This dissertation examines the role of language directionality in conference interpret-ing in South Africa with the purpose of highlighting the need for bidirectional inter-preting in a South African context. Western mainstream doctrines prescribe for in-terpreters to work only towards their native (mother) tongue. However, in the multi-lingual South African context, where the majority of the population speaks at least two languages, the idea of language directionality has not been given much thought. Nevertheless, there seems to be a demand for bidirectional interpreters. The study aims to argue in favour of a language bi-directionality in interpreting through empha-sising its theoretical plausibility and practical evidence within the field of conference interpreting in South Africa. The dissertation is the result of an extended literature review and a survey carried out in South Africa in 2013 among conference interpreters working in the country. / Mini-dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / tm2015 / Modern European Languages / MA / Unrestricted

Woody residues are byproducts with high lignocellulosic content, such as mill residues, logging residues, and other woody waste. This study estimated the impact of different mill characteristics, procurement attributes, constraints, and geospatial features on the utilization of woody residues to produce bioenergy by primary forest products manufacturers in the southern United States. Data were collected using a mail survey, and USDA and Esri geodatabases. Data analysis was conducted using analysis of variance, two-stage least squares, binary logit, and spatial logistic regression models. Approximately 70% of mills utilized woody residues for bioenergy purposes and 11% were willing to utilize additional logging residues to produce electricity. Mills were willing to pay US$12 (2012 dollars) per metric ton of logging residues at the mill gate and haul them for up to 93 kilometers. Mills with a larger capacity to utilize woody residues were more willing to utilize additional logging residues, pay a higher gate price, and haul them over longer distances. Regarding a mill type, pulp, paper, and paperboard mills and composite wood products mills were the largest woody residue utilizers and were willing to increase utilization of logging residues, pay higher prices, and haul them over longer distances. Utilization of woody residues increased with a processing capacity increase, equipment upgrades, and lower transportation costs logging residues. Mill willingness to utilize additional logging residues was higher for mills with the larger utilization of woody residues, lower quantities of disposable mill residues, anticipated equipment upgrades, and low importance for lack of storage space. Mills were more likely to utilize additional logging residues within proximity to a sawmill; pulp, paper, and paperboard mill; and a major road system, and less likely if a mill was in the vicinity of a river, forest, and mill producing other forest products. Results will help formulate future bioenergy policies, guide biomass energy investments and financial incentives, and help mill and land managers make more informed decisions regarding production and utilization of woody biomass. Future research is needed to evaluate the feasibility of utilizing logging residues by other facilities such as power plants and bioenergy facilities.

6 Summary Simultaneous interpreting is a very complex cognitive process. Daniel Gile's Effort Model is an attempt to describe in a schematic way the various competing processes that simultaneous interpreting is composed of. The model is based on findings from cognitive psychology, especially those relating to working memory and the limited processing capacity of the human mind. It defines the process of simultaneous interpreting as a combination of three individual, yet coinciding efforts (the Listening and Analysis Effort, the Production Effort, the Memory Effort), which require a certain amount of processing capacity to assure quality interpreting performance. Problem triggers can cause saturation of the interpreter's processing capacity to occur. Saturation manifests itself either by failure sequences or by the deterioration of the interpreter's performance, immediately or at a distance. The focus of our thesis is on processing capacity saturation due to numbers in simultaneous interpreting, from the point of view of the Effort Model. The first part of our paper is theoretical and deals with the various aspects of the simultaneous interpreting process, especially those relating to processing capacity, saturation and working memory; as well as with questions of well-known problem triggers, interpreting...

