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Classroom ready?: Pre-service teachers’ self-efficacy for their first professional experience placement
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 48-61.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Theoretical framework -- Chapter 3. Literature review -- Chapter 4. Methods -- Chapter 5. Results -- Chapter 6. Discussion -- Chapter 7. Conclusion -- References -- Appendices.Teachers’ self-efficacy (TSE) is an essential construct for evaluating teachers’ feelings of self-control about completing future teaching-relevant tasks. One important feature of TSE is that it is malleable at the beginning of professional development and difficult to alter once having been established. This study was intended to investigate the level and influential factors TSE among a cohort of pre-service teachers (PSTs) before their first professional practice placement. To answer the two research questions, a survey containing fixed-choice and open-ended questions was used to obtain both quantitative and qualitative data. A total 90 PSTs responded to the survey and the two kinds of data were analysed separately. A relatively lower level of TSE was found in the current study in contrast with previous research, and among the three subscales of TSE in present study, classroom management is of greatest concern for PSTs. With regard to influential factors, PSTs reported several factors such as a lack of teaching experience, previous informal teaching and other relevant experience, teacher education program, personal qualities and characteristics, and teacher-student relationship. Several implications for teacher education programs, limitations, and suggestions for future research were identified.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (ix, 73 pages) diagrams, table
Evaluating the representations of identity options and cultural elements in English language textbooks used in Saudi Arabia
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 74-80.Chapter One: Introduction – 1.1 Overview – 1.2 Introduction – 1.3 An Outline of the Saudi Context – 1.4 Organization of the Thesis -- Chapter Two: Literature Review – 2.1 Overview – 2.2 The Importance of Textbooks in the EFL Classroom – 2.3 Hegemony and Ideology in Language Textbooks -- 2.4 Evaluating Language Textbooks – 2.5 Imagined Communities and Identities in Language Textbooks -- 2.6 Culture and Its Representation in Language Textbooks -- 2.7 Summary and Research Questions -- Chapter Three: Methodology – 3.1 Overview -- 3.2 Material Selection -- 3.3. Description of the Material -- 3.4 Data Analysis -- 3.5 Limitations of the Study -- Chapter Four: Imagined Communities and Identity Options -- 4.1 Overview -- 4.2 Characters from the Source and Target Cultures -- 4.3 Gender -- 4.4 Occupation -- 4.5 Ethnicity and Nationality -- 4.6 Religion -- 4.7 Discussion.-- Chapter Five: Imagined Communities and Cultural Representations -- 5.1 Overview -- 5.2 Representations of Saudi Culture as the Source Culture -- 5.2. 1 Gendered Aspects of Culture -- 5.2.2 Other Aspects of Saudi Culture -- 5.3 Representations of Western Culture -- 5.3. 1 Gendered Aspects of Culture -- 5.3.2 Other Aspects of Western Culture -- 5.4 Representations of Islamic Culture as Source, Target and Global Culture -- 5.4. 1 Islamic Culture as the Source Culture -- 5.4.2 Islamic Culture as the Target Culture -- 5.4.3 Islam as a Global Culture -- 5.5 Discussion -- Chapter Six: Conclusion, Implications and Recommendations -- 6.1Overview -- 6.2 Summary -- 6.3 Implications -- 6.4 Recommendations for Future Research -- References.Given the importance of teaching language learners cultural identities and culture along with language to enhance their cultural awareness and communicative competence, this thesis evaluates six textbooks from the Lift off series to examine their representations of culture and cultural identities in the imagined communities offered to Saudi learners of English in the intermediate stage (Grades 7-9). Data were collected from pictures, reading passages and dialogues. Fairclough's (1995) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) framework was used for analyzing the data. The textbooks contain two clearly delineated imagined communities, one of Saudi characters and the other of foreign characters. These were examined for gender, occupational identities, ethnicity, nationality and religious affiliation. In addition, the cultural content ascribed to both the source culture (Saudi culture) and the target culture ('Western' culture) was examined. The findings reveal that the representation of Saudi characters is accurate in terms of identity options but that there is oversimplification, misrepresentation and imbalance in the representations of foreign characters. In addition, the findings show that the content of these textbooks focuses on representations of Saudi and Islamic cultures, i.e. the source culture and religion of Saudi learners. By contrast, the textbooks introduce simplistic representations of Western culture(s). The identity representations and cultural content in the textbooks under examination can thus be described as 'Saudi-centric'. These oversimplifications and misrepresentations of foreign characters and foreign cultures may have a negative impact on learners' motivation and may also lead to weak English competence. Thus, this research has implications for textbook design and suggests that a broader range of identity options of non-Saudi people and cultures should be included in English language teaching materials.Mode of access: World wide web1 online resource (xii, 80 pages) colour illustration
