The purpose of this mixed-method study was to examine and to explore international students’ perceptions of resilience and how they coped with stress during their pursuit of a college degree. This study also explored forms of assistance international students received while studying at the university, how students capitalized on their own qualities to overcome obstacles, and to discover resilience factors that empowered international students despite challenges they encountered during the course of study. The researcher utilized two surveys, namely the Resilience Scale (RS) (Wagnild & Young, 1993) and the Coping Strategy Indicator (CSI) (Amirkhan, 1990), and a focus group interview to collect data for the study. The sample of the study consisted of 117 students for the RS, 106 students for the CSI, and 6 students for the focus group. All students were internationals from a Midwestern university in the United States. The findings of the study revealed that there was no significant difference in the RS scores for both undergraduate and graduate international students or for females and males respectively. The study also confirmed that there was no significant difference in the CSI scores for undergraduate and graduate international students. However, there was a significant difference between females and males in their CSI scores, suggesting that females were more likely than males to seek social support when they encountered challenges in life. Qualitative data from the focus group yielded meaningful insights on the obstacles that international students had to overcome, assistance international students received while in the United States, and protective factors students possessed in order to be successful in the university. The study also included a factor analysis of the data that confirmed a 3-factor structure of CSI (labeled respectively as Problem Solving, Seeking Social Support, and Avoidance). Even though factor analysis also verified the original 25-item 5-factor structure of RS, yielding a 5-factor structure of resilience (Meaningfulness, Equanimity, Self-Reliance, Perseverance, and Existential Aloneness), due to several cross loadings of the variables onto the factors, the analysis failed to verify the same variables contributed to the original 5-factor in RS. Plausible explanations for the discrepancy of the study of RS were explored.

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / There is a high margin of informality in small- and medium-sized companies in the bakery sector because of their lack of focus and poor standardization of their activities. Bakery SMEs, the activities of which have not yet been standardized, usually perform activities inefficiently, unnecessarily extending production times. The current average productivity of Lima-based SMEs is 1.7, a figure that, when compared with countries in the Pacific Alliance, is low. In addition, currently no methodologies seek continuous process improvement. Therefore, a Lean Process Management model was established to reduce activities and times. As validation, a production time simulation was performed in a warehouse, increasing the productivity to 2.08, with a percentage variation of 87.39% when compared with the initial productivity.

The project introduces and subsequently proposes a novel framework, based on the medical model of diagnosis, to facilitate business students' preparation of case analysis. The project also shows students how to apply the framework in a sample case study.

The first purpose of the present study was to determine whether the duration of preschool children's drawing and writing activity could be increased by introducing the process of dictation and dramatization of children's own stories. The second purpose of this study was to determine whether taking dictation from preschool children and facilitating the dramatization of children's dictations had an impact on print awareness. Samples of convenience were selected from a child care center in a small midwestern city. Results were based on the participation of 16 3- to 5-year-old children in the intervention group and 21 3- to 5-year-old children in the control group.Each participant's print awareness level was measured at the beginning and end of the study using the Print Awareness Test (Huba & Kontos, 1986). Videorecordings were made of the activity that occurred at a designated writing table. The duration of each child's writing and drawing activity was recorded (in seconds). For three hours a week during the eight weeks of the treatment period, children in the treatment group were encouraged to dictate their own individual stories to an adult who wrote their stories and read the stories back to the children. During the last four weeks of the treatment period, children in the treatment group also were encouraged to dramatize their own stories.The findings of the study were:1. A significant difference in children's print awareness was found in both the treatment and control groups (p<.05). There was no difference in print awareness change scores between the treatment and control groups.2. There was a moderate positive correlation (.471) between the number of stories dictated during the first four weeks of intervention and changes in print awareness scores within the treatment group.3. There was no significant difference between the control and treatment groups in the duration of writing and drawing at the end of the study. However, within the treatment group, during the time children were dictating and dramatizing their own stories, the duration of writing and drawing was significantly greater than either before or after intervention. / Department of Elementary Education

