archives@tulane.edu / 1 / Sarah Beth Rescoe

This dissertation examines the course-enrollment behavior of first-year students at a public Midwestern university. Using the student choice construct, modern college choice theory, and the constructs of habitus, human capital, financial capital, social capital, cultural capital, along with background variables such as gender and locus of control, a course selection theory is proposed to explain students' voluntarily enrollment in a seminar designed to assist with the academic and social transitions to college. The literature review shows numerous studies have been done examining the impacts these courses may have on first-year students' academic performance, retention, and graduation rates. In many of these studies, however, subsets of students were targeted for enrollment and participation in the seminars was not voluntary. In others, students self-select into the first-year transition seminars, raising questions about whether or not their subsequent success is attributable to their participation in these courses. Prior to this study, few, if any, studies have examined enrollment in these first-year seminars as the dependent variable and attempted to explain how various factors impact whether or not students voluntarily choose to enroll. This quantitative research looked at 7,561 first-year students enrolling in 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 and, using logistic regression, attempted to explain whether or not students chose to enroll in a transition seminar. Data was gathered from institutional offices (Admissions, Registrar, and Student Financial Aid) and through an Entering Student Survey completed by 99% of each entering cohort. Of the 52 independent variables included in the model, 17 were significant in one or more steps (or blocks) of the model. This study found that students more advantaged in their individual or family college-going resources (e.g., higher ACT-Composite scores or a higher self-evaluation of their ability to appreciate fine arts, music, and literature) are less likely to enroll in the college transition seminar than students that could be described as more disadvantaged in terms of their college-going resources (i.e., an external locus of control, receiving a Pell Grant, and less access to various forms of capital). There is also evidence that students with past experiences where they may have learned the value of community or teamwork through in- and out-of-class experiences may see the first-year transition seminar as a way to begin creating these same types of connections or communities on the college campus. The dissertation concludes with a consideration of implications for future research, theory development, and institutional policy and practice.

Refugees are once again a major topic of international politics, but one that also reaches down to the local level of even some small, rural American towns. This study pulled data from a qualitative, statewide refugee needs assessment in Utah, funded by the Department of Workforce Services, in order to explore the perceptions of both refugees and refugee employers concerning the variables affecting refugee employability. The data was framed using the concepts of social, cultural, human, and financial capital. In many cases, the refugees and employers perceived the same deficits and stores of capital as important, but there was some disconnect over institutionalized cultural capital, financial capital in the form of government assistance, and external embodied cultural capital. These findings will help increase the sociological knowledge base regarding refugee issues and will lead to future research that can dive deeper into some of the issues that were uncovered.

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Those who have finished high school and/or obtained non-school qualifications experience a range of positive outcomes throughout their lives. Despite these benefits being likely to apply to the Indigenous Australian population, current as well as past participation in education is substantially lower than that of the non-Indigenous population. Some reasons for this relatively low participation may be locational and monetary disadvantage, household overcrowding and a curriculum that is not always relevant. How Indigenous Australians form their expectations about the benefits of education and what these expectations might be (accurate or otherwise) may also influence educational participation. This thesis looks at the education outcomes of Indigenous Australians. There are two main research questions are examined. The first is what are the relative benefits of education for the Indigenous population? The main outcomes that are focussed on are employment and income; however, there is also analysis of the extent to which those with higher education levels report better health outcomes or more favourable health behaviour. The second main research question is what factors are associated with the decision to attend high school? That is, does the Indigenous population respond to the economic incentives to undertake education as estimated in this thesis? In addition, other factors at the individual, household and area level are likely to influence the social costs and benefits of education, as well as geographic and financial access. The extent to which these are associated with high school participation is also examined.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

In an increasingly competitive environment an organisation‟s intellectual capital is the key to its ability to generate wealth. The intangibility of intellectual capital makes it difficult to replicate and therefore it is a crucial differentiator in the business environment. The objective of the research was to develop and test a model for the managing of intellectual capital. An examination of the literature provided the foundation for developing a model to illustrate the various facets an organisation must consider when managing intellectual capital. The Intellectual Capital Management Model specifies that management of intellectual capital is derived from the corporate vision and strategy. Three sources of intellectual capital – human capital, internal capital and external capital – contribute to the outcomes essential to differentiate the organisation in the marketplace. Within each of the three sources of intellectual capital, aspects of intellectual capital management were identified and described, according to the research literature. A case study approach was used to assess the extent to which an organisation was managing its intellectual capital. Nine chief executives of the independent business units in a large New Zealand company were interviewed to understand why and how they managed the company‟s intellectual capital. Additionally, 18 employees were interviewed and 44 employees were surveyed in a questionnaire, to determine their views about issues relating to intellectual capital, especially sharing knowledge within the company. Findings indicated that although most of the aspects of the Model were present in the company, conscious management of intellectual capital was not occurring. Metrics was one characteristic frequently mentioned in the literature, but not evident in practice. Behavioural changes and socialisation were two characteristics that emerged strongly from the interviews, but were not widely addressed in the literature. From the perspective of the theoretical model greater attention should be given to behavioural changes and the importance of socialisation; and from the view of the practice model, management needs to address the issue of metrics.

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<p>Bakgrund: I denna uppsats presenteras läsaren till Stockholm Visitors Board varumärke som under några år använts och marknadsförts internationellt för att locka företag, besökare och investerare till Stockholms stad. Författarna har undersökt varumärket ”Stockholm - The Capital of Scandinavia” för att ta reda på vad de danska och norska turistorganisationerna anser om detta. De utländska organisationerna är VisitNorway, Wonderful Copenhagen och VisitDenmark. Samtidigt har en utredning pågått för att se om något motarbete gjorts från ovan nämnda organisationerna.Med facit i hand kan författarna konstatera att dessa organisationer är likasinnade i sitt sätt att arbeta. Samtliga organisationer försöker lyfta fram det unika för sin destination samt vad den anses vara bra på. Försök att motarbeta påstås inte förekomma mot SVB, men i slutändan så påträffas ”The Capital Of…” i olika marknadsföringssammanhang hos de utländska organisationerna.</p>