The building sector is a one of modern society’s biggest users of energy. In turn, a building’s windows have a significant impact on its energy usage. Electrochromic windows have a thin film on one of the panes, designed to variably change the tint of the window. Thereby the solar heat gain, needed internal lighting and building energy utilization are varied. This thesis uses the simulation software IDA ICE 4.5 to simulate control scenarios for electrochromic windows. The goal is to examine how well this software can simulate the windows as well as to explore the potential of creating custom control algorithms for the windows. The impact of the control scenarios on the energy consumption of a building is then analyzed. The reference case for the simulations is a regular window with blinds, where the blinds are controlled with a built-in algorithm. The simulated control scenarios for the electrochromic windows were; the built-in algorithm, always off, always on, operative temperature, workplane illuminance, and light levels at the façade and window. In the simulation results the energy usage was slightly lowered with the electrochromic windows using the built-in control compared to the reference case. The custom algorithm that uses the light levels at the façade and window was designed to improve upon the built-in algorithm with additional adjustable settings. However, this custom algorithm produced similar results to the built-in algorithm and the majority of the additional settings had little impact on the energy usage. The other custom designed algorithms measured workplane illuminance and operative temperature to control the shading. These showed an overall decrease in the energy usage compared to the reference case. The IDA ICE software has potential for further simulations of a building’s energy usage while using electrochromic windows. Further investigation is needed to determine if the simulation resolution is high enough to accurately depict the effect these settings might have on the energy usage.

Recently, the tendencies in the translation science have changed and the interest has been shifted towards the empirical investigations of the process of the translation. A wide span of research works was enhanced by the belief that the processes, which take place in the translator’s head while he or she is translating, are as important as the perception of translation as the final product of the translated text in relation to the source text. The translated text can provide a comparably incomplete and misleading assumptions about the process of translation, i. e. ignoring and eliminating both problems and successful strategies of the translation. Insofar as it is not possible to directly observe the human mind at work, a number of attempts have been made at indirectly accessing the translator’s mind. One such attempt, which has been steadily gaining ground in translation research, has been to ask the translators themselves to reveal their mental processes in real time while carrying out a translation task. Such a method of data collection is known as ‘thinking aloud’. Starting from 1980 Think Aloud Protocols (TAPs) have become a major instrument in process-oriented translation studies. The major early concern of researchers was the analysis of translation strategies using TAPs. Translation strategies range from a subject’s realization of a translation problem to its solution or to the subject’s realization of its insolubility for him or her. In this research, the... [to full text]

This study aimed to identify student-level variables that influence academic outcomes, and to determine the extent of their influence. In Study 1, final year secondary students (N = 654) completed a questionnaire gathering demographic information and measuring possible influencing variables. A number of these variables predicted academic achievement, including demographic, attitudinal, personality, study strategy and intelligence variables. Mathematical intelligence was the strongest predictor of achievement for all three achievement variables used, and was followed by school decile. Openness to experience and critical reasoning intelligence were the next strongest predictors of two achievement variables (proportion of Merit and Excellence credits attained and Level 3 attainment), while the third achievement variable (credits attained) was next best predicted by participant sex and verbal intelligence. Self-regulation skills were more beneficial when used by high intelligence participants. Likewise, critical thinking skills were more beneficial for high intelligence participants, high socio-economic participants and non-Māori participants. These interactions and the influence of participant openness to experience were further explored in a subsequent study, in which a second group of final year secondary students (N = 122) participated in a year-long study. Participants were divided into three groups: one group was taught critical thinking skills; a second group was taught strategies relating to the facets of openness to experience; and the third group was a control group. The control group was taught peer learning skills, which the previous study found did not relate to student achievement. The results of the interventions did not show a change in either the target variables or in student achievement for any of the three groups. Study 3 aimed to identify the student-level variables that influence academic outcomes for first year tertiary students and to determine the relative influence of each variable. This longitudinal study involved students at a New Zealand tertiary institution (N = 62) who had previously participated in Study 1 during their Year 13 year. Participants completed a questionnaire that collected demographic, attitudinal, personality and study strategy variables. Year 13 achievement and the use of critical thinking skills were the strongest predictors of student achievement.

