This study compares the teaching practices of English academic writing teachers from China and the US. Research methods as questionnaire and interview were used to collect teacher's teaching practices, ways of constructing feedback, teaching philosophy and improvements in teaching. Participants of the current study were two teachers from two universities of China and three ESL academic writing teachers from a university in the US. The collected data were compared base on two themes: one was produce and process approaches; the other one was teacher's status in classroom and teaching. Based on the findings, American teachers' approaches were primarily process-based, and they also used studentcentered way of teaching, which puts students' needs and feelings on a considerable place. Chinese teachers' approaches were gradually changing to process-based, however, they were the authority in both teaching and providing feedback. The reason for Chinese teachers' ways of teaching can be attributed to the deep-rooted influence of the traditional teaching method, which sees teacher as the superior mentor. Also, it is necessary to introduce the process approach into Chinese universities to teach English academic writing and put it into practice

Accounting information for decision making needs to be reliable, unless the information is audited, it cannot be regarded as reliable. Therefore, although extensive research in the area of accounting in general, and auditing in particular, has been conducted in the developed countries, similar investigations within developing countries have so far been relatively limited. Moreover, global financial crises, the most recent in 2007/8, have increased the pressures for better regulations with the aim of harmonising the auditing profession globally. This study therefore aims to help fill the gap in research and to provide recommendations to the governing body of the Libyan auditing profession, in order to address the difficulties faced by the profession, and advance and improve the quality of professional auditing practice. This study is predominantly positivist in essence, but, based on the nature of the problem and research questions, a mixed methods approach to gathering data from stakeholders in the auditing profession is adopted. A questionnaire (196 respondents), and a set of semi-structured interviews (nine participants), represent the quantitative and qualitative instruments of the study respectively. The research sample for both empirical exercises is comprised of individuals from five different groups representing the Libyan auditing profession stakeholders. This wide spread of participants is selected in order to generate valid, reliable, generalizable, and meaningful data, and conclusions. The overall conclusion drawn from the analysis is that the Libyan audit profession regulations are considered inadequate by the profession itself, since they fall short of meeting international standards, as supported by the fact that many foreign companies invest in Libya, and they insist on their auditing using ISAs as a guarantee of transparent and high quality auditing. The Libyan audit profession is unwilling to implement these international standards, and this weakness needs to be addressed. Furthermore, issues relating to licensing, accounting and auditing education, examination for entry to the profession, and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) must all be reviewed. In addition, a new regulatory framework, that involves government supervision, and the use of internationally-recognised standards in the performance of auditing duties, must be introduced. In terms of the most appropriate regulatory approach, the results indicated that the independent regulator model is preferred; and with respect to auditing standards, the study finds that the preferred approach is to harmonise all auditing standards used in Libya, and to adopt the ISAs with certain modifications that suit the Libyan context. Furthermore, the study sample identified six factors that impact positively on the adoption of the ISAs, and a further six factors that had negative influences. This research contributes to the body of literature by filling the gap regarding the Libyan auditing profession in general, and identifying factors that have an impact on the adoption of ISAs in particular. Recommendations are provided to the authority responsible for supervising the Libyan auditing profession that essentially require the upgrading of all professionals, and perseverance to ensure national and international development of the profession in particular, and to other countries with similar characteristics in general.

Orientador: Marisa Trench de Oliveira Fonterrada / Resumo: Nesta pesquisa pretendeu-se discutir como estão ocorrendo os processos de ensino/aprendizagem no contexto da música contemporânea. Pela hipótese de que haja uma lacuna existente entre a produção musical contemporânea e o conhecimento que o público estudantil recebe dela, principalmente nas instituições de ensino básico, observou-se que a educação musical ocorre em sua maioria privilegiando o repertório tonal. O objetivo deste estudo foi aproximar a prática educacional dos sujeitos da pesquisa a um repertório contemporâneo que contemplasse novas possibilidades de ouvir e fazer música. Para que isso ocorresse buscou-se conhecer com maior profundidade a proposta educacional adotada pelos sujeitos da pesquisa e encontrar formas de ampliá-la, de modo que abrigassem em seu contexto algumas estéticas e técnicas contemporâneas. Ao trabalhar com os educadores do Projeto "Música na Escola" do Conservatório Estadual "Juscelino Kubitscheck de Oliveira", esperou-se uma mudança na postura educacional, frente ao repertório didático, que minimizasse a distância entre a música contemporânea e o ensino musical. Como fundamentação, partiu-se da idéia de que a adoção de procedimentos educacionais criativos, nas escolas, pode auxiliar professores e alunos a desenvolverem um trabalho interessante e consistente, que valorize o repertório tradicional e inclua o repertório atual. Seguiram os pressupostos educacionais de Murray Schafer, Guy Reibel, John Paynter, Boris Porena e George Self, cuja atuação se deu a partir de meados da década de 1950 e que são razoavelmente conhecidos no Brasil. [....] (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: In this research we intend to discuss how the teaching/learning processes are occurring in the contemporary music field. Through the hypothesis that there is a gap between contemporary musicproduction and its knowledge among students, specially in elementary schools, we observed that musical teaching occurs with a focus on the tonal repertoire. The aim of this study was to approximate the educational practice of the individuals involved in the research to a contemporary repertoire which could incorporate new ways to listen to and to make music. To make this happen we tried to deeply understand the educational proposal used by the individuals analyzed in this research and find ways to expand it, so that we could cover in this context some contemporary aesthetics and techniques. When we worked with the teachers from the Project "Music in the School" of the Conservatório Estadual "Juscelino Kubitscheck de Oliveira", we expected a change in the educational approach, considering the didactic repertoire, that would minimize the distance between contemporary music and musical teaching. As a fundament to our research, we started with the idea that the use of creative educational proceedings in the schools could help teachers and students to develop an interesting and consistent work, which could appraise the traditional repertoire and comprehend the contemporary repertoire. We followed the educational propositions formed by Murray Schafer, Guy Reibel, John Paynter, Boris Porena and George Self, whose work started in the 50s and are reasonably known in Brazil. This research was conducted through the qualitative approach, and we opted to use the interventionist methodology with the observation of the people who took part on it. [...] (Complete abstract, access undermentioned eletronic adress) / Mestre

