Elders usually experience high levels of loneliness in the society as they have retired from work and less of a center within the family. There are many interaction design work that target elder’s loneliness and aim to solve the problem by connecting elders with other people through distance. Digitalization’s connectedness is a helpful factor that can combat elder’s communication issues. At the same time, there are many already existing digital services that embed communication functions such as email, texting, and video call. Still, elders find themselves have difficulties using existing technology. The thesis focuses on why current digital technologies cannot help elders connect and communicate efficiently and how to re-design to help elders feel their willingness to communicate by current technologies. Empirical research in the thesis project has shown that elders lack trust towards digital systems due to lack of transparency and findings of specialized contexts. The project is in two parts: qualitative research and prototyping. Through qualitative research, the thesis shows that there is a lack of transparency and control from digital applications that elders experience. Prototyping outcomes suggests enabling personalization within digital services for elders by implementing slow user interactions and simple graphic elements.

Seit 2012 haben die wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Institute der Universität Leipzig und der Technischen Universität Dresden mehrere Prototypen einer innovativen komplexen Online-Lehr-Lernumgebung entwickelt und getestet (Achtenhagen & John, 1992, Schlicht et al. 2017, S. 46). Der jüngste Prototyp wurde von 2017 bis 2021 in einem Blended-Research-Based-Learning (RBL)-Kurs zu Forschungsmethoden für Bachelor-Studierende an der Universität Leipzig getestet. Die zentrale Forschungsfrage lautete: Wie lernen Erstsemester der Wirtschaftswissenschaften mit dem Blended-RBL-Kurs zu Forschungsmethoden? Die zentrale Herausforderung bestand darin, die Studierenden auf systematische Weise an wissenschaftliches Denken heranzuführen (Sektion Berufs- und Wirtschaftspädagogik, 2014, S. 6; Schlicht et al., 2017, S. 43). Darüber hinaus war weitere Forschung zum besseren Verständnis des Lernprozesses mit dem Blended-RBL-Kurs erforderlich (Dziuban et al. 2018; Klauser, 1998; Reinmann, 2016, 2011; Schlicht, 2021, Schlicht et al., 2017, S. 48). Ein quantitatives Design wurde verwendet, um die Lernergebnisse des Blended-RBL-Kurses zu analysieren (Isaac & Michael, 1995). In Anlehnung an die Definitionen für quasi-experimentelle Designs von Campbell und Stanley (1966) wurde ein Ein-Gruppen-Pretest-Posttest-Design durchgeführt. Interessanterweise zeigen die Ergebnisse einen vollständigen Mediationseffekt (Hayes, 2013) der intrinsischen Motivation zwischen der Akzeptanz und den Kenntnissen und Fähigkeiten. Die Akzeptanz ist signifikant und positiv mit der intrinsischen Motivation verbunden, der indirekte Effekt a ist mit 0,89 hoch. Der indirekte Effekt der intrinsischen Motivation auf Wissen und Fähigkeiten ist positiv signifikant und sein Wert b ist 0,43 und der direkte Effekt der Akzeptanz auf Wissen und Fähigkeiten c' ist 0,374. Der Gesamteffekt der Akzeptanz auf Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten hat einen standardisierten Koeffizienten von 0,3644, was bedeutet, dass für jede Einheit, die wir die Zeichensetzung in der Akzeptanzskala verbessern können, eine Verbesserung um 0,3644 in der Skala der Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten durch den indirekten Effekt der intrinsischen Motivation, der 0,3904 beträgt, erwartet wird. Obwohl die Motivation am Ende des Kurses abnahm, zeigt diese Studie, dass durch die Verbesserung der Akzeptanz erwartet wird, dass wir sowohl die Lernergebnisse, die intrinsische Motivation als auch die Kenntnisse und Fähigkeiten steigern können.:Contents List of Abbreviations V List of Tables VII List of Figures IX List of Equations XII 1 Introduction to Researching Blended Research-Based Learning in Business Higher Education 13 1.1 General Context for Innovative Blended Research-Based Learning Offers in Higher Education During