Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / The study aims to investigate academic writing at the University of Namibia and intends to explore whether a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP that enhances voice and agency in English for Academic Purposes (EAP) can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom. Moreover, it aims to investigate the experiences and perceptions of first year EAP students regarding the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia. The study aspires to generate an understanding of the components students find difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. It provides a holistic and profound understanding of what critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy is and wish to propose the process-genre writing approach as tool to a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy to teaching academic writing. The study draws it theoretical underpinning from critical pedagogy as postulated by Freire (1973) and Canagarajah (1999). This research supports the premise that the English language classroom is a cultural space where various agendas are negotiated and contested and explores the complexity of language pedagogy in the English classroom (Canagarajah, 1999). Moreover, this study is based on the premise that pedagogies are not received in their own terms but are rather appropriated on different levels in terms of the needs, interests and values of the local communities (Canagarajah, 1999, p.121-2). As research design, the study adopts an exploratory design using both qualitative and quantitative data. Besides, the study uses SPSS analysis and written error analysis methodologies. While the former provides an understanding of EAP students’ perceptions and experiences regarding the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia, the latter examines the components that EAP students find difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. As instruments, the study uses a semi-structured questionnaire and academic essay administered to 200 EAP first year student- participants. The findings indicate that the current EAP pedagogy at the University of Namibia does not promote experiential, meaningful and critical learning nor does it enhance voice and agency in the EAP classroom, thus a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy that enhances voice and agency can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom. The findings also indicate that EAP students find the use of APA referencing skills and the use of discourse markers the most difficult when they engage in academic essay writing. Furthermore, the literature that I reviewed for this study critically exposed how practices in EAP and institutional policies stifle voice and agency in the EAP classroom. The entire process of this study has generated some insights that can advance our understanding of a critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP and academic writing. These insights are: (1) A need to enhance EAP educator’s critical awareness, (2) We must minimize students’ text-appropriation, (3)A need to re-conceptualize and decriminalize the concept of plagiarism in EAP, (4) A new approach to teaching APA referencing in EAP academic writing, (5) A need to renegotiate voice and agency in academic writing, (6) Writing is a process not an event, (7) We need to move towards an appropriate critical, meaningful and experiential pedagogy in EAP. The study proposes the process-genre academic writing approach as a pedagogy towards a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy in teaching academic writing. All in all, the study upholds the premise that a critical, meaningful and experiential EAP pedagogy that enhances voice and agency can be engendered in the Namibian EAP classroom.

Background: The field of impact assessment in social enterprises is largely influenced by the top-down demands of institutions like the European Union and other resource-giving institutions. This has caused a one-sided exploration of the topic impact assessment as the perspective of the social enterprises is so far under-researched. Therefore, the purposes, challenges and other experiences the social enterprises face when assessing impact were not yet given enough attention. Purpose: By taking a critical perspective, we seek to inspire dialogue and a change in the practical and theoretical field of impact assessment in social enterprises. We explore the enterprise’s perspective on why they assess their impact and what challenges they face. By that, their voices that have been hidden so far are raised and existing assumptions enriched by the social enterprise’s perspective. Method: To highlight the social enterprises’ experiences when assessing impact, the qualitative research approach Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was chosen. A purposive sampling strategy led to eight in-depth interviews with people from different German-based social enterprises. Five steps were followed to analyze the data, including a two-stage interpretation process where the researcher’s and participant’s interpretations play an essential role. Conclusion: This thesis shows the importance of including all perspectives in a research field. Our study found that social enterprises can have different reasons to assess impact and face challenges differently than assumed with the previous research focus on the funding perspective. At the same time, they experience the process positively. A model was developed to show the interrelations of the different experiences and influencing factors.

