This thesis explores how the University of Canterbury has responded to the Tertiary Education Strategy's (2002-2007) concerns vis-à-vis declining Maori participation and unsatisfactory rates of retention and completion in mainstream universities. This research is based on the qualitative method of in-depth taped interviews with twenty-five participants enrolled as 'Maori' at Canterbury in 2004. Notwithstanding increased recognition of biculturalism at Canterbury, issues relating to entrenched monoculturalism identified by Grennell (1990), Clothier (2000) and Phillips (2003) appear to be largely unresolved. Participants confirm the Ministry of Education's (2001) contention that Personal and Family Issues, Financial Difficulties, Negative Schooling Experiences, Inadequate Secondary Qualifications, Transitional Difficulties, Isolation, Unwelcoming Tertiary Environments and Inappropriate Support Structures are barriers to Maori success. However, testimonies reflect that these barriers represent exogenous factors derived from state and institutional policies and practices, not endogenous factors attributable to Maori genes, cultural socioeconomic status or engagement with the system. The Tertiary Education Strategy's (2002-2007) devolution of responsibility to institutions to address ethnic disparities in human capital imposes the same structural constraints on Maori that undermine achievement in the compulsory sector. The types of support structures participants identify as conducive to addressing deficit cultural capital and fostering academic achievement are Maori-centred initiatives, devoid of the deficit ideology that underpins mainstream assimilationist interventions; and or institutional provisions that incorporate greater stakeholder input with improved accountability and monitoring mechanisms that safeguard against recourse to deficit rationalizations for underachievement. Maori parity in engagement with the tertiary education sector is contingent upon the state and its institutions redressing the cumulative effects of the colonial and neo-colonial marginalization of Maori in Aotearoa/New Zealand.

Critical thinking skills have been identified as learning outcomes expected of students for most courses of tertiary education in many countries including Malaysia. One of the courses where critical thinking is required is academic writing. Producing academic writing which is well argued, insightful, thought-provoking, characterised by evidence and wide reading is a challenge for undergraduate students. Not only do the students need to have a good command of the language, they also need to be critical as they examine viewpoints, facts and arguments and synthesise them. This thesis explores several approaches to developing critical thinking skills in an academic writing course for undergraduate students. The use of a rubric or a checklist and discussion with peers were identified in the study to support the development of critical thinking. Their potency was explored in a quasi- experimental study involving undergraduate students taking English for Academic Writing course. The three treatments groups were: peer review where students used a checklist and discussed their ideas; peer evaluation where students used the rubric and discussed their ideas and evaluations; self-evaluation where students used the rubric but did not discuss their ideas. The level of critical thinking for each groups and a control group who received no treatment, was measured before and after learning interventions using two instruments: the Cornell Critical Thinking Test Level X (CCTT-X) and the English for Academic Writing term paper. In addition, students’ and instructors’ perspectives on the learning activities were elicited by means of questionnaires and interviews. Classroom observations were also carried out. The rubric which was used in the peer evaluation and self-evaluation activities is called the Critical Thinking for Academic Writing Analytical Rubric (CAWAR). It contains 12 criteria with descriptions of the two ends of performance domains i.e. the best and the weakest points and a commentary space. The checklist used in the peer review activity, on the other hand, replicates the CAWAR except that it does not have the grading element. The study found that all treatments showed some potential for fostering the development of critical thinking skills. Theoretically, it is argued that peer evaluation has the greatest potential of the three treatments provided that both teachers and students understand the value of collaborative learning and the importance of giving sufficient time for discussion. The introduction of either the rubric or checklist or promoting peer discussion has promoted critical thinking in an academic writing course.

Människor upplever ånger dagligen, och beroende på vilka beslut som fattas kan vissa beslut ångras mer än andra. Därför undersöktes skillnader i typer av ånger med hjälp av webbenkäter som delades via Facebooks PM funktion. 80 deltagare ingick där de fick beskriva två saker som de ångrade mest att de hade gjort samt två saker som de ångrade mest att de inte hade gjort. Dessa skattades sedan på hur mycket de ångrade det samt hur pass viktigt/allvarligt de upplevde det. En signifikant skillnad upptäcktes där saker som de ångrade att de inte hade gjort skattades som viktigare/allvarligare än det som de ångrade att de hade gjort. Inom kategorierna kärlek/sex/äktenskap och familj/vänskap ångrade deltagarna mest saker som de hade gjort respektive inte hade gjort. De omkringliggande faktorerna kan vara det som påverkar upplevelsen av ånger oavsett om det är pågrund av en handling eller icke-handling.

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Abstract ______________________________________________________________________ Title: A study about creating understanding for different kinds of empowerment Level: Bachelors thesis in Business Administration, 15 credits Author: Fredrik Legovic Supervisor: Tomas Källquist Date: 2014 - June Aim: The main purpose of this study is to increase the understanding for different kinds of empowerment and how it affects the staff in the public sector. Method: The choice of method was based on the research aim. The method used to meet the objective was qualitative. The qualitative study was conducted with a hermeneutic basis, where individuals were asked to describe their experience of empowerment and how they feel affected of it. This thesis has a deductive approach, where existing theories dealing empowerment formed the basis for the design of interview substrate, which is then paired with the empirical evidence, based on this the conclusions was drawn. Result & Conclusion: What separates the different kinds of empowerment and how it affect the staff depends most of all on how the management chooses to communicate and share information with their staff. Suggestions for future research: A study regarding managers that works with different kinds of empowerment, and how that affects them, could be regarded as an interesting future research. Contribution of thesis: It shows that different kinds of empowerment affect the staff in different ways, which I made clear to the readers. Keywords: empowerment, thinking skills, relations and organizational - structure and theory

