Agreement in the Minimalist Programme

Agreement is a pervasive phenomenon across natural languages. Depending on one’s definition of what constitutes agreement, it is either found in virtually every natural language that we know of, or it is at least found in a great many. Either way, it seems to be a core part of the system that underpins our syntactic knowledge. Since the introduction of the operation of Agree in Chomsky (2000), agreement phenomena and the mechanism that underlies agreement have garnered a lot of attention in the Minimalist literature and have received different theoretical treatments at different stages. Since then, many different phenomena involving dependencies between elements in syntax, including movement or not, have been accounted for using Agree. The mechanism of Agree thus provides a powerful tool to model dependencies between syntactic elements far beyond φ-feature agreement. The articles collected in this volume further explore these topics and contribute to the ongoing debates surrounding agreement. The authors gathered in this book are internationally reknown experts in the field of Agreement

Correlates of the multidimensional components of type a behaviour

Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements of the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Johannesburg, 1992The aim of the present thesis was to develop and test a multidimensional model of the components of Type A behaviour. A review of the literature revealed that the definition of Type A behaviour consisted of five conceptual components, namely achievement striving, impatience-irritability, anger, hostility, and competitiveness. However, despite the identification of five conceptual components, no attempt has been made to examine a multidimensional model of Type A behaviour in association with health and work related outcomes. Conclusions are that information is lost when Type A behaviour is conceptualised and operationalised as a global construct. As a result, recent investigators have chosen a multifaceted conceptualisation of Type A behaviour. This strategy originate through the suggestion that there may be positive and negative components of Type A behaviour, that need to be examined independently. The adoption of a multifaceted conceptualisation has assisted in providing more consistent results than previous global Type A findings.MT201

Agree to Agree

Agreement is a pervasive phenomenon across natural languages. Depending on one’s definition of what constitutes agreement, it is either found in virtually every natural language that we know of, or it is at least found in a great many. Either way, it seems to be a core part of the system that underpins our syntactic knowledge. Since the introduction of the operation of Agree in Chomsky (2000), agreement phenomena and the mechanism that underlies agreement have garnered a lot of attention in the Minimalist literature and have received different theoretical treatments at different stages. Since then, many different phenomena involving dependencies between elements in syntax, including movement or not, have been accounted for using Agree. The mechanism of Agree thus provides a powerful tool to model dependencies between syntactic elements far beyond φ-feature agreement. The articles collected in this volume further explore these topics and contribute to the ongoing debates surrounding agreement. The authors gathered in this book are internationally reknown experts in the field of Agreement

Opportunity recognition and new venture creation experiences of Sri Lankan entrepreneurs

In recent times, literature has raised the importance of studying entrepreneurship in different contexts. There has been considerable research conducted in transitional contexts, as it raises the many challenges faced by entrepreneurs. There has been considerable research conducted in Russian, Eastern European and Chinese economies. However, there is a real dearth in the literature on the challenges faced in other transitional economies, particularly Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka was the first country in South Asia to embrace extensive economic liberalisation in 1977 (though the civil war, 1983–2009, in the north-east of the country blocked the full realisation of these economic benefits). Further, entrepreneurial learning in such turbulent and challenging environments has also been identified as a less-explored area. Against this backdrop, this research’s overarching aim was to explore opportunity recognition and new venture creation experiences in the transitional context of Sri Lanka. Four main areas were covered: opportunity recognition and new venture creation, entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial motivation and institutional context. The mixed methodological approach was informed by a conceptual framework developed by the researcher. Semi-structured interviews with a non-random sample of 31 Sri Lankan entrepreneurs provided rich descriptions. Their learning styles/preferences were identified using a modified version of Kolb’s (1984) learning style questionnaires through different stages of opportunity recognition and new venture creation. Findings suggest that Sri Lankan entrepreneurs’ initial business ideas arose through prior knowledge, scanning the business environment and changes in government policies. Few initial resources were utilised; many relied on previous experience and relationships with customers and suppliers. Most participants were motivated by pull rather than push factors and individual entrepreneurs demonstrated a combination of learning styles/preferences rather than one. Entrepreneurs cited numerous challenges: frequent policy changes, rigid customs policies, unsupportive financial sector, high interest rates, lack of support for start-up firms, and lack of social recognition in society and among the government officials. Further, critical learning events occur in transitional and turbulent contexts such as Sri Lanka. The frequency of such events is high; resilience is required to ensure higher learning. This research has contributed to entrepreneurship theory in several ways. First, the author explored the under-researched transitional context of Sri Lanka to identify the challenges encountered during transition Second, the research contributes to the literature concerning learning styles during opportunity recognition and new venture creation, using a sample of entrepreneurs. The findings will help educators and practitioners tailor their training and educational programs. Further, this study brings new knowledge in relation what, how and when entrepreneurs learn in critical events in turbulent and challenging environments

Women\u27s Experience of Divorce: Developmental Tasks of Female-headed Single Parent Families

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Course Evaluation at a Distance Teaching University

Distance education is a relatively new field in the South Asian region compared with developed world. It is still in its development stages. The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL) which was established in 1980, is the only university in Sri Lanka which offers study programmes in distance mode. Most of its courses have been offered for a number of years and therefore need to be developed and improved. At OUSL, very few course evaluation studies had been conducted. The development of a course evaluation model for OUSL courses was one objective of this particular study. Foundation level one Mathematics courses of the Diploma in Technology programme of the OUSL were the subject of this evaluation study. The samples were selected from the course participants to obtain feedback through a postal questionnaire. In addition, group discussions were conducted with number of small student groups. Information was also obtained from a sample of Day School lecturers. Their suggestions were also obtained for improving course components. Findings reveal a number of weaknesses, particularly in the two components, course materials and Day Schools. Most of them were not satisfied with the way of conducting Day Schools and expect class room style teaching. Some of the weaknesses in course material, if examined in the light of suggestions made by students, are not difficult to remove. For example : not providing the answers for the self assessment questions, insufficient worked examples in some subject areas and printing mistakes. Majority of the respondents who followed the foundation level Mathematics courses were in 18 -24 age group. Most of them were unemployed. Around 90% were males. In both courses nearly half of the registered students had never participated in the academic activities. Almost all had passed the G.C.E. (O/L) Mathematics and Science subjects, which was considered as an advantage in following the foundation programme although no educational qualifications are requested. However, in both courses students who had followed G.C.E (A/L) in Maths stream had performed significantly better than the others. Among the participants only 35 - 40% had got the eligibility to sit the final examination. Although the final examination pass rates were good, the success rates were very low which were only 17% in Applied Mathematics and 11% in Pure Mathematics. None of the respondents who had not followed G.C.E.(A/L) in Maths stream failed to complete the Pure Mathematics course successfully. Course evaluation studies are conducted for number of purposes. A number of course evaluation studies are discussed in the light of developing a suitable model for OUSL courses. Basically, attention is drawn to the following issues. * identifying the areas to be investigated * identifying the categories to obtain information * selecting an appropriate data collection method Several factors are to be considered under each issue. Availability of time and resources are the main factors. Out of the data collection methods discussed postal questionnaire / discussion method which was used for this particular study is recommended as the most appropriate method in the Sri Lankan context. The importance of reminders is stressed as they doubled the initial response rates of this study. The implementation of recommendations and suggestions is another vital stage in the evaluation process. A quick response from authorities is sought for the recommendations and suggestions to win student confidence. This may also influence future studies