Gaming-simulations (G-S) are those in which participants play roles, make decisions and receive feedback while interacting with a simulation model. This study used attitude change to measure of G-S effectiveness in exploring questions relating simulation design and effectiveness. To define participant attitudes and the content for a simulation, the organizational culture of a software engineering firm was studied using an ethnographic approach. Inconsistencies between the existing culture and expressed ideals were measured using an 40 item attitude questionnaire drawn from statements made during interviews. Simulation structure and participant cognitive style were factors hypothesized to influence identification with a simulation role. Role identification was hypothesized to influence attitude change. Two versions of the simulation were designed to produce differential role identification. Role identification was measured by having the simulation software ask players questions near the end of the eight hour simulation class. The Davis (1980) Empathy scale was used to measure cognitive style. The WINNING AT DESIGN AUTOMATION gaming-simulation was created to induce attitude change toward the ideals. The simulation is written in HyperCard. Each participant managed a department, allocating their time to tasks that earned points as they competed in teams. A control group of 42 employees and 97 of the 122 who played the simulation completed pre- and post-simulation questionnaires. There was significant attitude change for all treatment groups. The different versions of the simulation did generate stronger and weaker role identification as predicted. The Empathy scale did predict role identification. The treatment group with highest role identification did not have the greatest attitude change. Other factors influencing the linkage of role identification to attitude change are discussed.

<p> Everything we touch, sit on, use and lean against is designed. Design disciplines (e.g. architecture, landscape architecture, city/urban planning, interior design and industrial design) play an extremely significant role in shaping the man-made environment we live in. They help to populate it with cars, furniture, buildings, clothes, cell phones, and countless other artifacts and also play a significant role in producing innovations that drive successful companies in a challenging and fiercely competitive global market. Perhaps more importantly, the consumption and use of designed goods, spaces, and services produce, reproduce, and mediate our very identities and culture. </p><p> Despite their cultural, economic, and political significance, design professions are understudied in sociology. In sociology, the few available case studies of design professions emphasize professional practice and tend not to study the higher education system, where professional designers are produced. Moreover, there are no studies in sociology that examine academic design disciplines comparatively. </p><p> This dissertation undertakes a quantitative, macro-comparative study of the institutionalization and growth of design disciplines in the US during the past 26 years, 1984-2010, using a unique longitudinal dataset. Through analysis of the intra- and extra-institutional resources and conditions that promote the growth of design disciplines and comparing their growth to those of art and engineering, this study provides valuable insights to policymakers and administrators who seek to make meaningful interventions within the academy and will advance sociological understanding of the changing organization of academic knowledge.</p>