Improvisation är ett ämne som många både studerar och utövar men det är ofta svårt att hitta mer generella strategier för att improvisera som visar hur själva improvisationsprocessen går till. Syftet med studien är att hitta de strategier jag använder mig av när jag improviserar. Genom att analysera ett solo jag spelar och leta efter; de förutsättningar som påverkar improvisationen, strategier jag använder och förhållningssätt jag har till improvisation klargör den här studien en del av vad det innebär att improvisera fram musik. Den metod jag använt är videoinspelning där jag spelat in ett uppspel som jag anser är den naturliga miljö för mig att improvisera i. Det teoretiska perspektiv jag använt är fenomenologi. Resultaten visar att en improvisation är ett resultat av att en improvisatörs estetiska val av toner byggs ihop till olika mönster. Dessa mönster kommer från idéer som är grundade i improvisatörens förkunskaper, ens kunskapsbas. För att maximera användandet av denna kunskapsbas framkommer det i studien att jag som improvisatör har kunskap om stilen ifråga samt har förmågan att använda mitt instrumentalgehör i kombination med mina tekniska färdigheter. Därigenom frambringar jag toner och fraser på mitt instrument utifrån de idéer jag hör i huvudet. Denna studie presenterar användbara begrepp för att diskutera den process som är improvisation utifrån ett jazz/fusion-perspektiv. / Improvisation is a topic, which many both study and practice but it's often difficult to find more general strategies on how to improvise and which shows the improvisational process. The purpose of this study is to find the strategies I use when I improvise. By analyzing a solo I play while looking for; conditions that affect the improvisation, strategies I use and the approach I have towards improvisation this study clarifies a part of what it means to improvise music. The method I have used is video recording where I have recorded a concert, which may be considered the natural environment in which I improvise. The theoretical perspective I have used is phenomenology. The results show that an improvisation is a result of the improviser’s aesthetic selection of tones that is combined into different patterns. These patterns come from ideas based of the improvisers previous knowledge, his/hers base of knowledge. To maximize the use of one's base of knowledge this study reveals that I as an improviser have knowledge about the style at hand as well as the ability to use my "instrumental ear" in combination with my technical skills. I thereby produce tones and phrases on the instrument from the ideas I hear in my head. This study presents useful concepts to be able to discuss this process of improvisation from a jazz/fusion-perspective.

This dissertation analyzes information, market structure, and firm pricing strate-gies. I begin the dissertation with an analysis of the market structure of the mortgage in-dustry. I find that the configuration of the mortgage market at its present state is vastly different than its historical structure. The reduction in the cost of transmitting informa-tion has increased the collaborative environment and facilitated the dis-integration of the supply chain. Generally, the mortgage industry has been successful at reducing principal-agent problems and minimizing asymmetric information concerns that arise in segmented markets. In the first essay I provide a theoretical explanation of the effect of the internet on market outcomes. Search models assume that the reduction in search frictions would lead to competitive markets. However, I argue that gatekeepers operating in online markets may create an anticompetitive effect, in addition to reducing the consumers’ search cost. Therefore, the conduct of the gatekeeper can cause prices in online markets to be higher than in retail markets and provide online firms with larger profits. In the second essay “I empirically examine the role of the internet and Internet Comparison Search sites in reducing consumer search costs and their effects on the prices consumers pay for mortgages. Additionally, I expand the study to test for the effects of the internet on firm profits. Using a unique data set, I examine a mortgage firm’s pricing strategies and profits in online and retail markets, and find evidence of market power in online markets that do not exist in retail markets. The presumed benefits to the consumer from the reduction of search cost are offset by the anticompetitive environment in online markets. In the final essay, I examine a mortgage firm’s portfolio choice. I investigate the loan characteristics that affect the firm’s decision to retain mortgages as part of its own portfolio. I find that the decision to retain loans as a lender is driven by unobservable qualities. The firm does sort loans by quality, but it also prices non-brokered loans lower based on unobservable qualities. The sorting behavior suggests that asymmetric information exists between the lender and the secondary market.

