This thesis focuses on the relationship between innovation and social learning in the foraging context, across and within bird species, using two different sources of data: anecdotal reports from the literature, and experimental tests in the laboratory and the field. In chapter 1, I review the trends in innovation and social learning in the avian literature, and contrast them with trends in mammals, especially primates. In chapter 2, I use anecdotal reports of feeding innovation and social learning in the literature to assess taxonomic trends and to study the relationship between the two traits at the interspecific level. In chapter 3, I investigate the relationship between innovation and social learning at the intraspecific level in captive feral pigeons (Columba livia). Innovation is estimated from the ability to solve an innovative foraging problem, and social learning is measured as the number of trials required to learn a foraging task from a proficient demonstrator. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

In a time of upheaval in American higher education, student retention continues to be a chief concern on most campuses. Peer tutoring, like other peer-based programming, is asked to serve multiple functions as a low-cost, high-impact model. This study explored the cultures of these semi-structured, co-curricular, academic-social spaces and sought to understand what happens in a group peer tutoring context that impacts students. Data was generated with students on two campuses during the spring 2014 semester using a two-phase qualitative approach. Data generating activities included observation of students and peer tutors in the tutoring spaces on each campus. The second phase of data generation included focus groups with more than 30 students on each campus. Findings suggest that the student participants on these two campuses conceive of tutoring spaces as unique, that they engage with their peers in such contexts differently than they do in other places, and that programmatic structures may influence the outcomes they achieve. Implications range from contributions to more nuanced understanding of social learning theory to the critical importance of vulnerability in student help-seeking behavior.

This study used qualitative methods to examine if there was a connection between conflict resolution styles used with siblings in adolescence and conflict resolution styles utilized in current romantic committed relationships. The Conflict Resolution Behavior Questionnaire (Reese-Weber, & Bartle-Haring, 2003) and Gottman‟s (1994a, 1994b) couple-conflict types as adapted by Holman and Jarvis (2003) were administered to 144 participants through an online questionnaire. Analysis of the CRBQ using a multiple regression indicated participant‟s self-rating of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles used with siblings when an adolescent predicted current self-ratings of compromise, attack, and avoidant conflict resolution styles utilized in current romantic relationships.

Detta examensarbete, som skrivits inom området media vid Konstfack ägnas åt tonårskillars sociala lärande i strategispelet League of Legends. Jag har undersökt hur ungdomarna kommunicerar med varandra och vilka olika metoder de använder för att inskaffa kunskap som är nödvändigt för att utvecklas som League of Legendsspelare. Jag har utgått från kvalitativa intervjuer med tre femtonåriga killar och etnografiskt orienterade videodokumentationer som bas för min undersökning. Socialsemiotisk teori med ett multimodalt perspektiv används. Begrepp som jag använder mig av för att förstå och analysera min empiri är lärande och design. Analysen av intervjuer och videodokumentationerna vägleds av mina frågor kring hur ungdomarna lär sig av varandra och vilka resurser de skapar tillsammans. Resultatet visar att det sker en ständig läroprocess som styrs av ungdomarnas intresse och deras strävan efter att bli bättre League of Legends spelare och social tillhörighet. Samarbete kring hur strategiska val diskuteras mellan ungdomarna och formar dem att bli multikonstnärer som behärskar skrift, tal och gester. Min undersökning via videodokumentationerna blev mitt dubbla perspektiv, det jag inte kunde finna via skrift och intervjuer såg jag via filminspelningen. Jag har jag valt att klippa ihop en film om mitt sökande på svar kring hur ungdomarna kommunicerar. Denna film visas som min gestaltande del på Konstfacks vårutställning 2014.

