published_or_final_version / Linguistics / Master / Master of Arts in Applied Linguistics

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Hong Kong Polytechnic University, 2007. / Adviser: Winnie Cheng. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center; full text release delayed at author's request until 2009 May 31

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xi, 166 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 154-160). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Mobile banking, M-banking or MB is one of the latest mobile technological booms that allow people to have access to their bank accounts and perform transactions anytime and anywhere. Mobile banking allows bank customers to perform banking services via their portable devices or smart phones, such as: general inquiries, account management, payment of bills, find ATM locations, transferring money and other financial banking transactions. Therefore, such technology enhanced the customer satisfaction and banking services as well; banks have now developed from the traditional branch banking services to e-services, which gives banks’ customers more flexibility and convenience to perform transactions. Nevertheless, the adoption rate of mobile banking technology is not ideal. Despite the large amounts of effort and money being invested, the adoption of electronic banking services in Jordan is not in line with what was expected, and Jordanian banking customers are still slow to adopt these technologies. As it is in the early stages of development and implementation, mobile banking-related concerns and matters have yet to be examined empirically in the Jordanian context. In addition, there is a scarcity of literature addressing customer intention and usage of mobile banking apps by Jordanian banking customers.

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This thesis reports on the research undertaken to develop a method for organisations to assess human communication between their business and IT personnel as part of business–IT alignment. The research described in this thesis involves (i) a literature review in business–IT alignment and related fields, such as management studies and communication science; (ii) a Delphi study conducted among industry members, practitioners, and academics operating in the IT advisory, auditing and communication disciplines; and (iii) a case study of a public sector organisation in South Africa. By adopting a system-theoretic perspective on communication, this thesis proposes that communication in business–IT alignment can be seen as coordinating behaviour and a series of learning and reflection events, consequently culminating in increased mutual understanding. Various conceptualisations of communication are explored and, together with several industry elicited factors that influence communication in business–IT alignment, are incorporated into a conceptual model informing the assessment method. This research developed, applied, and tested a method whereby organisations can assess the quality of the human communication between their business and IT personnel as part of the business–IT alignment endeavour. The aim of this method is to trigger reflection on communication by considering communication philosophy and practices in business–IT alignment. The method, termed the ‘Business-IT Communication Alignment Maturity Improvement Communication Alignment Maturity Improvement (CAMI) method’, is based on a maturity grid-based approach, which stems originally from process improvement in software development and quality management. This thesis is most closely aligned with the research performed by Maier, Eckert, and Clarkson (2004, 2006), who successfully applied the maturity grid-based approach to investigate, audit and assess communication within the engineering design process. The question addressed in this thesis is whether this approach can be successfully extrapolated to the business–IT alignment context and whether it would yield similar benefits. Furthermore, the issue of whether it would offer a practical method for use in organisations is also addressed. Having applied the CAMI method at a public sector organisation, this thesis proposes that the maturity grid-based approach can indeed be extrapolated to iv the business–IT alignment context, consequently offering a viable and practical method for assessing communication in organisations. In particular, the CAMI method allows organisations to capture both their current and their desired communication situations and to expose discrepancies between the perceptions held by their business and IT personnel. These results form a basis for action planning, strategizing, and, ultimately, interventions for improvement. In conclusion, the thesis discusses further application and extension possibilities for the assessment method.

No description available.

Dissertation in compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Cost and Management Accounting, Durban University of Technology, 2012. / The aim of this research is to evaluate the communication proficiency of students studying Cost and Management Accounting (CMA) and to assess whether the subject communication, as a course, is having any positive influence on students who are lacking critical thinking and literacy skills. It is necessary to analyse the factors affecting communication because of the diversity of the Durban University of Technology (DUT) students coming from different cultural, ethnic and geographic backgrounds before evaluating the communication proficiency of students. The field of accounting is broadly quantitative in nature, but Management Accounting, although a branch of this broad knowledge is more qualitative in nature. Data analysis, report writing and decision making are fundamental to Management Accounting. The target population for the study was CMA students. This population entails students enrolled for the first time in 2007 and current second and third year students. It was necessary to follow the progress of the 2007 cohort of students to establish whether students were achieving their qualification within the specified three year period as required by the CMA course and whether communication skills were an issue if they were unsuccessful. The objective to include second and third year students registered in the Department of Management Accounting at DUT in 2012 was to acquire current and pertinent information with regard to student perception on the subject relating to communication skills. An analytical type of research approach was used to conduct the study and quantitative data was collected using questionnaires and computer reports to gain an insight into the impact of communication skills as a subject in the CMA programme. The study confirmed that gender and the location of schools played a role in the academic performance of students. The overall performance between the genders revealed that female students performing slightly better than their male counterparts. English First Language (EFL) female students demonstrated much better academic performance than the EFL male students. Irrespective of language differences, if a student had an aptitude and performed well in the English Language at grade 12 or matric, the student has a better chance of being more successful with the CMA programme The number of EFL and English Second Language (ESL) students acknowledging that the English language affected them in obtaining better grades in CMA was fifty one per cent. Since the second and third year CMA students perceive that their lecturers were unaware of their poor understanding of the English language after completing the subject Communication Skills in the first year of study indicates that the subject is not having the desired affect. Both EFL and ESL students also acknowledged the vital role that Communication Skills play in education, social and economic development. This study, inter alia, recommends a screening of new students for English proficiency and providing academic support for students who have problem with literacy skills. It also recommends increasing the subject content of Communication Skills and extending the duration from one semester to two semesters.

Discussions via electronic mail are becoming commonplace to support decision-making and coordinating activities. Users of these technologies are usually dispersed either in a geographical and/or a temporal sense. Thus, unlike participants in face-to-face meetings, participants in electronic text discussions cannot speak to each other nor can they see each other. Unfortunately, few guidelines exist which identify the tasks for which electronic text and face-to-face meetings are effective. This study examines how communication via electronic text impacts the processes and outcomes of negotiation in dyads. Electronic and face-to-face discussions are characterized by the efficiency of the communication media supported by each, and by media richness, the ability of those media to convey social and emotional information. These communication media will be compared and contrasted on the ability of each to support a negotiation task which requires two participants to simultaneously solve a logical problem and resolve conflicting objectives. In a controlled laboratory experiment, pairs of subjects with either a competitive or an integrative bargaining orientation completed the Bilateral Monopoly Task in one of four communication media (text-only, text-plus-visual-access, audio-only, audio-plus-visual-access). As hypothesized, an integrative bargaining orientation and/or the relatively efficient audio mode of communication lead to a higher joint outcome. In addition, visual access (which conveys a rich array of social and emotional information) resulted in a higher joint outcome for subjects with integrative bargaining orientations, but lower joint outcomes for those with competitive orientations. The results indicate that bargaining orientation and communication medium have a marked impact on negotiation processes and outcomes. An efficient communication media is required to closely examine negotiation issues, and to reduce uncertainty about the constraints inherent to the negotiation task itself. Media richness strongly moderates the effect of bargaining orientation. A rich media enhances both the predisposition of an integrative bargainer to trust, and a competitive bargainer to dominate, the other party. Uncertainty regarding the logical structure of the task was reduced only via verbal communication, while equivocality regarding the bargaining orientation of the negotiating parties was reduced only via visual communication.