<p>The capacity to process and to remember information is a basic condition for language ability and for coming reading ability. Reading ability is strongly connected to phonological awareness, receptive vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity. In what way hearing impairment in children affects development of cognitive skills and later on reading ability is an area that has attracted minor attention for research.</p><p>The aim with this study was to investigate changes in cognitive skills and reading ability in children with mild or moderate hearing impairment after one year of progress and furthermore if any connections between any increases of the abilities were to be found. Comparisons were made with results from age adequate normal hearing children. Moreover prosodic ability on word-level was tested this year. Eleven Swedish children aged 7:6-10:10 years participated in this study. To illustrate progress of the abilities mentioned the SIPS computer test battery and furthermore some manually given tests for reading and prosodic abilities were used.</p><p>The results show a developmental trend for the children with hearing impairment on tests of working memory and reading comprehension. The least degree of development was found in the area of phonological skills. The children with hearing impairment showed in general the same capacity as normal hearing children on tests for the different abilities. In the area of working memory the children with hearing impairment had significant lower results on half of the tests than age adequate normal hearing children. Several strong connections were present for children with hearing impairment this year than last year, in-between cognitive skills and reading ability. Correlation appeared between age for insertion of hearing aid and test for decoding ability. Results on tests for prosodic ability reached ceiling effect.</p> / <p>Förmåga att bearbeta och minnas information ligger till grund för språkförmåga och är en förutsättning för kommande läsutveckling. Läsförmåga är starkt sammankopplad med fonologisk medvetenhet, receptivt ordförråd och arbetsminneskapacitet. På vilket sätt hörselnedsättning hos barn påverkar utveckling av kognitiva färdigheter och sedermera läsförmåga är dock ett område som inte tilldragit sig något större forskningsintresse.</p><p>Syftet med studien var att undersöka förändring av kognitiva färdigheter och läsförmåga hos barn med mild och måttlig hörselnedsättning under ett års tid, samt eventuella samband mellan förmågorna. Årets prestation jämfördes mot tidigare insamlat resultat från åldersmatchade normalhörande barn. Därutöver testades prosodisk förmåga på ordnivå. I studien deltog elva svenska barn i åldrarna 7:6-10:10 år. För att belysa utveckling av nämnda förmågor användes dels det datorbaserade testbatteriet SIPS samt manuella tester.</p><p>Resultaten visar en utvecklingstrend för gruppen barn med hörselnedsättning inom samtliga deltester som mätte arbetsminne och läsförståelse. Lägst grad av utveckling, där prestation låg i nivå med förra årets mätning, var inom fonologiska färdigheter. Vid jämförelse mellan grupperna presterade barnen med hörselnedsättning i allmänhet i nivå med åldersmatchade normalhörande barn inom de testade delområdena. Inom delområdet arbetsminne hade barnen med hörselnedsättning signifikant sämre resultat i hälften av deltesterna än de åldersmatchade normalhörande barnen. Barnen med hörselnedsättning hade år 2009 fler starka samband mellan deltester som mätte kognitiva färdigheter och läsförmåga, i jämförelse mot förra året. Samband fanns också mellan ålder för insättande av hörapparat och ett deltest som mätte avkodningsförmåga. Takeffekter fanns på tester av prosodisk förmåga på ordnivå för barnen med hörselnedsättning.</p>

The capacity to process and to remember information is a basic condition for language ability and for coming reading ability. Reading ability is strongly connected to phonological awareness, receptive vocabulary knowledge and working memory capacity. In what way hearing impairment in children affects development of cognitive skills and later on reading ability is an area that has attracted minor attention for research. The aim with this study was to investigate changes in cognitive skills and reading ability in children with mild or moderate hearing impairment after one year of progress and furthermore if any connections between any increases of the abilities were to be found. Comparisons were made with results from age adequate normal hearing children. Moreover prosodic ability on word-level was tested this year. Eleven Swedish children aged 7:6-10:10 years participated in this study. To illustrate progress of the abilities mentioned the SIPS computer test battery and furthermore some manually given tests for reading and prosodic abilities were used. The results show a developmental trend for the children with hearing impairment on tests of working memory and reading comprehension. The least degree of development was found in the area of phonological skills. The children with hearing impairment showed in general the same capacity as normal hearing children on tests for the different