Syftet med denna studie är att utforska vilka individualiseringsmetoder musiklärare på gymnasiet och kultur- och musikskolan använder samt i vilket syfte de använder dem. Tidigare forskning berör individualisering, inre motivation och yttre motivation. Studien har individualisering- och differentieringsmodeller som utgångspunkt. Studien är kvalitativ och semistrukturerade intervjuer användes för att samla in data. Tematisk analys användes för att avkoda och analysera all data. I resultatet framkommer musiklärares individualiseringsmetoder och syftet med individualiseringen. I diskussionen relateras resultatet med tidigare forskning och följande teman tas upp. Individualisering för att påverka elevernas motivation, individualiseringar för att få eleverna att känna sig trygga på musiklektionen och med läraren, individualiseringar för att få eleverna att känna sig mer delaktiga i undervisningen, individualisering för att möta elevernas kunskaper och färdigheter och att ge dem meningsfulla utmaningar och till sist individualiseringar för att öka elevernas autonomi. Därefter förs en diskussion över studiens valda metod. Slutligen diskuteras arbetets betydelse och värde för yrkesområdet samt behovet av framtida forsknings- och utvecklingsarbeten. / The purpose of this study is to explore which individualization methods music teacher working in high school and culture- and music schools and what their purpose is with using the individualizations. Former research refers to individualization and differentiation. The study is based on individualization and differentiation models. The study is qualitative and semi-structured interviews were used to gather the data. Thematic analysis was used to code and analyse the data. In the result following themes occur. Individualization to affect students motivation, individualization to make the students feel safe in the music class and with the teacher, individualizations to make the students feel more involved in the education, individualization to meet the students’ knowledge and skills and to give them meaningful challenges and lastly individualizations to increase students’ autonomy. Afterwards there is a discussion about the chosen method of the study, the study’s meaning and worth for the profession and the need for future research.

This research study investigated how a Dominican English language teacher and her students appropriated cell phone features for educational purposes inside and outside the classroom. The dissertation used a qualitative approach that focused on the teacher, and four students selected from a class of 23. Data collection took place for 8 weeks in an English language center located at a public university in the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2014. I collected data through interviews, conversations, classroom observations, and questionnaires. Data were analyzed to identify emerging themes that described how the teacher and students used their cell phones for different educational activities related to English language learning. Findings identified four major themes on how the teacher used different cell phone features for educational purposes: cell phone as connectivity tool, content delivery tool, research and reference tool, and assessment facilitation tool. Findings from the four student subcases indicated that they appropriated features in their cell phones in different ways, including: iPod as a cell phone (student 1), assessment and feedback facilitation tool (student 2), peer- and self-assessment facilitation tool and e-reader (student 3), and multimedia delivery and social interactivity tool (student 4). Themes across subcases and from the classroom in general indicated that participants used features that allowed them to use their cell phones as tools for data gathering and note taking, reference and research, collaboration, and repository. Findings from this dissertation shed light on how a teacher and students can make use of their own mobile technologies to support English language learning in a Dominican classroom with uneven access to technology.

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間・環境学) / 甲第19082号 / 人博第735号 / 新制||人||176(附属図書館) / 26||人博||735(吉田南総合図書館) / 32033 / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科共生人間学専攻 / (主査)教授 田地野 彰, 教授 西山 教行, 准教授 中森 誉之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間･環境学) / 甲第20722号 / 人博第831号 / 新制||人||199(附属図書館) / 29||人博||831(吉田南総合図書館) / 京都大学大学院人間・環境学研究科共生人間学専攻 / (主査)教授 田地野 彰, 教授 桂山 康司, 准教授 金丸 敏幸, 教授 植松 茂男 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human and Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

With over 765,000 English-as-a-second-language (ESL) students studying in the United States, a greater understanding of the academic requirements and demands these students face while studying in the US is needed. Some of the biggest challenges they face include the amount of reading required and the various tasks employed with academic reading. University reading tasks require more than an understanding of the text. These tasks place a strong emphasis on text comprehension, summary, synthesis, and critical analysis. This is problematic as students, especially ESL learners, lack experience with academic tasks, and many additionally struggle with low metacognitive awareness, limited or low reading fluency, limited vocabulary, and difficulty understanding text organization. This article will present a research-informed website, A Teacher's Guide to Academic Reading, designed for teachers preparing ESL learners for the demands and difficulties of university reading. A Teacher's Guide to Academic Reading specifically informs teachers of academic reading demands and provides resources to help their learners develop fluent reading skills, critical reading skills, and general academic skills.

