the villages where learners reside, and in most cases these do not look good from the outside and are normally not given as much support as they should get. There are many challenges facing educators who are teaching learners in farm schools. Some of the problems emanate from home, including the socia-economic status and parental involvement. Other problems are as a result of the environmental conditions, including a lack of basic services like water, electricity and others. The education system is believed to be failing farm school learners in a way when it comes to issues like a lack of teaching or learning aids, a lack of a referral system, a lack in high schools, a lack of funding, managing and controlling the feeding scheme. At times some additional problems are caused by the learners themselves, including latecoming, absenteeism, a high drop-out rate, teenage pregnancy and vandalism. The bad road conditions and the fact that learners have to walk long distances to school, also impact negatively on the learners. Educators in farm schools feel that they are over-burdened in their task of teaching because of issues like multi-grade classes, too much administration, and lack of support from the department and the parents, as well as financial constraints. The above factors cause much frustration in the teaching profession and educators become drained and experience serious fatigue, which impacts negatively on their work. The aim of this study is to investigate the general perceptions of educators about the health status of farm schools. To attain this aim, the study had following specific objective: To determine the perceptions of educators about the health status of farm schools. A qualitative research design was considered to be the most appropriate for gaining in depth insight into the educators' perceptions about the health status of farm schools. Data was collected through phenomenological semi-structured interviews and direct observations. This data was then organised into categories and subcategories, and direct quotations were presented verbatim. Research findings were compared to the relevant literature to identify existing information and possible differences, and the findings were then recorded The study showed that there are many barriers in farm schools that hinder the smooth running the of school, in other words the learning and teaching. It is necessary to eliminate these barriers where possible, and to minimise and control the barriers that can be detrimental to the health status of farm schools. Findings from this research were classified according to the following main categories: • Difficult working conditions experienced by educators in the classroom. • Poor socio-economic status of learners. • Lack of support to learners from outside the school. • Dissatisfaction with the Department of Education's management. Lack of transport and bad road conditions on the way to school. • The adverse effect of the status quo on educators. • Learners’ negative attitude. • Struggles with helper mothers. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2010.

Since the relatively recent discovery of elevated concentrations of contaminants such as mercury and persistent organic pollutants in the Arctic, Inuvialuit have been receiving information about the potential impacts of these contaminants on the environment, wildlife, and human health. Almost 20 years of communication efforts have resulted in only a general awareness of contaminant issues, as the focus on perceptions of message content has overlooked the important impact of communication processes (methods, sources) on message reception, understanding, and acceptance. For this research, interviews, focus groups, and informal conversations were used to explore the myriad of contaminant perceptions and associations held by Inuvialuit in Sachs Harbour, NT, as contaminants were used as a case example to investigate perceptions of and recommendations for science communication. Concepts of respect, time, and relationships influenced the inter-related impressions of communication processes and research/researchers (the mediums), which in turn influenced perceptions of contaminants among participants. The medium is thus an important part of the message in scientific communication, and is implicated in the conduct of research and research communication in small, remote Arctic communities.

The goal of this study is to examine teacher feedback, learner uptake, and feedback perceptions in an adult Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) context. A 200-level Chinese reading course was observed for data collection. Participants included 13 students and one teacher. Thirteen class sessions (10 hours) were video-taped. A short survey, given at the end of each of the last six class sessions, was designed to elicit the teacher’s and the students’ perceptions of feedback frequency. The participants were not informed of the focus of this research at the beginning of data collection. Video-recorded data was fully transcribed and coded using Panova and Lyster’s (2002) feedback categorization. The teacher’s response to the survey was compared to that of the students’ regarding perceptions of feedback frequency. The results showed that the teacher provided feedback to 68.1% of all students’ errors. On average there was one feedback move every 2.4 minutes. All feedback types in Panova and Lyster’s model were present, and there were a few new moves, namely “asking a direct question,” “directing question to other students,” and “using L1-English.” A total of 245 teacher feedback moves occurred during the observation. Recasts accounted for 56.7% of all feedback moves, followed by metalinguistic feedback which accounted for 10.6%. Elicitation moves achieved the highest uptake rate (94.1%). Next, explicit correction and metalinguistic feedback had 88.9% and 53.8% uptake rate respectively. Concerning perceptions of feedback, the teacher was more accurate in perceiving four types of feedback while the students were accurate about three. It was concluded that recast was the predominant type of feedback in this study. Other explicit types of feedback were more successful in leading to learner uptake. The teacher and the students were generally not accurate in perceiving the frequency of each feedback type, due to the challenge of remembering the feedback move after the lesson had finished. The pedagogical implication is that teachers should consider a wide range of feedback techniques, especially more explicit types, to better engage students in a reading class. / Graduate

As automation becomes increasing ubiquitous, it is important to know how differences in introducing automated systems will affect human-automation interactions. There are two main ways of introducing expected reliability of an automated system to users: explicitly telling operators what to expect or giving operators experience using the system. This study systematically investigated the effect of expectation format initially and over time on: 1) perceptions of reliability and system usage, and 2) human responses to automation (e.g., compliance, reliance, and overall dependence). Initially, there was an effect of expected level for explicit statement groups, whereas there was no effect of expected level for initial exposure groups. Over time, explicit statement groups had more stable perceptions of system reliability than the initial exposure groups. In general, perceived reliability did not converge to actual system reliability (75%) by the end of the study. Additionally, perceived reliability had a weak, but positive relationship with actual system use, whereas perceptions of system use (e.g., perceived dependence) had a strong, but negative relationship with actual system use. Outside of initial effects seen with perceived reliability, there were few initial differences between expectation formats. Almost all groups tended to initially comply more than rely, with the exception of the initial exposure – lower-than group. Over time, level of expectation for initial exposure groups influenced reliance. There were no differences between expectation groups on compliance and dependence over time. In general, dependence and compliance increased or stayed the same as time using the system increased. This pattern was also seen with reliance, with the exception of the initial exposure - higher-than group decreasing reliance over time. Results from this study have implications for both theory and practice. The research findings both support and augment the existing conceptual model of automation. A better understanding of the differential effects of expectation format and introduced level of expectations can lead to introductions of automated systems that are best suited to the system’s goals, ultimately improving system performance.

Despite the importance of offenders’ perspectives of the criminal justice system, inmates’ perceptions of prison life remain largely unexplored in correctional research. In the current study, data were analyzed from a survey of approximately 700 incarcerated felons, focusing on their perceptions regarding the perceived difficulty or severity of prison. The correlates of these perceptions were examined, as well as the impact of such perceptions on inmates’ intentions to avoid crime after release. The findings suggest that, while most inmates perceive prison life as difficult, a sizeable proportion of inmates do not find prison time to be overly difficult or severe. Further, inmates who do not view prison as difficult are less likely to report intentions to avoid crime after release. Implications for deterrence theory and future research are discussed.