published_or_final_version / Psychology / Master / Master of Philosophy

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M.Ed. / Lack of community involvement in the provision of social-environmental education programmes has become a serious problem, even though some communities are aware that they should be involved. In this study an attempt is made to find out how the community is, or could be, involved in the provision of social-environmental education programmes in primary schools, that is, the issue of community involvement in a school's delivery of Environmental Education, focusing especially on social issues. Part of transforming the education system is making it democratic. The democratisation of education includes the idea that stakeholders such as parents, teachers, learners, and members of the community should be able to participate in the activities of schools. Put simply, the right to education and the duty to transform education, means that all stakeholders have new rights and responsibilities. They have rights and responsibilities concerning the way schools are run, and the way in which education takes place. It is the responsibility of the state, the parents, learners, educators, and others to provide the best possible social-environmental education for all learners. The state cannot provide everything and do everything for the school. It cannot afford to do this. Parents and members of school communities are often in the best position to know what their schools really need, and are aware of what problems exist in their schools. This is a meaningful role within the school. Therefore, there must be a partnership between all stakeholders who have an interest in education. The partners are the state, the parents, learners educators, and members of school communities.

Africa is seen as the last investment frontier and according to literature will have a GDP of $1.5 trillion by the year 2016 and a population that is double the size of Europe. The rapid expansion of infrastructure and construction in African countries, such as Mozambique and Zambia has increased the demand for commercial vehicles. This has sparked unparalleled marketing opportunities for automotive manufacturers and the continent is fast attracting major players in this sector. The international marketing literature still lacks detailed studies and research into the marketing deliberations and trades in Africa. Therefore, according literature a greater representation of African culture within the international marketing literature would provide relevance and richness in the global market place and offer greater insight to organisations who are seeking to invest and expand their businesses in Africa. The management issue here is to comprehend the diversity and vastness of this region and putting together all spheres to ensure growth and creating brand loyalty. The key challenge here is for management to be able to grasp and understand not only the various cultures but also the way of doing business in such a vastly different region. It is therefore imperative for Ford Motor Company to fully understand these factors so as to take full advantage associated with entering a market early which is commonly referred as first-mover-advantage. A case in point is when General Motors entered the Chinese automotive industry in 1997 when the Chinese market was relatively small. General Motors’ enthusiasm and commitment back in 1997 was driven by a belief that China would ultimately become an economic powerhouse and emerge as one of the world’s largest automotive markets. By the year 2010 China was one of the world’s biggest automotive markets and General Motors was a dominant force in this market. Africa has all the key elements for the growth and development of a robust automotive market. By studying past experiences and outcomes from empirical studies on international marketing with emphasis on the automotive industry, it will be possible to draw lessons and experience about the potential growth of the automotive sector on the African continent. This study will also be of great significance to other automotive manufacturers and suppliers looking to expand their business and market share across Africa due to the increase of the middle class. Therefore creative strategies and thinking of how to circumvent challenges in the African cultural environment, creativity in managing bureaucracy and due diligence about business and investment opportunities will uncover unprecedented volumes of profitable business that lies untapped on the African continent. Data from the quantitative study suggest that culture, political environment, country-of-origin, competition and country infrastructure in Nigeria, are essential factors to the development of a successful international marketing strategy for Ford South Africa. This study therefore concludes that Ford Motor Company of South Africa can utilize this framework in order to gain greater market share and ultimately success in Nigeria. Recommendations were also made for future research studies that can contribute to the international marketing literature with emphasis on the African market.

