This research investigates the Corporate Schools' programme in Thailand. It aims to examine its implementation and progress from inception, evaluate its current status, and propose ways to enhance its future effectiveness. The programme was initiated through collaboration between the Government and the private sector in the belief that business can play an important role in developing public sector ability to improve educational accessibility and learning quality. The programme is expected to provide young people - particularly school-leavers - with opportunities for education and training. It is also intended to equip them with the knowledge and skills to match labour market requirements. A qualitative approach was employed throughout - governing research design, data collection and data analysis. Three participating companies: CP All Public Company Limited, S&P Syndicate Public Company Limited and the V-ChEPC programme, were selected as case studies. Data were collected through documentary research, semi-structured interviews and observation. The findings, which are based on thematic analysis, show two of the three case study companies were satisfied with the programme's outcomes. These two cases have been focused on their needs and they were aware of the importance of basic skills which young people required. This tends to confirm that the recruitment process has been conducted with due attention. This process, which is aimed at recruiting prospective candidates who hold basic knowledge and skills, could be further developed into one where technical and transferable skills best fit companies' needs. This thesis identifies the current challenges and suggests potential opportunities for three cases. Its outcome should provide a systematic insight to help increase understanding of the Corporate Schools' programme in Thailand with a view to assessing whether or not it has sufficient impact to merit its continuation.

This thesis will examine the adoption, usage and outcomes of a mobile money service called MPESA. Since being launched in 2007, the service has seen phenomenal growth in Kenya. Over 7.5 million users, or 34% of the adult population, have registered with M-PESA. Such growth is impressive as it has surpassed other ICTs in the country. This includes the mobile phone, which has been hailed as the fastest growing ICT in Africa. It has also surpassed the growth of mobile money in the North, where many services have been discontinued because they failed to attract a sufficient number of customers. M-PESA thus provides an interesting case of an ICT growing rapidly in the South, and “failing” in the North. In this context, the first part of the thesis examines why such rapid growth occurred. This analysis is presented from two perspectives. First, the socio-technical systems framework is used to present M-PESA as a complex system rather than an isolated application. This perspective makes clear that M-PESA grew rapidly because it had a dedicated team of system builders. These individuals took numerous strategies to enroll the elements and maintain the stability of the entire system. They further worked to engineer the social, economic, legal and political environments of the technology. Growth is also explained from the perspective of the user. The thesis makes clear that M-PESA was widely adopted because it fit into existing social practices and systems of logic. In other words, it helped users to do what they were doing before the technology was introduced. This includes money transfers back home. It also includes savings. The thesis further reveals that financial practices began to change as M-PESA became integrated into daily life. For example, users began to send money home more often. They also increased the number of their savings transactions. Such changing practices engendered a variety of consequences to daily life. This includes rising household incomes in the rural areas. It also includes new struggles over limited resources. The impacts, or wider-scale implications of usage, are also discussed. The analysis shows that a whole industry for mobile money developed as a result of M-PESA’s success. The thesis makes a contribution to knowledge in several ways. It presents a case of domestication in the South and highlights the unique factors that shape this process, from wide-scale political violence to structures of debt and obligation. It further makes the relationship between technologies and impact more clear. It shows that the technology itself does not engender the outcomes. It does, however, have a role in shaping the practices that do.

Det vardagliga beslutsfattandet är produkten av olika tankeprocesser. Det finns teorier om att människans beslutsfattande sker med hjälp av två system, där det ena står för snabba beslut (“system 1”) och den andra för mer genomtänkta beslut (“system 2”). Dessa processer kan ge upphov till det så kallade ”konjunktionsfelet”. Detta innebär att kombinationen av två egenskaper eller händelser anses mer sannolikt än en av dessa egenskaper eller händelser. Konjunktionsfelet begås vid sannolikhetsbedömningar där personen baserar sitt svar på likhetsinformation och att detta är en “system 1-process”. I detta fall avser likhetsinformation svarsalternativ med konjunktioner som påminner om personbeskrivningarna i sannolikhetsbedömningarna. Denna studie syftar till att styrka antagandet om att “system 1” påverkar beslutfattandet i sannolikhetsbedömningen, även under kontroll av “system 2”. Studien innefattade 30 deltagare (11 män och 19 kvinnor) i åldersspannet 19-34 år (M = 24.17 år, SD = 4.23). För studien användes en inomgruppsdesign. Huvudhypotesen var att ökad likhetsinformation skulle leda till förlängd reaktionstid. Enligt tidigare forskning ökar reaktionstiden med mängden likhetsinformation. Denna studie stödjer inte dessa resultat och huvudhypotesen uppfylls ej. Datat resulterade även i ett oväntat fynd som visade på att försöksdeltagarna gjorde signifikant färre antal rätt desto mera likhetsinformation  de utsattes för. Slutsatsen är att det blir svårare för testdeltagaren att fatta rätt beslut då mängden likhetsinformation ökar. Studiens oväntade fynd kan överföras till vardagliga situationer. Detta genom att människor kan begå misstag på grund av att de inte tänker igenom saker, eller analyserar beslut tillräckligt noggrant.

