This study examines the introduction of a new communications key skills course in Chinese vocational education colleges, using a student-centred learning approach. This was established in response to the changing demands of employers in China’s new environment of economic growth and competition. The research explores teachers’ and students’ understanding of key skills and their attitudes to student centred learning, an approach very different to China’s traditional didactic methods. The effects of the new course are examined and barriers to effective implementation are analysed. The research was based on five higher education institutions. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used. Three questionnaires were employed, and three of the institutions were singled out for more detailed qualitative analysis. Through a series of case studies, focus groups, interviews and class observations data was gathered to reveal underlying attitudes towards the experiences of the new course. Both teachers and students welcomed the new approach. It was found to facilitate the development of complex communication ‘key skills’, as students were actively involved, working in groups and learning from each other. The role of the teacher changed significantly, from ‘provider of information’ to facilitator of learning. Designing activities and resources to motivate students and meet their learning needs was a new experience for Chinese teachers, as curriculum development and course textbooks had always been provided centrally. Teachers encountered a number of barriers to successful course implementation; these included difficulties in adjusting to the new methods; lack of suitable resources; poor staff development and lack of support from college management. However, both teachers and students noted an increase in students’ confidence and self-awareness resulting from the new course. Students particularly appreciated the benefits that this might bring in terms of their employability as well as their social capabilities. Recommendations are made for the further development of a student-centred learning model for communication course in Chinese vocational colleges.

A series of small- to moderate-sized earthquakes occurred in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas from 2010 to 2012, coinciding with the arrival of the EarthScope Transportable Array (TA). The data the TA recorded from those earthquakes provide a unique opportunity to study attenuation of the Lg phase in the mid-continent and Gulf Coastal region. The TA data reveal previously unrecognized regional variability of ground motion propagation in the central United States. A study of the Fourier amplitude spectra shows the Lg phase exhibiting strong attenuation for ray paths from Arkansas, southwest through the Ouachita Orogenic Belt and into central Texas, and south into the Gulf Coastal region. Less attenuation is seen in central Texas for ray paths extending directly south from Oklahoma, though attenuation remains strong along the Gulf Coast. In contrast, ray paths to the north, regardless of source location, exhibit very little attenuation, especially in northern Missouri and southern Iowa. Regression models that incorporate near-receiver (distance-independent) attenuation due to thick sediments in the Gulf Coastal Plain successfully reduce path-related bias in the regression residuals for stations near the Gulf Coast. Dividing the central United States into three regions (the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Great Plains and the Midwest) further reduced bias, and allowed for the development of Q models in the Gulf Coastal Plain and the Great Plains. In the Gulf Coastal Plain, the Q model for that part of the ray path through the basement, from the earthquake to the base of the sediment deposits below the receiver, was found to be Q=(295±11)*f^(0.645±0.029). The model for attenuation in the sediment section near the receiver in the Gulf Coastal Plain is Q=(72±6.7)*f^(0.32±0.06) (velocity through the sediments is unconfirmed but thought to be approximately 1 km/s). The Q model for the Great Plains is  Q=(692±61.3)*f^(0.43±0.07). The Midwest region exhibited extremely complicated behavior: the data indicate little or no attenuation of amplitudes in the frequency band from approximately 0.7 to 2.0 Hz. As a consequence, Q in the Midwest region in that frequency range could not be realistically determined. / Master of Science

Institutional factors affecting implementation of policies are a reflection of the larger political context and setting of money in education. This has an impact on implementing accommodations for English Language Learners in standardized testing under No Child Left Behind. To see if this is true, four states: Indiana, New York, Tennessee and Wisconsin were chosen as examples of state policy adoption and their test contracts were collected from a test company. State accommodations for ELL in testing policy and state costs for standardized tests were analyzed in a comparative review. The diversity of methods in accommodation and lack of correlation between state standardized test costs to product illustrates institutional factors affecting NCLB implementation. Therefore it becomes essential for professional development to support states in implementing NCLB within an institutional context. Addressing these factors will lead to greater educational progress in U.S. federal policies.

