Behaviourists and Logical Positivists commendably set out to purge prejudiced arguments from science, but where it is obvious that there remains some sort of "ghost" in their rational "machine", it is self-defeating simply to ignore its existence. Freaud, Piaget, and the ethologists have made some progress in grasping this nettle -- moving towards a material explanation of the "other-worldly" properties of the individual -- but their models of the individual remain nebulously structured in their basic elements. Consequently such theories remain disturbingly controversial, and circumscribed in their applicability. [#] The present work accordingly sets out to bridge this gap by postulating plausible functions for existing micro-structure which could account both for observed behavioural phenomena, and for many of the existing vaguer theoretical constructs. Part A develops such an explanation for Piagetian constructs, while Part B fills in some of the technical details concerning quantitative problems of signal generation, transmission, and selective reception. [#] Part C applies these notions to other non-Piagetian descriptions and interpretations of psychological phenomena, thereby offering an integration and reconciliation of various schools of theory. (Major areas considered include Ashby's "homeostat" approach, biological self-organization, sleep-modes and dreaming, Freudian theories of neuroses, and various theories concerning psychosis). The basic theory itself is meanwhile developed in much greater detail. [#] A recurring theme throughout the work is the notion that knowledge-acquisition by any independent system depends not only on "external" interaction with the "real" world, but also on an active seeking for internal consistency within the resulting "internal" model. This concept is crucial to the study in two ways:- (i) The operation of the brain-systems being considered, and (ii) As a guuide to the methodology of the present study itself -- in an area where experimental data is uncomfortably sparse, and likely to remain so.

In recent years, assessment policies and practices in language teaching programs worldwide have been changing in a number of ways at both system and classroom levels. To improve efficiency and effectiveness, some countries have introduced standardised tests and others have introduced outcome-based approaches which use teacher-conducted assessments as a basis for reporting learners’ progress and achievement against system-wide or national standards. It is particularly worth noting that assessment is currently moving away from the use of standardised multiple-choice tests to more complex performance-based assessments. This paradigm shift has led to changes in assessment approaches from a norm-referenced grading to a criterion-referenced grading. Japan is one of a number of countries that has introduced a criterion-referenced approach to assessment. This research case study investigates a criterion-referenced assessment system implemented in 2004 for English at lower secondary schools in Japan. The study examines the perceptions held by English teachers about the new assessment system, the way the assessment has impacted on their practices and the basis of their decisions about assessing students’ achievement. Data sources include policy documents, teacher questionnaires, interviews with teachers and non-teaching educators, and teaching and assessment materials. These data are examined using a qualitative and interpretive approach. The study focuses on the assessment implementation process itself and on the subsequent changes that need to be further adapted by the teachers as they enact the new policies. It defines the kind of support teachers need in order to practice consistent and valid assessment. The conclusions from the study support the findings of other similar studies and suggest that changing one component on its own can not bring about a change. The findings suggest that it is important that a proposed innovation ensures the harmonious relationship amongst key components such as curriculum/syllabus, teaching materials, and examinations, and is grounded in local experience and educational realities in order to prevent conflict situations arising. They suggest that it is necessary to take time to develop a good understanding of key concepts embedded in the innovation, to examine teacher factors such as their beliefs and teaching practice, and to provide teachers with ongoing professional development, in the process of implementing the innovation. The study concludes with recommendations for a successful implementation of a new assessment system, and with a reflection on the bilingual research process.

