Learning a foreign language is stressful. If learners are anxious, they might be less confident and less willing to communicate (MacIntyre, Dörnyei, Clément, & Noels, 1998). Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions (MCII) are widely used in the field of personal health, career pursuit among others. I introduce mental contrasting techniques to Chinese teaching and learning to see if MCII help learners lower their anxiety level. Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale is implemented to test participants’ self-perceived anxiety. Participants’ cortisol in saliva serve as a manifestation of participants’ anxiety (i.e., stress) levels and as a measure of the changes of their anxiety levels. The results show that MCII can effectively lower participants’ speaking anxiety. Qualitative data also show that participants consider MCII helpful with Chinese learning and lowering anxiety levels.

This study explored the role of family on the career development of Xhosa-speaking graduates in South Africa. There are multiple environmental and individual influences on career development. However, this study focused specifically on family. The Xhosa culture, like other African cultures, endorses cultural values of deference and strong familial connections with extended family. Data from fourteen semi-structured in-depth interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. The key themes that emerged were (1) cultural beliefs, (2) social support and (3) the notion of black tax. The findings suggested that there is a strong relation between a family's cultural beliefs, family responsibilities and the perceived social support on graduate's career development. The understanding of ‘western' career aspirations with familial cultural expectations and support in forming a coherent self-concept could be considered a significant challenge in the career development of these Xhosa graduates. The findings supported the familial influences on graduates' career development and contributed new insights on how family influence is perceived and maintained from an intersectional perspective. The implications for career development in diverse contexts are offered.

