This study is a case study of an institutional transformational change effort in an urban research university. The study's focus is on the impact of The Milwaukee Idea on faculty and students as the soul of the university. Literature on transformational change in higher education focuses on the processes for launching this type of change and the role of formal change leaders. Less is known about the impact of transformational change on faculty and students. Relevant literature on change and institutional culture informed this study, including Kotter (1996), Wilber (1998), Cutright (2001), Peterson and Spencer (2000), Kezar and Eckel(2000), and Astin (2001). National projects sponsored by ACE and the Kellogg Foundation are also reviewed. Sense-making emerges as a critical construct in understanding the culture and values of students and faculty.Findings reveal that the change agenda brought cultural values around civic engagement, interdisciplinary work, and collaboration to the forefront of the institutional agenda. Faculty has engaged in new and enhanced work as a result of The Milwaukee Idea initiatives, while traditional university structures, including the faculty reward system, have been maintained. Students were recipients of the change agenda, but not active in its development. Community members have new expectations for their involvement in the university and the university's ability to contribute to the public good. There is an understanding in the community and at the university that their two fates are linked.The aggregate of faculty and student participants do not report a deep, pervasive impact on their culture and experiences. The Milwaukee Idea brought change to the university in new programs and centers, but it was not transformational. What The Milwaukee Idea did do is bring forward values within the culture and establish the university as a more visible presence and force in the local community.

The purpose of this research was to examine Black STEM students’ sense of belonging. The researcher also sought to understand what factors most contributed to students’ sense of belonging and whether the involvement in a living learning community or summer bridge program had an effect. An explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used. Participants (N = 89) were administered a revised Psychological Sense of School Membership survey, then were purposively selected to participate in follow-up interviews (N = 8). A principal component analysis, an independent t-test, and a multiple regression analysis were conducted. Results of the principal component analysis identified a two-component model containing 15 items. Survey results indicated that students in a cohort did not differ significantly on their sense of belonging. Sense of belonging was not a significant indicator of academic success. Seven themes emerged during the qualitative phase of the study: (a) student perception of the university; (b) student perception of STEM; (c) individual attributes; (d) family; (e) faculty interaction and support; (f) peer interaction and support; and (g) recommendations. The quantitative and qualitative data provided details regarding students’ perceptions of belongingness. Students highlighted the importance of relationships with others, specifically with faculty and peers, to their belonging and success in the university. This study provided researchers, university administrators, professors, and even students insight into the world of Black STEM students and highlighted the nuances associated with their attendance at a predominately White institution and studying in a White, male dominated field.

The aim of this diploma thesis is to analyse the Heidegger's daseinsanalysis. I focus in particular on a description of its roots and basics, that it originates from. Furthemore I refer to its philosophical fundament and its practical application to a psychotherapy, where it helps patients to grasp their lost life balance and orientation. I choose this topic because it is related to my bachelor's thesis, that is named "Sense of life and current human" . The daseinsanalysis also discusses the position of the human in the world and his being and searching of the life's meaning. In the contemporary global world full of disagreements and conflicts and the hectic pace of modern life, more and more people deal with the psychological or neurotic problems, more and more people search for their place in the world. Thanks to their inability to deal with these problems by their own strengths, they subsequently seek the help of psychologists. There the daseinsanalysis comes into play in the form of an individual or a group therapy. I reckon Edmund Husserl and Martin Heidegger, whose philosophical theories helped to create roots for the development of the daseinsanalysis, among the most influential representatives of the daseinsanalysis's development. Next I would like to mention Ludwig Binswanger, Medard Boss...

ANOTATION The present work explores the role and significance of education in lives of the seniors. The thesis consists of two parts. The first part contains an overview of the topic's treatment in domestic literature, definition of basic terms and a description of selected aspects of the elderly's life, and an outline of lifelong learning system in the Czech republic. The second part is based on an empirical research and attempts to shed light at, as the title suggests, the role which education plays in lives of the czech elderly and significance it bears for them. Data for the analysis will be acquired through a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods (a telephone survey and in-depth interview). The work closes with relevant annexes and a list of resources used. KEY WORDS senior, senium, education, lifelong education, gerontopedagogy, motivation, meaning of life

