Brand loyalty development is an important part of a company‘s marketing strategy. Empirical data on the influences of brand loyalty in the South African hospitality industry is non-existent. Moolla and Bisschoff developed an empirical tool for measuring twelve influences of brand loyalty in, originally, the fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) industry. The model has since been validated and the reliability of the data confirmed for various industries such as agri- business, banking and pharmaceutical industries. The twelve influences the model test are; customer satisfaction, culture, brand performance, brand relevance, relationship proneness, brand affect, repeat purchase, perceived value, commitment, involvement, switching cost and brand trust. An adapted Moolla and Bisschoff model is employed in the hospitality industry, and more specifically the hotel sector, which aims to determine the role each influence plays on brand loyalty. Questionnaires were distributed to guests at various branded hotels in South Africa of which 187 patrons responded positively. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measure indicated sample adequacy and suitability for factor analysis, where after the questionnaire was validated and the data found to be reliable. According to the respondents‘ perceptions, customer satisfaction is regarded as the single most very important brand loyalty influence in the hospitality industry. Brand trust, repeat purchase, involvement, perceived value, relationship proneness, brand affect, brand relevance and brand performance can also be seen as important factors. Switching cost, commitment and culture were not considered to be very important brand influences. Sub-factors were identified for the influences of perceived value and relationship proneness. A new conceptual framework for brand loyalty in the hospitality industry was therefore suggested. The results of this study concluded that the adapted Moolla and Bisschoff model is indeed a valuable tool for measuring brand loyalty influences in the hospitality industry. This study also contributed to the knowledge base regarding brand loyalty of the South African hospitality industry in South Africa. / MBA, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Oxy-Pherol-ET (OP-ET) is an artificial blood substitute composed of perfluoro~ributylamine (FC-43) emulsified with pluronic (FC-68) and hydroxyethyl starch as a plasma expander. This blood substitute is quite unique in that it has a high oxygen and carbon dioxide carrying capacity and is inert. In order for OP-ET to work, it must co-exist in circulation with blood components. This research project has been an investigation of the effect of OP-ET on the circulation regulatory agents (hormonal, etc). The aorta and vena cava were examined to assess the influence of OPET on the structural components of circulation. Since the kidney plays an important role in the overall regulation of circulation, the influence of the OP-ET on its function and structure were examined also. Stimulation of the renin-angiotensin system by hemorrhage, low sodium diet (LSD), and reduced renal perfusion pressure resulted in an increased release of renin in animals treated with OP-ET. Animals previously exchange-transfused with OP-ET were subsequently monitored daily for changes in weight, water intake, and urinary salt and water output. In OP-ET treated animals weight increase was when slow compared to control animals. The water intake of the animals exchange-transfused animals was substantially greater than control animals for the same time period. Animals prepared with indwelling catheters and exchange-transfused with OP-ET were monitored for their ability to respond to pharmacological concentrations of catecholamines and angiotensin II. Under these conditions animals showed no significant difference in blood pressure response when compared to control animals that were exchange-transfused with donor animals' RBCs and treated similarly with angiotensin and catecholamines. Previously transfused animals were monitored to determine the effect of OP-ET on the kidney. Under these conditions there was a diuretic-induced immediate increase in urinary sodium excretion and a gradual increase in urinary potassium. These were expected responses for this diuretic agent. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) of exchange-transfused animals did not reveal observable differences within the endothelium of the aorta. The vena caval endothelium of the exchange-transfused animals showed no significant changes. There were no observable alterations in the glomerular capillaries by 7 days post-transfusion. The data warrant the conclusion that mechanisms which normally regulate the circulation still function in the presence of the blood substitutes used in this study. The use of OP-ET has great potential in emergency medicine and remote areas of the world where whole blood would be difficult to maintain.

