abstract: The primary objective of this study was to revise a measure of exogenous instrumentality, part of a larger scale known as the Perceptions of Instrumentality Scale (Husman, Derryberry, Crowson, & Lomax, 2004) used to measure future oriented student value for course content. Study 1 piloted the revised items, explored the factor structure, and provided initial evidence for the reliability and validity of the revised scale. Study 2 provided additional reliability evidence but a factor analysis with the original and revised scale items revealed that the revised scale was measuring a distinct and separate construct that was not exogenous instrumentality. Here this new construct is called extrinsic instrumentality for grade. This study revealed that those that endorse a high utility value for grade report lower levels of connectedness (Husman & Shell, 2008) and significantly less use of knowledge building strategies (Shell, et al., 2005). These findings suggest that there are additional types of future oriented extrinsic motivation that should be considered when constructing interventions for students, specifically non-major students. This study also provided additional evidence that there are types of extrinsic motivation that are adaptive and have positive relationships with knowledge building strategies and connectedness to the future. Implications for the measurement of future time perspective (FTP) and its relationship to these three proximal, future oriented, course specific measures of value are also discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Family and Human Development 2017

Prior research provides evidence that people can improve their self-control performance through practice (e.g., Muraven, Baumeister, & Tice, 1999). Building on the Strength Model of self-control (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994; Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), this work assumes that self-control practice operates by increasing the capacity or endurance of a domain-general self-control resource. However, recent developments that highlight the role of motivation in self-control performance (e.g., Clarkson, Hirt, Jia, & Alexander, 2010; Job, Dweck, & Walton, 2010) suggest that changes in values, expectations, and beliefs may be driving the improvements over time. In the current study, I adapted a paradigm from the self-control training literature (Muraven, 2010a) in order to examine the possible role of motivational mechanisms in self-control performance improvement. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three practice conditions: a self-control task (avoiding sweets) or two control tasks. Self-control performance and potential motivational mechanisms were assessed both before and after the two-week practice period. Consistent with earlier research, self-control practice was associated with improved performance on an initial self-control performance task; however, there was no evidence of improvement in a post-depletion self-control task. Although self-control practice was not strongly associated with changes across potential motivational mechanisms, some exploratory analyses suggested that self-control instrumentality (beliefs that successful self-control is a means to central, self-relevant outcomes) may be an important predictor of self-control performance. I discuss implications for motivational models of self-control.

Prior research provides evidence that people can improve their self-control performance through practice (e.g., Muraven, Baumeister, & Tice, 1999). Building on the Strength Model of self-control (Baumeister, Heatherton, & Tice, 1994; Muraven & Baumeister, 2000), this work assumes that self-control practice operates by increasing the capacity or endurance of a domain-general self-control resource. However, recent developments that highlight the role of motivation in self-control performance (e.g., Clarkson, Hirt, Jia, & Alexander, 2010; Job, Dweck, & Walton, 2010) suggest that changes in values, expectations, and beliefs may be driving the improvements over time. In the current study, I adapted a paradigm from the self-control training literature (Muraven, 2010a) in order to examine the possible role of motivational mechanisms in self-control performance improvement. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three practice conditions: a self-control task (avoiding sweets) or two control tasks. Self-control performance and potential motivational mechanisms were assessed both before and after the two-week practice period. Consistent with earlier research, self-control practice was associated with improved performance on an initial self-control performance task; however, there was no evidence of improvement in a post-depletion self-control task. Although self-control practice was not strongly associated with changes across potential motivational mechanisms, some exploratory analyses suggested that self-control instrumentality (beliefs that successful self-control is a means to central, self-relevant outcomes) may be an important predictor of self-control performance. I discuss implications for motivational models of self-control.

