Throughout the last years, the service encounter has gone through drastic changes due to rapid technological developments. The research area of service marketing is therefore putting a stronger focus on the academic field of technology-infused service encounters. Marketers have moreover also started to implement self-service technology (SST) within their service encounters, in order enhance their service delivery. This phenomenon has also been visible within the hospitality industry, whereby the hotel industry has experienced an increasing adoption of SST encounters. Consequently, hotels’ implementation of SST kiosks has enhanced the hotel guests’ participation level within the service encounter. Therefore, this thesis aims to gather insights on the emerging SST customer roles, by investigating the guests’ attitude towards the SST encounter. This leads to the investigation of distinctive SST customer roles within hotels’ self-check-ins.   The choice of the research topic was driven by the fact that existing research about SST implementation in the service encounter, lacks an investigation of the customers’ perspective. Thereby, a research gap was identified that outlays the customers’ enhanced participation as service co-producers. Previous research has focused on investigating customers’ technology acceptance, rather than their own identification as co-producers. Thereof, this thesis will put an emphasis on hotel guests’ attitude towards SST, as a specific aspect of the technology acceptance process. Moreover, this thesis will focus its investigation on self-check-ins within hotels that do not incorporate a human interaction point for their guests. Consequently, in order to investigate the SST customer roles more thoroughly, this thesis will also consider the viewpoint of the hotel. Therefore, qualitative interviews among nineteen hotel guests and one hotel representative were conducted.   The findings of this thesis revealed that SST customer roles cannot be predetermined within a hotel self-check-in. Instead, the hotel guests define their own SST customer roles through a reflection upon their purpose of the hotel stay, expectations of the check-in encounter, arising special needs and perceived benefits of the self-check-in. This determines their individual ‘role file card’, which can be utilized into the proposed SST customer roles archetypes of: technology enthusiast, beneficiary, traditionalist and contradictor. In regard to that, it has been identified that the information provided prior to the hotel guests’ stay, influences the reflection upon their SST customer roles. Moreover, it was discovered that with their increased responsibility over the check-in process, the hotel guests identified themselves as co-producers. Therefore, the findings outlined that the guests would want the price of the hotel stay to reflect their increased involvement in the service delivery.   From a theoretical perspective this thesis bridged the identified research gap of investigating hotel guests’ attitude towards SST, in order to classify the different customer roles that arise within a hotel’s self-check-in. Moreover, the findings revealed practical implications for hotel managers in regards of the need to provide their guests with more information about the SST encounter. Thereby, hotel managers will be enabled to increase their guests’ satisfaction with the SST encounter, as the guests’ expectations would be coherent with the hotel’s offerings.

Cette recherche examine l'influence de l'attitude à l'égard de l'argent sur l'image perçue de la banque dans le contexte syrien. Le rôle des caractéristiques sociodémographiques du client bancaire (Genre, Revenu, Âge) est ensuite étudié. Nous développons enfin une typologie de consommateurs selon leur attitude à l'égard de l'argent. Afin de réaliser ces objectifs, une méthodologie quantitative a été mobilisée. Trois niveaux de résultats peuvent être mis en évidence. Tout d'abord, une relation entre les dimensions de l'attitude à l'égard de l'argent et les composantes de l'image de la banque a été trouvée. Ensuite, nous avons identifié un rôle modérateur des variables sociodémographiques. Enfin, notre analyse typologique a permis d'identifier trois profils de consommateurs selon leur attitude à l'égard de l'argent « les matérialistes », « les économes » et « les indifférents ». / This research examines the effect of the customer money attitude on the perceived image of the bank. The effect of socio-Demographic characteristics of a bank client (Gender, Income, Age) is then examined. Finally, this research develops a typology of customers' according to their attitude towards money. To achieve the objectives of this study, a quantitative approach is used. Three principal results can be noticed. First, a relationship between attitude towards money dimensions and bank image composites has been identified. Second, we have found a moderator role of socio demographic variables. Finally our cluster analysis has reveled three customer profiles considering their attitude towards money: "materialist"," Frugal", "indifferent".

The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness of conceptual change text oriented instruction accompanied with analogies over traditionally designed chemistry instruction on overcoming 10th grade students&rsquo / misconceptions, their understanding of rate of reaction concepts and their attitude towards chemistry as a school subject. 42 tenth grade students from two classes of a chemistry course taught by the same teacher at a public high school in &Ccedil / anakkale involved in the study. The study was carried out in Spring Semester of 2005-2006 Education Year. Two groups of students participated in the study. One group was called Experimental Group and instructed with conceptual change texts oriented instruction accompanied with analogies and the other group was called Control Group and was instructed with traditionally designed chemistry instruction over a period of four weeks. To investigate the effectiveness of the treatment, Rate of Reaction Concepts Test and Attitude Scale Towards Chemistry as a school subject were administered to both groups of students at the beginning and at the end of the treatment period. To evaluate students&rsquo / science process skills, Science Process Skills Test was administered to both groups of students before the treatment. MANCOVA was used to test the hypothesis of the study. The results of the study indicated that students instructed with conceptual change texts oriented instruction accompanied with analogies gained higher average scores in Rate of Reaction Concepts Test than the students instructed with traditionally designed chemistry instruction. Results and strategies that were developed for the present study may be used by science teachers to reduce and eliminate students&rsquo / misconceptions about rate of reaction concepts.

