Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1983. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 169-178).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1989. / Also available in print.

Inaug.-diss.--Batavia.

Thesis (M.Phil.)--Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 49-50). Also available in electronic version.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, 1905. / Reprinted from the Journal of political economy, June and July, 1906. Includes bibliographical references.

The work reported in this thesis involved the exploration of 12 year old children's conceptions of inheritance. Results derived from interviews and from videotaped recordings of small group discussions, indicate that children's conceptions of inheritance are well developed before they are formally taught these notions in school. A series of open-ended problem solving tasks were designed to elicit student's conceptions and to facilitate group discussion. Results suggest that children's conceptions of inherited characteristics are heterogeneous and 'organized' in a highly flexible way. A research model, based on the notion of conceptual ecosystems, was developed to provide a framework for data analysis. Features of conceptual ecosystems are described. It is suggested that such systems are characterised by their 'openness', adaptiveness and resilience. Results suggest that the heterogeneity, flexibility and fluctuating character of such ecosystems confer on conceptions the ability both to transform well and to resist change well. The study describes how these characteristics of resilience and adaptiveness are displayed in the cognitive and social interactions of individual students. A theory of conceptual change is advanced which considers learning as a series of continuous qualitative changes made by the learner to existing personal conceptions. The significance of these 'metatransitions' is discussed in the light of existing teaching and learning strategies. It is suggested that conceptual change can be facilitated by helping students to make their existing conceptions explicit, co-active and interactive within conceptual ecosystems. The social and cognitive consequences of conceptual conflict, disagreement and consensus are described. It is proposed that an ecosystemic view of children's conceptions may help explain and overcome the difficulties experienced by students when they try to reconcile scientific concepts with their existing conceptions.

The aim of this study is to close the gap between the theory of market orientation and the practice of implementation by determining the critical success factors of one company’s approach, namely De Beers’ ‘Supplier of Choice’, for use by other corporates in similar contexts.The research was undertaken as a single, explanatory case study to gain an understanding of the specifics of De Beers’ approach to market orientation, and was a longitudinal study over a 10 year period. It was completed in two stages, with phase one being qualitative, and comprising documentary research. This was supplemented by a second qualitative phase of three personal, in-depth, and semistructured interviews. Several different sources of data were used to triangulate corroboration of the findings. Implementation occurred in steps which concentrated on communicating top managements’ vision throughout the organisation using internal publicity and operationalising the objectives, improving the interdepartmental effectiveness of key divisions, and finally by redesigning the performance management system using market-based rewards. The theoretical elements of Kohli and Jaworski’s (1990) model are applicable to defining the practice of implementing this type of strategy. Two discrepancies exist between theory and practice. Firstly, that communication of the vision can be on a ‘need to know basis’, and secondly, across the board market-based reward systems are not critical to managing performance during implementation. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

No description available.

With the emergence of peer-to-peer video-on-demand systems, new avenues for keeping track of and subsequently meeting user needs and desires have arisen. Based on the idea of contextual priming, we introduce a new frame-work, SUE, that takes advantage of the intimate level of user profiling afforded by the internet as well as the linear and segmented nature of p2p technology to determine a user's exact on-screen experience at any given time interval. This allows us to more accurately determine the type of information a user is likely to be more receptive to. Our design differs from other existing systems in two ways: (a) the level of granularity it can support, accommodating factors from both the user's on-screen and physical environment in making its recommendations and (b) in addressing some of the shortcomings seen in current applications, such as those imposed by coarse user profiling and faulty associations. In order to examine the viability of our framework, we provide a high level design specifying its incorporation into an existing p2p video system, the BitVampire project. / Science, Faculty of / Computer Science, Department of / Graduate

This dissertation consists of three essays focussing on various theoretical extensions and empirical implementations of a model characterizing the dynamic input demand behavior of the firm. The analysis is based on recent developments on optimal investment decisions over time subject to increasing marginal costs of adjustment. Theoretical extensions to the model include the incorporation of (i) monopoly behavior based on profit maximization with both internal and external costs of adjustment on gross investment (Essay 1) and (ii) non-static output and price expectations (Essay 2). Both theoretical models are empirically implemented using annual U.S. manufacturing data, 1948-77. Results from the various specifications can therefore be analyzed and contrasted. Essay 3 consists of an application of the alternative models to measures of capacity utilization specified in terms of the explicit dynamic optimization model of the firm's behavior. Various derivations and interpretations of these measures for alternative theoretical specifications are developed and compared, both analytically and empirically. The three essays are linked by a common structural model which provides a basis for incorporation of different behavioral assumptions, and for examination and comparison of the various models in terms of demand elasticities, cyclical indicators such as multifactor productivity and Tobin's "q", and capacity utilization. / Arts, Faculty of / Vancouver School of Economics / Graduate