Published Article / Worldwide, including in South Africa, involvement in research is making increasing quality demands on higher education institutions in terms of sustaining high-level research capability and involvement on an efficient and effective basis. These are complex issues, particularly when concerns such as the quality of postgraduate training, lengthy postgraduate completion rates and the high percentage of suspension of postgraduate studies are present. These are just some of the issues leading to this improvement-oriented study investigating new-generation postgraduate students at a case-study university of technology. The research methodology applied in this study was primarily a qualitative research method, supported by a quantitative research element.

Published Article / The need to increase the number of quality engineering graduates, graduating from South African Universities, informed this study. Based on the findings from the baseline study, conducted prior to the present study, this research seeks to evaluate (using a static, non-equivalent, group design) the effect of Constructionist Computer-Aided Instructional Learning Model (CCAILM) approach, used in some South African Universities, for studying fluid mechanics in mechanical engineering classes. This new learning model is derived from constructionist learning theory, media-affects-learning hypothesis and multiple representation principle. The results of the data analysis indicate that CCAILM learning approach enhances the learning of fluid mechanics in mechanical engineering classes.

ITC/USA 2006 Conference Proceedings / The Forty-Second Annual International Telemetering Conference and Technical Exhibition / October 23-26, 2006 / Town and Country Resort & Convention Center, San Diego, California / Brigham Young University recently introduced a project for undergraduates in which a miniature unmanned aerial vehicle system is constructed. The system is capable of autonomous flight, takeoff, landing, and navigation through a planned path. In addition, through the use of video and telemetry collected by the vehicle, accurate geolocation of specified targets is performed. This paper outlines our approach and successes in facilitating this accomplishment at the undergraduate level.

To deliver the type of marketing graduate that meets industry demand necessitates that marketing curricula content be continuously updated to keep pace with the dynamic marketing environment. One of the major trends influencing the twenty-first century marketing environment is the advent of the Internet and substantial growth in Internet usage and Internet-based commerce. Not only is the Internet driving major marketing environmental change, it is also emerging as a new marketing tool of significant potential. The widespread implications of the Internet to marketing is making it increasingly necessary for general marketing practitioners, even those not actively engaged in Internet-based commerce, to be equipped with an understanding of Internet marketing principles. For marketing education to remain relevant in the twenty-first century, it is essential that Internet marketing content elements be included in undergraduate generic marketing curricula. The first step in this process, and the one addressed by this study, is to identify and reach consensus on which Internet marketing content elements are relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students. The primary purpose of -this study w a s t a develop an empirically derived inventory o f Internet marketing content elements relevant for inclusion in generic undergraduate marketing programs, based upon both marketing academic and marketing practitioner perspectives. Five focal questions were asked and answered by the study. Which Internet-driven marketing environmental changes do marketing academics consider relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students? Which principles guiding the use of Internet as a marketing tool do marketing academics consider relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students? What do marketing academics consider to be the most suitable approach to implementing Internet marketing principles within higher education undergraduate business programs? What do marketing academics consider to be the relevant Internet marketing learning outcomes for generic marketing students at undergraduate level? Do marketing practitioners hold the same opinion as marketing academics regarding research questions one, two, three and four? For the purpose of this study, research was undertaken amongst two groups of respondents. Firstly, a census of the marketing faculties/departments of each of South Africa's public higher education institutions was taken at the end of 2004. Secondly, a non-probability, judgment sample of marketing practitioners, employed in those companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), that engage in marketing activities and which are operational in the South African market was taken at the start of 2005. The questionnaire requested respondents in both samples to indicate the relevance of five identified Internet-driven marketing environmental changes and twenty-four identified principles guiding the use of the Internet as a marketing tool to generic undergraduate marketing students. Further, both samples were requested to select the approach they judged to be the most suitable in implementing Internet marketing principles within undergraduate business programmes. Respondents in both samples were also requested to indicate which Internet marketing learning outcomes they believed. To be relevant generic undergraduate marketing student addition to both samples were asked to provide certain demographical data. The findings indicate that both the Internet-driven marketing environmental change's construct and the principles guiding the use of the Internet as a marketing tool construct to be relevant to generic undergraduate marketing students. The findings further suggest that Internet marketing content elements should be integrated into existing marketing subject offerings. Regarding the learning outcomes, the findings indicate descriptive Internet marketing principles to be the overriding learning outcome. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Business Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2005.

Despite the existence of nineteen universities in Lebanon, student motivation and achievement have not received attention in relation to attribution theory by Lebanese researchers. In the present study, attribution theory is used as a conceptual framework for investigating the motivation of undergraduate business computing students at a Mediterranean university based on their academic achievement in an introductory computer programming course. While numerous studies have used attribution theory as a framework to study student motivation based on hypothetical scenarios or laboratory tasks, this study investigated forty-five male and female business computing students who completed a computer programming course that lasted for a thirteen-week semester. Instead of focusing on either success or failure, the study explored five strata of achievement outcomes. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to obtain students' perceptions. The participants made 11 causal attributions for their achievement outcomes. Only two of those 11 causes appeared in the original attribution theory model (Weiner et al. 1971, p.96), but they were amongst those least cited in this study. This study also shows that of the 11 causes, 'lack of study' and 'appropriate learning strategy' were the leading ones. The latter was cited by all high achievers. While there was total agreement on some of the underlying causal properties of some causal attributions, other causal attributions were perceived differently in the causal space. In addition, there was strong evidence that globality is a fourth dimension in this achievement context. Furthermore, the two dimensions of the Expectancy-Value motivation model (Amone 2005, p.4) do not seem to relate to attribution theory dimensions in this study, especially for low achievers. Finally, it was possible to identify some attribution styles that lead to either success or failure, thus supporting the predictive power of attribution theory.

