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Misinformation remains pervasive in digital platforms, shaping how individuals receive news online. Prior work suggests that credibility perceptions of misinformation can differ based on the modality of the misinformation message. Informed by the MAIN model, this quantitative study conducted two separate 2 (Modality: video or text) x 2 (Social endorsement cues: high vs. low) between-subject experiments to assess the influence of message modality and social endorsement cues on misinformation credibility judgments. The experiments reviewed two different topics of misinformation: artificial intelligence technology malfunction (N = 296) and a cure for cancer (N = 306). Results for Study 1 on artificial intelligent technology malfunction misinformation indicated that participants who viewed the video modality judged a higher perception of source expertise and message credibility. The results of Study 2 suggested that the text presentation of health misinformation prompted higher message elaboration relative to the video conditions. Findings suggest that modality does influence how people judge misinformation messages depending on the subject matter. In addition, source credibility influences how people judge message credibility. The paper concludes with a discussion of theoretical implications and practical applications.

Convaincu de l’intérêt et du potentiel des matériaux naturels et des déchets industriels, cette thèse a contribué à la mise au point de matériaux de stockage de la chaleur (TESM) pour les CSP en Afrique de l’Ouest. Plus spécifiquement, ce travail de recherche a porté sur la valorisation de la latérite du Burkina Faso, des cendres de foyer des centrales à charbon de la société SONICHAR au Niger, des résidus en carbonate de calcium (chaux) de l’industrie de production de l’acétylène au Burkina Faso et l’huile végétale de Jatropha curcas de la société Belwet au Burkina Faso. Les résultats de cette étude ont permis de montrer que l’huile de Jatropha curcas peut être considérée comme une alternative viable aux fluides de transfert et aux TESM conventionnels pour les CSP fonctionnant à 210 °C. Les matériaux élaborés à partir des cendres de foyer et de la latérite présentent un caractère réfractaire en raison de la présence de mullite et de spinelle. L’ajout de chaux permet de réduire le point de fusion tout en préservant le caractère réfractaire et conducteur des phases obtenues. En raison de leurs stabilités, et l’absence de conflit d'utilisation, les matériaux obtenus peuvent être utilisés comme TESM dans CSP à des températures allant jusqu’à 900 °C. / Convinced of the interest and potential of natural materials and industrial waste, this thesis has contributed to the development of heat storage materials (TESM) for CSPs in West Africa. More specifically, this research focused on the valorization of laterite from Burkina Faso, the bottom ashes from the coal-fired power plants of SONICHAR in Niger, residues of calcium carbonate (lime) from the acetylene in Burkina Faso and the vegetable oil of Jatropha curcas from the company Belwet in Burkina Faso. The results of this study showed that Jatropha curcas oil can be considered as a viable alternative to conventional HTF and TESM for CSP operating at 210 °C. The materials elaborated from bottom ashes and laterites present a refractory character due to the presence of mullite and spinel. The addition of lime makes it possible to reduce the melting temperature while preserving the refractory and conductive character of the obtained phases. Due to their stabilities, and the absence of conflict of use, the obtained materials can be used as TESM in CSP at temperatures up to 900 °C.

