Critical thinking has long been recognized as a valuable skill, both in education in general and within the world language teaching field specifically. In recent years, critical thinking has been identified as one of the 21st century skills that students need to succeed in modern society (Partnership, 2009). However, there is no clear, unifying definition of the term itself (Paul, 2004), and the definition of critical thinking is debated in many different fields without support from empirical data (Kuhn, 1999). Similarly, critical thinking has been often discussed in the literature as having great potential to facilitate language learning, and particularly to develop language proficiency (Gaskaree, Mashhady & Dousti, 2010; Heining-Boynton & Heining-Boynton, 1992; Hoch & Hart, 1991; Rojas, 2001; Williams, Lively & Harper, 1994). However, this discussion has not been centered around a single, clear definition or been supported by empirical research. This study attempts to fill these gaps by exploring how currently practicing world language teachers define the term critical thinking. Definitions were gathered through a survey of K-16 world language teachers from across the United States and through interviews with individual beginning level German instructors at a large, private university in the western United States. Findings revealed three primary ways in which teachers define critical thinking: first, by identifying characteristics of critical thinking; second, by discussing the thought processes and skills used in the action of critical thinking; and third, by describing the topics about which critical thinking takes place, either on the micro-level, dealing with language itself, or on the macro-level, dealing with real-world issues and themes. Based on these three areas of definition, several pedagogical implications were identified. As critical thinking is integrated as a 21st century skill into the world language classroom, the traditional roles of the teacher may need to transform, the content used in the classroom may need to change, and the activities in which students are asked to engage may likewise need to shift. The integration of these pedagogical implications into the world language classroom as a means to facilitate the development of advanced levels of language proficiency is also discussed.

The Support Vector Machine (SVM) is a popular binary classification model due to its superior generalization performance, relative ease-of-use, and applicability of kernel methods. SVM training entails solving an associated quadratic programming (QP) that presents significant challenges in terms of speed and memory constraints for very large datasets; therefore, research on numerical optimization techniques tailored to SVM training is vast. Slow training times are especially of concern when one considers that re-training is often necessary at several values of the models regularization parameter, C, as well as associated kernel parameters. The active set method is suitable for solving SVM problem and is in general ideal when the Hessian is dense and the solution is sparse–the case for the `1-loss SVM formulation. There has recently been renewed interest in the active set method as a technique for exploring the entire SVM regularization path, which has been shown to solve the SVM solution at all points along the regularization path (all values of C) in not much more time than it takes, on average, to perform training at a single value of C with traditional methods. Unfortunately, the majority of active set implementations used for SVM training require positive definite kernels, and those implementations that do allow semi-definite kernels tend to be complex and can exhibit instability and, worse, lack of convergence. This severely limits applicability since it precludes the use of the linear kernel, can be an issue when duplicate data points exist, and doesn’t allow use of low-rank kernel approximations to improve tractability for large datasets. The difficulty, in the case of a semi-definite kernel, arises when a particular active set results in a singular KKT matrix (or the equality-constrained problem formed using the active set is semidefinite). Typically this is handled by explicitly detecting the rank of the KKT matrix. Unfortunately, this adds significant complexity to the implementation; and, if care is not taken, numerical iii instability, or worse, failure to converge can result. This research shows that the singular KKT system can be avoided altogether with simple modifications to the active set method. The result is a practical, easy to implement active set method that does not need to explicitly detect the rank of the KKT matrix nor modify factorization or solution methods based upon the rank. Methods are given for both conventional SVM training as well as for computing the regularization path that are simple and numerically stable. First, an efficient revised simplex method is efficiently implemented for SVM training (SVM-RSQP) with semi-definite kernels and shown to out-perform competing active set implementations for SVM training in terms of training time as well as shown to perform on-par with state-of-the-art SVM training algorithms such as SMO and SVMLight. Next, a new regularization path-following algorithm for semi-definite kernels (Simple SVMPath) is shown to be orders of magnitude faster, more accurate, and significantly less complex than competing methods and does not require the use of external solvers. Theoretical analysis reveals new insights into the nature of the path-following algorithms. Finally, a method is given for computing the approximate regularization path and approximate kernel path using the warm-start capability of the proposed revised simplex method (SVM-RSQP) and shown to provide significant, orders of magnitude, speed-ups relative to the traditional grid search where re-training is performed at each parameter value. Surprisingly, it also shown that even when the solution for the entire path is not desired, computing the approximate path can be seen as a speed-up mechanism for obtaining the solution at a single value. New insights are given concerning the limiting behaviors of the regularization and kernel path as well as the use of low-rank kernel approximations.

