Thesis (M. Tech. (Communication)) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2015 / The central role of language in governance need not be argued; it is self-evident. Effective communication between the political leadership and the state administration, between individual government bodies and institutions, within these bodies and institutions, and between the government and its citizens, which is a prerequisite for good government, occurs mainly through language.

Thesis (M. Ed. (Education)) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2014 / The goal of the education system is to increase cognitive capacity, competencies and skills such as acquiring new knowledge, recalling facts and figures and applying this information to reasoning, understanding and solving problems. To achieve all these competencies teachers and lecturers traditionally use Bloom’s Taxonomy of Learning Domains. The competencies and skills as described by Bloom are measured by standardised intelligence tests. Society takes it for granted that the higher a person’s IQ (Intelligence quotient), the better he/she will perform at school level. But what happens after school? While cognitive intelligence may be able to predict quite accurately how one will perform at school, it predicts very little else in the way of social performance and interaction after school. As such, IQ is a rather weak predictor of performance in interpersonal relations, at work and in coping with a wide variety of challenges that surface in the course of one's life on a daily basis (Wagner, 1997). Some writers makes a strong case that people owe their success in their professional careers to much more than mere IQ. Wagner reviews data and offers convincing cases to show that an IQ above 110, fails as an accurate predictor of success in a career. In other words, you need to be smart enough to handle the cognitive complexity of the information you need for a given role or job, be it engineering, law, medicine, or business. But after reaching this threshold of “smart enough,” your intellect makes little difference. Wagner concludes that IQ alone predicts just 6 to 10 percent of career success. It has been argued for over a century, as early as Charles Darwin that something is missing from the human performance formula that is needed to explain why some people do very well in life while others do not, irrespective of how cognitively intelligent they may be. One of the first attempts by psychologists to identify additional predictors of performance in other aspects of life was made by Edward Thorndike (1920) when he described "social intelligence" as the ability to perceive one's own and others' internal states, motives and behaviours, and to act towards them appropriately on the basis of that information. Mayer, Salovey and Caruso (2000:273) state that emotional intelligence includes “the ability to perceive, appraise and express emotion accurately and adaptively; the ability to understand emotion and emotional knowledge; the ability to access and generate feelings where they facilitate cognitive activities and adaptive action; and the ability to regulate emotions in oneself and others”. All of these skills are necessary for the teacher to function successfully in the classroom. The question is: does the modern teacher have the necessary EI skills? This dissertation explores and describes the level of Emotional Intelligence of the first year student teachers at the Central University of Technology, Free State. Seventy-nine (79) students were tested during 2012 and 2013 to establish whether they have the necessary levels of Emotional Intelligence to ensure that they will be able to become good classroom leaders upon entering the teacher’s profession. Traits of Emotional Intelligence were assessed by means of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue). The study investigates the Emotional Intelligence attributes and skills that a teacher will need to become a good classroom leader. The study examines the four main areas tested in the TEIQue, namely the well-being, the emotionality, the sociability and the self-control of the student teacher. Findings suggest that the student teachers still need to develop their emotional intelligence as their results fall in the lower level of the acceptable range.