Thesis (MEd (Faculty of Education and Social Sciences))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2011 / This study emphasized the important role of phonological and phonemic awareness and understanding of letter-sound correspondence in elementary reading in a grade 1 class. The importance of preparatory activities preceding reading is strongly emphasized when looking at strategies for delays to cope in beginning reading. The ability of learners to develop auditory and visual perceptions and discernment between sounds and sound patterns are described as predictors of successful reading. Early and continuous monitoring of initial reading skills are an important aspect to reduce and prevent reading barriers. Action Research is conducted in a grade 1 class with learners who have not received grade R instruction and who at age 5 ½ years already enrolled at the school. The learners are young and do not receive enough stimulation at home. They already show barriers to learning in the effective use of language and learning with school entry. Due to the large backlogs of these learners the focus is on phonological awareness and phonemic awareness in elementary reading of the young child. The development of phonological and phonemic awareness and the organization and importance of teaching phonics in context, as a method of reading to strengthen skills at grade 1 learner in a poor language environment is investigated. A variety of teaching strategies in reading approaches is investigated in the study. The findings of the effect of phonological awareness and phonemic awareness in elementary reading are discussed. Learning Programmes such as the ‘Foundation for Learning’ of the National Department of Education (DoE) introduced to schools should be taught thoroughly. The view of the Western Cape Education Department (WCED 2006: 3) who expressed the approach to Literacy as “explicit teaching of phonics within a balanced approach to reading” is held. This approach allows major challenges to educators and learners in a poor language environment. Educators' methodology of teaching reading should be adjusted and should be focused on the teaching of phonics in context to maintain a balance between phonic and balanced approach to reading.

This master thesis deals with the analysis of the training program, which is implemented in a multinational outsourcing company. During the analysis of training program I am using knowledge of Kirkpatrick model and Success Case Method study, which are described in theoretical part. The aim of this thesis is to describe the processs of the training program (focusing on the description of leadership techniques) and evaluate this course. The basic premise of the thesis is that the training program has positive feedback in the company and it has also good reputation. I'm trying to confirm those claims through an evaluation of questionnaire survey and interviews with graduates of the training program. Evaluation will give me information about employee satisfaction with the organization and content of the course, with the knowledge and skills of the teacher, etc. The questionnaires are focused on identifying what the graduates have learned, how much of it they have used in practice and what they have accomplished thanks to those knowledge. To extend this information I used personal interviews, which provide me with specific examples of the use of leadership techniques in various situations in workplace. Finally, I summarize all the results and make recommendations that would increase the effectiveness of the course.

Hearing protectors are used in noisy environments to attenuate damaging soundlevels. Problems are reported to arise from using hearing protectors, since usefulsounds also are attenuated. Not only are sound levels attenuated, but other humanabilities are affected by hearing protectors, such as the ability to identify and localizesounds. Manufacturers of hearing protectors also develop level-dependent hearingprotectors that are supposed to create a better listening experience for the user thandoes passive hearing protectors. This thesis investigates how the ability to identifysound is affected by hearing protectors in the Swedish processing industry and towhat extent level-dependent hearing protectors improve the user’s ability to identifysound. Semi-structured interviews were conducted by asking questions based on theprojects research questions and theories found from a literary study. A questionnairewas sent out with similar questions for verification purposes. The current literatureshows that the human ability to identify sound deteriorates by the occlusion from hearing protectors. Indications are such that hearing protectors with a level-dependent function deteriorate the ability less than does passive protectors. The relevance of this in the processing industry does not seem to be very palpable. Usersindicate that it would be dangerous for this ability to be deteriorated in theworkplace and that level-dependent hearing protectors does a better job apreserving sound identification than passive protectors, but their soundidentification ability is not deteriorated enough by passive hearing protectors forproblems to arise.

Engineering Dynamics (ED) courses are known as challenging and demanding for undergraduate students majored in many engineering fields, such as mechanical and aerospace engineering and civil and environmental engineering. The course is built upon the foundation and framework of mathematics and physics and requires students to have strong abstract thinking and reasoning skills. Rigid body dynamics (RBD), the second part of ED, investigates kinematics and kinetics of rigid bodies and is considered as a difficult subject by many undergraduate students because the course requires them to visualize abstract objects in motions. Although there have been many studies reporting the uses of interactive computer simulation and animation (CSA) modules as visual learning tools in RBD instruction, the effectiveness of the CSA modules on student learning of RBD were not rigorously and adequately investigated. This study employs a mixed method (QUAN – qual) approach and nonequivalent comparison group design to investigate the effectiveness of CSA modules on student learning of RBD, and to explore students’ attitudes towards and experiences with these modules. One hundred and sixty-one students in two recent semesters participated in this study: 74 in one semester participated in the comparison group and 87 in another semester participated in the intervention group. While the intervention group students studied RBD with CSA modules along with traditional lectures, the comparison group students studied RBD with traditional lectures only. Students in both groups were assessed with pretests and posttests using 10 bonus homework assignments developed to address core knowledge areas of RBD. The study uses a set of nonparametric statistical tools to analyze the pretest and posttest scores, mean differences, and magnitudes of the differences in learning gains between the two groups. Research findings from this study reveal that the intervention group students showed a significant increase in learning gains of overall knowledge, conceptual understanding, and procedural skills with Cliff’s effect sizes of 0.49, 0.41, and 0.47, respectively. CSA modules increased the intervention group students’ confidence, but they did not increase students’ motivation of learning RBD. This study supports the use of CSA modules as an instructional intervention to improve students’ conceptual understanding and procedural skills in learning engineering dynamics.