Context. Continuous delivery deals with concept of deploying the user stories as soon as they are finished rather than waiting for the sprint to end. This concept increases the chances of early improvement to the software and provides the customer with a clear view of the final product that is expected from the software organization, but little research has been done on the quality of product developed and the ways to measure it. This research is conducted in the context of presenting a checklist of quality metrics that can be used by the practitioners to ensure good quality product delivery. Objectives. In this study, the authors strive towards the accomplishment of the following objectives: the first objective is to identify the quality metrics being used in agile approaches and continuous delivery by the organizations. The second objective is to evaluate the usefulness of the identified metrics, limitations of the metrics and identify new metrics. The final objective is to is to present and evaluate a solution i.e., checklist of metrics that can be used by practitioners to ensure quality of product developed using continuous delivery. Methods. To accomplish the objectives, the authors used mixture of approaches. First literature review was performed to identify the quality metrics being used in continuous delivery. Based on the data obtained from the literature review, the authors performed an online survey using a questionnaire posted over an online questionnaire hosting website. The online questionnaire was intended to find the usefulness of identified metrics, limitations of using metrics and also to identify new metrics based on the responses obtained for the online questionnaire. The authors conducted interviews and the interviews comprised of few close-ended questions and few open-ended questions which helped the authors to validate the usage of the metrics checklist. Results. Based on the LR performed at the start of the study, the authors obtained data regarding the background of continuous delivery, research performed over continuous delivery by various practitioners as well as a list of quality metrics used in continuous delivery. Later, the authors conducted an online survey using questionnaire that resulted in ranking the usefulness of quality metrics and identification of new metrics used in continuous delivery. Based on the data obtained from the online questionnaire, a checklist of quality metrics involved in continuous delivery was generated. Conclusions. Based on the interviews conducted to validate the checklist of metrics (generated as a result of the online questionnaire), the authors conclude that the checklist of metrics is fit for use in industry, but with some necessary changes made to the checklist based on the project requirements. The checklist will act as a reminder to the practitioners regarding the quality aspects that need to be measured during product development and maybe as a starting point while planning metrics that need to be measured during the project.

Paper One: An opportunity sample from three primary schools participated, split between two age categories with 37 children from year groups three and four (mean age of 8 years) and 48 from year groups five and six (mean age of 9 years 11 months). Children’s perspectives of self-talk were explored through focus groups that were transcribed and then studied through thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Additional quantitative data was generated from the children’s self-reported experiences of self-talk, which they also rated along constructs relating to positivity. A sample of the children’s self-talk statements that were judged to be self-evaluative, were additionally rated by an opportunity sample of four adult participants to allow a comparison between adult and child perspectives. In line with previous research, themes arose concerning children’s perspectives of the role of self-talk in enabling them to negotiate cognitive and social situations. New themes arose including the children’s concerns about the privacy of their thoughts and the prominence of self-evaluative forms of self-talk. More similarities than differences were found between the two age ranges and there was considerable overlap between adult and child ratings of the evaluative self-talk statements. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed, including links to Paper Two of this study. Paper Two: This is a feasibility study. An opportunity sample of 79 children, aged between seven and eleven years old (mean age of 9 years 7 months), took part in a series of six group intervention sessions run by the researcher. These aimed to encourage self-talk that is self-compassionate, using elements of compassion focused approaches (Gilbert, 2009). A mixed methods design led to analysis of qualitative data from post-intervention group interviews using thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006). Quantitative data comprised the children’s pre-intervention and post-intervention responses to three questionnaires seeking to explore wellbeing, behaviour and self-compassion. Several key themes were identified, including the children’s ability to engage with the concepts of self-talk, self-kindness and the three system model of emotions (Gilbert, 2009). The concept of self-compassion itself was found to have some aspects that were harder for the children to comprehend. There were no significant differences between the children’s responses on the pre-intervention and post-intervention questionnaires, however, there were interesting qualitative responses concerning the use of these. The implications of these findings will be discussed with consideration to current educational psychologist practice and the need for future research.

