Tok Pisin is the most prevailing common language in Papua New Guinea. It was originally an English lexifier pidgin language and has developed as the virtual universal lingua franca in this multilingual country where over 850 indigenous languages are spoken today (Nekitel 1998). The term Tok Pisin covers a large number of varieties due to the various social and linguistic backgrounds of its speakers. Traditionally, the rural varieties which are spoken in Coastal and Island areas are regarded as mainstream Tok Pisin and previous studies have mainly focused on these varieties. However, since the social and linguistic situation in the country has continuously changed and the language contact between Tok Pisin and both substratum languages and the superstratum language, English, continues, the varieties which were regarded as “non-standard” seem to play an important role, especially in the context of language contact and language shift today. Therefore, with respect to the roles that “non-standard” varieties play and their features, many gaps still remain. Most studies have focused on standard varieties. In order to fill in the gaps, this study will address the issues of language contact and language shift in Tok Pisin, mainly focusing on two “nonstandard” varieties. One is Highlands Pidgin which is spoken mainly in the Highlands area of the country. Because of the increase of emigrant population from Highlands to other regions, it seems that Highlands Pidgin impacts on other regional varieties of Tok Pisin. First, the characteristics which have been considered to be Highlands features are reconsidered by reanalysing previous studies and examining the author’s primary data. Then the role that Highlands Pidgin plays in the current language situation in Papua New Guinea is discussed. The other “non-standard” variety considered here is the anglicised variety. It has been pointed out that Tok Pisin is currently undergoing “decreolisation”, that is, it is gradually losing its own features and assimilating to English. However, the degree of the anglicisation can very with situations, speakers and topics and, although earlier studies provide many important findings, few recent studies have been undertaken. Thus, the degree of anglicisation is examined according to each linguistic component including phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax based on primary data. As one of the parameters of anglicisation, code switching between Tok Pisin and English is also examined using the Matrix Language-Frame model proposed by Myers-Scotton (1993). Following the analysis of the two varieties, some sociolinguistic considerations are provided in order to capture the situation in which language contact and language shift take place. In conclusion, based on the author’s observations and analysis, this study proposes the argument that there is little reason to rule out the “non-standard” varieties and that Tok Pisin has been a language completely distinct from English, which supports Smith’s (2002) viewpoint. Also, it illustrates a description of current Tok Pisin which coexists with English. Whether the situation continues or not in the future is open to question; however, the structural features of Tok Pisin and its remarkable vitality which are revealed here can inform the study of language contact, language shift and language maintenance. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1374814 / Thesis (M.A.) - University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2009

Tok Pisin is the most prevailing common language in Papua New Guinea. It was originally an English lexifier pidgin language and has developed as the virtual universal lingua franca in this multilingual country where over 850 indigenous languages are spoken today (Nekitel 1998). The term Tok Pisin covers a large number of varieties due to the various social and linguistic backgrounds of its speakers. Traditionally, the rural varieties which are spoken in Coastal and Island areas are regarded as mainstream Tok Pisin and previous studies have mainly focused on these varieties. However, since the social and linguistic situation in the country has continuously changed and the language contact between Tok Pisin and both substratum languages and the superstratum language, English, continues, the varieties which were regarded as “non-standard” seem to play an important role, especially in the context of language contact and language shift today. Therefore, with respect to the roles that “non-standard” varieties play and their features, many gaps still remain. Most studies have focused on standard varieties. In order to fill in the gaps, this study will address the issues of language contact and language shift in Tok Pisin, mainly focusing on two “nonstandard” varieties. One is Highlands Pidgin which is spoken mainly in the Highlands area of the country. Because of the increase of emigrant population from Highlands to other