Master of Science / Department of Architectural Engineering and Construction Science / Kimberly W. Kramer / Dual Lateral Force Resisting Systems are currently required by code to include a Moment Resisting Frame capable of resisting at least 25% of the lateral loads. This thesis evaluates the seismic performance of a specific type of dual system: a Special Moment Resisting Frame-Special Concentric Brace Frame System (SMRF-SCBF) under three different force distributions. The three distributions were 80% - 20%, 75% - 25%, and 70% - 30% with the lesser force being allotted to the Special Moment Resisting Frame (SMRF) portion of the system. In order to evaluate the system, a parametric study was performed. The parametric study consisted of three SMRF-SCBF systems designed with different seismic force distributions. The aim of this study was to determine accuracy of the three different seismic force distributions. The accuracy was measured by comparing individual system models’ data and combined system models’ data. The data used for comparison included joint deflections (both horizontal and vertical), induced moments at moment connections, brace axial loads, column shears, and column base reactions. Two-dimensional models using the structural software RISA 3D were used to assist in designing the independent Seismic Force Resisting Systems. The designs of the frames were not finely tuned (smallest member size for strength), but were designed for drift (horizontal deflection) requirements and constructability issues. Connection designs were outside the scope of the study, except for constructability considerations – the SMRF and the SCBF did not have a common column; the frames were a bay apart connected with a link beam. The results indicated that a seismic force distribution of 75% to the SCBF and 25% to the SMRF most accurately predicts that frame’s behavior. A force distribution of 80% to the SCBF and 20% to the SMRF resulted in moderately accurate results as well. A vast opportunity for further research into this area of study exists. Alterations to the design process, consideration of wind loads, or additional force distributions are all recommended changes for further research into this topic.

After the Velvet Revolution in 1989, the Czech media landscape was getting its second wind. The boom in the private sector of the broadcasting landscape of Czechoslovakia, and later the Czech Republic, was unprecedented. However, it often preceded the legislative changes of the reborn state. Society-wide changes were followed by granting of first experimental licenses to local radio broadcasters, but in 1993 the Broadcasting Council decided to provide the transmitters to two nationwide stations - Frekvence 1 and Radio Alfa. Alfa was, in fact, the first nationwide private radio in the Czech Republic which started broadcasting on September 13, 1993. During six years of existence, it has earned its place on the private radio market in the Czech Republic. Until today, a little legacy of this frantic time has been retained, therefore it is even more important to remember the existence of Radio Alfa through memories of radio journalists who formed the radio during that time and experienced this key stage of the Czech media market in the 1990's. This is also the aim of the thesis, which offers a comprehensive picture of the origins of commercial radio broadcasting in the Czech Republic (with emphasis on so-called dual broadcasting system) through a case study of Radio Alfa, including research...

The use of residential secondary or dual water systems for irrigation purposes is common in the western United States where water supplies are scarce. While the use of non-potable water in secondary systems has successfully curtailed demands on potable systems, experience has shown that overall water use actually increases with the introduction of a secondary supply because users commonly pay a fixed fee and have unlimited water use. While water metering and billing effectively reduce water use, there are two main obstacles to the widespread installation of meters in secondary systems. The first obstacle is that standard residential water meters do not normally function in debris-filled secondary water. Metering mechanisms can clog or be degraded by suspended debris of both organic and inorganic nature in the water. By way of innovative meter designs or filtration, a few secondary systems have had success metering their secondary water. Other systems have experimented with possible debris-resistant meters but have had little success. In addition to the physical limitations of water meters, secondary systems face economic obstacles from the increased expense of metering. Since secondary water is intended to be an inexpensive alternative to potable water for outdoor irrigation, any cost increase due to the expense of meters, filtration, meter reading, etc., interferes with the main objective of a secondary system. A system-specific economic analysis is necessary to determine the financial feasibility of the implementation of metering in any secondary system. The objective of this research is to identify feasible ways for metering secondary water systems. An overall analysis is made of the performance, benefits, and drawbacks of each technological approach. Approximate costs and design requirements of these technologies are identified, thereby allowing water suppliers to determine the economic feasibility of metering. In addition, other design precautions for implementing secondary metering and investigations of residential meter performance in secondary systems using filtration are discussed.