The three studies reported in this thesis investigated the contributing factors of L2 writing among adult ESL learners in the academic setting. The major purpose of this research was to explore the relationship between L2 proficiency, writing strategies, writing attitude, writing errors and L2 writing performance. This thesis aimed to provide insights for the contributing factors that are predictive of L2 writing performance in adult ESL learners, studying in English and non-English dominant settings. Study 1 (reported in Chapter 3) focused on determining the appropriate measures for investigating the individual factors of writing performance; particularly learners’ writing strategies, learners’ second language proficiency, first language (L1) interference and their relation to writing performance. Thirty-one intermediate students of L2 served as participants. A measure of vocabulary size and a writing strategy questionnaire were administered to the students. Findings in this study indicated that most of the participants’ planning strategies were limited to having a mental or written plan whereas over half of the respondents reported that they always start with an introduction and were more likely to stop drafting after a few sentences. In terms of drafting strategies, it was found that most respondents reread what they had written to get ideas on how to continue but did not go back to their outline to make changes in it. With regard to L1 use, a majority of participants do not write bits of text in their native language. Nevertheless, quite a number of participants indicated that they would write in their L1 if they don’t know a word in English. Findings in this study also suggested that participants’ biggest concerns were related to grammar and vocabulary, which resulted in them making surface level changes and checking. An overall analysis of participants’ writing output and responses from the questionnaire also provided important insights to the improvement of the measures. The revision process included rewording and rephrasing ambiguous items, removing irrelevant items from the questionnaire and restructuring the writing task for the next study. In Study 2 (presented in Chapter 4), a follow-up study was conducted to examine L2 writers’ proficiency level, writing attitude, writing errors and writing strategies in an English-dominant setting. Nine research questions were designed to guide the study framework and gather specific data regarding the research aims. A writing measure, vocabulary tests and a questionnaire were administered to the students. Findings from Study 2 indicated that L2 proficiency, particularly vocabulary size, was related to writing performance. In addition, it was also discovered that L2 writers who performed poorly were prone to performing writing strategies related to surface level checking. Therefore, it was concluded that linguistic barriers in L2 affect both writing performance and students’ ability in applying the effective strategies in writing. Apart from that, Study 2 also found that the use of L1 and translation into L2 was associated with lower writing performance. Additionally, Study 2 found that pronoun, word and sentence errors were the most prevalent errors among ESL students. A possible reason for this is because L2 students need to work with two languages while writing, mainly the grammar rules in English which are not found in their L1 as well as their own native language. Thus, L2 students face the challenge of working out English grammar rules while writing. Overall, findings in this study suggest that prevalent writing errors in English may be a sign of L1 interference and that as the use of L1 increases, writing performance decreases. In Study 3 (reported in Chapter 5), the role of proficiency level, writing attitude, writing errors and writing strategies was explored by measuring the relationship between writing attitude scores, errors in writing, strategy use and essay scores. Additionally, the role of L2 proficiency in writing performance was also investigated by assessing the relationship between vocabulary size scores, writing errors and writing performance. Findings from Study 3 revealed unexpected findings with regard to the relationship between L1 use and writing performance among the three sample groups. L1 use was found to be correlated with writing performance for Group A but not Groups B and C. It was argued that L2 writers of different L2 proficiency level and academic experience may have different orientations of L1 use. Further work on the impact of L1 use on L2 writing will be needed in order to provide insights into this area. With regard to writing errors, a relationship between errors and writing performance was reported. It was found that subject verb agreement error appeared to be a common factor for the three groups in the study that was related to writing performance. In addition, errors were also significantly correlated with L2 proficiency, suggesting that as L2 proficiency increased, errors decreased. Overall, Study 3 argues for the importance of developing and enhancing learners’ L2 proficiency to reduce errors and improve learners’ writing performance. Additionally, Study 3 also argues for the need to emphasize effective writing strategies in the ESL writing classroom.

