The dialogical plait in individual vocal education Thesis in Music Education by Jannike Huss. Part of the work for the master´s degree. Studies from School of Music, Theatre, and Art, University of Örebro, 2010. Available from Örebro University, SE-701 82 Örebro, Sweden. Original in Swedish. This thesis treats the value of communication for individual vocal education on a higher level. The purpose is to examine and illuminate what is happening in the interaction between teacher and student in individual vocal education, and how it in turn can affect learning. To get deeper knowledge and understanding of the subject, observations of singing lessons and openhearted interviews have been conducted with one teacher and two of her students. During the discussions the participants gave their own views on how an effective communication can occur in the interaction between teacher and student. In this study, only individual lessons in singing on tertiary music education have been studied. The students participating in the study are both prospective teachers with a major in vocals, and it turned out that they already were obvious carriers of two different roles, namely their student role and also their future occupational role. Due to this fact they could experience the interaction from both sides. The interviews with both students were directly connected to their lessons, and after the lessons the teacher was interviewed. All the interviews took shape as open conversations, and have since been transformed into a coherent narrative with a narrative approach in order to create meaning and context (Kvale, 2008; Georgii-Hemming, 2005). Data from the empirical material has been processed, and recounted to a theoretical conceptual framework (von Wright, 2003; Buber, 2004). Keywords: Vocal education, dialogue, interaction face-to-face, intersubjectivity, relationship, teacher training.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between learning styles and the choice of learning environment for Hospitality and Tourism undergraduate students. An anonymous two-part survey was sent to the instructors of Introduction to Hospitality and Tourism Management courses (both online and face-to-face) in four schools in the state of Florida. The survey was designed to gather information related to the following three research questions related to MBTI profiles for undergraduate students in attempt to identify differences between students enrolled in online classes and those in face-to-face classes. In order to determine the probability of predicting course choice behavior of undergraduate Hospitality and Tourism students, the following factors were controlled in this research: age; gender; enrollment status; employment status; university; whether they had taken an online course previously in high school, college, or other places; how many online courses they previously took; and who helped them select the delivery mode of their courses. There were 323 usable responses, which included a majority of the most common types as ESTJ. When the differences between online and face-to-face course students were analyzed through chi-square tests, the results showed significant differences between two groups for all four profiles. Overall, the most common profile for face-to-face students was ESTJ, while the most common profile for online students were ISTP. In order to examine the unique contribution of learning styles on Hospitality and Tourism students’ course choice, a hierarchical logistic regression model was used. The results of the model indicated that only profile one (P1) and profile four (P4) were significant predictors among the four profiles, along with the total number of online courses previously taken. The conclusions suggested that by looking at P1, P4, and toc1, with a 95% confidence level, the probability of students choosing face-to-face classes can be predicted if the students are extrovert, judging, and previously had taken less than five online courses. If learning styles can be determined ahead of time, students can choose appropriate courses, instructors can develop teaching strategies that will match students’ desirable learning styles, and the number of face-to-face and online courses can be adjusted in each program to offer an appropriate number of courses each semester.

Virtual teams have emerged as a result of development in communication technologies and the inevitability for companies to compete in the global market. Differentiating features between traditional and virtual teams are minimal face-to-face interaction and a predominant use of technology-enabled communication. The objectives of this research were to investigate critical factors that contribute towards virtual team success and to further assess the role played by trust, communication, conflict and knowledge. Quantitative data collection methodology was employed for this research, using self-administered questionnaires. A total of 64 responses were received from a sample of 75. Most respondents were from South Africa (47%), while the remaining 53% were from India, United Kingdom and China. Four research questions were formulated based on gaps identified during the literature review. Factor analysis was performed by adding the outcomes of each factor and ranking them in descending order to determine the factor that was highly ranked. Based on this analysis, the study concluded that feedback about how well each team member was doing should be viewed as how well the entire team is doing. Moreover, the ability of team members to make good decisions and establishment of interim deadlines linked with celebration of the milestones, were also ranked as critical factors towards virtual teams success. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Companies worldwide spend millions of dollars on sales training but often fail to address the significant effect of personal attributes of salespeople on sales performance. Grounded in Bandura's self-efficacy theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between age, tenure, general self-efficacy, and sales performance among face-to-face salespeople of technology companies worldwide. Understanding this relationship is important to sales managers for predicting sales performance to enhance sustainability. Data were collected from 103 participants between July and September 2019 via a survey link in the largest IT sales professional LinkedIn group. Multiple hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated a significant relationship, F(3,92) = 8.64, p < .001, R2 = .22, between age, length of tenure, general self-efficacy, and sales performance of salespeople. Implications for positive social change include the potential for sales managers to understand the correlates of sales performance better to contribute to the reduction of discrimination when recruiting salespeople of various ages and experience.