When the National Party came into power in 1948, Apartheid began to influence all facets of South African life, also that of the theatre. This study documents Apartheid legislation and the resistance against it, then turns to a consideration of the most important protest dramas. The complex political background is utilized to identify and discuss three distinct lines of development, represented by the Afrikaans, English and Black theatre traditions. The Afrikaans-speaking white playwright was initially part of the Afrikaner's encompassing struggle for self-determination and self-assertion, where language, religion and nationalism played a dominant role. After the realization of the Afrikaner Nationalist ideals the Afrikaans writer gradually developed from mythbuilder to iconoclast: from "national hero" to "traitor". The resulting Afrikaans political protest theatre was aimed mainly at fellow Afrikaners and thus usually took on the guise of a drama of conscience, critically examining the Afrikaner psyche. Such plays did not advocate the subversion of the political system, but rather the humanization thereof. It comes from within the system: an examination of the Afrikaner, his ideas about religion, his ties to the land, his racial fear and prejudice, and his obsession with racial purity. The English speaking white playwright was initially represented as the liberal outsider with a humanitarian concern for the injustices wrought by racial discrimination, but at the same time sharing a sense of complicity in the situation and deeply rooted in the country. This complicity evolved into a full acceptance of responsibility by means of their involvement with black theatre groups, the establishment and management of non-racial theatres and companies, guidance to workshops and community projects, as well as the creation and writing of new plays. The criticism expressed predominantly derives from "white" perspectives on the South African reality (which tend to fix on the colour issue). The exceptions here are Athol Fugard' s workshop productions, which incorporate the "black experience" as well. The Black protest theatre (in its recognizable, Western form) developed late. Exposing the misery of the black citizen's daily existence under Apartheid, these works advocated the violent overthrow of the "regime" as the only permanent solution. Measured against Western standards the plays had a number of flaws: lack of structure, undisciplined acting and production, repetitive themes, cliches, as well as a tendency to over-simplify the political problem. The form incorporates aspects of traditional practices such as story-telling, song, dance, multi-role acting and ceremonial actions, but the content is determined by the urban, industrialized experience. Although there are more similarities between the development of the Black and Afrikaans political protest theatre, co-operation tended to develop largely between the Black and English theatre. In the decade after Soweto 1976 political protest dominated the South African theatre. While this movement did not actually succeed in subverting the "regime" or even in generating full-scale insurgence against the state, it did have an effect. Among the economically advantaged and elite white theatregoers, the "black" theatre fostered an awareness of daily life in the black community, and the "white" theatre a questioning of the morality of the social, religious and political order. The same plays provided the broad mass of black audiences with a heightened awareness of their own identity and self-esteem within the communal escape valve of public protest. By granting this form of theatre a prominent place in the ongoing public debate, the daily newspapers markedly increased the theatre's influence and impact. / Afrikaans: Met die bewindsoorname van die Nasionale Party in 1948 begin Apartheid 'n invloed op alle vlakke van die Suid-Afrikaanse bestaan uitoefen, ook op die teater. In hierdie studie word die Apartheidswetgewing en die verset daarteen uiteengesit, waarna die belangrikste protesdramas van die Afrikaanse, Engelse en Swart teater afsonderlik as drie ontwikkelingstrome teen hierdie komplekse politieke agtergrond beskryf word. Die Afrikaanssprekende blanke dramaturg skryf aanvanklik vanuit die totale Afrikanerstryd tot selfvestiging en -bevestiging, waarin taal, godsdiens en nasionalisme sentraal staan. Na die verwesenliking van die AfrikanerNasionalistiese ideale begin die Afrikaanse skrywer geleidelik ontwikkel van mitefiseerder tot ikonoklaster: van "volksheld" tot "volksverraaier". Die Afrikaanse politieke protesdrama is veral teen die mede-Afrikaner gemik, en word daarom meestal gewetensdrama wat die Afrikanerpsige krities ondersoek. Dit bepleit nie die omverwerping van die bestel nie, eerder die mensliker-maak daarvan. Dit kom van binne die sisteem: 'n ondersoek na die Afrikaner, sy godsdiensbegrip, gebondenheid aan die grond, rasse-vrees en -vooroordeel en sy obsessie met rasse-suiwerheid. Die Engelssprekende blanke dramaturg het aanvanklik die indruk gewek van die liberate buitestaander wat humaniter-besorg die onreg van rasse-diskriminasie aandui, maar terselfdertyd ook 'n mede-aandadigheid aan die situasie en 'n geworteldheid in die land ervaar. Hierdie aandadigheid ontwikkel tot 'n volle aanspreeklikheid in die samewerking met swart teatergroepe, die oprig en bestuur van nie-rassige teaters en geselskappe, optrede _ as leiers van werkwinkels en gemeenskapsprojekte en die skep en skryf van dramas. Die kritiek kom oorwegend vanuit die "blanke" realiteitbeskouing (wat wesenlik kleurbehep is) met die uitsondering van Athol Fugard se werkwinkelprojekte waarin die "swart ervaring" uitgebeeld word. Die Swart protesteater (in sy herkenbare, Westerse vorm) het 'n laat ontwikkeling gehad. Dit openbaar die ellende van die alledaagse bestaan van die swartman onder Apartheid en bepleit die gewelddadige omverwerping van die "regime" as enigste blywende oplossing. Gemeet aan Westerse standaarde het dit heelwat gebreke gehad: struktuurloosheid, ongedissiplineerde spel en aanbieding, herhalende temas, cliches, asook oorvereenvoudiging van die problematiek. Die vorm daarvan sluit nou aan by tradisionele gebruike soos vertelling, sang, dans, multi-rolspel en seremoniele handeling. Die inhoud word egter bepaal deur die stedelike, geindustrialiseerde ervaring. Alhoewel daar meer raakpunte tussen die ontwikkeling van die Afrikaanse en Swart politieke protesteater is, het samewerking veral tussen Swart en Engels plaasgevind, en nie tussen Afrikaans en Swart nie. In die dekade na Soweto 1976 was daar 'n ontploffing van politieke protesteater. Dit het nie die omverwerping van die "regime~_ of 'n grootskaalse opstand teen die staatsgesag veroorsaak nie. Wat wel bereik is, is dat daar deur die "swart" teater by 'n groep blanke toeskouers, uit die hoer klasse van die samelewing, 'n bewussyn gekweek is van die daaglikse lewensomstandighede van die anderskleurige Suid-Afrikaner; deur die "wit" teater 'n bevraagtekening van die moraliteit van die sosiale, godsdienstige en politieke orde; en by die swart gehore 'n verhoogde bewussyn van die eie identiteit en waarde binne die saambindende uitlaatklep van openbare protes. Terselfdertyd het die dagblaaie deur hulle omvangryke verslaggewing hierdie vorm van teater in die openbare debat geplaas en daardeur die trefkrag en invloed verhoog. / Thesis (DPhil)--University of Pretoria, 1994. / Drama / DPhil / Unrestricted

