This is an empirical study about factors that motivate pupils to speak English as a foreign language. The aim of this study is to investigate when pupils in the classroom situation, in Grades 4-6 in a school in Sweden, are motivated to speak English as a foreign language, and why they are motivated to speak English in these situations. To implement this study, questionnaires and interviews have been chosen as methods. 51 pupils in Grades 4-6 took part of the study. Since being able to communicate orally in a foreign language is of great advantage for one, and creates opportunities both for work and for study abroad, it is important for pupils to learn how to communicate orally in English. It is important to be able to use the language. In the English curriculum in Swedish schools, speaking English is a skill pupils must possess. Since this is the requirement it is important that teachers in Sweden relate to this. Many pupils do not like to speak in front of the rest of the class and some pupils only like to speak in informal situations. Therefore, teachers must use various strategies to create a willingness to communicate among pupils and various strategies to motivate them to speak English. The results show that pupils are motivated to use the language in class when they have recently been abroad. It also shows that they are motivated when they can decide the topic and speak about something they are interested in. / <p>Engelska</p>

Sweden, as a country, has set the goal to achieve a fossil independent vehicle fleet by 2030, which means that Sweden has to reduce its CO2 emissions by 80 percent. Sources argue that the regulations and different implementations that have been done are not enough to reach the 80 percent reduction in time. The purpose of this paper is to analyze consumers’ preferences towards alternative fuel vehicles by estimating the willingness to pay for rental cars in Sweden. The paper also tries to define the explanatory factors for choosing an alternative fuel vehicle. The data used in this thesis was collected through a choice experiment questionnaire that was distributed to employees and students at Luleå University of Technology. The study concludes that respondents have a willingness to pay at approximately SEK 280 extra to rent and use an electric rental car.

Recent theoretical literature in social policy argued that climate change posed a new risk to the states and called for transformation from a traditional welfare state to an "eco" state. From a theoretical point of view, different welfare regimes may manage environmental/climate change risks in a similar way to social risks. However, not much has been done to explore the issue empirically. To this end, this paper aims to investigate public attitudes towards environmental and traditional welfare policies given that environmental change is a new social risk the welfare states have to address. Do individuals that care for one area also care for the other? That is, do the preferences in these two policy spheres complement or substitute one another? We test these hypotheses both at the individual- and country-level, using data from 14 countries included in all three waves (1993, 2000, and 2010) of the environmental module in the International Social Survey Programme. Specifically, we investigate the relationship between attitudes towards income redistribution (indicator of support for welfare policy) and willingness to pay for environmental protection (indicator of support for environmental policy). Our findings suggest that attitudes in the two areas are substitutes in the total sample, but that the relationship is very small and only statistically significant in some specifications. When we explore country differentials, we observe clear heterogeneity in the relationship, which can be explained by differences in political and historical contexts across countries.

We present the results of a study designed to measure the impact of interruptive advertising on consumers' willingness to pay for products bearing the advertiser's brand. Subjects participating in a controlled experiment were exposed to ads that diverted their attention from a computer game they were testing. We found that ads significantly lowered subjects' willingness to pay for a good associated with the advertised brand. We did not find conclusive evidence that providing some level of user control over the appearance of ads mitigated the negative impact of ad interruption. Our results contribute to the research on the economic impact of advertising, and introduce a method of measuring actual (as opposed to self-reported) willingness to pay in experimental marketing research.

No description available.

