The aim of this paper is to provide a formulation of the modal cosmological argument for the existence of a necessary entity, that is more resistant to criticism than those hitherto formulated. The conclusion is that there exists a necessary entity powerful enough to causally sustain the world. It has only two substantial premises, which are very innocuous. The argument requires no assumption that contingent entities must have a cause, or even that they normally have a cause, or the impossibility of infinite regresses, or any particular theory of time, and works irrespectively of which modal framework is accepted.

Published Article / Under-performance and failure in first year accounting is a problem experienced in many higher education institutions world-wide as well as in South Africa. Literature shows that the problem is relatively well researched. Most of the research has taken place within the quantitative paradigm and in many cases focused on a search for determinants of possible success and / or failure in the subject or the factors contributing to the situation. The findings of all these research projects are varied and often inconclusive. It also becomes clear that the contexts of the studies are diverse, which makes it difficult for institutions and concerned lecturers to apply the findings in their specific situations. In this article the authors provide an overview of some of the most prominent research findings on factors determining or influencing success / failure in the field. They also attempt to organise these findings in a digestible way for the concerned lecturer and interested researcher. This is followed by a report on the first phase of an investigation into possible factors contributing to the low performance levels of students at a South African higher education institution. The unit of analysis is the first year accounting class of the first author (a lecturer at the institution). The research is quantitative in nature and statistical analyses are employed. In addition to factors such as age, gender, matric performance in key subjects, M-scores, class attendance and nationality, the investigation also looked at the levels of learning approach of the students as a possible determinant of success or failure. The findings are compared with the findings from literature and the implications of the research are discussed.

This study examined how middle school students planned to obtain future STEM college majors and careers through a possible selves curriculum in a 13-week, in-school cognitive apprenticeship model. STEM undergraduates mentored STEM-interested middle school mentees (N= 21) from six under-served middle schools. Through possible selves activities, mentees worked on strategies to avoid becoming their feared possible self and become their hoped-for possible self. In the middle of the semester, mentee self-reported competency in STEM fields, motivation, administrator-reported STEM course grades, and STEM attendance were collected. On average, mentees felt 10.67% more motivated to pursue STEM than they felt competent in STEM. Mentees who reported higher competency tended to have higher course grades, and mentees who reported higher motivation tended to have higher attendance, although attendance was high overall, indicating insufficient sample size or variance to demonstrate significance. Mentees who attended class more tended to have a higher course grade but the same statistical issue occurred in that there may not have been a significant correlation due to sampling and self- selection biases. The majority of mentees identified unrelated possible selves, defined concrete self-improvement and abstract self-maintenance strategies, identified self-discipline as a requirement in middle school, described intellectual independence and teacher harmony strategies to solve everyday problems in middle school, identified instructivist college requirements, described responsibility as a transferable strategy, and dependence on an expert as a nontransferable strategy to solve long-term problems in college to obtain their STEM possible self.

Assuming the axiom of determinacy, we give a new proof of the strong partition relation on ω1. Further, we present a streamlined proof that J<λ+(a) (the ideal of sets which force cof Π α < λ) is generated from J<λ+(a) by adding a singleton. Combining these results with a polarized partition relation on ω1

This thesis on William Faulkner's concept of knowledge beyond reason includes a study of style and characterization and a study of possible sources.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Kakali Bhattacharya / Royce Ann Collins / How can an adult make meaning from and develop through experiences of mental illness, spiritual awareness, and death? The purpose of this autoethnographic bildungsroman is to explore how a male in the general population describes how life events have influenced his identity development over a period of 23 years, spanning three decades. The researcher-participant asks two primary questions: 1) How does the individual describe his adult development in terms of life events or “individual and cultural episodes” (Smith & Taylor, 2010, p. 52) related to mental illness, spiritual awareness, and death over time? and 2) How does the individual describe his possible selves in constructing a new sense of identity? Addressing these questions contributes to the literature of adult and continuing education by providing a glimpse into stories of lived experiences over time in the light of adult development.