regions, it seems that Highlands Pidgin impacts on other regional varieties of Tok Pisin. First, the characteristics which have been considered to be Highlands features are reconsidered by reanalysing previous studies and examining the author’s primary data. Then the role that Highlands Pidgin plays in the current language situation in Papua New Guinea is discussed. The other “non-standard” variety considered here is the anglicised variety. It has been pointed out that Tok Pisin is currently undergoing “decreolisation”, that is, it is gradually losing its own features and assimilating to English. However, the degree of the anglicisation can very with situations, speakers and topics and, although earlier studies provide many important findings, few recent studies have been undertaken. Thus, the degree of anglicisation is examined according to each linguistic component including phonology, morphology, lexicon and syntax based on primary data. As one of the parameters of anglicisation, code switching between Tok Pisin and English is also examined using the Matrix Language-Frame model proposed by Myers-Scotton (1993). Following the analysis of the two varieties, some sociolinguistic considerations are provided in order to capture the situation in which language contact and language shift take place. In conclusion, based on the author’s observations and analysis, this study proposes the argument that there is little reason to rule out the “non-standard” varieties and that Tok Pisin has been a language completely distinct from English, which supports Smith’s (2002) viewpoint. Also, it illustrates a description of current Tok Pisin which coexists with English. Whether the situation continues or not in the future is open to question; however, the structural features of Tok Pisin and its remarkable vitality which are revealed here can inform the study of language contact, language shift and language maintenance. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1374814 / Thesis (M.A.) - University of Adelaide, School of Humanities, 2009

L’impact du niveau d’études sur les performances cognitives est largement connu. Aussi, l’évaluation des sujets de bas ou très bas niveau d’études est un réel challenge pour les cliniciens. D’une part, les outils habituellement utilisés dans le bilan du sujet âgé ne sont pas adaptés aux individus analphabètes ou de bas niveau d’éducation, et, d’autre part, les normes nécessaires à l’interprétation des scores cognitifs ne prennent pas suffisamment en considération cette population de bas niveau scolaire. Ainsi, la question que pose ce travail de thèse est de savoir comment optimiser l’évaluation neuropsychologique de ces sujets de bas niveau scolaires. L’objectif poursuivi par la première étude de cette thèse est de déterminer s’il existe un effet propre du fait de savoir lire et écrire indépendamment de celui de la scolarisation. Pour répondre à cette question, nous avons pu accéder aux données recueillies dans la cohorte mexicaine de Coyoacán qui a la particularité d’avoir un échantillon important de sujets n’ayant jamais été scolarisés. Cette première étude a montré que des sujets n’ayant jamais accédé au système éducatif mais ayant des notions rudimentaires de lecture et d’écriture acquises de manière informelle, ont des performances plus élevées à tous les tests considérés, hormis pour le Set test d’Isaacs (IST), que des sujets ne sachant pas lire et écrire. Ainsi, ces résultats illustrent l’effet des capacités de lecture et d’écriture, un effet distinct de l’effet du niveau de scolarisation. Une seconde difficulté à laquelle doivent faire face les cliniciens est l’absence de normes adaptées aux sujets de bas niveau d’études. Ainsi, un travail autour de l’élaboration de normes adaptées aux sujets de bas niveau d’études a été réalisé dans la cohorte de Coyoacán et nous a permis d’élaborer des normes pour le Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), le Rappel libre/Rappel indicé 16 items (RL/RI-16) et l’IST, jusque-là inexistantes pour la population âgée mexicaine et qui a la particularité de présenter une forte proportion de sujets de bas niveau d’études. Un second travail de normalisation a été réalisé dans la cohorte AMI, une cohorte menée en milieu rural dans le département de la Gironde dans laquelle la proportion de sujets de bas niveaux est plus élevée qu’en population générale, pour un nouveau test de mémoire visuo-spatiale, le test des gobelets pour lequel nous avons également étudié sa validité dans la détection de la démence. Ces normes classiques, corrigées pour des variables démographiques sont essentielles à l’interprétation des scores cognitifs. Dans le même temps, dans le cas de la démence où l’âge et le niveau d’études sont deux facteurs de risque majeurs, cette pratique habituelle de corriger pour ces variables afin d’établir ou de prédire un diagnostic de démence peut être remise en question. Si des travaux antérieurs ont