This study seeks to discover more specifically how the Bible, rather than traditions, comfortable habits, or past practices, should guide us in achieving qualitative and quantitative church-growth in the Vaal Triangle, and in doing so to investigate different models, with the view of suggesting one typical to the conditions in the area. The literature review revealed that the local churches as they exist today are in disrepute. Together with other societal institutions, they are suspect, distrusted and no longer accepted at face value. Moreover, different societies or associations of Christians are found claiming to themselves and denying to others, the character and privilege of a Christian church; and opinions widely differing from each other are held as to the meaning of the word Church. In our time the word church has assumed various contemporary uses: the place of worship, a particular denomination, an area or nation, the universal body of believers, a local group of believers. Recourse to Scriptures must be sought for ecclesiastical formulations. The contextual study has revealed that the Vaal Triangle is characterised by differences in ethnic origin, language, and religion. Another feature about the Vaal Triangle is that some families are religiously bi-cultural i.e., members of the same family unit belong to different religious persuasions. In other instances the members of the same family unit belong to different denominations. This difference in church affiliation is as a result of various (and often confusing) church practices in the area. Moreover, there are a number of groups in existence in the Vaal Triangle called 'the Church' but certainly are not what the Lord said he would build, nor do they measure up to what the New Testament means when it speaks of the Church. This study endeavours to think afresh biblically and theologically, about the nature, structure and dynamics of the Local Church in the Vaal Triangle. The model proposed in this study namely, the Pastoral Family Model (PFM) seeks to integrate the whole life and witness of the Local Church in a balanced and co-ordinated way. This model uses all members of the household of God who can contribute to the growth of the Local Church by penetrating the community in other ways. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Biblical Studies))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

The current project is an examination of the effectiveness of decision-support graphics in a simulated real-world task, and of the role those graphics should play in training. It is also an attempt to apply a theoretical account of memory performance-transfer-appropriate processing-to naturalistic decision making. The task in question is a low-fidelity air traffic control simulation. In some conditions, that task includes decision-support graphics designed to explicitly represent elements of the task that normally must be mentally represented-namely, trajectory and relative altitude. The assumption is that those graphics will encourage a type of processing different from that used in their absence. If so, then according to the theory of transfer-appropriate processing (TAP), the best performance should occur in conditions in which the graphics are present either during both training and testing, or else not at all. For other conditions, the inconsistent presence or absence of the graphics should lead to mismatches in the type of processing used during training and testing, thus hurting performance. A sample of 205 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to four experimental and two control groups. The results showed that the support graphics provided immediate performance benefits, regardless of their presence during training. However, presenting them during training had an apparent overshadowing effect, in that removing them during testing significantly hurt performance. Finally, although no support was found for TAP, some support was found for the similar but more general theory of identical elements.

The quality of early childhood education and care programs greatly impacts children’s development and well being. The classroom environment, program content and approach and early childhood educators’ characteristics are some of the elements that influence quality and thus have effects on young children’s development. Past research has indicated that early childhood education and care programs in Quebec have received on average low/minimal or mediocre ratings of quality and were also found to lack developmentally appropriate play materials (Drouin, Bigras, Fournier, Desrosiers, & Bernard, 2004; Goelman et al., 2006; Japel, Tremblay, & Cote, 2005). The present study set out to explore elements that may influence the quality of child care classrooms in the province of Quebec. Early childhood educators’ knowledge and developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) were examined to determine the relationship between these elements. Early childhood educators’ knowledge of developmental milestones (KDM) and knowledge of appropriate play materials (KPM) were found to be weak but educators reported strong developmentally appropriate beliefs (BDAP) and practices (PDAP). Results demonstrated positive correlations between early childhood educators’ declarative knowledge of developmental milestones (KDM), knowledge of appropriate play materials (KPM) and their beliefs and practices of developmentally appropriate practice (BDAP and PDAP). Educators’ levels of declarative KDM were positively correlated with their level of declarative KPM. In addition, educators’ BDAP was positively correlated with their level of declarative KPM, but their reported DAP was not linked to their level of KDM. Implications for the field of ECEC as well as early childhood education programs in CEGEPs and Universities in Quebec and across Canada are discussed in light of the study’s findings and limitations.

The quality of early childhood education and care programs greatly impacts children’s development and well being. The classroom environment, program content and approach and early childhood educators’ characteristics are some of the elements that influence quality and thus have effects on young children’s development. Past research has indicated that early childhood education and care programs in Quebec have received on average low/minimal or mediocre ratings of quality and were also found to lack developmentally appropriate play materials (Drouin, Bigras, Fournier, Desrosiers, & Bernard, 2004; Goelman et al., 2006; Japel, Tremblay, & Cote, 2005). The present study set out to explore elements that may influence the quality of child care classrooms in the province of Quebec. Early childhood educators’ knowledge and developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) were examined to determine the relationship between these elements. Early childhood educators’ knowledge of developmental milestones (KDM) and knowledge of appropriate play materials (KPM) were found to be weak but educators reported strong developmentally appropriate beliefs (BDAP) and practices (PDAP). Results demonstrated positive correlations between early childhood educators’ declarative knowledge of developmental milestones (KDM), knowledge of appropriate play materials (KPM) and their beliefs and practices of developmentally appropriate practice (BDAP and PDAP). Educators’ levels of declarative KDM were positively correlated with their level of declarative KPM. In addition, educators’ BDAP was positively correlated with their level of declarative KPM, but their reported DAP was not linked to their level of KDM. Implications for the field of ECEC as well as early childhood education programs in CEGEPs and Universities in Quebec and across Canada are discussed in light of the study’s findings and limitations.

