The aim of this PhD project is to design profit scorecards for a revolving credit using alternative measures of profit that have not been considered in previous research. The data set consists of customers from a lending institution that grants credit to those that are usually financially excluded due to the lack of previous credit records. The study presents for the first time a relative profit measure (i.e.: returns) for scoring purposes and compares results with those obtained from usual monetary profit scores both in cumulative and average terms. Such relative measure can be interpreted as the productivity per customer in generating cash flows per monetary unit invested in receivables. Alternatively, it is the coverage against default if the lender discontinues operations at time t. At an exploratory level, results show that granting credit to financially excluded customers is a profitable business. Moreover, defaulters are not necessarily unprofitable; in average the profits generated by profitable defaulters exceed the losses generated by certain non-defaulters. Therefore, it makes sense to design profit (return) scorecards. It is shown through different methods that it makes a difference to use alternative profit measures for scoring purposes. At a customer level, using either profits or returns alters the chances of being accepted for credit. At a portfolio level, in the long term, productivity (coverage against default) is traded off if profits are used instead of returns. Additionally, using cumulative or average measures implies a trade off between the scope of the credit programme and customer productivity (coverage against default). The study also contributes to the ongoing debate of using direct and indirect prediction methods to produce not only profit but also return scorecards. Direct scores were obtained from borrower attributes, whilst indirect scores were predicted using the estimated probabilities of default and repurchase; OLS was used in both cases. Direct models outperformed indirect models. Results show that it is possible to identify customers that are profitable both in monetary and relative terms. The best performing indirect model used the probabilities of default at t=12 months and of repurchase in t=12, 30 months as predictors. This agrees with banking practices and confirms the significance of the long term perspective for revolving credit. Return scores would be preferred under more conservative standpoints towards default because of unstable conditions and if the aim is to penetrate relatively unknown segments. Further ethical considerations justify their use in an inclusive lending context. Qualitative data was used to contextualise results from quantitative models, where appropriate. This is particularly important in the microlending industry, where analysts’ market knowledge is important to complement results from scorecards for credit granting purposes. Finally, this is the first study that formally defines time-to-profit and uses it for scoring purposes. Such event occurs when the cumulative return exceeds one. It is the point in time when customers are exceedingly productive or alternatively when they are completely covered against default, regardless of future payments. A generic time-to-profit application scorecard was obtained by applying the discrete version of Cox model to borrowers’ attributes. Compared with OLS results, portfolio coverage against default was improved. A set of segmented models predicted time-to-profit for different loan durations. Results show that loan duration has a major effect on time-to-profit. Furthermore, inclusive lending programmes can generate internal funds to foster their growth. This provides useful insight for investment planning objectives in inclusive lending programmes such as the one under analysis.

Social inclusion of children with disabilities is considered to be an important aspect of inclusive education. Previous research mostly approached this issue by either examining the attitudes of typically developing children towards disabilities or the friendship quality and status of children with disabilities. By adopting a qualitative research design, the present study is an attempt to draw from these two lines of research to develop a conceptual framework for understanding pre-adolescent children’s friendship intentions towards their peers with physical impairment. The research is also a response to the paucity of local studies in this area. The data are analysed in three domains: Conception of friendship, Attitudes towards people with physical impairment and Factors influencing friendship. Four theoretical constructs, Physical Attribute, Social Attribute, Empathetic Attribute and Cognitive Attribute, are finally developed to explain the relationship between friendship conception and attitude of acceptance. Based on the theoretical constructs, the peer experience of two children with physical impairment, one being a success story and one less satisfactory, is described to illustrate the limiting and facilitating factors for their social inclusion. Recommendations for local inclusive education and suggestions for future research are provided at the end of this project.

Mainstream education was declared by the government of Botswana as a priority for educating learners with special educational needs especially those with Learning Difficulties - LD since 1984. The Revised National Policy on Education (1994) articulates governments‟ commitment to the education of all children, advocating for an inclusive education as much as is feasible. This study is an exploration of what teachers do in their schools and/or classrooms to implement inclusive education particularly looking at how they understand curriculum, curriculum adaptations and what they do to differentiate for learners who have LD through their teaching. Six primary schools in urban, semi-urban and rural areas were purposively selected and data were collected through classroom observations, interviews and document analysis. Seventeen participants participated in the study. The findings reveal that teachers‟ conceptualization and understanding of inclusive education seemed not to fit within the national requirements of using learner-centred approaches. The findings also reveal that the teachers‟ conceptualisation and understanding of inclusive education seem embedded within the cultural concept of „botho‟ (respect for humanity), a discourse which takes into account accepting all individuals. Although participants embrace the concept of inclusive education, this seems to be on a theoretical basis since in practice it seems that learners who have LD were not given learning opportunities which allow them to participate in the teaching and learning process. Finally, participants identify some barriers such as an examination oriented curriculum, class sizes and lack of teachers‟ skills and knowledge as areas which hinder the implementation of inclusive education. The study challenges the traditional use of authoritarian approaches of teaching as one way of perpetuating exclusionary circumstances within Botswana schools as it leaves learners who have LD with little chance of accessing the curriculum. A dynamic constructive relationship between curriculum, teachers and learners is suggested, moving from „teaching the curriculum‟ to „understanding and developing inclusive curricula‟ within a social constructivist discourse.

