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1
Hays, Richard Roy. "Relationships between literacy level and job-related reading self concept." Virtual Press, 1986. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/478855.
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This study investigated relationships between literacy level and global self concept. employment status. income level, age. and gender among students enrolled at a vocational technical college. The contribution of a subset of job-related reading self concepts to the multiple correlation was also examined. The study sample consisted of 100 students in Related Education Courses at Indiana Vocational Technical College, Region VI. Muncie. Indiana. Subjects responded to three instruments and a demographic questionnaire. The Literacy Assessment Battery (Sticht. 1982) provided literacy levels, the Tennessee Self Concept Scale (Fitts. 1964) yielded global self concept, and the Hays Job-Related Reading Survey (Hays, 1986) indicated job-related reading self concepts. Piloting of Hays Job-Related Reading Survey Reliability and construct validity were sought using responses from a sample (N = 230) closely comparable to one selected for the study. An analysis revealed four interpretable factors:(a) Positive Employee Self, (b) Perceived Limitations of Self, (c) Perceived Importance of Occupational Literacy, and (d) Perceived Value of Company Notices. Further analysis yielded coefficient alpha reliabilities of r = .69 to r = .86.Results Significant relationships were found between literacy level and the following: (a) Global Self Concept (r .20, p<.04`; (b) Global Self Concept when combined with Perceived Limitations of Self, a factor from the Hays JobRelated Reading Survey (r = .56. p<.000+); and (c) Perceived Limitations of Self alone (r = .56, p<.000+).Conclusions Both Global Self Concept and Perceived Limitations of Self were significantly related to Literacy, both singly and in combination. The "best" (most efficient) predictor of Literacy Level could be gained by Perceived Limitations of Self alone. Additional research with adults is needed to confirm the findings and expand established research at younger ages. Educational suggestions focus on strengthening self concepts and occupational literacy of adults pursuing vocational training. Business should foster occupational literacy self concepts and employer-employee relationships in the workplace. Economic implications involved public and private sector support for long-term occupational literacy and job-related reading self concept programs which may yield more effective, productive employees.
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French, Tricia A. "The effect of a weapon's presence on witnesses' memory for auditory information." Virtual Press, 2001. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1221315.
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Research supports the notion that weapons impair eyewitnesses' memory for visual information (weapon focus effect). Pickel and Betts (1999) found that the presence of a weapon can also interfere with witnesses' memory for auditory information. The primary objective of the current study was to replicate Pickel and Betts's (1999) findings, to extend their findings by implementing different methodological procedures, and to control for a confound associated with their study. A secondary goal was to further investigate the impact that arousal and novelty have on the weapon focus effect. Participants watched a videotape depicting a story about a man stalking a woman. The man approached the woman holding either a switchblade knife or a black ballpoint pen. The man's conversation varied so that it was either easy or difficult to comprehend. Participants then completed questionnaires assessing their arousal level, memory for visual and auditory information, and perceived unusualness of the object carried by the target. [n addition, they attempted to identify the target in a photo and audio lineup. Results indicate that the presence of a weapon does not affect memory for vocal characteristics or for semantic content of speech when the content of the message is rather simple. As the complexity of the message increases, however, a weapon will interfere with witnesses' memory for the content. Also, results support the hypothesis that the weapon focus effect occurs because the weapon is perceived to be unusual and that increased levels of arousal are not necessary to obtain the effect. Analyses revealed no significant effects or interactions related to witnesses' ability to identify the man in the photo or audio lineup. The results supported Pickel and Betts's (1999) conclusions, thus increasing our knowledge concerning the reliability of eyewitness testimony.Department of Psychological Science
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Grabowecky, Marcia F. "Feature and conjunction information from brief visual displays." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26822.
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The feature integration theory of object perception (Treisman & Gelade, 1980) suggests that the perception of multidimensional stimuli requires that attention be serially directed to the items in a visual display in order to correctly conjoin features into objects, while the perception of features does not require serial attention. Under conditions in which the serial focusing of attention is disrupted by reducing display duration, available information about conjunctions of two features should not exceed the independent information available about the constituent features. Three experiments using a partial report paradigm employing a location cue were conducted in order to test this prediction. Subjects viewed colored letter displays that varied in cue-display stimulus onset asynchrony. The dependent measure was accuracy of response. Results suggest that a small amount of information from a separate representation of conjunctions of features may be accessible.Arts, Faculty of
Psychology, Department of
Graduate
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Cutz, German. "Reasons for the nonparticipation of adults in rural literacy programs in Western Guatemala." Virtual Press, 1997. http://liblink.bsu.edu/uhtbin/catkey/1063422.
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In a literature review of adult education research, three characteristics were found in studies on illiterate adults' nonparticipation: a) information has been gathered from participants in literacy programs, b) participants were considered low-literate adults or those who did not finish high school, and c) participants were surveyed through a questionnaire or telephone interviews.This study, however, involved ten illiterate adults (2 women and 8 men) who had not attended school or participated in literacy programs. The research question was: Why do adults not participate in rural literacy programs in western Guatemala? Thirty-eight ethnographic interviews were conducted from November 1996 to January 1997 in Nimasac and Xecaracoj, two villages located in western Guatemala, Central America.Twelve reasons for nonparticipation in literacy programs were described by the informants: 1) / have to work to earn money, 2) / do not like to work [learn] in groups, 3) / do not go to literacy programs because of my personal necessities [obligations], 4) / have been left out, 5) going to school is a waste of time, 6) / fear going to a literacy program, 7) / have no time, 8) the reason is machismo, 9) literacy is not work fit does not produce income], 10) my age is the problem, 11) / got pregnant, and 12) / do not go to a literacy program because of my husband's irresponsibility.An underlying construct for the reasons for nonparticipation, however, showed that the twelve reasons were reinforced at four levels, 1) individual, 2) family, 3) community, and 4) national. A set of interwoven relationships among the four levels, helped to explain that reasons for nonparticipation were constructed by rural Guatemalans.Indigenous people's identities and the preservation of their traditional values such as their native languages, clothing, obedience, respect and submission were the major factors that reinforced rural illiterates nonparticipation in formal education in western Guatemala.Illiteracy was not strictly an educational, but cultural, social, economic and political problem. Generalizing that both literates and illiterates valued education and needed the same skills, knowledge and abilities to become the "standard functional literates" has denied the existence of illiterate adults' culture, context, and needs.Department of Educational Leadership
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Yeung, Ka-man Carmen, and 楊嘉雯. "The use of written information to relieve anxiety in patients undergoing endoscopy." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2011. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B46583439.
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Ng, Kwai-sang Sam. "The use of prior information for the reduction of operation anxiety." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1998. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B29726499.
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Antoni, Xolile Lucas. "Financial literacy and behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay." Thesis, Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10948/d1020027.
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South Africa has a poor savings culture. This means that South Africans do not save enough income for a later stage resulting in a relative large number of South African consumers living in debt and using more credit than what they have saved. Almost half of the South African consumers were in debt during the year 2010 and had a negative credit record. Thus consumers in South Africa are not living only in poor conditions but are also open to exploitation by the informal economy. Lenders in the informal economy are known as ‘loan sharks’ because they charge consumers interest rates of between 40 and 60 percent. This is because low income consumers have less access to savings products and credit facilities from the formal economy. These factors are more prevalent among the black consumers, as they use informal credit providers. The sources of credit for black consumers in the informal market are social networks such as friends and family. Furthermore, black consumers have low levels of knowledge regarding issues such as bad debts. Black consumers are also more likely to experience financial problems than other racial groups. This means that black consumers may need to improve their levels of financial knowledge, financial skills and adopt positive financial attitudes to manage their financial problems without obtaining more debt. Thus, financial education may be the way of ensuring that black consumers improve their financial decision-making ability and their financial behaviour. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour among the black community in Nelson Mandela Bay. To achieve the purpose of this study, a literature review was conducted on financial literacy, financial education, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. This was followed by an empirical investigation to establish the relationships between financial literacy, financial inclusion and financial behaviour. In this study, a quantitative research approach was adopted as necessitated by the purpose of this study and also to be able to collect a vast amount of perceptions from the black community. The sample of this study consisted of low to middle income black consumers living in Nelson Mandela Bay.
