<p> This study was designed to determine what it is that Chief Learning Officers do to build the learning organization by examining interview data from current Chief Learning Officers using the constructs of change and leadership. The study sample included current Chief Learning Officers who work for U.S. based organizations within the U.S. and have been in their current Chief Learning Officer position for at least two years. </p><p> The study used a qualitative, exploratory methodology combined with phone or face-to-face interviews in order to gather data. The data was analyzed using the Systems Learning Organization Model (Marquardt, 2011). 20 Chief Learning Officers were interviewed for approximately 60 minutes each and asked the same series of questions in order to further explore how Chief Learning Officers use leadership and change to build the learning organization. </p><p> The study findings show that Chief Learning Officers do four things to build the learning organization: 1. They themselves collaborate with others inside and outside of the organization, and encourage others to do so as well; 2. They assess and measure their learning and development programs on a consistent basis; 3. They seek and secure funding and other resources for their learning and development opportunities; 4. They have a vision for their learning organization, and realize that vision through strategy development and implementation.</p>

This thesis employed semi-structured interviews to explore how a sample of Canadian men articulate their beliefs and experiences of masculine identity in the context of a contemporary crisis of hegemonic masculinity. Participants included four men from the conservative Christian organization, the Promise Keepers, with three other men as comparison. Participants discussed the traditional importance of men's roles as breadwinners and leaders in their families, and complementary roles for wives as homemakers and primary caregivers for children. They also acknowledged pressures for men to adapt in response to contemporary challenges to hegemonic masculinity. Responses included attempts to reinstate patriarchal forms of masculinity, to redefine masculinity, and to abandon it altogether in favour of more egalitarian gender roles. These findings support Connell's claim that hegemonic masculinity is threatened by changes in relations of production, power and cathexis, and show how men are seeking to adapt in response to these.

<p> This dissertation advances a novel approach that I refer to as the structure of strategic communication. Leveraging theory on how people naturally structure their arguments, this approach contends that organizational actors deploy arguments to influence others at two structurally distinct levels&mdash;<i> within</i> the rules of the game or <i>about</i> the rules of the game. This dissertation&rsquo;s primary claim is that talking more about the rules of the game, which exposes the assumptions underlying our social institutions to direct examination, may have profound implications. I build evidence for this claim in two ways. First, I develop a new measurement called the <i>argument structure ratio</i> (<i>ASR</i>) that conceptually and empirically captures how explicit a speaker makes these assumptions in their communication. I outline a three-step methodology for measuring the ASR of any collection of written texts. Second, I theorize and empirically demonstrate how the ASR impacts an audience&rsquo;s reaction. Using all public speeches made by the Chairperson of the United States Federal Reserve from 1998 to 2014, I show that the more they expose the assumptions underlying the Federal Reserve System, the more their speeches produce market uncertainty. I argue that these findings fundamentally change how we think about the role of strategic communication in market contexts. More generally, this work provides a new way to conceptualize and study strategic communication that extends well beyond financial markets to a variety of different organizational contexts and across multiple levels of analysis. Taken together, this dissertation provides a theoretical and methodological foundation upon which to conduct research on the structure of strategic communication.</p><p>

<p> Diffusion of innovation across cultures is a broad field of study, especially when considering the adaptation of organizational development (OD) innovations into multicultural environments. Although OD interventions are often adapted to fit unique circumstances of each organization&rsquo;s culture, this study explored whether there were specific adaptations that occur when OD interventions are applied to Indian organizations by Indian practitioners. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover how appreciative inquiry (AI) as an OD intervention was received and adapted by OD practitioners in India with particular focus on for-profit organizations.</p><p> A thematic analysis of 17 implementations shared by Indian practitioners was conducted to examine the fidelity and extensiveness of AI adaptation. Toward this end, the study was tailored to ensure the intervention was localized and situated more specifically in the organizational and leadership contexts. Results revealed that AI, when applied to India-based for-profit organizations, exhibited a level of adaptation that could be applied on a global scale. It is anticipated that understanding the factors that drive AI adaptation in India will assist scholars and practitioners to establish guidelines for successfully transferring organizational innovations.</p>

<p>Employment is an integral part of individuals? lives, providing many benefits to workers. Unfortunately, individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) face additional barriers to employment, and are often placed into jobs that are poorly matched to their abilities and characteristics. The current study explored the potential use of the O*NET Computerized Interest Profiler (CIP) tool with high-functioning individuals with ASD, utilizing subject matter expert ratings of occupations outputted by the CIP as well as ratings of the potential use of the CIP with this population. Results demonstrated that subject matter experts (SMEs) rated CIP-outputted occupations as appropriate, of interest to, and attainable for high-functioning individuals with ASD, and rated these occupations significantly higher than distracter occupations. SMEs also reported positive reactions to the potential use of the tool itself. These results demonstrate that the CIP may be a viable and useful tool to use in the career exploration of individuals with ASD.

