LG has become a strong brand since it entered Taiwan in 2001. According to the Ideal Brand Survey in Taiwan, LG is the number one in refrigerator and washing machine, and number three in TV in Taiwan. LG defeated many Japanese and Taiwanese companies of home appliances. This thesis aims to explore how LG Taiwan builds a strong brand. This thesis based on Keller¡¦s study ¡§The Model of Customer-Based Brand Equity¡¨ in 2008 and used the case study method to interview with the employees. This thesis finds that LG hires many local employees after entering Taiwan and thus is familiar with the market within a short time. LG Taiwan emphasizes creativity and is able to deal with contingencies in a short time. The management authorizes the employees to do many things in work. LG Taiwan provides customers with high quality products which are easy to use and customer service that is certificated by ISO-9001. LG Taiwan also works harder in marketing promotion to enhance the brand identity. The target customers of LG are those aged from 25 to 45. The products are fashionable and have a longer warranty. Customers think that LG is a spirited brand and it is willing to help them to improve their life quality. LG Taiwan also builds friendship with dealers and chain stores. As a result, LG Taiwan established a higher brand loyalty.

There has been a steady proliferation of discourses concerned with neutral education in South Korea since the democratisation of 1987. The problem of educational neutrality has been raised particularly by conservative forces. This thesis offers a critical examination of the conservative use of educational neutrality. Three inter-connected questions guide the thesis. First, what events and elements are combined in the discourse of educational neutrality in what ways? Second, how do non-discursive practices (e.g. techniques of power) help realise the discourse of educational neutrality? Finally, how do teachers and students resist pressure to be neutral? In order to address these questions, by drawing on theoretical tools offered by Kim Dong-choon and Michel Foucault, I, first of all, contextualize the conservative use of educational neutrality in relation to war-politics where critical thought and action are punished and regulated in the name of protecting society. I then combine Critical Discourse Analysis with Foucault's genealogical approach in order to grasp multiple dimensions of the discourse of educational neutrality. The construction of the discourse of educational neutrality is investigated through an analysis of a conservative newspaper's editorials. The deployment of power techniques in the realization of the discourse of educational neutrality is examined through a genealogical study of how critical teachers' unions have been regulated and how history textbooks have been sanitised. Last but not least, I explore courageous speech activities carried out by teachers and students. Those speeches, as forms of resistance to the myth of neutral education, serve to introduce a break in war-politics that draws an arbitrary line between what is and what is not say-able and do-able. The thesis concludes by highlighting that education cannot be reduced to the mere transmission of technical knowledge from teachers to students. Rather, education should take on the task of regenerating critical thought and action particularly in a pluralistic democratic society where different individuals, values, and views coexist not in an antagonistic way but in a harmonious way.

Despite the growing literature on teachers’ professional identity (Beijaard et al. 2004, Day et el 2006, Hextall et al.2007,Sutherland et al. 2010, Canrinus et al.2011), there is little concurrence on what it should mean and few examples of studies from schools in sub Saharan Africa (Smit and Fritz 2008, Barrett 2006). This sociological study contributes to the knowledge of teachers’ professionalism by presenting subjectivities and socio-institutional discourses said to shape teachers’ post training identity and role in education change as experienced within a given Kenyan primary school. The literature indicates that whilst identity is perceived to be core to motivation, the different expressions of self, subject and identity placed alongside competing discourses of professionalism widen the scope for diverse discourses of teachers’ professional identity (Sachs 2005) to emerge. Since professional identity is socially derived (Cohen 2008) and discourse mediated this study contributes to knowledge by illustrating how contextually held interpretations of teacher professionalism influence their role in reform contexts. Teachers’ role expectations are examined alongside the social suggestions of significant others. Ethnographic data collection methods and thematic analysis are intended to highlight the emerging discourses and their impact on the given population. The findings suggest teachers are caught between expectations influenced by organisational and occupational professionalism which put reform processes outside their immediate jurisdiction but appeal to their altruistic occupational orientation in fulfilling managerially determined objectives. Teachers post training identity is said to be influenced by pre-service training, the interface between curriculum and examination requirements, pedagogical practices framed by professional and community norms and by their individual sense of discipline, dedication, self-sacrifice and moral purpose. Pupil and parental expectations seen against contextual realities challenge various forms of teacher professionalism and education reforms.