montré que l’utilisation de scores corrigés diminue la qualité de détection de la démence, la dernière étude de cette thèse a montré qu’il en est de même lorsqu’il s’agit de prédire la démence : les sujets qui deviennent déments à court terme sont mieux classés lorsque les scores ne sont pas corrigés que lorsqu’ils sont corrigés pour l’âge et le niveau d’études. Ainsi, loin de régler le vaste problème de l’évaluation du sujet de bas niveau d’études, cette thèse tente d’apporter des éléments pragmatiques au clinicien sous la forme de tests ou de normes adaptées, mais aussi des éléments de réflexion sur l’utilisation de ces scores. / The effect of education on cognitive performances and neuropsychological assessment outcomes has been well documented so far. Indeed, the assessment of cognitive performance of individuals with low and very low educational level remains a major clinical challenge for several reasons. Firstly, conventional cognitive assessment tools used with elderly patients are not suitable for illiterate or poorly instructed individuals. Secondly, traditional norms used to identify strengths and weaknesses of cognitive performance are not sensible enough to detect cognitive impairments among illiterate or scarcely instructed individuals. Therefore, how to improve the neuropsychological assessment of individuals with low formal educational level is the main research question of this doctoral thesis. To adequately answer to this prior question, four studies have been conducted. The aim of the first study presented in this thesis was to investigate the specific effect of literacy acquisition on cognitive performances independently of education. For this work, we used data collected from the Coyoacán study, a Mexican population-based cohort which presents an important sample of uneducated participants. The main finding of this study was that participants who never attended school but counting with informal literacy abilities, presented better performances for all cognitive tests, except for the Isaacs Set test (IST), compared to their uneducated illiterate counterparts. These findings illustrate the specific effect of literacy skills acquisition on cognitive performances independently of the influence of schooling. The lack of adapted comparative norms is the second major challenge of neuropsychological assessment of individuals with low-educational level. Consequently, our second study aimed at establishing comparative norms for the MMSE, the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test and the IST, three tests widely used for cognitive evaluation in elderly people. Of note, these norms were specifically established for the Mexican elderly population, which presents a high rate of illiteracy and low-educational level. Finally, a third study aiming at establishing comparative norms for a new visuo-spatial memory-test: the goblets test. For this study, we used data collected from the AMI cohort study which is conducted in rural areas in the South-West of France. Within this third study we also studied the validity of this test in detecting dementia illness. These comparative norms are necessary to interpret cognitive scores. However, as age and education are major risk factors for dementia, correcting for these demographic variables to improve the accuracy of detection or prediction of dementia may be questionable. Consistently with other studies showing that dementia detection accuracy is compromised when corrected scores are used; findings of our last study showed that regarding dementia prediction accuracy, participants developing dementia, in the short term, are better classified when using uncorrected scores for age and education than the corrected ones. To conclude, cognitive assessment of elderly individuals with low-educational level remains still a major clinical barrier to correctly diagnose dementia. However, besides providing clinicians with several pragmatic inputs such as cognitive tests and appropriated comparative norms, we believe that our findings will encourage clinical reflection regarding the use of these scores.

The purpose of my thesis is to analyse the importance of technical and sanitary standards harmonization for international trade. The first chapter describes the global perspective of standardization and attitude of WTO to the harmonization process. It also outlines an overview of actors involved in the process of creation and implementation standards and WTO relations with other organizations cooperating in the standardization process. The second chapter focuses on harmonization and its historical development in the European Union. It describes the vision of EU harmonization within the next years. The third part addresses the effects of standardization on the Czech Republic. There are presented specific procedures and rules applied in the Czech Republic. Conclusions are provided in the closing part which summarizes the current issues.