No description available.

This submission is an analytical report that chronicles and evaluates the internship experience of Gina Charbonnet at KID smART an arts nonprofit organization, in New Orleans, LA. The internship period commenced November 15, 2001 and concluded March 30, 2002.

This study reveals how participants in cross-cultural programs engage in intercultural communication with one another and reflect on global competency. Researchers agree that many U.S. students graduating from universities today are not receiving the necessary tools to successfully work abroad. This study has two major research objectives: to examine the engagement of intercultural communication between two people from different cultures and their reflections on global competency. Data were collected from 10 participants who were paired up with a person(s) of a different culture in conversation partner programs. Semi-structured interviews, qualitative analysis, and software were other methods used. I use the symbolic interaction approach to examine the engagement of intercultural communication and how that relates to the global competency of students and community members participating in cross-cultural programs on a U.S. university campus. The symbolic interaction approach examines the symbols and meanings people have for things. Findings show that participants--U.S. and international students, scholars, and community members--engage in intercultural communication by two key methods: the initial cultural philosophy and the stating of cultural differences. Findings from the second research question, examining how global competency relates to intercultural communication, indicates that according to participants, self-awareness and cultural awareness are readily apparent. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Degree Awarded: Fall Semester, 2009. / Date of Defense: September 29, 2009. / Symbolic Interactionism, Global Competency, Intercultural Communication / Includes bibliographical references. / Thomas Luschei, Professor Directing Thesis; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member; Linda Schrader, Committee Member; Patrice Iatarola, Committee Member.

Mathematics involves abstract concepts and students often find it difficult to understand this complex subject (Ramani & Patadia, 2012). In order to succeed and wrestle with the difficulties in math, students should use different approaches to learning mathematics such as computer-assisted instruction (CAI) (Ramani & Patadia, 2012). Schools have invested in CAI programs to supplement instruction and these programs are also used as means to generate data to inform “the degree to which students meet learning goals” (Halverson & Shapiro, 2012. p. 1). Computer programs that prove difficult to use, cannot be customized to the learner or have poor user-interface, do not provide users with the experiences they want (Halverson & Shapiro, 2012). The degree to which learners experience programs as easy to use has been defined as technical usability and, the degree to which learners experience programs as easy to learn has been defined as pedagogical usability (Nokelainen, 2006). The purpose of this mixed methods study is to examine students’ subjective technical and pedagogical usability experiences with the SuccessMaker (SME) CAI program because the presence of good usability features can reinforce skills and support learning. SME is an adaptive intervention tutorial program designed to supplement math and adjust instruction to meet students’ needs (Pearson Digital Learning, (n.d.). Additionally, SME states that students experience less frustration with the math lessons because the learning paths guide students to performance goals (Pearson Digital Learning, n.d.). A wealth of studies have measured student outcomes after using computer math programs. However, these studies were inconclusive and failed to take a holistic view of the processes and inputs involved in using computer programs. Moreover, within computer programs, digital skills and learning features are not always explicitly taught or measured in elementary schools; however, students are being required to use computers as supplements to math instruction. A paucity of studies have measured usability constructs, which can support successful experiences using computer programs. Further investigation warrants a usability study in order to maximize, and support time spent learning, because computer programs should be easy to use and easy to learn. This case study employs a mixed methods, non-experimental research design to examine students’ usability experiences with the SME CAI math program. The Pedagogically Meaningful Learning Questionnaire (PMLQ) (Nokelainen, 2005) was administered to fifth grade students to answer the first research question and examine the degree to which technical usability scales are present within SME. Three focus groups were also conducted to answer the second research question, and examine students’ subjective experiences with both technical and pedagogical usability constructs. Overall, the results of this investigation indicated that relevant information can be learned from students’ experiences with CAI programs. Findings from the PMLQ, on average, revealed neither good nor poor usability within the following scales: accessibility, learnability and memorability, user control, graphical layout, reliability and memory load. Findings from the PMLQ revealed poor usability within the help, consistency, errors, and efficiency scales. Findings from the focus groups revealed good usability within the applicability, graphical layout, reliability constructs, and poor usability within learner control, learner activity, goal orientation, added value, motivation, valuation of previous knowledge, flexibility and feedback constructs as a result of subjective student experiences. The identification of good usability features has implications for supporting the ease of use and learning within the SME math CAI program. Conversely, the identification of poor usability features has implications for inhibiting the ease of learning within the SME math CAI program. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education. / Spring Semester 2018. / March 21, 2018. / computer assisted instruction, math, usability / Includes bibliographical references. / Courtney Preston, Professor Directing Dissertation; Fengfeng Ke, University Representative; Stacey Rutledge, Committee Member; Helen Boyle, Committee Member.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--Boston University.