This study examined the relation between executive functioning (EF) and risk taking in adolescents using a dual system approach. According to the dual system perspective adolescents are prone to engage in risky behaviors as a result of an imbalance between the cognitive control system and the affective system (Casey, Getz & Galvan, 2008; Cohen, 2005; Steinberg, 2008; Van Leijenhorst et al., 2010). We investigated both the possible direct impact EF capacity has on risk taking as well as how the developmental trajectory of EF influences adolescent risk taking. 34 participants between 15-18 years of age from a non-clinical group carried out four computerized tasks. Two tasks measured risk taking, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and the Columbia Card Task (CCT) and two tasks measured EF, N-back and the Matrix Monitoring Task. The participants had earlier carried out similar EF tasks in 2004 and 2008. The results showed that risk taking tendencies correlated negatively with performance in the EF tasks. No correlation was found between developmental trajectories of EF and risk taking. An alternative explanation for this result is presented. Our findings indicate support for the dual system perspective and we discuss some practical implications of the dual system way of looking at risk taking.

The concept of weakness of will, or Akrasia, relates to questions regarding the rationality of our choices. Philosophers such as Richard Holton and Alfred Mele have spearheaded the debate since the turn of the century, but quite recently arguments put forth by Nick Heather and Edmund Henden have catapulted the question into a subgenre between the medical, psychological, and philosophical fields. N. Heather argues that it can be useful to categorize addiction as a certain weakness of will meanwhile E. Henden argues against this point. In discussions around topics such as addiction and behavioral psychology, a natural part of the conversation surrounds questions regarding freedom of choice. What constitutes addiction and how does it begin? Do those who are addicted have free will, and in turn, can they be held accountable for their choices? These are some of the questions that materialize when delving into this topic that feasibly might get answered in this paper. However, a lot of the discussion regarding addiction seems to rely quite heavily on the clinical aspects of substance dependency, which can be counterproductive to the discussion as it diverges from philosophy into neurobiological medicine and clinical psychology. Furthermore, substance addictions tend to have a direct effect on habituation and motivation which bypasses certain cognitive systems. To avoid falling into these pitfalls, this paper sets out to examine a rising phenomenon through the same lens: Social Media Addiction (SMA). Since that would fall under behavioral disorder within the spectrum of addiction and therefore not have the same properties as a drug-induced addiction, this article aims to investigate if it exhibits the defining characteristics of akratic action and investigate if SMA fulfills these. In this paper, a comparison between SMA and regular addictions is made in order to identify the differences and similarities. There is a larger discussion around the topic of what acratic core action is and when it is applicable in the case of addiction but also recent arguments for and against classifying addiction as akrasia are presented. Finally, the findings suggest there are cases where addictions can be classified as a form of akrasia which has its own implications and interpretations that are brought up. Limitations of the discussion are brought up and further research is suggested.

No description available.

In der beruflichen Bildung stellt sich in besonderer Weise die Frage nach dem Verhältnis der idealtypischen Lernorte Betrieb und Berufsschule. Obwohl dieser Duplizität der Lernorte offenbar eine besondere bildende Kraft innewohnt, reichen die Forderungen, diese Zweiheit zu gestalten von der radikalen Trennung bis hin zur vollständigen Abstimmung der jeweiligen Aktivitäten von Lehren und Lernen. Richtigerweise wurden von Tenberg, Aprea und Pittich (2012) in einem grundlegenden Positionspapier diese instrumentellen Vorschläge als empirisch gehaltlos kritisiert. Zwischenzeitlich gibt es eine nähere Untersuchung der faktischen Verhältnisse. Dafür wurde an der TU Chemnitz im Rahmen der von eben diesen Autoren federführend lancierten europäischen ConVet-Studie zunächst eine Dokumentenanalyse durchgeführt. Dieses wurde um eine Befragung von Auszubildenden/ Schülerinnen und Schülern sowie von deren Ausbildern und Lehrkräften erweitert. Als ein erster wesentlicher Hinweis ist diesen Untersuchungen zu entnehmen, dass die eine Konnektivität höherer Ordnung bzw. eine abgeschwächte Hypothese der Komplementarität Anspruch auf Gültigkeit besitzen könnten. Die Dokumentenstudie und die Pilotbefragung sollen Grundlage für weitere Studien quantitativer Ausrichtung sein, die einen quantitativ deutlich weitergesteckten Probandenrahmen umfassen sollen.