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Biggs, Edward Eugene. "Social anxiety and memory deficit for information about others." Thesis, University of British Columbia, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/2429/26039.
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Cognitive factors have been identified as critical variables in the origin and maintenance of interpersonal dysfunction associated with high social anxiety. Although evidence of a memory deficit accompanying general anxiety states is abundant, studies of memory accompanying social anxiety have failed to demonstrate a deficit. Previous studies of memory deficit in social anxiety have measured only retention of evaluative feedback, the present study investigated memory more typical of interpersonal encounters, the recall of information about others.
Forty-eight high socially anxious males and forty-eight low anxious males were asked to listen to a tape recording of self-disclosures either during an interaction with the self-discloser or in private. Following an interim task, each subject was then asked to recall the information from the tape either in the presence of the female self-discloser or in private. This design allowed for social anxiety provoking manipulation at encoding to be completely crossed with social anxiety manipulation at retrieval. Multiple measures of memory were taken and analyzed with a multivariate procedure.
It was hypothesized that a situational deficit would occur for the high socially anxious subjects when they were encoding the other-referent information in a social context. Additionally, it was hypothesized that high socially anxious subjects would recall more affective as opposed to neutral information, and more negative items than positive or neutral.
The results confirmed that memory is disturbed for high socially anxious subjects when in a social context, and specifically the disturbance occurs at the encoding phase. Results regarding the recall of affective material were contrary to prediction and suggest that high socially anxious subjects selectively process less affective material than do low socially anxious subjects.
The results are supportive of a cognitive perspective arguing that dysfunctional interpersonal experiences may stem from impoverished, incomplete, and barren schema that guide the social behavior. The presence of a recall deficit along with intact recognition memory suggests that information about others is attended to but not processed 'deeply' or elaborately enough to be available on a free recall basis.
The identification of memory deficit as a component of social anxiety provides a variety of new intervention possibilities including social memory enhancement programs, interventions aimed at unearthing poorly encoded memories, and strategies focused on attention to affective messages.Education, Faculty of
Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of
Graduate
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Martin, Susan P. "Young people's sexual health literacy : seeking, understanding, and evaluating online sexual health information." Thesis, University of Glasgow, 2017. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/8528/.
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Background: Improving the sexual health of young people is a key policy focus in Scotland. As the influence of the internet has grown within a rapidly changing health information landscape, so have opportunities for both sexual health promotion, and concerns about the challenges faced by young people in navigating this online environment. This study explores young people’s sexual health literacy (SHL), primarily within this online context. Methods: Paired interviews with friendship groups and observational online activities were used to explore young people’s experiences of finding, understanding and evaluating online sexual health information. A purposive sample of 49 participants (aged 16-19), diverse in terms of gender, sexuality and religion, were recruited from across Scotland from areas that varied in terms of deprivation and urban/rural classification. Findings: Participants varied in their confidence and ability to find and identify reliable information, and typically regarded identifying and filtering reliable sources as challenging. Barriers to accessing information on websites included: inaccessible language; inappropriate or non-relatable information; and websites that were difficult to navigate or did not function correctly. Concerns about stigma and ‘being seen’ seeking sexual health information was a key barrier. Stark differences, often mediated by gender, sexuality and educational circumstances, emerged in perspectives towards accessing sexual health information and support online. Findings suggest that different social media platforms present different opportunities and challenges; for example, social content sharing services such as YouTube may be useful venues for developing critical SHL, while social networking sites such as Facebook, may be less suitable to user’s active engagement in identity construction. Dissatisfaction with school-based sexual health education appears to be a catalyst for online information-seeking, but school-based sexual health education did little to equip young people to use the online environment effectively. Conclusions: Gender, sexual identity, stigma, structural factors and social support converge and intersect around young people’s SHL. A broad range of targeted interventions are needed to improve SHL, focusing on overcoming stigma, presenting positive messages and developing interactive and critical skills. Schools could do more to develop SHL skills, including teaching the digital and critical skills to seek and appraise online information. Expanding online sexual health services may effectively complement traditional services and encourage uptake, but it is essential that research establishes a robust, comprehensive conceptualisation of SHL, and develops measurement tools specific to SHL such that interventions can be evaluated and refined.
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Kearns, Hugh. "Effect of interaction between computer anxiety, locus of control and course structure on achievement in a computer literacy course." Title page, abstract and table of contents only, 1995. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09EDM/09edmk24.pdf.
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Cheung, Mei Fung Meily. "The role of video game in the cultivation of literacy : a medium perspective." HKBU Institutional Repository, 2009. http://repository.hkbu.edu.hk/etd_ra/1053.
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Wachman, Ronald Michael. "IPRAM : information processing requirements analysis methodology." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/29174.
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Attrill, Alison. "Retrieval-induced forgetting for person-specific information." Thesis, University of St Andrews, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13120.
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Recent research has shown heightened interest in the potential role of inhibitory mechanisms in solving the multiple category problem associated with processing person-specific information. Inhibition has been proposed to control the activation saliency of one category of person-specific information over other activated categories to guide the processing, interpretation and behavioural responses to socially-relevant stimuli. The current research considers a) whether inhibition operates in a similar manner for both self- and other-referent information, and b) whether the inhibitory mechanism associated with laboratory-observed retrieval-induced forgetting is also involved in categorically thinking about the self and others. Participants studied and carried out guided retrieval practice on positive and negative self- and other-referent traits in seven studies that used variants of the retrieval practice paradigm. The observed patterns of forgetting were found to be consistent with the notion that retrieval inhibition operates in a flexible goal-directed manner to reduce the activation of person-specific information that carries little or no meaning for the social perceiver, regardless of whether that information relates to the self or to a target other. Consideration of the significance subjectively attributed to person information showed that both personally significant self information (Studies 4a,b, 5b) and highly informative other-referent material (Studies 2, 5b) are protected against active forgetting, whilst information of low diagnostic value succumbs to inhibitory processing. The goal-directed nature of active forgetting was also shown to operate in an implicit manner (Study 4a) which remained unaffected by attentional focus being brought to bear on target or non-target items (Study 4b). Two main conclusions are discussed, a) that both self- and other-referent information are protected against active forgetting where that information carries meaning for the social perceiver and becomes integrated into existing person-specific knowledge, and b) that both the retrieval practice procedure and the processes involved in categorical person perception may be subject to the same inhibitory mechanism.
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湯旭瑜。 and Yuk-yue Tong. "Information organization and storage: the role of implicit theories." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1998. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31221737.
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Chang, Yun-Ke. "Children's Color Association for Digital Image Retrieval." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2003. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4342/.
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In the field of information sciences, attention has been focused on developing mature information retrieval systems that abstract information automatically from the contents of information resources, such as books, images and films. As a subset of information retrieval research, content-based image retrieval systems automatically abstract elementary information from images in terms of colors, shapes, and texture. Color is the most commonly used in similarity measurement for content-based image retrieval systems. Human-computer interface design and image retrieval methods benefit from studies based on the understanding of their potential users. Today's children are exposed to digital technology at a very young age, and they will be the major technology users in five to ten years. This study focuses on children's color perception and color association with a controlled set of digital images. The method of survey research was used to gather data for this exploratory study about children's color association from a children's population, third to sixth graders. An online questionnaire with fifteen images was used to collect quantitative data of children's color selections. Face-to-face interviews investigated the rationale and factors affecting the color choices and children's interpretation of the images. The findings in this study indicate that the color children associated with in the images was the one that took the most space or the biggest part of an image. Another powerful factor in color selection was the vividness or saturation of the color. Colors that stood out the most generally attracted the greatest attention. Preferences of color, character, or subject matter in an image also strongly affected children's color association with images. One of the most unexpected findings was that children would choose a color to replace a color in an image. In general, children saw more things than what were actually represented in the images. However, the children's interpretation of the images had little effect on their color selections.
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Hayat, Roshanai Afsaneh. "Psychological and Behavioral Aspects of Receiving Genetic Counseling for Hereditary Cancer." Doctoral thesis, Uppsala universitet, Vårdvetenskap, 2010. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-128870.