abilities. In the area of working memory the children with hearing impairment had significant lower results on half of the tests than age adequate normal hearing children. Several strong connections were present for children with hearing impairment this year than last year, in-between cognitive skills and reading ability. Correlation appeared between age for insertion of hearing aid and test for decoding ability. Results on tests for prosodic ability reached ceiling effect. / Förmåga att bearbeta och minnas information ligger till grund för språkförmåga och är en förutsättning för kommande läsutveckling. Läsförmåga är starkt sammankopplad med fonologisk medvetenhet, receptivt ordförråd och arbetsminneskapacitet. På vilket sätt hörselnedsättning hos barn påverkar utveckling av kognitiva färdigheter och sedermera läsförmåga är dock ett område som inte tilldragit sig något större forskningsintresse. Syftet med studien var att undersöka förändring av kognitiva färdigheter och läsförmåga hos barn med mild och måttlig hörselnedsättning under ett års tid, samt eventuella samband mellan förmågorna. Årets prestation jämfördes mot tidigare insamlat resultat från åldersmatchade normalhörande barn. Därutöver testades prosodisk förmåga på ordnivå. I studien deltog elva svenska barn i åldrarna 7:6-10:10 år. För att belysa utveckling av nämnda förmågor användes dels det datorbaserade testbatteriet SIPS samt manuella tester. Resultaten visar en utvecklingstrend för gruppen barn med hörselnedsättning inom samtliga deltester som mätte arbetsminne och läsförståelse. Lägst grad av utveckling, där prestation låg i nivå med förra årets mätning, var inom fonologiska färdigheter. Vid jämförelse mellan grupperna presterade barnen med hörselnedsättning i allmänhet i nivå med åldersmatchade normalhörande barn inom de testade delområdena. Inom delområdet arbetsminne hade barnen med hörselnedsättning signifikant sämre resultat i hälften av deltesterna än de åldersmatchade normalhörande barnen. Barnen med hörselnedsättning hade år 2009 fler starka samband mellan deltester som mätte kognitiva färdigheter och läsförmåga, i jämförelse mot förra året. Samband fanns också mellan ålder för insättande av hörapparat och ett deltest som mätte avkodningsförmåga. Takeffekter fanns på tester av prosodisk förmåga på ordnivå för barnen med hörselnedsättning.

Desde 1970, a relação entre o grau de internacionalização e o desempenho das empresas multinacionais (EMNs) tem sido amplamente estudada na literatura de negócios internacionais. Entretanto, os resultados são bastante controversos. Diante disso, revisões recentes sobre o tema propuseram uma nova agenda de pesquisa para avançar na busca por um melhor entendimento acerca da relação Internacionalização-Desempenho. Atualmente, por exemplo, há um consenso de que a literatura de Internacionalização-Desempenho minimiza o papel da gestão, aspecto amplamente negligenciado na literatura de negócios internacionais, mas que é altamente relevante, pois o processo de expansão internacional traz consigo exigências de processamento de informações por parte dos executivos do alto escalão. Portanto, este estudo pretende preencher essa lacuna de pesquisa, incorporando o efeito das características do alto escalão sobre a relação Internacionalização-Desempenho. Para tanto, o trabalho retoma a perspectiva tradicional da relação Internacionalização-Desempenho, combinada às teorias do Alto Escalão ou Upper Echelons e Capacidade de Processamento de Informações, para propor que a influência do grau de internacionalização sobre o desempenho da empresa depende do contexto de gestão dessas empresas, em especial das características relacionadas à capacidade de processamento de informações do alto escalão. A amostra do trabalho é composta por 100 EMNs selecionadas nas bases Capital IQ e Thomson One. Os dados foram levantados para o período 2004-2014, sendo estabelecida uma defasagem de 3 anos entre as variáveis independentes (2004-2011) e dependente (2007-2014), totalizando um painel com 100 unidades transversais e 8 unidades temporais (8×100=800 observações). As hipóteses do trabalho foram testadas com a aplicação da técnica de dados em painel, através do método dos Mínimos Quadrados Ponderados (MQP). Os resultados sugerem que existe uma forte influência de certas características do alto escalão sobre a relação internacionalização-desempenho, tais como nível educacional, experiência internacional, média etária e diversidade de nacionalidades. Assim, o estudo encontra apoio para a tese de que a influência do grau de internacionalização sobre o desempenho da empresa depende do contexto de gestão e da capacidade de processamento de informações do alto escalão dessas EMNs, aspectos cruciais para a empresa superar os desafios inerentes à expansão internacional e obter melhor desempenho no contexto internacional. Além disso, os resultados sugerem que o tamanho da empresa, a intensidade de P&D e a liquidez contribuem positivamente para o desempenho internacional das EMNs. Neste sentido, o presente estudo realça o papel da gestão para a relação Internacionalização-Desempenho, ao mesmo tempo em que proporciona à literatura de negócios internacionais uma melhor