This study explores the development and implementation of a tuition policy at the ‘single dedicated distance education institution in South Africa,’ which is the University of South Africa. The discussion focuses specifically on ‘how different stakeholders participated in the development and implementation of the Unisa tuition policy’. In this context, the author contends that the development and implementation of an institutional tuition policy is influenced by various factors relating to the determination of the roles to be played by various stakeholders in the process. A broader consideration is whether or not and how tuition policy development and implementation influence teaching and learning in distance education. The perspective taken in this study necessarily includes the different acts and policy documents that focus on the development of the higher education sector in South Africa, which consequently influence the practice and experience of distance education. The main findings of the study concur with the notion that there is contention in terms of Unisa tuition policy development and implementation, which leads to a measure of reluctance to implement the policy. Furthermore, the implementation has not been as effective as it might have been, and this defeats the purpose of the policy, which is to promote effective teaching and learning in distance education. The data derived from the investigation partly support this study’s concern that the development and implementation of this policy depend on participants’ and stakeholders’ mental models. The findings also show that the contention regarding the determination of roles in the development and implementation has negative impacts on the effectiveness of teaching and learning at Unisa, which may not be very obvious to the stakeholders involved. Crucially, it was also found that the stakeholders could not separate their institutional roles and positions from their roles in policy development and implementation. It is in the context of these findings that the author recommends that policy development and implementation for effective teaching and learning should critically define the institutional roles of those engaged in policy development and implementation in a distance education institution such as Unisa. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

Pour expliquer les faibles taux d'endémisme rencontrés chez les mousses en Macaronésie, deux hypothèses ont été successivement testées et invalidées au cours de mon doctorat chez deux genres de mousses d'occurrence macaronésienne, phylogénétiquement proches, Hedenasiastrum et Rhynchostegiella. Une première hypothèse suggérait que les mousses sont des organismes à faible potentiel évolutif peu enclins à former des espèces endémiques. Si une apparente stase morphologique de plus de 40 millions d'années a été reconstruite chez Hedenasiastrum, genre monotypique endémique de Madère, le grand nombre de convergences phénotypiques et les taux très élevés de diversification insulaire dans le genre Rhynchostegiella, infirment très fortement cette hypothèse. Ces études tendent ainsi à mettre en valeur la nature hyper adaptable des mousses et la diversité des processus évolutifs pouvant se mettre en place pour des espèces proches, dans une même région biogéographique. Une seconde hypothèse évoquait des flux de gènes intenses entre continents et îles, bloquant la spéciation insulaire ; hypothèse à son tour réfutée par le grand nombre d'évènements de spéciation in situ dans les îles, révélé par nos analyses de reconstruction d'aires ancestrales. Ce travail dévoile au final que la généralisation des colonisations inverses des îles vers le continent, pourrait être un des facteurs majeur expliquant les faibles taux d'endémisme macaronésiens chez les mousses. Plus que des puits de diversité, les îles seraient ainsi une source importante de biodiversité pour le continent chez les organismes capables de dispersion longue distance. / To explain the low rates of endemism encountered in Macaronesian mosses, two hypotheses have been successfully tested and invalidated during my PhD in two genera of mosses of the subfamily Helicodontioideae occurring in Macaronesia Islands, respectively Hedenasiastrum and Rhynchostegiella. The first hypothesis suggested that mosses are low evolutionary potential organisms, reluctant to form endemic species; if an apparent morphological stasis over 40 million years was reconstructed in Hedenasiastrum, a monotypic genus endemic of Madeira, the large number of phenotypic convergences and high rates of insular diversification in the genus Rhynchostegiella, strongly refute this hypothesis. Thereby these studies tend to emphasize the hyper-adaptability of mosses and the diversity of evolutionary processes that can occur in closely related species in the same biogeographic region. The second hypothesis evoked too intense gene flow between mainland and islands, preventing speciation on islands; a hypothesis invalidated by the high number of in situ event of speciation on islands revealed by our analysis of ancestral area reconstruction. Finally this work reveals generalized reverse colonization from islands to mainland after in situ speciation, as one of major factor responsible for low rates of endemism in the Macaronesian mosses. Islands may thus appear for organisms with high dispersal ability as inexhaustible sources of diversity.