Pandemic Times 13 1.2 Blended Research-Based Learning Background at Leipzig University 16 1.3 Problems in Researching Blended Learning in Business Higher Education 18 1.3.1 Research Gaps in Online and Blended Learning for Business Higher Education 18 1.3.2 Research Gap in Blended RBL for Business Higher Education 20 1.3.3 Evaluating a Blended RBL Course at Leipzig University 22 1.4 Purpose of the Study 24 1.5 Significance of the Study 24 1.6 Research Questions 26 1.7 Organization of the Study 27 2 Model Generation for the Influence of the Acceptance on the Learning Process for Blended Research-Based Learning 30 2.1 Understanding the Learning Concept and its Implications for PBL and RBL Environments 30 2.2 Blended Learning More Than a Sort of Online Learning 32 2.2.1 Three Approaches to Blended Learning Models 36 2.2.2 Pedagogical Aspects of Designing Blended Learning for Higher Education 39 2.2.3 Complex Teaching-Learning Environments in Business Higher Education 41 2.3 Problem-Based Learning in Connection to Research-Based Learning 43 2.4 Research-Based Learning Fosters Academic Thinking by Using the Three Basic Dimensions of Teaching that Promote Learning 46 2.4.1 Research-Based Learning at the Beginning of Studies 50 2.4.2 Research-Based Learning and Blended Delivery 54 2.5 Evaluation Aspects for Blended Research-Based Learning in Business Higher Education 56 2.6 Understanding Good Teaching in Higher Education 62 2.7 Knowledge and Skills Acquisition – Cognitive Facets in the Learning Process for Blended Research-Based Learning Environments 64 2.8 Motivation Facet in the Blended Research-Based Learning Process for Business Higher Education 68 2.9 Acceptance of Blended Learning Offers in Higher Education 73 2.10 Control Variables for the Blended RBL Study 80 2.11 Proposed Conceptual Model for the Relationship Between Acceptance, Motivation, and Knowledge and Skills in Blended Research-Based Learning 82 3 Longitudinal Research Design of the Learning Process and Acceptance within the Blended RBL Course at Leipzig University 88 3.1 General Settings of the Blended RBL Course on Research Methods 88 3.1.1 Blended RBL Course Description 89 3.1.2 Portrayal of the Complex Learning Environment and the Blended RBL Course on Research Methods 91 3.2 Implementing a Quasi-Experimental Design for Understanding the Learning Process and Acceptance Within the Blended RBL Course 95 3.3 General Description of the Sample and Participants 96 3.4 Learning Process and Acceptance Instrumentation 96 3.5 Instrument Validity and Reliability 98 3.5.1 Factor analysis for Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 98 3.5.2 Normality Assumption for Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 99 3.5.3 Extraction and Rotation Methods Selection for EFA 103 3.5.4 Bidimensional Scale for Motivation and Unidimensional Scales for Knowledge and Skills and Acceptance 103 3.5.5 Reliability Estimates for Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 105 3.6 Data Collection Procedures and Analysis 107 4 Significant Gains on the Learning Process and High Acceptance of the Blended RBL Course at Leipzig University 109 4.1 Overview of the Evaluation Analysis at Leipzig University 109 4.2 Sample Descriptive Statistics 109 4.3 Knowledge and Skills on Research Methods Increased After Attending the Blended RBL Course 110 4.4 Motivation Levels Remain Stable During the Blended RBL Course 113 4.5 The Blended RBL Course on Research Methods Achieved High Acceptance Among Business Education Students 119 4.6 Evidence of Associations Between Motivation, Knowledge and Skills, and Acceptance 121 4.7 Intrinsic Motivation and Acceptance as Good Predictors for Knowledge and Skills Acquisition 125 4.8 Total Mediation Effect of Intrinsic Motivation Between Acceptance and Knowledge and Skills 131 5 Discussion and Conclusion 137 5.1 Discussion of the Findings 137 5.2 Limitations 145 5.3 Implications for Practice 146 5.4 Recommendations for Future Research 148 References 151 Appendix A 194 Pre-test and Post-test Questionnaires in German and English 194 Appendix B 198 Histograms and Q-Q Plots by Item 198 Histograms and Q-Q Plots by Variable 212 Appendix C 214 Student’s Semester by Intrinsic Motivation 214 Appendix D 216 Nonparametric Correlations Between the Study’s Variables 216 Declaration of academic integrity according to § 8 par. 2 (1.) 218 Declaration of academic integrity according to § 8 par. 2 (2.) 219

