There is a significant amount of literature on needs assessment group processes and distance learning. There is practically no literature on the affects of using distance learning technologies to facilitate needs assessment processes. This study takes a look at the participation of professionals in a needs assessment using distance learning technologies, the affect it has on their communication anxiety in small group settings using the Communication Anxiety Inventory, and their impressions of the process. Participants used a computer with internet connection and a telephone to take part in the assessment. Three small group needs assessments were conducted. Participants were administered a survey that measured their trait (typical) anxiety score, conducted through the needs assessment, and were administered a survey that measured their state (actual) anxiety score during the assessment and their impressions of the process. Those with low trait anxiety tended to experience an increase in anxiety in this environment while those with high trait anxiety had a decrease in anxiety. It was inconclusive as to whether or not anxiety was a factor in participants contributions to the group process. All participants were willing to participate in this type of needs assessment again. They found the assessment outcomes valuable and the method in which it was conducted convenient. This would seem to indicate that participants felt the impact of using 2-way audio and distance learning tools was minimal but a larger and more diverse study is necessary in order to make any generalizations. / Ph. D.

Basic information has not been available about which psychological services school psychologists view as most important for the children enrolled in North Carolina public schools. This study was conducted to a) present an accurate portrait of the services currently provided by North Carolina school psychologists, b) report what school psychologists say they should be doing, and c) develop recommendations for policy changes that will provide a basis for moving toward improved services in the field. School psychologists practicing in North Carolina were surveyed in phase I of this study to determine what services they currently provide (actual services) and what services they believe should be provided (ideal services) to benefit children. Services were ranked on level of importance. Respondents were also asked to comment on school psychological services in North Carolina as well as for suggestions to improve services. Demographic information was collected. In phase II of this study, survey findings were presented to a panel of experts in the field of school psychology who followed group process procedures to determine priorities and recommend appropriate next steps. This study found the largest gaps between actual and ideal functioning in the survey categories of Consultation and Relationships to Other Professionals. Interventions, evaluations for special education services, and consultation, were rated among the most important services. Survey respondents made suggestions for the improvement of services including reducing the testing load and increasing the number of psychologists. The expert panel placed accountability through communication as highest priority for action leading toward improved services. Recommendations to improve school psychological services in North Carolina were made for the North Carolina School Psychology Association (NCSPA), local education agencies (LEAs), and school psychologists. Recommendations for NCSPA included a.) appointing a task force too organize and lead efforts to increase policymaker and stakeholder knowledge regarding psychological services, b.) recruiting school systems for the purpose of conducting pilot studies to further investigate ways to close gaps between actual and ideal services, c.) providing guidance for increasing effective communication among North Carolina school psychologists. LEAs were encouraged to conduct needs assessments of their own, and recommendations for school psychologists included individual ways to increase consultation and intervention. Further research recommendations were also made. / Ed. D.

<p>The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding of how newly graduated social workers within the elderly care and the need assessment sector forms a professional identity through a focus on their experience of the socialization process.</p><p>The main questions concerned how work place culture socialized the newly graduated social worker in respect of her or his professional identity.</p><p>The study’s theoretical underpinning lies in Symbolic Interactionism. We have combined focus group interviews with follow-up personal interviews with the aim of deepening to our understanding of the socialization process of social workers and what it means for their professional identities.</p><p>Three main results were generated. First, that a well planned introduction and the teams’ significance to the formation of professional identity were shown to be important. Second that a needs assessment organization with a controlled and standardized professional role were noted to be too restrictive as they allowed little possibility for the new social worker to shape their own ways of working. This was particularly the case where new social workers were unclear about how to go about their work assignment. These results also showed that relation building and dialogue with clients was underemphasised and taken for granted.</p>

