Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 282-292). / Microfiche. / ix, 292 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Research paper (M.A.) -- Cardinal Stritch College -- Milwaukee, 1969. / A research paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Education (Special Education). Includes bibliographical references (p. 28-30).

Thesis (M. A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2005. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

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This study is a description of the language experiences of English Second Language students in their first year at Rhodes University. It took place in the context of the changes that are currently occurring in higher education in South Africa in terms of student populations. More and more students are entering tertiary education institutions, including HWESUs, such as Rhodes University, who are considered non-traditional. These students typically have English as their second, or additional, language, and have not been adequately prepared for university study by their secondary education. This study describes the experiences of three such students in their first year at Rhodes University. Entry into a university is seen not just as acquiring knowledge, but as entering, or attempting to enter, a new culture. It is recognised that all students enter universities with other cultures or literacies already in place. In the case of non-traditional students tbese other literacies are usually at some distance from those of the university. The work of James Gee (1990) is particularly useful in understanding this process of adjusting to the demands of university study and the effect that previous experiences have on this process. This study is an attempt to discover and describe the literacies that these three students brought with them to university and the effect these literacies had on their attempts to enter academic discourse communities of the university. An ethnographic research method was adopted in order to do this. The study is also an attempt to evaluate, from the perspective of the three students, the appropriacy of the various changes that Rhodes University has made since the numbers of non-traditional students has started to increase.

Die doel van die navorsing was om die doeltreffendheid van 'n opleidingskursus in kreatiewe vaardighede te evalueer. Die navorsingsprosedure is volgens die Solomonviergroepontwerp beplan, maar kon nie deurgevoer word nie weens 'n tekort aan proefpersone. Die navorsingsontwerp het bestaan uit 'n eksperimentele groep wat die opleidingskursus deurloop en 'n voor- en natoets afgete het, 'n kontrolegroep wat die opleidingskursus deurloop en 'n natoets afgete het, en 'n tweede kontrolegroep wat slegs getoets is. Die nieverbale toets van die Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking is gebruik om die uitwerking van die opleiding te bepaal. Die interbeoordelaarsbetroubaarheid van die meetinstrument is bewys. Die resultate dui aan dat die doeltreffendheid van die opleidingskursus nie deur die geslag of kwalifikasies van die proefpersone beinvloed is nie. Verder is bevind dat proefpersone wat voor opleiding lae tellings vir kreatiwiteit behaal het, meer gebaat het by kreatiwiteitsopleiding as persone wat hoe tellings behaal het. Die navorsingshipotese, naamlik dat die oplei~ingskursus sal lei tot 'n verbetering in die kreatiewe vaardighede van die proefpersone, is bevestig / The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a training course in creative abilities. The research was structured according to the Solomon four-group design. It failed, because the sample size was inadequate. The research design consisted of an experimental group that had completed the training course and was pretested and posttested, a control group that had completed a course and was posttested, and another control group that was tested once. The nonverbal test of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking was used to determine the training results. The inter-rater reliability of the test was confirmed. The results of this study suggested that the sex and qualifications of the subjects were nonsignificant. However, subjects who rated poorly before training benefited most by training. The research hypothesis which stated that training in creative ability will lead to improvement of creative ability, was confirmed / Psychology / M.A. (Sielkunde)

