Although literature has extensively documented the stereotypes of developing learning communities in schools through book clubs— especially to improve literacy— little is revealed about varied indicators of improvements, such as student self-identification, authentic dialogues, and transforming small groups into learning communities. In this respect, formal efforts on adopting book clubs to improve literacy in Saudi Arabia are simply absent. This thesis presents research findings that seek to explore the effect of book clubs on improving literacy and building a learning community among seventh-grade, under-performing students in Canada. This thesis is contextualized through a thorough review of related literature and discussion of findings from classroom observations, and students’ interviews. The completion of this thesis indicates positive, causal relationships between using a book club as a learning tool and building a learning community, thus improving literacy. The research concludes with implications for using book clubs in Saudi Arabia.

Syftet med studien var att ta reda på hur gymnasieungdomar upplever utomhuspedagogiska moment i undervisningen. . Det är en kvalitativ undersökning gjord vid Bernadottegymnasiet i Stockholm. Studien baseras på deltagande observationer under drygt två fältdygn och på semi-strukturerade intervjufrågor med tolv elever, i tre fokusgrupper. Resultatet visar att elever upplever utomhuspedagogiska undervisningsmoment positivt. Eleverna anser att dessa moment utgör ett viktigt komplement till traditionell undervisning, och att utomhuspedagogik ökar både motivation och förståelse av begrepp, genom den autenticitet de erbjuder. Den positiva upplevelsen förstärks om lärsituationen upplevs som relevant och autentiskt. / The aim of this study was to investigate upper secondary school pupils' attitudes to outdoor learning. It is a qualitative study done at the Bernadotte upper secondary school in Stockholm. The study is based on participant observations during two days and on semi-structured interview questions with 12 pupils in three focus groups. The results show that pupils in upper secondary school experience outdoor learning as positive. The pupils argue that those exercises constitute an important complement to traditional education and that outdoor education increases both motivation and understanding due to the authenticity it offers. This positive impression is strengthened if the educational situation is perceived as relevant and authentic.

As digital records increasingly replace paper records, Luciana Duranti is developing preservation methods that ensure accuracy and authenticity.

How does authentic leadership influence subordinate outcomes? It depends on whom you ask. Using Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, and Peterson’s (2008) theory-based measure of authentic leadership, this dissertation research advances the authentic leadership literature by: 1) examining relations between managers’ self-reported and subordinates’ ratings of authentic leadership and subordinate outcomes; 2) testing the theoretical proposition that more authentic leaders are inherently more ethical both in the values they subscribe to and in their behavior when compared to less authentic leaders; and 3) examining the mediating mechanisms that account for relations between authentic leadership and subordinate outcomes. Using a field sample of 188 managers and 75 subordinates, results revealed that subordinates and their managers do not see eye to eye in their perceptions of managers’ authentic leadership as the correlation between their ratings was only marginally significant. General support was found for the notion that more authentic leaders subscribe more to self-transcendent values and less to self-enhancement values when compared to less authentic leaders; they also engage in more ethical decision making. Furthermore, results showed that authentic leadership is associated with a broad range of subordinate outcomes, including leader-member exchange, affective organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior, and job performance. However, these relations were found only within source. Mediation analyses revealed that subordinates’ trust in their manager partially mediated the relation between subordinate-rated authentic leadership and subordinates’ perceptions of the quality of their relationship with their manager (LMX). Mediation analyses also revealed that subordinates’ trust in their manager and their sense of psychological empowerment each mediated relations between subordinate-rated authentic leadership and subordinates’ affective organizational commitment. In addition, managers’ self-reported empowering leader behavior mediated the relation between managers’ self-rated authentic leadership and their ratings of their subordinates’ organizational citizenship behavior. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Employees' knowledge is a critical resource for the organization, and if it is not shared, it is lost to other employees and the organization. However, knowledge sharing (KS) does not happen easily; KS is a personal choice that cannot be forced. This study employs Self-Determination Theory (SDT) as a theoretical framework to study employees' KS behavior and motivations. Data were collected from full-time working professionals (N=208) using an online survey. The effects of autonomy, motivation, trust, authentic leadership style (ALS), knowledge self-efficacy, and technology were studied using moderated and mediated regression analyses. The results reveal (a) knowledge is shared more when individuals have more autonomy; (b) benevolence-based and institution-based trust had a moderating effect on autonomy and KS behavior (when autonomy was low, if benevolence-based or institution-based trust was high more KS occurred); (c) competence-based trust did not have a similar moderating effect, but had a significant main effect predicting KS; and (d) a supervisor's ALS contributed in explaining the total variance of KS behavior and predicted KS after controlling for autonomy. All three types of trust mediated the relationship between ALS and KS. Moreover, knowledge self-efficacy is a strong predictor of KS, while users' perception of technology is a moderate predictor. Additionally, a factor analysis was conducted on 15 different types of KS technologies used by participants. Technologies were clustered into three groups based on their degree of interactivity. Only high-interactive technologies positively correlated with trust predicted KS. This study advances prior findings and contributes to KS research and practice. It was the first to examine relationships between ALS and KS, proved that SDT is a strong framework in predicting KS motivations, and showed only high-interactive technologies positively linked with trust predict KS. Organizations could use these findings to develop appropriate strategies and trainings to foster a KS environment.