Zoologische Gärten (Zoos) haben den Auftrag, zur Bildung für nachhaltige Entwicklung (BNE) beizutragen. Allerdings ist umstritten, welche Wirkung die angebotenen Bildungsmaßnahmen bei Zoobesuchern erzielen. In Anlehnung an Vorgehensweisen aus dem Bereich der persuasiven Werbekommunikation ist das Ziel der vorliegenden Studie die weiterführende Beschreibung der Zielgruppe Zoobesucher anhand kommunikationsrelevanter psychologischer Merkmale ebenso wie die empirische Überprüfung der Wirkung gedruckter Nachhaltigkeitsbotschaften auf Zoobesucher. Dafür wurden 310 Besuchern des Zoologischen Garten Magdeburgs Nachhaltigkeitsbotschaften mit emotional positiv bzw. negativ gefärbten Inhalten, regionalen bzw. überregionalen thematischen Inhalten oder informativen bzw. lösungsorientierten Inhalten an einem Eye-Tracker präsentiert. Dabei wurden das Blickverhalten und die nachhaltige Verhaltensabsichten der Probanden registriert. Demografische und psychologische Merkmale sowie das Erinnerungsvermögen der Probanden an vorab betrachtete Inhalte wurden per Fragebogen erhoben. Im Ergebnis zeigten sich die Probanden als überwiegend erholungs- und freizeitmotiviert und als gegenüber Nachhaltigkeitsthemen gering involviert. Das Blickverhalten der Probanden war unabhängig von der emotionalen Färbung der Nachhaltigkeitsbotschaften. Auch die nachhaltigen Verhaltensabsichten standen nicht in Zusammenhang mit der emotionalen Färbung bzw. dem thematischen Inhalt der Botschaften. Im Vergleich zu lösungsorientierten Inhalten zeigten sich Probanden stärker an informativen Inhalten interessiert und betrachteten diese intensiver. Gleichwohl war ihre Erinnerungsleistung an lösungsorientierte Inhalte besser. Die Ergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund der interdisziplinären theoretischen Grundlagen diskutiert und münden in fünf anwendungsorientierten Vorschlägen zur Optimierung gedruckter Nachhaltigkeitsbotschaften in Zoos. / Zoological Gardens (zoos) are mandated to take active part in public conservation education. The true impact of those education efforts on zoo visitors, however, remains subject to discussion. Employing theories from the field of persuasive marketing communication the study aims at broadening the understanding of the target group’s characteristics relevant for successful communication and at empirically investigating the impact of printed conservation messages on zoo visitors. 310 visitors of Zoo Magdeburg were shown presentations containing either emotionally positive or negative content, regionally or globally related content or informative or solution-oriented content. During viewing the participants’ visual attention was recorded using eye tracking. At the end of the presentation participants were requested to indicate their intentions for sustainable behaviour by mouse-click. Their demographic and psychological characteristics as well as their recall ability for viewed content were investigated with a questionnaire. Findings suggest that zoo visitors regard zoos as locations for recreation rather than for education and that they should be considered a low involvement target group with regards to topics concerning sustainability. The visual attention of participants was independent of the contents’ emotional bias. Similarly, intentions for behaving in a sustainable way were neither influenced by the emotional bias nor by the topic portrayed. Participants indicated higher interest for informative content than for solution-oriented content and also looked at informative content more intensively. Nevertheless, the recall test revealed better memorization of solution-oriented content. The findings are discussed with regards to the interdisciplinary theoretical background. As a conclusion five suggestions are made on how to optimize the impact of printed conservation messages in zoos.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Curtis Matthews / Integrated marketing communications strategies are being utilized more and more by practitioners who wish to reach their audiences in different ways at different times. However, the omnipresence that results from these multi-channel campaigns presents a new challenge for marketers, as their message and channel sequences may or may not be experienced in the order intended. Past literature has shown that both message order and channel sequence do matter. However, existing literature has not examined intended message sequences where the first channel “teases” the more comprehensive information available in the second channel. Therefore, the aim of this study was to bridge some of the gaps in past research by exploring message content order effects and channel sequence effects across intentional sequences for both high- and low-involvement product categories through the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. A 2 (message content order: tease-to-answer versus answer-to-tease) by 2 (medium sequence: print-to-online versus online-to-print) by 2 (product involvement: high- versus low-involvement) mixed factorial experimental design was conducted to explore how message content order, channel sequence, and product involvement level affected evaluations of brand and message, as well as perceived behavioral intent. The findings indicated that message content order had significant influence over brand and message evaluation, with the tease-to-answer order producing the highest evaluations of brand and message. The findings also indicated that the online-to-print sequence was only effective for increasing behavioral intent under high-involvement conditions. Implications for marketing practitioners and future research are discussed.

