Merrill’s 2007 5 Star instrument, hereafter called the M-5 Star, is based on Merrill’s well recognized First Principles of Instruction. However, the instrument has not been tested for reliability and validity. In a pilot study, Cropper’s version of his instrument (C-5 Star) showed some reliability and validity evidence, but the M-5 Star needed similar evidence. To address this gap in the literature, the purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity evidence for M-5 Star. Raters were drawn from a graduate course in online course evaluation and asked to rate a sample (N = 6) of exclusively online university classes using M-5 Star and three comparison instruments. The comparison instruments also purport to examine course quality but lack the emphasis on instructional strategies in M-5 Star. Interrater reliability evidence for the M-5 Star and the comparison instruments was moderate to substantial (M5-Star ICC = .56, p = .001); Texas IQ ICC = .43, p = .001; WebCT ICC = .75, p = .001: SREB ICC = .53, p = .001). However, interrater reliability was tentative because rater pair scores were averaged, biasing the scores toward agreement and inflating ICC. Low correlations between M-5 Star (the criterion) and the comparison measures indicate divergent validity support that M-5 Star is measuring a different core concept of quality in online classes. M-5 Star correlation with WebCT was r = .39, p = .44 (r2 = .15), with WebCT was r = .44, p = .38 (r2 = .20), and with SREB was r = .43, p = .39 (r2 = .19). In addition to divergent validity analysis, a content validity index (CVI) analysis was undertaken using experts in the area of First Principles. According to First Principles experts, other than a few items on the rubric, the vast majority of the M-5 Star CVI results support close alignment with Merrill’s First Principles of Instruction. Of the 63 M-5 Star individual items, 56 (89%) of them received high scores on Aiken’s CVI that were significant at the .10 level. Study limitations are discussed at length, alongside calls for future research and practical and scholarly significance for the research.

Since the end of World War I instrumental music has become an important and accepted part of the secondary school curriculum (17, pp. 56-59). According to a recent report published by the American Music Conference, Chicago, Illinois (19, p.3), there were in 1963 eleven million students studying music in the schools of America. There have been numerous studies conducted t o determine the purpose and objectives of instrumental music. Many studies have also been made to ascertain what the parents' feelings are toward their schools. Yet there has been very little research or study accomplished concerning the feelings or attitudes of parents toward instrumental music in the high school.

This study investigated the effect of one semester of ESOL education on preservice teachers by examining their perceived knowledge and skill in working with English Language Learner (ELL) students, their attitude toward having ELL students in their mainstream classrooms, and what classroom methods they perceive as effective in their ESOL preservice education courses. Data for this study were collected from pre- and post-course attitudinal surveys during one semester of course work, from participants at two specific points in their educational experience; participants in the (1) introductory and (2) final TESOL course. There were 293 participants who took the pre-, and 273 who took the post-course survey, from a total of 513 preservice teachers. This represents approximately a 57% participation rate on the pre- and 53% on the post-course survey. Little is known about the effect that ESOL preservice education has on preservice teachers' attitudes toward ELL students, and no studies known to the investigator have examined the methods of an ESOL preservice program to see preservice teachers' perceptions of the effect of these methods. The effect of the following independent variables were used: (a) course (initial and final ESOL course), and (b) time (pre- and post-course). A new survey instrument was developed that identified the following factors which were used as dependent variables: (a) perception of ESOL knowledge and skill (PEKS), (b) attitude toward inclusion (ATI), and (c) perceived effectiveness of instructional methods (PEIM). Significant differences were found regarding: (1) PEKS by course and time, and (2) PEIM by course. No differences were found for the variable ATI.

No description available.

<p>The purpose of this study is to analyze and evaluate the suitability of the three instruments SERVQUAL, SERVPERF and Zone of tolerance to measure service quality, from the respondents' perspective. This study has been carried out by a quantitative method in which respondents answered three questionnaires, which was based on the three instruments. The SERVQUAL instrument is a revised version based on criticism by Carman (1990). It is based on the five dimensions; reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibility, with 22 items in which each dimension is associated with a number of items. SERVPERF is the instrument most similar to SERVQUAL and is also composed of the same five dimensions. The Zone of tolerance instrument is based on a three-column format of SERVQUAL, where each items is answered in the form of respondent's minimum service level, desired service level, and the perception of SL's service performance. The Zone of tolerance questionnaire consists of eight dimensions, including three new ones (convenience, connection, comfort) and 38 items.</p><p>The theoretical frame of reference that includes Grönroos model of service quality, and the three instruments form the basis of the results, analysis and conclusion. In this study, we concluded that Zone of tolerance is the most suitable instrument for measuring the quality of service in public transport according to the respondents, thus it best describes the feelings that the respondents feel about the service quality of SL. There was however no significant difference between the Zone of tolerance and the SERVPERF instrument in this regard. The Zone of tolerance instrument was the most specific of the three, but we found that the instrument may undergo additional changes to make it more suitably. Although most respondents felt that the Zone of tolerance instrument was the best descriptive of how the respondents felt regarding the service quality of SL, a large proportion of respondents (49 %) found this instrument as the one that worst describe the feelings they felt regarding the service quality of SL. A large proportion (72 %) of respondents believe that the Zone of tolerance instrument is the most difficult to understand. This may be because it includes many items and that every item must answer three times, a rather unusual format. The fact that this instrument was the last one in the scheme may have a negative effect. Since respondents in the assessment of the last instrument certainly became bored and therefore may have led to the instrument not receiving as much attention as the two previous instruments.</p>