A manganese ore dump and oil tank farm have been situated in the Port Elizabeth harbour for more than forty years. Although these facilities are independently operated and managed, they are viewed as one distinct disamenity, and there is strong local opposition to their continued location in the harbour. The negative environmental impacts (for example, water and air pollution) caused by the ore dump and tank farm have been well documented. This pollution takes the form of oil leaks from the oil tank farm, and ore dust pollution from the manganese ore dump. The air pollution caused by the manganese ore dump is a result of the dump currently being an open air handling and storage facility. The ore dust is dispersed into the air due to strong prevailing winds in the Bay and has resulted in respiratory illnesses of residents living in close proximity to the facility. Oil pollution, due to leakages experienced at the oil tank farm, has extended far beyond the periphery of the harbour. Inter alia, there has been a decline in local fish populations, as well as a decline in passive and active use satisfaction associated with the adjacent beach area, i.e. Kings Beach. These oil leakages, first reported in 2001, could have a detrimental effect on the Blue Flag status of this beach, as well as the Blue Flag status of other beaches situated further up the coast. The lease agreements for the oil tank farm and manganese ore dump are set to expire in 2014 and 2016, respectively. As yet, there is no consensus on when these disamenities will be (re)moved. In order to mitigate the secondary impacts of these facilities, both of them should be removed. Although these impacts should be the focus of public policy debates and cost-benefit assessments, no direct valuation method exists to value the economic cost to affected communities. Instead, non-market valuation methods, such as the contingent valuation method (CVM), are often applied to assign values to these economic costs. This study seeks to determine Nelson Mandela Bay households‟ preferences for the immediate removal of the manganese ore dump and oil tank farm from the Port Elizabeth harbour. This case was selected since it represents a current public policy debate issue that has not been resolved. Monetary estimates of people‟s preferences for the removal of pollution-creating activities can assist policy-makers and other stakeholders when locating industries in an urban setting. These estimates can also be of use in understanding the benefits associated with air and water quality improvement projects. The primary valuation technique used in this study is the CVM. This method was chosen as it is capable of measuring the economic significance of lost passive-use values of individuals affected by negative externalities. Both a non-parametric and a parametric estimate of mean willingness-to-pay (WTP) were derived. On average, a respondent was willing to pay a once-off amount of between R47.09 (non-parametric estimate) and R93.21 (parametric estimate). Non-parametric estimation (via the Turnbull estimator) was conducted to test the sensitivity of the parametric results (via a logit model). The logit model‟s results showed that the probability of a „yes‟ answer to the referendum question varies with a number of covariates in a realistic and expected way, which offers some support for the construct validity of this CV study. Household income, education, age, and disamenity awareness were significant determinants of individuals‟ responses to the WTP question. A summary of the findings of WTP estimates for both parametric and non-parametric analysis is provided in Table 1. Three primary recommendations stem from this study. Firstly, the study used a relatively small sample size. Although it was sufficient for a pilot study it is recommended that future research into this issue should aim for a much larger sample size to ensure more precise estimates of the WTP for the removal of the disamenity. Secondly, the conservative non-parametric mean WTP estimate should be used as opposed to the higher parametric mean WTP estimate. Third, the aggregate WTP estimation constitutes only a partial analysis of cost. A number of other factors and value streams need to be analysed and compared with the cost estimates generated by this study if adequate holistic decision-making is to take place with regard to the removal of the manganese ore dump and oil tank farm. More specifically, the total WTP estimated in this study should be viewed as only one input into a comprehensive social cost-benefit analysis to determine the desirability of the removal of this disamenity for wider society.

This study explored some of the critical success factors at the individual level for usage of PWS (Personal Web Server) systems. I tested core assumptions from Diffusion of Innovations theory for willingness to use new technology, and use some key concepts from the Technology Acceptance Model to reinforce DOI. I employed concepts of an empirically tested, valid, and reliable scale to measure willingness to use. The literature seems to indicate that information technologies are nearly always crucial to corporate strategy and performance. But there are still great chasms between the recognition of problems and the successful implementation of solutions. Therefore discovering what determines successful attitudes toward usage of such technologies at the individual level is critical to firm performance. There already exists an abundance of literature regarding information technology and various aspects of organizational performance. What was lacking was an analysis of how IT innovations are most productively adopted at the individual level, and how recognition of the critical success factors to usage of these technologies affects attitudes toward using them prior to adoption. In a global and increasingly fast-paced business environment, willingness to use IT innovations and the speed with which they are adopted can significantly affect competitive advantage. This was a theory building and explanatory study with the expressed intent to better understand the individual determinants of the success or failure of an IT innovation at the individual level. I studied PWS systems by employing independent variables of complexity, relative advantage, and trialability from Rogers, and using Davis's behavioral intent to predict willingness to use. The three attributes from Rogers were selected as the most face valid constructs, and Roger's rate of adoption outcome variable was excluded because it was deemed too time sensitive. Rogers's constructs of relative advantage and complexity have been demonstrated to be theoretically the same as Davis's perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. I believe that the use of these variables effectively explained willingness to use at the individual level in a new way, which in turn is instructive toward organizational attitudes toward innovation. My findings showed that Relative Advantage, Complexity, and Trialability were all predictors of Willingness to Use a new technology. These findings as well as the interesting interactions of some of the independent variables should prove useful to those who seek to understand these phenomena within the crucial context of pre-acquisition of information systems. The intent was to explain Willingness to Use at the individual level in a new way, which in turn is instructive toward organizational attitudes toward innovation. It is my hope that the results of this research will be instructive to researchers, empiricists, and practitioners who are interested in pre-adoptive intents and behaviors.