On the enhancement of biodiesel droplet vaporisation using electrostatic charge
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 65-70.Acknowledgements -- Nomenclature -- Abstract -- List of Publications -- List of Figures -- List of Tables - 1 Introduction -- 2 Literature Review -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Evaporation models for a single biodiesel droplet -- 2.2.1 Biodiesel as a single-component fuel -- 2.2.2 Biodiesel and its constituent components -- 2.3 Electrostatic atomiser -- 2.4 Chapter summary -- 3 Methodology -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Model formation -- 3.2.1 Assumptions -- 3.2.2 The governing equations -- 3.2.3 Fuel Properties -- 3.3 Solution approach -- 3.4 Evaporation of charged droplet -- 3.4.1 Charge-only case -- 3.4.2 Charge and combustion case -- 3.5 Chapter summary -- 4 Results and Discussion 4.1 Introduction -- 4.2 Model validation -- 4.3 Model predictions -- 4.3.1 Effect of initial charge density -- 4.3.2 Effect of ambient temperature -- 4.3.3 Effect of Reynolds number -- 4.4 Chapter summary -- 5 EHD flow inside the atomiser -- 5.1 Introduction -- 5.2 Theoretical study -- 5.3 Governing equations -- 5.4 Charge distribution analysis -- 5.4.1 Effect of electrical Rayleigh number (T) -- 5.4.2 Effect of average bulk-flow velocity (Uav) -- 5.5 Chapter summary -- 6 Conclusions and future work -- 6.1 Introduction -- 6.2 Main Findings -- 6.2.1 The effect of charge on FAMEs' droplet vaporisation -- 6.2.2 The charge distribution between the electrodes -- 6.3 Future work --A Appendix -- ReferencesAn electrostatic atomiser is an energy-efficient device that can be used to promote theatomisation of highly viscous fluids, for example biodiesel. It imposes an electrical chargeonto the liquid that creates enough Coulombic repulsive force to lower the surface-tensionforce of the liquid and result in atomisation.In this study, the vaporisation of electrically charged fatty-acid methyl-ester (FAME)droplets are reported as a function of the initial charge density, ambient temperature, anddroplet Reynolds number. Existing data from a direct numerical simulation (DNS) of chargeinjection are also post-processed to better understand the physics of electro-convection as afunction of the average bulk-flow velocity and the electrical Rayleigh number.The model predictions are assessed by comparing with experimental results, and themaximum deviation in evaporation time is reported to be 13.6% for C12:0. The effectof charge increases with increasing initial charge density and decreases at high ambient temperatures, while the droplets Reynolds number shows a mixed effect. The DNS dataprocessing reveals that the developed electro-convective instabilities force the liquid into aroll-like structured motion and in a high-flow-rate atomiser, higher instability could maximisethe amount of charge in the middle of the domain.1 online resource ( xx, 70 pages) illustrations, table
Change-point detection in an AR(1) process via the cross-entropy method
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 59-63.1. Introduction -- 2. Methodology -- 3. Numerical results -- 4. Discussion and future directions -- Appendix.In time series analysis, it is essential to check whether the observations are obtained by one or by several different mechanisms of data generation. In recent years, this problem, which is known as a change-point or break-point detection problem, has become a question of renewed interest for many researchers. Problems of this type arise in a wide range of applications, including financial time series analysis (e.g. changing volatility), signal processing (e.g.structural analysis of EEG signals), geology data analysis (e.g. analysis of volcanic eruption series) and environmental applications (e.g. detecting changes in ecological systems due to climatic conditions crossing some critical thresholds). This thesis focuses on detecting the changes in the mean level of autoregressive processes. We develop the Cross Entropy method for estimating the locations of change-points as well as parameters of the process in each segment. In order to identify the number of change-points, we use the Minimum Description Length information criterion. We apply the proposed method to simulated and real data to illustrate the usefulness of the approach.1 online resource (xiv, 63 pages
The influence of Personality, Ethical Climate, and Social Desirability Response Bias on Chinese Internal Auditors' Whistle-Blowing Judgments