The aim of the present thesis was twofold, first to map the semantic memory decline in Alzheimer patients over time, second to take the patient’s perspective and create a multifaceted picture of the individual with Alzheimer’s disease through the study of memory, awareness, central coherence and emotions. Further issues concerned how Alzheimer individuals handled their cognitive erosion in everyday life and if they were well calibrated with their spouse in disease related matters. Two studies were performed, the first involved a longitudinal study of sematic deterioration, the second had a mixed methods design involving both quantitative and qualitative measures as in neuropsychological assessment and interviews. Through the longitudinal study it could be concluded that the nature of semantic deterioration is best described as loss of memory information rather than problems in accessing the information. It was further concluded that semantic concepts gradually lose their specific features during course of illness. The results from the second study revealed that the Alzheimer individuals were aware of their disease although they could not foresee the implications of their cognitive shortcomings in their everyday life. They evidenced weak central coherence, in that they were unable to infer details into a meaningful whole. This implies that they perceive their surrounding world in a fragmented way as consisting of separate objects rather than a comprehensible context. Concerning emotions it was found that they responded to negatively valenced words in the same way as normal ageing individuals, although being impaired in their response to positively and neutral words. Finally, the Alzheimer individuals and their spouses were not well calibrated regarding disease related issues. The findings of the present thesis have important clinical implications and gives valuable input to the understanding of the individual with Alzheimer’s disease. / Föreliggande avhandling hade två huvudsyften; dels att kartlägga försämringen av semantiskt minne hos Alzheimerpatienter över tid; dels att ta patientens perspektiv och skapa en mångfacetterad bild av individen med Alzheimers sjukdom. Fyra begrepp studerades i relation till detta, nämligen minne, medvetande, central koherens och emotioner. Ytterligare aspekter som studerades var hur Alzheimerindivider hanterar sina kognitiva tillkortakommanden i sin vardag samt hur väl kalibrerade de är med sin make/maka angående sjukdomsrelaterade frågor. Två studier genomfördes varav den första var en longitudinell studie av semantisk minnesförsämring och den andra hade en ’mixed methods’ design, inkluderande både kvantitativa (neuropsykologiska tester) och kvalitativa (intervjuer) metoder. Resultaten från den longitudinella studien avslöjade att semantiska begrepp som inte längre är välrepresenterade hos individen har gått förlorade snarare än att det skulle vara från om att individerna inte kan plocka fram informationen. Vidare kunde konstateras att semantiska begrepp gradvis tappar sina nyanser i takt med att sjukdomen fortskrider. Den andra studien visade att Alzheimerindividerna var medvetna om sin sjukdom och sina minnesproblem men att de inte kunde förutsäga vilka problem deras kognitiva tillkortakommanden skapade i deras vardag. De konstaterades ha svag central koherens vilket innebär att de ser sin omgivning på ett fragmentariskt sätt utan att kunna få ihop de olika objekten runt omkring sig till en meningsfull kontext. Vad gäller emotioner så kunde konstateras att Alzheimerindivider reagerar likadant som normalt åldrande individer på negativt laddade ord men att de är signifikant försämrade i förmågan att känna igen positiva och neutrala ord. Alzheimerindividerna och deras make/maka var inte väl kalibrerade vad gäller sjukdomsrelaterade frågor. Avhandlingens resultat har viktiga kliniska implikationer och ger ett värdefullt bidrag till förståelsen av en individ med Alzheimers sjukdom.

Notwithstanding challenges facing systems of higher education world-wide, higher education in South Africa has been fundamentally re-engineered since the achievement of democracy in 1994. The University of South Africa (Unisa) emerged as the only dedicated distance education institution and the biggest provider of higher education. Against the background of transformation in higher education policy and practice in South Africa, this study aimed to address the implementation of higher education policy in relation to the provision of distance education in South Africa, with special reference to Unisa. To address the research problem, a literature study investigated theoretical perspectives, recent policy trends in higher education globally and their influence on distance education and the impact of higher education policy development and implementation in South Africa on Open Distance Learning (ODL) provision. A mixed method empirical research design was used to explore how the academic and administrative cohort of top and middle and extended management at Unisa perceive the implementation of higher education policy at their institution in relation to distance education provision. The inquiry comprised two phases: Phase 1, a quantitative component entailed a survey using a self-designed questionnaire. A non-probability purposive sampling strategy was used to select respondents for the survey, and the entire target population (Unisa employees at middle to executive management level) participated. Phase 2, a qualitative component, entailed semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample: members of top management and two council members. The survey results indicated strong agreement on the need for strategy and planning, more funding and improved levels of service. There was disagreement or ambivalence around sufficient human and infrastructural capacity, the cost of ODL, quality and the efficiency of ICT systems and processes. Four major areas of concern emerged from the interviews: Transformation (the national transformation agenda and mindset change); funding (enrolment planning and capping, the unfunded student issue and salaries); institutional efficiency (strategy, planning, capacity and quality); and the cost of ODL and the need for a dedicated ODL Policy. The study concluded with recommendations to facilitate the enhanced practice and delivery of ODL in South Africa. / Educational Studies

Existing and novel laboratory techniques and equipment are used to produce comprehensive information on the liquefaction mitigation provided by granular drainage columnar inclusions in loose sand. Extensive use is made of bender-element testing techniques and the frequency dependence of such measurements is examined. Phase-sensitive detection is proposed as a new method to obtain the frequency response of the element data. The applicability of this technique is extended to provide a convenient and accurate method for determination of the time-of-flight of a shear-wave in sand. This technique is employed to measure the load share between sand and columnar components during triaxial testing. A novel low cost, high loading frequency, triaxial testing system is developed and preliminary testing is carried out on both pure sand samples and composite columnar samples. The testing programme examines aspects of liquefaction mitigation due to the rigidity of the columnar inclusions and due to the increased permeability of the columns. The laboratory results are verified by the application of existing analytical models. The equipment and techniques are used to investigate the feasibility of using recycled aggregates in place of stone backfill.

