This thesis examines the value relevance of goodwill that has been eliminated through reserves in the year of acquisition. Specifically, it investigates the association beiween goodwill reserve write-off and the value placed on the firm by the stock market. In so doing, the thesis describes the relationship between the implied value of purchased goodwill and that of other assets, and we seek to explain the underlying paffern of the amortisation of goodwill over time. The empirical method uses cross-sectional equity valuation models for the period 1994- 6. Based on the modified balance sheet identity, the equity valuation model parameterises purchased goodwill and other assets separately, and a more meaningful interpretation is given of the intercept term than in previous studies relating to purchased goodwill. The results confirm that the market incorporates information on the goodwill reserve write-off in the valuation of a firm, and the results also show that the market: book ratio is similar to tangible assets but its behaviour suggests a relatively higher amortisation rate. Although the present study provides evidence supporting the requirement in FRS 10 (Goodwill and Intangible Assets) to capitalise purchased goodwill, the findings also show that the incremental value of capitalised goodwill declines far more quickly than FRS1O suggests, thus placing particular importance on the impairment test required by FRS 10.

The acquisition of new IT systems is expensive and risky. Systems often fail to provide the expected services, or may commit an organisation to a particular long-term solution to its information management needs which can be very costly to change. The purpose of this research was to help organisations to manage the IT acquisition process with greater chances of success. In this research 'Acquisition of IT' means the whole process of initiating, implementing and then using an information technology system. The approach taken was to identify success factors for IT acquisition. A large number of actual acquisition cases were examined, and a list was compiled of factors reported by people involved in these cases to affect their success or otherwise. The relative importances of these factors were then measured quantitatively by correlating the degree to which each factor was present in the cases, with the degree of success of the cases. This work has produced: a comprehensive list of factors to be considered; a method of defining what is meant by success for a given project; a description of the acquisition project lifecycle; and an identification of the different roles played by different people within an organisation. It is shown how to integrate these considerations into a structured approach to managing IT acquisitions. This integrated approach is called the Success Map. Three mini case studies were included, and one of these was analysed in the light of the findings. In a supplementary section, fifteen guiding principles for people involved in an IT acquisition are presented.

This thesis attempts to draw together two distinct perspectives on literacy acquisition, an educational perspective and a psychological perspective. Written English has a complex orthography that has motivated academics since the 15th century to devise 'definitive' teaching methods. Throughout much of the 20th century two influential and mutually exclusive teaching approaches dominated literacy acquisition, i.e. ~whole language' and 'phonics'. Recently, empirical psychological investigation has opened a new debate into the cognitive underpinning required for successful literacy acquisition. A developmental psychological approach argues that literacy development should capitalise on children's naturally developing phonological awareness that generally progresses from large units of sound such as rhyme and syllables to small units of sound, such as phonemes. Conversely, an instructional psychological approach proposes that, irrespective of children's naturally developing ability, it is the phoneme and its correspondence with its visual counterpart, the grapheme, that needs to be brought to children's attention from the earliest stages of learning about written language. It will be argued from an educational perspective, that the whole language approach is sub-optimal for induction into an alphabetic script and most phonics approaches take too long to be effective, are too decontextualised, or require too much apparatus. In line with the small unit approach in psychology, it is proposed that the starting point for literacy acquisition is to focus pre-literate children's attention on the 44 English grapheme-phoneme correspondences that can be blended and segmented into phonetically pronounceable words. This proposal was investigated in an intervention study over a period of 8 weeks for 10 minutes a day, in a whole early-years class setting and an error free entertaining environment. Results showed that this significantly improved initial literacy acquisition for less advantaged children, suggesting that an early induction into the alphabetic principle provides children with "a framework for setting up a written language recognition and production system sufficient to drive the development of a self-teaching mechanism" (Share, 1995; Stuart, 2000). The practical implications of this finding have particular significance for the NLS, which proposes a later start and a two-year structured programme of phonics teaching.

Motivation is the driving force behind successful learning. It is especially crucial in a curriculum area such as foreign language study. This investigation aims to explore the motivational role of the central teaching and learning resource used in schools - the coursebook. The opening Chapter reviews major theories of motivation and learning from behaviourism to cognitivism with the aim of establishing a theoretical base. Chapter Two examines mother tongue acquisition and foreign language learning. Theories of both are discussed, compared and contrasted with the emphasis on identifying compatible features. Key aspects of learning theory and motivational factors related to foreign language learning are presented. The motivational function of the teacher is reviewed with particular reference to the planning and management of learning. The role and the nature of the foreign language coursebook are reviewed and reappraised in Chapter Three. The main aim of this study is identified and, in the light of previous discussion of motivation and learning, an evaluation instrument for coursebooks is drawn up. Chapters Four and Five report and discuss surveys of the views of pupils and teachers on three widely-used coursebooks. Although reactions are generally positive, clear areas of unfulfilled need emerge, as do shortcomings in coursebooks' effectiveness in motivating learners and promoting successful learning. A broad consensus of views between the two groups is revealed. The most popular coursebook of the 1980s is used as a case study in Chapter Six. Application of evaluation criteria established earlier reveals some commendable features but a rather larger number which fail to generate motivation or promote effective learning. The final Chapter sets an agenda for a reappraisal of coursebook design based both on findings of this study and on the impact of sweeping change and reform of the education system which will take effect in the 1990s.

