<p>Consumers’ beliefs can influence enjoyment via beliefs about a product (e.g., whether a wine is believed to be high quality) and explored beliefs about themselves (e.g., where the consumers believes they have the expertise to appreciate any high qualities in a wine). Across nine experiments in five domains (e.g. film, tea, wine) we seek to better understand this latter and far less understood component by experimentally altering people’s subjective expertise (beliefs about ability in a consumption domain) independent of their real expertise and independent of real or framed differences in products’ qualities. We find subjective expertise alone generally increases two sources of enjoyments, item enjoyment (the enjoyment of an item’s qualities such as liking an item’s flavor) and process enjoyment (the enjoyment of consumer processes such as critically evaluating an item’s flavor). Importantly though, when consumption items are perceived to be lower quality, the subjective expertise effect on item enjoyment is eliminated but remains positive for process enjoyment. Additionally, subjective expertise leads consumers to engage in more actions and effort to improve their consumption (e.g. stirring a drink, learning more about a consumption item). This project improves general understanding of consumer expertise and consumer beliefs, finds subjective expertise has unique and often diverging effects on two sources of enjoyment important to everyday consumption, and demonstrates how and when subjective expertise can be altered to effectively enhance consumer enjoyment.</p> / Dissertation

This study investigated the cross-cultural and intracultural diversity of Anglo-American and Mexican-American individual’s beliefs regarding nine child rearing variables. Eleven Mexican-American and ten Anglo-American students at the University of Texas at Austin completed a questionnaire. Results indicated that when compared to Anglo-American participants, Mexican-American participants provided more collectivistic-oriented answers for two of the nine child rearing variables. Furthermore, Mexican-American participants were more likely than their parents to hold more individualistic-oriented values for three of nine child rearing variables. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed. / text

English as a Second Language (ESL) teachers’ beliefs about motivation are important but underexplored. Because research on human beliefs indicates that existing beliefs are the filters for new information, a better understanding of teacher beliefs about motivation is necessary in order to provide training on effective motivation strategies for ESL teachers. In order to investigate the beliefs and perspectives of ESL teachers on motivation, 11 teachers at a university intensive English program, from a pool of 32, volunteered to participate in a self-reporting, open-ended interview to share their thoughts and beliefs about motivation. The interviews were recorded, transcribed, divided into comments, and grouped into categories. The transcripts and their coding were checked and approved by each of the participating teachers in the study. The teacher comments were organized around 9 categories of beliefs about motivation. Results of the data analysis indicated that ESL teachers have both specific and varied beliefs about the nature of motivation, and those beliefs correlate consistently with their classroom strategies for motivating students. As a result, teacher training that focuses on motivation strategies without understanding teachers underlying beliefs about the nature of motivation may not be successful. The findings also indicated that the 9 common strategies for motivation (shared by 6 or more teachers) were generally represented in practical guides for motivation which were based on both language learning and general constructs. In addition, as a group, these teachers demonstrated a breadth and depth of beliefs about motivation that could be used as a resource for filling any gaps in individual teacher’s knowledge or beliefs about motivation. Furthermore, these teachers identified group dynamics, student-teacher and student-student interactions, as the most important single factor effecting student motivation. Therefore, any theory of language learning motivation must be able to account for or explain classroom social variables and their effects on motivation. Finally, the ESL teachers’ recollections of the origins of their beliefs focused on early life, language student, and language teaching experiences, which hints that any effective teacher training on motivation should be experiential in nature, whether through language learning, classroom observation, or practice teaching. / text

This dissertation consists of three essays in Economic Theory. The rst essay proposes and studies a new solution concept for games with incomplete information. In game theory, there is a basic methodological dichotomy between Harsanyi's \game-theoretic" view and Aumann's \Bayesian decision-theoretic" view of the world. We follow the game theoretic view, propose and study interim partially correlated rationalizability for games with incomplete information. We argue that the distinction between this solution concept and the interim correlated rationalizability studied by Dekel, Fudenberg and Morris (2007) is fundamental, in that the latter implicitly follows Aumann's Bayesian view. Our main result shows that two types provide the same prediction in interim partially correlated rationalizability if and only if they have the same in nite hierarchy of beliefs over conditional beliefs. We also establish an equivalence result between this solution concept and the Bayesian solution{a notion of correlated equilibrium proposed by Forges (1993). The second essay studies the relationship between correlated equilibrium the redundancy embedded in type spaces. The Bayesian solution is a notion of correlated equilibrium proposed by Forges (1993), and hierarchies of beliefs over conditional beliefs are introduced by Ely and Peski (2006) in their study of interim rationalizability. We study the connection between the two concepts. We say that two type spaces are equivalent if they represent the same set of hierarchies of beliefs over conditional beliefs. We show that the correlation embedded in equivalent type spaces can be characterized by partially correlating devices, which send correlated signals to players in a belief invariant way. Since such correlating devices also implement the Bayesian solution, we establish that the Bayesian solution is invariant across equivalent type spaces. The third essay studies the existence of equilibria for rst-price sealed bid auctions when bidders form a network and each bidder observes perfectly their neighbors' private valuations. Asymmetry in bidders' positions in the network creates asymmetry in bidders' knowledge. We show the existence of pure-strategy equilibrium. / text