In recent years, assessment policies and practices in language teaching programs worldwide have been changing in a number of ways at both system and classroom levels. To improve efficiency and effectiveness, some countries have introduced standardised tests and others have introduced outcome-based approaches which use teacher-conducted assessments as a basis for reporting learners’ progress and achievement against system-wide or national standards. It is particularly worth noting that assessment is currently moving away from the use of standardised multiple-choice tests to more complex performance-based assessments. This paradigm shift has led to changes in assessment approaches from a norm-referenced grading to a criterion-referenced grading. Japan is one of a number of countries that has introduced a criterion-referenced approach to assessment. This research case study investigates a criterion-referenced assessment system implemented in 2004 for English at lower secondary schools in Japan. The study examines the perceptions held by English teachers about the new assessment system, the way the assessment has impacted on their practices and the basis of their decisions about assessing students’ achievement. Data sources include policy documents, teacher questionnaires, interviews with teachers and non-teaching educators, and teaching and assessment materials. These data are examined using a qualitative and interpretive approach. The study focuses on the assessment implementation process itself and on the subsequent changes that need to be further adapted by the teachers as they enact the new policies. It defines the kind of support teachers need in order to practice consistent and valid assessment. The conclusions from the study support the findings of other similar studies and suggest that changing one component on its own can not bring about a change. The findings suggest that it is important that a proposed innovation ensures the harmonious relationship amongst key components such as curriculum/syllabus, teaching materials, and examinations, and is grounded in local experience and educational realities in order to prevent conflict situations arising. They suggest that it is necessary to take time to develop a good understanding of key concepts embedded in the innovation, to examine teacher factors such as their beliefs and teaching practice, and to provide teachers with ongoing professional development, in the process of implementing the innovation. The study concludes with recommendations for a successful implementation of a new assessment system, and with a reflection on the bilingual research process.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Iowa, 2007. / Thesis supervisor: Timothy N. Ansley. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-122).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Feb. 17, 2009). PDF text: 142 p. ; 2,127 Kb. UMI publication number: AAT 3326864. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

documentation. I decided to help solve this problém for one Czech company in the implementation of a specific project. Elements, that could affect the success of the project, are many. However, by using different models it is possible to try minimize some impacts of known risks. In manufacturing project, which especially focuses on custom projects, there is an essential part of the decision whether to accept not to accept the project. This company primarily endeavor to maximize profits, the project must be interesting. In the first part of this thesis I examine this problem. In the second part I do the project analysis, which was selected on the basis of multi-criteria evaluation of alternatives. Finally, this whole thesis is implemented into the reality and the company works with it.

The purpose of this study was to gather data to answer the following: (1) Is shorthand used as an employment screening device when there is little expectation of the use of that shorthand skill; and if it is, what are the competencies which employers believe individuals possess if they have completed a shorthand course? (2) Are persons who have completed a course in a particular shorthand system (alphabetic, symbolic, or machine) as acceptable to employers for positions which require ability to take shorthand as persons who have taken a course in a different shorthand system; and if not, why are these individuals not acceptable? Procedures The businesses located in the state of Utah and listed in the 1978 Middle Market Directory and 1978 Million Dollar Directory constituted the accessible population. From a sample of ·275 businesses, 200 questionnaires, or 72.7 percent, were returned. There were 173 usable returns. Findings (1) There was no significant difference between the responses of employers who preferred or attempted to hire persons who had completed a course in shorthand and the responses of employers who saw no need to hire individuals who had completed a shorthand course when the employers were stratified by Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) or size. (2) When stratified by SIC, significant differences were found between the means of the eight levels of SIC for the competency statements grouped by Knowledges and Skills, Attitudes, and for the combined means on 46 competency statements. Fisher LSD tests were performed in order to determine which SIC's differed significantly for the eight levels of SIC. An item-by-item analysis of variance on each of 46 competency statements for the SIC treatment variable resulted in significant F ratios for six statements. (3) In those businesses where shorthand was used in performance of assigned tasks, over half of the respondents indicated they had no preference for the type of shorthand system in which their office employees had skill. When preference was stated, symbolic shorthand was most often preferred. Alphabetic shorthand was more widely acceptable than machine. (4) The null hypothesis that there were no significant differences between the weaknesses identified as being possessed by persons who had skill in alphabetic, symbolic, or machine shorthand when respondents were stratified by SIC or size was not rejected. Conclusions (1) Some respondents perceived completion of a shorthand course developed competencies other than the ability to take and transcribe shorthand. (2) Competencies perceived by some respondents as being developed in shorthand classes could have been developed in other courses. (3) Shorthand was used as an employment screening device by some respondents. (4) The nature of the business made a difference in the competencies perceived as being developed when completing a shorthand course. (5) Depending on the exposure to individuals with shorthand skill, employers evaluated differently those competencies which may be developed when a shorthand course has been completed. (6) Some respondents were not as much concerned with the actual shorthand system employed as they were with the competencies developed when a shorthand course has been completed. (7) Machine shorthand must have greater exposure in the business world in order to gain acceptance. (8) Since a limited number of persons use alphabetic or machine shorthand in offices, employers might not be able to compare shorthand systems; consequently, these employers required skill in that system which was most familiar. (9) Many persons who have not completed a course in shorthand but who have adequate entry-level skills for office work might not be hired for positions where shorthand is used as an employment screening device.