Grammatikundervisningens innehåll och metoder har kritiserats. Forskning har belyst att det finns ett glapp mellan teori och praktik när det kommer till synen på grammatik och grammatikundervisning. Språkvetenskapen förordar en deskriptiv grammatik och att grammatiken kopplas till sammanhang där den skapar betydelse medan praktiken återspeglar en preskriptiv och formfokuserad grammatik. Skolans undervisning ska bygga på vetenskaplig grund och beprövad erfarenhet (SFS 2010:800). Forskning kring grammatik bör därmed ligga till grund för grammatikundervisningen i skolan. Syftet med studien är att med stöd av Blooms reviderade taxonomi bidra med kunskap om relationen mellan synen på grammatik och grammatikanvändning i ämnesplanen för svenska på gymnasiet med fokus på Svenska 2 och synen i två nya läroböcker riktade mot kursen Svenska 2. De läroböcker som analyseras är Svenska 2 helt enkelt (Nilsson & Winqvist, 2021) och Punkt. Svenska 2 (Helldén & Svärd, 2021). Studiens frågeställningar är: Vilka kognitiva processer och kunskapsdimensioner lyfts i ämnesplanen och kursen Svenska 2? Vilka kognitiva processer och kunskapsdimensioner fokuserar grammatikövningar i läroböcker för Svenska 2? Hur ser relationen ut mellan de kognitiva processerna och kunskapsdimensionerna som lyfts i ämnesplanen och kursen Svenska 2 och de som fokuseras i läroböcker för Svenska 2? Genom kategoriseringen i Blooms reviderade taxonomi analyseras den syn på grammatik och grammatikanvändning som framträder. Resultatet visar att ämnesplanen återspeglar en funktionell syn på grammatik och grammatikanvändning som ligger i linje med språkvetenskapens syn på grammatik. Endast en av de undersökta läroböckerna återspeglar samma syn och uppvisar samstämmighet med ämnesplanen. Att synen på grammatik skiljer sig mellan läroböcker som tar sin utgångspunkt i samma ämnesplan utgör ett intressant resultat i studien. Slutsatsen som dras utifrån resultatet är att ämnesplanens funktionella ansats är otydlig och skapar utrymme för tolkningar som kan leda till ett fortsatt glapp mellan teori och praktik. / The content and methods of grammar teaching have been criticized. Research has highlighted that there is a gap between theory and practice when it comes to views on grammar and grammar teaching. Linguistics advocates descriptive grammar and linking it to contexts where it creates meaning, whereas practice reflects a prescriptive and form-focused grammar. School teaching should be based on science and proven experience (SFS 2010:800). Research on grammar should therefore form the basis for the teaching of grammar in schools. The purpose of the study is to use Bloom's revised taxonomy to contribute knowledge about the relationship between the view of grammar and grammar use in the syllabus for Swedish subject in upper secondary school with a focus on the course Swedish 2 and the view in two new course books for the course Swedish 2. The course books analyzed are Svenska 2 helt enkelt (Nilsson & Winqvist, 2021) and Punkt. Svenska 2 (Helldén & Svärd, 2021). The questions of the study are: Which cognitive processes and aspects of knowledge are highlighted in the syllabus for Swedish and the course Swedish 2? Which cognitive processes and aspects of knowledge do the grammar exercises in course books for Swedish 2 focus on? What is the relationship between these cognitive processes and aspects of knowledge as highlighted in the syllabus and the Swedish 2 course, and those which are focused on in the course books for Swedish 2? Through the categorization in Bloom’s revised taxonomy, the view of grammar and grammar use that emerges is analyzed. The results show that the syllabus reflects a functional view of grammar and grammar use which is in line with a linguistic view of grammar. Only one of the investigated course books reflects this same view and shows compliance with the syllabus. The fact that the view on grammar differs between course books which are based on the same syllabus is an interesting result of the study. The conclusion drawn from the results is that the functional approach of the syllabus is unclear and leaves room for interpretations that can lead to a continued gap between theory and practice.