abstract: Instrumentality is an important motivational construct that empathizes the connection between a present task and a future goal. Instrumentality is conceptualized as a task-specific variable. Reflecting context-dependent characteristics, two different types of instrumentality are distinguished: endogenous and exogenous instrumentality. Endogenous instrumentality is the perception that learning in a present task is useful to achieving valued future goals and exogenous instrumentality is the perception that outcome in a present task is instrumental to achieving valued future goals. This study investigated the differential relationships among each instrumentality type, academic achievements, and motivational variables. Three studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between each type of instrumentality and students’ achievement and motivational variables such as achievement goals, situational interests, and pressure and the moderating role of self-efficacy on the relationship. Study 1 investigated how endogenous and exogenous instrumentality was related to students’ achievement respectively. In addition, it was examined whether self-efficacy moderated in the relationship between each instrumentality and achievement. Study 2 was conducted to find that how each instrumentality was related to three different types of achievement goals, which were mastery, performance-approach, and performance-avoidance goals. Interaction between each type of instrumentality and self-efficacy was examined to find a moderating effect by self-efficacy on accounting for the relationship between instrumentality and achievement goals. Study 3 examined the role of each instrumentality on situational interest, pressure and achievement. The results showed that endogenous instrumentality predicted grade positively regardless students’ self-efficacy level, whereas exogenous instrumentality positively predicted grade of students with high self-efficacy and negatively predicted grade of students with low-self-efficacy. In addition, endogenous instrumentality predicted mastery goals positively and performance-avoidance goals negatively, whereas exogenous instrumentality predicted both performance-approach and performance avoidance goals positively. Moreover, students with high self-efficacy were less likely to adopt performance-avoidance goals when they perceived more endogenous instrumentality. It was also found that endogenous instrumentality was a positive predictor of situational interest and a negative predictor of pressure, whereas exogenous instrumentality was a negative predictor of situational interest and as a positive predictor of pressure. There was a mediating effect of pressure on the relationship between each instrumentality and grade. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Psychology 2016

The purpose of this study is to investigate the content and work processes regarding the values written in the curriculum for Swedish high schools and compare it with theories regarding the individualized society and political moralism. After the clarification of the content in the values of Swedish high schools and the work processes that are supposed to give students fundamental understanding about them, I analyze and compere it to the theories that are presented in the study. The main questions of the study are the following: What kinds of values are found in the curriculum for Swedish high schools? In general, how do Swedish high schools work with the written values when focus have gone from education and learning to instrumental knowledge, results, abilities and flexibility? The result showed that the content and work processes regarding the values in Swedish high schools are purely instrumental and moralistic. Due to the fact, that the individualized society and the neoliberal ideology do not require reflection and real understanding regarding the values. Therefore are the schools now more focused instrumental knowledge rather than universal knowledge based on understanding. This is not a surprising result, due to the fact that the public and the political discourse are colonized by moralism. This is the reaction individuals have to the fragmented society, where an alternative to the neoliberal ideology is nonexistent. The only kind of criticism in today’s society is based on moralism, which is affecting the work processes regarding the values in Swedish high schools.

No description available.

The aim of this study is to understand whether Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) motivational self system fits well with the language learning motivation of the participants in this Turkish university context The study has been carried out in a university in Western Turkey. In order to answer the research questions, the study has adopted a quantitative research design. The study has been conducted using a 109 item Likert scale questionnaire. The total number of participants in the study is 250. The study includes English prep class participants from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, the Department of Environmental Engineering, the Department of English Language Teaching, the Department of English Language and Literature and the Department of Biology. The results of the study show that the motivational self system partially fits well with the language learning motivation of the participants in this Turkish university context. As the results suggest, the model needs some modifications in order to fit within this context. The three main components of the motivational self system (ideal L2 self, ought to L2 self, and attitudes toward learning English) are seen to be related to the intended learning efforts of the participants, and are confirmed as distinct independent constructs that measure the different dimensions of L2 motivation. However, the two standpoints, own and other, overlap in terms of instrumentality promotion, instrumentality prevention and family influence. The contribution of attitudes toward learning English to the intended learning efforts of the participants is higher than the ideal L2 self, and the effect of the ought to L2 self is questionable. In addition to this, the study shows that family influence is related to the ought to L2 self, rather than the ideal L2 self, but, contrary to Dörnyei’s (2005, 2009) model, milieu does not have any significant relationship with the ought to L2 self. The results also show that instrumentality has two foci: instrumentality promotion is related to the ideal L2 self, and instrumentality prevention is related to the ought to L2 self. Furthermore, imagination is found to be related to the ideal L2 self, as shown in the motivational self system. The results also suggest that the international community is important instrumentally for the imagined selves of the participants. This result supports the discussion that the international position of English attracts the participants’ future selves as suggested in the L2MSS. Key words: motivational self system; ideal L2 self; ought to L2 self; attitudes toward learning English; instrumentality promotion; instrumentality prevention.