No full textTheoretical thesis.Chapter 1. Overview of the thesis -- Chapter 2. The influence of construal of self on internal auditors' judgments on whistle-blowing: evidence from China -- Chapter 3. The influence of ethical climate on whistle-blowing as an internal control mechanism: evidence from China -- Chapter 4. Construal of self and social desirability response bias -- Chapter 5. Conclusiona.Global standards setters and national regulators have both recognised the importance of whistle-blowing in preventing and detecting business wrongdoing. In addition, researchers have advocated that whistle-blowing has contributed significantly to efforts in improving corporate governance and in reducing business misconduct across countries. The aim of the the sisis to examine the influence of three factors, namely personality, ethical climate, and social desirability response bias on Chinese internal auditors' acceptance and likelihood of engaging in whistle-blowing. These three factors have been selected for examination in the three papers comprising this thesis because of their importance and relevance both globally and in China. This thesis is based on the "thesis by publication", and comprises three separate studies. This thesis includes an introduction (Chapter 1), three separate empirical studies (Chapter 2-4), and a conclusion (Chapter 5). Specifically, the three papers comprising this thesis are as follows.The first paper is entitled, "The Influence of Construal of Selfon Internal Auditors' Judgments on Whistle-Blowing: Evidence from China". This paper contributes to the literature by examining how an important antecedent of whistle-blowing, namely construal of self, influences Chinese internal auditors' judgments in the context of whistle-blowing. China provides a particularly unique environment because traditional cultural values such as collectivism, obedience, submission, and the fear of jeopardizing harmonious interpersonal relationships arelikely to influence whistle-blowing. Internal auditors have been selected as subjects because of the importance placed on them by regulators and enterprises in designing whistle-blowing systems. Construal of self has been selected for examination because it captures complex moral,cognitive processes experienced by individuals at both cultural and personality levels. This study develops and finds support for the hypotheses that, compared to independents, interdependent internal auditors are less accepting and less likely to engage in whistle-blowing.The results also show the presence of strong social desirability response bias among internal auditors. Given the existence of social desirability response bias, this study viii questions the findings from prior research where subjects are required to provide their judgments on complex ethical issues related to their relationships with their colleagues, superiors, and junior staff members. The second paper is entitled, "The Influence of Ethical Climate on Whistle-Blowing as an Internal Control Mechanism: Evidence from China". This paper contributes to the literature by providing empirical evidence on how an important antecedent, namely ethical climate, influences Chinese internal auditors' judgments on the acceptance and likelihood of engaging in whistle-blowing. The ethical context of whistle-blowing hasbeen selected because it is one of the most successful risk management frameworks for preventing and detecting business wrongdoing. China provides a particularly appropriate national context because of its unique social, political, and economic environment, which has faced rapid globalization, and where whistle-blowing is both important and controversial. Chinese internal auditors have been selected as subjects because regulators place significant importance on them in designing internal control systems centred around preventing wrongdoing and enhancing ethical practices. Ethical climate is considered to be the most important antecedent in examining whistle-blowing judgments because it influences both the psychological ethical decision-making process and subsequent behaviour in response to ethical dilemmas. Five ethical dimensions have been identified in the literature. However, the findings of this study show the existence of four ethical dimensions, namely instrumental, caring,rules,and law and code climates. Independence climate does not exist in the sample of this study. The objective of this study is to examine and compare how each of these four ethical climate dimensions is likely to influence whistle-blowing judgments. This study further contributes to the literature by examining cultural values embedded in Confucianism and Legalism that are compatible with various dimensions of ethical climate and which, in turn, are likely to encourage greater whistle-blowing intentions.This study also suggests that the intensity of influence of "harmony within hierarchy" and interdependence embedded in Confucianism on ethical climate is greater than that of Legalism. ix The findings of this study show that, compared to instrumental, rules, and law and code climates,caring climate results in the highest whistle-blowing intentions.Caring climate creates a supportive environment where employees believe that other organizational members are concerned with their