Introduction In 2010, the Faculty of Management Sciences identified some of the root causes of student high failure rate as: students under preparedness, wrong career choice, lack of academic support, unexpected subjects such as accounting and statistics, written and oral communication and the different teaching and learning style. Underachieving students spend more unduly years in the system, they fail, repeat subjects and dropout causing concern for the university, faculty, and the government. In view of these facts the declining faculty performance and high student failure rate in the faculty of Management Sciences created a serious challenge that needed immediate academic interventions.

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This thesis argues that there is a distinctive Wesleyan eucharistic spirituality. Looking at the Wesleys' eucharistic practices, theology and sources for these, the writer identifies a spirituality that has three themes. These revolve around the dynamic encounter with a personal Christ, the grace-filled life, the therapeutic growth towards holiness and wholeness. They provide a way of looking at life and the formation of characters which may conform to the image of the Christ. While there were several reasons for the decline of Wesleyan eucharistic spirituality after the death of the Wesleys, the writer maintains that this spirituality can be rediscovered, revived and communicated in new forms so as to impact Methodists around the world who are facing the challenges of the 21st century.

The purpose of the study is to examine real vs. ideal leadership practices of administrators according to race, gender, age, experience, and education level years in current position, and years of experience at Mississippi community and junior colleges. The survey instruments were a modified version of the Leadership Practices Inventory-Self (LPI Self) and the Leadership Practices Inventory-Observer (LPI-Observer) originally developed by Kouzes and Posner in 1985 and updated by Kouzes and Posner in 1997. The reliability and validity of the instruments have been consistently high and the instruments have been used in many studies, including doctoral dissertations and other empirical research. The researcher gained permission to use a modified version of Kouzes and Posner 1997 3rd edition Leadership Practice Inventory (LPI-Self and LPI-Observer). Also, the researcher gained permission from Brightharp to use her modified versions of Kouzes and Posner’s 1997 Leadership Practice Inventory (Self) and Leadership Practice Inventory (Observer). Brightharp’s revised versions of the LPI-Self and LPI observer were adapted to include real and ideal leadership practices described by the leaders and his or her observers. The researcher revised the demographic statements to describe her study, which included presidents and deans at community and junior colleges in Mississippi. The study included 37 presidents and deans and 98 observers. The study examined if these leaders participate in Kouzes and Posner’s five leadership practices, Challenging the Process, Enabling Others to Act, Encouraging the Heart, Modeling the Way, and Inspiring a Shared Vision. A multivariate or univariate were used to test the leadership practices, as well as a Pearson Product Moment Correlation. Results concluded there was a significant difference in leadership practice, Inspiring a Shared Vision and ethnicity. On the other hand, no significant differences were found among the remaining leadership practices nor there was no significant difference among leadership practices and gender. The study concluded that a relationship did exist between leadership practices and leaders’ years in current position. Furthermore, the study also concluded the rank of leaders’ perception of real and ideal leadership practices differed from those of their observers’ perception of real and ideal leadership practices. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.

A case is made out for the more extensive use of observational methods in educational research generally, and for the study of informal teaching and learning situations, including small-group work, in particular. The theoretical and methodological problems of observational methods are examined, with particular reference to the relationship between theoretical constructs and observational systems, the comprehensiveness of instruments, and the potential value for work in this field of audiovisual devices for recording and analysing behaviour. Literature on the social aspects of learning situations is examined, and the effects of ideological and other influences assessed. Concepts, theory, and research related to 'social climate', sociometry, social facilitation and imitative learning are reviewed. The rationale of small-group work in education is examined and it is concluded that existing theory in this area is sometimes idealistic and generally in need of further development. The implications of some branches of theory and research from the general field of group dynamics are considered. In the empirical part of the research observational instruments of the study of general activities and verbal interaction are developed and applied to a population of three groups of four children, each in six task situations. Some differences in individual and group behaviour patterns are shown that seem to be associated with the nature of the subject matter, the individual or collaborative nature of the tasks, and their degree of structure. Tentative conclusions are drawn and further research suggested.