Differences between females and males in computer use have long been a concern. Over the past twenty years, the accessibility gap has closed and women’s use of the technology has equaled and in some cases surpassed men’s computer use. However, differences in patterns of use still remain. This study looked at underlying factors that may be involved in maintaining differences in use. Specifically, this study focused on differences in gender and gender role personality traits as they relate to microcomputer playfulness. Gender role personality traits are defined as the acceptance of stereotypic gender descriptors as applying to oneself according to the Personal Attributes Questionnaire (PAQ). The PAQ provides participants with ratings on the expressive (feminine) and instrumental (masculine) scales. The relationship between the scales yields the gender role personality traits expressive (high expressive, low instrumental), instrumental (low expressive, high instrumental), androgynous (high on both), or undifferentiated (low on both). Microcomputer playfulness or computer playfulness is defined as the tendency to be “spontaneous, inventive and imaginative when interacting with a personal computer.” It is measured by responses on the Computer Playfulness Scale. This study found that computer playfulness varied depending upon setting with participants being most playful when using a computer at home and least playful when using a computer at work. Those who score in the androgynous range of the PAQ also scored higher on the CPS than those who scored in the undifferentiated range. Finally, this study found that males tended to score higher in computer playfulness than females. Participants were also interviewed about their experiences of gender role personality traits and computer playfulness. Discussion of these results and suggestions for further research are included. / text

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-26T20:21:33Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Marcia Conceicao Alves Dinamarco.pdf: 653114 bytes, checksum: ff851443a47ac6235c519ceee0bb9c70 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-04-11 / The society is a body in motion and the changes and the need of these changes to be implemented is a clamor of society. Not only the judges and the legislators are aware of this claim and is commonly said that the process has to be swift and effective, without forgetting that procedural rules can not be an obstacle to the fulfillment of the material right. Just with these eyes is that the jurisdiction was analyzed to perform of workers' claims when we are facing a judicial recovery and bankruptcy. The process as a tool available to society to ensure the peace and dignity of the human person, has all his technique and rules, but can not be an obstacle to substantive law itself and neither stop to analyze the claim (merit) without taking into consideration all the facts and figures and apply the rules so that a right overlaps the other and therefore the rule of complementarity and the principle of proportionality must always be applied / A sociedade é um corpo em movimento e as mudanças e a necessidade que estas sejam implementadas é um clamor da sociedade. Não só os julgadores como os legisladores estão atentos a esse reclamo, sendo voz corrente que o processo tem que ser célere e efetivo, sem esquecer-se de que as regras processuais não podem ser um entrave à satisfação do direito material. Exatamente com esses olhos é que foi analisada a competência para a execução dos créditos trabalhistas quando estamos diante de uma recuperação judicial e falência. O processo como um instrumento à disposição da sociedade para pacificação e assegurar a dignidade da pessoa humana, tem toda a sua técnica e regras, mas não pode ser um entrave ao próprio direito material e nem deixar de analisar a pretensão (mérito) sem levar em consideração todos os fatos e os valores e aplicar as normas de forma a que um direito se sobreponha ao outro e por isso a regra da complementaridade e o princípio da proporcionalidade devem sempre ser aplicados

Esta pesquisa busca lançar bases para a caracterização do uso da linguagem simbólica dentro do Direito penal. Nesse sentido, estabelece-se uma divisão entre duas categorias: Simbolismo no Direito penal e Direito penal simbólico, sendo que a primeira diz respeito a todas as formas (intrínsecas, legítimas ou ilegítimas) de utilização de símbolos no Direito penal. Já a segunda categoria corresponde a uma parcela deturpada do uso de símbolos dentro do Direito penal, prejudicial a sua função e ilegítima perante seus princípios, o que acaba por gerar dois efeitos intoleráveis à dinâmica do Direito penal: sua inefetividade e sua seletividade. De início é elaborado um panorama do símbolo e suas implicações teóricas em diversas áreas do saber. Em um segundo momento, a temática do simbolismo é relacionada com o Direito penal, visando à construção de um conceito crítico de Direito penal simbólico apto a ser aplicado na realidade. Posteriormente, é esboçada uma análise da conjectura do Direito penal na contemporaneidade e como tal contexto deu gênese e fomenta o fenômeno do Direito penal simbólico. Por fim, uma série de propostas são estabelecidas com o objetivo de sanear o simbolismo no Direito penal de utilizações deturpadas do símbolo. / This research intends to investigate the use of simbolical language in the Criminal Law. In this sense, a division between two categories is made: the Symbolism in the Criminal Law and the Symbolic Criminal Law. The first is related to any kinds of uses of symbols inside the Criminal Law (even in the cases of negative utilizations). In other way, the second category corresponds specifically to a distorted portion of the use of symbols within the Criminal Law, damaging its correct function and going against its principles. This distortion generates two intolerable effects to the dynamic of Criminal Law: its ineffectiveness and its selectivity. In the beggining, this work will establish a theoretical analysis of the symbol in many differents areas of knowledge. After that, the symbolism will be related to the Criminal Law, in order to build a concept of Symbolic Criminal Law fit to be empirically applied. Subsequently, an analysis of the Criminal Law within the contemporary contexto will be sketched. Finally, some suggestion will be offered aiming the goal of cleansing the Symbolism in the Criminal Law of the misleading uses of symbols