A current topic that is being discussed in education is the opportunity to work after graduation. The thesis strives to investigate what kind of competence is being created in higher education in order to determine the employability of the student and to clarify what educational support that is available. The study was conducted through semi-structured interviews with seven student counselors who shared their views on the correlation between education and the labor market in order to explore how to work with employability. The result shows that there is a lack of work-related learning in higher education that increases the gap between education and the labor market. The student indicates stress and anxiety about the future of the labor market and feels lost in what the education generates for type of competence. To avoid this problem, information about the skills that the labor market is demanding should be implemented in education and the opportunity to assign internships in the general programs.

This essay examines Frederick Douglass’s My Bondage and My Freedom in a liminal space between disciplinary lines of inquiry. In imagining his work within this space, I utilize Kenneth Burke’s notion of identification and cooperation as a means of understanding how Douglass enacts rhetoric and for what end. The rhetorical situation Douglass faces is highly fraught: other people’s lives are at stake, and the institution of slavery forces him to make legible the atrocities being done to African American bodies. My conceptualization of Douglass’s text as rhetorical theory in practice proffers a new way of understanding what shape and form rhetoric and narrative can take, especially for Douglass. Rhetorical theory in practice builds upon Barbara Christian’s understanding of what theory and theorization looks like within African American communities of practice. She argues that African American theory “is often in narrative forms, in the stories [they] create, in riddles and proverbs, in the play with language” (68). In My Bondage and My Freedom, I examine the ways in which Douglass locates rhetorical theory in the lived experiences of enslaved people. While doing this, he pays homage to four narrative forms: the captivity narrative, the criminal confession, the travel narrative, and the picaresque novel. He borrows from these forms to display his literary dexterity but also to enact a sort of rhetorical theory. His descriptions, sequence of events, and the way in which he orchestrates his text enact a rhetorical framework for advocating for the humanity of enslaved African Americans. Subsequently, he develops a rhetorical theory in practice that emerges out of his lived experiences.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The overarching objective of this thesis is to investigate and examine several contemporary IC theories and how they are utilised in practice so that understandings of the IC concept can be developed, in order to answer in part the main research question of “How does IC in action influence organisations?” The content of the thesis is based on a review of IC from both a theory and practice perspective and four empirical papers that examines IC theory as it is implemented in practice. In combining these papers into a coherent piece of work, a critical research perspective, as outlined by Alvesson and Deetz (2000), has been utilised as the theoretical framework. The term ‘critical’ is used in this thesis not to find fault with contemporary theory and practice of IC but rather to examine and question the application of IC theory into practice. The end result of doing so is the narrowing of an identified gap between IC theory and practice. A ‘critical’ analysis of IC in action is justified because the development of the concept of IC parallels that of ‘critical’ theory in that both have evolved from changing conditions in society as technology and the proliferation of knowledge that have fundamentally altered the conditions under which organisations operate. The overarching findings of the thesis are based on three outcomes of critical research being insight, critique and transformative re-definitions. Insight into IC is developed by examining contemporary IC frameworks as they have been applied. Critique is developed by putting to the test the implications for organisations as a result of implementing these contemporary IC frameworks. Last, transformative re-definition is achieved by opening a discourse on the impact of implementing IC practices so that academics and practitioners can develop critical, relevant and practical understandings that begins the process of change and develops practical managerial skills. More importantly this thesis identifies how the development of tools to reduce ‘causal ambiguity’ about how intangible resource help create (or destroy) value has the potential to raise the profile of IC as a strategic management technology. But from the wider view of the critical perspective, it is not the intention of this thesis to prescribe specific formulae for the measuring, management and reporting of IC, nor does it intend to further develop theory. So while the individual papers may proffer that certain avenues proved productive in developing insights, critique and transformative re-definition, these avenues are not offered as the preferred way of investigating IC. More specifically the goal of a critical perspective is to open a discourse. The opprurtinity for academics and practitioners to engage in discourse is enabled by the thesis’ focus on the issues identified by highlighting the gap between IC theory and practice. Furthermore, each of the included papers offers the opportunity for further discourse by way of the opportunities that remain for future research. Additionally, the thesis achieves exemplifies a number of different approaches to conducting research into IC practice that puts to the test particular aspects of IC theory in order to develop insights and understandings of IC in practice. As the empirical material only examines a fraction of contemporary IC theory there is scope for further research and thus discourse into the implementation of IC theory into IC practice. This future research should not be constrained by a particular method of research as exemplified in the variety of methods employed to gather the empirical material for the papers which stretches along the continuum of qualitative and quantitative research. This too provides an avenue of for future discourse.

