No description available.

This dissertation addresses three distinct areas of composition: literacy,technology, and teacher training. The research questions I investigate are as follows:Are graduate programs in rhetoric and composition offering preparation for teaching new literacies, especially with digital technology? If so, what is the nature of that training?Does the faculty within a program perceive that training to be effective? Is thattraining perceived to be effective by graduate students?How do individual programs shape their graduate technology training to reflectand manifest specific programmatic agendas and goals?The first two sets of research questions are investigated using survey research methods. The last research question is addressed via case study methods.Using a multi-methodological research design that includes a national survey and two institutional case studies allows me to combine methodologies to draw meaningful conclusions from the data. For example, the survey helps to provide a brief sketch of the state of technology training in rhetoric and composition programs as well as universities, while detailed case studies provide a context that illustrates how the integration of technology into both the university and rhetoric and composition program affects teacher training. The survey demonstrates that many programs do not require courses or workshops that extend special help to those teaching in computer classrooms especially as technology relates to new literacies. Information from the survey also indicates that rhetoric and composition programs have no procedures in place to assess the state of technology training for new teachers and TAs. This dissertation offers one way of assessing technology training.The case studies reveal that the two universities have grand visions and broad technology initiatives. However, a closer look at university mission statements and specific rhetoric and composition programs reveals that the integration of technology is sometimes a less than smooth one. In one case, the department struggles to implement technology at the grass roots level, while another department, despite the inconsistencies apparent at the university level, seems to succeed at both integrating technology and training new teachers to address the new literacies produced by those digital technologies. / Department of English

This study investigated factors reported by graduate students which influenced them to pursue a graduate degree in Adult and Continuing Education. A survey instrument was developed by three primary methods: (1) review of literature, (2) recommendations of former graduate students, and (3) recommendations of a panel of experts. The instrument was divided into three broad areas: (1) demographic information, (2) two open-ended questions, and (3) influential factors as reported in other studies.

Thesis (MDram (Drama))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / The general aim of this study was to establish why students at Stellenbosch University embarked on a course in Drama. The initial hypothesis was that students were attracted to the expressive, therapeutic features inherent to this field of study. A questionnaire was designed to test this hypothesis. However, in the early stages of the project, feedback from the Drama students of 2005 and, at a later stage, that of the first-year Drama students of 2006 and 2007 proved the hypothesis to be incorrect. The specific questionnaire that was handed out to students also included questions that would enhance the interest value of the survey, such as: “What question was the most frequently asked by your friends and relatives enquiring about your Drama studies?” Responses to the latter question, amongst others, triggered two other pilot studies. The aforementioned studies were conducted among 110 students from different disciplines on the US (University of Stellenbosch) campus, as well as among 65 respondents in the Stellenbosch area, and focused on perceptions around Drama students and the drama profession as such. The final study contained the following three problem statements: 1. Are there any stereotypical prejudices towards Drama students? If so, who and what is the Drama student in terms of personality type and character traits? 2. Are there any stereotypical prejudices towards this field of study and the professional field? If so, what do the field of study and the professional field constitute within the South African context? 3. Why Drama? or rather, what is the purpose of Drama, and what motivates students at Stellenbosch University (SU) to choose this particular profession, given the current perceptions? The supporting theories and the data, though not wholly significant, indicated that a marked degree of stereotyping existed with regard to Drama students and the profession. These perceptions about the students and the related professions have also been validated by the limited number of existing studies that could be found on this topic. Moreover, feedback from 253 Drama students revealed that they had decided to study Drama for a variety of reasons, and not only because a successful career in this field will inevitably lead to stardom and fame, which is contrary to what people generally tend to believe.

Students of accredited social work programs are expected to demonstrate ten core competencies, including the ability to "engage in policy practice to advance social and economic well-being and to deliver effective social work services" (Council on Social Work Education, 2008). Despite this expectation, almost half of licensed social workers surveyed disagreed with the notion that they were adequately prepared for political engagement by their social work education (Ritter, 2007). Because social welfare policy courses are the primary curricular means for preparing generalist social workers for political advocacy, this study explores how undergraduate students respond to social welfare policy instructors' efforts to prepare them for political engagement. Quantitative and qualitative data from social work students in two distinct social welfare policy courses support the idea that participation in such a course can contribute to an increase in political interest and internal political efficacy. Based on surveys (n=31), focus groups (n=28), and interviews (n=11) with students, a model for social welfare policy instruction is proposed, which includes 11 recommended teaching methods and 7 key aspects of the students' learning experience. By listening to the voices and experiences of social work students, this study begins to fill a gap in the social work education and policy practice literature. The final conclusions of the study help clarify for social work educators methodologies by which they can more effectively support students in the development of political interest, internal political efficacy, and ultimately policy practice.