The whole thesis has been the view on the level of the understanding to the number among children at first grade of the elementary school. The beginning part focuses on the general summary of the points related to the main subject. This means the developing of cognitive functions at the time when children start attending school, summary of the technical terms connected with mathematical abilities and describing the development of the mathematical abilities at the first grade. The research applies to the topics in the field of mathematical abilities, which are relatively new in the Czech Republic. I tried to describe the number sense among children at the first grade, their strategies during solving the tasks and also to describe the measure of their math anxiety. Another outcome is finding out the dependence of results of the powers of intellect test, number knowledge test and the math anxiety measure. My research was realized under the patronage of the research realized at the Australian University, Sydney. The conclusion of the thesis focuses on the suggestions how to support the children's mathematical abilities development before they start attending school. The translation of two research methods is also the partial result. Key words: number sense, math anxiety, mathematical abilities

The thesis deals with the question of interpretation of narrative works of fiction in regard to what the text refers to (what is usually termed reference). On the work of three differently focused authors (Frege, Ortega y Gasset, Shklovsky) it studies reference pushed aside as a thing unimportant or even impossible in art. Structuralism, developing mainly in France after 1960, supplants these questions with exploring the literalness of literary works and their inner relations, allowing narratology to arise. Subsequently, Paul Ricoeur aims for the synthesis of structuralism and hermeneutics. Approaching literary work as discourse, he distinguishes the "what" and "what about" of works, following Frege's distinction between sense and reference (meaning), while reference of a work is not descriptive. In Time and Narrative he uses the term refiguration instead of reference and emphasizes the temporal aspect of literary work and its reception. The thesis is closed with a brief interpretation of Budapest, a novel by Chico Buarque (2003).

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Dale Bremer / Greg Davis / In 2005, turfgrass was estimated to cover approximately 20 million ha of urbanized land. That area is increasing with rapid urbanization, stressing the importance of water conservation in the lawn and landscape industry. Turfgrasses have been identified for replacement by presumably more water-efficient ornamental plant species to conserve water. However, research comparing drought resistance and evapotranspiration (ET) of turfgrasses with ornamental landscape plants is limited. Two studies were conducted to evaluate water use and performance under drought stress of several ornamental and turfgrass species. An online course was developed to educate students about critical water issues related to irrigation in urbanizing watersheds. In a field study, ET was measured using lysimeters and plant water status was evaluated under deficit irrigation (100%, 60%, and 20% ET) in Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Buchloe dactyloides (Nutt.) Engelm. ‘Sharps Improved’, and Ajuga reptans L. ‘Bronze Beauty’. Evapotranspiration was similar between A. reptans and F. arundinacea, and was 32 and 35% greater than ET of B. dactyloides. In a greenhouse study, the performance of one turfgrass (Poa pratensis L. ‘Apollo’) and eight landscape species (Achillea millifolium L., Ajuga reptans L. ‘Bronze Beauty’, Liriope muscari Decne., Pachysandra terminalis Siebold and Zucc., Sedum album L., Thymus serpyllum L., Vinca major L., and Vinca minor L.) was evaluated during a severe dry down and subsequent recovery. S. album, L. muscari, and P. terminalis performed the best, requiring 86 to 254 d to decline to a quality rating of one (1-9 scale: 1=dead/dormant, 9=best quality). The remaining species required 52 to 63 d. The only species to recover were P. pratensis [46% pot cover (PC) after 60 days], S. album (38% PC), and V. major (35% PC). A survey was developed to measure student learning as it relates to the level of sense and meaning present in the content of a new online course entitled “Water Issues in the Lawn and Landscape.” Survey results were compared with student learning as measured through a post-test. Post-test scores declined as the difference between sense and meaning increased (r =-0.82; P=0.03), indicating student learning is higher when both sense and meaning are present.