Various constrained frequencies of skilled model observation, under self-controlled conditions, were examined to determine whether there was an optimal frequency of modeling for learning a dance movement. Forty-eight participants with no previous dance/gymnastics experience first did a pre-test, then learned the skill over 60 interspersed observational and physical practice trials in one of four conditions that consisted of either (1) 25%, (2) 50%, (3) 75% modeling frequencies, or (4) no constraint imposed. This 60-trials acquisition phase was followed by a 24-hour post-test. Physical performance, scored by two external evaluators, revealed a significant main effect of Time from pre- to post-test (F(1, 44) = 120.43, p < .001). Cognitive representation scores revealed a main effect of Time for an image selection test (F(1, 44) = 39.09, p < .001), and a Time by Decision interaction for a forced-choice test (F(1.53, 67.48) = 7.00, p = .004). While learning was demonstrated for all measures, evidenced by higher scores at post-test than at pre-test, no main effect of Group was obtained. Consequently, the frequencies of modeling tested here under self-controlled learning conditions were equally beneficial for the learning of the novel dance skill.

Graduate

The syntax of referential null subjects in Brazilian Portuguese (BP) is the topic of much recent work (Kato & Negrão 2000; Ferreira 2000, 2004; Martins & Nunes 2005, 2010; Modesto 2000; Rodrigues 2002, 2004). In light of the Interface Hypothesis (Tsimpli & Sorace 2006), uninterpretable features such as purely syntactical elements should not undergo attrition. This study tests whether this hypothesis is valid in regard to the Null Subject behavior in the production of BP speakers under influence of L2 English. In order to do so, I conducted an experiment with monolingual BP speakers and bilingual (English/BP) speakers to establish a clear-cut comparison. The experiment consisted of an elicited production task and a grammaticality judgment task. The results of the data analysis show that BP speakers under influence of L2 English do seem to indicate attrition, thus encouraging further studies questioning the Interface Hypothesis.

This study investigates the division of labor between null and overt pronouns in Spanish. The Position of Antecedent Hypothesis (Carminati 2002) posits that null and overt pronouns in null-subject languages differ with respect to antecedent choice in ambiguous constructions. The objectives of this study are to determine i) to what extent native French speakers learning Spanish in adulthood can acquire the same interpretation bias as Spanish speakers, ii) if heritage speakers (HS) of Spanish who grow up in a French environment acquire the same interpretative strategies as native speakers, and iii) if the type of exposure to Spanish influences the extent to which HS and L2 speakers of Spanish acquire the PAH tendencies. Fifty-nine participants (10 HSs, 23 L1 French and 26 L1 Spanish speakers) filled a questionnaire on language background, and completed a written production task and a self-paced judgement task. Our results show that the French and HS’ answers were similar to those of the native speakers, except for the backward anaphora with the matrix subject as the antecedent of the overt pronoun. The French and HSs rated this type of sentence significantly higher than the native Speakers did, which suggests that while French speakers and HS might have acquired the bias for sentences with null pronouns, the bias might not be as strong for the anaphora with overt pronouns. Interestingly, the French speakers tend to be “better” than the HS at rating all sentences like the native speakers.

Delay in language development can be the result of failure of a child to use language for purposes of communication. The notion that productive control of language can be considered separately from competence in language emerges as an important investigative concept. A non-verbal blind child whose delay in language was accompanied by indications that language was comprehended is the subject of this study. Demonstration of language acquisition and comprehension of both structural (syntactic) forms and understanding of meaning was achieved by a transformational analysis of spontaneous utterances, sentence completions, word associations, and the Brown and Berko Usage Test. The investigation of the language usage of the subject is considered in terms of social usage and the acquisition of public and private symbol systems. Three major premises emerge from the study: 1. Language may be acquired and competence attained while productive control remains undeveloped. 2. The structural forms employed provide an accurate reflection of deviance in language and speech development. 3. The question of reference to the external world is crucial to the development of language for social communication. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The success of an acquisition is not measured solely through market reaction or the ability to integrate the target, but also by the ability of acquiring firms to conclude the transaction at a price that does not fully erode the net present value benefits of the transaction. The aim of this research is to identify factors that result in and influence the premiums that are paid in acquisitions. The research then aims to analyse these independent variables in terms of their influence on acquisition premiums. Out of 11,927 transactions by JSE listed companies during the years 2000 – 2009, only 30 transactions met the defined sample criteria. Target firm characteristics, acquiring firm characteristics, and transaction characteristics were investigated to assess the predictive power of the independent variables as individual factors and as components of a multivariate framework that explain the premiums paid in corporate acquisitions on the JSE. Only two independent variables, namely managerial performance and acquiring firm leverage, were identified as significantly predictive variables for either market value or book value premiums through the use of more than one analytical technique. Results were not consistent across both book value premiums and market value premiums, and it was found that conflicting results materialised when different techniques were used to analyse the data. The conclusion of the study is that the variables analysed had limited predictive ability; there was a high incidence of outlying data, which significantly influenced the results of the study; and that the sample was smaller than ideal, and it would be advisable for further studies to get a larger sample by either changing the sample criteria, or by looking at data over a longer time period. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted