Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Expanding knowledge in human society'

Pretest data from a two-year project entitled "An Early Intervention Program for Parents of Young Children at-Risk" were collected and analyzed, in a sample of 2,191 low-income parents, for Head Start participation and baseline information. Respondents participating in the sample were from the states of California, Delaware, Nevada, South Carolina, and Utah. For their participation in the study, respondents received a free subscription to age-paced newsletters, which contained information about appropriate growth expectancies, nutrition, and guidance for their child of 36 months or younger. Newsletters were mailed monthly to parents who had children 12 months and younger and every other month to parents with children older than 12 months. Knowledge of infant/toddler development among Head Start and non-Head Start parents was measured by i-test comparisons. Univariate analysis of demographic influences on developmental knowledge was computed by a oneway ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficients. Demographic variables measured were state of residence, race, educational level, marital status, employment status, attitude, income level, number of children, supplemental programs, and age of parent. Findings revealed that Head start parents did not have a significantly greater knowledge of infant/toddler development than non-Head start parents who had more than one child. Developmental knowledge scores were higher for Head start parents than non-Head start first-time parents. All participating Head start parents had at least two children, one in the Head start program and one other child 25 months or younger. There were differences in developmental knowledge scores by state of residence, race, educational level, marital status, and employment status. Demographic variables found to have a positive correlation with developmental knowledge scores were attitude, income level, number of children, and age of parents. There was a negative correlation with the effect of supplemental programs. Programs tested for this effect were AFDC, Food stamps, Medicaid, WIC, Social Security, and Head Start. A greater proportion of Head Start parents participated in these income-assistance programs, which may have influenced their scores for child development knowledge .

Childhood immunization is acknowledged as being a crucial health intervention for children. Immunization rates of children may vary depending on their parents' knowledge and attitudes about the issue. The focus of this study is on parents' knowledge and attitudes about immunization, and employs Urie Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. A questionnaire was administered to 233 parents in India to explore the issues of parental immunization knowledge and attitudes. Correlates of parental knowledge and attitudes that were explored included gender, education, respondents' immunization status, and children's immunization status. Sources of parental knowledge about immunization were also examined. Overall, parents in this sample had a high level of awareness and positive attitudes about immunization. Parents' knowledge about immunization was correlated with their attitudes on immunization. Gender was correlated with parents' knowledge about immunization, but not their attitudes, with females having greater awareness about immunization than males. Parental education, parental immunization status, and children's immunization status were positively correlated with both knowledge and attitudes about immunization. Doctors and health care settings were the major sources of information abo ut immunization for parents in this sample. Implications for research, policy, and education are discussed.

This study described adoptees' knowledge of and contact with birth parents in adolescence and young adulthood, and analyzed the relationship between adoptees' knowledge of and contact with birth parents and the adoptees' adjustment in young adulthood. Data for the current study came from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). In total, 487 adoptees were identified for this study in Wave I (1995) and Wave Ill (2 002). Descriptive and multivariate analyses using logistic regression were conducted. Adoptees were more likely to be aware of their birth mothers than of their birth fathers and the percentage differences between their knowledge about birth mothers and about birth fathers were reduced over time. Adoptees were more likely to know about their birth parents during young adulthood than adolescence. Being female, being placed at an older age, never placed in a foster home, and being in young adulthood were statistically significant factors to increase the probability of knowing about birth mothers; being placed at older age and being in young adulthood statistically significantly affected the probability of having knowledge about birth fathers. Adoptees were more likely to contact their birth mothers than birth fathers and the differences in percentage concerning contacting birth mothers and birth fathers were increased seven years later. Being adopted at older age, never placed in a foster home, and being in young adulthood were statistically significantly associated with the probability of contacting birth mothers. Being adopted at an older age was associated with the probability of contacting birth fathers. The more adoptees knew about or contacted their birth parents, the less they attended college and the more they formed couple relationships in young adulthood. However, this negative effect of knowing about or contacting birth parents almost disappeared when other variables were controlled. This study provides new information in adoption studies, but the results remain inconclusive until the dynamics of pre-adoption history and post-adoption relationships are better understood.

Thesis (M.B.A.)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2006.
Thesis Advisor(s): L. Andrew Jones, Suzanne Bosque. "September 2006." Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-82). Also available in print.

The vision of New Zealand as a 'knowledge society' is a mantra that has opened the twenty-first century. Underpinning any 'knowledge society', however; are people who turn resources into concrete products and who build, maintain and service the technological and social infrastructure essential to society. This thesis examines the skilled trades and, in particular, how people are trained for those trades. Industry training is a crucial component of the wealth-generating capabilities of New Zealand. It is also an essential part of the way that many young people make the transition from school to work and from adolescence to adulthood. The means of training tradespeople has moved over the years from the rigid and prescriptive apprenticeship system, to the more voluntaristic, industry-led 'industry training' strategy, introduced following the Industry Training Act 1992. Regardless of the system used to organise training, however, there have been long-standing problems in New Zealand with achieving the optimum number of skilled workers, possessing the correct 'mix' of skills required. In this research, based upon semi-structured interviews with industry training stakeholders four industry case studies, policy content analysis and an in-depth examination of the Modem Apprenticeships scheme, I ask three key questions. First, what are the things that, as a country, we could or should reasonably expect a 'good' industry training system to contribute to? These may be things like: an adequate supply of appropriately skilled workers, the ability to upskill or reskill these workers as needed, clear transition routes for young people, lifelong learning opportunities, equity goals and foundation skills. Second, I ask how the current system performs against these criteria. The short answer is that the performance is 'patchy'. There are dire skill shortages in many areas. While opportunities for workplace upskilling, reskilling or 'lifelong learning' are available, I argue that they are not yet cemented into a 'training culture'. Workplace-based learning is an important transition route for a small percentage of our young people but the favoured route is some form of tertiary education, which may be an expensive and not necessarily relevant option. Third, I ask why the performance of New Zealand's industry training system is often less than desirable. My argument is that the problems and solutions thereof, of skill formation in New Zealand have been understood largely in terms of the supply-side. That is, we have either critiqued, or looked to reform, whatever system has been in place to train skilled workers. The inadequacy of this approach is evident from weaknesses in the ability of either the prescriptive apprenticeship system or the voluntaristic industry training strategy to deliver an appropriately skilled workforce. Thus, I also examine the demand side of skill formation: the wider influences that impact on employers' training decisions. Training decisions made by individual employers, the aggregation of which represent the level and quality of training for New Zealand as a whole, are influenced by a plethora of factors. At the micro level of the employer or firm, I explore barriers to training and some of the constraints to the demand for skills. I then examine broader influences, such as the changing shape of the workforce, labour market regulation and wider economic factors, all of which impact on training levels.

Macro Trends in Chinese Human Resources

As we move into a more advanced globalized economy we have developed from an

agriculture society to a service society. As with every other part of human development

we have continued down the path of innovation and change to what some today call the

“creative society”. It might be to early to say that we are entering a new age but it is clear

that changes happen faster and with greater impact across the globe and that is creating a

society that is different from before.

A society where the talented, educated, creative, are the catalyst of economic

development in a modern economy. But the rise of this creative class and the process of

globalization also offer problems. When people elevate themselves and those around

them to new heights through major change the people who are unable to transit into such

a world run the risk of being left behind. It is the paradox of Globalization; it brings

riches to the people who can adapt to it while the others are often left to tend for

themselves.

This thesis is about those effects on the world’s most populous nation, China. And when

it comes to these, the Human Resources, the most productive elements of a modern

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society, China is far behind. The Chinese race toward becoming a major global power is

as much about catching up to the rest of the world economically a socially and politically.

As China masses its economical muscles to change other problems evolve and the speed

of the change lead to even more complicated social problems that might come back to

haunt the country’s development path.

China is trying to do what it took the major developed nations of the world a larger part

of the last 300 years to do in one generation. Pushed by the need for reform the

communist party is juggling politics, economy, and education of their people in more and

more complicated ways and further and further away from each other. The story

however, starts on a train ride between Washington DC and New York.

Introduction. Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) continue to be highly prevalent among young women, and STIs continue to be a challenging health issue on college campuses. Studies have shown that the highest prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV) is among young adult women, ages 20 to 24, including female college students. While the HPV vaccine has proven to be highly effective in preventing certain high-risk types of HPV, it is not effective in preventing all types of HPV or other STIs. Practicing other safer sex behaviors, in addition to condom use, also can help individuals protect themselves and their partners from acquiring HPV and other STIs. Purpose. Relationships between knowledge about HPV and the HPV vaccine, beliefs about HPV, acceptance of the HPV vaccine, and intentions to practice safer sex behaviors were assessed to determine if female college students who had a high acceptance of the HPV vaccine were also more likely to practice safer sex behaviors. Methods. A convenience sample of 2,706 undergraduate female college students, ages 18 to 24, from three U.S. public universities, completed an online survey that measured the following study variables: knowledge about HPV; knowledge about the HPV vaccine; acceptance of the HPV vaccine, specifically influential factors and barriers to vaccination; as well as attitudes, normative beliefs, control beliefs and intentions for practicing safer sex behaviors. Results. The majority of participants had a high level of knowledge of HPV (70.4%) and the HPV vaccine (73.7%). Over one-third of the participants (37.3%) received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine. Most participants thought they had a low susceptibility to HPV, as 54% thought they were unlikely to contract HPV; however, most (53.6%) thought that HPV would be a serious problem for them. The safer sex behavior that participants thought was the easiest was refusing to have sex with a partner that would not use a condom (51.8% “Strongly agree”) and the safer sex behavior that participants thought to be the most difficult was asking a partner to get tested for STIs (54.5% “Disagree”). Attitudes, normative beliefs, and control beliefs combined to strongly predict intentions (R = .730, p < .001), and attitudes was the strongest predictor for intentions to practice safer sex behaviors (β = .666), 95% CI [.649, .711]. There was a significant positive correlation between vaccine acceptance and intentions to practice safer sex behaviors (r = .087, p < .001), including likelihood of getting vaccinated against HPV (r = .098, p < .001). Conclusions. Findings from this study demonstrate the need for university student health centers to provide information about the HPV vaccine as part of broader STI prevention and social marketing campaigns, targeting female college students who are single, as well as those in monogamous relationships. Furthermore, because young men can be carriers of HPV and the HPV vaccine is now available to them, follow-up studies are needed to determine acceptance of the HPV vaccine among male college students as it relates to HPV knowledge, knowledge of the vaccine, and intentions to practice safer sex behaviors.

At the swing of the global economy, political trends and events that occur in the historical development of societies, it is occurring environmental, economic and social development phenomena that affect all citizens of the world, which has been understood as globalization. Given the irreversibility as economic fact, it should alert the entire school community in which the human values and essence of being a person are the most important concepts develop within the consumer society. This essay, beyond a critique of the globalizing phenomenon, explores its possibilities for the future, determining whether the constructs education and globalization can be mutually beneficial and not mutually exclusive.
Al vaivén de la economía mundial, las coyunturas políticas y los acontecimientos que se producen en el devenir histórico de las sociedades, ocurren fenómenos de tipo ambiental, económico y social que afectan a todos los ciudadanos y ciudadanas del orbe, es lo que se ha entendido como la globalización. Dado su carácter irreversible como hecho económico, esta debe alertar a toda la comunidad educativa en la cual se rescate lo humano, los valores y la esencia del ser persona dentro de la sociedad de consumo. Es así como este ensayo pretende, más allá de una crítica al fenómeno globalizante, explorar sus posibilidades de futuro, determinando si los constructos educación y globalización pueden ser términos que se beneficien mutuamente y no sean excluyentes entre sí.

This thesis explores the ways that colonisation has resulted in Maori being cast as different and the other in Aotearoa/New Zealand. It challenges perceptions of relationships between Maori and western knowledge and between science and practice, drawing on a range of theorists, scholarly writings and multiple research and evaluation projects. The study examines how these perceptions, and the definitions arising from them, tend to compartmentalise Maori knowledge and research and, in doing so, serve non-Maori agendas more than they serve Maori aspirations. The thesis looks at the impacts that the world of the coloniser has had on our ways of knowing and ways of practising. Through illustrating initiatives that operate within Maori paradigms and collaborations between Maori and non-Maori, the development of equitable relationships is explored. Key findings are the need for a more inclusive understanding of knowledge and research practice in order to reframe the way we (coloniser and colonised) look at and express our understandings of the world and how these might be operationalised through research relationships. Part of the contribution of this thesis is to provide a framework for more equitable research relationships, focusing on non- Maori development. This is suggested as a counter to the constant examination and defining of Maori as different and in need of development.

This dissertation deals with the multi-faceted phenomenon of knowledge conceptions. The aim is to describe the meaning of “academic knowledge” in today’s knowledge society from the perspective of “education” (a term used here in relation to the ‘liberal arts’ tradition as used in the English language or in German ‘bildung’) and “commodisation”. These two perspectives create a field of tensions in higher education. The study analyses the flow of knowledge in the process of commodisation - partly through a network of relations between societally-relevant actors, partly through career geography. The actors studied are: the state, the university, the university departments and the graduates/students. The research ‘design is a descriptive case study of Karlstad University during the years 1997-2007. The theoretical approach combines two perspectives; commodisation of academic knowledge and career geography. Commodisation is studied by the developments in higher education seen from a wider national and international perspective. Career geography entails both a geographical mobility and a social mobility of the students. The results show that there are different conceptions about academic knowledge from the different actors. Two different perspectives of commodisation of academic knowledge have been found, one from the “top down” perspective and one from the “bottom up” perspective. The top down perspective means that commodisation is driven mostly by the state and then is followed by the university and the university departments. In the bottom up perspective, commodisation is driven by the students. Furthermore, the results from the study of the Swedish state reveal an increasingly clear commodisation of academic knowledge with emphasis on economic growth, regional development and international competition.  However, Karlstad University’s and the university departments’ view of knowledge differs somewhat from that of the state’s, and aims instead to combine ‘commodisation of knowledge’ with ‘knowledge as education’ in its efforts to be a ‘learning university’. It is also shown that students appreciate this combined view. On a general level, the main argument from this dissertation is that it is necessary to place more attention on how to obtain a balance between the commodisation of academic knowledge and knowledge as “education” in today’s higher education system.

This research aims to shed insights and produce supportive tools to help stimulate the design of education programs. First a characterization of opportunities and challenges for education programs is given from a global sustainability standpoint. Second a characterization of what education programs may contain and take into account from a full sustainability standpoint, as an outline of education programs in a desired future at a principle level, is provided to help inspire purpose-led education services organizations. Third an outline of possible tools and strategies to help strategically close the gap between the current unsustainable state and the desired sustainable future is provided. A special focus is put on the Template for Sustainable Product Development (TSPD) process tool, originally used to help industries in their production chain, but here adapted as the “Sustainability Potential” Express Strategic Assessment for Education Programs to benefit education programs stakeholders. The authors also propose a set of three abilities acting in synergy: Creativity, “Knowledge Making” & “Open Values” (CKMOV) that are at the heart of Strategic Sustainable Development and thus may help form three equally vital pillars, which education programs may strategically take support from while helping society transition to a sustainable equilibrium.

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CAFOs raise tens of thousands of animals in confined cages and feedlots, feed them high calorie diets, and ship them to slaughter in record time. These factory farms (as they are sometimes called) devastate neighboring environments with the releases of toxic methane gas and animal waste. Progress in modernized agricultural production has enabled us to feed the growing population but unintended consequences for human health and neighboring communities are happening. This study examines environmental and human health impacts of CAFOs on Central Mississippi residents. Through analyses of existing studies and data and telephone surveys, the objectives will be met. Risk society theory is used to explain the increase of diseases and environmental risks associated with CAFOs in late modernity. The results do not indicate that neighboring residents of CAFOs in Central Mississippi are more likely to have ill health, a negative quality of life, or environmental degradation, overall.

Orientador: Maria Cecília Calani Baranauskas
Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Computação
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Resumo: Nos últimos anos, as novas tecnologias de informação e comunicação têm modificado a natureza da interação humano-computador, quebrando os limites do contexto de trabalho para fazer parte da vida cotidiana das pessoas em todos os lugares e em qualquer momento. Assim, novos sistemas disponíveis por meio da Web e de dispositivos móveis estão ao alcance de um número cada vez maior de pessoas, aumentando a importância de se projetar interfaces para todos. Ainda, o desafio número quatro proposto pela SBC se alinha a essa necessidade de viabilizar o acesso do cidadão comum ao conhecimento de forma participativa e universal. Embora várias normas, recomendações e diretrizes tenham sido utilizados para auxiliar designers na complexa tarefa de projetar interfaces para todos, grande parte das escolhas ainda dependem muito da experiência do designer que, nesse cenário, não tem mais um público-alvo bem definido. Ao mesmo tempo, uma cultura de participação, desencadeada por ideias de crowdsourcing, computação social e computação humana, vem permitindo novas formas de colaboração para resolver problemas diversos. Esta tese propõe mecanismos que a um só tempo envolvem o cidadão comum no processo de construção do conhecimento em design e oferecem recursos que podem ser apropriados pelos designers em seu processo criativo de projetar interfaces para todos. Dessa forma, esta tese propõe, desenvolve e experimenta a abordagem GWIDO (Games With Interaction Design Objective), beneficiando-se de recursos oferecidos pela Web contemporânea, bem como do interesse das pessoas por jogos na internet. A ideia central consiste no uso de GWAPS (Games With a Purpose) para apoiar o designer na escolha de elementos de design, envolvendo nesse processo um grande número de potenciais usuários. A tese traz contribuições na interseção das áreas de pesquisa da computação humana e da computação social, mostrando um levantamento preliminar dos trabalhos relacionados, ilustrando a ideia com uma instanciação de um ambiente para designers integrado a um jogo do tipo GWAP e demonstrando a utilização da metodologia proposta de maneira prática no redesign de um sistema real
Abstract: In recent years, new information and communication technologies have changed the nature of human-computer interaction, breaking the boundaries of the workplace to be part of the everyday people¿s lives in everywhere and at any time. Thus, new systems available through the Web and mobile devices can be used by a growing number of people, increasing the importance of designing interfaces for all. In addition, one of the challenges (number four) proposed by SBC is aligned to this need of improving the access of ordinary citizens to knowledge in a participatory and universal way. While several standards, recommendations and guidelines have been used to assist designers in the complex task of designing interfaces for all, most choices still rely strongly on the experience of the designer who, in this scenario, no longer has a well-defined target audience. At the same time, a culture of participation triggered by ideas of crowdsourcing, human computation and social computing has enabled new forms of collaboration to solve various problems. This thesis proposes mechanisms that involve ordinary citizens in the process of knowledge construction in design and in the same time offers resources that can be appropriated by designers in the creative process of designing interfaces for all. Thus, this thesis proposes, develops and experiences the GWIDO approach (Games With Interaction Design Objective), taking advantage of features offered by contemporary Web as well as the interest of people for games in the internet. The main idea is to use GWAPs (Games with a Purpose) to assist the designer in the choice about design elements, involving a large number of potential users. The thesis provides contributions at the intersection of research fields (human computation and social computing), showing a preliminary survey of the related work, illustrating the idea with an instantiation of an environment for designers integrated with a GWAP game and demonstrating the use of the proposed methodology in a practical way during a redesign of a real system
Doutorado
Ciência da Computação
Doutor em Ciência da Computação

Never before have humans wielded a greater ability to alter and disrupt planetary processes. Our impact is becoming so noticeable that a new geological epoch has been proposed – the Anthropocene – in which Earth systems might no longer maintain the stable and predictable conditions of the past 12 millennia. This is particularly evident in the rapid expansion of urban areas, where a majority of humans now live and where environmental changes such as rising temperatures and habitat loss are happening faster than elsewhere.  In light of this, questions have been raised about what a more responsible relationship between humans and the rest of the planet might look like. Scholars in sustainability science employ the concept of ‘stewardship’ in searching for an answer; however, with multiple different applications and definitions, there is a need to better understand what stewardship is or what novelty it might add to sustainability research. This thesis investigates stewardship empirically through two case studies of civic engagement for protecting nature in cities – Bengaluru, India and New York City, USA. Further, the thesis also proposes a conceptual framework for how to understand stewardship as a relation between humans and the rest of nature, based on three dimensions: care, knowledge and agency. This investigation into stewardship in the urban context uses a social–ecological systems approach to guide the use of mixed theory and methods from social and natural sciences. The thesis is organized in five papers. Paper I reviews defining challenges in managing urban social–ecological systems and proposes that these can more effectively be addressed by collaborative networks where public, civic, other actors contribute unique skills and abilities. Paper II and Paper III study water resource governance in Bengaluru, a city that has become dependent on external sources while its own water bodies become degraded and depleted.Paper II analyzes how locally based ‘lake groups’ are able to affect change through co-management arrangements, reversing decades of centralization and neglect of lakes’ role in Bengaluru’s water supply.Paper III uses social–ecological network analysis to analyze how patterns in lake groups’ engagements and collaborations show better fit with ecological connectivity of lakes.Paper IV employs sense of place methods to explore how personal bonds to a site shapes motivation and goals in waterfront stewardship in New York City. Finally,Paper V reviews literature on stewardship and proposes a conceptual framework to understand and relate different uses and underlying epistemological approaches in the field. In summary, this thesis presents an empirically grounded contribution to how stewardship can be understood as a human–nature relation emergent from a deep sense ofcare and responsibility, knowledge and learning about how to understand social–ecological dynamics, and theagency and skills needed to influence these dynamics in a way that benefits a greater community of humans as others. Here, the care dimension is particularly important as an underappreciated aspect of social–ecological relations, and asset for addressing spatial and temporal misalignment between management institutions and ecosystem. This thesis shows that care for nature does not erode just because green spaces are degraded by human activities – which may be crucial for promoting stewardship in the Anthropocene.

At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 3: Manuscript. Paper 4: Manuscript. Paper 5: Manuscript.

The threat of global climate change increasingly influences the actions of human society. As world leaders have negotiated adaptation strategies over the past couple of decades, a certain discourse has emerged that privileges Western conceptions of environmental degradation. I argue that this framing of climate change inhibits the successful implementation of adaptation strategies. This thesis focuses on a case study of the Maldives, an island nation deemed one of the most vulnerable locations to the impacts of rising sea levels. I apply a postcolonial theoretical framework to examine how differing knowledge systems can both complement and contradict one another. By analyzing government-enforced relocation policies in the Maldives, I find that points of contradiction between Western and indigenous environmental epistemologies can create opportunities to bridge the gap between isolated viewpoints and serve as moments to resist the dominant climate change discourse.

Customary land ownership, recording and registration are complex issues in the Solomon Islands. At present, 87% of the land is held under customary laws. Almost all (some 99%) of the land held under customary law is not surveyed, recorded or registered to the tribes. Customary land disputes have been inhibiting rural development initiatives, which is partly responsible for the ill-being of the people. The Family Tree Approach (FTA) is a process being used within the To'abaita region of the Malaita Province to help address problems in the dilemmas of land ownership, land disputes, land recording, land registration and rural development in land held under customary laws in To’abaita. The FTA is a blend of indigenous epistemology, modern practices and Christian principles. Indigenously, the tribes identify with their land by tracing their origins through genealogies, historical narrations, tribal epics and chants, shrines and properties. Rev. Michael Maelia’u, a Church Minister and a former Parliamentarian, promotes the FTA. The FTA has four pillars (principles) – recognition, reconciliation, recording and registration – which are covered within five sequential phases. For instance, recognition is done in phase one of the process, enabling all members of a tribe to recognize each other. Reconciliation is part of the process, promoting forgiveness and acceptance of tribal members. Recording is an important pillar of the FTA, as its role is to produce documents that will be accepted by the law. Research results show that land registration is also a pillar of the FTA; once customary land is registered to the tribes, land disputes will be resolved, thereby enabling sustainable rural development that improves the people’s well-being. The FTA, however, is currently not formally recognized in the country. It has been used by 12 of approximately 20 tribes within the To'abaita region. Some of the To'abaita tribes have not adopted the FTA for various reasons. The FTA has enabled the disintegrated generations to recognize or identify with one another. It enables public recognition of existing tribes, tribal genealogies, tribal tales, tribal epics, the tribal iii shrines, and the tribal land. Reconciliation has been carried out at both intertribal and intra-tribal levels. The FTA enables identification of people who are residing on land and utilizing resources they do not have a right to. It makes people aware of their roots or the land of their origin, which would then lead to reduced land disputes that constrained development initiatives and the well-being of the people. The results, however, indicated that the FTA has problems either in the approach itself or in its management. It is incapable of achieving its objectives (reducing land disputes, enable rural development, enable tribal land registration, and resettling land that was wrongly acquired). People have split perception of the FTA and the legislation; this therefore reduces potential motivation that is needed to advance the approach. Results of the research also indicated that no proper and serious documentation has been done, despite knowing that it is one of the pillars. In To'abaita, gender and culture are contributing issues, which cause difficulties to the FTA. Also, the FTA lacked financial support. Those that have experience with the FTA believe that the FTA objectives need to be made known to promote motivation to the illiterate people of To'abaita. Adequate communication of issues to improve the FTA is essential. Forming a committee that oversees the design and management of the FTA is necessary for its improvement, and adequate financial support will bring the FTA forward. Chief empowerment by the legislation is essential to enable the FTA to achieve its objectives in the future.

Les escoles de negocis han esdevingut, sobretot a partir del procés de globalització neoliberal iniciat en els anys 1980, en centres de poder on es formen professionals que ocupen llocs rellevants en les noves estructures empresarials, econòmiques i polítiques. La darrera crisi econòmica global de principis del segle XXI ha qüestionat aquest neoliberalisme ensenyat en les escoles de negocis i, en conseqüència, la legitimitat d’aquests centres educatius per guiar els camins econòmic, social i polític de la societat mundial. Paral•lelament al procés de globalització neoliberal, la tècnica i tecnologia modernes han canviat la manera com entenem la societat, les empreses, la ciència i el planeta, essent les noves tecnologies de la informació el paradigma d’aquesta nova societat global del segle XXI. En el treball presentem la tècnica com un element creat per l’home que, a la vegada, el defineix i, consegüentment, en determina el seu coneixement i la seva llibertat. Els interessos econòmics creats a partir de la Revolució Industrial són la clau per entendre l’expansió de la tècnica i de la tecnologia modernes i, en aquest sentit, la tècnica educativa ha tendit, per aquestes mateixes motivacions econòmiques, a l’especialització dels coneixements. Partint d’aquesta realitat, el treball mostra la necessitat que la tècnica educativa actual potenciï el que anomenem coneixement reflexionat, que és diferent a l’acumulació d’informació, i que definim com el component clau de l’economia moderna globalitzada, una economia que té com element característic i diferenciador l’aplicació del coneixement individual i col•lectiu en aparells de generació de coneixement, que, al seu torn, són fruit de la revolució de les tecnologies de la informació. Els canvis que la tècnica i ciència modernes han provocat fan necessari estudiar com funciona la tècnica educativa d’avui i quin tipus de coneixement necessitem les persones per construir la nostra pròpia llibertat. Els descobriments moderns del funcionament de la memòria humana i la plasticitat cerebral són fonamentals per elaborar coneixement reflexionat a escoles i universitats. A més, el moment actual d’incertesa social en el marc de la nova societat noosfèrica moderna fa inevitable la necessitat que en els centres educatius es formin persones amb unes noves habilitats i fortaleses que els permetin viure lliurement en la concepció moderna de l’espai i del temps. Per tot plegat, en el treball defensem que els objectius de les escoles de negocis han de ser responsables amb les necessitats socials i econòmiques mundials i plantegem una necessària legitimació de les causes socials i econòmiques que es tracten en els seus plans d’estudis, els quals, com demostrem, són homogenis arreu del planeta i emmotllats als criteris de rànquings diversos publicats en revistes especialitzades. Com a conclusió, proposem un programa transdisciplinar que anomenem Sòcrates per a potenciar el coneixement reflexionat entre els alumnes i ajudar a crear professionals amb personalitat i ètica d’acord a les necessitats socials i econòmiques de cada moment i regió.
Las escuelas de negocios se han convertido, sobre todo a partir del proceso de globalización neoliberal iniciado en los años 1980, en centros de poder donde se forman profesionales que ocupan puestos relevantes en las nuevas estructuras empresariales, económicas y políticas. La última crisis económica global de principios del siglo XXI ha cuestionado este neoliberalismo enseñado en las escuelas de negocios y, en consecuencia, la legitimidad de estos centros educativos para guiar los caminos económicos, sociales y políticos de la sociedad mundial. Paralelamente al proceso de globalización neoliberal, la técnica y tecnología modernas han cambiado el modo cómo entendemos la sociedad, las empresas, la ciencia y el planeta, siendo las nuevas tecnologías de la información el paradigma de esta nueva sociedad global del siglo XXI. En el trabajo presentamos la técnica como un elemento creado por el hombre que, a la vez, lo define y, consecuentemente, determina su conocimiento y su libertad. Los intereses económicos creados a partir de la Revolución Industrial son la clave para entender la expansión de la técnica y de la tecnología modernas y, en este sentido, la técnica educativa ha tendido, debido a estas mismas motivaciones económicas, a la especialización de los conocimientos. Partiendo de esta realidad, el trabajo muestra la necesidad que la técnica educativa actual potencie lo que llamamos conocimiento reflexionado, que es diferente a la acumulación de información, y que definimos como el componente clave de la economía moderna globalizada, una economía que tiene como elemento característico y diferenciador la aplicación del conocimiento individual y colectivo en aparatos de generación de conocimiento, que a su vez, son fruto de la revolución de las tecnologías de la información. Los cambios que la técnica y ciencia modernas han provocado hacen necesario estudiar cómo funciona la técnica educativa de hoy y qué tipo de conocimiento necesitamos las personas para construir nuestra propia libertad. Los descubrimientos modernos del funcionamiento de la memoria humana y la plasticidad cerebral son fundamentales para elaborar conocimiento reflexionado en escuelas y universidades. Además, el momento actual de incertidumbre social en el marco de la nueva sociedad noosférica moderna hace inevitable la necesidad de que en los centros educativos se formen personas con unas nuevas habilidades y fortalezas que les permitan vivir libremente en la concepción moderna del espacio y del tiempo. Por todo ello, en el trabajo defendemos que los objetivos de las escuelas de negocios deben ser responsables con las necesidades sociales y económicas mundiales y planteamos una necesaria legitimación de las causas sociales y económicas que se tratan en sus planes de estudios, los cuales como demostramos, son homogéneos en todo el planeta y moldeados a los criterios de rankings diversos publicados en revistas especializadas. Como conclusión, proponemos un programa transdisciplinario que llamamos Sócrates para potenciar el conocimiento reflexionado entre los alumnos y ayudar a crear profesionales con personalidad y ética de acuerdo a las necesidades sociales y económicas de cada momento y región.
Business schools have become, particularly from the neoliberal globalization process that started in the 1980's, centers where professionals are trained to take up important places in new business, economic and political structures. The last global economical crisis of the early twenty-first century has questioned this neoliberalism taught in business schools and, consequently, the legitimacy of these educational centers to guide the global economic, social and political paths of the world. Hand in hand to the process of neoliberal globalization, techniques and modern technology have changed the way we understand society, business, science and the world. They have become the new information technology paradigm of the new 21st century global society. At work we present the technique as something created by man which in turn is defined and thus determines his knowledge and freedom. The economic interests originated during the Industrial Revolution are the key to understanding the widespread of technique and modern technology. Besides, in this sense, teaching techniques have led to the specialization of knowledge by the same reason. Bearing this in mind, the study shows the need for the current teaching techniques to enhance what we call knowledge through thought, which is different to information accumulation and defined as the key component of the modern globalized economy. This economy has as a characteristic and differentiating feature the application of individual and collective knowledge into knowledge-generating devices, which, in turn, are the result of the revolution of information technology. The changes that modern technique and science have caused require study how current teaching techniques work and what kind of knowledge do we humans need to build our own freedom. Modern discoveries on human memory and brain plasticity are essential to develop knowledge through thought in schools and universities. In addition, the current uncertainty in the social frame of the new noospherical modern society makes it unavoidable to ignore the need in schools to train people with new skills and strengths that allow them to live freely in the modern conception of space and time. All in all, the paper argues that the goals of the business schools should be responsible for the global social and economic needs and proposes the necessary legitimation of the social and economic roots treated in their curricula which, as shown, are homogeneous across the globe and fitting the criteria of different rankings published in specialized journals. In conclusion, we propose a transdisciplinary program named Socrates as to bolster knowledge through thought among students and help to create professionals with ethics and personality according to the social and economic needs of each time and region.

The desire to enhance and make ourselves better is not a new one and it has continued to intrigue throughout the ages. Individuals have continued to seek ways to improve and enhance their well-being for example through nutrition, physical exercise, education and so on. Crucial to this improvement of their well-being is improving their ability to remember. Hence, people interested in improving their well-being, are often interested in memory as well. The rationale being that memory is crucial to our well-being. The desire to improve one’s memory then is almost certainly as old as the desire to improve one’s well-being. Traditionally, people have used different means in an attempt to enhance their memories: for example in learning through storytelling, studying, and apprenticeship. In remembering through practices like mnemonics, repetition, singing, and drumming. In retaining, storing and consolidating memories through nutrition and stimulants like coffee to help keep awake; and by external aids like notepads and computers. In forgetting through rituals and rites. Recent scientific advances in biotechnology, nanotechnology, molecular biology, neuroscience, and information technologies, present a wide variety of technologies to enhance many different aspects of human functioning. Thus, some commentators have identified human enhancement as central and one of the most fascinating subject in bioethics in the last two decades. Within, this period, most of the commentators have addressed the Ethical, Social, Legal and Policy (ESLP) issues in human enhancements as a whole as opposed to specific enhancements. However, this is problematic and recently various commentators have found this to be deficient and called for a contextualized case-by-case analysis to human enhancements for example genetic enhancement, moral enhancement, and in my case memory enhancement (ME). The rationale being that the reasons for accepting/rejecting a particular enhancement vary depending on the enhancement itself. Given this enormous variation, moral and legal generalizations about all enhancement processes and technologies are unwise and they should instead be evaluated individually. Taking this as a point of departure, this research will focus specifically on making a case for ME and in doing so assessing the ESLP implications arising from ME. My analysis will draw on the already existing literature for and against enhancement, especially in part two of this thesis; but it will be novel in providing a much more in-depth analysis of ME. From this perspective, I will contribute to the ME debate through two reviews that address the question how we enhance the memory, and through four original papers discussed in part three of this thesis, where I examine and evaluate critically specific ESLP issues that arise with the use of ME. In the conclusion, I will amalgamate all my contribution to the ME debate and suggest the future direction for the ME debate.

This thesis analyses the ways in which recent changes in the global field of work have resonated in the lives of one group of retrenched workers. In order to conceptualise the relationships between changing conditions and changes in individual lives, the author has drawn from the work of sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Of particular importance to the study are his notions of the ‘habitus’, the ‘field’ and the ’disposition’. The research focuses on workers leaving the textile industry, in which a diversity of individual ‘dispositions’ once flourished as part of another system or work ‘habitus’. This allows examination of how changing conditions of work have generated specific transformative possibilities for workers at the lower end of the economy. The author asks what transformations were undergone in the lives of seventeen retrenched textile workers and how adequately their learning process was supported by vocational education and training.

碩士
臺北市立教育大學
教育行政與評鑑研究所
95
A Study on the Relationships between Knowledge Society and Human Capital Wen-Ping Kuo Abstract The study aims to discuss the relationships between knowledge society and human capital. The subject are 83 countries which have no missing value on 27 indicators concluded from World Development Indicators and Human Development Report. The study first adopts Pearson Product-moment Correlation to confirm the direction of principle components. Besides, the study uses cluster analysis to differentiate cluster membership and examines it’s correctness by discriminant analysis and its validity by one-way ANOVA. Furthermore, the study uses Principal Analysis to construct the composite index of knowledge society and human capital. Finally, the study uses Canonical Analysis to prove the relationships between knowledge society and human capital. The major findings are illustrated as below: 1. Knowledge society includes education and human resources, socio-economic infrastructure resources and application of ICT. 2. Human capital includes health dimension, education dimension migration dimension and availability of scientists and engineers dimension. 3. The indicators can effectively differentiate cluster membership. 83 subjects can be divided into four clusters including cluster modern knowledge society and human capital country, cluster semi-modern knowledge society and human capital country, cluster developing knowledge society and human capital country, cluster least developed knowledge society and human capital country. 4. In the age of Knowledge society, the important factor of countries’ development are movement of human capital. 5. The international position of Taiwan’s knowledge society and human capital is eighteen of 83 countries. Taiwan belongs to the modern knowledge society and human capital country. 6. There are positive and high relationships between knowledge society and human capital. Based on the major findings, the study provides suggestion for reference of policy-making and the further research.

Content removed due to copyright restriction: Nixon, M. (2001). What are the potential benefits of eel consumption for Maori health? Te Taarere aa Tawhaki 1, 132-135.
This ground breaking doctoral thesis brings together science, history and the values derived from lore and tikanga to address a significant health issue for contemporary Maaori. The specific contribution of this research thesis is the combination of knowledge bases from two perspectives. The thesis first presents a scientific view, then a Maaori view, discovered through an interface of customary and contemporary knowledge. The method first examines Western academic theoretical methodologies, then, Kaupapa Maaori methodologies, then introduces and develops the concept of inherited knowledge supported by the mandatory Standards required in an academic context. Therefore the major findings present the syntheses of the two approaches. The framework used is reproducible through an accepted or approved example of something against which others are judged or measured. At this point the thesis explores the theoretical framework for a health intervention by surveying whether it is possible to combine knowledge traditions in a contemporary setting. Thus the accessed inherited traditional and scientific knowledge discovered in this thesis has been adapted for the nine point health intervention designed for Maaori participation. This thesis hypothesises that the staple long finned eel diet contained the essential fatty acid omega-3 and is presented as a metaphor for Hauora, thus being consistent with modern scientific knowledge where the scientific findings presented. The long finned eel was chemically assayed for the presence of the unsaturated essential fatty acid omega-3, and assayed again to assess the stability and quality of fresh and smoked eel. Type II diabetes mellitus is offered as a story and why it has suddenly occurred in Maaori subsequent to urban migration and thereafter. In addition a ten year study of Waikato hapuu supports the research that regular consumption of the long finned eel prevents Type II diabetes. And that prior to urban migration holistic practice, through established lifestyle choices and inherited knowledge, provided nutritional, other physiological benefits and broader wellness outcomes. The double vowel has been used for all te reo Maaori words in the thesis because that is the kawa or protocol of the Tainui Kiingitanga.

The objective of this dissertation was to analyze the corporate culture with the help of specification its decisive cultural dimensions and to propose changes leading to the desired state of the corporate culture, which should serve as a motivational factor. This dissertation is divided into two parts. The first part of the dissertation analyzes theoretical knowledge from li-terary sources, which are essential to realizing the significance of the investigated phenomena. The second part con-tains an analysis of the corporate culture as a motivational factor based on the literary sources and then proposes the necessary changes that would lead to the desired state.