Investments in new weather forecasting technologies and communication products can be costly and serve the ultimate purpose of protecting life and property. The Forecasting a Continuum of Environmental Threats (FACETs) paradigm attempts to improve technology and communication through the provision of probabilistic hazard information (PHI). The research and technology necessary to produce this information requires a substantial resource investment, but the societal value of the information may outweigh the costs. This study provides an initial estimate of this value by exploring public willingness to pay (WTP) for an app that provides continuously updated, geographically situated PHI that could be utilized during a tornado event. Findings indicate that the mean WTP, in a one-time payment, for this precise hazard information product is $7.53 per person. Aggregated to the US population, the estimated value is between $901 million and $1.56 billion. These findings indicate that federal agencies and private companies are likely to generate a substantial surplus by developing these products and will contribute to improving informed decision-making and protecting lives and property.

Wind energy is expanding rapidly in the United States as the nation\'s energy policy objectives increasingly focus on renewables. Public opinion polls show that a majority of Americans support wind energy development but actual wind farm projects often face intense local opposition. This dichotomy between general support for wind energy but opposition towards siting a project nearby is often attributed to the not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) phenomenon. In this study we employ a discrete choice experiment to investigate public preferences for different characteristics of a local wind farm. We investigate NIMBY by first controlling for characteristics that might cause local opposition, such as seeing or hearing a wind farm from home, and then after considering these effects of a wind farm we examine whether people who favor wind energy display NIMBY resistance. Finally, we estimate compensation requirements for siting a wind farm within sight or sound of someone\'s home. Results show that people who somewhat favor wind energy do display NIMBY attitudes since they are predisposed to vote against local wind development even after controlling whether they would see and hear the wind farm from their homes. We do not detect NIMBY attitudes among people who strongly favor wind energy because they have a positive disposition towards local wind farms. Our results suggest that if an incentive program is in place from the onset of a wind development project it could offset NIMBY reactions to specific projects. / Master of Science

Nurses may share a commonality of issues which can affect their willingness and ability to respond as post-disaster emergency care providers. Guided by expectancy, locus of control, and chaos theory, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify the barriers which affect nurses' willingness and ability to report to their unit after a disaster occurs. Briggs methodology guided this systematic review, and Fineout-Overholt's and Melnyk levels of evidence were used to evaluate the reliability of information and effectiveness of their interventions. Fifteen articles meeting the inclusion criteria (addressed nurses' willingness to report to their unit or to contact the incident command center for mobilization, published in 2005 or after, and written in English) were reviewed. Twelve were systemic reviews of descriptive and qualitative studies (Level 5), one was a cohort study (Level 4), one was a report of expert committees (Level 7), and one reported findings from a pilot study. Five articles reported personal barriers related to the nurses' home caregiver responsibilities and four articles reported personal barriers related to nurses' concern for personal and family safety. Three articles reported institutional barriers related to unsure availability of necessary safety equipment and two articles reported lack of disaster preparedness. Developing a disaster plan that includes emergency phone numbers, a prepared backpack of basic survival gear, and a plan for emergency child and elder care arrangements, as well as providing disaster training for nurses was recommended. Understanding health provider needs and willingness to respond to emergency situations contributes to positive social change by contributing to disaster risk reduction and ensuring safer and more resilient communities.