A new methodology is proposed to obtain the forming limit diagram (or FLD) of sheet materials by utilizing routinely obtained experimental load versus displacement traces and incorporating finite element (FE) analysis of strain history to extract the characteristic points of diffuse and localized necking and further the limit strains. The experimental data from hemispherical punch stretching test such as limit dome height, maximum load and location of inflection point are utilized to adjust the load curves in the FE simulations. An optimization procedure to obtain various parameters in material definition has been established to obtain a good agreement between the FE-based and experimental punch load versus displacement curves. An analysis of FE model based strain history is then carried out to determine the limit strains. This approach avoids using experimental strain measurement in the vicinity of the neck on the dome specimens. The materials tested with the new methodology include automotive sheets AA6111-T4, AA6181-T4 and DP600. The one utilized for optimization of FE inputs was AA6111-T4. The proposed method for FLD determination considers out-of-plane displacement, punch-sheet contact and friction, and avoids the use of a rather arbitrary inhomogeneity factor to trigger localization such as in the Marciniak-Kuczynski method. A new criterion to determine the localized necking is proposed by seeking an inflection point m the major strain rate curve, or, maximum point in the second order of derivative of major strain, (ε1)max. The proposed localized necking criterion is compared with other two methods to determine the onset of localized necking. These are (i) Bragard criterion for post-test of deformation, and (ii) critical major strain (ε1)cr based on comparison of strain of material inside the localized site and its vicinity in the un-necked site. The new criterion of (ε1)max exhibits a more definite physical meaning towards developing an understanding of flow localization, formability and fracture. This new approach for obtaining FLDs is rapid and accurate and could be implemented easily for routine FLO generation in a lab setting with little user input and subjectivity. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

PhD Thesis / Background: Overcrowding in emergency departments (EDs) due to avoidable visits places a significant strain on health systems. There is no known valid classification to identify avoidable ED visits in Canadian administrative data. Research Questions: Which physician interventions and patient characteristics are important to classify avoidable ED visits, and does a novel classification (the Emergency Department Avoidability Classification; EDAC), which incorporated these features, demonstrate validity? Methods: Two independent modified Delphi consensus studies determined ED physician interventions and patient characteristics that classified avoidable ED visits. These studies involved emergency and family medicine physicians across Ontario, Canada. Binary logistic regression was used to examine ED physician interventions in the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System (NACRS) database for associations with patient characteristics. These results constructed the EDAC criteria. ED physicians from an academic hospital evaluated randomly selected retrospective ED visits (n=320) which were also evaluated using the EDAC to assess their avoidability. The primary outcome of this thesis was correlation between the classification and ED physician judgements, measured using a Spearman rank correlation and ordinal logistic regression. The secondary outcome was to compare the correlations of previously published classifications with ED physician judgements. The tertiary outcome was to compare prevalence estimates of avoidable ED visits for all classifications. Results: Consensus showed strong evidence on 146 of 150 (97.3%) ED physician interventions, with 103 (68.7%) deemed suitable for non-ED care. Consensus was established on eight of nine patient characteristics, with four characteristics identified as useful in specifying avoidable ED visits: age (18-70 years), triage acuity (non-emergent), specialist consult in the ED (none) and ED visit outcome (discharged). An adjusted retrospective cohort study found the ED interventions had a strong association with patient characteristics determined in the consensus study: not aged over 65 years, having a non-emergent triage acuity and not being admitted to hospital. The classification was highly correlated with ED physician judgements (r=0.64, p<0.01), with a significant association to classify avoidable ED visits (OR=80.0, 95% CI=17.1-374.9) and strong accuracy (82.8%). The EDAC was the most accurate classifier of avoidable ED visits compared to previously published classifications. The EDAC identified a prevalence of 25.1% ED visits as avoidable and common patient conditions associated with such visits as traumatic injuries, symptoms/signs/abnormal findings, diseases of the musculoskeletal system, mental and behavioural disorders, and diseases of the respiratory system. Conclusion: My thesis developed and established the EDAC as an accurate classifier of avoidable ED visits with supporting evidence of validity and superior performance to previously published classifications. The EDAC can be easily integrated with administrative ED data and has strong potential for use in defining avoidable ED visits by health policy stakeholders. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Yes