Similar development of economic fundamentals in Germany over the last two decades did not lead to the same dramatic house price increases as it is in Sweden. What can explain this house price stability over a long period? This thesis attempts to find the answer this question. The first paper in this thesis contains an extended literature review on the studies focused on the factors affecting house prices in the short and in the long run. Existing literature adopts a broad variation of approaches and reaches different conclusions attempting to answer the question about what are the key drivers of house prices. Conclusions often depend on the model specifications and econometric methods applied. Though there is a considerable agreement in real estate economics theory regarding the main factors that affect house prices (or so called “fundamental determinants”), it is hard to find a consistent definition regarding what factors can be considered as “fundamentals” and what factors belong to “non-fundamentals”. The dominating factors that are presented in the majority of the studies are income, population, interest rate, housing stock and unemployment. Studies done after the recent financial crisis put more attention on such factors as the behavior of the market participants, financing conditions and regulations. The characteristics of the bank lending and valuation policies as well as regulations on the rental market have received attention in the research literature, but the impact of these factors on house price dynamics is not measured and not well described. Therefore the other two papers in this thesis aim to provide a better insight in to the factors that create fluctuations in housing markets. The second paper investigates the effects of macroeconomic indicators such as population, income housing stock, mortgage interest rate on house prices. Estimation is done by applying panel data methodology on regional data for major cities in Germany and Sweden and by using yearly observations from 1995 to 2010. Results suggest that the long-run development of apartment prices in Sweden can be explained by changes in such factors as population, disposable income per capita, mortgage interest rate, housing stock, and prices per square meter in the previous period. The price for the previous period has the highest impact in comparison with other factors in Sweden. At the same time for Germany this is the only factor that is valid for long-term house price development. Estimates for fundamental factors such as population, disposable income, mortgage interest rate and housing stock appeared as not significant in house price development in the long run in Germany. A closer analysis has shown that the fundamental factors developed in a similar way in both countries during the analyzed period, though the house prices dynamic is very different. The conclusion is that fundamental factors cannot provide an explanation for the differences in house price developments in two countries and further analysis of institutional differences in the housing markets is done in the third paper. Third paper applies a comparative analysis approach and hypothetico-deductive method in order to examine the differences in the banking policies on mortgage financing and approaches to valuation of mortgage properties in Germany and Sweden.  The results suggest that the extreme rise in Swedish house prices above the long-term trend was created by expanding bank lending policies that was supported by the general macroeconomic factors and regulation environment on the housing market. The main difference between countries in approaches to valuation for mortgage purposes is that in Germany that mortgage is based not on the market value as it is in Sweden, but on the long-run sustainable value, so called “fundamental” value. Mortgage lending value is determined in such a way that is also develops in the same tempo as fundamentals in the long-run and is not that procyclical as market value. Using a long-term sustainable value has a restrictive effect on the housing prices and in such a way stabilizes the market.  