A comprehensive investigation of the medical students' English learning needs in the investigated context reveals that the medical students' English learning needs are perceived differently by different parties. As the students proceed in their academic study, their perceptions change from an initial need to pass examinations, to the need to acquire subject knowledge through English, and finally to the need to conduct academic activities, thus indicating the necessity to take a developmental view of their English learning needs and consider these needs in designing the ME course instead of imposing the course on students externally. The teachers of the medical college identify the medical students' English learning needs from the practical, academic, and utilitarian perspectives. They suggest implementing language policies that suit the students best according to the real needs in the Chinese contexts and the students' personal desires. But those in the collegial administrative posts tend to over-stress the importance of learning English despite the pre-dominantly resistant attitudes expressed by the students towards English learning. / Based on the findings of the research, the thesis argues for a renewed GBP-mediated expansive learning model to observe learning happening in the GBP framework. In spite of the inevitable weaknesses of the research, it seems clear that further research is essential in areas such as interscholastic needs analysis, genre-based medical English course development, and teacher collaboration. / In the various activity systems in which these parties mainly involved, English is perceived as an examination tool, a linguistic tool, or an administrative tool, hence we find contradictions at different levels. GBP was introduced into the ME class in the form of boundary-crossing actions between the researcher and the ME teacher. The GBP-mediated expansive learning has been explored in three observational dimensions: the vertical development as displayed by the medical students' reconceptualization of their object of English learning, namely their English learning needs; the horizontal development as displayed by the boundary-crossing learning of the ME teacher and the researcher; and the teacher and the students' concept formation of genre and GBP as an indication of developing both vertically and horizontally. / Resulting from the intervention instruction, new teaching/learning tools were formed, new values were attached to learning English, new understanding of the objects of the ME course were developed, and new identities emerged. The introduction of a new mediating tool (i.e. GBP) had led to changes in the other components of the ME class activity system and finally transformed it into a culturally more advanced one, with shared object perceived by all subjects, new conceptual tools (e.g. the new values of English learning), new quality of the subjects (i.e. enhanced ability in ME learning/teaching), and new responsibility towards learning (the division of labour). / The research was conducted in two stages in a medical college in China. The first stage involved critical analysis of medical students' English learning needs through questionnaire survey, classroom observations, focus group discussions, and interviews among medical students in different grades, teachers, and medical doctors (N =696). The second stage was an intervention case study with 46 first-year medical students, using GBP in their medical English class and collecting data through questionnaire surveys, classroom observations, focus discussions, and interviews. / This thesis borrows insights from various theoretical trends, including critical theories, activity theory, particularly expansive learning theory, and genre-based pedagogy (GBP), to formulate a triadic theoretical framework to explore possible improvements in the instruction of medical English (ME) in EFL (English as Foreign Language) contexts. The research aims at answering the key research question regarding the ways in which genre-based pedagogy, informed by critical needs analysis, transforms Medical English instruction and leads to expansive learning. There are three sub-questions that deal with the three-folded research purposes, namely investigation, critical analysis, and transformation, which comprise a unique way to conduct a critical needs analysis of medical students' English learning needs. / Yang, Miao. / Advisers: Evelyn Yee Fun Man; Icy Kit Bing Lee; Angel Mei Yi Lin. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 73-03, Section: A, page: . / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 593-613). / Electronic reproduction. Hong Kong : Chinese University of Hong Kong, [2012] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Electronic reproduction. [Ann Arbor, MI] : ProQuest Information and Learning, [201-] System requirements: Adobe Acrobat Reader. Available via World Wide Web. / Abstract also in Chinese.

The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) allocated $940 million in 2002, through Title II of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency (CARE) Act, to help states improve the quality and availability of health related services for people living with HIV/AIDS . These resources are allocated based upon recommendations made by community planning committees, which in turn base their recommendations on HIV/AIDS needs assessments. A methodologically sound, comprehensive needs assessment is a critical component of effective resource allocation decisions. Poor needs assessments might lead to poor resource allocation decisions, which might have life-threatening consequences for people living with HIV/AIDS. Little is known about the quality of Ryan White Title II (RWTII) needs assessments. This dissertation identifies seven elements of a high quality needs assessment, which might serve as an assessment tool for funding agencies and as a guidance tool for grantees. The author uses the seven elements in a review of RWTII needs assessments to provide evidence pertaining to the current level of quality of RWTII needs assessments. The seven elements are then applied in a case study of improved practice to demonstrate how to adequately apply the key elements of a high quality needs assessment.

The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding of how newly graduated social workers within the elderly care and the need assessment sector forms a professional identity through a focus on their experience of the socialization process. The main questions concerned how work place culture socialized the newly graduated social worker in respect of her or his professional identity. The study’s theoretical underpinning lies in Symbolic Interactionism. We have combined focus group interviews with follow-up personal interviews with the aim of deepening to our understanding of the socialization process of social workers and what it means for their professional identities. Three main results were generated. First, that a well planned introduction and the teams’ significance to the formation of professional identity were shown to be important. Second that a needs assessment organization with a controlled and standardized professional role were noted to be too restrictive as they allowed little possibility for the new social worker to shape their own ways of working. This was particularly the case where new social workers were unclear about how to go about their work assignment. These results also showed that relation building and dialogue with clients was underemphasised and taken for granted.