Social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook and My Space have experience rapid worldwide growth. It is crucial that this global phenomenon be investigated within the South African context. Social networking is a relatively new trend in South Africa and there is a paucity of academic literature on the topic. This quantitative study investigated one of the most popular social networking websites to date, namely Facebook. Facebook is a social networking website which was launched in early 2004. The primary research question focused on determining the usage patterns of South African Facebook users. In specific, the study investigated the purposes for which the site was used, the self-reported substitution of Facebook usage for face-to-face interaction and the relationship between Facebook affinity and Facebook use. A survey research design was used to collect data via an electronic questionnaire posted on Facebook. The theoretical point of departure was post-positivist. Media theories applied to the phenomenon under investigation include the uses and gratifications theory and the theory of the niche. The findings suggest that Facebook is primarily used for its intended purpose of communication. The respondents reported the gratification of versatile (multipurpose) communication. Furthermore, only half of the sample reported privacy concerns regarding Facebook. There was no significant indication that Facebook is a substitute for face-to-face interaction. Half of the sample claimed that their interpersonal contact has increased as a result of Facebook use. In addition, in accordance with expectations, the more affiliated a person is to Facebook, the more they will use Facebook. The findings of this study conform to other studies concerning social networking and provide a South African view of the global phenomenon of social networking websites. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Psychology / unrestricted

Since the introduction of mobile devices, alternative language learning methods have been developed and have evolved alongside traditional language classroom education. This has presented academics with the unique opportunity to study new methods of second language acquisition compared to more traditional face-to-face language instruction. The growing technology possibilities have contributed to what is called Mobile Assisted Language Learning (MALL), where learners can easily study a new language with the use of a personal electronic device such as a laptop or phone. Studies about such learning tools, for example Rosetta Stone, Duolingo or Babbel have been carried out for several years to for example test their effectiveness. Among research studies, one well-known study by Vesselinov and Grego (2012) looked at the effectiveness of Duolingo, evaluating the statement Duolingo makes that 34 hours of studying with the tool is equivalent to a semester in a university classroom (Vesselinov & Grego, 2012). Even though various studies about the well-known language learning application (app) Duolingo have been conducted, gaps in research are still present.The current study aims to find out if studying German for one semester (14 weeks) with Duolingo is equivalent to one semester in a beginner face-to-face class, German 101, at a university level. At the end of the semester, both groups took the German 101 final exam and the Duolingo placement test to measure German learning. After analyzing results of the German 101 exam, results showed that learners from the face-to-face class achieved higher language knowledge in the tested skills writing and reading than the participants who studied with Duolingo for the same period of time. However, no substantial differences were found between groups for the vocabulary and grammar section of the final exam and the Duolingo test. The survey reported that participants who studied with Duolingo all agreed that they liked the experience, especially studying at their own pace. Concerns were also mentioned, however, for example that Duolingo is only good for beginner learners, it doesn’t provide interactions with others, and there is no teacher to ask for explicit feedback.

This thesis aims to contribute to the field of interaction design by exploring the use of nonverbal cues in FTF communication with the aim of generating knowledge that can be used as an alternative approach for assessing and designing text-based CMC media. To achieve this goal, movement in is analysed in the nonverbal and collaborative dimensions of FTF communication. This presents the possibility to assess text-based CMC media based on a better understanding of the use of nonverbal cues and FTF communication as a standard. The assessment and design based on this concept is tested in the design phase. This process provides a platform for discussion and evaluation of an alternative approach for designing text-based CMC media with a focus on interaction between communicators.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there were significant differences in student success in face-to-face and online biology courses as categorized by gender, major, and age; and as measured by lecture grades, lab grades, and final course grades. The data used for analyses included data from 170 face-to-face sections and 127 online sections from a biology course during the fall and spring semesters beginning fall 2008 through spring 2011. Researchers have reported mixed findings in previous studies juxtaposing online and face-to-face course delivery formats, from no significant differences to differences in grades, learning styles, and satisfaction levels. Four research questions guided this study with data analysis involving t-tests for independent groups and chi-square tests. This researcher noted significant differences in the results of this study: grades, success rates by gender, success rates by health and nonhealth majors, and nontraditional age (≥25) success rate were higher for students in the face-to-face courses; and the attrition rate was higher for students in the online course sections. There was no significant difference found in the success rate for traditional age (<25) students in the face-to-face sections compared to those in the online sections.

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