This thesis treats the development of wirelessinfrastructure standards resulting from co-operative research,development and standardisation efforts. It strives to identifykey influences on this development process, and toconceptualise the process itself. With this as a basis, it goeson to analyse potential implications for companies in thewireless industry, and for the role of co-operatively developedstandards in this field. The focus of the thesis is on thecreation of standards through development efforts, rather thanthe selection of standards in official forums, or by themarket. Two deep empirical studies provide the foundation of thethesis. The first one deals with the development of the DigitalEnhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) standard. DECT isan open, de jure standard that was designed by a number oftelecommunications manufacturers. The standard was formallyapproved by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute(ETSI) in 1992. The second study treats the development ofThird Generation (3G) mobile infrastructure standards, withspecial focus on the radio interface standards such as WidebandCode Division Multiple Access (WCDMA). The development of thefamily of 3G standards today known as International MobileTelecommunications 2000 (IMT-2000) began more than 15 yearsago, and the first version of formally adopted air interfacestandards was released in 2000 by the Third GenerationPartnership Project (3GPP). The research and development goinginto the specification of the standards has involved all majorplayers in the wireless industry. The two studies have involved numerous interviews withindustry professionals, academics, regulators, and others. Inaddition, a multitude of technical reports and articles,meeting documents, press releases, etc., have been analysed toprovide good documentation of the development processes. Theempirical studies have also been complemented with extensiveliterature studies into the areas of technical development andstandardisation. Apart from two "thick descriptions" of importantdevelopments in the wireless industry, the main result of thethesis is a conceptual framework for how wirelessinfrastructure standards are developed. The frameworkdemonstrates that the development is influenced by thepre-history of the standard in terms of existing systems, aswell as research and development that had been pursued inrelevant fields. Furthermore it shows that preconceptions ofmarket needs and user behaviour are key aspects of the designof the standard. During the development process technologicalcontroversies tend to appear as a manifestation of differentcompetitive intentions among the involved players. In theresolution of these controversies, the stage is set for futurecompetition between suppliers of products adhering to thestandard. The pre-history of a standard, as well as the marketpreconceptions, originate in the semi-independent processes oftechnological development, and market diffusion, respectively.When the time frame of the conceptual framework is expanded,generations of standards following upon each other can beidentified. Each new generation incorporates new developments,and improved functionality and performance, but also builds onexisting solutions. The technical standards, such as DECT orWCDMA, act as wasp-like waists between the technologicaldevelopment and the market diffusion processes. The thesis shows that wireless infrastructure standards to agreat extent are created through technical development efforts.The processes also involve political, competitive, andregulatory deliberations, but technical content often definesthe form even for these debates. This points to the importanceof considering standards-setting in terms of a developmentprocess rather than as a set of formal decisions made by astandards body. A consequence of this is that companiesdesiring to influence the design of a particular standardshould strive to be in the forefront of research anddevelopment related to that standardisation effort. This is thekey to leading the development of new wireless infrastructurestandards. Key words:standards, de jure standards,standardisation, standards-development, competition,technological development, wireless communications, wirelessinfrastructures, telecommunications, WCDMA, DECT, IMT-2000,FPLMTS, 3G / <p>NR 20140805</p>

The recent increase in the number of tourists interested in cultural and food tourism has meant that more authentic traditional foods ought to be on offer at cultural villages and ethnic restaurants. Shangana cultural village is an establishment where tourists can experience the Tsonga-Shangaan ethnic culture in South Africa. It is well known that when people visit such establishments, they primarily want to experience the cuisine of the culture or cultures of the ethnic groups presented to them. With the limited information available on the food habits of South African population groups generally it is impossible to know and explain why certain foods are chosen and accepted. One of the problems about traditional dishes is that their preparation methods have mostly been shared by word of mouth, and not as documented recipes. Yet it is important that when people visit cultural villages depicting certain population groups they receive information about the group’s eating habits. A need therefore arises for