This aim of this thesis is to contribute to the debate about the best approach to engage citizens with sustainable behaviour. It is generally agreed that „bottom-up‟ approaches, where individuals are actively involved, are more effective than „top-down‟ authority-led projects where they have a more passive role. There is, however, a dearth of evidence from comparative evaluations. This thesis examines six distinct communication activities aimed at encouraging individuals to adopt more sustainable behaviours. Each used a different approach, some participative and others more top-down informational. Two questionnaires were used to gather data. The first was conducted at the time of the activity; the second between four and five weeks later and included questions about behaviour change. Variables from Petty and Cacioppo‟s Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), such as perceptions about a message and its source, and variables which Ajzen‟s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) proposes as being key to behaviour change, such as subjective norms and attitudes, were used to see if these identified any difference in outcome. Findings indicate support for the added value of a bottom-up approach compared to other mechanisms and identify that this may be partly explained by the extent to which such activities offer a more supportive environment for behaviour change to take place. The measures used in this study may be useful to others seeking to evaluate behaviour change communication campaigns or those comparing different communicative approaches.

The nurturing of creative thinking skills is one of the cornerstones of Outcomes-Based Education (OBE). This study investigated to what extent teachers nurture the development of creative thinking through the choice of teaching methods, which include the application of teaching strategies and the utilization of resources, in the Grade 9 Social Sciences classroom. A literature study was undertaken to highlight the importance and nature of the development of creative thinking skills, and to establish which teaching methods, strategies and resources nurture the development of creative thinking in Social Sciences classrooms. The literature review provided the conceptual framework for the study, as well as the framework for designing a questionnaire that was utilized to obtain the perceptions of learners regarding the teaching methods, strategies and resources that their teachers use to nurture the development of creative thinking in the Grade 9 Social Sciences classroom. By means of a sequential explanatory mixed method research design, quantitative data were collected by means of a self-constructed questionnaire that was administrated to a convenient sample of a purposively selected group of Grade 9 Social Sciences learners (n=399) in the D7 district of the Gauteng Department of Education. Following this, a qualitative interview, which was constructed from the findings in the questionnaire, was conducted with purposively selected Grade 9 Social Sciences teachers (n=6) in order to ascertain the reasons behind the quantitative findings. The combination of quantitative and qualitative data revealed differences and similarities in opinion related to the teaching methods, strategies and resources that teachers use for nurturing creative thinking. In essence, the data revealed that teachers are, to some extent, nurturing creative thinking through their choice of teaching methods and strategies as well as the questioning techniques that they choose. However, the responses did not convincingly indicate to the researcher that the nurturing of creative thinking skills takes place on a regular and frequent basis. According to the learner responses, it appeared that teaching and learning methods and strategies that promote indirect, independent, interactive and experiential learning, are under-used by the Grade 9 Social Sciences teachers. In addition, resources that nurture creative elaboration such as political cartoons and photographs appear to be under-utilized. This study is concluded with recommendations to teachers concerning which teaching methods, strategies and resources could be implemented in order to promote the nurturing of creative thinking in the Grade 9 Social Sciences classroom. / Thesis (MEd (Learning and Teaching))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The research objective for this dissertation study was to build a preliminary survey that would, in its final form, allow educators and administrators to establish baseline information on individuals’ global competence characteristics prior to instruction, cross-cultural experience, international study or collaboration. A secondary aim concerned length: The intent was to keep the eventual final survey at 15 minutes or less to make it adaptable to a variety of settings. The researcher extracted terms and phrases from existing global competence definitions (e.g., Boix-Mansilla, Jackson, Asia Society & Council of Chief State School Officers, 2011; Hunter, 2005), related literature (e.g., Lambert, 1994), and previous research (Todd, 2013) to develop a definition and theoretical framework for this competence. Central to the developed definition and framework were the disposition/affective realm, knowledge, skill, and action elements, and a clear connection to cosmopolitanism (e.g., Appiah, 2006). Currently, a global competence definition and survey tied directly to cosmopolitanism do not exist. The learning theories of Vygotsky (1986), Bandura (1977), Lave (1993), and Kolb (Kolb, Boyatzis, & Mainemelis, 1999) also provided insight into global competence development for measurement purposes. The four-step study method included building a draft survey from the developed global competence definition, field testing the draft survey with a purposive sample (e.g., Babbie, 2007b; Teddlie & Yu, 2007) in order to make initial revisions to the instrument, conducting a Delphi review (e.g., Cyphert & Gant, 1970; Fogo, 2014; Helmer, 1967) of the revised draft survey to further refine the instrument, and describing the field-test sample using data from items retained in the resulting survey from the Delphi review. The outcome of each of the four steps constituted the findings for this research. Future research could involve adding new items and then field-testing the survey once again to examine the statistical structure of the developing instrument.