Research into the use of information by health care professionals has generally been conducted in countries dominated by the biomedical model. In these contexts, illness is considered to have a scientifically identifiable physical cause, and treatment practices within the formal health care sector are prescribed and managed in accordance with this definition. Yet there are also contexts where other belief systems inform and guide the way that people think about their health. In comparison to the biomedical model, these contexts have contributed very little to our understanding of how health professionals develop their knowledge. This research investigates how primary health care workers (PHCWs) in one such context, Papua New Guinea (PNG), develop their knowledge about the health services they provide. In order to discover and understand the differing views of these PHCWs, 69 semi-structured interviews were conducted in three culturally and geographically diverse regions of PNG. In explaining the diagnostic and treatment practices they use, these participants provided insights into not only how PHCWs engage with information but also how it informs their professional practice. These data were analysed, interpreted and discussed using a framework consisting of four, primary but interconnecting aspects: the context in which information was provided, the interactions with the sources of information, the processes by which information was understood, and the outcomes realized as a result of the information being used. Findings indicated that the majority of participants in this study acknowledged, if not incorporated, information pertaining to biomedicine, Christianity and Indigenous belief systems into their diagnostic and treatment practices. Even when these belief systems clearly contradicted each other, PHCWs did not in general feel the need to make a conscious choice between them. From their comments it would appear that four factors contributed to this ability to incorporate diverse and often conflicting ideas into the way that patients were cared for. First, all of the belief systems were considered legitimate by at least one group of people connected to the community in which the PHCW worked. Second, although varying in degrees of availability and accessibility, members of these groups were able to disseminate information pertaining to the belief system they supported. Third, the PHCW had no particular affiliation with any one of these groups but instead regularly interacted with a range of different people. Lastly, the PHCW worked in situations where health practices were not generally well supervised by their employers and therefore they were relatively free to choose between various diagnostic and treatment practices. The qualitative interpretive approach adopted in this thesis contributes to the field of human information behavior by affirming that conflict is in the eye of the beholder. When a number of belief systems coexist and all are considered legitimate, information about them is freely available, and the recipients actions are neither constrained by their own dogma, nor imposed upon by others, individuals may quite comfortably embrace diverse beliefs. These findings may also contribute to a better understanding of health management practices in developing countries by suggesting that health professionals are not merely personifications of a biomedical model. Instead, the study demonstrates that multiple belief systems can be combined by PHCWs, and that in turn this benefits the formal health care sector through increased treatment options that are both appropriate and effective in such circumstances.

The main aim of diploma thesis, which called Influence of stress on work performance in selected companies, is to explore stress factors in the workplace and their influence on work performance. In the theoretical part of this thesis were summarized issues of stress, symptoms of stress, stress and healthy, types of stressors, stress factors in the workplace, stress management, work performance and pathological situations in the workplace, such as bossing, mobbing and sexual harassment.

The imbalance in the labor market between the supply of and demand for skills is a widespread phenomenon that may contribute to unemployment and lower productivity and competitiveness. This diploma thesis aims to explore and understand the complex phenomena of skill mismatches on the labor market. As skill mismatch manifests itself in various forms, there exist different but also related concepts of educational or qualification and skill mismatches. In the first part a clear distinction between skill and qualification mismatch is made, the links between different types of mismatches are described and the debate of using each of the concepts is situated as well as the comparison of advantages and disadvantages of different concepts. Next part of this thesis concerns also with potential causes of mismatches in the labor market as well as its consequences and implications for individuals, businesses and society as a whole. In the next section, the information on possible measures of educational or qualification and skill mismatches is offered and the comparison of these measures is made. A new approach for measuring skill mismatch is introduced. Due to published results from PIAAC survey, which contains measures of skill proficiency and also information about qualifications, educational as well as...

This diploma thesis presents the concept of lifelong learning as an ambitious political project born in the field of international organisations at the beginning of the 1970s which now reaches far beyond the borders of national states and education policy. The sphere of education still remains the responsibility of national governments, however, even here strong globalising tendencies have occurred since the 1990s, as a result of which the national policy is more and more being influenced by supranational institutions. Although the concept of lifelong learning now serves as a common framework, it has been interpreted differently during its evolution and a consensus on what it exactly means and how it should be put into practice still does not exist. Based on analysis of key documents, this thesis aims to compare the view of lifelong learning held by the international organisation UNESCO with that of OECD, as two distinctive perspectives on this issue. The comparison draws on Rubenson's model (2004), which examines lifelong learning through three key categories representing the main actors of social life - the state, the market and civil society. As this topic has not been widely explored in the Czech Republic, this thesis aims to present a complete overview, including a critical assessment of both...

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
In today's fast paced world, people have become increasingly interested in online communication to facilitate their lives and make it faster. This goes on from simple social interactions to more advanced actions like shopping on the internet. The presence of such activities makes it crucial for people to use their common sense and judgment to process all this information and evaluate what/who they trust and what/whom they do not. This process would have been much easier if the number of people in such networks is really small and manageable. However, there are millions of users who are hooked online every day. This makes the person very overwhelmed with his trusting decision, especially when it comes to interacting with strangers over the internet, and/or buying personal items, especially expensive ones. Therefore, many trust models have been proposed by computer scientists trying to evaluate and manage the trust between users using different techniques and combining many factors. What these computer scientists basically do is coming up with mathematical formulas and models to express trust in online networks and capture its parameters. However, social scientists are the people better trained to deal with concepts related to human behaviors and their cognitive thinking such as trust. Thus, in order for computer scientists to support their ideas and get a better insight about how to direct their research, people like social scientists should contribute. With this in mind, we realized in our group work the importance of such contribution, so we came up with the idea of my research work. In my search, I tried to find how these social scientists think and tackle a dynamic notion like trust, so we can use their findings in order to enhance our work and trust model. Through the chapters, I will discuss an already developed trust model that uses measurement theory in modeling trust. I will refer back to this model and see how other social scientists dealt with some of the issues encountered by the model and its functionality. Some small experiments have been done to show and compare our results with social scientists results for the same matter. One of the most important and controversial points to be discussed from social scientists' point of view is whether trust is transitive or not. Other points to be discussed and supported by social scientists' research include aggregation, reputation, timing effects on trust, reciprocity, and experience effects on trust. Some of these points are classified into trust mapping categories and others are related to trust management or decision making stages. In sum, this work is a multidisciplinary study of trust whose overall goal is to enhance our work and results, as computer scientists.