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / Metagenomic sequencing of environmental samples provide direct access to genomic information of organisms within the respective environments. This sequence information represents a significant resource for the identification and subsequent characterization of potentially novel genes, or known genes with acquired novel characteristics. Within this context, the thermophilic environments are of particular interest due to its potential for deriving novel thermostable enzymes with biotechnological and industrial applications. In this work metagenomic library construction, random sequencing and sequence analysis strategies were employed to enhance identification and characterisation of potentially novel genes, from a thermophilic soil sample. High molecular weight metagenomic DNA was extracted from two Chinese hydrothermal soil samples. This was used as source material for the construction of four genomic DNA libraries. The combined libraries were estimated to contain in the order of 1.3 million genes, which provides a rich resource for gene identification. Approximately 70 kbp of sequence data was generated from one of the libraries as a resource for sequence-based analysis. Initial BLAST analysis predicted the presence of 53 ORFs/partial ORFs. The BLAST similarity scores for the investigated ORFs were sufficiently high (>40%) to infer homology with database proteins while also being indicative of novel sequence variants of these database matches. In an attempt to enhance the potential for deriving more full length ORFs a novel strategy, based on WGA technology, was employed. This resulted in the recovery of the near complete sequence of partial ORF5, directly from the WGA DNA of the environmental sample. While the full length ORF5 could not be recovered, the feasibility of this novel approach, for enhanced metagenomic sequence recovery was proved in principle. The implementation of multiple insilico strategies resulted in the identification of two ORFs, classified as homologs of the DUF29 and Usp protein families respectively. The functional inference obtained from the integrated in-silico predictions was furthermore highly suggestive of a putative nucleotide binding/interaction role for both ORFs. A putative novel DNA polymerase gene (denoted TC11pol) was identified from the sequence data. Expression and characterization of the full length TC11pol did however not result in detectable polymerase activity. The implementation of a homology modeling approach proved succesfull for deriving a structural model of the polymerase that was used for: (i) deriving functional inferences of the potential activities of the polymerase and (ii) deriving a 5’ exonuclease deletion mutant for functional analysis. Expression and subsequent functional characterization of the putative 5’exo- TC11pol mutant resulted in detectable polymerase and 3’-5’ exonuclease activity at 37 and 45 oC, following a heat denaturation step at 55 oC for 1 hour. It was, therefore concluded that the putative 5’exo- TC11pol mutant was functionally equivalent to the Klenow fragment of E. coli, while exhibiting increased thermostability. / South Africa

Magister Artium - MA / The research for this thesis started off as a long academic essay that sought to review a 1970s biography of Kenneth Kaunda.1 In its original focus, the study aimed at evaluating the work on the narrations of Kenneth Kaunda’s life from a theoretical and critical perspective. Specifically it sought to evaluate the biography for its theoretical and methodological approaches, its attention to issues of sources, archives, narrative and history. In addition, it aimed at locating the biography in relation to debates over biography and history in South Africa. As I began my research for the long essay, it soon became apparent that the biography of Kenneth Kaunda ended its narration in 1964 and yet it was published ten years later in 1974. By ending its ‘coverage’ of the narrations of Kenneth Kaunda’s life in 1964, it seemed obvious that its coverage was in many ways similar to his autobiography that was published in 1962.2 The ending of the biography’s coverage in 1964 thus seemed rather abrupt as it precluded any representations of the subject in the post 1964 period in which he had become President of Zambia. Kenneth Kaunda was resident of Zambia for nearly three decades (1964-1991) having led the ‘final’ phase of the nationalist struggle for Independence through the United National Independence Party (UNIP). Surely, I surmised, the meanings of Kenneth Kaunda’s life as nationalist leader, as presented in most of his biography, would differ from those of him as President? Upon evaluating the biography, it seemed to be a largely chronological and descriptive rather analytical account of the subject’s life. However, what made it profound to me was the ways in which it entwined the narratives of Kenneth Kaunda’s life with the events, dates 1 The biography of Kenneth Kaunda by Fergus Macpherson was the subject of the long essay. See Fergus Macpherson, Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia: The Times and the Man (Lusaka: Oxford University Press, 1974). 2 Kenneth D. Kaunda, Zambia Shall Be Free: An Autobiography (London: Heinemann Educational Books td, 1962). and activities of the history of the Zambian nation. Some accounts inadvertently referred to this interconnection by referring to Kenneth Kaunda as the ‘founder of Zambia’. My exposure to various other debates around the production of history in the public domain such as through museums and national heritage sites or monuments prompted me to consider undertaking a study of the post-1964 historiography of Kenneth Kaunda. Rather than attempting to fill Kenneth Kaunda’s post-1964 historiographical gap with a chronological account of his political life, I wanted to trace the narratives of Kenneth Kaunda’s life in connection with the production of history in different domains in Zambia. This thesis thus aims at examining the political auto/biographical narrations of Kenneth Kaunda in relation to the production of nationalist history and national heritage in Zambia in the years following the country’s Independence in 1964.4 One of the key questions that this study sought to engage with was: how did the ‘representations’ of Kenneth Kaunda influence the ways in which Zambia’s post-independence nationalist history and national heritage were produced? In seeking to provide an answer to the question, the study evaluated the auto/biography of Kenneth Kaunda itself, as well as how it reflects in the history texts utilised in Zambian schools and in history in the public domain through national heritage sites or monuments and museum exhibitions. The thesis will show that in Zambia, the auto/biography of Kenneth Kaunda has acquired significance through history as school lesson and as history in the public domain, through the production of national heritage sites and museum exhibitions. / South Africa

