Den största förändringen av gymnasieskolan var införandet av en kursutformad gymnasieskola vilket skedde 1994. Syftet med detta arbete är att ta reda på hur den valfriheten som införandet av den kursutformade gymnasieskolan i upplevs av elever och lärare.Vi har i detta arbete begagnat oss av den s.k. Likert-skala för att kunna mäta elevers och lärares attityder till valfriheten i skolan. Den består av ett antal påståenden som elever och lärare skall instämma i eller ta avstånd från på en femgradig skala. Vi valde att genomföra vår enkätundersökning på totalt fem gymnasieskolor i tre skånska kommuner.Eleverna i undersökningen uttrycker en positiv attityd till valfriheten i dagens gymnasieskola. En majoritet av eleverna utrycker en positiv attityd till att det är lättare att göra bra ifrån sig på en individuell kurs om de själva har valt att läsa den.De kan även tänka sig att utöka sin studiegång med flera valbara kurser, utöver deras obligatoriska 2500 poäng.En majoritet av de tillfrågade lärarna anser att elevernas valfrihet av kurser bidrar till att öka deras engagemang och motivation. Det finns således ett samband mellan valfriheten i skolan och elevers prestationer. / The biggest change in the Swedish school system was the introduction of the course based school in 1994.The purpose with this essay is to find out what pupils and teachers think of the freedom of choice in the course based school.In this essay we have used the so called "Likert-skala" as our method to measure pupils and teachers attitude towards the freedom of choice. It consists of a number of states which the pupils and teachers either agrees or disagrees with on a five graded scale. We chose to conduct our survey in five schools in Skåne. The pupils in the survey had a positive attitude towards the freedom of choice in the school of today. A majority of the pupils expresses a positive attitude towards the state that it is easier to do well if a course has been chosen by them self. They are also willing to consider increasing the total number of self picked courses, in addition to the mandatory 2500 points. A majority of the teachers believes the pupils freedom of choice contributes towards there increasing commitment and motivation. Thus we claim there is a connection between the freedom of choice and the pupils performance in the Swedish school system.

Cette recherche a consisté en le développement et la validation d'outils psychométriques servant à mesurer chez les étudiants une évolution dans les croyances épistémiques (c.-à-d. les croyances concernant les sciences, l'enseignement et l'apprentissage) et les attitudes épistémiques (c.-à-d. les conceptions, affects et valeurs envers des objets épistémiques comme la connaissance ou le savoir scientifique). Les valeurs et affects sont d'une importance primordiale dans l'éducation épistémologique, comme le sont les croyances ou les valeurs. Toutefois, ils semblent souvent négligés dans les approches pédagogiques ou dans la recherche. De plus, avant la présente recherche, il n'y avait pas d'instrument quantitatif fiable adapté au contexte français pour mesurer les croyances envers les sciences, l'enseignement et l'apprentissage. Pour ces raisons, nous avons développé dans la langue française un Questionnaire sur les Attitudes et les Croyances Epistémiques (QACE ou EBAI en anglais pour Epistemic Beliefs and Attitudes Inventory), qui est composé d'échelles de Likert et de différentiateurs sémantiques. Nous avons mené trois études. La première (Study 1) a été menée en France auprès de 283 étudiants pour explorer la structure de la première version du QACE (QACE1). Ensuite, cette version été utilisée pour évaluer l'impact de deux modules d'épistémologie sur les populations d'étudiants concernées. Les résultats ont indiqué une bonne consistance interne des échelles et leur capacité à mesurer des changements significatifs dans les attitudes et croyances épistémiques des étudiants. Dans une deuxième étude menée au Vietnam, nous avons examiné les propriétés psychométriques d'une traduction vietnamienne du QACE1 auprès de 228 étudiants ou professeurs (Study 2). Un résultat marquant est que les différentiateurs sémantiques se sont révélé être des outils novateurs simples et prometteurs pour mesurer les attitudes et croyances épistémiques. Cela peut être expliqué par leur robustesse psychométrique, leur forte