Previous studies of students’ higher education choices have been mainly examined in the US, European and Australian context, with few related empirical research studies in the context of China (Hemsley-Brown and Oplatka, 2015). Although there is no lack of various online surveys about the reasons driving students towards postgraduate education in China, little is known about how far their decisions were shaped by their specific circumstances which is the purpose of this study, which investigates the main factors influencing students’ decision-making about postgraduate education at G University in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province. To achieve this aim, three main research questions were asked: what motivated students to undertake PG education, why did they choose their particular subjects for PG studies, and why did they choose G University as their place of study? This study employs an-in depth case study approach. The research was conducted in two stages. In the first stage, questionnaires were distributed among the first-year postgraduate students at G University to get a general idea of what motivated them to undertake PG education and why they chose their particular subjects and place of study. In the second stage, 30 students who indicated their willingness in the questionnaires to participate in follow-up interviews were interviewed to explore the responses to the questionnaires in greater depth. The findings of this research were analysed from the theoretical aspects of human, cultural and social capital, as well as the related Chinese concept of guanxi. The findings indicated that students’ decisions to undertake PG education was mainly to enhance their employment competitiveness and to gain jobs with higher salaries and better advancement opportunities. In addition, the findings indicated that personal interest influenced either by their family's education or school teacher’s instruction constituted the main reason for choosing their specific fields of study. The findings also showed that family social capital and the social capital formed in the school context exerted great influence on students’ choices of postgraduate education. Further, students chose G University as their place of study mainly for its academic reputation, the quality of its faculties and resources, and its convenient location. The data indicated that students’ choices of postgraduate education were influenced by their individual economic, social and cultural backgrounds, or the interplay between human, cultural and social capital from the theoretical aspect. Enquiring into the students’ choices of postgraduate education in the specific Chinese social and cultural context contributes to the literature on students’ choices of higher education. It is hoped that the findings will provide some informed knowledge for students who plan to invest in their future employability through postgraduate education in China, as well as for the Chinese further and higher education system, which may gain a better understanding of its students and so be able to provide a better service to them.

This case study investigates the impact of task-based language teaching (TBLT) and mediation procedures on the teaching of business presentations at a university in Thailand. A task-based course was developed, which took into account national and institutional education policies regarding the development of business-related knowledge and skills and the limited English proficiency and knowledge of the business world possessed by the learners. Three core tasks, namely Describing Company Profiles, Describing Products, and Describing Trends were designed utilising Willis’ framework (Willis, 1996). The course was delivered over the course of six sessions to two groups of students (n = 22 and 25 respectively). Mixed methods data collection techniques were employed to examine 1) the appropriateness of the designed tasks, 2) the effectiveness of TBLT, 3) the effectiveness of mediation procedures integrated in task implementation and 4) suggestions for the improvement of tasks, TBLT and mediation practices. The data was collected through pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, observer and student interviews, research journals, class observation notes, and audio and video recording of class interactions from four observers and the two groups of students mentioned above. The qualitative analysis of data focused on participant perceptions of TBLT and mediation as well as on participant recommendations. The findings indicate both positive feedback and the existence of a number of critical issues. Participants were generally satisfied with the use of a wide range of materials and the usefulness of course content. The most significant participant concerns were related to teaching and learning conditions, content relevance and coverage, task complexity and difficulty, task materials, language focus (i.e. vocabulary and grammar teaching), peer feedback and teacher feedback, peer engagement as well as teacher mediation. Implications are also discussed, particularly the greater incorporation of explicit grammar teaching and the increase in number of teaching hours to allow for individual presentation practice and mediation on linguistic difficulties.

The starting point for the study is concern for the quality of education available to the rural child in Lao PDR. Donor agencies are supporting the Government of Lao in education reform and the study explores how education policy becomes practice in one small, poor, socialist, country. Using a variety of research methodologies based in critical ethnography and including interviews and observations, the study explores some significant discourses that make up the discourse of donor supported education reform. A contention of the study is meanings and ultimately changed practice are generated in action and reaction between constituent discourses, at a number of levels and in a range of contexts. Attention is given to the use and impact of the concept, ‘capacity development’, in development aid and the study questions the inexplicit manner of its use and its negative connotation. Data inspection for this study is based in Fairclough’s procedures for critical discourse analysis, with adaptation to the particular social, political, cultural and language contexts of Lao PDR. The procedure was found a useful tool for following policy into practice at classroom level. The study is also able to question how far either research or policy is emancipatory.