Our nation’s first Chief Technology Officer, Aneesh Chopra, has said that “technology in education is less about hardware and software and more about what we teach, the method in which we teach it, and professional development and support for educators” (Fletcher, 2009). While technology reform continues to provide schools and colleges with hardware and software (Kern & Warschauer, 2000; Kessler, 2006), the amount of technology teachers use remains low (Barron et al., 2003; Cuban et al., 2001). If our efforts are to reform, as Chopra suggests, what we teach and how we teach it, our instructional technology research must incorporate the voices of teachers who determine what happens inside the classroom. One theory regarding limited technology use has been that teachers’ beliefs and their relationship to practice might provide us with insight that will allow us to aid teachers in their craft (Becker & Riel, 1999; Ertmer, 2005). This qualitative case study examines three Spanish teachers’ pedagogical beliefs and how those beliefs relate to their instructional technology use. Data include interviews, observations, field notes and documents analyzed using a constant comparative approach (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Findings show that beliefs about the classroom environment most influence their choices regarding instructional technology. / text

Osteoporosis remains a major health issue worldwide. Although it has been associated with Caucasian women in the United States, attention is being drawn to other ethnicities. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are concerned that people perceive osteoporosis to only affect Caucasian women, given that African-American (AA) women have higher bone mineral density and lower postmenopausal bone loss. This perception ignores observations that AA women are at significant risk of developing osteoporosis. As such, there is considerable delay in the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis among AA women. This cross-sectional study's design primary purpose was to describe postmenopausal AA women's knowledge, beliefs and behaviors concerning osteoporosis. Secondary to this purpose, was exploration of correlations between the Health Belief Model (HBM) theoretical constructs with osteoporosis preventive behavior, especially calcium intake and physical exercise. One hundred and fifty three postmenopausal AA women completed a questionnaire containing 1) the Osteoporosis Knowledge Test (OKT), 2) the Osteoporosis Health Belief Scale (OHBS), 3) the Osteoporosis Self-Efficacy Scale (OSES), 4) the Osteoporosis Attitude Knowledge Test (OAKT) and 5) the Osteoporosis Preventing Behaviors Survey (OPBS). The data were analyzed in SPSS version 21.0. The results of the study varied. Women in the study had greater knowledge about osteoporosis overall; they had less knowledge about preventing osteoporosis with exercise. They regularly used diet to prevent osteoporosis and reported recurrent physical activity. Participants had a general knowledge of osteoporosis but they experienced a moderate number of barriers that limited exercise. Few barriers for calcium intake were reported. Correlational analysis between age, number of months post-menopause, and education and the dependent variables (osteoporosis knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and barriers to engaging in bone health promotion activities) revealed significant correlations. Age and number of years post menopause were significantly negatively correlated with use of physical activity to prevent osteoporosis. As women aged, they engaged in less osteoporosis prevention using exercise and as the number of months post menopause increased, the exercise behaviors associated with osteoporosis prevention decreased. This is an indication that women at this age have to be educated on the importance of exercising at this stage in their life.

The objectives of this study were to (1) characterize the nature of biochemistry faculty members' "instructor thinking" with regard to teaching upper-level, large-lecture biochemistry courses, (2) identify factors associated with changes in instructor thinking, and (3) investigate the relationship between instructor thinking and teaching practice. For the purposes of this study, "instructor thinking" was defined as an instructor's thoughts about (1) teaching, including the role of instructors, student engagement, instructional strategies, and assessment and (2) students and learning, including personal experiences with learning, student roles and capabilities, and student learning. Instructor thinking of three university faculty members was investigated over the course of two semesters. Semi-structured in-depth interviews, faculty members' reflective journals, e-mail, course documents and investigator observations and field notes served as qualitative data sources. Descriptive and interpretive data coding methods were applied to the data and emergent themes were reported in three individual case studies depicting instructor thinking. A cross-case analysis of the three cases was conducted and revealed factors associated with changes in instructor thinking: pedagogical dissatisfaction, creation of productive spaces for reflection by a knowledgeable other, and experimentation with assessment strategies. These factors opened the door for new lines of instructor self-inquiry and introspection about teaching and, in some cases, created new prospects for change in teaching practice.