sensibilité pour discriminer entre les groupes et la facilité avec laquelle on peut les adapter dans une autre culture. Troisièmement, la version préliminaire de l'instrument a été améliorée. Nous avons ensuite conduit en France une étude de validation de cette nouvelle version (QACE2) après de 729 étudiants (Study 3). Plusieurs construits théoriquement apparentés (comme le Epistemological Beliefs Inventory de Schraw et al., 2002; le Cognitive Complexity Indicator indiquant les position de Perry à partir du questionnaire Learning Environment Preferences de Moore, 1989; et l'échelle de dogmatisme de Shearman & Levine, 2006) ont été utilisés pour établir la validité du QACE2. Les résultats de la validation croisée sur les moitiés d'échantillons et de la fiabilité test-retest ont mis en évidence que le QACE2 est un outil fiable, stable et valide pour mesurer les croyances et attitudes épistémiques. Cette recherche a ouvert de nombreuses perspectives concernant, notamment, la vérification de la capacité du QACE2 à mesurer l'impact de modules d'épistémologie, la vérification de son adaptation à d'autres contextes francophones ou encore l'utilisation potentielle des différentiateurs sémantiques pour les recherches interculturelles sur l'épistémologie personnelle. / This research has focused on developing and validating psychometric tools to measure changes in university students' epistemic beliefs (i.e., beliefs about science, teaching, and learning) and epistemic attitudes (i.e., conceptions, affects, and values towards epistemic objects e.g., knowledge, scientific knowledge). Epistemic affects and values are of primary importance in epistemological education, as epistemic beliefs or conceptions do. However they seem to be often neglected in the pedagogical and research approaches. Moreover, before the present research, there was no reliable quantitative instrument to measure beliefs about science, learning and teaching specifically adapted to the French context. For these reasons, we developed the Epistemic Beliefs and Attitudes Inventory (EBAI), a set of Likert-type and semantic differential scales. We conducted three studies. The first study (Study 1) was conducted in France on 283 university students to explore the structure of the first version of the EBAI (EBAI1). The EBAI1 has then been used to evaluate the impact of two scientific epistemology related modules on the corresponding two students' populations. Results indicated robust internal consistencies of the scales and their ability to measure changes in students' epistemic beliefs and attitudes. In a second study, we preliminarily examined the psychometric properties of a Vietnamese translation of the EBAI1 in Vietnam with 228 participants, university students and teachers (Study 2). The results unravelled inadequacies of some scales to the Vietnamese context. One striking result is that the semantic differential scales appeared to be promising innovative and simple tools to measure epidemic attitudes and epistemic beliefs. We explain that by their strong psychometric properties, their high sensitivity in group discrimination, and the easiness to adapt them to another culture. Thirdly, the preliminary version of the instrument was revised for improvement and strengthening. We then conducted, in France, a validation study of this new version (EBAI2) among 729 students (Study 3). Several theoretically related constructs (e.g., general epistemological beliefs measured by the Epistemological Beliefs Inventory, Schraw et al., 2002; Cognitive Complexity Indicator indicating Perry's positions measured by the Learning Environment Preferences, Moore, 1989; and dogmatism measured by the Dogmatism Scale, Shearman & Levine, 2006) were used to establish the construct validity of the updated instrument (EBAI2). Results of double-split cross-validation and test-retest reliability showed a high reliability and temporal stability of the EBAI2. In summary, the findings supported that the EBAI2 is a reliable, stable and valid tool to measure epistemic beliefs and attitudes. This research opened many perspectives such as, for instance, checking for the EBAI2 ability to measure the impact of scientific epistemology related modules, checking for its adaptation to other francophone contexts, or using semantic differentials for cross-cultural researches in personal epistemology.