Thesis (Phd. (Education )) - Central University of Technology, Free State, 2015 / For learners to be effective computer applications users, they need three basic skills – computer literacy, computer fluency and intellectual and reasoning skills to apply computational techniques or computer applications to the problems and projects in a field. Computational thinking as addressed in the first literature chapter is the description and the promotion of new ways of thinking in an increasingly digital age. A computational thinker must constantly engage in technology advancements. Computational thinking is a way of solving problems and is a cognitive or a thinking process. To flourish in the world of work, computational thinking has to be a fundamental part of the way learners think and understand the world. It describes the mental activity in formulating a problem to allow a computational solution. The solution can be carried out by the learner or the computer or a combination of learner and computers. Problem-solving competency as addressed in the next literature chapter involves the ability to acquire and use new knowledge, or to use old knowledge in a new way to solve problems that are not routine. Problem-solving as a skill involves a range of processes that includes analysing, interpreting, reasoning, predicting, evaluating and reflecting. Learners need profound Computer Applications Technology (CAT) knowledge and a general reasoning ability as well as investigative strategies for solving ill-defined problems. To address the research questions, the researcher employed the QUAN-QUAL design in this study. In this study the quantitative method was used to gather data relating to the education of teachers, in-service training received and answers to certain computational thinking skills and problem-solving skills. It was also used to test the relationship between problem solving and computational thinking skills. A Likert-scale type questionnaire was completed by 150 CAT teachers. In addition, this study also employed the qualitative method with semi-structured interviews to gather data relating Abstract vi to problem solving and computational thinking skills. Eight CAT teachers were interviewed to ascertain the afore-mentioned. A pilot study was conducted with the aim to test the research approach and to identify potential problems that may affect the quality and validity of the results. The wording of some questions in the questionnaire was altered to ensure that the instrument measures what it is supposed to. Descriptive statistics in this study was used to describe the findings and the inferential statistics used to test the hypotheses and draw conclusions from the quantitative statistics. For qualitative data, thematic analysis was used to analyse the original data obtained from the semi-structured interviews. To promote critical thinking skills, teachers must engage learners in higher-order thinking. Findings show that teachers do not always use classroom practices that encourage critical thinking. It was encouraging that the majority of teachers do allow group work in the CAT classroom, as group work is an important facet in computational thinking and problem solving. The study culminates in a computational thinking and problem-solving toolkit developed by the researcher. This toolkit is intended primarily for facilitators (such as CAT subject advisors or CAT mentor teachers) to enable them to conduct workshops for fellow CAT teachers. By using this toolkit, teachers will gain an understanding of what computational thinking skills and problem-solving skills are and how to develop these skills in Grades 10 – 12 CAT learners.

"This document was submitted as a dissertation in December 2009 in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the doctoral degree in public policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School." / Title from PDF title screen (viewed Jan. 21, 2010). Includes bibliographical references (p. 343-360).

Significativa atenção tem sido dedicada a experiências de planejamento e gestão da pesquisa e da inovação no nível macro, contemplando a elaboração e implantação de políticas públicas para ciência, tecnologia e inovação, sob a perspectiva de promoção de competitividade e também de ampliação de benefícios sociais. O panorama atual se mostra bastante propício para o País, principalmente com relação às perspectivas para melhoria das condições que favorecem sua competitividade. Cabe às Instituições de Ensino Superior - IES e às empresas encontrarem os meios adequados para realização das estratégias de competitividade propostas pelo governo, de forma a viabilizar a cooperação com vistas à promoção da capacitação tecnológica com desenvolvimento sustentável. Assim sendo, o objetivo desta pesquisa é descrever a estrutura administrativa da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR, que trata da captação de recursos para CT&I. Neste estudo, o propósito da pesquisa aplicada foi de natureza exploratória e esta etapa desenvolveu-se por meio de um questionário, aplicado a diretores, ex-diretores, e demais administradores envolvidos na área de relações empresariais da UTFPR, durante os meses de Outubro e Novembro de 2012. Procedeu-se amplo levantamento bibliográfico e documental. A observação participante, também foi utilizada como instrumento de pesquisa, oportunizado durante o estágio realizado junto ao Departamento de Projetos Tecnológicos, durante o mês de maio de 2012. O método adotado foi o estudo de caso, na UTFPR, instituição centenária, que a partir de 07/10/2005, passou a ser universidade tecnológica a única no Brasil a assim denominar-se. A história da UTFPR confundese com a própria história da educação profissional brasileira. O estudo demonstra a importância de se desenvolver estruturas apoiadoras profissionalizadas nos ambientes universitários com relação ao acesso às fontes de apoio à CT&I. / Significant attention has been devoted to the experiences of planning and management of research and innovation at the macro level, covering the development and implementation of public policies for science, technology and innovation from the perspective of promoting competitiveness and also expansion of social benefits. The current situation proves to be quite favorable for the country, mainly in relation ace prospects for improving conditions that favor their competitiveness. It ace Higher Education Institutions - HEIs and businesses to find the appropriate means to carry out the strategies proposed by the government in order to facilitate cooperation with a view to promoting sustainable development with technological capability. Therefore, the objective of this research project is to describe the administrative structure of UTFPR dealing with fundraising for ST & I. In this study, the purpose of applied research was exploratory in nature and this step was developed through a questionnaire answered by directors, former directors, and other administrators involved in the area of industrial relations UTFPR during the months of October and November of 2012. We carried out extensive bibliographic and documentary. Participant observation was also used as a research tool, oportunizado during the training held by the DEPET-CT in May 2012. The method adopted is a case study in UTFPR, century-old institution, which as of 07/10/2005, became the only university in Brazil of a technological nature. The history of UTFPR intertwined with the history of Brazilian professional education. The study demonstrates the importance of developing supportive structures professionalized in university environments with respect to access to sources of support for ST & I.