Managing natural resources and socio-ecological systems sustainably is one of the greatest challenges for society today. In order to deal with the complexities and uncertainties inherent to this challenge, adaptive management, collaborative (participatory) management and adaptive co-management have been advocated as governing tools instead of a traditional top-down approach. Much research has advocated that the crucial element of these three alternative management approaches is social learning. While a lot of research has investigated the preconditions, contents and outcomes of social learning, little is known about the processes of social learning. This thesis explores how social learning processes unfolded in a regional collaborative project, the Resolve project, carried out in Sweden. The methodological approach used is action research. The data was collected mainly by observing the project team’s internal workshops and also through observing interviews and official workshops in which diverse local stakeholders participated. The present study makes several noteworthy contributions to existing knowledge about social learning by providing detailed descriptions of social learning processes. The significant findings of thesis were that social learning was facilitated and encouraged through the opportunity to ask critical questions and to engage in collective decision-making. These findings enhance our understanding of social learning processes.

Studien har tagit sin utgångspunkt i det kunskapsintensiva arbetslivet där individen ses som kunskapsbärare. Det blir avgörande för organisationen att ta tillvara på denna kunskap och således ställs kunskapshantering centralt för studien. Syftet har varit att undersöka hur chefer upplever och uttrycker hur individburen kunskap kan komma organisationen till gagn. För kunskapsöverföring, mellan individ och organisation, har forskning betonat vikten av ett kollektivt lärande. Studien utgår därför från ett socialt perspektiv på lärande. Med hjälp av en kvalitativ strategi med semistrukturerade intervjuer inhämtades empirin. Sedermera problematiserades och analyserades resultatet utifrån Wengers teori om praktik-gemenskapen och Alvesson och Kärremans modell för kunskaps-hantering. Slutsatser som kunnat göras är bland annat att social interaktion och gemenskap är avgörande för en lärande organisation, dock kan inte praktikgemenskapen tillskrivas mening som ett managementverktyg. Teorin kan däremot anammas som förhållningssätt för cheferna i att uppmärksamma olika slags gemenskaper och deras potential till kunskapsutveckling för hela organisationen.

Durch Service Learning, das aktuell an deutschen Hochschulen an Bekanntheit und Verbreitung gewinnt, soll soziales Lernen und gesellschaftliches Engagement in Studium und Lehre verankert werden. Nach einem kurzen Überblick zur Idee und Entstehungsgeschichte dieses Ansatzes wird eine neue Initiative der Universität Augsburg vorgestellt, durch die das Engagement von Studierenden in sozialen Einrichtungen im Umfeld der Universität gefördert wird. Der Beitrag arbeitet im Hinblick auf dieses Projekt heraus, wie diese Initiative an zahlreiche Einzelprojekte anknüpft und diese in eine gesamtuniversitäre Strategie einbindet. Digitale Medien spielen dabei eine zentrale Rolle bei der Kommunikation der Projektidee und bei der Vernetzung der heterogenen Beteiligtengruppen.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2008. / In recent years, more studies are exploring how contextual factors may influence mate preferences. Based on social learning theory, power, attitudes towards egalitarian gender roles, and type of mating were expected to influence women's romantic preferences for physical attractiveness and for resources. An online questionnaire was administered to a community sample and data analyses were employed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA). Results showed that, as women's power increased, women showed increased preferences for physical attractiveness and sexiness in potential short-term mates and increased preference for intelligence in potential long-term mates. Power and attitudes were also found to be significant in predicting women's preferences for physical attractiveness relative to potential earning capacity in both short-term and long-term mating conditions. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 85-92). / Also available by subscription via World Wide Web / 92 leaves, bound 29 cm