The main purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 5E learning cycle model based on constructivist theory approach over traditionally designed chemistry instruction on ninth grade students&rsquo / understanding of acid-base concepts. Sixty tenth grade students from two classes of a chemistry course taught by the same teacher in Ankara Atat&uuml / rk Anatolian High School 2004-2005 spring semester were enrolled in the study. The classes were randomly assigned as control and experimental groups. Students in the control group were instructed by traditionally designed chemistry instruction whereas students in the experimental group were taught by the instruction based on constructivist approach. Acid-Base Concepts Achievement Test was administered to both groups as a pre-test and post-test in order to assess their understanding of concepts related to acid-base. Students were also given Attitude Scale Toward Chemistry as a School Subject at the beginning and end of the study to determine their attitudes and Science Process Skill Test at the beginning of the study to measure their science process skills. The hypotheses were tested by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and t-test. The results indicated that instruction based on constructivist approach caused significantly better acquisition of scientific conceptions related to acid-base and produced significantly higher positive attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject than the traditionally designed chemistry instruction. In addition, science process skill was a strong predictor in understanding the concepts related to acid-base.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of constructivist instruction on the achievement, attitude towards science teaching, science process skills and retention of fourth grade preservice science teachers in Science Teaching Methods II course. Two groups (one experimental and one control) were assigned from Hacettepe University Faculty of Education Department of Science Education. Experimental group consisted of 53 preservice science teachers and the control group consisted of 50 preservice science teachers / totally 103 preservice science teachers participated in this study. Quasi experimental research design was used in this study. Constructivist instruction was used in experimental group and traditional instruction was used in control group during the teaching and learning process. This research study was conducted in fall semester of the 2007-2008 academic year and lasted 15 weeks including the final examination term. Science Process Skills Test, Attitude towards Science Teaching Scale and Achievement Test in Science Teaching Methods II course were administered to participants three times / at the beginning of the study, immediately after the implementation process and 10 weeks later. A mixed between within ANOVA with repeated measures was used as a statistical technique for analyzing quantitative data and both descriptive and content analysis was used for analyzing questionnaire, formative and summative focus group interviews. Statistical mean difference was obtained for all tests in favor of experimental group and the findings of quantitative data analysis results were supported by the qualitative data analysis results. After interpreting the results, it can be claimed that constructivist instruction is effective in preservice science education.

The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of instruction based on 5E learning cycle model over traditionally instruction on students&amp / #8217 / understanding of acid-base concepts. Also, the effect of instruction on students&amp / #8217 / attitude toward chemistry as a school subject and the effect of gender difference on understanding of acid-base concepts and attitudes toward chemistry were investigated. During the second semester of 2007-2008, 130 eleventh grade students from six classes of two different high schools attended this study. The classes were randomly assigned as control and experiment groups. Students in the control groups were instructed by traditional instruction whereas students in the experimental groups were taught by 5E model. Attitude Scale Toward Chemistry as a School Subject and Acid-Base Concept Test were administered as a pre and post-tests. In addition, Science Process Skill Test and Views on Science-Technology-Society instrument was utilized. The hypotheses were tested by using two-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results revealed that 5E Model caused a significantly better understanding of acids and bases than the traditional instruction. In addition, these models of instruction developed the similar attitude toward science as a school subject. Science process skill was a strong predictor in understanding the concepts. On the other hand, no significant effect of gender difference on understanding the acids and bases and on students&amp / #8217 / attitudes toward chemistry as a school subject was found. The results of Views on Science-Technology-Society gave a picture of the students&amp / #8217 / views on nature of science.

The present study aimed to investigate the self-efficacy levels of prospective teachers and to examine whether attitude towards teaching, competency in subject matter, mentor teacher - student teacher relationship and being a graduate of Anatolian Teacher High School (ATHS) predicted prospective teachers&rsquo / self-efficacy for teaching regarding classroom management, student engagement and instructional strategies. Participants of the study were 179 fourth year prospective teachers of English studying at the Foreign Language Education Departments of Gazi University, Middle East Technical University and Hacettepe University. Data was collected through (1) Teachers&rsquo / Sense of Efficacy Scale (Tschannen-Moran &amp / Hoy, 2001), (2) Relationship with Your Mentor Scale (Capa &amp / Loadman, 2004), (3) Scale for Students&rsquo / Attitudes Towards the Teaching Profession (Semerci, 1999). Data analysis was conducted using the statistical software SPSS 15.0. Results of the study revealed that the prospective teachers of English feel quite positive about teaching when their self-efficacy composite scores were considered. In relation to the self efficacy levels of prospective teachers regarding classroom management, student engagement and instructional strategies, the results of this study showed that pre-service teachers of English believe that they are more efficacious in applying instructional strategies than they are in engaging students and they are found to be the least efficacious in managing the classroom. According to the results attained through hierarchical regression analyses, attitude towards teaching variable significantly predicted self-efficacy composite scores, efficacy scores for student engagement, classroom management and instructional strategies. Self-efficacy composite scores and efficacy for instructional strategies were significantly predicted by the competency in subject matter variable. Mentor teacher-student teacher relationship variable predicted only the efficacy for student engagement scores and finally the findings indicated that being a graduate of ATHSs was a significant predictor for neither efficacy belief composite scores nor the subscales. Findings were discussed in the light of the literature and implications of the findings and recommendations for practice and further research have been presented.