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Don Bosco Technical School in Phnom Penh is a typical example of a long-running non-profit institution in Cambodia. In this part of the world it is plainly called an NGO – a non-governmental organization. It provides vocational skills training education to some four hundred out-of-school youth every year. And yet it does not charge for tuition; nay more it even provides free lunch at noon. So how does Don Bosco Technical School survive this monetary based and profit oriented society? What are its sustainability secrets?This capstone project strives to look at the institution from a business perspective with organizational behavior, strategic planning, and human resource management as criteria.To achieve this, the process will include: •A critical evaluation of its organic strategic plan through a thorough analysis of its strategic documents like: logical framework, organizational charts, and programming sheets.•A structured interview of key employees gauging factors such as: their job satisfaction, job fit, and job identification with organizational values. •An in-depth analysis of its human resource management through observation of operations and investigation of corresponding documents like: salary scales, contracts, policies and procedures.The results of the study show that Don Bosco’s main strength lies in the staff’s strong commitment to the mission of the organization thereby providing the motivation to continue the work in spite of financial odds. On the other hand it has room for improvement in terms of organizing a more formal human resource management system due to its institutionalizing trend and for sustained sustainability of its work.

The work is focused on the design of optical network of technologies WDM-PON. The work describes passive technologies like APON, GPON, EPON etc. Theoretical part is focused on elements used in WDM-PON networks like transmitters, receivers. Distributional part is focused on optical fibers. The work also describes the quality of service QoS and Triple play. Practical part is focused on attenuation balance, choice of locality and description of individual parts of optical network. It is further described the technology of microtubing and financial analysis. In end of the work there is a simulation of optical network for 96 clients in the distance of 1 60 km described.

Feste wie das kultische Opferfest wurden häufig im antiken Griechenland veranstaltet: sie trugen als Rituale grundlegend zur Organisation und Konstruktion der sozialen Gemeinschaft bei. Trotz dieser immensen Bedeutung des Festgeschehens gibt es noch immer Lücken in der altertumswissenschaftlichen Forschung, besonders vom musiksoziologischen Ansatz. Die Betrachtung der musikalischen Elemente im griechischen Kult wie Instrumentalspiel, Gesang einzelner und in Chören, wie auch der Tanz soll einen interdisziplinären Beitrag dazu liefern, die soziale Organisation der antiken griechischen Gesellschaft aus dem Blickwinkel der Musikarchäologie und -soziologie zu verstehen. Die Musik in antiken griechischen Opferritualen ist ein wesentlicher Bestandteil dieses kultischen Ereignisses. Eigens dazu ausgebildete Musiker aber auch Laien musizierten zu den unterschiedlichen Phasen des Ritualkomplexes: während der Prozession, vor und nach der Opferung der Tiere oder der Darbringung anderer Gaben am Altar und zum festlichen Mahl. Diese Arbeit betrachtet die musikalische Begleitung speziell in den kultischen Prozessionen, untersucht mögliche Funktionen und Anwendungen der Musik, betrachtet den sozialen Status der Musiker und zeigt Zusammenhänge zwischen Musik und Kulthandlung. Dabei werden Vasenbilder vom 8. bis zum 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr. analysiert und verglichen mit Aussagen antiker Texte zu Prozessionsmusik und Musikern. / Festivals, such as the cultic sacrifice feast, were often conducted in ancient Greece. These rituals contributed fundamentally to the organization and construction of Greek society. In spite of the important meaning of cultic festivals there are still gaps in classical and ancient knowlege on the subject, notably the music sociological aspects. The treatment of musical elements in Greek cult, such as instrumental playing, soloistic or choir singing, and even dancing will add an interdisciplinary component from the music archaeological and music sociological point of view. This will better inform us of the social organization of Greek communities. Music was an essential element of Greek sacrifice rituals. Both professional educated musicians and amateurs made music during the different parts of the ritual complex: during the procession, before and after the sacrifice ritual—which could constitute the slaughtering of animals or the offering of gifts--and during the festive meal. My thesis analyses the musical role in the ritual, especially in cultic processions. It explores possible functions and applications of music, examines the social status of the musicians, and reveals relations between music and the ritual act. My sources primarily comprise vase depictions from the 8th to the 5th century B.C., which are analysed and compared to the written texts on processional music and musicians.