concept and its application in various parts of the world; and (ii) investigate the problems and prospects for an open university in Nigeria. The term "open university" is defined as distance teaching university systems created to offer programmes of study exclusively to external students. The concepts of "distance education" and "open learning" are examined and their precise usage in this thesis clarified. A distinction is also drawn between Western, indigenous and Koranic education. The thesis is divided into three parts. The first part (Chapters 1 - 3), examines the concepts and the methodologies chosen for the study and provides a political, economic and educational background to Nigeria, with emphasis on the problems of higher education. Part two (Chapters 4, 5 and 6), provides a general illumination to the particular problems of the open university system and current trends in established open university institutions. In Chapter 4, a review is made of the distance education provision in Nigeria while Chapter 5 is devoted to a review of the literature. Chapter 6 is concerned with the Open University of the United Kingdom (aU-UK), especially its original concept, practices in the institution and the implications of applying the British experience elsewhere. (xi) The third part of the thesis (Chapters 7 and 8), investigates the particular problems and prospects for an open university system in Nigeria, through a study of the perceptions of a cross-section of the country's policy-makers and potential open university candidates. Chapter 7 focuses principally on the analysis of the collected empirical data on policy-makers while Chapter 8 is concerned with the personal characteristics of potential open university candidates, interpretations of their personal circumstances, their perceptions and the implications for university level home-study. The last Chapter (9) is concerned with conclusions on the findings of the thesis, their policy implications, suggested open university models for Nigeria and fruitful areas for further research.

This study is concerned with the issue of using the microcomputer in teaching Arabic Grammar (verbal sentences) in the intermediate schools of the State of Kuwait. It lays down some of the essential foundation work necessary for bringing about systematic and constructive improvements in the teaching of Arabic Grammar by computers. However, our main concern in this study is, as we have said, with the teaching of one of the aspects of Arabic Grammar, in the above situation. Although the use of computers for this purpose has only just begun, the perspective of our approach will hopefully to some extent, encourage their wider use. The present study is divided into five chapters. Chapter one offers a general introduction to the main subject. The hypotheses made in this chapter constitute the general framework for the following chapters. The teaching of Western languages by computer as opposed to the non-availability of such methods in the Arab world, is discussed in chapter two. Chapter three provides a background on which the practical side of our study is based. The sources and methodology of our experimental work in this thesis are also treated in this chapter. vii Chapter four is concerned with the results of this experiment and the measurement of pupils' achievements in Arabic Grammar during the experiment. A comparison between the traditional method and that of the computer is established by means of analysing the data concerned. The last chapter concludes with suggestions for further specific research needed in this field.

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Cette thèse contribue au domaine de la modélisation numérique de l’influence de l’hétérogénéité sur le comportement hydro-thermique d’un barrage en remblai. Les conductivités hydrauliques à saturation des couches du noyau de barrage sont estimées par la méthode géostatistique en considérant la continuité spatiale de la teneur en particules fines, la teneur en eau et la densité sèche. Les valeurs plus faibles de conductivités hydrauliques dans la partie aval du noyau sont fournies à partir de la modélisation numérique de la dissolution, de transport, de l’exsolution, et de la diffusion du gaz à la frontière amont du noyau. Les conductivités hydrauliques à saturation prédites ainsi que les valeurs les plus faibles de conductivités hydrauliques non saturées dans la partie aval sont utilisées comme paramètres d’entrée dans la simulation numérique de l’influence de l’hétérogénéité. Cinq études paramétriques ont été effectuées avec la présence d’une ou plusieurs couches dans le noyau, incluant des valeurs variables de conductivité hydraulique, afin d’étudier l’influence de la variabilité de la conductivité hydraulique ainsi que de l’emplacement et l’épaisseur de couches perméables face à la réponse thermique. Le modèle numérique permet également de simuler la réponse thermique mensuelle du noyau, ce qui révèle l’existence d’une autre zone plus perméable dans la partie inférieure du noyau. / This thesis contributes to the field of numerical modeling of the influence of heterogeneity on the hydro-thermal behavior of an embankment dam. The layering saturated hydraulic conductivities are estimated by the geostatistical method with the consideration of spatial continuities of fines content, water content and dry density. The lower values of hydraulic conductivities in the downstream portion of the core are provided from the numerical study on the dissolution, transportation, exsolution and diffusion of the gas at the upstream boundary. The predicted saturated hydraulic conductivities as well as the lower value of unsaturated hydraulic conductivities in the downstream portion are used as input parameters in the numerical simulation of heterogeneous influence. Five parametric studies performed with presence of one or more layers within the core with increased values of hydraulic conductivity are simulated in numerical models to investigate the influence from variable values of hydraulic conductivities as well as the changing locations and thickness of pervious layers on the thermal response. The numerical model also simulates the monthly thermal response of the core, which reveals the existence of another more pervious zone in the lower portion of the core.