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Denna kvantitativa enkätstudie har sin utgångspunkt i empowerment och har utförts på ett svenskt brukarstyrt företag som bedriver missbruksrehabilitering efter en empowermentbaserad arbetsmodell. Denna rehabiliteringsmodell innebär att man aktivt jobbar med att stärka individens självbild och att öka dennes egenmakt. Syftet med modellen är att individen genom ökad självkontroll ska kunna ta ansvar för sin livssituation och därmed uppbringa den nödvändiga motivation som krävs för att få till stånd en långsiktig förändring. Studien har undersökt skillnader i possible selves mellan individer som befinner sig i respektive har fullgjort sin rehabilitering och som därefter valt att stanna kvar i verksamheten. Respondenterna ombads ange hur starka positiva respektive negativa känslor de förknippade med ett antal fördefinierade possible selves. Hälften av dessa possible selves var ämnade att ha positiv karaktär och den andra hälften att ha negativ karaktär. Respondenterna fick även skatta sannolikheten för att de själva skulle hamna i den aktuella situationen som varje påstående beskrev. Resultatet visade att de som fortfarande befann sig i rehabiliteringsfasen rapporterade fler negativa possible selves med åtminstone någon sannolikhet att inträffa. Styrkan på sannolikheten för att negativa possible selves skulle inträffa skattades också högre av denna grupp. Även antalet balanserade possible selves, alltså ett positivt och ett negativt possible self inom samma område, var fler i rehabiliteringsgruppen. Antagandet att en skillnad skulle föreligga även i avseendet synen på positiva possible selves fann studien inget stöd för. / <p>This quantitative study has been designed with the concept empowerment as its starting point and has been conducted at a Swedish employee run corporation which is managing drug rehabilitation with an empowerment based working-model. This rehabilitation-model means actively pursuing the strengthening of the individual’s self-concept and to increase one´s sense of self-control. The purpose of the model is that the individual through increased self-control should be able to take responsibility for one´s life-situation and thereby seize the necessary motivation which is required to make a lasting change. This study has investigated the differences in possible selves between individuals who are undergoing, as opposed to have completed, rehabilitation and who thereafter have chosen to remain in the operations. The respondents were asked to report the strength of their positive and negative feelings respectively associated with a set of predefined possible selves. Half of these possible selves were designed to have a positive character while the other half where designed to have a negative character. The respondents also got to report the likelihood that they themselves would end up in the situation that each statement described. The result showed that those who were still in the rehabilitation phase reported more negative possible selves with at least some probability to come about. The strength of the probability that negative possible selves would come about was also reported higher by this group. The number of balanced possible selves, meaning a positive and a negative possible self within the same domain, were also more numerous in the rehabilitation-group. The assumption that there would also be a difference in the view regarding positive possible selves was not supported by this study.</p><p>Program: Organisations- och personalutvecklare i samhället</p>

In order to assist people in making positive changes of problematic behaviour it is necessary to examine how people change and what factors influence the process. Criminal offenders represent a group of individuals who often have difficulty desisting from problematic behaviour and continue to engage in illegal activity. Offenders in provincial correctional institutions were administered questionnaires to determine stage of change and processes utilized as outlined in the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1984). Additionally, offenders were asked about their visions of the future using the Possible Selves (PSs) Model (Markus & Nurius, 1986). Taken together, this study looked at the contribution of the PSs Model to our understanding of the TTM, which has been criticized in recent years as lacking therapeutic significance for treatment providers as they guide individuals through the change process. More specifically, this study compares chronic criminals with first time offenders on psychological variables such as readiness for change, vision of possible selves, and hope for the future, as well as on legal variables such as risk for recidivism and institutional behaviour. The results indicate that most offenders acknowledged their behaviour as problematic and some even reported they were actively taking steps to change; however, chronic offenders admitted having less hope than first time offenders. Interestingly, both groups rated similarly on the dimensions of PSs. The outcomes would suggest that research efforts to incorporate other complimentary theories of change into the TTM, like the PSs model, may be helpful for understanding the process of change. While it seems these models may not be useful for predicting institutional behaviour, the data perhaps demonstrates the complexity of criminal behaviour and speaks to the necessity of further research in this population.

Deaf individuals’ relationship with English has historically been problematic, in large part because of the lack of full accessibility to the language. However, language takes up not only communicative space, but also psychological space in our lives. The psychological dimensions involved with English language learning for deaf individuals are largely unknown. This study addressed this gap by exploring psychological dimensions involved with language learning for deaf individuals while concurrently exploring the role of computer-mediated communication in enhancing direct and interactive accessibility of English. The psychological dimensions of interest in this study originate from self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 1977), possible selves (Markus & Nurius, 1986), and the L2 Motivational Self System (Dörnyei, 2005, 2009a). This study had three main goals: 1) to examine the motivational characteristics of deaf language learners, 2) to assess whether those characteristics would change over time, and 3) to assess the role of CMC in language learning experiences. This study took place over the course of a semester in college classes designed for deaf students studying English. Selected classes were asked to use online chat as an instructional tool. Measures were administered at the beginning and the end of the semester, and students were asked to participate in focus groups to discuss their experiences. A mixed methods approach that made use of quantitative and qualitative methods was used to capture the complexity involved in second language learning for the deaf student, including contextual influences. Overall findings indicate that deaf students’ self-images, self-efficacy beliefs, attitudes, and motivated behaviors about English were positive, but significantly influenced by the context in which language use occurs. When the environment was seen as accessible, beneficial, and enjoyable, deaf students were able to utilize greater levels of individual agency towards the aim of learning English. Computer-mediated communication emerged as an affordance that enabled “seeing English,” indicating dynamic, interactive engagement with English when ideal conditions were met. Thus, CMC appears to allow for a language learning experience that is available and accessible for deaf learners, and can provide opportunities to prime possible selves as English language users. / text