Syfte: Att utvärdera reliabiliteten för bedömning av infraposition av implantatförankrade incisiver i överkäken för två tidigare beskrivna metoder och en ny metod. Material och metod: I studien ingick 11 implantatstödda singelkronor i överkäkens framtandsområde från 10 patienter. Studiematerialet omfattade studiemodeller, intraorala kliniska fotografier periapikala röntgenbilder från baseline och uppföljning. En radiologisk metod, ett estetiskt index och en ny metod som använde kliniska fotografier och studiemodeller, användes för att utvärdera infraposition. Sex observatörer, en oral radiolog, en parodontolog/protetiker och fyra tandläkarstudenter utförde bedömningar med samtliga metoder vid två tillfällen. Inter- och intraobservatörs-överensstämmelsen analyserades med hjälp av Cohen’s kappa, viktat kappa, IRR och ICC. Resultat: Högst intra-observatörsöverensstämmelse erhölls då nya metoden användes (ICCmin-max 0,760-0,910) och lägst med radiologiska metoden (ICCmin-max 0,073-0,830). Inter-observatörsöverensstämmelsen var högst då den den nya metoden användes (ICC 0,67) och lägst avseende estetiskt index (viktat kappa 0,234). Utifrån vårt resultat hade specialisterna högre överensstämmelse med varandra jämfört med studenterna för den radiologiska metoden medan studenterna hade högre överensstämmelse med det estetiska indexet. För den nya metoden var jämförelse mellan observatörsgrupperna ej möjlig pga att data saknades.Slutsats: Vårt resultat indikerar att de tidigare beskrivna metoderna har låg reliabilitet, framförallt mellan observatörerna. Dock visar den nya metoden hög reproducerbarhet och därmed är reliabiliteten mycket god. Därför kan nya metoden passa för att mäta graden av infraposition hos implantatförankrade maxillära incisiver. Huruvida uppmätt infraposition är sannolik kan inte säkerställas med mindre än att en referensmetod finns att tillgå. / Aim: To evaluate reliability of two previously described methods and one newly developed method in assessment of infraposition of implant supported maxillary incisors. Material and method: A retrospective material consisting of periapical radiographs, study casts and intraoral photographs from baseline and follow-up from 10 patients with 11 implant-supported crowns in maxillary incisor position, was used. Six raters: one oral radiologist, one prosthodontist/periodontist and four dental students, independently assessed infraposition with three methods (radiographic method, aesthetic index and a new method based on clinical photographs and study casts). Reevaluation was performed after at least two weeks. Inter-and intrarater agreement was calculated with Cohen’s kappa, weighted kappa, IRR and ICC.Results: The highest intrarater agreement was achieved using the new method (ICCmin-max 0.760-0.910) and the least with the radiographic method (ICCmin-max 0.073-0.830). Highest interrater agreement was achieved using the new method (ICC 0.67) and the least with the aesthetic index (weighted kappa 0.234). According to our findings specialists had higher agreement than students in the radiographic method whereas students had higher agreement in the aesthetic index. In the new method this comparison was not possible due to missing data.Conclusions: Our findings indicate a low reliability for the two previously described methods. However, assessments with the new method are reproducible which imply a very good reliability. Therefore the new method may be suitable for evaluating infraposition of implant supported maxillary incisors. Whether observed infraposition is close to the truth cannot be evaluated until a reference method has been proposed.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a fatal disorder with no apparent cure. Early-onset AD (EOAD) occurs in individuals before the age of 65, and late-onset AD (LOAD) occurs in individuals age 65 and older. Past studies have proven that AD is fatal among Americans age 65 and older. The disease is characterized by impairments in memory and executive function as well as other cognitive and behavioral problems. The research questions addressed by this sequential, mixed-method study compared EOAD and LOAD by exploring common behavioral/cognitive symptoms and stage levels of AD. Research participants were recruited from the Alzheimer's Association who were members of caregiver support groups and cared for an individual with AD. The qualitative component of this study consisted of a qualitative interview given to caregivers (N = 6), which was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim using the 6-phase thematic analysis. Sequentially, the quantitative component of this study consisted of the BEHAVE-AD and Short IQCODE instruments, which were filled out and completed by caregivers (N = 20) on behalf of patients with probable AD. These data were analyzed using 1-way ANOVA, with the alpha set at 0.05. Integration of qualitative and quantitative results indicated no differences in cognitive or behavioral symptoms of either EOAD or LOAD care recipients. These findings have implications for positive social change by continually involving caregiver participants in future studies. Doing so can ensure that care recipients, whether they have been diagnosed at EOAD or LOAD, have a voice.