Agricultural production is the major source of household food security and income for smallholder maize farmers in the rural households in the Kingdom of eSwatini. The sector also contributes approximately 6.5% to the national gross domestic product and 50% of raw material for industries and other sectors. However, the sector is faced with several challenges which hinder its development. The challenges are brought about by climate change. Farmers implement various strategies to adapt to the negative effects of climate change. Farmers awareness and perceptions of impacts of climate change influence the strategies and hence, farmers’ level of adaptation. This study was undertaken to assess smallholder maize farmers’ awareness and perceptions of the impacts of climate change in three maize producing regions of eSwatini. Descriptive statistics and a regression model were used for data analysis. The results from a descriptive analysis indicated that 71.3% of farmers were aware of climate change, while 28.7% were not aware. A regression test revealed that climate-related information was highly significant in determining farmers’ awareness of the impacts of climate change. A Likert scale analysis showed that rural-urban migration, floods incidents and soil erosion were the most important variables that influenced small-scale maize farmers’ perceptions of climate change. The study revealed that there should be more focus on improving extension services to promote access to financial services. / Agriculture and  Animal Health / M.Sc. (Agriculture)

Der Bereich des Controllings betrieblicher Qualifikation und Bildung stellt die Controller vor erhebliche, z.T. unlösbare Probleme: Fast alles, was die Steuerung betrieblichen Lernens anbetrifft, bezieht sich auf nur schwer meßbare latente Größen. In diesem Beitrag soll die methodologische Problematik in einem zentralen Bereich der Steuerung von Maßnahmen betrieblichen Lernens angegangen werden: die Bedarfsanalyse. Zur rationalen Steuerung betrieblicher (Weiter-)Bildung ist die Ermittlung des tatsächlich vorhandenen Bildungsbedarfs unerläßlich. Nur so kann das Kriterium der Wirtschaftlichkeit von (Weiter-)Bildungsmaßnahmen erfüllt werden. Es wird dafür die Nutzung des Verfahrens der summierten Einschätzungen nach Rensis Likert (sogenannte Likert-Skalen) zur Lösung des zugrundeliegenden Meßproblems untersucht. Der Artikel liefert einen methodischen Beitrag zur Operationalisierung und Messung des Weiterbildungsbedarfs und skizziert Ansatzpunkte für weitere Forschung, um eine Anwendung in der betrieblichen Praxis zu ermöglichen.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:32:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Ricardo Cavalcanti Alves.pdf: 1472492 bytes, checksum: 191a6c7b13b5d0386ac7e4edda2748c7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-03-26 / Fundo Mackenzie de Pesquisa / In the last decades the world has seen great dissemination of powerful brands, local and world-known, not infrequently assessed in billions of dollars, leading to massive sales of products and services associated with them. And in that context it is clear the impact of the intrinsic value of the intangible assets brand of companies in mergers and acquisitions.Nowadays, it has been clear that a Company valuation has a relevant amount related to intangible assets and, among these, brands have significant importance. This study aimed to investigate what is the general perception, the control method and the valuation of brands on companies operating in Brazil, by gathering information about the companies where students and recent graduates of post-graduate in business administration related courses used to work.Thus, from the sample group of 134 companies operating in Brazil, were extracted details of five dimensions of brand: awareness about its importance, financial valuation of the brand,accounting recognition of brand value, management of this intangible asset and its use as a tactical and strategic performance ratio. The methodology used was a survey that, from statistical tests Chi-square Pearson test led to the conclusion that there is no significant relationship between the fact that companies sell products and services and aspects relating to each of the five dimensions studied. Other variables statistically compared by using the chisquare test meant for the sample companies, among other findings, the significant correlation between large companies and the fact that companies evaluate brands or negotiate them. Also, the study took into account the criteria of attitude scores of respondents based on the Likert scale. The resulting data reveal that the brands are still in need of greater attention from companies. It is a minority in the sample studied the incidence of financial valuation of the brand, as well as the proper focus on accounting and management reports. Internal control over brand management and variable compensation system based on ratios of the brand,though present, such items were observed in low intensity in the sample companies. / Nas últimas décadas o mundo tem assistido à grande proliferação de marcas poderosas, local e mundialmente conhecidas, avaliadas não raramente em bilhões de dólares, levando a vendas em massa de produtos e serviços a elas associadas. E nesse contexto é notório o impacto do valor intrínseco do ativo intangível marca no valor das empresas em movimentos de fusões e aquisições. Hoje sabe-se que um valuation conta com parte relevante de seu montante relacionado a ativos intangíveis e, entre tais, as marcas possuem significativo destaque. Este trabalho objetivou investigar qual é a percepção geral, o método de controle e a avaliação das marcas em companhias em operação no Brasil, a partir de levantamento de informações sobre as empresas em que trabalhavam estudantes e recém egressos de cursos de pós-graduação profissional em áreas ligadas à administração de negócios. Assim, da amostra pesquisada de 134 companhias atuantes no país, foram extraídos detalhes de cinco dimensões da marca:percepção sobre sua importância, avaliação financeira, reconhecimento contábil de seu valor,gestão desse ativo intangível e de seu uso como indicador de performance tática e estratégica. A metodologia utilizada foi um levantamento (ou survey) que, a partir de testes estatísticos qui-quadrado de Pearson , permitiu a constatação de que não há relacionamento significativo entre o fato das empresas comercializarem produtos e serviços e aspectos ligados a cada uma das cinco dimensões estudadas. Outras variáveis comparadas estatisticamente pelo teste de qui-quadrado resultaram para as companhias da amostra, entre outras constatações, a significativa correlação entre as empresas de grande porte e o fato das empresas avaliarem marcas ou as negociarem. O estudo também levou em conta o critério de escores de atitudes dos respondentes baseado na escala Likert. Os dados resultantes revelam que as marcas carecem ainda de maior atenção por parte das empresas. É minoritária na amostra estudada a incidência de avaliação financeira da marca, assim como o devido enfoque em relatórios contábeis e gerenciais. Os controles internos de gestão da marca e o sistema de remuneração variável baseado em indicadores da marca, embora existam, mostraram-se itens pouco observados nas companhias da amostra.