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of two problem-solving techniques and two personality variables upon the quantity and self-reported quality of solutions people generated to an ill-structured problem. College students completed the Locus of Control and Need for Cognition Scales and, after having been trained in either brainstorming or a hierarchical problem-solving method, they used their new skill to solve a problem. They also rated their solutions on quality. Subjects in the hierarchical condition produced more solutions than those in brainstorming. Moreover, those in the hierarchical group produced solutions of subjectively higher quality than did the brainstormers. Analyses of the personality variables suggested that as need for cognition increased, people generated more solutions before training. No relationship was found between need for cognition and quality ratings. Locus of control was not related to either quantity or quality. Implications for business are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided. / Department of Psychological Science

Critical thinking skills have emerged as a vital tool for the professional nurse confronting an explosion of technology and compressed plans of treatment. The purpose of this research was to compare the critical thinking skills of experienced registered nurses from two practice settings: the operating room and general medical-surgical floors. Critical thinking was defined as a "composite of attitudes, knowledge, and skills" (Watson-Glaser, 1980, p. 1).The research of Benner (1984) provided the foundation for this research. Benner documented the development of knowledge and skill in nursing practice. Nurses at the proficient and expert stages of development were the focus of this research.A non-random, convenience sample containing fifty one nurses was drawn from two Midwestern hospitals. Demographic data was gathered to further describe the sample. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymity of subjects was assured.The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) (1980) was the instrument utilized to measure the critical thinking skills of the experienced nurses. This tool has established validity and reliability and is considered a benchmark for measuring critical thinking ability.Analysis of the WGCTA (1980), results revealed a mean of 54.29, SD 9.66 for the total group of experienced registered nurses (N=5 1). For the operating room nurses (n=28) a mean of 52.71 with a SD of 9.41 was obtained. Among the medical-surgical nurses (n=23), the mean score was 56.21 with a SD of 9.81. T-test and MANOVA analysis was carried out. No significant statistical differences were found between the means in either the total scores of the WGCTA or on the five sub-tests for the two groups. The data submitted for analysis reflected a very experienced group (51 % with > 15 years nursing experience) and predominate Associate and Diploma preparation (61 %). Norming information available for the WGCTA indicated the scores obtained in this research were comparable to much larger samples drawn from nursing students and police officers.A conclusion of this research is that critical thinking, as measured by the WGCTA (1980), develops uniformly across diverse practice areas. An examination of the usefulness of the WGCTA to accurately measure the process of critical thinking in experienced nurses is recommended. More research into the important issues of critical thinking and experienced nursing practice is recommended. / School of Nursing

Nursing schools today are bound by accreditation agencies to produce graduate nurses who can think critically. Clinical instructors play the dominant role in transitioning students from the didactic experience to the clinical experience. The clinical experience is where students practice higher levels of thinking under the supervision and guidance of a clinical instructor in order to arrive at safe patient care decisions. Regardless of the teaching method used to develop critical thinking skills, it is the underlying questioning skill of the instructor that facilitates the growth of critical thinking (Giddings, Dyson, Entwistle, Macdiarmid, Marshall, & Simpson, 2000; Hermiz, 2001, p. 183; Myrick & Yonge, 2002).The purpose of the descriptive study was fourfold: (a) to examine the cognitive characteristics of questions asked by clinical nurse faculty of baccalaureate nursing students, (b) to examine faculty perceptions of the questions being asked in the clinical setting, (c) to examine the questions asked under the categories posed by Myrick and Yonge (2002) of theoretical knowledge, clinical decision-making and action in an effort to determine if systematic questioning is occurring that moves students from theoretical knowledge through to nursing action, and (d) to compare faculty perceptions of the questions asked. Questions were examined for level and type as defined by Craig and Paige (1981); and context in which the question was posed utilizing the guidelines posed by Myrick and Yonge (2002) as theoretical knowledge, clinical decision-making and action. The academic and professional characteristics of clinical faculty were captured utilizing a demographic survey.Findings mirror that of previous research. Clinical faculty continue to ask low cognitive level questions of baccalaureate nursing students. Approximately 71.8% of the questions represented the categories of knowledge, comprehension and application. In addition, over 21% of the questions posed fell into the category of "other" representing questions that were primarily yes/no, and information seeking type questions When looking at sequencing of questions, again, primarily the questions fell into the theoretical knowledge category, and did not move the student through to the evaluation of nursing care. / Department of Educational Studies

It was the purpose of this study to determine the effects of creative dramatics on divergent thinking in fifth grade children. The subjects (twenty-six fifth graders) were divided into control and treatment groups such that each group had an equal representation of male and female subjects. Prior to treatment, both groups of subjects were pre-tested using the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, Verbal Form A. During the treatment period, the control group continued their normal school activities; while the treatment group was exposed to fifteen forty-five minute creative dramatics sessions. Following the treatment period, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking, Verbal Form B was administered to both groups.The results of the data analysis indicated that treatment had a statistically significant effect (p<.02) upon the category of originality. Therefore, it is concluded that creative dramatics has a facilitating effect on the originality dimension of divergent thinking.

The underlying purpose of the study was to learn more about how elementary-aged children deal with tests purporting to measure critical thinking skills. This involved four related purposes: (a) development of a testing instrument, (b) analysis and evaluation of the test instrument, (c) to determine the difference of performance between grades, and (d) identification of commonality factors among the tests.