This study examined the self-reported perceptions of post-secondary Aboriginal students who were part of a peer mentoring relationship in the Promoting Aboriginal Community Together (PACT) program at the University of Manitoba. PACT supports Aboriginal students transitioning into university life by providing participants with social and academic development, activities, as well as the opportunity to be mentored by an upper-level Aboriginal student. This study asked whether their participation helped them persist in their academic goals and whether peer mentoring as an engagement strategy affects the sense of belonging to the university. The qualitative research design of this phenomenological study permitted a probing of the interview data documenting the experiences of the ten participants, Aboriginal students who had participated in PACT. Among the ways in which participants benefitted from PACT was expressed in themes such as: opportunity to participate in community with other Aboriginal students, networking, overcoming shyness, and getting academic advice. / May 2016

<p>Visitors’ expectations of museums in the modern world consist of both utilitarian and hedonic aspects. Given visitors’ diverse expectations and demands, traditional museums have taken actions to attract more visitors. Taking advantage of new technologies is the current action and trend in the museum industry. The emergence of digital museums is the reflection of this tendency, which use digital technologies such as projectors, surrounded sound, ambient lights, and multisensory cues to present a virtual environment. In the virtual environment, emotional state and sense of presence are considered to be useful to provide a more engaging experience. Therefore, this research empirically investigated digital museum visitor experience perceptions and the influence of emotional state and sense of presence on experience perceptions. The different impact of multisensory cues on experience and the relative mediation effect were also examined.</p> <p>Data were collected with a scenario-based online survey conducted through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). A split-sample approach with a total of 382 respondents was used for analysis. Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis were used to explore visitor experience perceptions of the digital museum. Structural equation modeling was used to discover the impact of emotional state and sense of presence. One-way analysis of variance was used to compare the difference in impact of multisensory cues on overall visitor experience. This research also employed the PROCESS macro in SPSS for demonstrating the mediating effect of emotional state and sense of presence through the impact of multisensory cues on overall visitor experience. The findings of this study revealed three experience perceptions—respectively, joviality, personal escapism, and localness experiences—of digital museums. Also, this research presented the positive effect of emotional state on joviality experience and negative effect of emotional state on localness experience. In addition, a notable positive impact of sense of presence on joviality, personal escapism, and localness experience perceptions was found. No significant effect of emotional state on personal escapism was found in this research. Moreover, visual and auditory cues together were confirmed as the most powerful indicator for triggering the greatest experience level. The impact was found to be valid due to the mediating role of emotional state and sense of presence.</p> <p>This research contributed theoretically and practically to museum literature and experience research. Theoretical implications were discussed to indicate this research as the framework to measure digital museum visitor experience based on the proposed three-factor structure. Practical implications were provided for museum managers. Limitations and future research were discussed.</p>

Denna uppsats har syftat till att undersöka downshifting som en livsstilsmigration till landsbygden samt belysa downshiftares flyttmotiv till landsbygden i förhållande till deras valda livsstil. Frågeställningar som uppsatsen har utgått ifrån är: vilka motiv påverkar downshiftare att flytta till landsbygden? samt hur upplever downshiftarna landsbygden som plats och hur möjliggör landsbygden deras livsstil? Forskningen beskriver downshiftning som en motrörelse till ett högt livstempo där det förespråkas att “växla ner”. Vi har uppmärksammat en trend där människor som downshiftar ofta flyttar till landsbygden som följd av sin livsstil och vi ville därför fördjupa oss i ämnet utifrån ett kulturgeografiskt perspektiv då detta inte undersökts tidigare. Vi har även uppmärksammat att det finns mindre forskning som rör intern livsstilsmigration inom Sverige och specifikt om livsstilsmigration till landsbygden. En stor del av forskningen kring livsstilsmigration har hittills behandlat internationell migration. I förhållande till de nämnda observationerna syftar därför studien till att undersöka downshifting som en livsstilsmigration.  Tidigare forskning kring downshifting, livsstilsmigration och plats utgör den teoretiska referensramen. Uppsatsen har utgått ifrån en kvalitativ undersökning med semistrukturerade intervjuer med downshiftare som flyttat från en större stad till landsbygden. Sammanfattningsvis genomfördes åtta intervjuer med endast kvinnliga respondenter, detta eftersom vi använde oss av snöbollsurvalet som uteslutande länkade till kvinnliga nätverk. Resultaten visar bland annat att de flesta flyttar till landsbygden för att kunna växla ner och hoppa av “ekorrhjulet” som de upplever är påtagligt i storstaden. I studiens slutsats har vi kommit fram till att flyttmotiv till landsbygden bygger på flera olika motiv som inte skiljer sig nämnvärt från de motiv som framkommit i tidigare forskning. Att flytta till landsbygden har fungerat som strategi för att kunna styra över sin egen tid eftersom de låga boendekostnaderna möjliggör för downshiftaren att kunna gå ner i arbetstid.