Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Relationships Between Non-Linguistic Variables In Second Language Acquisition And The Attained English Language Proficiency Of Taiwanese University Students, Chihming Hsieh

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Second language acquisition (SLA) research, the study of how people learn to communicate in a language other than their native language, encompasses a broad range of questions from a wide variety of perspectives. One of the most widely recognized facts about SLA was that some individuals are more successful in learning a second language than are others (Gass & Selinker, 2001). Students with the same initial linguistic abilities, who receive the same education, even in the same institution, often do not achieve the same linguistic competency levels at program completion (Dornyei, 1998). This phenomenon cannot be explained purely by linguistic …

A Study Into Effective Websites Properties As Defined By The Internet Commerce Evaluation Scale In Taiwan, Yue-Jer Lin

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The purpose of this study was to determine the properties shared by effective Web sites in Taiwan. This study applied the Internet Commerce Evaluation Scale (ICES) Web site tool developed by Scheffelmaier and Vinsonhaler in 2002 to assess the quality of commercial Web sites in Taiwan.

This research summarized the studies and research design of properties characterizing successful Taiwanese electronic commerce Web sites. Two Web sites were chosen by the researcher and administered to 100 participants selected from college students aged 18-40 in Taiwan. This study also investigated the correlations between scores. Data analyses were conducted to examine 12 subscales …

Islam And Democracy: An Empirical Examiniation Of Muslims' Political Culture, Moataz Bellah Mohamed Abdel Fattah

Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on the following empirical puzzle: do the attitudes of ordinary educated Muslims stand as an obstacle toward the adoption of democracy? This research question calls for empirical/behavioral methodological tools that bring into focus contemporary Muslims' attitudes rather than ancient jurists' contributions. In other words, the dissertation shifts attention from ancient Islamic texts to contemporary Muslims' mindsets through written and web-bases surveys in 32 Muslim societies.

At the aggregate level, Muslim societies perplex with two types of sub-cultures: the culture of "dictator, but..." and the culture of "democracy-as-a-must." The former is the sub-couture of two groups of Muslims: …

The Politics Of Hiv/Aids And Implications For Democracy In Kenya, Wambuii Henry Kiragu

Dissertations

Democratic consolidation in newly transitioned democracies has traditionally been attributed to widely accepted political and legal mechanisms, like elections and constitutions. Existing literature on democratization in sub-Saharan Africa is preoccupied with these mechanisms as prime indicators for democratic takeoff in specific countries. Hardly any attention has been paid to other less openly political mechanisms, such as the response to external shocks, as potential sources of institutional development that could advance democratic practices.

Yet national response to any external shock can entail a host of actions with potentially far ranging political implications, including transformation of the form and means of political …

The British North Sea: The Importance Of And Factors Affecting Tax Revenue From Oil Production, Mark Hill

Theses and Dissertations

The oil industry is the richest and most influential industry in the world. The industry has moved the fates of nations. Oil is required to fight wars and exert power, and the restriction of this energy source is paramount to the restriction of movement, control, and in the end, power. Management of this resource and the tax revenue it generates are of serious strategic importance, both domestically and internationally. Understanding the results of taxation for this important commodity is important to international relations as well. The tax system affects tax revenue, government actions, oil company actions, and the oil supply …

Building Morocco Through Literacy: Women's Participation In Development, Elizabeth L. Holmes

Honors Theses

This thesis examines what factors are important for successful literacy provision in the case of urban Moroccan women. Literacy programs should teach participants not only to decipher symbols on paper, but should provide information relevant to the everyday context of learners' lives. As a result, newly literate individuals should perceive changes in their levels of self-esteem, empowerment, economic status, and health conditions. In Morocco, the government launched a large-scale literacy campaign in May 2003 to lower illiteracy, which currently affects about half of the population. In conjunction with this campaign, the Moroccan government is increasingly cooperating with NGOs, the principal …

Modernization And Divorce In Japan, Motonobu Mukai

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Divorce rates in Japan have increased since the mid-1960s, and even more rapidly since the 1990s. Divorce rates decreased throughout the period of industrialization, although modernization theory has argued that economic development brings pervasive cultural changes (including higher divorce rates). However, values regarding family are also influenced by the persistence of traditional values. Before WWII in Japan, a decreasing divorce rate was influenced by political ideology, which deliberately intended to change traditional ways of marriage and divorce. After WWII, however, this ideology diminished, and material affluence has led to an individualistic view that in turn has led to higher divorce …

The Japanese Biological And Chemical Warfare Program In China, 1932-1945, Beata Marzena Wilk

Theses

No abstract provided.

Tamil Asylees And U.S. Social Workers : Intercultural Communication In The Context Of Refugee Services, Emily Josephine Hagadorn

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored how intercultural communication factors such as values and communication styles might affect the interaction between Tamil asylees and their U.S. social workers. For this qualitative study, I interviewed 11 Tamil asylees and conducted a focus group with 3 U.S. social workers at an agency serving the Tamil participants. Based on the findings of this research as well as the literature review, this thesis reveals culture-specific information about Tamil asylees and highlights the implications of the research to the fields of intercultural communication, refugee studies, and social work. Findings revealed the following: culture general assumptions overshadow the …

Evaluations And Project Effectiveness : An Investigation Into The Evaluation Processes Of Development Projects In Bolivia, Kristin Saucier

Honors Theses

This study attempts to answer the question, do formalized evaluation procedures contribute to increased project effectiveness? Project effectiveness is defined as the successful attainment of project goals and objectives. According to the literature, evaluations have the potential to improve a project's success by raising awareness of problem areas and offering ways suggestions for improvement. To test this theory, the evaluation systems of seven international development organizations that are currently implementing projects in Bolivia are examined: Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (CARE), Peace Corps, Project Concern International (pCI), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), United Sates Agency for International Development (USAlD), …

Pyaguapy Ita: Silencing The Singing Stone: The Impact Of Modern Technology On Indigenous People In Brazil, Caitlin Cassis

Honors Theses

The name of the world's largest hydroelectric dam, Brazil's Itaipu Binacional, comes from an Ava-Guarani word meaning "singing stone." Before Itaipu became affiliated with dams it represented a smaller, but no less significant monument: a large rock formation in the middle of the Parana River that produced song when struck by water.₂ Today, neither the rock nor the Ava-Guarani tribe remain. In their place is a gargantuan hydroelectric dam that produces sounds more like a thunderous engine than song. When the Brazilian government, in conjunction with Itaipu Binacional officials, constructed the power plant, it not only silenced the singing stone, …

Culture And Ethnicity's Role In Sino-U.S. Foreign Policy Relations, Richard D. Giles Ii

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Compatibility Of A Western Systemic Approach For Handling Complex, Pluralist And Coercive Problems In Developing Countries: A Case Study Of Micro Satellite Development In Indonesia, Alexander Sudibyo

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

In this era of globalization, there has been much western investment in the eastern world, increasing the number of large projects financed by internal and foreign investments. It was thought a challenging proposition to investigate whether systemic approaches could be used in eastern developing countries that are in transition between Toffler’s first (agricultural focused) and second (industrial centered) waves of economic development.