compreensão acerca do reflexo das características do alto escalão sobre as estratégias internacionais e o desempenho das EMNs / Since 1970 the relationship between the degree of internationalization and the performance of multinational corporations (MNCs) has been widely studied in international business literature. Meanwhile, the results are controversial. As a consequence, recent reviews about the topic proposed a new research agenda in order to advance the knowledge about the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. Currently, for example, there is a consensus that the literature about the internationalization-performance minimizes the role of management, a highly neglected aspect in the international business literature, but which is highly relevant, as the process of international expansion per se brings along requirements about information processing by top management team (TMT). Therefore, the present research intends to fill the research gap, incorporating the effect of top management team characteristics on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. For this purpose, this research resumes the traditional perspective about the internationalization-performance relationship combining the theories about Upper Echelons and the Information Processing Capacity in order to propose that the influence of the degree of internationalization on firm performance depends on the management context of those companies, in particular the characteristics related to Information Processing Capacity by the top management team. The sample consists of 100 MNCs selected in the databases Capital IQ and Thomson One. The data have been collected for the period 2004-2014, whereas the independent variables (2004-2011) and the dependent variables (2007-2014) feature time lags between them and the panel is composed of 100 cross sections and 8 time units (8×100=800 observations). The hypotheses have been tested with panel data through the WLS (Weighted Least Squares) method. The results suggest a strong influence of certain top management team characteristics on the internationalization-performance relationship, such as educational level, international experience, average age and nationality diversity. Thus, the research finds support for the hypothesis that the influence of the degree of internationalization on performance depends on the management of these companies, in particular on the characteristics of information processing by TMT that are crucial aspects for the inherent challenges emerging in international expansion and for performance in the international context. Moreover, the results suggest that the firm size, the R&D intensity and liquidity contribute positively to the international performance of MNCs. Hence, the present study highlights the role of management for the internationalization-performance relationship and at the same time enriches the international business literature towards a better understanding about the TMT\'s characteristics in international strategy and MNC\'s performance

Ce travail est consacré à lévaluation de lhypothèse selon laquelle une limitation des capacités de traitement est à lorigine des troubles langagiers et non langagiers des enfants dysphasiques (ou enfants avec troubles spécifiques du langage, TSL). Les enfants présentant ces troubles montrent des limitations importantes de leurs compétences langagières sans raison apparente (absence de troubles auditifs, intellectuels et affectifs ou de lésions neurologiques). Ces dernières années, la spécificité des troubles langagiers a été remise en cause par de nombreuses études révélant lexistence de difficultés non spécifiquement linguistiques chez les enfants avec TSL, tels que des troubles attentionnels, exécutifs et moteurs. Certains auteurs ont formulé l'hypothèse quune limitation des capacités de traitement est à lorigine des troubles langagiers et non langagiers des enfants avec TSL. Selon cette hypothèse, les troubles langagiers observés chez ces enfants ne sont pas dus à un déficit des représentations linguistiques, mais reflètent une performance limitée par des difficultés à mobiliser lensemble des ressources, linguistiques et/ou non linguistiques, nécessaires à la réalisation de la tâche. Les recherches réalisées ont permis dévaluer si une telle hypothèse permet dexpliquer les performances observées dans deux épreuves linguistiques considérées par plusieurs auteurs comme des marqueurs comportementaux des TSL, les traitements morphosyntaxiques et la répétition de non-mots, en manipulant les processus recrutés ou la quantité de ressources nécessaires lors de la réalisation de la tâche. Nous avons également manipulé la complexité dans une épreuve non linguistique afin détudier si les limitations des capacités de traitement peuvent être considérées comme générales ou si elles savèrent limitées aux traitements linguistiques. Globalement, nos résultats ne sont pas compatibles avec lhypothèse dune limitation des capacités de traitement à lorigine des troubles linguistiques des enfants avec TSL. Ces enfants ne présentent pas de limitation importante de leurs capacités de traitements qui permette dexpliquer leurs troubles langagiers.