Asian countries have become one of the largest export markets for US food developers during the past decade. Understanding consumer expectations and needs in a cross-cultural framework has gained importance for new products to succeed in the international markets. A sports-drink, which is a functional drink for athletes, has been successfully introduced in the US. The product is also growing in popularity internationally. However, the concept and product sports-drink is relatively novel among Asians. The overall objective of this study was to investigate cross-cultural consumer acceptance and fundamental factors driving diversities in food acceptance using a sportsdrink varied in sweetener concentration. In the first part of the study, respondents (372) from Indonesia, Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan, Thailand, and United States evaluated sports-drink samples at four sweetener levels. Respondents' expected sensory characteristics, concept fitness, functionality, and experience with twenty commercial beverages were also evaluated. The results show that the optimal sweetness level for the sports-drink was lower for Americans than Asians. The degree of increase in perceived sweetness intensity over sweetener levels was greater among Americans than Asians. Also, there were considerable cultural differences in expectations for various beverages. In addition, experience with a product was another key factor affecting expectations. Based on the results from the first part of the study, a model delineating the processes of hedonic and intensity rating incorporating familiarity, concepts, and context effect was developed. To investigate the significance of this model, expectations were rated and sensory testing was carried out by modifying concepts and using different contexts of beverages. People (256) from Mainland China, Indonesia, Korea, and United States (US) participated in this experiment. The length of exposure to a sports-drink was a key factor affecting the optimum sweetener level for a sports drink. Concept influenced both expectation and taste rating of a sports-drink for the panelists who had been exposed to the sports-drink longer. Less exposed panelists were only affected in their taste rating by different concepts. When the concept was less acceptable, the acceptance rating of the optimum sweetener sample was also lowered. US panelists had a different expectation for a lemon-lime flavored beverage than did Asians. Ideal sweetness intensity ratings for general beverages was a good predictor in determining for panelists' optimum sweetener level for a sports-drink. Based on the model proposed, cross-cultural diversities in sweetness preference were better understood. / Graduation date: 2000

by Chan Ping-Kong, Jeffrey and Cheung Kin-Chung. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 129-131). / Questionaire also in Chinese. / ABSTRACT --- p.ii / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.iii / ACKNOWLEDGEMENT --- p.v / Chapter / Chapter I. --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / China and Her History --- p.1 / The Open Door Policy and the Economic Cycles --- p.4 / The Joint Venture --- p.6 / Development of the Economic Values Matrix --- p.8 / The Study --- p.12 / Organization of the Paper --- p.13 / Chapter II. --- METHODOLOGY --- p.15 / Development of the Questionnaire --- p.15 / Sampling Approach --- p.18 / Methodology for the Analysis of the Findings --- p.20 / Chapter III. --- SUMMARY OF FINDINGS --- p.22 / Chapter IV. --- ANALYSIS OF FINDINGS --- p.62 / Chapter A : --- Form of Economy --- p.62 / Chapter B : --- Tax System --- p.67 / Chapter C : --- Social Welfare and Security --- p.73 / Chapter D : --- Inflation --- p.75 / Chapter E : --- Education --- p.77 / Chapter F : --- Family --- p.80 / Chapter G : --- Work --- p.83 / Chapter H : --- Spending and Saving --- p.88 / Chapter I : --- Investment --- p.91 / Chapter V. --- CONCLUSION --- p.98 / APPENDICES / APPENDIX 1. ENGLISH QUESTIONNAIRE --- p.100 / APPENDIX 2. CHINESE QUESTIONNAIRES --- p.114 / BIBLIOGRAPHY --- p.129

Li, Man Wai. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 37-43). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract --- p.1 / Chinese Abstract --- p.3 / Acknowledgements --- p.4 / Introduction --- p.7 / Values and Subjective well-being --- p.7 / Cultural Fit as a Predictor of Subjective Weil-Being --- p.8 / Current Research --- p.11 / Study 1 --- p.15 / Method --- p.15 / Results and Discussion --- p.18 / Study 2 --- p.22 / Method --- p.22 / Results and Discussion --- p.23 / Study 3 --- p.25 / Method --- p.25 / Results and Discussion --- p.27 / Study 4 --- p.29 / Method --- p.29 / Results and Discussion --- p.30 / General Discussion --- p.32 / The Absence of the Cultural Fit Effect in Individualistic Societies --- p.33 / Limitation --- p.35 / References --- p.37

Kwok, Yan Yuen. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2013. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 23-25). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts also in Chinese.

This thesis is an exploration of the perceptions of a group of humans in interaction with a group of non-human primates in a professional animal research setting. The study is a novel investigation in the field of intercultural relations, exploring the values and beliefs of a group of research employees, and the intercultural competence and sensitivity these employees model in their interactions with the animals they work with. A focus group was conducted at the Oregon National Primate Research Center and 8 individuals working with non-human primates were interviewed. They were asked a series of 15 open-ended questions in order to explore their identification and appreciation of cultural differences, as well as their general strategies for adapting to cultural difference in the context of an animal research setting. The results of this meeting reflect a range of perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs relative to culture and the possibility of an intercultural relationship between species.