This thesis is a study of the role of written texts in processes of identity construction and maintenance in a Catholic parish community. It is based on a critical realist understanding of society which sees social practice as the locus of continuity and change and requires detailed observation of social activity explained within a theoretical framework to achieve an understanding of the mechanisms at work in society. Social practice is understood as "habitualised ways, tied to particular times and places, in which people apply resources (material or symbolic) to act together in the world" (Chouliaraki and Fairclough 1999: 21). Social practices are drawn on and continued in social activity, a process which articulates four moments: material activity, social relations and processes, mental phenomena, and meaning-making processes. These moments are not understood as being discrete but rather as existing in dialectical relations of reciprocal intemalisation. Language and literacy are analysed in terms of their embeddedness within this model of social practice. Identity is conceived of as particular ways of being which are realised in social activity as people engage in particular social practices. Within this framework, the study analyses data consisting of written texts and fieldnotes describing the practices within which those texts were embedded, which was collected during a year's participation-observation in three domains of a Catholic parish community, using a grounded approach. Three concepts are developed to explain the role of text in each of these domains: recontextualisation of identity, negotiated legitimation, and synchronisation of communities. These mechanisms are then explained in terms of the social contexts within which they are situated. Finally, the role of these mechanisms within social practice is analysed. It is argued that in each of them, the crucial role of written text is to provide an intertextual means by which relational links can be made between different communities and different elements of individuals' identities.

The modern American superintendency faces many challenges, including a national concern that there is a demonstrated shortage of qualified school superintendents in the United States. Reported superintendent tenure ranges from 2.5-4.8 years. Various research and anecdotal data identify and illustrate the complex factors influencing superintendent tenure, and in turn, organizational stability and student achievement. In Texas, superintendents identify strained relationships with the school board president, superintendent/school board communication and relations, and the inability to accomplish goals with the board as significant factors in their length of tenure. Superintendent success in creating and sustaining effective working relationships with his or her boards of trustees and various stakeholder groups is predictive of his or her longevity. Superintendents must successfully navigate interactions with their boards of trustees, as well as internal and external special interest groups, and the greater voting community. Studies abound, regarding causal factors in truncated superintendent tenure, as well as the intrinsic challenges of effectively managing the myriad functions of the superintendency. Those studies primarily focus on interactions with the school board, or describe failed superintendencies from a postmortem perspective. However, the research literature lacks qualitative studies that focus attention on successful superintendent leadership strategies, which have contributed to increased superintendent tenure, and have resulted in increased organizational stability and higher levels of student achievement. / text

The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) has a dual purpose of protecting United States businesses (and importantly, their investors) and combating corruption abroad. The latter purpose is the focus of this study. Reduced corruption has been linked to improving human rights conditions and supporting development projects; thus, if the FCPA reduces corruption, it can positively impact other United States' concerns. Given this importance, this study seeks to determine whether the FCPA reduces corruption in targeted countries. FCPA enforcement actions brought by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from 1998 to 2012 were compiled and allocated by country where the underlying bribery took place. The top ten countries from which the most FCPA enforcement actions arose were selected for individual case study. The level of corruption in each country was approximated with the World Bank's Control of Corruption Indicator (CCI) for the relevant time period of 1998 to 2012. The number of FCPA enforcement actions are compared to this CCI score to determine if the FCPA reduced corruption in those countries relative to countries without as many FCPA enforcement actions. This comparison, both individually and collectively, is not able to demonstrate that FCPA enforcement reduced levels of corruption in those countries that gave rise to the most enforcement actions. Thus, although the FCPA may be an important tool in the toolbox of international regulations the United States uses in combatting corruption, as well as promoting human rights and international development, it alone does not appear to significantly reduce corruption abroad. / text

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