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The overall aims of this thesis were to investigate psychological and behavioral effects of receiving cancer genetic counseling for breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer and/or with a family history of these cancer types and to determine whether counselees’ informational needs were met. Study I was performed 3-7 years post-counseling. Participants (n=214) reported a relatively high level of anxiety but a low level of depression compared to cancer patients in general. However, there was no indication that the distress experienced was due to the counseling. Moderate changes in life and family relations, high level of adherence to recommended controls and satisfaction was reported. Study II was a randomized control trial (RCT) intervention study which involved 147 counselees. An increase in the level of knowledge and correct estimation of personal risk was reported in both the intervention and control groups, although this increase declined at later follow-up. Enhanced information led to significantly greater satisfaction with the given information, and the way of informing relatives. Most counselees had shared information with their at-risk relatives. Study III focused on sharing information with at-risk relatives among participants in study II and their relatives (n=81). Counselees were interviewed and answered a questionnaire, whilst their relatives only answered the questionnaire. Counselees reported positive/neutral feelings about communicating genetic information and mostly interpreted their relatives’ reactions as positive/ neutral. Also, approximately 50% of relatives reported positive/neutral reactions and were generally satisfied with the received information. Study IV was conducted in Sweden and Norway based on 235 counselees. Counselees expected counselors to be skillful and thoughtful, take them seriously and provide risk estimations and medical information. Most important issues to counselees were satisfactorily addressed by the counselors. Analyzing importance rankings resulted in five categories of needs: a need for facts, caring communication and medical information, need for understanding and support in sharing genetic information, practical care and medical/practical information. In conclusion, no adverse psychological or behavioral effect on counselees was observed. Apparently, genetic counseling is managed properly and counselors successfully address counselees’ needs. Providing extended information does not seem necessary, however, tailoring information to individual counselees needs may create a more effective counseling.
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Cushman, Mary Ellen. "Reading, writing, and metacognition: Theoretical connections and teaching methods." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1992. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/458.
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Relationships between reading and writing -- Formation of a thought-world that is a cluster of ideas and associations related to a literacy event -- Establishment of a progression of interrelated ideas from the thought-world -- Creation of intersentence cohesion by filling of gaps.
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Montay, Robert. "A case for "weak" architecture in an information society : a proposal for the reconstruction of the Sagrada Familia Cathedral in Barcelona." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1992. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/24110.
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LeBoeuf, Joseph N. G. "The effects of anchoring, cognitive style and information presentation on decision making." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1985. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/28759.
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Schmieding, Sally Renee. "Effect of written information of wound healing and self care practices in postoperative patients." Thesis, The University of Arizona, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/276827.
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An experimental design was employed to determine the knowledge gained through use of written Wound Healing Fact Sheets. The study sample consisted of 30 postoperative patients recruited from the accessible population of abdominal and chest surgery patients. Subjects were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups. Experimental subjects were interviewed, received the Fact Sheets and underwent knowledge testing prior to discharge and by telephone approximately one week after discharge. Control subjects did not receive the Fact Sheets but were interviewed and tested identically to the experimental group. Low equivalent reliabilities were demonstrated through use of the KR-20 for the knowledge test. Content validity was established by a panel of three experts. A t-test computed between pre and post test mean scores identified a significant difference in knowledge gained by experimental versus control subjects. Low reliability weakens the significance of this result.
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McGlynn, Joseph. "More connections, less connection: An examination of the effects of computer-mediated communication on relationships." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2006. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc5449/.
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The impact of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on relational behavior is a topic of increasing interest to communication scholars (McQuillen, 2003; Tidwell & Walther, 2002). One of the most interesting issues that CMC raises concerns the impact of CMC on relational maintenance and development. Using dialectical theory, social exchange theory, social information processing theory, and the hyperpersonal perspective as theoretical frameworks, this study used quantitative and qualitative analyses to identity potential effects of CMC on relationships. Study 1 (n=317) examined the effects of CMC on relational closeness, satisfaction, and social support. Study 2 (n=196) explored the reasons individuals provide for privileging computer-mediated forms of communication, and the perceived effects of using CMC in relational communication. Results indicated that quality of CMC predicted increased perceptions of social support and relationship satisfaction. Results further suggested that CMC enabled participants to manage more effectively relational tensions of autonomy-connection and openness-closedness. Specifically, individuals used CMC to retain higher levels of conversational control, and to maintain greater numbers of relationships with decreased levels of investment. This paper concludes with a discussion of implications and directions for future research.
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Kahn, Michael J. "Application of chunking to the design of complex information displays." Diss., This resource online, 1990. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-08252008-161857/.
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Shopshear, Jennifer Lynne. "21st century skills for 21st century learners." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 2007. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/3264.
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The purpose of the project was to develop and implement a survey for the purpose of better understanding how teacher's attitude affect their ability to achieve success and overcome challenges associated with the implementation of a 1 on 1 Learning Program. This project was intended to increase awareness as to how teachers currently use technology, their attitudes about the technology they use, and their perceptions as to how students will use technology. Research in this study affirms this can improve teacher/student achievements; promote creativity and motivation through effective communication. The significance of this project was to identify teacher's attitudes about utilizing 21st century skills that had been newly acquired through effectual professional development.
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Chen, Yiwei. "Age differences in stages of attributional processing." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/28648.
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Meinz, Elizabeth J. "Musical experience, musical knowledge and age effects on memory for music." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1996. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/30881.
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Lerner, J. Dana (Jocelyn Dana). "Manipulation of Efficacy Information to Enhance Muscular Endurance Performance." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1989. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500762/.
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The present investigation was designed to examine the effects of the positive manipulation of information on self-efficacy and subsequent performance of 180 female subjects. High, moderate, and low self-efficacy subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment condition in a 3 x 4 x 3 (preexisting self-efficacy x efficacy information source x trials) factorial design. Information from the three efficacy sources of performance accomplishments, verbal persuasion, and vicarious experience was manipulated towards success after subjects completed a muscular leg endurance task. The results supported self-efficacy theory with high self-efficacy subjects extending their legs significantly longer than moderate and low self-efficacy subjects. However, subjects did not differentially [sic] respond to the manipulation of the efficacy information. Results are discussed in terms of efficacy as a mediator of performance on an endurance task as well as the lack of differential changes in efficacy based on the source from which that information is derived.
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Li, Ping 1965. "Doctoral students’ mental models of a web search engine : an exploratory study." Thesis, McGill University, 2007. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=94181.
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This exploratory research investigates the factors that might influence a specific group of users’ mental models of a Web search engine, Google, as measured in the dimension of completeness. A modified mental model completeness scale (MMCS) was developed based on Borgman’s, Dimitroff s, and Saxon’s models, encompassing the perception of (1) the nature of the Web search engine, (2) searching features of the Web search engine, and (3) the interaction between the searcher and the Web search engine. With this scale, a participant’s mental model completeness level was determined by how many components of the first two parts of the scale were described and which level of interaction between the participant and Google was revealed during the searches. The choice of the factors was based on the previous studies on individual differences among information seekers, including user’s search experience, cognitive style, learning style, technical aptitudes, training received, discipline, and gender. Sixteen Ph.D. students whose first language is English participated in the research. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted to determine the students’ mental model completeness level (MMCL) as well as their search experience, training received, discipline and gender. Direct observation technique was employed to observe students’ actual interactions with Google. Standard tests were administered to determine the students’ cognitive styles, learning styles and technical aptitudes.Cette recherche préliminaire examine les facteurs qui peuvent influencer les modèles mentaux d’un groupe spécifique d’utilisateurs d’un moteur de recherche sur le Web: Google, mesurés selon l’étendue de leur réussite.Une échelle de cette réussite en suivant un modèle mental a été constituée en adaptant les modèles présentés par Borgman, Dimitroff et Saxon, incluant la perception (1) de la nature du moteur de recherche sur le Web, (2) des caractéristiques de la recherche propres à ce moteur, (3) de l’interaction entre le chercheur et le moteur de recherche. A l’aide de cette échelle, le niveau de réussite par un sujet donné utilisant un modèle mental a été déterminé en fonction du nombre de composantes des deux premières parties de l’échelle décrites et du niveau d’interaction entre le sujet et le moteur Google, tel que révélé par ses recherches. Le choix des facteurs a été fondé sur des études précédentes portant sur les différences individuelles entre les chercheurs d’information, comprenant le degré d’expérience d’une telle recherche par l’utilisateur, son style cognitif, son style d’apprentissage, ses aptitudes techniques, la formation reçue, la discipline et le sexe. Seize étudiants en doctorat ayant l’anglais comme première langue ont participé à cette étude. Des entretiens individuels semi-dirigés ont permis de déterminer le niveau de réussite des étudiants suivant leur modèle mental, ainsi que leur expérience de la recherche, la formation reçue, la discipline et le sexe. Une observation technique directe a été utilisée pour observer l’interaction réelle des étudiants avec Google. Des tests standardisés ont été administrés pour déterminer le style cognitif des étudiants, leur style d’apprentissage et leurs aptitudes techniques. fr
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Hines, Beverly Bass. "Caregivers' preferences for institutional information and support during the geriatric long-term admission process." Thesis, Virginia Tech, 1987. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/45768.
