Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-81).

Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-81). Also available in print.

This research seeks to determine the impact of the use of e-mail between lecturers and students at the NMMU. New students at universities, and especially first year undergraduates, can sometimes have difficulties in addressing their concerns, questions and ideas about their courses and are faced with the difficulty of adapting to a new lifestyle and the university environment. Interactivity and feedback are key contributors to providing an effective learning environment for such students. Lecturers provide the main source for university students to discover what is expected of them to identify the key learning goals related to a course, from a lecturer (Braxton, Milem & Sullivan, 2000:569). The increase in student numbers in Higher Education over the last decade has been dramatic, placing greater pressures on academic staff in terms of contacting students. As computer technology becomes both more prevalent and more intrusive, its use and misuse are increasingly falling under the critical scrutiny of academic researchers. If traditional educational methods are supported, such support must be flexible enough to accommodate technology, but as a means, not an end. The research of e-mail impact between students and lecturers is still very new and is open for additional study (Braxton, et al. 2000:590).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

A nutrition education program for employed women on maintaining a healthy weight was developed and evaluated. Delivery of eight messages (two per week for four weeks) by electronic mail was tested for effectiveness. The subjects were 243 members of the Oregon State University Office and Personnel Association who were randomly assigned to three experimental groups. Group #1 received hard copies of the messages, group #2 received hard copies along with a weekly electronic tip on weight management, and group #3 received the messages by electronic mail (e-mail). An evaluation survey was developed to assess: 1) Participants' stage of change regarding fat in the diet, 2) Participants' social support network for weight maintenance, 3) Reactions to the program, 4) Impact of the program on positive behavior regarding weight control, and 5) Demographics. The survey was sent by campus mail about three weeks after the program. The evaluation was completed by 80.2% of participants. The nine male respondents and the two gender-unidentified respondents were not included in the data analysis to assure a total female population. A total of 181 surveys were analyzed (74.5%). The mean age of female respondents was 47.8 ± 13.3. Although it was hypothesized that electronic delivery of the program and/or supplementing the hard copy/print program with brief electronic tips would be associated with higher order stages of change (Transtheoretical Model), the results from this study did not support the hypotheses. There was no significant difference in stage of change among participants in the three modes of delivery. The messages appeared to have the greatest impact on women in the action and preparation stages. They tended to make more positive changes (i.e. reading food labels) than women in the maintenance, contemplation, and precontemplation stages. Mode of delivery did not appear to make a difference in whether the women looked forward to the messages, reactions to message length, how many were read, or the resulting knowledge or behavior change. Therefore, it may not be critical to program effectiveness. Women in the electronic group, however, were more certain that they received all eight messages and were more apt to ask questions of the researcher. The potential cost savings, convenience, and ease of quick communication make it a more attractive option. Access to the technology and participant preference are equally important factors. / Graduation date: 1997

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

This paper provides analysis of a series of email correspondences between secondary newcomer immigrant students and Latino business professionals within the same urban community. The author, using James Gee's discourse theory (1990, 1996, 1999, 2004) contends that school-based discourses and structures have historically operated as barriers to academic success and societal acceptance for the vast majority of secondary English Language Learners, indicating the systemic perpetuation of a racist, classist, xenophobic social order through the public schools. When an attempt is made to sidestep these school-based discourses and put students in direct contact with mature, successful practitioners of English outside of the education community, the students encounter "mentor talk," a set of discourses that uncritically embrace the notions of a neutral, meritocratic, knowledge-based socioeconomic order. At the same time, students encounter language that can be appropriated for their own creative constructions of identity as they seek to position themselves in a new society. Even when there exists a strong alignment between the student's socially-situated identity presentation and the ideological thrust of "mentor talk," many societal barriers stand in the pathway of social and educational advancement. More often, the student identities express resistance, often subtle, to the standard, hegemonizing guidelines for success they have been offered. / text

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This study aims to explore politeness shown by lecturers during tuition and student support conversations with the objective of promoting polite interactions between IsiZulu mother tongue and non-mother tongue speakers in higher education in South Africa. In particular, the study investigates the way in which politeness in email communication influences learning outcomes within an ODL environment, using quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, a questionnaire as well as interviews to collect data from a cross-section of students from an Open Distance Learning (ODL) institution. All the results drawn from the data sources, namely the questionnaires and interviews, were enumerated according to the data collection tools used. Version 12 of SPSS and Nvivo were used to analyse the quantitative data. The analysis is also based on the politeness strategies of Brown and Levinson (1978) as well as a conceptual framework that links all the variables. Based on the results, the research hypotheses are accepted, thus indicating that politeness in email communication influences learning outcomes within an ODL environment. In particular, the results show that, overall, lecturers who employ politeness contribute positively to student compliance. Accordingly, the study recommends that ODL should recognise both the role of language in communication as well as the power and influence of politeness in communication. / African Languages / D. Litt. et Phil.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / indefinitely