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Studies have shown that accuracy of L2 writing is improved when teachers employ direct corrective feedback (CF). Less is known about the benefits of adding some form of metalinguistic explanation to the focused direct CF. In this study, thirty-six grade nine students from two different schools in Sweden completed two sets of written tasks, one week apart. All of the students’ work was corrected using focused direct CF, with only one linguistic feature (the accurate use of the present simple and the present continuous) being the primary focus. Some of the students also received an oral metalinguistic explanation in the form of a class lecture, while others received a written, personalised metalinguistic explanation. Eleven students were subsequently interviewed.The study showed that all of the students appreciated the CF that they received and the vast majority thought that it had helped them, even if their results did not reflect this. The students who received focused direct corrective feedback with an oral explanation in the form of a class lecture showed the most consistent improvement overall.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka om man kan förbättra avkodningen och därmed öka läshastigheten hos långsamma läsare på gymnasiet genom intervention medRydaholmsmetoden. Syftet är också att undersöka dess användbarhet vid olika typer av läs- och skrivsvårigheter. Undersökningsmetoden är kvantitativ. Vi har genomfört en intervention i en experimentgrupp i upp till tolv veckor. Experimentgruppens utveckling har därefter jämförts med utvecklingen i en kontrollgrupp. Resultatet visar attinterventionen haft en statistiskt säkerhetsställd inverkan. Antalet elever i intervention är dock för litet för att resultatet ska kunna generaliseras. För analysen av Rydaholmsmetodens användbarhet vid olika typer av läs- och skrivsvårigheter har Gough och Tunmers (1986) formel Läsning = Avkodning × Förståelse varit viktig.Analysen visar att olika problembilder kräver olika typer av intervention.Rydaholmsmetoden kan användas med framgång på gymnasieelever med avkodningsproblematik. Metoden kan också användas som en del i ett åtgärdspaket tillsammans med andra insatser. I andra fall är fokus på renodlad förståelseträning att föredra. Elever utan djupare språkliga problem men med svag läsförståelse tycks vinna mer på att först och främst öka sitt ordförråd. / Intervention with the Rydaholm Method at Upper Secondary School - Results and Pedagogical Consequences

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The three major optical character recognition (OCR) engines (ExperVision, Scansoft OCR, and Abby OCR) in use today are all capable of recognizing text at near perfect percentages. The remaining errors however have proven very difficult to identify within a single engine. Recent research has shown that a comparison between the errors of the three engines proved to have very little correlation, and thus, when used in conjunction, may be useful to increase accuracy of the final result. This document discusses the implementation and results of a simple voting system designed to prove the hypothesis and show a statistical improvement in overall accuracy. Additional aspects of implementing an improved OCR scheme such as dealing with multiple engine data output alignment and recognizing application specific solutions are also addressed in this research. Although voting systems are currently in use by many major OCR engine developers, this research focuses on the addition of a collaborative system which is able to utilize the various positive aspects of multiple engines while also addressing the immediate need for practical industry applications such as litigation and forms processing. Doculex TM, a major developer and leader in the document imaging industry, has provided the funding for this research.