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of conceptual change oriented instruction accompanied with analogies on eight grade students&rsquo / understanding of chemical bonding concepts. In addition, the effect of instruction on students&rsquo / attitude toward science as a school subject and the effect of gender difference on understanding of chemical bonding concepts were investigated. Fifty eight-grade students from two classes of a science course taught by the same teacher in B&uuml / y&uuml / kel&ccedil / i Nazim Belger Primary School in the 2010-2011 spring semesters participated in the study. The study included two groups which were selected randomly throughout three classes. One of the groups was defined as control group in which students were instructed by traditionally designed science instruction, while other group was defined as experimental group in which students were instructed by conceptual change texts oriented instruction accompanied with analogies. Chemical Bonding Concept Pre-Test was administered to both groups as a pre-test and Chemical Bonding Concept Post-Test was administered to both groups as a post-test in order to assess their understanding of concepts related to chemical bonding. Students were also given Attitude Scale Towards Science as a School Subject at the beginning and end of the study to determine their attitudes and Science Process Skill Test was used at the beginning of the study to measure their science process skills. The hypotheses were tested by using analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results indicated that instruction based on constructivist approach caused a significantly better acquisition of scientific conceptions related to chemical bonding and produced significantly higher positive attitudes toward science as a school subject than the traditionally designed science instruction. Also, science process skill was a strong predictor in understanding the concepts related to chemical bonding. On the other hand, no significant effect of gender difference on understanding the concepts about chemical bonding and students&rsquo / attitudes toward science as a school subject was found.

The aim of this study was three-fold: first, to describe pre-service teachers&rsquo / (i) critical thinking levels, (ii) attitudes towards teaching for critical thinking, and (iii) self-efficacy beliefs in teaching for critical thinking in terms of performance and outcome efficacy beliefs / secondly, to investigate whether there was a correlation between these three variables / and finally, to examine the relationship between participants&rsquo / certain background variables and their critical thinking levels, attitudes and self efficacy beliefs in teaching for critical thinking. A cross-sectional survey design was employed. The participants of the study were senior pre-service teachers from fourteen state universities across the seven geographical regions in Turkey. Quantitative data were collected by means of (i) a critical thinking test, (ii) an attitude scale, (iii) a self-efficacy scale with two subscales: performance efficacy and outcome efficacy, and (iv) a participant profile form, all of which were designed by the researcher. Both descriptive and inferential statistics (MANOVA) were used. Results indicated that pre-service teachers&rsquo / critical thinking levels were &lsquo / below average&rsquo / however, they had a moderately positive attitude towards and a moderate level of self efficacy in teaching for critical thinking. The correlation analyses indicated that there was a moderate degree of positive correlation between teachers&rsquo / attitude and self efficacy beliefs towards critical thinking. Finally, the results of MANOVA analyses indicated that pre-service teachers&rsquo / gender and level of motivation towards teaching had no impact on their critical thinking levels, attitudes or self efficacy beliefs in teaching for critical thinking. On the other hand, major, academic achievement, high school background, father&rsquo / s level of education, reading behaviour, and prior training in critical thinking had impacts of varying degrees on one or more of the dependent variables.

The object of this research is the performance of physical education of students at Kaunas University of Technology. The scientific problem is how, preparing specialists for the work activities in a technological university, to modify the performance of the physical education so that the inborn and acquired physical fitness of the students would develop possibly optimally. This encouraged to study the desires of students in the field of the physical education as well as look for a new physical culture subject model. The hypothesis of the research was based on the assumption that the programme of the subject of the physical culture in the course of the research will more influence the change of the physical fitness of students. The aim of the research is to study the influence of the change of the content of the physical culture subject at the KUT on the physical fitness of students. The following goals were raised seeking the aim of the work: 1. to analyze the evaluation of knowledge and skills of movement of the students of the KUT 2. to analyze the attitude of the students of the KUT towards the discipline of the physical culture 3. to determine the level of the physical fitness of the students of the KUT 4. to evaluate the influence of the physical education programme on the change of the physical fitness of the students of the KUT. The results of the research showed that the knowledge of the students of faculties of KUT HMF and DTF in many issues related... [to full text]