O modelo de inovação aberta proposto recentemente por Henry Chesbrough tem encorajado a transferência de tecnologia entre empresas, universidades e instituições de pesquisa. Em resposta a esse fenômeno o Brasil criou mecanismos para incentivar a transferência de tecnologia entre essas diferentes organizações pelas Leis 10.973/2004 e 11.196/2005. Assim, a maior integração entre esses agentes de inovação tecnológica levanta a necessidade de voltar maior atenção à avaliação do valor da tecnologia objeto de transferência. O objetivo da pesquisa foi descrever as principais características de processos de valoração de tecnologias desenvolvidos e utilizados por organizações científicas e tecnológicas no Paraná. Esta é uma pesquisa de natureza aplicada, qualitativa do ponto de vista da abordagem do problema, descritiva no que diz respeito aos seus objetivos e predominantemente documental em relação aos seus procedimentos técnicos. Os procedimentos metodológicos incluíram uma pesquisa bibliográfica buscando o mapeamento de características de processos de valoração de tecnologia utilizados no Brasil e no exterior, que foram levantados por meio do acesso a sítios, via internet, de importantes organizações científicas e tecnológicas e levantamentos usando instrumentos como questionário. Como resultado, verificou-se que as principais características que definem o perfil das OCTs no processo de transferência de tecnologia são: a maior abrangência do escopo da missão institucional das OCTs (maior quantidade de objetivos); maior envolvimento com atividades de pesquisa; o envolvimento de outros agentes na definição dos critérios para valoração de um ativo tecnológico (incluindo parceiros e pesquisador); adoção de maior número de tipos de contratos de transferência; e maior tempo de experiência do NIT. Adicionalmente foi possível verificar que a aderência aos métodos mais indicados na literatura não é uma característica das OCTs paranaenses, o que sinaliza um potencial para convergência das práticas atuais às melhores práticas. Como sugestão recomenda-se que as OCTs adotem como prática a oferta de diferentes tipos de contratos de transferência em suas negociações para maximizar as possibilidades de sucesso. Recomenda-se também incluir nos catálogos de patentes, além dos descritivos técnicos, redações sobre as possibilidades de aplicação das tecnologias em operações da produção de bens ou prestação de serviços. As recomendações incluem também a publicação do portfólio de projetos de pesquisa cujos objetivos sejam conceber novos produtos ou processos de produção. Este trabalho sugere também a criação de um cadastro de demandas tecnológicas, que poderia ser publicado no Relatório Formict, para que os NITs possam identificar oportunidades de transferência de tecnologia. / The open innovation model recently proposed by Henry Chesbrough has encouraged the transfer of technology between companies, universities and research institutions. In response to this phenomenon Brazil has created mechanisms to encourage technology transfer between these different organizations by Law 10,973 / 2004 and 11,196 / 2005. Thus, the further integration of these technological innovators raises the need to pay more attention to assessing the value of the transfer object technology. The objective of the research was to describe the main features of valuation processes developed technologies and used by science and technology organizations in Paraná. This is an applied research, qualitative by point of view of the problem approaching, descriptive with regard to their objectives and predominantly documental in relation to its technical procedures. The methodological procedures include a bibliographical research aiming at the mapping technology valuation process characteristics used in Brazil and abroad, which were raised through access to sites via the Internet of important scientific and technological organizations and surveys using tools such as questionnaire. As a result, it was found that the main characteristics that define the profile of the OCTs in the technology transfer process are: a more comprehensive scope of the institutional mission of the OCTs (larger number of objectives); greater involvement in research activities; the involvement of other agents on decision process of the criteria for valuing a technological assets (including partners and researcher); adoption of more types of transfer agreements; longer NIT experience. Additionally we found that adherence to the methods most indicated in the literature