This study aimed to investigate the relationships between how EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learners positioned themselves and how they approached their learning in an English club. Three focuses formed the basis of this study: 1) the process of learners' enactment of different social positions in the English club meeting; 2) the relationship between learners' perceptions of the English club and their self-positioning in the English club meeting; 3) the relationship between learners' self-positioning and the meaning of learning in the English club meeting. This study adopted a case study approach focusing on 3 participants in an English club. Data were collected from a variety of sources for triangulation, including personal information survey, interviews, and field observations. Data collection was comprised of 2 stages of participant observation and 3 rounds of individual interviews. The observational data was approximately 54 hours in total. The interview data for the 3 focal participants was approximately 14 hours in total, while the interview data for the other club members was approximately 15 hours in total. Constant comparative method was employed to analyze collected data at the early stage. Zimmerman' s (1998) three identity categories (i.e., situated identity, discourse identity, and transportable identity) were adopted to be the analytical framework for future theorization. There were three major findings in this study: 1) the 3 focal participants demonstrated different forms of self-positioning in the English club meeting based on Zimmerman's three identity categories; 2) the 3 focal participants' perceptions of English clubs had a bearing on their self-positioning in the English club meeting; 3) the 3 focal participants made their own meaning of learning in relation to their self-positioning in the English club meeting. On the basis of the findings, the present study has six major discussion focuses: 1) shifting forms of self-positioning; 2) levels of self-positioning; 3) perceptions of English clubs and self-positioning; 4) meaning of learning and self-positioning; 5) continuum of a social community; 6) English club members as language users. To enrich the understanding of social positioning, the researcher suggest the following: 1) comparing the differences between how other members in an English club position the focal participants and how focal participants position themselves; 2) investigating EFL learners' social positioning in an English club with native English speakers; 3) exploring how EFL learners position themselves in two or more English clubs; 4) understanding how silent members think of their participation in an English club To enhance the participation in and usefulness of an English club, three practical suggestions are provided: 1) members should be granted enough freedom to adopt different routes of participation in an English club, such as being a listener, a story teller, or a merrymaker; 2) activities and practices in such an English club should be as diverse as possible to embrace and accommodate different types of members; 3) particular attention should be given to diversify the grouping of members.

Models of strategic behavior are usually too complex to conduct large scale analyses, and frequently rely on accurate descriptions of the strategic environment, or unrealistic assumptions which render empirical studies very sensitive to misspecification. This dissertation relates game-theoretic frameworks to models of causality inference and thus provides a reliable method to identify price leadership. Therefore, causal models can be used to study large sets of data without imposing strategic behavior a priori. A case study is provided by analyzing the supply chain relationship among Dominick's Finer Foods and its suppliers. Although our data required aggregation, this empirical analysis successfully determined causal patterns for 60 percent of our sample. Of these price leaderships, 70 percent elicit Manufacturer Stackelberg relationships which tend to be associated with manufacturers that hold big market shares, 25 percent elicit Retailer Stackelbergs which seem to be associated with the biggest retailer margin profits, and only 5 percent elicit a monopolistic retailer with vertical coordination. These results agree with observations made by other authors and the market structure of the 1990's. Moreover, the strategic relationship among the suppliers is also studied. Interestingly, the dominant firms tend to isolate themselves from the price leadership, whereas the second largest firms seem to become price leaders. Our studies agree with the market literature as well. In particular, we find price leadership in a firm which was identified as a low cost leader. Finally, we discovered that the private label does not lead any firm's price unless this firm is the provider of a generic brand.

At the new knowledge economy era, knowledge and human have become the important asset in the enterprise. The enterprise looks upon knowledge management and e-leaning as important development. Progressing in information technology, it provides the best environment to permit enterprise putting much of knowledge and resource in internet. Internet can spread rapidly without limit and reduce the learning time and distance, as less as we can not feel the time and distance exist. E-learning is very important in educational discipline of enterprise and should be a learning fashion in future. In the commercial competition environment that we pay much attention to cost and performance, enterprise must reduce learning cost and enhance learning effectiveness for e-learning development in the enterprise. The purpose of this study is to understand the relationship among of self-directed learning readiness, computer attitude and e-learning effectiveness. The procedures of this study are to adopt the literature analysis and empirical study. First, to build the theoretical basis we must analyze the relative and practical research of the elder learner of domestic and foreign scholars, including reference of the theory and relative practical research of the e-learning, learning effectiveness, self-directed learning readiness and computer attitude. Second, we developed the research questionnaire according to the theoretical basis. Our study object is the employees who participate in e-learning at Taiwan Power Company and we attain the 401 effective samples. Putting the data into the statistical analysis, we induce the research result. Finally, according to the research result we achieve the following eight important conclusions. First, business employees who spent much time on surveying internet every week have higher self-directed learning readiness. Second, with the different individual varies such as less age, higher education degree, fewer service seniority, spending much time on surveying internet every week, the computer attitude is higher. Third, there are no difference for the trainers who have different individual varies on e-learning effectiveness. Fourth, both of the self-directed learning readiness and computer attitude are positive relations for the trainers. Fifth, both of the self-directed learning readiness and e-learning effectiveness are positive relations for the trainers. Sixth, both of the computer attitude and e-learning effectiveness are positive relations for the trainers. Seventh, continuing to love learning of self-directed learning readiness is the most predictable to the computer attitude for the trainers. Eighth, independant learning of self-directed learning readiness is the most predictable to the e-learning effectiveness for the trainers.