In Lembang, a farming community on western Java, family-sized, plug-flow, polyethylene biogas systems fed with cow dung, are being used as an integrated solution to issues related to energy, agriculture and waste management. Through simple, on-farm research and observation, a number of key problems have been addressed and improvements made to the design. Due to the large supply of cow dung in the area, and the potential to spread the benefits of the technology beyond the homes of dairy farmers, the feasibility of developing a communal, polyethylene biogas system for several households, has been investigated. Experiments on small model-digesters were combined with observations of full-scale biogas systems in use. Measurement equipment and techniques were constructed and developed, in order to measure biogas production and other relevant process parameters. Results indicate that a communal system can be an appropriate choice, but only under a certain set of circumstances.

The problems that sex industry brings have existed in human¡¦s society for a long time without being eliminated. Except for some licensed prostitutes (sex workers), sex trading is prohibited in Taiwan by law. However, neglecting the impossibility of eliminating sex industry intentionally will lead to the encouragement of underground prostitution and related social problems of public security. After the Council of Grand Justices made the interpretation of No. 666, the Social Order Maintenance Act was amended allowing local government to set up and manage red light districts. It stipulates that any sex trade outside of the designated areas will be penalized, and sex trade inside the areas will be exempted from penalty. However, local governments are opposed to setting up the red light districts, which disillusion the expectation that disadvantage workers had to solve the difficulty they have encountered. Due to the considerable accounts of underground sex industry and scarcity of effective result of banning it, I want to analyze whether the problems are brought by the deficiency of the legal system and managing policy with this study. Based on the 5 major frameworks of administration law, including the legal principles, administrative organization, administrative authority, administrative remedy and administrative supervision, this study aims at analyzing the legal system of managing the sex industry in Taiwan. Through researching with the 5 major frameworks, the reason why sex industry can not be run like other industries has been found out. Due to the traditional and conservative perspective of the public, sex industry has been regarded as a low class industry without ethics, so that a comprehensive legal system of managing sex industry can not be made, let alone protecting the right to work, the right of equality and the right to exist of sex workers and the balanced development of sex industry. The legal system of managing sex industry has not been adhering to the principle of legal reservation. The ineffectiveness of the scale of administrative organization, the fuzzy space of administrative remedy, the scarcity and insufficiency of the design and practice of administrative authority and the undeveloped interior and exterior controlling function of administrative supervision are all left to be adjusted by the government and the society with a profound discussion and a comprehensive mechanism. Finally, based on the 5 major frameworks of administrative law, this study will provide comprehensive suggestions as followings. A. Manage sex industry with the believing of goodness of human nature. Regard this industry as a regular category and respect its equity right given by the Constitution. B. Learn from the effective managing method from abroad to decriminalize the trading relationship between customers and providers and also to ban the ¡§third party¡¨ for exploiting with strict regulations. C. Establish a managing law for sex industry with coherence in the nation and to regulate authorized local governments to manage the industry. D. Administrate by the managing concept of administrative guidance and administrative contract in lieu of administration with public power. E. Enforce regional cooperative administration with related organizations and its participation in the management of sex industry. F. Design administrative penalty which is awarding the good and punishing the bad with public announcement. G. Strengthen the opinion exchanging on the Internet for supervising the management and starting a quick and effective administrative remedy by public will and the responds of sex workers. H. Facilitate the managing system of interior controlling to prevent the abuse of administrative authority by imitating universities evaluation. Followed by the above-mentioned suggestions, an appropriate adjustment is expected to create a balanced environment and development for sex workers and sex industry.

Providing support for the agricultural development of small farmers is the main goal of the project Agriculture in Guatemala: Technology, Education and Commercialization (AGTEC). To accomplish this, it is necessary, to identify the characteristics and needs of participants, as well as their environmental, social, and farming conditions. Through this study, two case studies were conducted to identify and analyze the context of small farmers of the region. This research study used qualitative and participative methods, such as interviews, focus groups, and observation, to gather data about the participants' thoughts and opinions concerning their situations. The case study systemically gathered information about the conditions and needs of small farmers to provide a better understanding of the people and their interactions within the farm systems. This needs assessment showed how the farmers' decisions about adoption are related to their interactions on their farms. Therefore, this study analyzed the system, as a whole, to identify priorities among different critical components that will provide optimum results for beneficiaries. These priorities will allow the identification of appropriate technologies that will satisfy the needs of small farmers according to their local, cultural, and economic conditions. The appropriate technologies need to be diffused among the farmers for adoption. Rogers observed that technologies that are diffused by opinion leaders are adopted by their peers. Thus, the second case study analyzed the social networks and their leaders to observe their potential to support the diffusion process of technologies. The study revealed the presence of diverse social networks, one provided by the political structure, others based on organized groups of farmers and other informal networks formed by independent farmers. Data also showed that opinion leaders have desired roles and characteristics among their networks. Therefore diffusion of innovations through formal and non-formal leaders represents a promising strategy as they are recognized and respected by peers. The diffusion of innovations through opinion leaders promotes the active participation of local members, validates the innovations, and sustains adoption over time. Therefore, the analysis of the social networks and selection of opinion leaders supports the diffusion process of the AGTEC project in Chimaltenango, Guatemala.