the development and standardisation of recipes for use in cultural villages and restaurants specialising in traditional cooking. The study was conducted two phases. The first goal was to develop and standardise recipes for the two traditional Tsonga-Shangaan dishes, xigugu and xiendla hi vomu for inclusion in the menu of ethnic restaurants. The second goal was to determine their acceptability, by leisure tourists visiting a cultural village where the restaurant is situated. Phase I followed the principles of action research to develop and standardise the recipes. This was done as a cyclic process in three stages, recipe verification, product evaluation and quantity adjustment, was implemented. The second phase of the study was exploratory-descriptive in nature. The overall purpose of this phase was to gain comprehensive insight into the acceptability of the two traditional dishes at the Shangana cultural village, by analysing and interpreting the results of this study. A quantitative research approach was adopted for this empirical study with a questionnaire as the main research instrument. Although quick and easy to complete and relevant to the topic, a time constraint was experienced in its completion, because most tourists were in tour groups and had to follow a set programme. However, reliability of the collected data could be attributed to the accuracy and precison of information supplied by the respondents. From the results of the survey it was clear that the tourists liked the two dishes very much. Most of the respondents who were more accepting of the two dishes were those who ate cereal and legume dishes frequently. The Tsonga and Venda ethnic groups were more accepting of the xigugu and xiendla hi vomu than the other ethnic groups. Overall, the findings confirmed that the sensory attributes, appearance, taste, flavour and texture of the food were considered very important in the acceptability and consumption of xigugu and xiendla hi vomu as did the inclusion of the two dishes as menu items. This was evident when those who had never eaten such food before, began to actually enjoy it. Copyright / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Consumer Science / unrestricted

Thesis Assessment and Development of Visual Perception in Preschool Children responds to the need of broader selection of standardized tools designed for the assessment of actual development of visual perception in preschool children, especially in relation to the assessment of school readiness. The main aim of the thesis is standardization of a new assessment tool. Complementary aim is also to design and evaluate a new intervention program supporting development of selected areas of visual perception for children before and at the beginning of their school attendance. In its theoretical part thesis scrutinizes current findings in the area of visual perception and its relation to basic academic skills, especially reading. The explorative part of thesis presents standardization study based on classical model of Test theory consisting of convergent validity and reliability evaluation of proposed test and setting national norms for four age groups (from 5 to 7 years). Normative group covered 1234 participants.

The real estate industry is undergoing changes. Licensing of Real Estate Managers to ensure competence has in recent years been studied and proposed. Standardization through ISO certification has been studied for property management and studies identified a possible need for standardization. However, the author of this essay not encountered Lean or practices from other sectors applied nor widely investigated in the property sector. Simple efficiency and cost saving measures have most likely already taken place, much as the effect of the financial crisis. Energy saving measures are required and sought by political and environmental goals. Long-term sustainable thinking is something that is required and is recommended by industry personnel for running an efficient administration. Strategic actions will be important in order to raise revenue or reduce expected future costs. A good planning is essential to deal with the uncertainties associated with property management. Communication, competence and continuity have been shown to be the keys to an efficient operation. By examining the activities and challenges of property management, people have expressed development opportunities in several areas. A possibly necessary development, following one of the report's findings, show that the industry consider itself to be somewhat inferior comparing work for efficiency with other industries. Therefore there is a relevance of a survey of industry philosophies, in this case Lean. This work aims to disclose Lean and to investigate and analyze some of the industry's organizational challenges. Several interesting results have been obtained within the work with this paper. A relatively large proportion of respondents who participated in the survey believe that there is a positive effect of greater use of philosophies such as Lean - a perception that increases as Lean knowledge held by the respondent increases. Here, studies also show a spread depending on the position of the respondent, within the company and within the industry. For example: In questions about work concerning efficiency improvements and development