This study examined how technology-mediated distance education is used in special education courses in teacher preparation programs. The data are based on a 30-item survey administered to members of the Teacher Education Division of the Council for Exceptional Children, who identified themselves as serving in an instructional capacity within institutions of higher education. Technology-mediated instruction was characterized in terms course delivery methods and program attributes. An analysis of instructional design processes revealed that most instructors are largely autonomous and do not rely on a team-based approach. Most make use of course-design and management software. Training is linked to course strategy and evaluation, while experience is associated with implementation. Respondents emphasized communication and student feedback. While both users and non-users of distance education technology foresaw the increased use for course delivery in the future, a notable percentage (13%) of current users indicated a desire to discontinue use.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between faculty perceptions, selected demographics, implementation of elements of transactional distance theory and online web-based course completion rates. This theory posits that the high transactional distance of online courses makes it difficult for students to complete these courses successfully; too often this is associated with low completion rates. Faculty members play an indispensable role in course design, whether online or face-to-face. They also influence course delivery format from design through implementation and ultimately to how students will experience the course. This study used transactional distance theory as the conceptual framework to examine the relationship between teaching and learning strategies used by faculty members to help students complete online courses. Faculty members’ sex, number of years teaching online at the college, and their online course completion rates were considered. A researcher-developed survey was used to collect data from 348 faculty members who teach online at two prominent colleges in the southeastern part of United States. An exploratory factor analysis resulted in six factors related to transactional distance theory. The factors accounted for slightly over 65% of the variance of transactional distance scores as measured by the survey instrument. Results provided support for Moore’s (1993) theory of transactional distance. Female faculty members scored higher in all the factors of transactional distance theory when compared to men. Faculty number of years teaching online at the college level correlated significantly with all the elements of transactional distance theory. Regression analysis was used to determine that two of the factors, instructor interface and instructor-learner interaction, accounted for 12% of the variance in student online course completion rates. In conclusion, of the six factors found, the two with the highest percentage scores were instructor interface and instructor-learner interaction. This finding, while in alignment with the literature concerning the dialogue element of transactional distance theory, brings a special interest to the importance of instructor interface as a factor. Surprisingly, based on the reviewed literature on transactional distance theory, faculty perceptions concerning learner-learner interaction was not an important factor and there was no learner-content interaction factor.

Orientadores: Carlile Campos Lavor, Tibérius de Oliveira e Bonates / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Matemática Estatística e Computação Científica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-26T15:11:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lima_JorgeFerreiraAlencar_D.pdf: 1109545 bytes, checksum: 086223c23c920a9abe0d3661769a6a7d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015 / Resumo: Geometria de Distâncias Euclidianas (GDE) é o estudo da geometria euclidiana baseado no conceito de distância. É uma teoria útil em diversas aplicações, onde os dados consistem em um conjunto de distâncias e as possíveis soluções são pontos em algum espaço euclidiano que realizam as distâncias dadas. O problema chave em GDE é conhecido como Problema de Geometria de Distâncias (PGD), em que é dado um inteiro K>0 e um grafo simples, não direcionado, ponderado G=(V,E,d), cujas arestas são ponderadas por uma função não negativa d, e queremos determinar se existe uma função (realização) que leva os vértices de V em coordenadas no espaço euclidiano K-dimensional, satisfazendo todas as restrições de distâncias dadas por d. Consideramos tanto problemas teóricos quanto aplicações da GDE. Em termos teóricos, demonstramos a quantidade exata de soluções de uma classe de PGDs muito importante para problemas de conformação molecular e, além disso, conseguimos condições necessárias e suficientes para determinar quando um grafo completo associado a um PGD é realizável e qual o espaço euclidiano com dimensão mínima para tal realização. Em termos práticos, desenvolvemos um algoritmo que calcula tal realização em dimensão mínima com resultados superiores a um algoritmo clássico da literatura. Finalmente, mostramos uma aplicação direta do PGD em problemas de escalonamento multidimensional / Abstract: Euclidean distance geometry (EDG) is the study of Euclidean geometry based on the concept of distance. This is useful in several applications, where the input data consists of an incomplete set of distances and the output is a set of points in some Euclidean space realizing the given distances. The key problem in EDG is known as the Distance Geometry Problem (DGP), where an integer K>0 is given, as well as a simple undirected weighted graph G=(V,E,d), whose edges are weighted by a non-negative function d. The problem consists in determining whether or not there is a (realization) function that associates the vertices of V with coordinates of the K-dimensional Euclidean space, in such a way that those coordinates satisfy all distances given by d. We considered both theoretical issues and applications of EDG. In theoretical terms, we proved the exact number of solutions of a subclass of DGP that is very important in the molecular conformation problems. Moreover, we described necessary and sufficient conditions for determining whether a complete graph associated to a DGP is realizable and the minimum dimension of such realization. In practical terms, we developed an algorithm that computes such realization, which outperforms a classical algorithm from the literature. Finally, we showed a direct application of DGP to multidimensional scaling / Doutorado / Matematica Aplicada / Doutor em Matemática Aplicada

L'utilisation de termes équivalents ou sémantiquement proches est nécessaire pour augmenter la couverture et la sensibilité d'une application comme la recherche et l'extraction d'information ou l'annotation sémantique de documents. Dans le contexte de l'identification d'effets indésirables susceptibles d'être dûs à un médicament, la sensibilité est aussi recherchée afin de détecter plus exhaustivement les déclarations spontanées et de mieux surveiller le risque médicamenteux. C'est la raison qui motive notre travail. Dans notre travail de thèse, nous cherchons ainsi à détecter des termes sémantiquement proches et à les regrouper en utilisant plusieurs méthodes : des algorithmes de clustering non supervisés, des ressources terminologiques exploitées avec le raisonnement terminologique et des méthodes de Traitement Automatique de la Langue, comme la structuration de terminologies, où nous visons la détection de relations hiérarchiques et synonymiques. Nous avons réalisé de nombreuses expériences et évaluations des clusters générés, qui montrent que les méthodes proposées peuvent contribuer efficacement à la tâche visée. / The use of equivalent terms or semantically close is necessary to increase the coverageand sensitivity of applications such as information retrieval and extraction or semanticannotation of documents. In the context of the adverse drug reactions identification, sensitivityis also sought to detect more exhaustively spontaneous reports and better monitordrug risk. This is the reason that motivates our work. In our work, we thus seek to detectsemantically close terms and the together using several methods : unsupervised algorithms, terminological resources exploited with terminological reasoning and methodsof Natural Language Processing, such as terminology structuring, where we aim to detecthierarchical and synonymous relations. We conducted many experiments and evaluations of generated, which show that the proposed methods can efficiently contribute tothe task in question.