Infants of various ages across the first postnatal year have shown behavioral preferences (i.e., more attention) to visual displays when looking resulted in the presentation of Infant-Directed Speech (IDS) compared to Adult-Directed Speech (ADS). Although IDS differs from ADS on a variety of measures, most research has focused on various pitch characteristics (i.e., IDS is higher in absolute pitch and more variable in pitch across utterance length). Work from our lab has found that when the pitch characteristics of IDS were held constant, but the temporal features were manipulated, younger (but not older) infants attended more to slower rates of IDS, even though it was unlikely that they had heard such speech (when speech is spoken at this slow rate, the fundamental frequency cannot be maintained). The purpose of this study was to expand our investigation of how speaking rate affects infant attention by adding the physiological measure of heart rate to our protocol. Of specific interest was whether infants would show differential amounts of heart-rate (HR) decelerations as a function of rate (i.e. greater decelerations to slowed speech). 4-month-old infants were tested with normal IDS (unaltered rate) and slow IDS (rate was twice as slow as normal). Behaviorally, infants did not differentially attend to a display as a function of speech type. Psychophysiologically, infants showed more pronounced HR decelerations to slow than to normal IDS. The discrepancy between measures of attention is discussed, especially with regard to the organization of attention in infants of this age. / Master of Science

Le secteur du livre et de l’édition en Afrique noire francophone s’inspire beaucoup du modèle éditorial occidental, notamment celui de la France. Le livre en Occident s’est progressivement mis en place pour avoir la forme et la notoriété qui est la sienne de nos jours, il en est de même pour l’édition et le métier d’éditeur. En Afrique noire francophone, ce secteur passe par le même cheminement qui est l’évolution progressive, cependant celle-ci ne concerne plus la création des éléments qui composent le livre et l’édition, mais plutôt la pratique elle-même qui peine à éclore véritablement malgré les apports de différentes institutions internationales et les dispositions locales. En effet, dans cette étude, nous avons relevé des problèmes communs à l’ensemble des pays de l’Afrique noire francophone, ainsi que les difficultés propres à chaque pays. Le Gabon est le pays sur lequel nous nous sommes principalement appuyée. Les différentes recherches nous ont permis de relever les difficultés majeures qui minent le secteur du livre et de l’édition en Afrique noire francophone, mais surtout de faire un état des lieux de la situation générale de ce secteur.De prime à bord, le secteur du livre et de l’édition relèvent du domaine de l’histoire, de la sociologie. À travers la sémiotique des cultures de Youri Lotman, nous avons relevé des éléments du livre et de l’édition qui intègrent aussi bien celui de la culture. Le secteur à l’étude peut ainsi se prêter à une étude plus exhaustive. / The book and publishing sector in French-speaking Black Africa is very much inspired by the Western editorial model, particularly that of France. The book in the West has gradually been put in place to have the form and notoriety that is his today, it is the same for publishing and the profession of publisher. In black Francophone Africa, this sector goes through the same path which is the progressive evolution, however it no longer concerns the creation of the elements that make up the book and the edition, but rather the practice itself which is struggling to hatch. Truly despite the contributions of various international institutions and local arrangements. Indeed, in this study, we found problems common to all the countries of French-speaking Black Africa, as well as the difficulties specific to each country. Gabon is the country on which we mainly rely. The various researches allowed us to take up the major difficulties that undermine the book and publishing sector in French-speaking Black Africa, but especially to make an inventory of the general situation of this sector.First and foremost, the book and publishing sector comes under the domain of history and sociology. Through the semiotics of Yuri Lotman's cultures, we have found elements of the book and the edition that integrate culture as well. The sector under study can thus lend itself to a more comprehensive study.