opportunities. / Fastighetsbranschen genomgår idag till viss del förändringar och utvecklas. Auktorisation av förvaltare för att säkerställa kompetens har under de senare åren undersökts och föreslagits. En standardisering genom ISO certifiering har undersökts för fastighetsförvaltningens del och identifierat ett möjligt behov av standardisering. Däremot har författaren till denna uppsats inte stött på Lean eller metoder från andra sektorer tillämpade eller i större utsträckning undersökta inom fastighetsförvaltning. Många enkla effektiviserings- och kostnadsbesparingsåtgärderna har redan tagit plats, mycket som effekt av finanskrisen. Energibesparingsåtgärder krävs och eftersträvas i politiska och miljömässiga mål. Ett långsiktigt hållbart tänkande är någonting som krävs och förordas av branschaktiva för att driva en effektiv förvaltning. Strategiska åtgärder blir viktiga för att kunna höja intäkter eller minska förväntade framtida kostnader. En bra planering är viktig för att hantera de osäkerheter som är förknippade med fastighetsförvaltning. Kommunikation, kompetens och kontinuitet har visats vara nycklar till en effektiv verksamhet. Genom att undersöka verksamheten och utmaningar för fastighetsförvaltning har personer uttryckt utvecklingsmöjligheter inom flera områden. En möjligtvis nödvändig utveckling då en av rapportens upptäckter visar på att branschen anser sig vara lite sämre vad gäller effektiviseringsarbete än andra. Därför finns en relevans av undersökning en av industrins filosofier, i detta fall Lean. Inom ramen för detta arbete får avses att upplysa om Lean och undersöka samt analysera några av branschens organisationsmässiga utmaningar. Flera intressanta resultat har erhållits i arbetet. En relativt stor del av respondenter som deltagit i undersökningen tror på positiva effekter av ökad användning av filosofier som Lean - En uppfattning som ökar när vetskapen om Lean hos de svarande ökar. Undersökningar visar även på en spridning beroende på position inom företagen, dels inom jämförelse av effektiviseringsarbete och dels inom var utvecklingsmöjligheterna anses finnas.

Regulations, digitalisation, and other megatrends influence many parts of society, not least the audit profession, and it is essential for the profession as well as the role of the auditor, to adapt to the changes and new requirements. It is inevitable for audit firms not to be exposed to digitalisation, and the Big Four (audit firms) are changing their identities. They are investing large amounts in data analytics and artificial intelligence. This study aims to analyse the auditor's perception of their role. This study builds on previous knowledge regarding e.g., digitalisation and auditing; however, previous research tends to have earlier periods in focus, and research on digitalisation and auditing is still limited and does not usually have the auditor's perception in focus. Therefore, this study contributes to the prevailing research by studying the effects of social changes on the auditor's perception of their role. A qualitative approach was used, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with auditors from PwC with at least ten years of experience in the profession. The results indicate, among other things, that social changes such as regulations, digitalisation and market expectations drive change within the profession. It further points to the fact that social changes affect the auditor's work, leading to a shift in the auditor's perception of their role towards it becoming standardised.

In internationalisation, entering new markets is a challenging and risky process.  There are various factors to consider when planning a strategic approach to meet the demand and preferences of customers in a foreign market. To meet this challenge, knowledge of the new market plays a major role in the outcome of internationalization. Differences in consumer tastes, preferences and needs, as well as national cultures, economic and technical levels, market structures, business practices, political stability, government policies, laws and regulations should be taken into consideration. Problems in each of these factors can make a company's international marketing strategy ineffective and counterproductive in the foreign market.  When it comes to strategy, the marketing mix is one of the focus areas in international market research and one of the most important factors to emphasize is the decision to standardize or adapt the elements in the marketing mix (4P - Product, Price, Place and Promotion).  In reality, almost no marketing mix is customized-only or standardized-only; the strategy is more about finding the balance between a standardized (extension) approach to the marketing mix and a localisation (adaptation) method that is sensitive to countries or regional differences so that the company's identity does not disappear. By comparing IKEA's marketing strategies when they entered the Japanese market in 1974 and 2006, this dissertation shows that cultural awareness of the new market has an impact on the success of internationalisation and the benefits of adapting the marketing mix. The results of this thesis also shows that IKEA's choice of strategy was largely influenced by its vision, resources and capacity, as well as the company's ability to learn from experience and be proactive in turning obstacles into opportunities.