Status attainment research has shown that there is a positive association between the educational expectations of parents and their children. Survey data from a nationwide sample of families was used to examine the effects of social structural conditions and patterns of family interaction on parent-child agreement on educational expectations, an indicator of parents' ability to influence their child's expectations. Agreement was hypothesized to be greatest in white families, in families where parents had high levels of education, and among parents and daughters. Empirical results showed that girls were more likely than boys to have expectations above those of their parents. Parents with at least four years of college were more likely to agree than less educated parents. Minority adolescents were also less likely to agree; this effect was not explained by racial differences in parents' education. The quantity and quality of parental defining behaviors, or effort, were also expected to be positively related to agreement. Concrete forms of parental effort fulfilled these expectations. The greater efforts of well educated parents and parents of daughters helped to explain gender and class differences in agreement. Despite minority parents' greater efforts, their children remained less likely to agree. Alienated adolescents were predicted to be more likely to have expectations below those of their parents. Adolescents whose extra-familial roles were more salient than their familial roles were also expected to be less likely to agree. Both hypotheses were supported. This study contributes to status attainment research by showing how social psychological and social structural factors jointly affect a crucial link in the process: parent-child agreement on educational expectations. Future research should seek to disentangle the effects of these processes, and explain why persistent race differences in agreement exist.

The problem of this study was to evaluate the traditional method of teaching reading and the modern method of teaching reading as they influence personality, interest, mental health, and behavior.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

M.A. (Fine Art) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

Adverse parenting practices have adverse effects on child outcomes, ranging from lower academic success (Dornbusch, Ritter, Leiderman, Roberts, & Fraleigh, 1987) to delinquency behavior (Steinberg, Fletcher & Darling, 1994) to adjustment difficulties (Shumow & Lomax, 2009). There is considerable evidence linking poor parenting practices to increases in adolescent adjustment symptoms (e.g. Barnes, Reifman, Farrell, & Dintcheff, 2000). It is likely that there is an explanatory mechanism driving this relationship. The current study tests the hypotheses that associations between adverse parenting behaviors are both directly associated with adjustment problems, and indirectly associated with maladjustment via changes in self-views. A staggered cohort longitudinal design was employed that included a total of 453 (215 boys, 238 girls) 9th graders and 464 (231 boys, 233 girls) 10th graders at the first assessment in spring, 2013. At the onset of the study, adolescents completed scales describing parental monitoring (Small & Kerns, 1993), parental psychological control (Barber, 1996), and parental connectedness (Arnold, Nott, & Meinhold, 2012). Adolescents also described indices of self-esteem (Rosenberg, 1965), self-efficacy (Schwarzer & Jerusalem, 1995), and adjustment behaviors (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001). Results from the direct effects models revealed parenting practices have a direct effect on adolescent adjustment. Mediation models revealed indirect links between parenting practices and adolescent adjustment via self-esteem. Greater parental psychological control and less parental connectedness was linked to decreases in selfesteem one year later, and lower levels of self-esteem were in turn, associated with increases in adolescent adjustment problems. This study provides insight on the impact that parenting practices have on adolescents both directly and indirectly. Parents should understand that even though adolescents are seeking autonomy and separation, practicing attentive and meaningful parenting is just as important during adolescence as it is during any other periods of development. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