Le présent document obéit à un plan strict inhérent à tous les manuscrits de thèsepassée en Validation des Acquis de l’Expérience (VAE). Après un CV détaillé ledocument présente tout d’abord un retour réflexif sur le parcours professionnel c'està-dire, une synthèse sur les taches effectuées d’un travail de type projet vers uneimplication de plus en plus forte vers un travail de recherche à proprement parlé. Aprèsce retour réflexif qui permet d’avoir une vue d’ensemble de la progression du parcours,une synthèse est proposée, non pas de la totalité des travaux, mais de trois domainesbien précis et représentatifs du parcours de recherche. Ce choix s’est fait en cherchantun fil d’Ariane qui est tout simplement la nature chimique de la céramique étudiée ;dans le présent document il s’agit de carbures et plus précisément de SiC, TiC, ZrC,HfC. Tout d’abord le travail sur les céramiques monolithiques pour les applicationsnucléaires est abordé puis, les applications spatiales avec la mise au point deprotections contre l’oxydation à partir de poudres revêtues enfin, le document s’achèvepar des travaux d’infiltration de céramiques à partir d’un matériau intermétallique oucomment il est possible de faire des céramiques ultra réfractaires à basse température.Ces travaux étant originaux ils ont fait l’objet de brevets et de publications qui serontabordés dans la troisième partie. / This document obeys a strict plan inherent in all PhD manuscripts passed in Validationof the Assets of Experiment (VAE). After a detailed resume this document first of all,presents a reflexive return on the career i.e., from a work of type project towards anincreasingly strong implication to a research task. After this reflexive return whichmakes it possible to have an overall picture of the progression of the course, asynthesis is proposed, not of total work, but of three fields quite precise andrepresentative of the course of research. This choice was done by seeking a wire ofARIANE which is the chemical nature of the studied ceramics; in this document it isabout carbides and more precisely about SiC, TiC, ZrC, HfC. First of all monolithicceramics for the nuclear applications is approached then, the space applications withthe elaborating of protections against oxidation made by core shell powders finally, thedocument is completed by ceramics infiltrations from an intermetallic material or howit is possible to make ultra refractory ceramics at low temperature. As these works areoriginal they were the object of patents and publications which will be approached inthe third part.

Este trabalho tem como principal objetivo realizar um estudo das práticas de reelaboração musical relacionadas aqui como: transcrição, orquestração, redução, arranjo, adaptação e paráfrase, promovendo um resgate de sua valorização e estimulando sua expansão. Para isso, serão abordadas questões teóricas, históricas e estéticas acerca dessas práticas discutindo sua importância e utilização, buscando também um suporte teórico em outras áreas como a literatura. Além disso, serão feitas observações no sentido de perceber como se procedem estas práticas que são abordadas teoricamente, de maneira geral, como sinônimas, mas que na prática apontam para a possibilidade de existir procedimentos diferentes classificando os diversos termos em categorias distintas. O trabalho ainda traz como proposta, a realização de uma reelaboração, (orquestração do Choros 5 de H. Villa-Lobos) observando de que forma poderiam ser aplicados na prática os procedimentos observados anteriormente. / The main goal of this Doctoral Thesis is to carry out a study of different musical practices listed here as re-elaboration: Transcription, orchestration, reduction, arrangement, adaptation and paraphrase. As a secondary goal we aim at promoting the recovery of these practices and at encouraging their expansion. For this, we shall raise theoretical, histhorical and aesthetic issues about re-elaboration in music, discussing their importance and usage, seeking for theoretical support in other areas such as literature. Although such practices are often treated as synonyms, our research points to different procedures that can lead to their classification in specific categories. This work also bring the realization of re-elaboration, (the orchestration of, Heitor Villa-Lobos, Choros 5)in which we apply the theoretical procedures previously investigated.