<div>In the modern era where technology is constantly evolving, it is important to evaluate new technological tools and approaches in order to gauge their potential for adoption. Rapid Application Development (RAD) has highly evolved over the years, but it has not seen much response at the university level. Several studies show that perceptions of usability form the basis of acceptance or rejection of new tools and applications. Thus, running a usability study on a specific RAD tool coupled with autoethnographic documentation of specific development experience with that tool has the potential to encourage university faculty/staff to consider teaching/using it.</div><div><br></div><div>This research study seeks to understand developers' perceptions regarding the usability aspect of Mendix, a Rapid Application Development (RAD) tool. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were employed to discover and understand the extent of perceived usefulness, ease of use and satisfaction with the tool. The results of the study presented a case for academicians on the viability of teaching RAD or using Mendix for their web application development needs. The study ultimately sought to help university faculty understand what to expect while teaching RAD to students from computing background and also help them decide if they would like to use tools like Mendix for their software development projects or continue to use specific coding languages (traditional software development) for software development projects. </div><div><br></div>

Es existieren regionale Unterschiede in der Nutzung von Photovoltaik-Anlagen (PV) in Baden-Württemberg. Die Bedeutung von Raumstruktur und Globalstrahlung für diese Unterschiede wurde großräumig untersucht. Es zeigte sich, dass die PV-Nutzung im ländlichen Raum Baden-Württembergs höher ist als im urbanen Raum. Dieser Zusammenhang gewann in den letzten Jahren an Bedeutung. Die Bedeutung der Globalstrahlung für die PV-Nutzung sank auf ein sehr niedriges Niveau. Weitere Untersuchungen wurden im Nordosten Baden-Württembergs durchgeführt, wo die Raumstruktur ländlich und die PV-Nutzung überdurchschnittlich hoch ist. Um die Ursachen der regionalen Unterschiede in der PV-Nutzung näher zu untersuchen, wurden qualitative Experteninterviews, Korrelationsanalysen und schriftliche Haushaltsbefragungen durchgeführt. Durch Experteninterviews wurden die Hauptakteure für die Diffusion von PV in der Untersuchungsregion identifiziert. Neben PV-Unternehmen sind dies Landwirte, Gemeinderäte und Bürgermeister sowie Energieagenturen. Landwirte nehmen eine Schlüsselrolle ein, da es für sie relativ leicht ist PV-Anlagen zu realisieren. Gemeinderäte und ihre Bürgermeister können PV-Anlagen auf öffentlichen Gebäuden realisieren. Energieagenturen bilden Diffusionsnetzwerke zwischen verschiedenen Akteuren. Eine Korrelationsanalyse deckte einige Faktoren auf, die mit den PV-Anlagen je Einwohner und Kommune in Heilbronn-Franken korrelieren. Diese Faktoren sind (i) Anteil der unter 18 Jährigen, (ii) Anteil der Einfamilienhäuser an den Wohngebäuden, (iii) Anteil der sozialversicherungspflichtigen Beschäftigten mit abgeschlossener Ausbildung, (iv) landwirtschaftliche Betriebe mit Viehhaltung je Einwohner, (v) Anteil der Mehrfamilien-häuser an den Wohngebäuden und (vi) Anteil der sozialversicherungspflichtig Beschäftigten mit Hochschulabschluss. Durch eine Haushaltsbefragung wurden signifikante Unterschiede zwischen PV-Eigentümern und Nicht-Eigentümern aufgedeckt (Alter, Familienverhältnisse, Energieverhalten, PV-Informationskanäle, Einstellung zu PV). Bei formaler Bildung und Einkommen gab es keine signifikanten Unterschiede. Außerdem wurden signifikante Unterschiede zwischen einer Gemeinde mit hoher und einer mit niedriger PV-Nutzung erkannt (Energieverhalten, Notwendigkeit ökologischen Handels, Einstellung zu PV, lokale PV-Akteure). Andere Aspekte wiesen keine signifikanten Unterschiede auf (PV-Informationskanäle, Hinderungsgründe für den Kauf). Außerdem zeigte sich, dass die Diffusion von PV einen wichtigen lokalen Charakter hat (PV-Informationskanäle, lokale Märkte). / There are regional disparities in the usage of rooftop photovoltaic installations (PV) in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg. The influence of spatial structure and global radiation on these disparities has been investigated on a large scale. It was found that the usage of PV is significantly higher in rural areas of Baden-Württemberg than in urban areas. The strength of this correlation has been increasing during the last years. The importance of global radiation for the usage of PV in Baden-Württemberg has been decreasing to a rather low level. Further investigations were made in the north eastern region of Baden-Württemberg, where spatial structure is rural and the usage of PV is above average. To investigate reasons for these regional disparities qualitative expert interviews, correlation analysis and household surveys have been