Edkins' theory is mainly consisted of two parts, comparative linguistics and researches on religious ideas of ancient Chinese people. At the same time, he also attempted to find western elements in ancient Chinese astrology, astronomy, philosophy and technology. His theory, together with other supporters, formed a special visual angle through which some Sinologists connected the Chinese culture with the main stream of the general history of human civilization constructed by western scholars. It seams to them that the Chinese civilization and the western civilization are not two different systems. To some Sinologists at that tine, whether the Chinese civilization could be correctly understood or not, rests on whether scholars could find its relation with western civilization. After a series of researches, almost all the elements of Chinese civilization were brought into the hermeneutic system of the west. The mystic color of China faded. / Edkins' theory is not completely new. In the 16th century, Jesuits began to interpret Chinese language, history and religion through the theory of the western origin of Chinese civilization. From the second part of the 19th Century to the first years of the 20 th century, this theory became popular, and among many advocates, there are not only westerners like John Chalmers, Joseph Edkins, Terrien de Lacouperie and Thomas Kingsmill, but also Chinese like Zhang Tai-Yan, Liu Shi-Pei and Huang Jie, etc. Meanwhile, various versions evolved from this theory, different from one another in the time and place that civilization came to China from the west. Some of them mix religious faith with academic studies together, and others' opinions are much more like scientific researches. Strange in the sight of scholars nowadays, this theory had its special meaning at the very beginning of western Sinology. / It seems that Sinologists of the 19th century did not try to describe China as an utter other, totally different from the west. On the contrary, they attempted to eliminate the difference. So this dissertation can also help us to get a deeper insight into the conception of Orientalism. / This dissertation is to discuss the methods that some Sinologists used to decipher the Chinese civilization by examining Joseph Edkins' works on Chinese language and civilization. Edkins is a missionary and Sinologist who advocated the theory of the western origin of Chinese civilization. / 陳喆. / Adviser: Xue Yu. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: 2069. / Thesis (doctoral)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 152-164) and index. / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [200-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstracts in Chinese and English. / School code: 1307. / Chen Zhe.

This thesis examines peer influences on the development of masculinities for a group of boys attending a secondary school. A small male peer group in a selected school setting was studied over a three - year period, with an emphasis on extensive observation and interview. The study suggests that students actively engage in resistance as a way to claim power and prove masculinities, and thus identities, in the school setting, often resulting in poor educational outcomes for individual boys. The thesis proposes that discourses of masculinities are central to the creation of identities for young adolescent males, and shape the way they present as learners in the school environment. These discourses are informed and governed by peers and the need for individuals to find belonging within the peer milieu. Central to such discourses is the theme of power. Focused on gender as being socially constructed, and humans perceived to be self determining and moulded through interactions with others, this study is strongly influenced by the ideas of John Dewey (1910, 1966), Charles Taylor (1989, 1994) and Michael Foucault (1971,1977,1978,1981). It uses a framework based on three central themes - identity, power, and peer relationships, to shape and provide focus to the inquiry. In so doing, it seeks to find a "third space", a place where meanings become "fused" and "new horizons" emerge. The presentation is divided into four sections. The first section outlines the nature, research design and setting of the study. The second uses dialogue of the varying voices I brought to the research to explore the central themes of the framework. The third section draws the three themes together to examine the subjects' understanding of masculinities and how this influences their identities as learners, as well as how they perceive possible futures. / The final section summarises the major findings and examines emerging possibilities that focus on hope for change, suggesting that by allowing students agency and voice there are opportunities for rich, open and authentic dialogue between educators and students. Through ongoing critical inquiry and analysis of gender and gender relations there is the possibility of new ways of being (Davies, 1997) resulting in improved learning outcomes for both boys and girls.

Upon hearing a beautiful piece of music, one can find it difficult to express in words the most appropriate assessment of it. More challenging would be to quantify the performance with a numerical value. Assessment assists learning, while evaluation judges and assigns a grade to it. Secondary school band teachers are faced with this dilemma of quantifying musical achievement and knowledge in schools. It was from an interest in how music teachers can use assessment (as opposed to evaluation) to guide their teaching, and to learn more about how they do assign a number to students’ music, that I posed the following questions: (a) What are the participants’ rationales for the assessment strategies they choose and the evaluative measures they make for students? (b) What influences have led teachers to have these particular rationales? This study used interviews within a grounded theory method to conduct qualitative research. The research sample was limited to a selection of secondary band teachers in Saskatchewan. Eight teachers volunteered to participate in interviews which inquired into their current assessment and evaluation practices. Research revealed several themes impacting teachers’ rationales. Themes emerging through analysis were: the impact of the set-up of the band, performance versus best practice, issues around subject legitimacy, impact of school division policy, and held values specific to instrumental music education. The theory arising from data analysis is that when a band teacher is reluctant to fully adopt best practice methods, this is based on fears of producing less than adequate group performances which is a response to a fear of losing the band program all together. The significance of these findings lies in the implication that existing underlying issues need to be addressed that best practice expectations and/or policy cannot fully encompass.