Extracting the Electric Network Frequency (ENF) fluctuations from an audio recording and comparing it to a reference database is a new technology intended to perform forensic digital audio authentication. The objective of this thesis is to implement and design a range of programs and algorithms for capturing and extracting ENF signals. The developed C-program combined with a probe can be used to build the reference database. Our implementation of the Short-Time Fourier Transform method is intended for the ENF extraction of longer signals while our novel proposed use of the Autoregressive parametric method and our implementation of the zero-crossing approach tackle the case of shorter recordings. A Graphical User Interface (GUI) was developed to facilitate the process of extracting the ENF fluctuations. The whole process is tested and evaluated for various scenarios ranging from long to short recordings.

本研究旨在探討校長真誠領導與教師組織承諾、組織公民行為之關係，並探究組織承諾在真誠領導與組織公民行為之間是否具有中介變項的效果。 本研究採用問卷調查法，以非完全中學之北部地區，共有110所高中職學校教師為樣本母群體，採分層隨機抽樣，抽出800位受試者，回收有效問卷586份，所得資料分別以描述性統計、t考驗、單因子變異數分析及迴歸分析等統計方法進行資料的分析與處理，以瞭解高中職教師知覺校長真誠領導與教師組織承諾、組織公民行為之現況、差異情形及其預測力。研究結論如下： 一、高中職教師對校長真誠領導之知覺現況中等，以「內化道德觀」最高。 二、高中職教師組織承諾之表現程度屬中等，以「情感性承諾」最高。 三、當前高中職教師組織公民行為之表現屬中等程度，以「對學生之公民行為」最佳。 四、性別、年齡、職務、公私立等四個背景變項在真誠領導、組織承諾、組織公民行為上有顯著差異，以「男性」、「41歲以上」、「兼任主任職務者」、與「私立學校」教師較高。 五、服務總年資及本校服務年資等二個背景變項在組織承諾與組織公民行為上有顯著差異，以服務11年以上之教師比10年以下的教師對學校產生了更高的認同感，表現相對較佳的公民行為。 六、教育背景、學歷、高中職類型等三個背景變項在真誠領導、組織承諾、組織公民行為上無顯著差異。 七、真誠領導與組織承諾對組織公民行為具顯著正相關及預測力 八、組織承諾在真誠領導與組織公民行為間具有部份中介效果 最後依據研究結果與結論，提出具體建議，以作為教育行政機關、高中職校長、以及未來研究的參考。 / The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship among principal’s Authentic Leadership(AL) and teacher’s Organizational Commitment(OC) and Organizational citizenship behavior(OCB). Furthermore, the mediating effect of AL and OC on OCB was examined. A survey research was conducted using a sample of high school and vocational school teachers in 7 counties/cities in Northern Taiwan, excluding the complete schools. 800 teachers from 110 schools were selected by stratified random sampling. 586 valid sample data collected was analyzed and processed with the methods of descriptive statistics, t-test, one-way ANOVA, multiple-regression analysis. The major findings of this study are as follows: 1.Principal’s AL is above average, “internalized moral perspective” ranks the top. 2.Teacher’s OC is above average, “affective commitment” ranks the top. 3.Teacher’s OCB is above average, “OCB-defending the individual students” ranks the top. 4.Four demographic variables, including gender, age, position, school type, show significant differences in AL, OC, OCB. Teachers who are male, older than 41, work as the chief of department, or work in private schools show higher perception of AL and higher performance of OC and OCB. 5.Two demographic variables, total serving years and serving years in present school, show significant differences in OC, OCB. Teachers with more than 11 serving years show much sense of identification and better performance of OCB. 6.Three demographic variables, including university, education, school category, show no significant differences in AL, OC, OCB. 7.AL is positively related to OC and OCB. In addition, AL has positive direct effect on OCB, OC has positive direct effect on OCB. AL has positive direct effect on OC. 8.OC does have mediating effect on AL and OCB. Based on the results of the research, suggestions for educational administration authorities, principals and future related study are proposed.