This study analyses students&rsquo / design processes within a graduation project that is devised as to approximate a real-life design task. It comprises a literature search on developments in design methodology, and two field studies, a participant observation study followed by long interviews with a selection of the observation sample. Through the literature search, a framework representing the nature of the design activity is brought together on the basis of three studies in descriptive design methodology. Together with the field studies equipped with this framework, this study sought to elucidate students&rsquo / design processes in order to provide insights for design education. Analysing students&rsquo / processes, their design problems and the academic scheme within which they operated, pertaining to their respective influences on students&rsquo / projects and progresses, implications to facilitate further developments of educational curriculum and academic schemes are reached.

Title from first page of PDF document. Includes bibliographical references (p. Xx-Xx).

Notwithstanding challenges facing systems of higher education world-wide, higher education in South Africa has been fundamentally re-engineered since the achievement of democracy in 1994. The University of South Africa (Unisa) emerged as the only dedicated distance education institution and the biggest provider of higher education. Against the background of transformation in higher education policy and practice in South Africa, this study aimed to address the implementation of higher education policy in relation to the provision of distance education in South Africa, with special reference to Unisa. To address the research problem, a literature study investigated theoretical perspectives, recent policy trends in higher education globally and their influence on distance education and the impact of higher education policy development and implementation in South Africa on Open Distance Learning (ODL) provision. A mixed method empirical research design was used to explore how the academic and administrative cohort of top and middle and extended management at Unisa perceive the implementation of higher education policy at their institution in relation to distance education provision. The inquiry comprised two phases: Phase 1, a quantitative component entailed a survey using a self-designed questionnaire. A non-probability purposive sampling strategy was used to select respondents for the survey, and the entire target population (Unisa employees at middle to executive management level) participated. Phase 2, a qualitative component, entailed semi-structured interviews with a purposeful sample: members of top management and two council members. The survey results indicated strong agreement on the need for strategy and planning, more funding and improved levels of service. There was disagreement or ambivalence around sufficient human and infrastructural capacity, the cost of ODL, quality and the efficiency of ICT systems and processes. Four major areas of concern emerged from the interviews: Transformation (the national transformation agenda and mindset change); funding (enrolment planning and capping, the unfunded student issue and salaries); institutional efficiency (strategy, planning, capacity and quality); and the cost of ODL and the need for a dedicated ODL Policy. The study concluded with recommendations to facilitate the enhanced practice and delivery of ODL in South Africa. / Educational Studies