well-being, and also provides a psychological safety feeling for employees. This study also suggests that together with caring climate, organizations may place a stronger focus on developing the rules and law and code climates to cultivate an ethical climate that can encourage employees to report wrongdoing.The third paper is entitled, "Construal of Self and Social Desirability Response Bias". Evidence based on social desirability response bias shows that individuals frequently hold inaccurate self-evaluations and form unjustifiable favourable self-views. One form of inaccurate self-evaluation is "holier-than-thou" perception bias. "Holier-than-thou" perception bias results in individuals believing that they are more ethical than other organizational members. This paper contributes to the literature by examining the influence of construal of self on "holier-than-thou" perception bias among Chinese internal auditors in the context of whistle-blowing. Construal of self has been selected for examination because it captures complex cognitive processes at both cultural and personality levels, and it distinguishes between inter dependents and independents. This study provides evidence that "holier-than-thou" perception bias exists among both interdependent and independent internal auditors. This study also finds support for the hypothesis that compared to independents, "holier-than-thou" perception bias is lower among interdependent internal auditors. Given the sensitive nature of ethics research, the presence of "holier-than-thou" perception bias may pose a serious threat to the validity of research findings.This study suggests that organizations may develop relevant training programs to work with inter dependents and independents to minimize "holier-than-thou" perception bias. The implications of each paper are as follows. The findings of the first paper may benefit local and multinational enterprises, regulators,and researchers who are interested in designing and xdeveloping more compatible whistle-blowing policies and procedures. The findings confirm that interdependent and independents coexist within contemporary China. This shift towards independence is likely to encourage greater acceptance and likelihood of engaging in whistle-blowing. The second paper provides empirical evidence of the importance of ethical climate in examining internal auditors' ethical judgments. The findings of the second paper have implications for global standard setters, professional bodies, and enterprises who are interested in designing and developing ethical climates that are more compatible with whistle-blowing policies and procedures.The findings of the third paper have particular implications for judgment and decision-making research in business. Given the sensitive nature of ethics research, the presence of "holier-than-thou" perception bias may pose a serious threat to the validity of research findings.The findings suggest that organizations may develop relevant training programs to work with inter dependents and independents to minimize "holier-than-thou" perception bias. This thesis makes significant and original contributions to the literature by providing empirical evidence on the influence of three important and relevant factors, namely personality, ethical climate, and social desirability response bias on Chinese internal auditors' acceptance and likelihood of engaging in whistle-blowing.The first paper will be submitted to Accounting, Organizations and Society, which is ranked A* by the Australian Business Deans Council (ABDC) Journal ranking. The second paper is currently under peer review and will be submitted to the Journal of International Accounting Research(American Accounting Association), which is ranked A by the ABDC. The third paper is under review by Journal of Management Studies, which is ranked A* by the ABDC1 online resource (194 pages
Uncovering the managed heart of Australian sonographers: Professionalism and emotional labour in routine obstetric ultrasound
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 89-94Introduction -- Chapter 1: Is sonography a profession? -- Chapter 2: The sonographer's dilemma -- Chapter 3 : The processes and products of routine obstetric ultrasound -- Chapter 4 : The bonding continuum -- ConclusionShort Abstract: Professionalism and emotional labour practices are integral to sonographers' performances of routine obstetric ultrasounds. This study utilised thematic analysis of thirty interviews with Australian sonographers to reveal their engagement with the invisible practices of professionalism and emotional labour. The key themes uncovered can be described as processes (professionalism, impression management, and emotional labour) and products (expert images, and the cyborg foetus). In uncovering these practices, it becomes apparent that the performance of the sonographer in the social aspects of pregnancy care as well as the medical is vastly more complex than previously envisioned.Practices of professionalism and emotional labour are integral to sonographers' performances of routine obstetric ultrasounds. Sonographers possess the ability to negotiate the increasingly