Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

To understand learners’ beliefs about language learning and strategy use in an EFL exit test environment, this study investigated Taiwanese university students’ language learning beliefs; EFL exit test beliefs; language learning, test-preparation, and test-taking strategies; the relationships among their beliefs and strategy use; and the differences in students’ beliefs and strategy use according to their major, gender, grade level, entrance exam English score, and EFL exit test experience. A total of 518 Taiwanese university students participated in the questionnaire study. Two major instruments were developed and used to measure students’ beliefs and strategy use in the Taiwanese EFL exit test context: (1) the Belief about Language Learning in an EFL Exit test Context (BALLIEETC), and (2) the Strategy Inventory for Language Learning in an EFL Exit test Context (SILLEETC). Analysis of the questionnaire data involved descriptive statistics, factor analysis, canonical correlation analysis, and multivariate analysis of variance. The questionnaire results suggested the following: (1) students believed in the importance of speaking English well, repeating and practicing, learning vocabulary words, acquiring excellent pronunciation, and correcting errors; (2) students primarily used memory, cognitive, compensation, metacognitive, test-preparation, and test-taking strategies to learn English, prepare for the EFL exit test, and take the test; (3) students’ beliefs were associated with their strategy use; (4) English majors had stronger beliefs and higher levels of strategy use than non-English majors; (5) students with higher entrance exam English scores had stronger beliefs and higher levels of strategy use than those of lower scores; (6) college seniors believed more in foreign language aptitude and use test-taking strategies more often than freshmen; (7) students who had taken and passed an EFL exit test had stronger beliefs and higher levels of strategy use than those who had not taken a test. The results of this study support an association between learners’ beliefs and strategy use. Understanding students’ beliefs about language learning and the EFL exit test, as well as their use of language-learning, test-preparation, and test-taking strategies, may enable EFL teachers to help students develop effective language learning, test-preparation, and test-taking strategies and improve their English abilities and EFL exit test performance. The field of second language acquisition may also benefit from insights into students’ beliefs and their use of strategies in an EFL exit test environment. The EFL exit test may affect students’ beliefs about language learning and strategy use, such as their having stronger beliefs about the importance of vocabulary and higher levels of memory strategy use. / text