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The focus of this study was to determine what types of information and support families wanted at the time they admitted a relative to a long-term care facility. Twenty families were interviewed by telephone, including both the primary caregiver and, where appropriate caregiving family members. It was found that half of the families felt they wanted no additional information or support than they had received, and that they were basically satisfied with the facility's admission process. The majority of the families felt that the institution also encouraged their continued involvement with their relatives after admission.
The results suggest that researchers and practitioners need to be aware, however, that the admission process if often a stressful time, and that family members may be so involved in making long-term care arrangements that they do not focus on their own needs, but only on those of the elderly patient. Support services and information should be provided on an individual basis, considering such factors as whether the caregiver is employed full-time and the distance the caregiver lives from the facility.
Master of Science
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Mallory, Laurel J. "Identifying the Level of Prognostic Information Desired by People with Cancer." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2010. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc30489/.
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The study explored whether certain factors might be used to distinguish between people with cancer who do or do not want detailed information about their disease progress, do or do not want to be informed if their disease is no longer considered curable, and who do or do not want an estimation of life expectancy if their disease is no longer considered curable. The factors included whether an individual has an internal versus external locus of control, uses an active coping strategy or a planning coping strategy, the level of spirituality, and age. Participants consisted of 51 people with cancer from a cancer center in the state of Washington. Results indicated that 98% wanted detailed information about their disease progress, 94% wanted to be informed if their disease was no longer considered curable, and 78% wanted an estimation of life expectancy if their disease was no longer considered curable. Due to the majority of the participants endorsing the need for prognostic information none of the factors (e.g. coping strategies, locus of control, spirituality) were able to predict the information needs of the patients with cancer. Clinical implications of this study suggest that physicians have an ongoing, open dialogue with their patients about their prognostic information needs. The dialogue might be especially important for patients undergoing active treatment for cancer, since it could affect treatment decisions.
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Sahinkayasi, Yunis. "A Cross-cultural Comparison And Modeling Of Information And Communication Technologies Aspects Affecting Mathematical And Problem Solving Literacy And Perceptions Of Policy Makers." Phd thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609723/index.pdf.
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The purpose of this study was to compare Turkey and the European Union (EU)
regarding aspects (use, self-confidence and attitude) of students&rsquoinformation and communication technologies (ICT), the relationships between ICT aspects and mathematical and problem solving literacy performances, and to understand education policy makers&rsquo
perceptions on ICT in Turkey. A multimethod (quantitative and qualitative) research design was used in this study. Country groups &ndash
an EU member group, a new EU member group and Turkey- were formed on the basis of the status of a country in the EU, and that of having ICT data in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2003. This study has three focuses. The first focus of the present study was to examine similarities and differences in ICT use, self-confidence in ICT and attitudes toward computers in students from Turkey and the EU. The sample of this focus was those students from the EU member group (N=56,610), the new EU member group (N=24,834) and Turkey (N=3,231) who participated in the PISA 2003. Multivariate analysis of covariance - controlling students&rsquo
economic, social and cultural status (ESCS) and attitudes toward computers- and univariate analysis of covariance -controlling ESCS- were conducted to see whether students&rsquo
ICT aspects differ across country groups. The first focus of the present study indicated that Turkish students have lower self-confidence in using computer and the Internet and they use the Internet less frequently than students in the EU. Contrary to this, the findings of this focus revealed that Turkish students have relatively more positive attitudes toward computers and they use program/software more frequently than do students in the EU. The second focus of the present study was to model the relationships among ICT factors and mathematical and problem solving literacy performances of Turkish and the EU students. The sample of this focus was those students from the EU member group (N=57,787), the new EU member group (N=25,359) and Turkey (N=3,590) who participated in the PISA 2003. The proposed path analytic models were separately tested for each country group. The second focus revealed that students&rsquo
socioeconomic and cultural status and selfconfidence in routine computer tasks have positive and medium level relationships with their mathematical and problem solving literacy performances, for all country groups. Furthermore, students&rsquo
self-confidence in Internet tasks had a positive and low level relationship with these performances for all country groups. On the other hand, it was found that students&rsquo
frequency of computer and Internet use and their self-confidence in high-level computer tasks have generally negative and small relationships with these literacy performances in all country groups. The third focus aimed to investigate education policy makers&rsquo
perceptions of the ICT policy making and implementation process in Turkey, and their evaluations of the findings of the quantitative phase of this study. The participants of this focus consisted of seven education policy makers from the Ministry of National Education and universities in Turkey. The data, collected with interviews, were content-analyzed by coding data, identifying, and relating the categories and sub-categories, that is, open, axial and selective coding were conducted respectively. In the third focus of the present study, participants specified the primary issues of ICT policy making and the implementing process in Turkey and made suggestions on these issues. Participants frequently related the findings of the quantitative phase of this study to the economic, social and cultural status of students.
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Kim, Yong Sang. "Effects of luminance, color, and spatial frequency variations on perceived image quality." Diss., Virginia Tech, 1993. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/40190.
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The primary objective of this dissertation was to investigate the effects of varying levels of luminance, color, and spatial frequency content on the perceived image quality of a soft-copy color image. A secondary objective was to test the robustness of selected image quality metrics (MTFA, SQRI, and ICS) to the color variations as measured by the change in correlations between the perceived quality ratings and the values of the image quality metrics. To accomplish these objectives, a color image was selected and its luminance, color, and spatial frequency components were attenuated systematically using image processing software. With the manipulated images, an experiment was conducted in which subjects were asked to rate, on a 0.0 - 9.0 continuous scale, the perceived quality of a displayed image in comparison to the original image. Results of the statistical analysis of the collected data were characterized by the highly significant main effects and interaction effects. However, the magnitudes of the interactions were small.
The effect of the luminance component on perceived quality was found to be dominant and consistent across all the levels of the other two variables. As the luminance increased, the perceived quality increased at a decreasing rate. The luminance main effect was modeled well (R2 = 0.9968) by the second-order polynomial of the luminance attenuation level, or, equivalently, by the relative amount of the luminance contained in the image. The range of variation of perceived quality produced by the six luminance levels was about five units on a 0.0 - 9.0 continuous scale. It was concluded that perceived quality of the color image was determined primarily by the luminance component of the image.
The effect of color on perceived quality was found to be smaller than expected. The range of variation in perceived quality produced by the six color levels was only a little over one unit on a 0.0 - 9.0 continuous scale. Perceived qualities increased at a decreasing rate as the level of color increased. However, the slope of the curve representing the color effect was smaller than that of the luminance effect The main effect of color was modeled well (R2 = 0.9972) by the second-order polynomial of the color attenuation level, or, equivalently, by the relative amount of color contained in the image. Based on the findings of the color effect, two different roles of color in image perception are suggested. At extremely low luminance, color acts primarily as a facilitator of the luminance by providing more cues on the content of the image. At sufficiently high luminance, the increased perceived quality stems from the aesthetic characteristics of the color.