This study aimed to investigate a) which type of written feedback (direct feedback or use of error codes) university prep-school EFL students with elementary level of proficiency prefer to receive on their written texts, b) whether or not the (mis)match between students&rsquo / preferences and received feedback affect their level of improvement in writing, and c) to what extent the students&rsquo / previous writing experience affect their preference for the type of written feedback. In order to determine the students&rsquo / preferences for a specific type of feedback and to find out their previous writing experiences, a questionnaire was designed. Moreover, the participants were given two subsequent writing tasks with the purpose of determining the level of improvement in their linguistic accuracy after receiving their (not) preferred type of feedback. The results show that the majority of the students in the preparatory class with Elementary level prefer to receive use of error codes in their written texts / however, giving them what they ask for may not contribute to their improvement as would be expected. Moreover, some conclusions are made as to the relationship between the students&rsquo / previous writing experience and their current practices.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of teaching linear equations with Dynamic Mathematics Software (GeoGebra) on seventh grade students&rsquo / achievement compared to the regular instruction. Randomized posttest-only control group design was utilized in the study. 60 seventh grade students (32 girls and 28 boys) of a public school in Yenimahalle district in Ankara participated in the study. The study was conducted in 2011-2012 fall semester, lasting 9 class hours in three weeks. The data was collected by three Mathematics Achievement Tests: Cartesian coordinate system achievement test (MAT1), linear relation achievement test (MAT2) and graph of linear equation achievement test (MAT3). The quantitative analysis was conducted by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results revealed that teaching Cartesian coordinate system and linear relation by using Dynamic Mathematics Software had no significant effect on seventh grade students&rsquo / achievement compared to the regular instruction. On the other hand, the results also indicated that teaching graph of linear equations by using Dynamic Mathematics Software had a significant effect on seventh grade students&rsquo / achievement positively.

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of Bank employees&rsquo / individual and organization related individual differences on the acceptance of Learning Management System (LMS) in Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (CBRT). The study aims to find out whether there are differences in perceived ease of use of technology, perceived usefulness of technology, and attitudes toward the use of LMS in terms of Bank employees&rsquo / gender, age, seniority, title, department, and LMS role groups. Survey design was used in this thesis study. Two self-report questionnaires were developed on LMS acceptance for two different LMS role groups. Accordingly, these questionnaires were distributed to department managers, training experts, training researchers, office staff and participants of training programs who have experienced LMS recently in the CBRT. 167 participants, and 64 department managers and office users responded the survey significantly. The data gathered via questionnaires was analyzed with the SPSS program, using descriptive and inferential statistics where correlation analysis and ANOVA were conducted. The results of the study showed that age and seniority of &ldquo / participants&rdquo / affect the participants&rsquo / acceptance of LMS / in particular they affect the perceived usefulness of LMS. Furthermore, the department of &ldquo / department managers and office users&rdquo / affects their acceptance of LMS regarding perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitudes toward the use of LMS. Consequently, the results of this case study can contribute to the literature regarding the determinants of technology acceptance factors.

The purposes of this study was to investigate seventh-grade students&rsquo / misconceptions related to forming and solving equations and examine the role of technology use in preventing and remedying these misconceptions. A group of 18 seventh grade students was given a diagnostic test before they started the equations unit to determine their misconceptions related to the topic. Students studied equations for 6 weeks and half of the instruction took place in the computer lab where they used various electronic manipulative and activities on the computer. The students were given another diagnostic test at the end of the instruction. After a month, they took another diagnostic test for the third time. The diagnostic tests were equivalent to each other in terms of item structures and contents. The effect of technology use in changing students&rsquo / performances on the diagnostic tests was determined by repeated-measures ANOVA. Furthermore, changes in students&rsquo / misconceptions were also analyzed qualitatively. According to the results, no significant effect of technology use on preventing and remedying misconceptions was found. However, technology positively affected students&rsquo / feelings, thoughts and attitudes towards equations. Outcomes of this study have some implications for teachers, teacher educators, and curriculum writers as solving and forming equations is fundamental for learning algebra and a very significant strand of school mathematics.