Unlicensed driving remains a serious problem for road safety, despite ongoing improvements in traffic law enforcement practices and technology. While it does not play a direct causative role in road crashes, unlicensed driving undermines the integrity of the driver licensing system and is associated with a range of high-risk behaviours. This thesis documents three studies that were undertaken to explore the scope and nature of unlicensed driving, in order to develop more effective countermeasures to the behaviour.----- Study One utilised official road crash data from the Australian state of Queensland to compare the crash involvement patterns of unlicensed drivers with those of licensed drivers. The results confirmed that unlicensed driving is a relatively small, but significant road safety problem. Unlicensed drivers represent over 6% of the drivers involved in fatal crashes and 5% of those in serious injury crashes. Based on a quasi-induced exposure method, unlicensed drivers were found to be almost three times as likely to be involved in a crash than licensed drivers. In the event of a crash, those involving unlicensed drivers were twice as likely to result in a fatality or serious injury. Consistent with these results, the serious crashes involving unlicensed drivers were more likely to feature risky driving behaviours, such as drink driving, speeding and motorcycle use, than those involving licensed drivers.----- Study Two involved a cross-sectional survey of 309 unlicensed driving offenders who were recruited at the Brisbane Central Magistrates Court. The survey involved a face-to-face interview that took approximately 25 minutes to complete and achieved a response rate of 62.4%. A wide range of offenders participated in the study, including: disqualified and suspended drivers; expired licence holders; drivers without a current or appropriate licence; and those who had never been licensed. The results reinforced concerns about the on-road behaviour of unlicensed drivers. Almost one quarter of all the offenders reported driving unlicensed when they thought they might have been over the alcohol limit. Similarly, 25% reported exceeding the speed limit by 10 km/h or more on most or all occasions, while 15% admitted that they didn't always wear their seat belt. In addition, the results indicated that unlicensed drivers should not be viewed as a homogeneous group. Significant differences were found between the offender types in terms of their socio-demographic characteristics (age, education level, prior criminal convictions); driving history (prior convictions for unlicensed driving and other traffic offences); whether they were aware of being unlicensed; the degree to which they limited their driving while unlicensed; and their drink driving behaviour. In particular, a more deviant sub-group of offenders was identified, that included the disqualified, not currently licensed and never licensed drivers, who reported higher levels of prior criminal offending, alcohol misuse and self-reported drink driving. The results of Study Two also highlight the shortcomings of existing police enforcement practices. Almost one-third of the sample reported that they continued to drive unlicensed after being detected by the police (up until the time of the court hearing), while many offenders reported experiences of punishment avoidance. For example, over one third of the participants reported being pulled over by the police while driving unlicensed and not having their licence checked.----- Study Three involved the further analysis of the cross-sectional survey data to explore the factors contributing to unlicensed driving. It examined the influence of various personal, social and environmental factors on three aspects of the offenders' behaviour: the frequency of their driving while unlicensed; whether they continued to drive unlicensed after being detected; and their intentions to drive unlicensed in the future. This study was also designed to assess the capacity of a number of different theoretical perspectives to explain unlicensed driving behaviour, including deterrence theory and Akers' (1977) social learning theory. At an applied level, the results of Study Three indicated that personal and social factors exert the strongest influence over unlicensed driving behaviour. The main personal influences on unlicensed driving were: the need to drive for work purposes; exposure to punishment avoidance; personal attitudes to unlicensed driving; and anticipated punishments for the behaviour. The main social influences reflected the social learning construct of differential association, namely being exposed to significant others who both engage in unlicensed driving (behavioural dimension) and hold positive attitudes to the behaviour (normative dimension). At a theoretical level, the results of Study Three have two important implications for traffic psychology and criminology. Firstly, they provided partial support for Stafford and Warr's (1993) reconceptualisation of deterrence theory by demonstrating that the inclusion of punishment avoidance can improve the overall predictive utility of the perspective. Secondly, they suggested that social learning theory represents a more comprehensive framework for predicting illegal driving behaviours, such as unlicensed driving. This is consistent with Akers' (1977; 1990) assertion that formal deterrence processes can be subsumed within social learning theory.----- Together, the results of the three studies have important implications for road safety. Most importantly, they question the common assumption that unlicensed drivers drive in a more cautious manner to avoid detection. While the findings indicate that many offenders reduce their overall driving exposure in order to avoid detection, this does not appear to result in safer driving. While it remains possible that unlicensed drivers tend to act more cautiously than they would otherwise, it appears that their driving behaviour is primarily designed to reduce their chances of detection. In terms of countermeasures, the research indicates that a multi-strategy approach is required to address the problem of unlicensed driving. Unlicensed drivers do not represent a homogeneous group who are likely to be influenced by the threat of punishment alone. Rather, innovative strategies are required to address the wide range of factors that appear to encourage or facilitate the behaviour. Foremost among these are punishment avoidance and the need to drive for work purposes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Oregon, 2007. / Typescript. Includes vita and abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 164-171). Also available for download via the World Wide Web; free to University of Oregon users.