One more factor that gives stability to the housing market in Germany is the well-functioning rental market. Third paper contributes to a better understanding of necessary conditions for the house prices to rise in the long run above the fundamentals level and suggests policy solutions that can reduce the risks of housing bubbles and increase financial stability. / Ekonomiska fundamenta hur utvecklats på ungefär samma sätt i Tyskland och Sverige, men medan huspriserna i Sverige stigit kraftigt har de varit stabila i Tyskland. Vad kan förklara denna skillnad? Syftet med denna licentiatuppsats är att försöka förklara det. Den första uppsatsen innehåller en omfattande litteraturöversikt rörande vad som styr huspriser på kort och lång sikt. Den existerande litteraturen innehåller många olika angreppssätt och kommer till olika svar om vad som driver huspriserna. Slutsatserna beror ofta på hur modellerna specificerats och vilken ekonometrisk metod som använts. Det finns dock betydande enighet i ekonomisk teori om vad som är de grundläggande faktorerna som styr huspriserna (så kallade fundamenta) så finns delade meningar om hur dessa exakt ska specificeras och vad som räknas som icke-fundamentala faktorer. De vanligaste fundamentala faktorerna i studierna är inkomst, befolkning, räntenivå, bostadsutbudet och arbetslöshet. Studier gjorda efter den senaste finanskrisen betonar med beteendefaktorer, finansieringsförhållande och regleringar. Egenskaperna hos bankernas långivning och värderingsprinciper liksom effekten av hur hyresmarknaden fungerar har då fått lite utrymme vilket motiverar att de behandlas mer ingående i denna studie. Den andra uppsatsen undersöker effekterna av makroekonomiska indikatorer som befolkning, inkomst, bostadsutbud och räntenivåer på huspriser i Tyskland och Sverige. Studien begränsas till ett antal större städer och bygger på data från 1995-2010. Paneldataanalys används. Resultaten pekar på att den långsiktiga prisutvecklingen i Sverige kan förklaras av sådana fundamentala faktorer, men också att priset föregående period påverkar priset perioden efter. För Tyskland är enbart den sista faktorn av betydelse, dvs utvecklingen av de fundamentala faktorerna påverkar inte prisutvecklingen där. Trots att de fundamentala faktorerna utvecklas på liknande sätt så leder de inte till samma utveckling av huspriserna. Detta motiverar djupare studier av institutionella skillnader mellan bostadsmarknaderna i de båda länderna. Den tredje uppsatsen är en jämförande studie som använder hypotetiskt deduktiv metod för att undersöka om skillnader i bankerna lånepolicy och skillnader i värdebegrepp kan förklara skillnader i prisutveckling på bostäder. Resultaten pekar på att de snabbt stigande priserna i Sverige kan förklaras med en expansiv långivning. En viktig skillnad är att medan långivning i Sverige grundas på aktuellt marknadsvärde medan den i Tyskland bygger på ett långsiktigt värde som ska spegla långsiktiga fundamentala faktorer, ett så kallat "mortgage lending value". Detta värde utvecklas mer sakta och ska inte svänga med konjunkturerna på det sätt som ett marknadsvärde normalt gör. Genom att långivning grundas på detta värde stabiliseras marknaden. En annan faktor som bidrar till att stabilisera de tyska bostadspriserna är att det finns en fungerande hyresmarknad som skapar ett alternativ till att köpa. Bidraget i den tredje uppsatsen är att öka vår förståelse av nödvändiga villkor för att huspriserna inte ska stiga snabbt och att den pekar på åtgärder som kan minska risken för prisbubblor på bostadsmarknaden, och minska risken för finansiell instabilitet. / <p>QC 20150316</p>

This study compares adult education systems in Sweden and Eritrea using a qualitative method based on document analysis. The research fills a gap in the literature by examining the similarities and differences in adult education policies of the two nations. The researcher will look for information on the purposes, legal bases and providers of adult education in Sweden and Eritrea before coming up with an explanation of the parallels and differences he discovered throughout his research. The study covers basic and upper secondary levels of adult education and uses relevant laws, regulations, legislation, and publications. The findings show that adult education is primarily used to foster civic competence, employable skills, and environmental awareness in both countries. However, there are differences between the two nations, such as Sweden's unique non-formal program called popular adult education and Eritrea's focus on literacy and life skills (Integrated functional adult education). Despite these differences, both countries view adult education as essential for fostering a democratic political culture.