Este estudo de caráter teórico-prático busca analisar algumas considerações sobre o processo projetual do design de espaços e instalações designadas ao livre brincar infantil, enfocando o posicionamento e atuação das crianças durante a concepção e realização de tais projetos, refletindo sobre o possível deslocamento delas de meras usuárias a coautoras ou colaboradoras. O objetivo é delinear premissas e considerações de projeto de espaços designados ao livre brincar infantil, atrelando-as a temas relativos ao desenvolvimento pleno das crianças, segundo os campos da psicologia do desenvolvimento e antropologia, com enfoque na possibilidade de atuarem como colaboradoras neste processo complexo de criação do campo do design. Talvez, de tais esforços, surjam novas formas de respostas projetuais para o brincar. Como recorte desta pesquisa, serão analisadas propostas contemporâneas que se realizam essencialmente por meio uma técnica simples, de baixo custo, de fácil manutenção e acessível a todos: a pintura no piso. Juntamente com estes projetos, serão discutidas as produções de Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima e Elvira de Almeida, cujos parâmetros e abordagens concorreram para a elaboração de um panorama em que os deslocamentos do usuário puderam ser evidenciados. A partir de entrevistas com dois escritórios de arquitetura e design, com uma educadora- -documentarista e uma psicóloga-ativista, e da análise do brincar, por meio de observações numa via elevada, oficinas lúdico-participativas e experimentações com crianças de uma escola municipal, estabeleceram-se discussões sobre a forma como elas se relacionam com os espaços e seus elementos para subsidiar a elaboração de algumas considerações relativas ao processo projetual do design, tomando as perspectivas dos usuários, suas vozes e seus anseios como elemento estruturador. Isto sugere que se tornou urgente repensar o processo de projeto, o papel do arquiteto ou designer, sua responsabilidade socioambiental e econômica, as relações entre quem projeta e para quem se projeta e, talvez, incorporar, além de novos métodos projetuais, novas formas de interação com os entes envolvidos, tempo e espaço para experimentações. E, supostamente, estas estratégias poderão nos levar a outras formas de conceber espaços para um brincar pleno e a uma possível reinvenção do design. / This theoretical and practical study seeks to analyze some considerations about the design process of spaces and facilities designated to the free play of children, focusing on the children\'s positioning and performance during the design and implementation of such projects, reflecting on their possible shift from users to co-authors or collaborators. The objective is to outline design premises and considerations on spaces designated for free play of children, associating them to themes related to the full development of children, according to the fields of developmental psychology and anthropology, focusing on the possibility of acting as collaborators in this complex process of creation of the design field.Perhaps from such efforts new forms of design responses to the playing process can emerge. As a research framing, contemporary proposals will be analyzed, which are carried out essentially through a simple, low cost, easy maintenance and accessible to all technique: pavement painting. Together with these projects, the productions of Mayumi Watanabe de Souza Lima and Elvira de Almeida will be discussed, whose parameters and approaches contributed to the elaboration of an overview in which the user\'s shift could be highlighted. Based on interviews with two architecture and design offices, with an educator-documentarist and a psychologist-activist, and through the analysis of playing resulting from observations on an elevated street, play-participatory workshops and experimentations with children from a municipal school, discussions were held on how they relate to spaces and their elements to support the elaboration of some considerations related to the design process, considering the users\' perspectives, their voices and their desires as a structuring element. This suggests that it became urgent to rethink the design process, the role of the architect or designer, their socio-environmental and economic responsibility, the relationships between who designs and who it is designed for, and perhaps to incorporate, in addition to new design methods, new forms of interaction with the involved actors, time and space for experimentation. And, presumably, these strategies could lead us to other ways of designing spaces for full play and a possible reinvention of design.

For students with learning disabilities, positive academic achievement outcomes are a chief area of concern for educators across the country. This achievement emphasis has become particularly important over the last several years because of the No Child Left Behind legislation. The content area of mathematics, especially in the higher order thinking arena of algebra, has been of particular concern for student progress. While most educational research in algebra has been targeted towards remedial efforts at the high school level, early intervention in the foundational skills of algebraic thinking at the elementary level needs consideration for students who would benefit from early exposure to algebraic ideas. A key aspect of students' instruction with algebraic concepts at any level is the degree and type of preparation their teachers have received with this content. Using a mixed methods design, the current researcher investigated the usage of the Developing Algebraic Literacy (DAL) framework with preservice special education teacher candidates in an integrated practicum and coursework experience. Multiple survey measures were given at pre-, mid-, and post- junctures to assess teacher candidates' attitudes about mathematics, feelings of efficacy when teaching mathematics, and content knowledge surrounding mathematics. An instructional knowledge exam and fidelity checks were completed to evaluate teacher candidates' acquisition and application of algebraic instructional skills. Focus groups, case studies, and final project analyses were used to discern descriptive information about teacher candidates' experience while engaging in work with the DAL framework. Results indicated an increase in preservice teachers' attitudes towards mathematics instruction, feelings of efficacy in teaching mathematics, and in the content knowledge surrounding mathematics instruction. Instructional knowledge also increased across preservice teacher candidates, but abilities to apply this knowledge varied across teacher candidates', based on their number of sessions working with students within their practicum site. Further findings indicate the desire of preservice teachers to increase the length and number of student sessions within the DAL experience, as well as the need for increased levels of instructional support to enhance their own experience. This study provides preliminary support for utilizing the DAL instructional framework within preservice teacher preparation experiences for future special educators.