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A typical problem in traffic control is the steering over a network of vehicles with different origins and destinations. In this report this scenario is formulated as a multi-commodity network flow problem, a linear programming problem whose objective is to transport, with minimum cost, different commodities from their respective sources to their sinks through a network, while respecting the capacity constraints of the roads. The dynamic network flow formulation of the problem is also presented, extending the network over time to incorporate the temporal dimension. Different algorithms for solving the multi-commodity network flow problem are examined. First, the simplex method, more precisely its revised version, is considered, and then the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition is illustrated, an optimization algorithm which exploits specific block structures in the constraints. These methods are applied using state-of-the-art linear programming solvers and evaluated with a simulation based on the road network in central Stockholm. The results show that both methods allow for solving the traffic flow problem, with limitations given by the specifics of the solvers and by the space and time discretization of the problem. In particular, the revised simplex algorithm results the faster method.

The purpose of the study was to explore the implementation of the curriculum and assessment policy statements in the selected primary schools in Limpopo Province. An empirical investigation following qualitative approach was carried out to investigate the views of teachers from two primary schools in Capricorn District. Two curriculum advisors were interviewed as well as five teachers to find out their views and experiences on the CAPS training and implementation issues and challenges. The study confirms that teachers are not well prepared to meet the challenges of the CAPS. The time set aside for training is limited, the resources needed to support teachers and the implementation are inadequate and some of the trainers are not well prepared. The study recommends that the Department of Basic Education continues engaging with trainers, school management teams, teachers and learners and determine specific strategies, based on the school contexts, to improve the provision of training, resources and support to enable effective and efficient curriculum implementation. / Curriculum and Instructional Studies / M. Ed. (Curriculum Studies)

Although eating disorders have been the focus of much research, the inclusion of minority populations has been minimal. A recent review of the literature by Dolan (1991) has found that eating disorders were most likely to be present in non-White women who were exposed to Western societies and cultures. Thus, the purpose of this study was to examine personality, physical, and cultural correlates of bulimic symptomatology in a sample of African American college women. The Bulimia Test Revised (BULIT-R) was used to assess bulimia symptoms. The African American Acculturation Scale (AAAS), the Beliefs about Attractiveness Scale Revised (BAAR factors 1 and 2), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (SES), the Centers for Epidemiological Depression Scale (CES-D), Body Parts Satisfaction Scale (BPSS), and body mass were the independent variables hypothesized to predict bulimic symptoms. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that body mass, depression, and low self-esteem were the best predictors of bulimic symptomatology, together accounting for 38% of the variance. Beliefs about attractiveness and body satisfaction were related to bulimic symptoms but not when considered simultaneously with the other variables. Acculturation was not predictive of bulimic symptoms. 0-ordered correlations revealed that beliefs about attractiveness and body satisfaction were correlated with bulimic symptoms. Acculturation was not related to any variables except depression. Implications for counseling interventions as well as directions for future research are discussed.

Little information is available on future vocational preparation for intellectually disabled learners in South African schools. Currently teachers adapt the Revised National Curriculum Statement (RNCS) to educate these learners. A literature study was conducted to investigate relevant models in the United States of America in order to develop a framework for a South African vocational training and transition planning programme in the school. Various South African vocational training programmes designed for disabled learners with good literacy and numeracy skills, the role of employment agencies and the local employment possibilities for intellectually disabled people were investigated to assess their suitability for intellectually disabled learners. An Individualised Vocational Programme that involves the parents and their child(ren) was developed to suit the needs of intellectually disabled learners. The RNCS was adapted by means of curriculum straddling and designing down to make the learning material suitable for intellectually disabled learners. The full programme consisted of an adapted interest test, curriculum training, the placement of learners in school jobs/tasks and a home independence programme, The programme was implemented and a mixed method research design facilitated the case study done in a school for severely intellectually disabled learners. Findings revealed that a vocational training and transition planning programme in the school can be managed successfully to the benefit of the parents, learners and the Department of Education. Based on the findings recommendations were made to improve the various sections of the comprehensive programme. / Educational Studies / D. Ed. (Educational Management)

Outcomes Based Education (OBE), has been, since its inception, fraught with problems. OBE in its very nature is complex. To fully embrace this method and ensure its success, schools must be able to make the necessary paradigm shift. This can only be achieved when schools receive relevant and empowering training, support and development. In other words, organisational development must be the key words. The aim of this study is to explore the impact of organisational development interventions on the implementation of OBE. The case study method was employed where it was realised that schools that received organisational development interventions, together with Outcomes Based Education, were able to implement this method with greater understanding, skill, and confidence. The investigation recommends an organisational development design that could be used instead of the cascade model, and provides suggestions on what can be done to ensure a more successful implementation process. / Educational Studies / M. Ed (Education Management)