Dealing with the college laboratory program in general chemistry, this study compares the effects of exercises based on current national problems with the effects of traditional laboratory exercises. The study has been prompted by the recent emphasis on topics of national interest in the undergraduate chemistry curriculum. These topics include air and water pollution, drug addiction and analysis, tetraethyl-lead additives, insecticides in the environment, and recycling of wastes. The relevant experiments are taken from recent issues of the Journal of Chemical Education. The traditional exercises, from the laboratory manual Chemistry in the Laboratory, by Watt, Hatch, and Lagowski (New York, Norton, 1964), deal with such topics as chemical composition, gas laws, solutions, and acids and bases.

Stress är vanligt förekommande hos studenter. Tidigare forskning har visat att self-efficacy reducerar stress och self-handicapping. Syftet med studien var att undersöka sambandet mellan akademisk self- efficacy, self-handicapping och upplevd stress samt vilka variabler som förklarar mest variation i upplevd stress. Deltagarna var 156 studerande, varav 24 män, på en högskola i Mellansverige. Deltagarna besvarade en enkät bestående av Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), College Academic Self-efficacy Scale (CASES) samt Self- handicapping Scale (SHS). Resultaten visade att akademisk self- efficacy hade ett negativt samband med stress och self-handicapping. Däremot hade self-handicapping ett positivt samband med stress. En hierarkisk regression visade att både akademisk self-efficacy och self- handicapping förklarade signifikant variation i upplevd stress och att det var akademisk self-efficacy som bidrog mest. Studien bidrar med kunskap om studenternas situation och för framtida forskning skulle det vara intressant att göra interventionsstudier med fokus på att höja akademisk self-efficacy hos studenter.

The aim of this research study is to analyse the nature of undergraduate media studies in England, necessarily from the inside, and document the social practices that constitute the subject in the light of its historic and contemporary challenges and the influence of changing public higher education discourses over the period of the fieldwork, 2012-2013. Conceptually, media studies is regarded as socially constructed and enacted through discursive practices that reveal the nature of the power relationships that are the basis of the ways ‘things get done’. This approach is based on Foucault’s (1984, 2002a, 2002b, 2002c) conception of power and discourse and dovetails with a substantial part of the sociology of higher education. The fieldwork consisted of a series of semi-structured face-to-face interviews with a range of participants drawn from media studies lecturers, other university professionals, media studies graduates and a secondary school headteacher with experience of advising university applicants. This provided examples of discursive practices from both ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ media. The thematic analyses of the data show a complex set of interacting oppositional discourses that are skilfully managed by these professional practitioners to maintain a balance of Foucauldian power. This ensures that public policy changes are assimilated and ‘delivered’ whilst sometimes also mitigating their impact and maintaining a prevailing rationale for media studies. The study concludes by contrasting the findings with the emerging discourses of Critical University Studies (CUS). With a declared position (Williams, 2012a) in opposition to higher education public policy reforms, CUS is considered as a set of academic discursive practices that are distinct from the more nuanced balance of oppositional discourses evidenced through the participant responses here.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to observe how undergraduate students approach open-ended searching for a research assignment, specifically as it affected their use of the discovery interface Primo. Design/methodology/approach - In total, 30 undergraduate students were provided with a sample research assignment and instructed to find resources for it using web tools of their choice, followed by the Primo discovery tool. Students were observed for 30 minutes. A survey was provided at the end to solicit additional feedback. Sources students found were evaluated for relevance and utility. Findings - Students expressed a high level of satisfaction with Primo despite some difficulty navigating through more complicated tasks. Despite their interest in the tool and previous exposure to it, it was usually not the first discovery tool students used when given the research assignment. Students approached the open-ended search environment much like they would with a commercial search engine. Originality/value - This paper focused on an open-ended search environment as opposed to a known- item scenario in order to assess students' preferences for web search tools and how a library discovery layer such as Primo was a part of that situation. Evaluation of the resources students found relevant were also analyzed to determine to what degree the students understood the level of quality they exhibited and from which tool they were obtained.

Magister Curationis - MCur / Studies have indicated that the global population of older people will reach 1.53 billion by 2050. The ageing population is a large consumer of health-care services and this remains a global concern due to the impact on existing health care systems. To have an adequately prepared workforce, nurses must have enough knowledge and skills to care for older people and positive attitudes toward them. This is because nurses’ attitudes towards older people might influence the quality of care they provide. Studies have documented nurses’ reluctance to care to work with older people, but little is known about the attitudes and knowledge of nursing students towards caring for older people in South Africa. The aim of this study was to examine undergraduate nursing students’ knowledge about ageing and their attitudes towards caring for older people. A quantitative descriptive survey, utilizing a self-administered questionnaire was used. A pre-tested self-report questionnaire was used to collect the data from a stratified sample of 240 nursing students across 5 levels of Bachelor of Nursing programme, from the foundation year to the 4th year.. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25. The response rate was 100%. The findings showed that the first- and second-year students had minimal clinical exposure to older people while the third and fourth year had extensive contact with patients in clinical and other health settings. The students had an average level of knowledge with a generally positive attitude towards older people, though significant differences were found between the year levels. Just over half of the respondents reported that they intend to work with older people after graduation. The study recommended the improved training of nursing students in caring for older people.