No / Response style effects are a source of bias in cross-national studies, with some nationalities being more susceptible to particular response styles than others. While response styles, by their very nature, vary with the form of the stimulus involved, previous research has not investigated whether cross-national differences in response styles are stable across different forms of a stimulus (e.g., item wording, scale type, response categories). Using a quasi-experimental design, this study shows that response style differences are not stable across different stimulus formats, and that response style effects impact on substantive cross-national comparisons in an inconsistent way.

Thesis--Rutgers. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2004. / Includes bibliographical references.

Masters of Science / In South Africa and neighbouring countries such as Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, and Namibia, most river systems are non-perennial due to semi-arid or arid climatic characteristics. In such river systems, the interaction between groundwater and surface water is of significance in terms of developing appropriate methods for determining ecological water requirements among others. However, the interaction is not well understood in terms of the influence on the volume and quality of water on the gaining and losing water bodies. In past research, the importance of non-perennial rivers (NPRS) was neglected because these river systems were considered as systems of low ecological importance and economic value. However, an improved understanding of these systems illustrated that they provide habitat for diverse and unique flora and fauna. Therefore, the main research question that was posed for the study was what is the influence of river-aquifer interactions in non-perennial river systems in the semi-arid environment? The central argument was that unless we assess the interaction between surface water and groundwater in NPRS, we cannot improve on understanding of the role of groundwater on the NPRS. The aim of the study was therefore, to assess surface water-groundwater (river-aquifer) interactions in non-perennial river systems to provide an insight regarding how these water resources interact in semi-arid environments. To achieve the aim, three specific objectives were formulated, namely, to establish the groundwater contribution to the river system, to investigate the role of the river in recharging the underlying aquifer, and to develop a regional hydrogeological conceptual model of recharge mechanisms. To achieve the objectives of the study, samples were collected from boreholes, a dug well, springs, surface water and cumulative rainfall collectors during the summer and winter seasons. The samples were analysed for hydrochemistry and stable isotopic signatures (δ2H and δ18O). The intention was to identify where and when do river-aquifer interactions occur in the study area. Secondary data from records review and field data from hydrometric methods, ERT geophysical surveys and tracer techniques were also used to address the third objective.

LaRossa, Jaret, Gadgil, and Wynn (2000, 2001) conducted a content analysis of 495 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in the United States from 1945 to 1999 in order to determine whether the culture of fatherhood and gender disparities in the media had changed over the past half-century. Drawing on their research, I conducted a similar kind of analysis of 246 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in Japan from 1950 to 2004. By comparing and contrasting the results in the two studies, I show how comic portrayals of families have changed in Japan and in the United States, and demonstrate the value of analyzing comic strips in cross-national research.

LaRossa, Jaret, Gadgil, and Wynn (2000, 2001) conducted a content analysis of 495 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in the United States from 1945 to 1999 in order to determine whether the culture of fatherhood and gender disparities in the media had changed over the past half-century. Drawing on their research, I conducted a similar kind of analysis of 246 comic strips published on Father’s Day and Mother’s Day in Japan from 1950 to 2004. By comparing and contrasting the results in the two studies, I show how comic portrayals of families have changed in Japan and in the United States, and demonstrate the value of analyzing comic strips in cross-national research.

The death of a parent represents a potential traumatic life event that has been linked to depression in both Japan and the United States. Yet experiences surrounding death and ways of grieving are framed differently across cultures. At the individual level, the majority of the bereaved people in both Japan and the United States attempt to maintain bonds with the deceased family members. Being complementary to the individual-level desire, Japanese death-related beliefs and practices seem to provide a tool to maintain bonds. In contrast, American death-related beliefs and practices may be at odds with the individual desires by encouraging the bereaved individuals to detach themselves from the deceased parents. Japanese culture may work as a macro level support to bereaved individuals, while American culture is not supportive of the individual desires. Using two national data sets from Japan and the United States, this study tested whether: (1) bereaved individuals report worse mental health than non-bereaved individuals, (2) the mental health consequences of losing a parent is greater in the United States than in Japan, and (3) in this vein, persons in Japan report greater emotional support than those in the United States, and emotional support explains cultural differences in the link between being bereaved and depression. Supporting Hypothesis 1, bereaved respondents were more depressed than non-bereaved respondents. The statistical test rejected Hypothesis 2, and Hypothesis 3 was not testable. This research considers the role of culture as a macro-level support and cross-national research methods.

Šiame magistriniame darbe analizuojama 4 klasės mokinių nacionalinių tyrimų skaitymo rezultatų kaita. Gebėjimas skaityti tai vienas iš svarbiausių gebėjimų, įgyjamų pirmaisiais mokymosi metais, esminis tolimesniam mokymuisi ir asmeniniam augimui. Šiomis dienomis vis sparčiau tobulėjant informacinėms technologijoms, palaipsniui knyga išstumiama iš kasdienybės. Skaitymas, kaip susipažinimo su pasauliu ir žmogumi galimybė, šiandien užleidžia savo pozicijas kitiems informacijos gavimo būdams. Šiuo darbu siekiama išsiaiškinti mokinių skaitymo rezultatų kaitą ir galimas rezultatų kitimo priežastis. / In this Master‘s thesis analyzed national student achievement results change of 4th grade students. The ability to read is one of the most important skills acquired during the first year of learning, essential for further learning and personal growth. These days, more and more rapidly developing informatikon technologies are gradually pushed out of the book of everyday life. Reading, as the potential to access with the world and human, today abdicated their positions to other forms of obtaining information. This work aims to ascertain student‘s performance in reading change and possible reasons for the change results.

So far, research on the causes of over-indebtedness in Europe has predominantly focused on the characteristics of individuals or households. This article investigates to what extent country-level factors are associated with a European household's risk of being over-indebted. We examine variables that reflect policies aimed at combating over-indebtedness (the average level of economic literacy prevalent within a country and its classification into a specific debt-discharge regime) and variables that reflect other welfare-state policies (a country's affiliation to a specific employment regime and a summary measure referring to the net replacement rate in the case of long-term unemployment). The results, which are based on multilevel logistic regression analyses of European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) data for 27 European countries, suggest that all four country-level factors matter. This particularly applies to the variables reflecting other welfare-state policies, thus underlining the relevance of the design of social policy in fighting over-indebtedness.

M.Comm. / The vision, values and critical success factors incorporated in the balanced scorecard (BSC) have to support the organisational strategic goals. The Learning and Growth Perspective, the foundation of the BSC, assesses organisational capital, information capital and the skills and capabilities of the Research and Innovation Support Advancement (RISA), a division of the National Research Foundation (NRF). This allows the organisation to gain insight into and understanding of what is effective and which learning and growth systems need changing. The RISA’s balanced scorecard (BSC) does not demonstrate how the Learning and Growth Perspective addresses the organisational strategic objectives. In this study, the researcher wished to identify the critical success factors (CSFs) of the Learning and Growth Perspective of RISA so as to achieve its strategic objectives. A cross-sectional, survey-based research approach was adopted. The questions formulated examined the CSFs in five critical areas of the Learning and Growth Perspective namely, information technology, leadership, organisational culture, human resources management and talent management. Two critical success areas, namely talent management and HRM were identified as having an impact on the Learning and Growth Perspective of RISA. In addressing these areas, the organisation will be able to align its organisational capital, information capital and human capital with its overall strategy.