This conversation analytic study basically aimed at unearthing the role of classroom interaction in the construction of classroom order. Rooted in the theoretical and methodological principles of Ethnomethodology and Conversation Analysis, this study investigated the mechanisms of how the order in the classroom was established, organized and sustained mutually by the teacher and students. From three classrooms in three high schools in Ankara, the study collected a 47 hour video-recording database from 69 different sessions with 15 teachers. The analysis focused on the scenes of trouble that revealed the interactional organization of order with particular reference to the participants&rsquo / demonstrable actions. The scenes of troubles were composed of four particular groups of moments in the classroom life: (a) class beginnings, (b) transitions between activities, (c) post-humor moments, and (d) specific-student calls. The results demonstrated in the details of recordings how the participants in the classroom attributed meaning to order, how they showed their understanding of classroom order through their demonstrable action, and through their actions how they applied their mechanisms of classroom order to other contexts.

Many research studies have shown that first aid education is important to save lives of individuals, but first aid skills are deficient in a society. A variety of instructional methods were introduced to increase the people who are equipped with first aid skills. However, it is still a debate over the best method of teaching first aid. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to analyze the effects of various instructional methods (traditional, case-based and web-based) on acquisition and retention of first aid cognitive, psychomotor and affective behaviors. Ninety participants (52 female, 48 male) included in the study were the second (n=3), the third (n=44), and the fourth (n=43) year students selecting first aid as an elective course at Middle East Technical University. As the course student list built up for those who would take the course, they were assigned to one of the three groups randomly before the treatment started: Group I-Traditional instruction (30 students), Group II-Case-based instruction (30 students), and Group III-Web-based instruction (30 students). Data were collected by using First Aid Cognitive Behavior Test, First Aid Psychomotor Behavior Tests (skill reporter manikin and skill checklist), First Aid Affective Behavior Scale, and qualitative interviews. All students in each instruction group were tested three times Statistical analyses included the Mixed Factorial ANOVA to examine the effects of independent variables (instructional methods and time) on dependent variables (first aid cognitive, psychomotor and affective behaviors). Results showed that instructional method had similar effect on students&amp / #8217 / first aid cognitive behaviors. However, students&amp / #8217 / in traditional instruction group got higher scores compared to case-based and web-based instruction groups in retention test. In terms of first aid psychomotor behaviors, CPR performance, including chest compressions and ventilations, of web-based instruction group was poor compared to traditional and case-based instruction groups. Similarly, CPR and Recovery Position performance was deprived in web-based instruction group. Retention time negatively affected to psychomotor behaviors of students in most of the skills. In terms of first aid affective behaviors, students&amp / #8217 / scores were affected by characteristics of the casualty, characteristics of the first aider, characteristics of the event, and some other factors, however mean scores of students in three instruction groups were close to the no effect preference in the first aid affective behavior scale.

The present study was conducted at Dumlupinar University, Department of Foreign Languages Preparatory Classes to investigate the relationship between degrees of learner autonomy, use of strategies for coping with speaking problems and success in speaking class of the participants. To determine the degree of correlation among degree of learner autonomy, use of strategies for coping with speaking problems and success in speaking class, 102 participants were distributed a questionnaire. The questionnaire asked the participants to self report the strategies they use when they have problems during speaking English and also to report their degree of learner autonomy as an English language learner by choosing one of the items on the questionnaire. Following the completion of the questionnaire the quantitative data analysis method was performed via SPSS (Statistical Package of Social Sciences) 13.0 by conducting ANOVA and MANOVA tests and some descriptive statistics. v As a result, the results of the study revealed that learners with low speaking grades are worse than learners with high speaking grades during the use of strategies for coping with speaking problems on the whole. Similarly, learners with low speaking grades also reported themselves as less autonomous when compared to high proficiency learners of English, although the difference is not significant between the group of learners in average speaking grade level and high grade level.