complex requirements of diagnostic screening tests conducted during routine obstetric ultrasound. This ability is juxtaposed with their capacity to meet patient expectations of positive social interactions and the production of ultrasound images as baby's first pictures. This research utilised thematic analysis of thirty interviews with Australian sonographers to uncover their engagement with the invisible practices of professionalism and emotional labour. The key themes uncovered can be categorised into processes and products. The processes were performative as sonographers engaged with professionalism, impression management, and emotional labour. The products were the creation of expert images and the cyborg fetus, each of which has implications for sonographers beyond the medical context of the scan room. In uncovering the practices of professionalism and emotional labour, it becomes apparent that the role of the sonographer in the social aspects of pregnancy care as well as the medical is vastly more complex than previously envisioned. Such a discovery highlights the need for industry recognition of professionalism and emotional labour as specific functions of the sonographer's role, and the need for provisions to be made for training and supporting sonographers in these invisible skills.1 online resource (vii, 107 pages) : illustratio
Reconstructing a Life: An examination of female Jewish Holocaust survivors life writing
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 88-94Introduction -- Chapter One: Nostalgia, Memory and Witnessing Women's Accounts of Childhood in the Pre-War Period -- Chapter Two: Gender and Emotional Silence in Jewish Women's Accounts of the Second World War -- Chapter Three: From Liberation to Immigration -- Chapter Four: Resettling and Rebuilding a life in Post-War Australia -- ConclusionDirectly following the end of the Second World War, accounts in the forms of autobiographies and memoirs were published by survivors of the Holocaust, and a significant proportion of these accounts were authored by women. Although, it was not until the mid-1980s that historians began to examine the experiences of women during the Holocaust by using female-authored survivor accounts. By doing so, these academics successfully reinserted the experiences of women into the historical narrative of the Holocaust. However, very few of these scholars have decided to make female-authored survivor accounts the focus of their research. This study will examine three life narratives authored by Jewish female survivors of the Holocaust who all immigrated to Australia between 1948 and 1950. These women's accounts will be examined using a life history approach- which will see the accounts they give of the Holocaust examined alongside their accounts of their pre-war and post-war lives. By examining these women's accounts as whole texts, this study reveals the complex and varied ways in which these three women have constructed their memories of the past in the present, and how their Holocaust experiences and present role as a survivor of the Holocaust has shaped their life narratives.1 online resource (ii, 94 pages
The effect of scepticism, self-construal, and self-esteem on auditors' ethical judgments and ethical intentions in an auditor-client conflict situation
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 46-56.Chapter 1. Introduction -- Chapter 2. Literature review and hypotheses development -- Chapter 3. Research methods -- Chapter 4. Results -- Chapter 5. Conclusions and discussion.Because auditor ethicality is important in discouraging fraudulent or misleading financial reporting that may adversely affect various stakeholders,the accounting profession and regulators internationally are focusing on enhancing auditors' Ethical Decision-Makings (EDMs). Prior research has demonstrated that auditors' EDMs involve a cognitive process that is influenced by external factors such as the auditing standards, professional codes of (ethical) conduct, and the quality control policies of audit firms. However, more recent research has identified that auditors' EDMs are influenced by individual factors, including the personality traits,and has called for further research to examine the impact of auditors' personality on their ethical judgments and ethical behaviours. This thesis seeks to answer this call by identifying three important personality traits,namely scepticism (dispositional distrust), self-construal, and self-esteem, and examining whether those traits affect external auditors' ethical judgments and ethical intentions in a situation of conflict with a client management.The thesis uses a survey questionnaire, completed by a sample of 58 auditing practitioners in Australia, to gather data on the auditors' ethical judgments and intentions to act ethically in a situation of conflict with a client over a materiality assessment and financial report adjustment. The findings showthat highly sceptical auditors are more likely to make ethical judgments and ethical intentions in the situation of auditor-client conflict. The study also provides evidence that auditors who have dominant independent