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to determine if questioning can be used as an effective teaching and learning skill to develop learners' higher level thinking in the natural sciences learning area. The types of questions asked by the teachers as well as the different questioning techniques that can be used to provoke the learners' higher level thinking during a learning experience was discussed. The way in which learner questions can be used to encourage student engagement and learning was determine. Questioning as it is used in secondary school was investigated to determine the ways in which it is applied during teaching and learning. The present situation regarding the development and stimulation of learners' questions was determine. The degree to which training and experience determine the teachers application of questioning as an effective teaching and learning skill is investigated by means of a survey. Guidelines to enhance questioning as a skill to develop the learners' higher level thinking was formulated. Method: A literature study was done to investigate the ways in which questioning can be used to enhance the teaching and learning of higher level thinking. Learning strategies, teaching and learning methods and skills to enhance effective higher level thinking was discussed in terms of teaching and learning in the natural sciences. The success rate of teaching and learning can be measure in terms of good questioning and the level of thinking. 'The teaching and learning experience in natural sciences is influenced by the nature of science. The objectives of teaching and learning in the natural sciences is discussed. The empirical data about the grade 8 and grade 11 natural sciences classroom situations was obtained by means of video recordings. These recordings was analysed and coded with a situation analysis instrument developed against the background of the literature study. Empirical research was also undertaken in terms of a survey procedure to obtain the biographical data about the teachers. The empirical data are analysed and discussed in terms of the present situation in use in the natural sciences classrooms. Based on this discussions, guidelines were developed in terms of the proposal of the findings with which to ensure the application of questioning as a teaching and learning skill to enhance the development of learners' higher level thinking in the natural sciences learning area. Core findings: The core findings are, that not enough effort is put to the didactic task of enhancing questioning as an effective teaching and learning skill of learners in the natural sciences. The teachers are confronted with the challenge to make use of spiral questioning to provoke the learners thinking in the classroom situation. Questioning can be used to serve and support the teaching and learning experience. From the empirical data it can be deducted that the teachers in this research group are not trying to enhance, stimulate of provoke learners' questioning. Questioning as practice by the teachers are mostly classified as communication and lower level questions. Furthermore no deduction can be made about the degree to which training and experience determine the teachers application of questioning as an effective teaching and learning skill to enhance the higher level of thinking in the natural sciences learning area. Based on these core findings recommendations are made about the development of higher level thinking to promote deeper understanding of the natural sciences with the aid of questioning as an instructional skill during learning. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T13:53:31Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FranciscoBFB.pdf: 345237 bytes, checksum: 427a6b1b6a914aa56aebe8231f1dc9b8 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-07-21 / Os shoppingcenters s?o grandes institui??es repletas de empresas quecompetem entre si formas de como melhor satisfazer as necessidade dosclientes. Sendo assim, cada empresa utiliza-se de estrat?gias com o intuito deatingir a maior parcela de compradores poss?veis sem comprometer suaexist?ncia e sua vantagem competitiva. Este estudo est? baseado na teoria dasestrat?gias competitivas gen?ricas de Porter (1980; 1985) o qual estabeleceem seu modelo que todas as empresas existentes no mercado possuam pelomenos uma das tr?s abordagens estrat?gicas (diferencia??o, lideran?a emcusto e enfoque). Desta forma, este trabalho identifica de que maneira est?distribu?da as estrat?gia competitiva nas empresas de shoppingcenters deNatal/RN. Primeiramente buscou-se levantar a rela??o das estrat?gias destasempresas com a teoria proposta por Porter (1985) e sua aloca??o de acordocom os agrupamentos resultantes da combina??o das estrat?gias. Nestemomento, foram aplicados question?rios com 89 gerentes de lojas de shoppingcenters que resultou ap?s an?lises estat?sticas em cinco agrupamentos comabordagens v?lidas. Em seguida foram selecionadas as empresas quepossu?am maior afinidade com cada agrupamento e que melhor representavamos resultados dispostos em cinco clustersacerca da teoria proposta e nestaamostragem foi aplicada entrevista com os gerentes. Os resultados obtidos com as entrevistas validaram a an?lise dos dados encontrados nosquestion?rios anteriormente aplicados estando em conformidade com aproposta teoria. Identificou-se tamb?m duas modalidades de empresas queutilizavam simultaneamente mais de uma estrat?gia competitiva (meio-termo),sendo uma dentro e outra fora do modelo proposto pelo autor. Embora omodelo das estrat?gias competitivas gen?ricas tenha sido institu?do comaspectos voltados as organiza??es industriais, os resultados obtidos nestetrabalho validaram a aplica??o desta teoria em empresas comercias deshopping centers que vem se adequando para obter resultados financeirosmais satisfat?rios e melhor posicionamento em rela??o ? concorr?ncia

This diploma thesis deals with the topic of the students' learning strategies at a primary school. The strategies are demonstrated at an example of a foreign language. Based on this example, more general rules for using strategies in other areas are being searched. The strategies are understood as specific steps and methods used in the learning process. They are anchored in the curriculum documents, in particular under the learning competence. The theoretical part of the thesis is based on existing literature and it analyses learning styles and strategies of students at a primary school with the focus on a foreign language. The aim of the thesis is to find out to what extent students of the fifth grade use language strategies and what role a teacher's support plays. For the research, the questionnaire "Strategie učení se cizímu jazyku" was used. The thesis is also based on qualitative research consisting of observations and interviews with the teachers. The results show that the fifth-grade primary school students use the foreign language learning strategies to a limited degree. However, the teachers' support has an effect on the usage. KEYWORDS Learning strategies, learning styles, learning competence, support of the learning strategies, foreign language, metacognitive strategies

The thesis aims to deconstruct the traditional dualities between design and use and blend the boundaries between them. It characterises design as a process that is complex, dynamic, and integral to other processes, such as use. The thesis utilises Latour's concept of the collective. Although this concept has been applied to architectural contexts in previous studies, this thesis expands the collective to include actors of use. The thesis elaborates on the inscription and description of technologies inspired by Akrich (1992). It shows how the collective is shaped and reshaped through such processes. Building parallels with previous studies, it analyses the importance of fluidity and fluid actors in de-scribing technologies and reshaping the collectives. The thesis utilises the case of Masdar City, which has been designed in the UK by the architectural and urban planning firm Foster + Partners and implemented in the Middle East, specifically in the United Arab Emirates. The thesis focuses on its first developed stage represented by Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST). Based on a qualitative and inductive approach, the conducted research utilises interviews and site observations with the designers, users, and other main contributors. Through this approach, the thesis reflects on the concept of sustainability that is itself contested, changeable, and vague. The thesis concludes that sustainable design processes should be seen as continuous loops between design and use. In acknowledging this, it is further suggested that concepts such as the living laboratory, which support the adaptation of designs and learning from use, are adopted at the outset in architectural production.