Cette thèse s’appuie sur une base de données que j’ai constituée. Cette base de donnée regroupe des statistiques commerciales, des PIB, des taux des change et des tariffs douaniers, mais aussi des variables couramment utilisées dans les études basées sur le modèle de gravité : distance, liens coloniaux et linguistiques. Dans le chapitre 2, je montre que la mondialisation du dix-neuvième siècle avait déjà débuté vers 1840 en Europe, alors qu’elle a seulement commencé à la fin du siècle pour le reste du monde. Dans le chapitre 3, je montre que l’effet frontière a été réduit de moitié pendant la Première et pendant la Seconde mondialisation. Je montre aussi que l’effet de la distance a approximativement doublé dans le même temps. Dans le chapitre 4, je montre que l’élasticité du commerce aux couts de commerce (i.e. trade elasticity) n’a pas changé de manière significative entre le début et la fin du dix-neuvième siècle. Dans le chapitre 5, je montre que la Grande Bretagne a bénéficié de la plus grande part de l’effet de création de commerce du au canal de Suez, alors que la cote occidentale de l’Amérique Latine a bénéficié d’environ 40% de l’effet sur le commerce du canal de Panama. Je montre aussi que les estimations de l’élasticité de la distance dans la dimension temporelle rendent possible de réconcilier l’élasticité de la distance avec les estimations communes de ses composants : l’élasticité du commerce aux couts de commerce et l’élasticité des couts de commerce à la distance maritime. / This thesis relies on a data set that I put together. The data set gathers trade statistics, GDP, exchange rate and tariff data as well as gravity-related variables including distance, colonial and linguistic links. In chapter 2, I show that the globalization of the nineteenth century had already begun in the 1840s in Europe, while it only began in the late nineteenth century for the rest of the world. In chapter 3, I show that the border effect was halved over the course of both the First and the Second Globalization. I also find that the distance effect roughly doubled during both periods of globalization. In chapter 4, I show that the trade elasticity did not change significantly over the course of the First Globalization. In chapter 5, I show that Britain benefited from most of the trade creating effect of the Suez Canal, while the western coast of Latin America benefited from about 40% of the trade effect of the Panama Canal. I also show that time dimension estimates of the distance elasticity make it possible to reconcile the distance elasticity with the common estimates for its components: the trade elasticity and the elasticity of trade costs to shipping distance.

This master thesis deals with the implementation of the RIPng routing protocol in the OMNeT++/INET environment. It describes the RIPng protocol and its specifics on the Cisco devices. It clarifies important concepts such as IPv6 and distance-vector routing protocols. The thesis also describes the OMNeT++ environment and the INET Framework, where it focuses on the current status of implementation of the components required for the RIPng protocol integration.

The purpose of this qualitative thesis research was to explore the state of distance education in Saudi universities. The research focused on teaching and learning from the perspectives of the universities’ instructors as well as expert designers from the Ministry of Education working in distance education. By using a multiple case studies approach, this study aimed to understand the opportunities and challenges faced in the development of online learning environments at Saudi universities from an ethical and cultural perspectives. Data collection methods consisted of 28 in-depth, one-on-one interviews as well a thematic analysis of 152 supporting documents related to the universities’ strategies to deliver online learning. The advanced findings revealed how the recent integration of a blended learning model has helped to contribute to a shift in the Saudi distance education system, as it moves from a teacher-centered approach to a learner-centered approach. Furthermore, drawing on Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions and Social Construction of Technology (SCOT), the study uncovers complex interactions between the Saudi learning culture, technology integration, and ethical issues. This research contributes unique knowledge about the state of online learning development in Saudi higher education to help enhance distance education development in Saudi Arabia, as well as in other areas of the world where similar distance education development initiatives are underway.

This paper deals with an idea of boundaries that christians and non-christians construct and the way these boundaries emerge and reproduce. Based on the analysis of twelve in-depth interviews, I show that the concept of moral boundaries is relevant for the relationship between christians and non-christians. Although many emphasize tolerance and understanding, they define themselves as opposed to each other in many ways. Christians consider God's commandments to be the source of morality, non-christians think it is rooted in people themselves. Christians consider relationship with God, love and good christian life to be the highest values and they think non-christians prefer money, health and family. Those admit these values, but they emphasize that being christian does not automatically mean being a good person. As a respond to today's situation, I analyze creating social distance and symbolic boundaries against ethnic and national minorities. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)