This thesis investigates the construct of productive vocabulary knowledge with a productive vocabulary task, Lex30. The task is designed to elicit up to four vocabulary items in response to each of 30 cues. In this way, Lex30 generates a corpus for each subject up to 120 words, which is then categorised according to frequency bands. The test is scored according to the number, or proportion, of infrequent words elicited, with infrequent defined as all items excluding the most frequently occurring 1000 English words. The higher the Lex30 score, then, the more infrequent words that subject has produced in response to the cues. Each corpus generated by Lex30, therefore, offers information about subjects' relative knowledge of infrequent items, although this might only be threshold knowledge. A feature of Lex30 is that it appears to measure productive vocabulary knowledge discretely: it does not activate multiple aspects of language knowledge, and is not context engaging. This feature suggests that we can measure one of the many aspects that are commonly considered to constitute language knowledge, productive vocabulary knowledge, without interference from other aspects of language knowledge. Additionally, Lex30 offers the potential to hypothesize about subjects' relative L2 proficiency in terms of the proportion of infrequent items they provide. To investigate the construct of productive vocabulary with Lex30, this thesis examines, in a principled way, exactly what aspect of language competence it measures, and makes comparisons with other cognate tests. The test has been used in a number of contexts since its introduction; this thesis offers a thorough investigation of its reliability, different versions of the scoring system, the influence cue frequency and of specific cue items, and the mode of task delivery and response. The thesis concludes that Lex30 provides us with a helpful means to understand the construct of productive vocabulary knowledge.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of visual skills training on the visual ability of elite rugby players. This study utilized a quantitative approach; and it employed a true experimental study design, in particular a pre-test-post-test randomized-group design. A total number of 26 participants (that met the specified criteria) were selected from the Eastern Province Rugby Academy squad. Those that met the criteria were then divided randomly into two groups (13 per group), which comprised the experimental and control groups, respectively. The control and experimental groups were tested on six visual skills, namely: accommodation, saccadic eye movements, speed of recognition, hand-eye co-ordination, visual memory and peripheral awareness. An optometric assessment was also conducted as a pre-test to ensure that the participant had “normal vision”, followed by a six week intervention (visual skills-training). The sessions were performed for thirty minutes three times per week for six weeks, followed by a post-test. Descriptive statistics were employed, both numerically, such as the mean standard deviation, and graphically by means of histograms. Inferential statistics were also used in the form of t-tests and Cohen’s d calculations to determine the statistical and practical significance of the mean score differences between the experimental and control groups. The pre- to post-test results indicated both statistical and practical significant differences in each of the visual skills tested among the experimental group; accommodation (hart near far rock test, p<.0005, d=2.34), saccadic eye movements (saccadic eye movement test, p<.0005, d=2.08), hand-eye coordination and peripheral awareness (accumulator test, p<.0005, d=2.20), speed of recognition (evasion test, p<.0005, d=1.14) and visual memory (flash program test, p<.0005, d=1.20). However, there were no statistically significant differences (p>.05) found when comparing the pre- and post-tests for the control group. It was concluded that the visual skills training program used had a significant positive impact on the visual performance of the Eastern Province rugby academy players.

Magister Curationis - MCur / The purpose of this study was to describe the extent to which the B.Cur. programme at the University of the Western Cape prepared graduating learners for professional competence. The results of the study indicated progression in competence did not occur as students progressed through higher levels of their training, except the third year of study. / South Africa

This thesis analyses the way in which placement testing is being interpreted in Adult Basic Education and Training (ABET). The thesis examines whether the placement tests used in the case study were valid in terms of whether their contents were relevant and authentic with regard to what English second language speakers could reasonably be expected to know. Adult learners have differing English second language knowledge depending on the different contexts in which they have learned their second language. This thesis investigates the implications of the different contexts and different language needs of adult learners for the testing of English as a second language for placement purposes in ABET programmes. The thesis examined two placement tests to determine how the recognition of prior second language learning was being interpreted and how the interpretation affected the validity of the tests. Learners= perceptions of the assessment process and test content were elicited in order to determine whether a policy of transparency had been followed in the implementation of the assessment. It was also established what the goals of the organisation were in implementing an ABET programme. This research suggests that placement testing should be viewed holistically; in other words, the goals of the organisation and the level of transparency affect the validity of the placement test. The conclusions were that the placement tests were inauthentic since their contents excluded certain vital aspects of real life performance, namely, that related to the work context. The research revealed that if the placement testing process and the ABET programme are integrated into the culture of the organisation and if employees are remunerated when they have passed the different levels in the programme, the programme is likely to achieve a fair measure of success. Recommendations are that literacy should be viewed as based on a variety of contexts and uses and that therefore tests should be tailored to suit each particular organisation and should contain workrelated content. Furthermore, multiple methods of assessment should be considered.