self-construal are more likely to make ethical intentions in the situation of conflict. Although the study's findings did not provide support for a significant effect of self-construal on auditors' ethical judgments, additional analyses provided evidence that auditors with dominant independent self-construal demonstrate significantly high levels of ethical judgments in the conflict situation if they were, at the same time, high on scepticism. While findings did not provide support for a significant effect of self-esteem on auditors' ethical judgments, the findings suggest that self-esteem is negatively related to auditors' ethical intentions. However, it is argued in this study that a sufficient/accurate (but not high or low) level of self-esteem is likely to be more useful for auditors' ethical decision-makings in a context of auditor-client conflict.These findings suggest, overall, that personality traits are potentially important factors promoting auditors' ethically and professionally acceptable decision-making in conflict situations with audit client management. The findings provide insights for the auditing profession and audit firms in assessing and/or enhancing auditors' ethical judgments and ethical behaviours from the perspective of the auditors' personalqualities.1 online resource (73 pages
New directions for analysis of process data from the Rey -Osterrieth Complex Figure Test
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 105-119Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 Method -- Chapter 3 Results -- Chapter 4 Discussion -- 5. References -- 6. Appendices.Process variables underlying copy strategy for the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test (ROCF) were examined in the context of assessing the cognitive construct of planning. While a number of tests of planning have been developed such as the Tower tests, the ROCF potentially facilitates a more detailed understanding of compromised planning performance.In the current study, quantified process measures were derived to evaluate individual copy approaches to the ROCF and were investigated relative to eight existing qualitative scoring systems. The performances of forty-nine healthy subjects were compared with the performances of fifty-two subjects in a mixed neurological sample. Quantified process measures and scores derived from existing qualitative scoring approaches were examined in relation to a range of psychometric properties including their capacity to produce scores which are normally distributed and to demonstrate variability between subjects. Discriminant validity was also examined, specifically whether process measures thus derived exhibit the ability to discriminate between normal and clinical subjects. Results demonstrated that novel quantified process measures can meaningfully contribute to analysis of performance parameters underlying copy of the ROCF. The relationship between copy approach and recall performance on the ROCF was also examined. Quantified process measures and scores from the existing qualitative scoring systems under study were found to be moderately correlated with recall across both normal and clinical subjects. Study findings were examined in the context of suggested future research and the importance of promoting the use of qualitative scoring systems in the analysis of suboptimal performance on the ROCF.1 online resource (xiv, 136 pages) illustration
Religiosity and managers' attitudes to offering a financial incentive: moderating and mediating roles of ethical climate
No full textTheoretical thesis.Bibliography: pages 86-92Chapter 1 Overview of the thesis -- Chapter 2 Literature review and hypothesis development -- Chapter 3 Research design -- Chapter 4 Data analysis and hypothesis testing -- Chapter 5 Discussion, implications and limitations.The aim of this study is to investigate the factors that influence managers' attitudes to offering a financial incentive, namely religiosity and perceived ethical climate. A survey of 573 MBA students in Indonesia was undertaken and 368 valid responses were analysed. A statistical analysis was performed using SEM-PLS to simultaneously analyse three variables (religiosity, ethical climate, and managers' attitude to offering a financial incentive). This study finds that religiosity has a negative association with managers' attitudes to offering a financial incentive described here as a bribe. People who scored high on religiosity scale are less likely to think that it is alright to offer a financial incentive. Further, this study investigates the moderating and mediating roles of ethical climate in this association. Mediation analysis shows that religiosity has a positive association with ethical climate and ethical climate has a significant negative association with managers' attitudes to offering a financial incentive. Further analysis finds that there is a partial mediation effect of ethical climate in the association between religiosity and managers' attitudes to offering a financial incentive. Nevertheless, it is found that ethical climate does not have a moderation effect in this association.1 online resource (104 pages