E-learning is a form of education that is increasingly being used in higher education in the developed world. However, the take-up and use of e-learning in developing countries is at a preliminary stage. This thesis deals with e-learning in the context of a developing country. The aim of the study was to describe and understand teachers’ beliefs about e-learning in higher education at UMSA. Qualitative semi-structured interviews and observations were used to identify 10 teachers’ beliefs about e-learning. The Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge framework was used for analysing the interviews and observations. Teachers’ showed varying levels of knowledge about technology, pedagogy and content, as well as varying knowledge levels about different combinations of these three knowledge domains. Despite the limited educational resources at Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), most teachers’ believed e-learning is beneficial for themselves and their students

This qualitative study examines the beliefs and belief changes of eleven elementary preservice teachers about teaching science for social justice. Using constructivist grounded theory, it forwards a new theory of belief change about teaching science for social justice. The theory posits that three teaching and learning conditions may facilitate belief change: preservice teachers need to recognize (1) the relationship between science and society; (2) the relationship between individuals and society; and (3) the importance of taking action on socioscientific issues. This research responds to calls by critical scholars of teacher education who contend that beliefs in relation to equity, diversity, and multiculturalism need to be explored. They have found that many preservice teachers hold beliefs that are antithetical to social justice tenets. Since beliefs are generally considered to be precursors to actions, identifying and promoting change in beliefs are important to teaching science for social justice. Such a move may lead to the advancement of curricular and pedagogical efforts to promote the academic participation and success in elementary science of Aboriginal and racialized minority students. The study was undertaken in a year-long science methods course taught by the researcher. It was centered on the preservice teachers – their beliefs, their belief changes, and the course pedagogies that they identified as crucial to their changes. However, the course was based on the researcher-instructor’s review of the scholarly literature on science education, teacher education, and social justice. It utilized a critical – cultural theoretical framework, and was aligned to the three dimensions of critical nature of science, critical knowledge and pedagogy, and sociopolitical action. Findings indicate that, at the beginning of the year, preservice teachers held two types of beliefs (liberal and critical) and, by the end of the course, they experienced three kinds of shifts in beliefs (minimal, substantial, and refined). The shifts in beliefs were attributed by preservice teachers to specific pedagogies. Yet their initial beliefs also served as filters to the pedagogies, consequently impacting their degrees of belief change. Therefore, this study reveals elements of unpredictability when engaging in teaching science for social justice.

This qualitative study examines the beliefs and belief changes of eleven elementary preservice teachers about teaching science for social justice. Using constructivist grounded theory, it forwards a new theory of belief change about teaching science for social justice. The theory posits that three teaching and learning conditions may facilitate belief change: preservice teachers need to recognize (1) the relationship between science and society; (2) the relationship between individuals and society; and (3) the importance of taking action on socioscientific issues. This research responds to calls by critical scholars of teacher education who contend that beliefs in relation to equity, diversity, and multiculturalism need to be explored. They have found that many preservice teachers hold beliefs that are antithetical to social justice tenets. Since beliefs are generally considered to be precursors to actions, identifying and promoting change in beliefs are important to teaching science for social justice. Such a move may lead to the advancement of curricular and pedagogical efforts to promote the academic participation and success in elementary science of Aboriginal and racialized minority students. The study was undertaken in a year-long science methods course taught by the researcher. It was centered on the preservice teachers – their beliefs, their belief changes, and the course pedagogies that they identified as crucial to their changes. However, the course was based on the researcher-instructor’s review of the scholarly literature on science education, teacher education, and social justice. It utilized a critical – cultural theoretical framework, and was aligned to the three dimensions of critical nature of science, critical knowledge and pedagogy, and sociopolitical action. Findings indicate that, at the beginning of the year, preservice teachers held two types of beliefs (liberal and critical) and, by the end of the course, they experienced three kinds of shifts in beliefs (minimal, substantial, and refined). The shifts in beliefs were attributed by preservice teachers to specific pedagogies. Yet their initial beliefs also served as filters to the pedagogies, consequently impacting their degrees of belief change. Therefore, this study reveals elements of unpredictability when engaging in teaching science for social justice.