conducted. Through expert interviews main actors for diffusion of PV in the study area were identified. Apart from PV-companies these main actors are farmers, local councils and mayors as well as energy agencies. Farmers take a key role in diffusion of PV, because it is quite easy for them to implement PV. Local councils and their mayors are capable to enable diffusion of PV on public buildings. Energy agencies are capable of building diffusion networks among different groups of actors. The correlation analysis revealed several attributes that are correlating with photovoltaic installations per inhabitant and municipality in Heilbronn-Franken. These attributes are: (i) share of inhabitants <18 years, (ii) share of single-family houses in residential buildings, (iii) share of employees with finished apprenticeship, (iv) agricultural enterprises with livestock per inhabitant, (v) share of multi-family houses in residential buildings, (vi) share of employees with university degree. Through a household survey significant differences between PV-owners and non-owners were found (age, family status, energy behavior, channels of information, attitude towards PV). However some aspects did not show significant differences (formal education, income). Furthermore significant differences between one municipality with high and one with low PV-usage have been identified (energy behavior, necessity of acting ecologically, attitude towards PV, local PV-actors) whereas other aspects were not significantly different (channels of information for PV, obstacles of purchasing PV). Besides that it was found that diffusion of PV has an important local character (channels of information, local markets).

This mixed method study employs a phenomenological methodology to explore the experiences of novice secondary Texas English/Language Arts (E/LA) teachers' who integrated media literacy curriculum within their content area during the 2010-2011 school year. Data relating to the phenomenon was collected through Likert-type survey items and an in-depth three-interview protocol. The key findings in this study highlight the complex relationships that affect novice secondary Texas E/LA teachers' development of curriculum and pedagogy in the context of media literacy education. Participants' backgrounds were found to influence their beliefs and attitudes related to media literacy, which in turn, influenced the way they integrated media literacy curricula. Despite a commonly held belief in the value of media literacy education and intent to integrate media literacy in the E/LA curriculum, participants' confidence in their ability to teach students media literacy skills declined over time. Data suggest that this decrease is attributable to environmental factors such as access to technology resources and the culture and climate of the schools in which the participants teach. The study also finds that participants were insufficiently prepared to teach media literacy in the E/LA classroom and that both participants' teacher preparation program and school districts bear the burden for this deficiency. The findings of this study have specific implications for current educational practice. Schools of education and school districts are appropriately positioned to provide needed, but currently deficient, support to novice E/LA teachers with regard to media literacy integration in the content area. Such support could consist of formal coursework and/or mediated discussion in professional learning communities regarding: media literacy in the standards; technology skills and integration; pedagogical content knowledge related to media literacy education; sources for media literacy self-study and independent professional development; and teaching media literacy skills in technologically under-resourced or hostile environments.

This paper provides an alternative methodology for the analysis of a set of Likert responses measured on a common attitudinal scale when the primary focus of interest is on the relative importance of items in the set. The method makes fewer assumptions about the distribution of the responses than the more usual approaches such as comparisons of means, MANOVA or ordinal data methods. The approach transforms the Likert responses into paired comparison responses between the items. The complete multivariate pattern of responses thus produced can be analysed by an appropriately reformulated paired comparison model. The dependency structure between item responses can also be modelled flexibly. The advantage of this approach is that sets of Likert responses can be analysed simultaneously within the Generalized Linear Model framework, providing standard likelihood based inference for model selection. This method is applied to a recent international survey on the importance of environmental problems. (author's abstract) / Series: Research Report Series / Department of Statistics and Mathematics

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