This dissertation examines the associations between pragmatic meaning categories in English and specific realizations of prosodic prominence. It has been well-established that in Mainstream American English (MAE), prominence is often used to convey contrast. A more limited set of studies suggests that prosodic prominence may also be capable of…

It is becoming ever more challenging to address the changing landscape faced by California Community Colleges. Change agents strive to implement needed interventions but are often disappointed in the outcomes. However, the literature shows that the odds of successful change increase when interventions align with the organization's culture. The…

Studying language learning beliefs plays an important role in language learning research. The aim of our study was to reconstruct the system of meanings that underlie the gender differences in the beliefs about people involved in foreign language learning. In our study, we used the semantic differential to study beliefs about people involved in…

The objective of this study was to develop and validate the Psychobiosocial Experience Semantic Differential in Physical Education (PESD-PE) scale, a new holistic measure of discrete emotion-related feelings (i.e., psychobiosocial experiences) as conceived within the individual zones of optimal functioning (IZOF) framework. A preliminary version…

Teachers' and students' values influenced the teaching and learning process in the mathematics classroom. Few studies were conducted to compare teachers' and students' value in mathematics learning. This paper explores Malaysian mathematics teachers' and students' values in mathematics learning. Fifty-three mathematics teachers and 354 secondary…

This study tested how an STI diagnosis influences perceptions of hypothetical romantic/sexual partners. In an online experiment, participants (n = 189) were randomly assigned to one of five vignette conditions, which varied in how a potential partner's STI status was described. HSV or HIV-positive status (with treatment) decreased the likelihood…

This paper extends the use of Generalizability Theory to the measurement of extemporaneous L2 speech through the lens of speech perception. Using six datasets of previous studies, it reports on "G studies"--a method of breaking down measurement variance--and "D studies"--a predictive study of the impact on reliability when…

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the perceptions of Iranian English teachers about their teaching efficiency through a specific practicum course, namely, language teaching methodology. Drawing on a marketing education perspective, the researchers sought to measure the service quality offered in universities by examining teachers'…

In this study, we investigated Chinese viewers' attitudes toward fan-subtitled (fansub) online courses, sponsorship, and the sponsors of online courses. In addition, the relationships among these three attitude variables were examined. A cross-sectional research design based on a quantitative methodology was employed in the study. An online…

The number of college admissions for older adults has increased at less than expected rates, impacting older individuals by depriving them of educational benefits which promote successful aging, and by depriving society of the benefits of these individuals' wisdom and experience. According to successful aging theory, successful aging includes the…

It is an interesting to obtain an objective view of students' attitude toward a certain discipline and to construct effective pedagogical diagnostics based on the obtained data. Such data relates to both the academic performance of students and also their emotional attitude towards a subject and motivation to study it. This research study, using…

The purpose of this research is to document the design, development, and validation of the Electronic Learner Satisfaction Scale (eLSS). The eLSS is designed to be a parsimonious, flexible, objective, valid, and reliable tool for reporting learner satisfaction scores with self-paced e-learning environments for either research or practice. The tool…

Character strengths are a protective factor against psychological symptoms. However, there is a lack of research that has investigated the psychometric properties of abbreviated character strengths scales. The purpose of this study was to adapt and validate the Character Strengths Semantic Differential Scale (CS-SDS) with a sample of 235 college…

The aim of the paper is to present the results of a survey focused on the image of an educational institution--a public university in the Czech Republic, which provides study programs for future teachers of vocational subjects at secondary schools. The image of an educational institution is an integral part of the management of educational…

Although boredom can be regarded as a ubiquitous emotion in most educational settings, including foreign and second language classrooms, and this condition can have a detrimental effect on the process of learning, it has to a large extent escaped the attention of second language acquisition researchers dealing with individual learner differences.…