is not a feature of Paraná OCTs, which indicates a potential for convergence of current practices to best practices. As a suggestion it is recommended that OCTs adopt a policy of offering different types of transfer agreements in their negotiations to maximize the chances of success. It is also recommended to include in the patent catalogs, in addition to technical descriptions, information about the possibilities for the application of technologies involving the production of goods or services. The recommendations also include the publication of the portfolio of research projects whose purposes are designing new products or production processes. This work also suggests the creation of a register of technological demands, which could be published in Formict Report so that NITs might identify technology transfer opportunities.

Significativa atenção tem sido dedicada a experiências de planejamento e gestão da pesquisa e da inovação no nível macro, contemplando a elaboração e implantação de políticas públicas para ciência, tecnologia e inovação, sob a perspectiva de promoção de competitividade e também de ampliação de benefícios sociais. O panorama atual se mostra bastante propício para o País, principalmente com relação às perspectivas para melhoria das condições que favorecem sua competitividade. Cabe às Instituições de Ensino Superior - IES e às empresas encontrarem os meios adequados para realização das estratégias de competitividade propostas pelo governo, de forma a viabilizar a cooperação com vistas à promoção da capacitação tecnológica com desenvolvimento sustentável. Assim sendo, o objetivo desta pesquisa é descrever a estrutura administrativa da Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná – UTFPR, que trata da captação de recursos para CT&I. Neste estudo, o propósito da pesquisa aplicada foi de natureza exploratória e esta etapa desenvolveu-se por meio de um questionário, aplicado a diretores, ex-diretores, e demais administradores envolvidos na área de relações empresariais da UTFPR, durante os meses de Outubro e Novembro de 2012. Procedeu-se amplo levantamento bibliográfico e documental. A observação participante, também foi utilizada como instrumento de pesquisa, oportunizado durante o estágio realizado junto ao Departamento de Projetos Tecnológicos, durante o mês de maio de 2012. O método adotado foi o estudo de caso, na UTFPR, instituição centenária, que a partir de 07/10/2005, passou a ser universidade tecnológica a única no Brasil a assim denominar-se. A história da UTFPR confundese com a própria história da educação profissional brasileira. O estudo demonstra a importância de se desenvolver estruturas apoiadoras profissionalizadas nos ambientes universitários com relação ao acesso às fontes de apoio à CT&I. / Significant attention has been devoted to the experiences of planning and management of research and innovation at the macro level, covering the development and implementation of public policies for science, technology and innovation from the perspective of promoting competitiveness and also expansion of social benefits. The current situation proves to be quite favorable for the country, mainly in relation ace prospects for improving conditions that favor their competitiveness. It ace Higher Education Institutions - HEIs and businesses to find the appropriate means to carry out the strategies proposed by the government in order to facilitate cooperation with a view to promoting sustainable development with technological capability. Therefore, the objective of this research project is to describe the administrative structure of UTFPR dealing with fundraising for ST & I. In this study, the purpose of applied research was exploratory in nature and this step was developed through a questionnaire answered by directors, former directors, and other administrators involved in the area of industrial relations UTFPR during the months of October and November of 2012. We carried out extensive bibliographic and documentary. Participant observation was also used as a research tool, oportunizado during the training held by the DEPET-CT in May 2012. The method adopted is a case study in UTFPR, century-old institution, which as of 07/10/2005, became the only university in Brazil of a technological nature. The history of UTFPR intertwined with the history of Brazilian professional education. The study demonstrates the importance of developing supportive structures professionalized in university environments with respect to access to sources of support for ST & I.