Ethnic identity is a significant psychological variable for the study of African Americans in the United States and often associated with psychological health. However, the nature of this relationship is sometimes unclear. One reason for the confusion may be that ethnic identity is often confounded with acculturation as they are sometimes used interchangeably in research. Because of this confounding problem, it is not clear whether the relationship between ethnic identity and psychological health is really a reflection of ethnic identity or of ethnic identity confounded with acculturation. Thus, the aim of this study was to use factor analysis to separate ethnic identity and acculturation at the measurement level and examine the unique impact of each on both positive and negative psychosocial functioning among African Americans. Two ethnic identity measures (MEIM and the MIBI) and two acculturation measures (AfAAS and the MASPAD) were administered to 173 (65 males and 118 females) African American students attending a historically Black university (mean age = 21, SD = 2.7). The 96 items from these measures were factor analyzed using principal components analysis. Findings support the hypothesis of confounding in existing measures. However, results indicate that acculturation and ethnic identity are differentiable at the item level and are multidimensional. Eight internally reliable factors emerged representing different dimensions of these constructs. Three of the factors (ethnic pride, ethnic belonging, and public regard) were consistent with existing definitions of ethnic identity. The remaining five factors (out-group comfort, in-group rejection, assimilationist ideology, traditional behaviors/beliefs, and in-group preference) were consistent with the bi-dimensional definition of acculturation. These ethnic identity and acculturation factors predicted some outcomes similarly but differentially predicted others. Several implications follow from this study. First, in order to better understand the relationship between ethnic identity and psychosocial functioning, researchers need to use measures that are not confounded with other related but different constructs. Future research should focus on the dimension level rather than the overall construct level. Focusing more narrowly on the dimension level may produce research that can more accurately inform interventions with African Americans.

Syftet med denna kvalitativa studie var att genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer undersöka hur lärare ser på sin pedagogiska förmåga att individanpassa undervisningen för elever med ADHD, eller liknande svårigheter, samt vilka kunskaper lärare har om ADHD. Vidare undersöktes deras uppfattningar om möjligheter och svårigheter i undervisningen, vilka strategier de kunde använda sig av, samt hur de såg på inkludering. Med en hermeneutisk forskningsansats gavs lärarna möjlighet att fritt uttrycka sina tankar och åsikter kring forskningsfrågorna. Resultatet visar att möjligheter och svårigheter i undervisningen till stor del handlar om vilka resurser de har i form av tid, pengar och personal, eftersom elever med särskilda behov är en extra kostnad för skolorna. Majoriteten av lärarna är beredda att ta egna initiativ till vidareutbildning för att lära sig hur de på bästa sätt kan bemöta dessa elever. Slutsatser som kan dras av resultatet är att lärare borde få mer obligatorisk utbildning om funktionsnedsättningar, samt mer resurser att kunna hjälpa alla elever. Det behövs även mer forskning inom området för att se vad som fungerar i undervisningen av elever med ADHD eller liknande svårigheter

This autobiographical narrative inquiry explores the teaching, learning and leadership experiences of a middle school teacher in Manitoba. My early experiences as a classroom teacher reflect my uncertainty and unpreparedness of a teacher who struggled to meet the needs of the English as an Additional Language (EAL) students who entered my classroom. As the EAL student population increased within my middle school, I began the journey of a Masters program to seek knowledge in order to support my EAL students and to help guide my colleagues towards an inclusive environment. As I explored how my experiences as a graduate student had influenced my classroom practices, and then how my experiences as an EAL specialist and school leader had influenced the school community, five main themes emerged: The use of the iPad in a mainstream classroom, the use of effective instructional strategies, the role of culture in the classroom, co-teaching practices and collaboration in a Middle School setting. Through narrative inquiry I investigated these themes and discovered new pathways to support EAL students and guide my colleagues while moving toward a more inclusive classroom and school environment.

Today there is a large consensus about the importance of Swedish schools providingconditions enabling students to develop the ability to manage and learn through information technologies (IT). The goal of this study was to describe and examine how national education goals for the use of IT transformed into municipal IT-strategies for the school. A content analysis was conducted of thirty-eight municipal IT-strategies collected from Swedish municipal websites on the Internet. The content in the municipal IT-strategies was compared with the content in both the Swedish education act and the national curriculum. The results showed that the content in the Swedish education act and the national curriculum in fact was translated into municipal IT strategies, but that the range of strategies concerning technology, pedagogy and content in relation to IT was broad. In several of the IT-strategies, aspects of technology and pedagogy were clearly expressed while links to content was given a limited attention.