The purpose of the study was to observe pre-kindergarten through second-grade public school classrooms, specifically noting child-centered and teacher-directed pedagogical approaches, by simultaneously examining: student behavior and activity structure, teacher instructional orientation and rationale, and overall classroom environment. The quantitative study built upon the work of Pianta, examining classroom instruction and its effect on student engagement and educational quality; however, unlike previous studies, researchers in the current study observed the nature of activity structure and various student demographic variables. Additionally, dissimilar to prior classroom observation studies, which typically included an overwhelming percentage of White students, Hispanic and African American students comprised a large percentage of the sample. And because policy-makers have called for more research-based information on classroom instruction in the early childhood setting, an additional contribution is the use of systematic observation and analysis of young learners’ experiences within their classrooms. The multi-faceted approach to classroom observation yielded one critical result: Little to no variation existed in the activities in which young children were engaged in their classrooms, nor in the instructional practices utilized by their early childhood teachers. Accordingly, the study revealed few differences in student behavior and teacher practices by student sex, student ethnicity, grade-level, English language proficiency, and/or economic status. Instruction in these classrooms was almost entirely standardized; however, three statistically significant findings showed that: (a) students taught by teachers rated as having a higher developmentally appropriate instructional practices (DAIP) score were more likely to be on-task and less likely to be off-task; (b) students taught by teachers with a higher DAIP score were significantly more likely to be working kinesthetically, answering teacher-posed questions, and freely exploring; and (c) students taught by teachers with a lower DAIP score were significantly more likely to be distracted and/or not engaging in activity. Study findings were significant, as, despite research showing the unfavorable effects that highly teacher-centered, scripted classrooms have on young students’ engagement and subsequent learning outcomes, students continue to be taught in the same way—one in which reaching a designated test score appears to be the singular, ultimate objective.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships among preschool teachers&rsquo / and preschoolers&rsquo / parents&rsquo / developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) beliefs in relation to parental involvement attitudes and perceived parental involvement barriers. To reach to the purposes of the study, data were collected from 279 teachers and 589 parents via a demographic information questionnaire and two main data collection instruments. The demographic information questionnaire aimed to obtain information about the participant&rsquo / s gender, age and educational level. In order to collect information from teachers and parents regarding their beliefs about developmentally appropriate practice / Teachers&rsquo / Beliefs Scale (TBS) (Burts et al., 2000) and the parent adaptation of the scale, Parents&rsquo / Beliefs Scale (Yen, 2008) were used. To ascertain parents&rsquo / and teachers&rsquo / attitudes and the barriers on parental involvement, the School and Family Partnerships Questionnaire (Epstein &amp / Salinas, 1993) was used. The investigation of the relationship between the teachers&rsquo / and parents&rsquo / DAP and DIP beliefs in relation to their parent involvement attitudes (PIA), parent involvement barriers (PIB) revealed significant results. The findings of the study revealed that both the teachers&rsquo / and parents&rsquo / PIA and PIB made significant contributions to their DAP and DIP beliefs. As found in the current study, the interaction between the teachers and parents should be increased to help children develop in the most appropriate way. In order to increase this relationship, a detailed focus on the parental involvement paradigm should be undertaken.

The current project is an examination of the effectiveness of decision-support graphics in a simulated real-world task, and of the role those graphics should play in training. It is also an attempt to apply a theoretical account of memory performance-transfer-appropriate processing-to naturalistic decision making. The task in question is a low-fidelity air traffic control simulation. In some conditions, that task includes decision-support graphics designed to explicitly represent elements of the task that normally must be mentally represented-namely, trajectory and relative altitude. The assumption is that those graphics will encourage a type of processing different from that used in their absence. If so, then according to the theory of transfer-appropriate processing (TAP), the best performance should occur in conditions in which the graphics are present either during both training and testing, or else not at all. For other conditions, the inconsistent presence or absence of the graphics should lead to mismatches in the type of processing used during training and testing, thus hurting performance. A sample of 205 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to four experimental and two control groups. The results showed that the support graphics provided immediate performance benefits, regardless of their presence during training. However, presenting them during training had an apparent overshadowing effect, in that removing them during testing significantly hurt performance. Finally, although no support was found for TAP, some support was found for the similar but more general theory of identical elements.