O modelo de inovação aberta proposto recentemente por Henry Chesbrough tem encorajado a transferência de tecnologia entre empresas, universidades e instituições de pesquisa. Em resposta a esse fenômeno o Brasil criou mecanismos para incentivar a transferência de tecnologia entre essas diferentes organizações pelas Leis 10.973/2004 e 11.196/2005. Assim, a maior integração entre esses agentes de inovação tecnológica levanta a necessidade de voltar maior atenção à avaliação do valor da tecnologia objeto de transferência. O objetivo da pesquisa foi descrever as principais características de processos de valoração de tecnologias desenvolvidos e utilizados por organizações científicas e tecnológicas no Paraná. Esta é uma pesquisa de natureza aplicada, qualitativa do ponto de vista da abordagem do problema, descritiva no que diz respeito aos seus objetivos e predominantemente documental em relação aos seus procedimentos técnicos. Os procedimentos metodológicos incluíram uma pesquisa bibliográfica buscando o mapeamento de características de processos de valoração de tecnologia utilizados no Brasil e no exterior, que foram levantados por meio do acesso a sítios, via internet, de importantes organizações científicas e tecnológicas e levantamentos usando instrumentos como questionário. Como resultado, verificou-se que as principais características que definem o perfil das OCTs no processo de transferência de tecnologia são: a maior abrangência do escopo da missão institucional das OCTs (maior quantidade de objetivos); maior envolvimento com atividades de pesquisa; o envolvimento de outros agentes na definição dos critérios para valoração de um ativo tecnológico (incluindo parceiros e pesquisador); adoção de maior número de tipos de contratos de transferência; e maior tempo de experiência do NIT. Adicionalmente foi possível verificar que a aderência aos métodos mais indicados na literatura não é uma característica das OCTs paranaenses, o que sinaliza um potencial para convergência das práticas atuais às melhores práticas. Como sugestão recomenda-se que as OCTs adotem como prática a oferta de diferentes tipos de contratos de transferência em suas negociações para maximizar as possibilidades de sucesso. Recomenda-se também incluir nos catálogos de patentes, além dos descritivos técnicos, redações sobre as possibilidades de aplicação das tecnologias em operações da produção de bens ou prestação de serviços. As recomendações incluem também a publicação do portfólio de projetos de pesquisa cujos objetivos sejam conceber novos produtos ou processos de produção. Este trabalho sugere também a criação de um cadastro de demandas tecnológicas, que poderia ser publicado no Relatório Formict, para que os NITs possam identificar oportunidades de transferência de tecnologia. / The open innovation model recently proposed by Henry Chesbrough has encouraged the transfer of technology between companies, universities and research institutions. In response to this phenomenon Brazil has created mechanisms to encourage technology transfer between these different organizations by Law 10,973 / 2004 and 11,196 / 2005. Thus, the further integration of these technological innovators raises the need to pay more attention to assessing the value of the transfer object technology. The objective of the research was to describe the main features of valuation processes developed technologies and used by science and technology organizations in Paraná. This is an applied research, qualitative by point of view of the problem approaching, descriptive with regard to their objectives and predominantly documental in relation to its technical procedures. The methodological procedures include a bibliographical research aiming at the mapping technology valuation process characteristics used in Brazil and abroad, which were raised through access to sites via the Internet of important scientific and technological organizations and surveys using tools such as questionnaire. As a result, it was found that the main characteristics that define the profile of the OCTs in the technology transfer process are: a more comprehensive scope of the institutional mission of the OCTs (larger number of objectives); greater involvement in research activities; the involvement of other agents on decision process of the criteria for valuing a technological assets (including partners and researcher); adoption of more types of transfer agreements; longer NIT experience. Additionally we found that adherence to the methods most indicated in the literature is not a feature of Paraná OCTs, which indicates a potential for convergence of current practices to best practices. As a suggestion it is recommended that OCTs adopt a policy of offering different types of transfer agreements in their negotiations to maximize the chances of success. It is also recommended to include in the patent catalogs, in addition to technical descriptions, information about the possibilities for the application of technologies involving the production of goods or services. The recommendations also include the publication of the portfolio of research projects whose purposes are designing new products or production processes. This work also suggests the creation of a register of technological demands, which could be published in Formict Report so that NITs might identify technology transfer opportunities.

This thesis investigates the progress of technological development during the interwar period of 1919 to 1939. The interwar period was a time of slashed military budgets and isolationist policies. However, despite political, financial, and organizational handicaps, each branch of the military made significant progress in the development of military technology, and the air corps and navy achieved significantly better results. The reason these two branches were able succeed was through a combination of organizational policy and the development of an overarching goal for their respective branch. Within this thesis, I investigated each of the major military branches during the interwar period, specifically the United States Army, Army Air Corps, and Navy. The air corps is considered a separate branch despite being a segment of the army due to its different strategic goal and its growing independence during the interwar period. In my research I found that the army made by far the least technological progress, but did make significant strides in terms of the development of individual components for larger projects. For example, the army developed the M1 rifle and state-of-the-art shock absorbers for tanks. The air corps succeeded in transforming from a small army auxiliary made up of woodand-fabric biplanes into a largely independent branch of the military made up of all-metal monoplane bombers. The navy developed the aircraft carrier and aircraft to accompany the new ships, in addition to making substantial upgrades to existing ships. These upgrades included strengthening ships against torpedo attacks, making engines more efficient, and adding antiaircraft guns to the ships‟ arsenals

Thesis (M. Tech) -- Central University of Technology, Free State, 2008 / In terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 (Act 108 of 1996), local government in South Africa is obliged to ensure that sustainable services are provided to communities. Without any doubt, the effective and efficient execution of this responsibility would bring about an environment conducive to service excellence on local government level. However, South African municipalities are characterised by poor service provision; and the various incidents arising from dissatisfaction on the part of residents in respect of the services rendered are daily becoming a greater challenge to municipalities in the Free State Province. In order to meet the service provision standards, as stipulated in the Constitution, the development and implementation of municipal policies is essential. Policy is defined, inter alia, as the setting out of basic principles that must be pursued in order to achieve specific objectives. Local government has the legislative and executive competency to develop and implement policies. As a result of the diversity and complexity of policy-making, a conceptual framework for the policy-making process at local government level is an essential requirement. This process is described in the dissertation as a sequential pattern consisting of the following phases: policy agenda-setting, policy formulation, policy adoption, policy implementation and execution and policy evaluation. However, municipalities do not have the institutional capacity, skills and experience necessary for the development and implementation of municipal policies. A further aspect that complicates the creation and implementation of policies is the large amount of legislation that regulates local government in South Africa. This legislation also requires municipalities to develop and implement various policies. There are several factors that influence policy-making at local government level. Aspects such as the political environment, the financial environment and community needs have a direct and significant effect on policy-making at this level of government. Capacity shortages probably comprise the factor that has the most detrimental effect on policy-making at local government level; and therefore the necessity for the relevant skills and knowledge relating to policymaking is indisputable. It is just as essential, however, that the other two spheres of government, namely national and provincial government, should carry out their constitutional obligation to support municipalities and strengthen their capacity. Therefore, the aim of this study is, firstly, to identify specific actions that could be implemented by local and district municipalities to improve the policy-making process. Secondly, to determine the reasons for the inadequate formulation, adoption and implementation of the municipal policies. Thirdly, to determine the specific role of national and provincial government, as well as that of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA), in supporting municipalities in the policy-making process. In addition, strategies that could be implemented in order to improve the institutional capacity, skills and experience at local government level, with a view to developing and implementing appropriate policies, have also been identified.