This study was conducted to continue the investigation of apparent differences in cognitive ii abilities between Navajo Indian children and non-Navajo children. Subjects were 248 second-grade students, ranging from 7 to 9 years old. The Navajo sample lived in the Shiprock, New Mexico, area of the Navajo Indian Reservation, and the non-Navajo sample lived on the east side of Salt Lake City, Utah. Data were collected using six tests designed to measure spatial abilities in primary grade children. Results indicated that the non-Navajo children scored significantly higher on two individual tests and on the total test score under timed conditions, with no differences between groups when timing was not a factor. Two factors were identified for both groups. Factor loadings were different between the groups. As the scoring moved from timed to extended time, it changed for the nonNavajo children but remained the same for the Navajo group. Discriminate function analysis indicated a moderate ability to predict group membership using these tests. Gender differences were noted as well, with females scoring significantly lower than males on timed but not on extended time. Some race/gender interactions also were recorded. Suggestions were made that differences may be related to varying strategies used by not only different racial groups but by both genders as well. The within-group variability indicated a need for investigation of individual differences as well as group differences. Suggestions included using a greater number of instruments, an exploration of strategies, and using a examiner familiar to the students.

This study investigated curricular methods to reduce communication apprehension among public speaking students. Previous research has found many intervention strategies to be successful in reducing levels of communication apprehension, including both visualization and cognitive restructuring. However, prior research has failed to examine the efficacy of such techniques within the context of teaching a public speaking course that has limited time to devote to these techniques. Consequently, an experiment was conducted which examined whether a one hour instructional unit using cognitive restructuring and visualization can reduce levels of communication apprehension among public speaking students. The results of the study indicate that a one hour instructional unit does not reduce the anxiety of high communication apprehensive students in a public speaking course.

No description available.

English speaking skills and the ability to collaborate with others are essential in our global society. Students need to be provided with the knowledge to actively participate in society and develop the ability to use different strategies to support their communication. However, speaking anxiety and not knowing how to cope with speaking anxiety could pose a problem for language learners, affecting their academic achievement. This quantitative study investigated students’ perceptions of speaking anxiety and working in groups or pairs in the foreign English classroom. A questionnaire was used and answered by secondary school students, attending their last year at two different schools. The study identified which strategies students use to cope with speaking anxiety. It was found that the majority of the participants experienced working collaboratively had positive outcomes on their experienced speaking anxiety and over a half of the language learner’s believed working in groups made them speak and participate more during English lessons. Fear of negative evaluation showed being the lowest source for experienced speaking anxiety while the most anxiety-provoking situation was having to speak publicly in class. In addition, the study showed that actively encourage oneself by taking risks in the language classroom was the most common used strategy to cope with speaking anxiety in the language classroom. Moreover, a third of the participants expressed they did not know any strategy to use to cope with their speaking anxiety.

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence, service robots play an increasingly important role in frontline service across various industries. However, many questions surrounding service robots as a novel service option are still less studied, and thus, remain uncertain to marketers. Therefore, this dissertation investigated and addressed some of these questions, by assessing the potential advantages of service robots, not only as compared to human employees, but also among service robots’ different humanlike vocal features, including voice types, accents, and speaking styles. Specifically, to address the research gaps identified through an in-depth literature review conducted in Chapter 2, a series of empirical studies were conducted and presented in Chapter 3 (Essay One) and Chapter 4 (Essay Two). Chapter 3 begins with Study 1a, an investigation into the potential advantages of service robots as compared to human employees in a hotel check-in setting. The findings suggest that service robots outperform human employees in customers’ enjoyment of the interactions. Study 1b replicated the earlier study in a fast-food restaurant setting, where service robots were found to outperform human employees in customers’ word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions as well. In Study 2, an investigation specifically into a service robot’s vocal design was conducted, by comparing three potential voice types (male, female, or robotic) in a movie theater setting. The findings reveal that a human male voice is the most ideal across various customer outcomes, highlighting the importance for marketers to determine the optimal voice type for a service robot. Chapter 4 reports further investigations of service robots’ vocal design, specifically regarding their accents and speaking styles. In Study 3, four subordinate studies were conducted in a hotel check-in setting. The findings suggest that when a service robot’s accent is congruent with its local region, it enhances customers’ perceived enjoyment of the interactions and various customer outcomes. In Study 4, a further investigation was conducted into a service robot’s speaking style, to assess its potential influence under a service failure and recovery context. The findings suggest that a service robot’s use of a colloquial speaking style attenuates customers’ perceived competence of the service robot and related customer outcomes, which further highlight the importance of a service robot’s appropriate language use, especially during a service recovery. A general discussion regarding Study 1 to Study 4 was provided in Chapter 5, offering valuable implications to both scholars and marketers, and suggesting promising avenues for future research.