Objective: Evaluation of surgical quality ensures consistency of care and facilitates improvements in the quality of care delivered. Methods: An overview of surgical quality measurement is presented. A system for monitoring thoracic morbidity and mortality (TM&M) at the Ottawa Hospital is introduced and evaluated. Results of a needs assessment survey on the involvement in thoracic surgical research and quality improvement initiatives are presented. Results: Structure, process, and outcomes reflect different viewpoints on how to evaluate surgical quality. The feasibility of the TM&M system is evaluated using descriptive and univariate statistics, while its inter-rater reliability is assessed amongst the Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons. Conclusions: Outcomes have been fundamental in the evaluation of surgical quality. TM&M classification system advocates for a practice of continuous quality improvement and provides standardized and reliable feedback on surgical outcomes. Results of the needs assessment have built a strong foundation of knowledge on prospective ways to enhance the monitoring of surgical quality.

Objective: Evaluation of surgical quality ensures consistency of care and facilitates improvements in the quality of care delivered. Methods: An overview of surgical quality measurement is presented. A system for monitoring thoracic morbidity and mortality (TM&M) at the Ottawa Hospital is introduced and evaluated. Results of a needs assessment survey on the involvement in thoracic surgical research and quality improvement initiatives are presented. Results: Structure, process, and outcomes reflect different viewpoints on how to evaluate surgical quality. The feasibility of the TM&M system is evaluated using descriptive and univariate statistics, while its inter-rater reliability is assessed amongst the Canadian Association of Thoracic Surgeons. Conclusions: Outcomes have been fundamental in the evaluation of surgical quality. TM&M classification system advocates for a practice of continuous quality improvement and provides standardized and reliable feedback on surgical outcomes. Results of the needs assessment have built a strong foundation of knowledge on prospective ways to enhance the monitoring of surgical quality.

published_or_final_version / Psychiatry / Master / Master of Philosophy

In this study, I conduct a genealogical analysis of intersubjective assessment practices. With the help of Foucault (1926-1984) as well as other writers who provide genealogical insights, I set out to examine the effects of productive power within the realm of intersubjective assessment practice. My key concern, guided by Foucault, was to investigate the forms of power, trace its pathways and explore the discourses involved. The study was carried out in a high school located within a city suburb. The key participants were three teachers within the learning areas of Maths, Languages (English Home Language) and Arts and Culture and their respective learners. Data was reduced from video transcripts, observations, and documents. Taking on the genealogical role of “specific intellectual” (Foucault, 1984), I attempted to “disturb” the truth of intersubjective assessment by standing up against the current of new ideas in assessment. I aimed to challenge the things that came across as natural or unquestionable about intersubjective assessment. As part of this project, I tell two stories. In the first, I show through a look into the limitations of the past “objective” view of assessment, how the present “intersubjective” view has been conceptualised. I portray this move from the “objective” to the “intersubjective” view as a story of victory- which I go on to challenge through genealogical analysis. In the other story, I provide a perspective of actual practices of intersubjective assessment. My aim is to show that both stories are tied up in power, substantiating this study’s decision to explore the phenomenon of intersubjective assessment via a genealogical approach. This genealogical analysis revealed a complexity of struggles on the part of teachers and learners in their intersubjective assessment practices. The sense was conveyed that the actual complexity of intersubjective assessment is back-grounded in the many petty and detailed practices in and around it. Some of these include, the conflicting subjectivities on ii the part of both teachers and learners; the impact of the school’s order mark system on intersubjective assessment; the impact of oppositional discourses in existence beneath the surface of schooling life; the panoptic hold those in power have over individual bodies, and the extent to which normalizing practices, both from sources external and internal to the school, impact on intersubjective assessment practices. A pervasive discourse revealed by the analysis was that of “composed performances” of intersubjective assessment. The study found that overt and covert forms of Accountability within the context of the study constructed teachers and learners as compliant subjects rather than autonomous and critically questioning individuals. This study demonstrates that Foucault’s (1926-1984) theories, methods and the model constructed for this study are respectively relevant, valuable and effective when investigating power in intersubjective assessment. Foucault’s suggestions for genealogical inquiry have enabled a perspective of “different things” that exist within the notion of intersubjective assessment. It has revealed points of “fragility”, possibilities for resistance and openings for change within the practice of intersubjective assessment. / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.