No description available.

Inclusive education is increasingly being accepted worldwide as the most appropriate means for the education of all children, including those with disabilities. The principle of inclusive education is based on the philosophy that mainstream educational provision should include all children and respond to individual needs. This, however, has profound implications for educators, education planners, and crucially teachers, as they are expected to be able to respond to increasingly diverse classrooms and schools. This research will examine how the Brunei Education system is attempting to respond to pupil diversity in terms of learning needs, by examining the views of policy makers, head teachers and teachers. This study focuses on the factors which have influenced the development of inclusion in Brunei, the different conceptualisations of needs, the practices which have been adopted and the views of those who are involved in shaping the Brunei education system’s attempt to respond to diverse learning needs in the mainstream education system. Data were generated through interviews, questionnaires, observations and analysis of official policies and documents. The research involved 14 Brunei Government Primary Education schools. The findings of the study indicated that responding to the needs of all children in the mainstream school is a complex challenge. There are several factors which have constrained the development of inclusion in Brunei, some of which are related to how the Brunei education system is structured and the constraints which operate at different levels within the education system. The findings suggest that inclusive education in Brunei is regarded as the integration of children with special educational needs into the mainstream education system and there is little consideration of how to respond to individual needs. There remains a high level of confusion and concern amongst stakeholders in the Ministry in this move to make the Brunei education system more inclusive.

W.D. Hamilton has been celebrated as the twentieth-century Darwin. His extension of evolutionary theory to explain social behaviours has been extensively documented. Current accounts, however, have often overlooked the extent to which his early research goals were tied to his desire to see that a better world was created through a scientific understanding of society. In fact, when his interests in humans, and especially his eugenic concerns, have been acknowledged, they have been distanced from his scientific achievements and treated separately. Using new sources to reexamine the development of Hamilton’s most famous idea, the theory of inclusive fitness, we may better understand how his perception of cultural upheaval shaped his reading of social behaviours as evolved characters following universal laws. Understanding this, we may see that however successful Hamilton was, he never realized his original dream, which was to devise a theory that would inform the human world, replacing religious and ideological beliefs. As he sought to solidify his career in the 1970s, he moved away from publicly disclosing his more controversial ideas. This meant that by the time the science of social behaviour inspired heated debates, he was almost always absolved from political critiques. Many assumed that his theory was derived from observations of insects, and his eugenic ideas were forgotten, ignored, or not understood. He was therefore well positioned to become the objective figurehead of a new discipline, sociobiology. This does not mean that his desire to understand society as the result of genetic laws subsided, and by placing inclusive fitness against its social and political background, we might reimagine its trajectory and its impact in new ways. We might also begin to see Hamilton not as an isolated scholar unengaged with society but as an individualist whose extra-scientific beliefs paralleled his scientific theories in meaningful ways.

There has been a recent increase in the use of graphic symbols in school settings (Abbott and Lucey, 2003). However, the use of graphic symbols in schools remains, to date, an under-researched area. In order to address this and develop understanding of practitioners’ experiences of using graphic symbols in school settings, exploratory research was conducted investigating the experiences of a range of practitioners using symbols in Foundation Stage school settings. A qualitative research design was used drawing upon an interpretive phenomenological philosophical framework. The research sample consisted of three groups of practitioners; teachers, early years practitioners (teaching assistants, learning support assistants and nursery nurses) and speech and language therapists. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews which were conducted face-to-face by the researcher. In the interviews participants were encouraged to explore their experiences of using graphic symbols and their associated beliefs and attitudes about this topic. Interview data was analysed using thematic analysis which was facilitated by the use of qualitative data management software QSR NVivo2. Prolonged engagement with the data led to the development of a theoretical framework based on a set of themes and subthemes. Four major themes were identified: practitioners’ beliefs about which children to use symbols with; practitioners’ thoughts about children’s understanding of symbols; practitioners’ accounts of the ways symbols are used; and, practitioners’ experiences of the implementation of symbols. Interpretations of the data were extended further to develop two original theoretical constructs; ‘models of reasoning’ and ‘perceptions of professional roles’. These constructs were developed to provide an over-arching framework depicting the researcher’s interpretations of the data set as a whole. The findings suggest that practitioners go through a process of reasoning and decision making surrounding the use of symbols. Practitioners in this study also appeared to be influenced by their perceptions of their own professional role and those of others in their decisions surrounding the implementation of symbols. The theoretical model may provide some explanation for the ways in which individual practitioners interact and work alongside practitioners from the same and different professional groups. The findings of the research were related to existing literature in the fields of symbolic development, symbols and literacy, and, collaborative working. The findings led to the development of five suggestions for future research.