Both highpass and lowpass filtering, on the average, caused about 1.5 units of degradation as compared to the unfiltered image in perceived image quality on a 0.0 - 9.0 continuous scale. The perceived quality of the unfiltered image was greater than that of the filtered images across all the levels of luminance and color attenuation except at a low luminance level. There was no significant difference between the perceived qualities of the highpass and lowpass filtered images.
The R2 of the second-order polynomial for image qUality metrics (MTFA, SQRI, and ICS) and the mean perceived qualities did not vary across the color variations in the image manipulations. That is, these image quality metrics were robust to the color variations when the relationship between the quality metric values and the actual perceived qualities was represented by the second-order polynomial. However, with the first-order model, the R2 increased as the color level increased. The SQRI yielded higher R2 values than did the MTFA and ICS metrics when the first-order model was used. Also, the range of variation of R2 for the SQRI was smaller than that for the other two metrics. Therefore, it appears that the robustness of an image quality metric to the color variation is affected by the degree of non-linearity correction in the metric if the robustness is tested in the context of the straight-line relationship.Ph. D.
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Campbell, Regan Helen. "An age-related comparison of audio and audio plus video presentation modes for conveying technical information." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/28612.
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Chaplin, Caley. "The factors affecting self-regulation through the analysis of physiological, psychological and behavioural measures during task-switching." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006027.
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Individuals are required to manage multiple tasks which require strategic allocation of time and effort to ensure goals are reached efficiently. By providing the worker with autonomy over their work, performance and worker well-being have improved. This increased control allows individuals to organize work according to the needs of the body, which prevents fatigue leading to improved productivity. When given the option, humans tend to switch between tasks frequently. This behaviour can be used to determine the change in self-regulation strategies. An understanding of human task-switching behaviour is important for the design of job rotation systems. However, there is a lack of evidence explaining the factors motivating the need to switch between tasks. This study aims to use physiological, subjective and behavioural measures to explain the factors influencing selfregulation through the act of task-switching. Three primary hypotheses were developed to explain the factors underlying taskswitching behaviour. It was hypothesized that the degree of boredom experienced, the effort required to perform the task and the resource usage induced by the task are factors responsible in deciding task switching behaviour. Participants (17 males and 17 females) switched freely between five different information-processing tasks for the 45 minutes. Participants were allowed to switch back and forth between tasks and did not have to conduct all five tasks. The following measures were recorded during the experiment: subjective measures of boredom, mental effort, task frustration and perceived performance of the tasks; energy consumption and physiological measures of effort (HR, HRV and body temperature) and behavioural measures, including duration and frequency of task. Perceived boredom was found to differ among the tasks and before and after the experiment. The average boredom rating at each task transition for all tasks exceeded a score of 2.5 out of a possible 4. There were no significant changes in physiological measures between the beginning and end of the task trials. However, changes in physiological measures showed a decrease in effort investment following task transition. Heart rate variability was lower for externally-paced tasks than for self-paced tasks, despite the differences in cognitive demands. The most frequent task-switch combination occurred between tasks of high and low cognitive demand. The least frequent task-switching combination occurred between tasks of similar characteristics, which produced no differences in physiological responses. Task-switching behaviour was influenced by the degree of boredom, and therefore more time was spent on less monotonous tasks. The level of physiological effort required for the task affected task-switching behaviour. Task switches were made before any changes in effort took place in an attempt to maintain task efficiency. It appears plausible that a task switch was made to reduce effort investment and activation levels. The type of information processing resources used by different tasks affected the task-switching combinations. Individuals tended to switch between tasks of differing resources so that those in limited supply were able to replenish. Therefore the findings from this study can potentially be used to improve the design of job rotation systems. Such improvements may enhance productivity and worker well-being by inhibiting the onset of down regulation and fatigue processes. This study showed that autonomy is necessary for individuals to regulate behaviour to suit human needs.Microsoft� Office Word 2007
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Sparlin, Linda Rae. "The use of a color code system to promote compliance to diet information." Scholarly Commons, 1988. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/uop_etds/2165.
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The use of color coded prompts to influence students' food selections in choosing a balanced meal was investigated. Yellow, green, blue, and orange dots, representing the four major food groups, grains, fruit and vegetables, dairy, and meat respectively were displayed at the point-of-selection on food entree cards along the serving line of a college dining hall. Two grain servings, two fruit/vegetable servings, one dairy serving, and one meat serving, were suggested as the optimal combination for a balanced meal. The results indicated that the prompts, although noticed and understood by the majority of the students, did not significantly influence their food selections. These findings are inconsistent with earlier studies substantiating the effectiveness of color coded prompts at the point-of-selection in influencing food choices. Implications are discussed.
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Sam, Msindisi Scara. "The development and implementation of computer literacy terminology in isiXhosa." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1002155.
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Davids, Marwan. "The relationship between retrenchment, organisational commitment, absenteeism and labour turnover in an information technology call centre." Thesis, University of the Western Cape, 2004. http://etd.uwc.ac.za/index.php?module=etd&.
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Until recently South Africa experienced an economic decline, however, despite the current positive trends, many large corporations are compelled to reduce personnel costs. Retrenchments have therefore become an increasingly common occurrence within South Africa. This has had an impact on the level of organisational commitment, absenteeism and turnover. Studies support the link between the levels of organisational commitment of employees, absenteeism and subsequently labour turnover. There is a relative lack of research in South African organisations into the influence of retrenchments on employees within call centre environments that have undergone retrenchments. The aims of this study was therefore to identify the levels of organisational commitment amongst call centre employees who survived a retrenchment that occurred in 2001.
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Stander, Adrie. "Computer user interfaces in a multicultural society." Thesis, Cape Technikon, 1997. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11838/1369.
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Thesis (MTech(Information Technology))--Cape Technikon, Cape Town, 1997This research discusses some of the cultural issues that could influence the human computer encounter in a multicultural community. The results of research to determine differences in computer usage caused by cultural differences when using computer user interfaces in simulated and real-world environments are also discussed. Various cultural aspects could possibly influence the effectiveness of the user interface in a multicultural society. Language is an important factor and studies have shown that simple translation will increase productivity (Bodley, 1993:23). However all languages do not contain the necessary technical vocabulary. Mothers from a lower social class typically use a limited language code when communicating with their children (Mussen et aI.,1984:206). As this causes the children to think in more concrete and less conceptual terms, it may influence the human computer interaction, particularly where a high degree of abstraction, such as in graphical interfaces, is used. Symbolism is problematic as symbols like light bulbs, recycle bins and VCR controls do not feature in the life of users living in slum and backward rural conditions. Lack of exposure to technology might negatively influence user attitude (Downton, 1991:25) with a corresponding inhibition of learning and performance. All external locus of control is common among disadvantaged groups due to the high degree of rejection, hostile control and criticism they experience. As the sense of being out of control is largely associated with the indication to avoid stressful situations, users from these groups might prefer to avoid situations where they do not feel in control. The strong differentiation between the roles of the sexes in certain cultures can also influence the encounter with the computer (Downton, 1991:10) It has been shown that the different gender orientations towards problem solving in these cultures can have an important influence on computer usage. The intracultural factors of social class play a significant role in determining how a person acts and thinks (Baruth & Manning, 1991 :9-1 0). Such differences may sometimes be more pronounced than those resulting from cultural diversity and may influence the orientation of the user towards abstraction and generalization.
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Lawal, Victoria. "Aspects of information literacy with regards to the use of legal resources : case study of third year undergraduate law students of the University of Cape Town, South Africa and University of Jos, Nigeria." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/8937.
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Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-213).The study explores the relevance of information literacy in the context of legal education specifically as it affects issues on the conduct of the legal research skills of undergraduate students as well as the need for its integration into the curriculum of legal education. A review of the literature shows that little research has been undertaken in the field of legal information literacy in contrast to many other academic areas; indications from the literature reveal that there is a skills deficiency among undergraduate law students in many countries which suggest that many are ill prepared for the workplace. This situation also applies to law undergraduates in higher education institutions in Africa particularly Nigeria. The peculiar structure of legal information resources and the distinctive ways in which legal information is both evaluated and used suggest that legal information resources possess special characteristics that would need to be examined carefully in order to design information literacy programmes suitable for the profession. The scope of the study is limited to a comparative analysis of the information literacy skills of undergraduate law students of the University of Cape Town, South Africa and University of Jos, Nigeria; data was collected from both institutions from which comparisons were drawn. Findings from the study have revealed the difficulties experienced by students in the process of legal research and emphasised the importance of recognising the unique information structure of legal resources in developing an appropriate pedagogical model for integrating information literacy to the curricula of legal education particularly in higher education institutions. The study presents a uniquely African perspective on the challenges of integrating information literacy within the curriculum of legal education by providing insights into the needs and challenges for graduate requirement and productivity in higher education institutions in Africa.