New advances in computer programming and more powerful technology have opened up new opportunities for learning though immersive virtual reality simulations. This research highlighted the importance of the role of a lecturer in fostering learning in a technology rich learning environment. Undergraduate business studies students worked collectively to try resolve a problem depicted through an immersive simulation involving a burning factory. The simulation provided a rich personal experience that enabled students with lecturer support to generate effective strategies to address the problem.

O presente trabalho procura acompanhar a proposta modelar de Theodor W. Adorno, formulada de modo ensaístico e paratáxico na Teoria estética. Visa compreender esse modelo de pensamento, sua atualidade como manifesto crítico e como possibilidade de construção cognitiva não mais voltada a uma racionalidade que se sobrepõe às particularidades do objeto do conhecimento, reprimindo-as em favor da soberania do sujeito. Busca esclarecer como o estético, em Adorno, tornou-se um experimento teórico para apresentar objetos sociais e históricos – as obras de arte – que resistem ao jogo do valor de troca e que, por meio de uma linguagem enigmática e de uma perspectiva utópica, propõem mudanças para o atual estado de coisas. Pretende, ainda, mostrar que a Teoria estética superou os traços desesperançosos e pessimistas que marcavam o discurso de Adorno: a razão humana não está destinada a reprimir-se e a reprimir a natureza e os homens. A obra de arte resiste e, ao resistir, nega. Ao negar, propõe algo que não existe, um não-idêntico, algo que não se sabe o que é. O desejo de algo novo, liberto do peso totalizador da Aufklärung, atravessa a Teoria estética. / This paper is an attempt to study Theodor W. Adorno‟s model proposition formulated in an essay-like and parataxic-like model in his Ästhetische Theorie. The paper pursues a better understanding of Adorno´s thought model, its today‟s actuality both as a criticism manifest and as a possibility of cognitive construction no longer dependent on a rationality that supersedes the particularities of the object under study, inhibiting them in favour of the subject‟s sovereignty. The paper also tries to make it clearer how the concept of esthetics, in Adorno, has become a theoretical experiment to present social and historical objects – works of art – that do not yield vis-a-vis the exchange value game and which, by means of an enigmatic language and of a utopic perspective, propose changes in favour of the present-day status quo. Besides, this paper also tries to show that Adorno‟s Ästhetische Theorie has overcome the hopeless and pessimistic traits that marked Adorno‟s discourse: human nature is not bound to repress itself and to repress nature and men. A work of art resists and, upon resisting, it denies. Upon denying, it proposes something that does not exist, something non-identical, something one does not know what it really is. A desire for something new, free from the totalizing weight of the Aufklärung permeates the Ästhetische Theorie.

This research project, which was modeled on the constructivist theory of acquiring knowledge, and on recent recommendations regarding classroom instruction, investigated the impact of problem-based teaching and learning (PBTL) on the performance of high school mathematics learners. The effect of an intervention programme on an experimental group of students was compared with a control group by assessing their mathematical knowledge and skills; their procedural proficiency and conceptual development on varied mathematical contents; their skills in managing and controlling learning; and their views towards their learning programmes. The results obtained indicated that the experimental group indicated a higher conceptual understanding, an improved use of procedures, a higher level of managing and controlling learning, and positive views towards the programme and interest in the fundamentals of learning mathematics. An analysis of the data obtained by the on-progress instruments employed for the experimental group also indicated improved quality of participation and reflective thinking practices. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (With specialisation in Mathematics Education)