The access to higher education has been massively expanding which has impacted on quality of education, assessment system, learning environment, teaching and learning approaches at classroom level. In encountering with the massification, Cambodian and Thai governments are struggling to provide students with excellent academic performance and employable graduates in the competitive labor market of today. English language was one of the key tools for the students to acquire knowledge and skills for the national, regional and international marketplace. This research aims to provide comparative understanding of how undergraduates learn and achieve their academic outcomes through English curriculum in the contexts of Cambodia and Thailand. The objectives of the study are to compare levels, relationships and predictability of learning approaches and learning outcomes achieved by the undergraduate students. The total samples of 186 key informants were the undergraduate students from Cambodia (n=97) and Thailand (n=89) who enrolled in year 3, 4 and fresh graduates of English major in two respective universities. The data collection method was gathered through a self-rating online survey employing RASI and CEQ questionnaires to measure the perceptions. The descriptive data, correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression were used for the comparative data analysis. The study yielded different levels of learning approaches and similar degrees of learning outcomes in the two groups. The students from Cambodia gained higher level of utilizing deep approach to learning (M=3.79) and they were found to achieve higher GPA on average (67%). The finding not only indicated similar significant relationships (p<.05) between the models in each group but also showed different levels of influences on students’ learning achievement. The strongest predictor of learning outcomes (R2=.34) was explained by deep approach to learning for Cambodian group whereas the learning outcomes for Thai group (R2=.47) were predicted by strategic and deep approaches to learning. The study also suggested that teachers and relevant educational actors encourage students to use deep and strategic approaches while demotivating surface approach to learning in order for the students to achieve better learning outcomes both qualitatively and quantitatively so that they acquire competitive qualification for their future career goals.

This thesis analyzes the development of competitiveness of the Czech Republic after its EU accession and comparison with mainly other EU members. Individual chapters include definitions of competitiveness presented by different institutions, evaluation of the position of the Czech Republic from the view of one-criteria approach and multicriteria approaches of the WEF and the IMD. The thesis tries to create a general view of the competitiveness of the Czech Republic and to evaluate advantages and disadvantages of particular assessing concepts.

This study empirically examines the dynamics and conditions of conflict managing approaches on government and business collaboration. It posits that conflict for mutual benefit critically effects government and business collaboration outcomes. This study adopts Deutsch’s (1973) theory of goal interdependence to understand when and how government officials and business managers adopt the mutually beneficial conflict approach. It proposes that cooperative goals between government officials and business managers promote the mutually beneficial conflict approach and reduce win-lose competitive conflict and avoiding conflict. A total of 101 interviews were conducted in China in 2009. Results of structural equation modeling and other analyses support several of hypotheses as well the proposed theoretical model that goal interdependence affects different conflict approaches (conflict for mutual benefit, win-lose competitive conflict and avoiding conflict) that in turn influence government and business collaboration outcomes, specifically task accomplishment, future collaboration and public interest. It identifies that conflict for mutual benefit approach taken by government officials and business managers can promote task accomplishment, future collaboration and public interest. Path estimates show that avoiding conflict can undermine task accomplishment and public interest. But results indicate that win-lose competitive conflict approach does not necessarily undermine task accomplishment, future collaboration, and the public interest as expected. Findings suggest important practical implications that government officials and business managers can improve their collaboration in China by strengthening their cooperative goals and discussing conflicts for mutual benefit. The study contributes to the conflict management literature as well as the generalization of goal interdependence theory.