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Leung, Lai-chun Fiona, and 梁麗珍. "Information technology implementation in small and medium-sized enterprises: a cross-country comparison ofHong Kong and Singapore." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 1997. http://hub.hku.hk/bib/B31268122.
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Smith, Charles Adams Plater. "Decision-making under time pressure: The effects of time pressure on information search strategy, decision strategy, consistency, and outcome quality." Diss., The University of Arizona, 1990. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/185066.
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The design of information systems to support crisis management can be improved when more is known about the ways in which people process information under time pressure. A laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of time pressure on decision behavior. The decision task required the subjects to use a computerized information display to search for information under time pressure. When the time limit for searching expired, the subjects were required to make a decision. The decision task type, choice or judgment, and three separate information display formats were also manipulated. A total of 144 student subjects were randomly assigned to the resulting six combinations of task/display treatments. Each subject performed the decision task at three levels of time pressure. Dependent measures included information search strategy, decision strategy, decision consistency, and decision quality. Analyses of the results suggest that time pressure had no effect on the information search strategy or the decision strategy. For five of the six task/display groups, time pressure was inversely related to consistency and quality. One group exhibited an inverted U relationship between time pressure and consistency. Display format had an effect on information search strategy. Task type had an effect on both consistency and quality; the performances of the choice groups were superior to those of the judgment groups. The implications of these findings with respect to the design of information systems is discussed.
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Yu, Angel On Kei. "The outcome of person-job fit: A test of the realistic information hypothesis." CSUSB ScholarWorks, 1995. https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/etd-project/1232.
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Whattananarong, Krisana. "A Cross-Culture Study of Color Preferences on a Computer Screen Between Thai and American Students." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1991. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc332612/.
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The purpose of this investigation was to determine the color preference of Thai and American students for text and background computer color combinations. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if there were differences between Thai and American students' computer color combination preferences.
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Cromhout, Jaco. "The role and impact of emotional intelligence (EQ) on the leadership styles of the systems integration management team within T-Systems." Thesis, Stellenbosch : University of Stellenbosch, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/979.
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Thesis (MBA (Business Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The aim of this thesis is an investigation and study into the impact of emotional intelligence (EQ) on the leadership qualities and competencies of the management team of the T-Systems South-Africa’s Systems Integration (SI) department. The Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) business arena is a volatile and unpredictable environment that brings about unique challenges for the leadership qualities and skills of the modern leader and team member. During his studies towards the degree of Master in Business Administration (MBA) at the University of Stellenbosch, the researcher was introduced to the concept of emotional intelligence and the impact that it could have on the management of people and the growth and success of an organisation as a whole. Organisations are investing more and more in ICT practices to direct their business initiatives towards financial success. These investments include the professional disciplines such as program and project management. This lead to the question whether the so-called “hard” sciences that are applied on a daily base to govern a project, team or a business will be enough to sustain growth and ensure financial sustainability for a company. The importance of the “softer” sciences such as EQ are often overlooked and the researcher wanted to investigate the impact that increased awareness and knowledge regarding EQ abilities could have on leadership within an ICT department towards achieving overall success. The value of EQ can only be understood if managers and teams understand the concept and potential impact of EQ on both a personal and professional level to guide them to eventual success, even in difficult and trying times. The aim of this study, whilst focusing on the impact of EQ on leadership, will be to provide information and create awareness of the EQ concept to the broader SI department’s employees.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van hierdie tesis is verkennende navorsing en verdere studie om die impak wat emosionele intelligensie (EQ) op die leierskap strukture binne die Stelsel Integrasie department (SI), van T-Systems, Suid-Afrika kan hê, verder te verken. Die korporatiewe omgewing van vandag is uiters mededingend, onvoorspelbaar en kompleks. Die omgewing bied unieke uitdagings aan die leierskapkwaliteite van die moderne leier en bestuurder binne die Informasie en Kommunikasie Tegnologie (IKT) veld. Gedurende sy studie aan die Universiteit Van Stellenbosch om die Meestergraad in Besigheidsadministrasie (MBA) te voltooi, was die navorser blootgestel aan die konsep van emosionele intelligensie en die onderlinge impak wat die wetenskaplike veld kan teweeg bring om volhoubare groei en ontwikkeling binne ‘n organisasie te stimuleer. Organisasies spandeer en investeer jaarliks miljoene rande aan Informasie en Tegnologie (IT) stelsels om hulle besigheidsprosesse te aktiveer en sodoende suksesvol te wees op alle strategiese gebiede insluitende volhoubare finansiële sukses. Die investerings sluit die konsepte van program- en projekbestuur in. Die vraag wat gereeld gevra word, is of die sogenaamde “harde” wetenskappe soos projekbestuur wat daagliks in ’n projekomgewing aangewend word, genoeg sal wees om te verseker dat ’n organisasie volhoubare groei en finansiële sukses op die langtermyn kan nastreef. Die belangrikheid van die “sagter” wetenskappe soos emosionele intelligensie word baie kere oorgesien en die navorser wil poog om die impak van emosionele intelligensie op die leierskapkwaliteit en standaarde binne die SI department te ondersoek en te bepaal of dit bydra tot die departement se sukses. Die waarde van emosionele intelligensie kan net verstaan word indien leiers en bestuurders die onderliggende konsepte en potensiële impak verstaan en die waarde besef wat die veld op beide hulle persoonlike maar ook professionele lewens mag hê om suksesvol te kan wees, selfs in moeilike tye. Die doel van die studie, alhoewel meer gerig op die impak wat emosionele intelligensie op leierskap mag hê, poog ook om bewustheid te skep en die nodige inligting rakende emosionele intelligensie konsepte uit te lig en van toepassing te maak op die werknemers binne die SI department.
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Tau, Sethunya Harriet Hlobisa. "An analysis of regulatory mechanisms during sustained task execution in cognitive, motor and sensory tasks." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1006806.