This mixed methodology research project comprised four studies that explored relationships between working memory and literacy, as well as the potential influence of home literacy, in L1 Arabic and L2 English children in grade six (aged 11) of mainstream Kuwaiti schools (N = 44 to 99). Quantitative studies 1 to 3 investigated these potential relationships using measures of working memory, literacy, phonological skills and vocabulary. Study 3 also contrasted vowelized and non-vowelized Arabic. Study 4 combined findings from approximately 70 completed parental questionnaires about home literacy background with qualitative data from four parental interviews, and compared these data with their children’s scores on working memory, literacy and vocabulary. Findings from studies 1 to 3 suggested that L1 and L2 literacy development can be predicted by working memory after controlling for word reading and vocabulary; and, in the case of Arabic, both vowelized and non-vowelized text showed relationships with working memory. Additionally, Arabic listening span and Arabic backward digit span were predictors of comprehension in L2 English, whereas only listening span predicted comprehension in L1 Arabic. Data indicated that the association between L1 working memory and L2 comprehension was dependent upon L2 language competence. Findings from study 4 also argue for influences on literacy and language skills of the child’s background, including cultural activities associated with upbringing and parental attitudes towards learning and literacy. Overall, similar predictors emerged for English and Arabic literacy skills arguing for these orthographies to rely on common processes. However, there is a need for further development of working memory measures for Arabic contexts to ensure that these measures assess skills appropriately, and for a consideration of parental influences on learning. Educators should consider both cognitive and sociocultural factors as foundations for teaching literacy, and support the establishment of communication routes between parents and schools.

This research study draws on the experience of twenty newly appointed head teachers, those in year one and two of their headship role in secondary schools in Tanzania. The study gathered the head teachers’ experience, perceptions, and suggestions about their own continuing professional development and that of others in schools. It strived to understand how and when these new heads of schools are trained, and whether they receive sufficient training before taking on a headship role. It further sought to understand the significance of mandatory leadership qualifications in enhancing the head teachers’ knowledge, skills and abilities to lead schools. In particular, it argues that despite the rhetoric on better education management at district, regional and ministry level at present, there is still a widespread need for education leaders, researchers and all other education providers to emphasise the importance of school leadership development programs for school leaders. The research findings indicate that head teachers can gain the required knowledge and skills to lead their schools through short and long term leadership training programs and also through accession to headship in schools. Consequently, the majority participants commented on mentoring and coaching, as significant programs in head teacher development. Moreover, the study recommends that there is a need for the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training to increase budgets for school leadership development programs and to ensure that clear policies and directives shape leadership development in schools, and those directives demarcate how formal training for newly appointed head teachers can be achieved.

This qualitative, multiple methods case study concerns the effectiveness of Revitalising Education Participation and Learning in Conflict affected Areas-Peace Education Programme (REPLICA-PEP). There is currently limited evidence regarding the effectiveness of peace education programmes in the context of post-conflict formal schooling. This study therefore set out to explore the effectiveness of REPLICA-PEP and to gain insight into the reality of the current practice of peace education in schools in a post-conflict context in Northern Uganda. The school is one of the places where children learn values, attitudes and behaviour, schooling is often criticised for using symbolic violence to maintain and reinforce different forms of violence including physical violence. This study explores theoretical and practical aspects of peace education and key issues relevant to the effectiveness of peace education programmes, including the role and influence of formal schooling in a post-conflict context. A combination of qualitative methods (interviews, observation and documentary analysis) were employed to examine REPLICA-PEP effectiveness and its impact on pupils’ knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviour. The results show that, although some traces of impact were found in pupils’ awareness of: the dangers of using violence; non-violent conflict resolution alternatives; and attitude change to non-violent conflict resolution, pupils did not develop empathy, self-control, competences and skills for non-violent conflict resolution. Interrogation of qualitative data about the REPLICA-PEP implementation process and activities in the schools have led to the generation of theoretically-informed and empirically-grounded recommendations which integrate and accommodate the nature of formal schooling in a post-conflict context and programme design features for improving the effectiveness of peace education programmes. It has also laid the ground for future research on what is possible in terms of strategies to facilitate and promote pupil peace building activities in post-conflict formal schooling contexts such as peace-related pupil voice, documentation and action.