Previous research has established the importance of the nouns and noun modification in academic writing because of their commonness and complexity. However, little is known about how noun modification varies across the rhetorical sections of research articles. Such a perspective is important because it reflects the interplay between communicative function and linguistic form. This study used a corpus of empirical research articles from the fields of applied linguistics and language teaching to explore the connection between article sections (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion; IMRD) and six types of noun modification: relative clauses, ing-clause postmodifiers, ed-clause postmodifiers, prepositional postmodifiers, premodifying nouns, and attributive adjectives. First the frequency of these six types of noun modification was compared across IMRD sections. Second, the study also used a hand coded analysis of the structure and structural patterns of a sample of noun phrases through IMRD sections. The results of the analyses showed that noun modification is not uniform across IMRD sections. Significant differences were found in the rates of use for attributive adjectives, premodifying nouns, and prepositional phrase postmodifiers. There were no significant differences between sections for relative clauses, ing-clause postmodifiers, or ed-clause postmodifiers. The differences between sections for attributive adjectives, premodifying nouns, and prepositional phrases illustrate the way the functions of these structures intersects with the functions of IMRD sections. For example, Methods sections describe research methods, which often have premodifying nouns (corpus analysis, conversation analysis, speech sample, etc.); this function of Methods sections results in a higher use of premodifying nouns compared to other sections. Results for structures of noun phrase across IMRD sections showed that the common noun modification patterns, such as premodifying noun only or attributive adjective with prepositional phrase postmodifier, were mostly consistent across sections. Noun phrase structures including pre-/post- or no modification did have differences across sections, with Introduction sections the most frequently modified and Methods sections the least frequently modified. The different functions of IMRD sections call for different rates of usage for noun modification, and the results reflected this. The results of this research benefit teachers of graduate students of applied linguistics in students' research reading and writing by describing the use of noun modification in the sections of empirical research articles and aiding teachers in the design of materials to clarify the use of noun modification in these IMRD sections.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The University of Stellenbosch Business School integrates environmental, social responsibility and corporate governance teaching in all its MBA courses. In 2012, it also introduced a stand-alone course, Business in Society, to improve students‟ knowledge of these topics and improve their decision-making ability. To enhance the course further, a social engagement project was piloted with the 2013 full-time cohort. The aim of the research paper is to determine the impact that the Social Engagement Project had on the participating students and to make recommendations for improving future engagements. The research method employed was content analysis of the reflective essays that the students wrote on assessing the course. Only essays for which permission was obtained from the students were used in the research. The success of the engagement in terms of experiential learning was firstly determined in relation to the Kolb learning cycle and literature regarding specifically service-learning. The impact on the students was then measured against Bloom‟s taxonomy, specifically focusing on the affective domain. Lastly, the effect the theory of planned behaviour was used to determine the influence the engagement had on the behavioural intentions of the students. From the content analysis it was determined that as an experiential learning engagement the project was a success In terms of Bloom‟s affective learning domain the learning dimension achieved by most students was the organisation dimension. Considering the limited duration of the course, this can be deemed a success. Two of the three independent determinants in the theory of planned behaviour that could be analysed, namely perceived behavioural control and attitude towards behaviour, were both positively influenced by the engagement. From a theoretical point of view, the Social Engagement Project could therefore be deemed a success. Areas for improvement that were however identified relate to students original motivations for choosing their projects that were not met. The main reason for this was very high initial expectations that were never congruent with the time available for projects. This factor can have a negative effect on the future behavioural intentions of the students, and the writer therefore proposes that the expectations of students be managed in order to obviate these shortcomings. The analysis of student recommendations revealed three main themes requiring attention, i.e. appropriate project identification, better time allocation, and improved support from faculty. Using these themes and the information learnt from the content analysis, final recommendations were made.

A number of issues related to graduate education in pharmacy have become apparent in the last several years. Recruitment of pharmacy students into graduate programs is one of the concerns. Currently, little information exists regarding this topic other than annual enrollment data. A certain number of pharmacy undergraduates must pursue graduate education to allow for the continued growth of the profession. A study was conducted to determine if a newly created videotape intervention would change participants attitudes and awareness levels concerning graduate educational pursuits in pharmacy. First and third professional year students at four Colleges of Pharmacy were randomly assigned to the treatment or control groups. Members of the control group were asked to complete the survey instrument only. The instrument consisted of three measures of intention to pursue graduate education, personal attitudes toward this pursuit, and perceptions of how significant others (the subjective norm) felt about these endeavors. The Theory of Reasoned Action (Ajzen and Fishbein) provided the theoretical framework for the research. Results of the study indicated that the intervention was able to change intentions, attitudes, and awareness levels regarding graduate education and research activities. Intentions of enrolling in graduate school did not differ between two entry level degree programs or in males versus females. First year students had higher intentions of obtaining graduate education than third year students. The subjective norm was more important than attitudes in predicting the intentions concerning graduate school attendance. These results demonstrate that positive changes in intentions, attitudes, and awareness levels can be obtained from such videotape interventions.

The purposes of the study were to identify the dimensions of the quality of doctoral programs, to develop a qualitative index based on these dimensions, and to examine the validity of the index. A total of ten objective variables and 200 doctoral programs in the disciplines of physics, electrical engineering, biochemistry, and sociology were examined in this study. Alpha common factor analysis rotated using varimax was the statistical technique employed to identify the dimensions of quality. Factor analysis identified two dimensions of the quality of doctoral programs in physics, electrical engineering, biochemistry, and sociology. The first dimension was the size-related input dimension dominated primarily by variables such as the number of graduate students, the number of faculty, the amount of departmental research spending, and the size of the library. The second dimension was the outcomes dimension dominated by variables such as the student success rate of gaining academic/research positions in Ph.D.-granting universities, faculty research productivity, faculty grantsmanship, and the student success rate of gaining professional employment outside academia. When one or both dimensions were used as bases for ranking programs, the method that used both dimensions (the composite QI) was better in producing plausible rankings of programs. The main advantage of using both dimensions was that the second dimension acted as a suppressant (or control) to the first factor causing the index to produce a more plausible estimate of quality.

The purpose of this study is to determine the soundness of the graduate educational-administration programs in the leading colleges and universities of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado, and New Mexico, in the light of criteria derived from psychologies of learning, and the etiologies of desirable traits such as leadership. A second purpose for setting up such criteria is to have a basis from which to draw recommendations and suggestions for improvement.