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Fatigue is a state that, although researched for many years, is still not completely understood. Alongside this lack of a general understanding of fatigue is a lack of knowledge on the processes involved in the regulation of fatigue. The existing theories relating to regulation are focussed on mental effort regulation, suggesting that performance outcomes are co-ordinated by effort regulation that functions by making alterations to physiological processes and strategic adjustments at a cognitive level in response to cognitive demands and goals. Since fatigue is a multi-dimensional construct with psychological, physiological, and behavioural effects that respond to endogenous and exogenous variables, it follows then that fatigue assessment techniques ought to include multi-dimensional measures to acquire a holistic depiction of the fatigue symptom. This study aimed to assess whether or not a mechanism that regulated fatigue during sustained task execution could be identified and whether this mechanism resulted in regulation patterns that were distinct to a specific task. An additional aim of the study was on assessing whether the manner in which performance, psychophysical and subjective variables were modified over time followed a similar regulation pattern. The research design was aimed at inducing task-related fatigue twice on two different occasions in the same participants and evaluating the resultant changes in fatigue manifestation. This was done to assess the ability of participants to cope with fatigue as a result of previous experience. The research protocol included three tasks executed for an hour aimed at targeting and taxing the sensory, cognitive, motor resources, each task performed twice. 60 participants were recruited to participate in the current study, with 20 participants – 10 males and 10 females – randomly assigned to each of the three tasks. The cognitive resource task consisted of a memory recall task relying on working memory intended to evaluate the extent of reductions in memory and attention. The sensory resource task consisted of a reading task measuring visual scanning and perception designed to evaluate the extent of reduced vigilance. The motor resource task consisted of a modified Fitts’ stimulus response task targeted at monitoring the extent of movement timing disruption. Performance measures comprised of: response delay and the number of correctly identified digits during the cognitive resource task, the amount of correctly identified errors and reading speed during the sensory resource task, response time during the motor resource task, and responses to simple auditory reaction time tests (RTT) initiated at intervals during the task and then again at the end of each task. Physiological measures included ear temperature, eye blink frequency and duration, heart rate (HR), and heart rate variability (HRV). Subjective measures included the use of the Ratings of Perceived Exertion Category Ratio 10 scale (RPE CR 10) to measure cognitive exertion and the NASA-Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) to index mental workload. Eye blink frequency and duration, HR and HRV were sensitive to the type of task executed, showing differing response patterns both over the different tasks and over the two test sessions. The subjective measures indicated increasing RPE ratings over time in all tasks while the NASA-TLX indicated that each task elicited different workloads. Differing task performance responses were measured between the 1st test session and the 2nd test session during all tasks; while performance was found to improve during the 2nd test session for the motor and sensory tasks, it declined during the cognitive task. The findings of this research indicate that there was a regulatory mechanism for fatigue that altered the manner in which performance, psychophysical and subjective variables were modified over time, initiating a unique fatigue regulation pattern for each variable and each task. This regulation mechanism is understood to be a proactive and protective mechanism that functions through reducing a person’s ability to be vigilant, attentive, to exercise discernment, and to direct their level of responsiveness, essentially impacting how the body adapts to and copes with fatigue. The noted overall findings have industry implications; industries should consider accounting for the effects of this regulatory mechanism in their fatigue management interventions, specifically when designing job rotation and work/rest schedules because each cognitive task, having elicited a unique fatigue regulation pattern, ought to also have a different management program.Microsoft� Office Word 2007
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Hornstein, Daniel L. (Daniel Lather). "Relationships Between Selected Musical Aural Discrimination Skills and a Multivariate Measure of Intellectual Skills." Thesis, North Texas State University, 1986. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc331803/.
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This study attempted to explore the strength and nature of relationships between specific intellectual information processing skills included in a multi-dimensional model conceived by Guilford, and measured by Meeker's Structure of Intellect - Learning Abilities Test, and specific musical aural discrimination skills as measured by Gordon's Musical Aptitude Profile. Three research questions were posed, which involved determining the strength and the nature of the relationship between MAP melodic, rhythmic, and aesthetic discrimination abilities and the intellectual information processing skills comprising the SOI - LA. Both instruments were administered to 387 fourth, fifth, and sixth graders from schools in the Dallas area. After a pilot study established the feasibility of the study and reliability estimates of the test instruments, multiple regression analysis determined that 10% to 15% of the variance between intellectual information-processing skills and the individual musical aural discrimination abilities was in common (r = +.32 to r = +.39). It was further determined that only six specific SOI intellectual dimensions, all involving the skills of "Cognition" and "Evaluation", were significantly related to the musical aural discrimination abilities. Through the use of the Coefficient of Partial Correlation, the strength of each individual information-processing skill's unique contribution to that covariance was determined. The study indicated that "Semantic" mental information processing skills, involving the ability to recall an abstract meaning or procedure given an external stimulus, play an extremely important part within this relationship. Skills of a "Figural" nature, which involve comprehending either a physical object or an non-physical idea and separating it from other impinging stimuli also enter into the relationship, although not to so high an extent. Finally, it was observed that the dimensions involving an understanding of "Systems", those mental skills which deal with groupings of figures, symbols, or semantic relationships, also was important to the relationship.
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Le, Roux Marieanna C. "Die effek van 'n troeteldier-ondersteunde leesprogram op die leesvaardighede van graad 3-kinders in 'n Wes-Kaapse laerskool." Thesis, Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/80029.
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Thesis (PhD)--Stellenbosch University, 2013.ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Reading problems have become a worldwide phenomenon, even in a first world country like America. Literacy figures in South Africa are even worse. Results of the PIRLS study indicated that the reading skills of 80% of South African children are not fully developed by the time they reach grade 5. In recent literacy tests South African children did worse than children from African countries like Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland and Tanzania. Despite everything that is being done to improve literacy and numeracy, South African children do not reach their potential. Many South African schools are labeled as being „dysfunctional‟ and 79% of schools do not have libraries. This is a complex matter with multiple causes. Reading programs may contribute to addressing this issue. There are different types of reading programs and it can take place at different levels. One type of program includes the use of pets. The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of an animal-assisted reading program on the reading skills of grade 3 children in an Afrikaans medium primary school in the Western Cape. The secondary aim was to determine whether this type of reading program could also have an influence on other factors related to reading, like reading self-concept, self-efficacy, anxiety and school attendance of grade 3 children. All the grade 3 children were assessed with a series of tests. Those who were identified by the ESSI Reading Test as unskilled readers (N=102) were randomly assigned to three experimental groups and one control group. The Dog Group (n=27) read to a dog with a facilitator present, the Facilitator Group (n=24) read to a facilitator while the Teddy Bear Group (n=26) read to a teddy bear with a facilitator present. The Control Group (n=25) continued with their normal school activities. Collection of the data took place before the start of the reading program (Time 1) and directly after completion of the program (Time 2) with a follow-up measurement eight weeks later (Time 3). Once a week during the 10 week animal-assisted reading program all the children read for approximately 20 minutes from grade 1, grade 2 and grade 3 level reading books which they chose themselves. The children were called from their classrooms, individually, to another room where they could read calmly and peacefully to either a dog and a facilitator, or to a facilitator, or to a teddy bear and facilitator, depending on the group they were in. During Time 2 and Time 3 the Dog Group performed significantly better in the ESSI Reading Test than the other three groups. The reading comprehension of the Dog Group, as measured by the Neale Individual Reading Test, also improved significantly compared to that of the other three groups. Mixed results were found regarding reading self-concept, self-efficacy and anxiety. The shortcomings of the present study and recommendations for further research are also discussed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Leesprobleme is ʼn wêreldwye probleem, selfs in eerstewêreldlande soos Amerika. In Suid-Afrika is die geletterdheidsyfers selfs baie swakker. Die resultate van die PIRLS-studie dui daarop dat 80% van Suid-Afrikaanse kinders se leesvaardighede nie ten volle ontwikkel is wanneer hulle graad 5 bereik nie. Suid-Afrikaanse kinders het ook swakker gevaar in ʼn geletterdheidtoets as kinders van lande soos Mosambiek, Botswana, Swaziland en Tanzanië. Ten spyte van alles wat gedoen word om geletterdheid en syfervaardigheid te verbeter, vaar Suid-Afrikaanse kinders baie swakker as hul potensiaal. Baie Suid-Afrikaanse skole word geëtiketteer as „disfunksioneel‟ en 79% van skole het geen biblioteke nie. Hierdie saak is kompleks en die oorsake veelvuldig. Leesprogramme mag moontlik ʼn bydrae lewer om hierdie kwessie aan te spreek. Dit kan verskeie vorms aanneem en kan op verskillende vlakke plaasvind. Een tipe program behels die gebruik van troeteldiere. Die doel van die huidige studie was om die effek van ʼn troeteldier-ondersteunde leesprogram (TOL) op die leesvaardighede van graad 3-kinders in ʼn Afrikaansmedium laerskool in die Wes-Kaap te bepaal. Verdere doelstellings was om te bepaal of hierdie tipe leesprogram ook ʼn invloed kon hê op ander leesverwante faktore soos leesselfkonsep, self-effektiwiteit, angs en ook die skoolbywoning van graad 3-kinders. Al die graad 3-kinders is getoets met ʼn reeks instrumente en dié wat deur die ESSI Leestoets geïdentifiseer is as nievaardige lesers (N=102) is verder ewekansig toegewys aan drie eksperimentele en een kontrolegroep. Die Leeshondgroep (n=27) het vir ʼn leeshond en leesfasiliteerder gelees, die Leesfasiliteerdergroep (n=24) het vir ʼn leesfasiliteerder alleen gelees terwyl die Teddiebeergroep (n=26) vir ʼn teddiebeer en ʼn leesfasiliteerder gelees het. Die Kontrolegroep (n=25) het voortgegaan met hul normale skoolaktiwiteite. Data-insameling het plaasgevind voor die aanvang van die leesprogram (Tyd 1), direk ná voltooiing van die leesprogram (Tyd 2) en ʼn opvolgmeting het ag weke later (Tyd 3) plaasgevind. Tydens die 10-weke-troeteldier-ondersteunde leesprogram (TOL) het die kinders in elk van die groepe vir ongeveer 20 min. gelees uit graad 1-, 2- en 3-vlak boekies wat hulle self gekies het. Die kinders is individueel uit die klas geneem na ʼn ander lokaal in die skool waar hulle rustig vir óf die leeshond en ʼn leesfasiliteerder, óf die leesfasiliteerder alleen óf ʼn teddiebeer met ʼn leesfasiliteerder gelees het, afhangende van die groep waarin hulle was. Kinders in die Leeshondgroep het beduidend beter gevaar in die ESSI Leestoets tydens Tyd 2 en Tyd 3 as die kinders in die ander drie groepe. Die leesbegrip van die Leeshondgroep, soos gemeet deur die Neale Individuele Leestoets, het ook beduidend verbeter in vergelyking met dié van die ander drie groepe. Gemengde resultate is gevind met leesselfkonsep, self-effektiwiteit en angs. Die tekortkominge en aanbevelings vir verdere navorsing word ook bespreek.