Desde 1970, a relação entre o grau de internacionalização e o desempenho das empresas multinacionais (EMNs) tem sido amplamente estudada na literatura de negócios internacionais. Entretanto, os resultados são bastante controversos. Diante disso, revisões recentes sobre o tema propuseram uma nova agenda de pesquisa para avançar na busca por um melhor entendimento acerca da relação Internacionalização-Desempenho. Atualmente, por exemplo, há um consenso de que a literatura de Internacionalização-Desempenho minimiza o papel da gestão, aspecto amplamente negligenciado na literatura de negócios internacionais, mas que é altamente relevante, pois o processo de expansão internacional traz consigo exigências de processamento de informações por parte dos executivos do alto escalão. Portanto, este estudo pretende preencher essa lacuna de pesquisa, incorporando o efeito das características do alto escalão sobre a relação Internacionalização-Desempenho. Para tanto, o trabalho retoma a perspectiva tradicional da relação Internacionalização-Desempenho, combinada às teorias do Alto Escalão ou Upper Echelons e Capacidade de Processamento de Informações, para propor que a influência do grau de internacionalização sobre o desempenho da empresa depende do contexto de gestão dessas empresas, em especial das características relacionadas à capacidade de processamento de informações do alto escalão. A amostra do trabalho é composta por 100 EMNs selecionadas nas bases Capital IQ e Thomson One. Os dados foram levantados para o período 2004-2014, sendo estabelecida uma defasagem de 3 anos entre as variáveis independentes (2004-2011) e dependente (2007-2014), totalizando um painel com 100 unidades transversais e 8 unidades temporais (8×100=800 observações). As hipóteses do trabalho foram testadas com a aplicação da técnica de dados em painel, através do método dos Mínimos Quadrados Ponderados (MQP). Os resultados sugerem que existe uma forte influência de certas características do alto escalão sobre a relação internacionalização-desempenho, tais como nível educacional, experiência internacional, média etária e diversidade de nacionalidades. Assim, o estudo encontra apoio para a tese de que a influência do grau de internacionalização sobre o desempenho da empresa depende do contexto de gestão e da capacidade de processamento de informações do alto escalão dessas EMNs, aspectos cruciais para a empresa superar os desafios inerentes à expansão internacional e obter melhor desempenho no contexto internacional. Além disso, os resultados sugerem que o tamanho da empresa, a intensidade de P&D e a liquidez contribuem positivamente para o desempenho internacional das EMNs. Neste sentido, o presente estudo realça o papel da gestão para a relação Internacionalização-Desempenho, ao mesmo tempo em que proporciona à literatura de negócios internacionais uma melhor compreensão acerca do reflexo das características do alto escalão sobre as estratégias internacionais e o desempenho das EMNs / Since 1970 the relationship between the degree of internationalization and the performance of multinational corporations (MNCs) has been widely studied in international business literature. Meanwhile, the results are controversial. As a consequence, recent reviews about the topic proposed a new research agenda in order to advance the knowledge about the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. Currently, for example, there is a consensus that the literature about the internationalization-performance minimizes the role of management, a highly neglected aspect in the international business literature, but which is highly relevant, as the process of international expansion per se brings along requirements about information processing by top management team (TMT). Therefore, the present research intends to fill the research gap, incorporating the effect of top management team characteristics on the relationship between internationalization and firm performance. For this purpose, this research resumes the traditional perspective about the internationalization-performance relationship combining the theories about Upper Echelons and the Information Processing Capacity in order to propose that the influence of the degree of internationalization on firm performance depends on the management context of those companies, in particular the characteristics related to Information Processing Capacity by the top management team. The sample consists of 100 MNCs selected in the databases Capital IQ and Thomson One. The data have been collected for the period 2004-2014, whereas the independent variables (2004-2011) and the dependent variables (2007-2014) feature time lags between them and the panel is composed of 100 cross sections and 8 time units (8×100=800 observations). The hypotheses have been tested with panel data through the WLS (Weighted Least Squares) method. The results suggest a strong influence of certain top management team characteristics on the internationalization-performance relationship, such as educational level, international experience, average age and nationality diversity. Thus, the research finds support for the hypothesis that the influence of the degree of internationalization on performance depends on the management of these companies, in particular on the characteristics of information processing by TMT that are crucial aspects for the inherent challenges emerging in international expansion and for performance in the international context. Moreover, the results suggest that the firm size, the R&D intensity and liquidity contribute positively to the international performance of MNCs. Hence, the present study highlights the role of management for the internationalization-performance relationship and at the same time enriches the international business literature towards a better understanding about the TMT\'s characteristics in international strategy and MNC\'s performance