Abstract Background: The workplace has grown increasingly complex during recent years, posing new challenges for competitors on the market. To ensure that organizations thrive, companies are focusing and spending more time and energy on building and sustaining a healthy organizational culture. Yet, it remains equally important for employees to be autonomous and to practice self-leadership. This study delves deeper into the relationship between organizational culture and self-leadership, exploring how organizations can bolster the self-leadership development of employees through organizational culture.    Purpose: The purpose of this study is to contribute to extant research regarding organizational culture and self-leadership development. The study seeks to explore how organizational culture can facilitate self-leadership development among employees.   Method: For this study, a qualitative research design was employed. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews involving ten participants belonging to different organizations and industries. An inductive research approach guided the analysis, which involved thematic analysis of the collected empirical data.   Conclusion: Organizational cultures were found to play a role in the emergence and development of self-leadership among employees. Supportive leadership that promoted freedom were related to increased loyalty and adoption of responsibility among subordinates. Aligning the goals of individuals and organizations was difficult but could potentially lead to exponential payoff, with more competent, self-driven workers and an organization that respected their autonomy and character.

Master of Science / Department of Journalism and Mass Communications / Todd F. Simon / In the United States, the number of college-age students (19-24) who volunteer is rising rapidly. However, most of the research in regard to sustaining volunteers with nonprofits is targeted to the whole population, especially older adults. This research employed the first sample survey of college volunteers for the study of a public relations theory. The findings showed that theories developed for older adults may also apply to young adults and could provide insights about youth relationships. While using organization-public relationship model as the theoretical background, the results suggest that Access, Networking, and Assurance are important public relations strategies for nonprofits maintaining college volunteers. Nonprofits should try to cultivate a sense of commitment with college volunteers, which could greatly increase their volunteer intentions in the future. In addition, as suggested by the previous research, this study collected the data in regard to college volunteers' parents' social-economic status, and has found that parental involvement with nonprofits has a great impact on their children's volunteer behaviors in the future.

Master of Arts / Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work / Gerad Middendorf / In the last 70 years, there has been a decline in population of rural Kansas. For example Gove, KS, the county seat of Gove County has seen a population decline of 355% from 284 in 1940 to 80 residents in the 2010 US Census (US Census). Along with general population decline in rural areas, is decline the overall number of farms, while the average farm size has increased (Kansas Dept. of Agriculture). The decline of the population of rural communities has caused the erosion of basic infrastructure, leaving many communities lacking access to basic services. One of the crucial components of the rural infrastructure is the rural grocery store. Since 2007, in Kansas communities with populations under 2,500 people, 82 grocery stores have closed. On average, rural Kansans now drive over 10 miles each direction to obtain their groceries. Proctor (2013) describes how the loss of a grocery store can affect a community: “Rural grocery stores are part of the economic engine that sustains rural communities," “they are a significant source of local taxes, powering the creation and maintenance of civic services and amenities. They provide essential, stable jobs – butchers, cashiers, managers, and stockers – at a time when we are desperate for employment opportunities.” The objectives of this study are to describe the food desert conditions of three rural communities in Kansas, to understand the trends regarding rural grocery stores, and to better understand the issues of access to healthy foods faced by people living in these areas.

This research examines the impact of acquisition strategies and the level of economic development of the target country on announcement returns of acquiring firms in the United Kingdom (UK) during the sixth (2003-2007) and upcoming takeover wave (2013-present). The different acquisition strategies concern geographic expansion (GEO), increasing market share (IMS), vertical integration (VERT), access to intangible resources (INT), concentric diversification (CDIV) and pure diversification (PDIV). Based on a sample of 877 acquisitions, evidence shows that GEO significantly creates value in the sixth wave and results in significantly lower announcement returns in the upcoming wave, possibly explained by a higher integration of capital and production markets. However, after adding the remaining acquisition strategies to the regression model, the latter effect disappears. It shows that VERT and CDIV result in significantly higher announcement returns in the upcoming wave compared to the sixth one. Evidence does not show a relation between the level of economic development of the target country and announcement returns.