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Tichiwanhuyi, Tendayi Stephen. "The acute impact of extended aerobic exercise on cognitive performance." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1018182.
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Previous research has established a relationship between exercise and cognition, with more emphasis on this ascertained link, being made on the effects of long term and endurance exercise on cognition. However, enhanced worker effectiveness relies on a strong acute collaboration of physical and cognitive performance during task execution. As a result, the purpose of this study was to examine the acute effects of extended aerobic exercise on visual perception, working memory and motor responses, and to achieve this 24 participants (12 males and 12 females) aged between 18 and 24 participated in a 2 bout cycling exercise. The experimental condition had cycling resistance set at 60 percent of each individual’s maximum aerobic output and the control condition had zero cycling resistance, where three cognitive tasks were performed at 10 minute intervals during the cycling exercise. The results showed that exercise did not affect any significant changes on the cognitive performance measures over the entire cycling duration, as well as during the exercise phase (cycling with resistance). However, visual perception improved significantly (p<0.05) immediately after exercise. This led to the conclusion that moderate to high intensity exercise when performed for an extended duration, has selective effects on certain cognitive performance measures, with the time at which the performance is measured during the exercise being a relevant factor to be considered for maximum activation effects of the exercise.
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Palandre, Audrey. "Le flux de l’information, aspects syntaxiques et discursifs : une étude fonctionnaliste et développementale." Thesis, Lyon 2, 2009. http://www.theses.fr/2009LYO20053/document.
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Le but de ce travail de thèse, qui fait partie du projet ANR ReFlex (n° NT 05-2_41686 Renforcer la flexibilité lexicale et syntaxique dans l’expression orale et écrite des adolescents), est l’étude des capacités linguistiques d’enfants et d’adolescents appartenant à une CSP défavorisée et scolarisés en ZEP dans la région de Lyon. Partant du constat que l’adolescence était une période clef du développement de l’expression orale et écrite en situation monologique (Berman, 2006), nous étudions les productions de trois groupes d’enfants monolingues français (scolarisés en CM2 (âge moyen : 10;9), 5ème (âge moyen : 12;7) et 3ème (âge moyen : 15;2)). Les textes ont été produits dans divers contextes de production : à l’oral et à l’écrit, en exposition et en narration. Nous étudions alors le passage de l’enfant du statut de « native speaker » à celui de « proficient speaker » (Berman, 2004:9, 2008:2). L’enfant, après avoir acquis des unités et des règles linguistiques, doit apprendre lors de l’encodage d’un message à s’adapter aux différents contextes communicationnels, etc. : il doit devenir flexible. Des analyses off line ont été effectuées, et mon travail de thèse se concentre essentiellement sur une thématique spécifique : les syntagmes nominaux dans une perspective syntaxique, développementale et discursive. Notre analyse des syntagmes nominaux est fortement inspirée par l’hypothèse de la Preferred Argument Structure (Du Bois 1987) et examine la cohésion référentielle de textes produits dans différents contextes (oral/écrit ; narratif/expositif). Notre but est ainsi de démontrer : (1) que les choix syntaxiques sont gouvernés par les contraintes communicationnelles et (2) que ces contraintes communicationnelles varient selon la modalité de production (oral ou écrite)The main aim of this research, which is apart of a large project (the ANR project : ReFlex project, n° NT 05-2_41686 Renforcer la flexibilité lexicale et syntaxique dans l’expression orale et écrite des adolescents), is the study of linguistic capacities in lower-class children attending an educational priority school in the suburbs of Lyon. Much development in the ability to produce a monologue text occurs during childhood and adolescence (Berman, 2006). For this reason, I have studied the productions of three groups of French monolingual children (mean age: 10;9 (CM2), 12;7 (5ème) and 15;2 (3ème)). Each participant produced two text types (expository/narrative) in two modalities (written/spoken). The primary focus is on how children grow from “native speaker” to “proficient speaker” (Berman, 2004:9, 2008:2). After having acquired linguistic forms and rules children must learn to adapt their verbal message to the different communicational contexts, etc.: this requires that children become expressively flexible. Off line analyses were conducted, and my PhD thesis tackles a specific theme: noun phrases in a syntactic, developmental and discursive perspective. Our analysis of noun phrases is inspired by the hypothesis of Preferred Argument Structure (Du Bois 1987) and examines referential cohesion in texts produced in different contexts (spoken/written, expository text/narrative text). Our aim is to demonstrate: (1) that language production is governed by communicative constraints; and (2) that those communicative constraints differ for written and spoken production
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Koenig, Vincent. "Contribution à l'étude de l'utilisabilité dans le contexte des systèmes d'information à usage professionnel: conception d'un laboratoire d'utilisabilité et applications." Doctoral thesis, Universite Libre de Bruxelles, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/2013/ULB-DIPOT:oai:dipot.ulb.ac.be:2013/210902.
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Jordan, Ann B. "The shuttle effect : the development of a model for the prediction of variability in cognitive test performance across the adult life span." Thesis, Rhodes University, 1998. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1008556.
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The aim of this thesis was to investigate inter-individual variability on cognitive task performance in normal older adults. In a review of the cognitive aging literature, the implications of a differential perspective were drawn out in order to establish a theoretical and methodological basis for an investigation into variability. A number of regularly occurring patterns, identified on the basis of available reports in the literature, were used to develop a model of variability (the shuttle model). The empirically-based model was located broadly within a neuropsychological framework, and derived explanatory power from the tenets of brain reserve capacity (BRC) theory. It served to describe the bulge in interindividual variability due to aging (the shuttle bulge), and the shifting occurrence of the bulge in relation to the age axis due to cohort and task-related influences (the shuttle shift). A two phase research study was conducted in order to test hypotheses derived from the model. Phase 1 comprised between-groups analyses of normative data covering a broad range of neuropsychological tests in the domains of attention, memory, language, visual and hand motor skills, in order to examine the progression of variability effects across the adult age range. Phase 2 constituted between and within-groups analyses of normative data from a more limited number of neuropsychological tests. It included the examination of raw score distributions and the characteristics of outliers, and was undertaken to explore more closely the nature of the variability phenomena detected in the first phase of the analysis. Taken together, the results of both phases of the investigation revealed statistically significant variability effects in support of the shuttle model. There was a consistent pattern of increased variability in association with older age regardless of functional modality; frequently, in association with later old age, there was also a subsequent decrease in variability (the shuttle bulge). The age of onset of the initial increase in variability occurred earlier or later (the shuttle shift) as a function of four factors: education, gender, task challenge and age-sensitivity of task. The finding of an earlier onset of variability effects for low education, male gender, high task challenge and high age-sensitivity of task was interpreted in terms of BRC threshold theory. The clinical and social implications of the outcome were discussed with special emphasis on the need for a differential perspective on aging, as a complement to the prevailing normative tradition. It was concluded that the shuttle model has considerable heuristic value. It presents an integrative framework for understanding existing variability data and provides clear indications for future research.