Master of Landscape Architecture / Department of Landscape Architecture/Regional Community Planning / Anne Beamish / The landscape has the opportunity to commemorate new, dynamic cultural identities which are developing in rural cities throughout the Midwest. These communities are experiencing historic demographic changes as a result of two major phenomena: the in-migration of foreign born peoples and the out-migration of younger generations. Immigrants are settling in rural cities because of the relatively low cost of living, available skilled and unskilled labor jobs, and developing immigrant networks. Foreign traditions and cultural ideals have introduced a new dimension to the historically homogeneous communities found in the Midwest. The age demographic is also changing as young adults move away from their rural hometowns seeking employment and education opportunities available in larger, metropolitan areas. This project will propose a research and design process for defining a design concept for Inclusive Community Landscapes in Midwestern rural cities with diverse population demographics. Inclusive Community Landscapes are purposefully programmed public spaces that celebrate the positive effects of immigration and an aging population: they are defined by the people of the rural city. The goals of these landscapes are to educate visitors about the history of the town, honor the diverse cultures that have been, are, and will be part of the town, and promote communication amongst residents. The project concludes with a design of an Inclusive Community Landscape in downtown Emporia, Kansas, a reflection on the applied research and design processes, and a revised process based on lessons learned during the project.

<p>To address the U.S. labor shortage in the fields of agriculture and STEM, higher education needs to recruit, retain, and prepare more underrepresented minority students into agricultural and STEM disciplines. Teachers play important roles in student learning, which can lead to student academic and professional success. With university classrooms becoming more diverse, faculty need to adopt inclusive teaching methods in order to accommodate the needs and expectations of diverse students. Culturally responsive teaching embraces and integrates students’ culture into the teaching and learning process. As a result, culturally responsive teaching can offer a more engaging learning experience for all students; however, in the context of higher education, there is a lack of understanding and application of culturally responsive teaching by faculty. This study examined students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching practices in their first college mathematics course through a developed and modified instrument for higher education. Further, this study used a structural equation model to predict the relationships among students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching, sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy. Data were collected through the anonymous questionnaire administrated through Qualtrics. Participants of this study were undergraduate students enrolled in the college of agriculture, college of science and college of liberal arts at a predominately white institution (PWI) and an Historically Black College and University (HBCU). Five conclusions were generated from the study. First, the scale developed to measure students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching in higher education was a valid instrument. Second, college students observed and sensed different types of culturally responsive teaching differently. Third, students’ perceptions of culturally responsive teaching predicted students’ academic self-efficacy and sense of belonging. Fourth, students who had a higher sense of belonging were more confident as college students. Finally, African American students at an HBCU had higher perceptions of culturally responsive teaching. Implications for practice were provided to help promote the application of culturally responsive teaching in higher education. Recommendations for future research were also discussed to inform future studies regarding culturally responsive teaching in university settings.</p>

This research is an exploratory investigation into the convergence of Asperger‟s syndrome and Nonverbal learning disability and the inclusion of these learners into mainstream schools. Conceptual research has been used based on questions asked around Asperger‟s syndrome, Nonverbal learning disability, convergences and differences between the disabilities based on the history, etiology, assessment and diagnosis of each disorder as well as alternative forms of assessment and diagnosis. Due to the wide body of literature available in this area of research and the nature of conceptual research, this study is largely literature based. The aim of the research is to look at the literature that supports the convergence between Asperger‟s syndrome and Nonverbal learning disability and to study the assessment tools that are being used to diagnose Asperger‟s syndrome and Nonverbal learning disability to see if various tools can be taken from both batteries of tests and used as one. An important part of this research is its placement in the educational context of inclusion. The results from this research will add to the literature already available on this topic, emphasising the importance of accurate and thorough investigation and assessment towards reaching a diagnosis and the implementation of a valid support plan. The research also offers a discourse concerning learners who are not in a position to be assessed for diagnosis and the benefits of using the SIAS strategy for these learners. The research confirms that there is a convergence between Asperger‟s syndrome and Nonverbal learning disability. It also confirms that, despite the convergence, the assessment and intervention for each disorder is mostly different and a misdiagnosis would not be beneficial to the learner. The findings of the research are also largely confirmatory of literature and other research studies in this area. Finally, the research takes a critical look at the purpose, benefits and possible downfalls of labelling a learner with a specific disability, and how labelling could either help or hinder a learner in their educational pursuits. Possible directions for future research into Asperger‟s syndrome, Nonverbal learning disability, assessment tools and support structures are discussed