The Akai EWI4000s is the most recent model of the EWI (Electric Wind Instrument) family, first conceived by Nyle Steiner in the late 1970’s. A relatively young electronic instrument, the EWI lacks a complete, organized publication explaining how to fully utilize its technical and expressive devices. Furthermore, no instructional aid exists to explain the parameters of the Vyzex computer editor used to create and manipulate the onboard sound bank of the EWI4000s. The purpose of this study is to inform the reader of how the EWI4000s came to fruition, to develop a complete technical and expressive method for learning to play the EWI4000s, and to create a musically based manual for using the Vyzex computer editor. Using text, diagrams, and musical examples, the method acquaints the reader with the EWI’s internal and external controls by explaining their functions using musical terms easily understood by the common musician. Additionally, new notation is created to constrain the EWI’s seven-octave range exclusively within the treble clef staff making it easier to compose and read EWI music without excessive clef changes and musical octave markings. The new notation also develops symbols to dictate use of the EWI’s expressive devices such as pitch bend, glissando, octave doubling, and harmonization.

No description available.

Från och med år 2005 ska alla noterade företag upprätta sina koncernredovisningar i enlighet med de standarder som utfärdats av IASB och som antagits av EU-kommissionen. En av IASB:s grundläggande riktlinjer är att redovisningen ska ge en rättvisande bild av företagets situation. Bankindustrin motsatte sig införandet av en standard, IAS 39, då de ansåg att den skulle misslyckas med att ge en rättvisande bild. Vårt syfte med uppsatsen är att studera i vilken utsträckning banker i sin redovisning kan ge en rättvisande bild av ekonomiska händelser i enlighet med IAS 39. Vårt empiriska material baserar sig till största del på intervjuer med fyra bankkoncerner samt två revisorer och en analytiker. Under studiens gång har vi funnit att åsikterna kring IAS 39 går isär. Bankindustrin är av en åsikt medan intressenterna, i de flesta fall, är av en annan. Uppsatsen är till stor del strukturerad efter den rättvisande bildens kvalitativa egenskaper. Analysen görs utifrån de kvalitativa egenskapernas kännetecken. Studien visar på: Relevansen har blivit lägre sett ur kravet förståelse och blivit högre sett ur kravet aktualitet. Jämförbarheten har blivit lägre enligt bankindustrin och högre enligt intressenterna, sett ur kraven lika händelser och spelregler Validiteten har blivit lägre enligt bankindustrin och högre enligt intressenterna, sett ur kraven fullständighet och neutralitet. Verifierbarheten varierar sett ur kraven kontroll och samstämmighet.

Då det sedan 2005 har varit obligatoriskt för företag att värdera sina finansiella tillgångar enligt IAS 39 fann vi det intressant att fördjupa oss i vilka effekter den nya redovisningen gett. Inom banksektorn utgör andelen finansiella tillgångar en stor del av de totala tillgångarna, varför vi beslöt oss för att undersöka just den branschen. För att kunna få ett tillfredsställande djup i uppsatsen valde vi att göra en fallstudie över Swedbank. Den forskningsfråga som vi har valt att undersöka är: Vilka effekter har värdering till verkligt värde av finansiella instrument i Swedbank haft för externa intressenter? Vi har valt att dels använda oss av intervjuer med personer som har olika kunskapsområden, för att få en mer övergripande bild, dels har vi granskat Swedbanks årsredovisningar för att se eventuella effekter i siffror. En modell över kvalitativa egenskaper har använts för att göra en jämförelse med våra undersökningar. Dessutom har vi genom att leta efter eventuella effekter på likviditeten ytterligare analyserat hur Swedbank uppfyller kravet på tillförlitlighet. I analysen har vi kommit fram till att det har skett en förbättring i Swedbanks redovisning då bland annat tillförlitligheten har ökat på flera plan. Bilden av företaget blir mer rättvisande då innebörden redovisas före formen. Dessutom blir det enklare för externa intressenter att göra jämförelser mellan olika företag då redovisningen görs på samma vis. På det generella planet har vi kunnat konstatera att riskerna för försämrad likviditet ökar om värderingsmodeller används vid värderingen. Inom Swedbank har detta dock undvikits genom att de inte använder sig av denna typ av modeller. Till framtida studier föreslår vi en undersökning av flera banker för att få en tydligare överblick av banksektorn.

The use of stars as a radiation source for ground-based ozone remote-sensing instruments is explored and an automated prototype instrument that measures absorption due to atmospheric ozone in stellar spectra has been designed, implemented and tested. <p> This work represents the proof-of-concept development of a low-cost, low dispersion slitless imaging spectrometer that measures Chappuis-band absorption in stellar spectra. The work presented here progresses from the initial concept to a functional calibrated prototype that is capable of nightly automated observations of visible-band spectra from mid-magnitude stars. The design and calibration of the prototype and subsequent data collection and analysis are presented. <p>A slitless imaging spectrometer has been developed and integrated with a commercial self-pointing telescope and an astronomical imager. A relative intensity calibration and the development of a dynamic wavelength calibration scheme, necessitated by the slitless nature of the instrument, is presented. The calibrated prototype has been used to collect several data sets of stellar spectra, and it is shown that the instrument can detect Chappuis absorption in stellar spectra. Several issues with both the concept and design that must be addressed in further development of the prototype are identified.