This paper uncovers the relationship between stock markets and exchange rates in seven countries by employing stable aggregate currency (SAC) for the period of 1973- 2004. Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, time series methods, and directed acyclic graphs are applied to the daily data on stock market indices and exchange rates. The findings based on regression analysis show that exchange rate exposure of stock markets is statistically significant when stock indexes in SAC are used. Using an innovation accounting technique, we confirm that stock markets and exchange rates are correlated. Moreover, in most cases stock markets are more exogenous than foreign currency markets, which explains the relatively high percentage of uncertainty in the foreign currency market. Overall, SAC-based models give relatively more accurate and robust results than those which employ stock indices in local currencies, because it is more accurate to convert both variables into the same denominator.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-directed learning readiness and the cultural values of individualism/collectivism in two sample groups drawn from different cultures. The research design used for this study was descriptive and correlational in nature. The target population for this study consisted of two sample groups: Korean and American college students who seek teacher certification in the field of agriculture. Data were collected using a web-formatted questionnaire. Results were computed statistically, including the means, standard deviations, effect size, independent sample t-test, one-way ANOVA, bivariate correlations, and multiple regression. Findings indicated that in a hierarchical multiple regression analysis, scores for the Self-Directed Learning Readiness Scale (SDLRS) (R2 = .03, adjusted R2 = .01, p = .30) in Step 1 was not statistically significantly related by gender, student classification, and GPA. Gender, student classification, and GPA accounted for only 3% of the variance and the three beta weights for the gender, student classification, and GPA variables were not statistically significantly related to the SDLRS. However, scores for SDLRS (R2= .34, adjusted R2 = .30, ¨R2 = .31, p =.00) in Step 2 was statistically significantly related by gender, student classification, GPA, nationality, vertical individualism (VI), horizontal individualism (HI), vertical collectivism(VC), and horizontal collectivism(HC). This model accounted for 34 % of the variance in the SDLRS (R2 change = .31). It appears that nationality, VI, HI, VC, and HC accounted for a further 31% of the variance. However, in Step 1, the gender, student classification, and GPA variables did not account for a significant amount of variance in Step 2. The beta weight for nationality and VI variables were not statistically significantly related to the SDLRS (E = -0.15, t = -1.67, p = .10; E = 0.01, t = 0.10, p = .92, respectively). However, the beta for the HI variable was statistically significant and positive (E = 0.40, t = 4.31, p = .00). The beta for the VC variable also was statistically significant and positive (E = 0.20, t = 2.12, p = .04). The beta for the HC variable also was statistically significant and positive (E = 0.21, t = 2.19, p = .03). These findings indicated that if HI, VC, and HC attitudes are high, the SDLRS scores tend to be high. That is, differences in the students’ SDLRS can be best explained through HI, VC, and HC among the cultural values of individualism/collectivism.

Research indicates that planning helps consumers in their goal pursuit, but little is known about how and when such beneficial effects change with regulatory fit – fit between consumers’ regulatory orientation and goal pursuit means. Results of three studies show that 1) the benefits of forming implementation intentions, or planning details such as when, where, how, and how long to perform goal-directed actions and attain consumer goals are stronger in regulatory nonfit situations (study 1), and 2) implementation intentions can be viewed as goal pursuit means and be part of the regulatory fit formulation to show the “value from fit” effect on instrumental behavior and goal attainment (studies 2 and 3). Specifically, study 1 showed that consumers in regulatory nonfit situations are more likely to perform instrumental behavior and have higher goal attainment by forming implementation intentions than consumers in regulatory fit situations. This research also provides empirical evidence of the notion of “value from fit” to the regulatory fit literature, that is, the mediating role of motivation intensity in the regulatory fit-instrumental behavior and regulatory fit-goal attainment linkages in studies 2 and 3.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2001. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 107-114).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 141-164).

Thesis (M.S. in Systems Technology)--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Orin Marvel, Curt Schleher. Includes bibliographical references (p. 71-74). Also available online.

Chlorate and perchlorate pollutions have become a problem in the environment in the last decades. Studies have shown that some bacteria can degrade these substances into unharmful substances such as chloride and molecular oxygen. One of these chlorate degrading bacteria is Ideonella dechloratans that uses chlorate reductase and chlorite dismutase to process chlorate. In the promoter gene sequence of chlorite dismutase there might be regulator sequences such as fumarate and nitrate reductase regulator (FNR) and aerobic respiration control protein (ArcA) that might control the transcription of this enzyme. This promoter sequence was placed in a pBBR1MCS-4-LacZ reporter vector and the possible regulatory sequences were changed through site-directed mutagenesis and tested on activity through beta-galactosidase assays. The changes in the FNR binding sequence gave beta-galactosidase activity that was close to a negative control which might give conclusions that either FNR has an important role or an important part of the promoter was hit. The changes in the ArcA regulator binding sequence did not give such big differences and no certainty can be given if this made important changes to the promoter.