Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 2006. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 22, 2007. Dissertation Committee: Cheri A. Toledo (chair), Adel T. Al-Bataineh, Charles D. Dziuban, Vicky L. Morgan, Wendy G. Troxel. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 233-244) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Delaware, 2006. / Principal faculty advisor: Fred Hofstetter, School of Education. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2006. / Title from title screen (site viewed on Feb. 6, 2007). PDF text: iv, 240 p. : ill. UMI publication number: AAT 3216346. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche format.

The purpose of this study was to determine: what factors are important in influencing adult students to participate in distance learning programs; 2) whether students prefer interactive television or instructional television. A review of the literature identified items that were considered Important to students participating in distance learning programs. The items identified in the literature were reviewed by a jury of experts. From the list of items a questionnaire was developed for this study. Students from two Oregon community colleges completed the questionnaire. A total of 127 questionnaires were analyzed. The data were analyzed with the use of descriptive statistics, factor analysis, analysis of variance, Chi Square and t-test. Twenty-two of the thirty-four items in the questionnaire were considered very important or important to students. Factor analysis clustered the items under the factors socializing, convenience, instructor, and supplmental activities. Students consider instructor and convenience the most important factors of distance learning programs followed by supplemental activities and finally socializing. Caparisons of students participating using instructional television and interactive television to deliver distance learning programs were also made. Analysis of the data indicates the four factors (socializing, convenience, instructor, and supplemental activities) have the same relative importance to students participating in academic and vocational distance learning programs. In addition, participation in instructional television programs was more convenient for students than interactive television programs. Delivery of distance learning programs should: provide opportunities for students to socialize; be convenient for the student to participate in; utilize instructors committed to using instructional television; and make available supplemental activities for students. / Graduation date: 1992

The main purpose of this thesis was to clarify whether there would be difficulties in using constructivistic learning in distance education in which interactive video was used. Other purposes of the thesis were to study the quality of learning in distance education compared to conventional education, and to study the quality of learning in constructivistic education compared to traditional education. The thesis consists of five studies in which three treat distance education and constructivistic learning. The first study treats distance education on its own, and the last study treats constuctivistic learning in conventional study groups. The methods in all studies were questionnaires for all participans, complemented with interviews in three studies. In the studies about constructivistic learning, the questionnaire contained questions to measure the extent of the constructivistic learning environment. The questionnaire in the first study contained questions to find out the participants' opinions about the course. The main hypothesis was that it would be more difficult to introduce constructivistic learning in distance education using interactive media, compared to conventional education. The findings from the studies could by no means verify this hypothesis. All the findings showed that the difficulties in distance education did not influence the possibilities to introduce constructivistic learning negatively. As to the quality of the distance students' learning there were some conflicting results. One group when tested achieved lower results than its reference group and the other groups did just as well as their reference groups. In the questionnaire the students claimed that the use of interactive video did not mean that the quality of learning was affected in negative ways. The findings in the last study showed that the students' opinions about the quality was much higher for the constructivistic group than its reference group. When tested the constructivistic group achieved better results in three out of four tests, but the differences were too small to be of any significance. / digitalisering@umu

Genom att använda reflex kan gångtrafikanten i mörkret upptäckas 100 meter tidigare av bilisten. Ändå används de inte. CLT rör hur mentala konstruktioner formas och hur individen rör sig mellan psykologiska distanser på abstrakta eller konkreta nivåer. Kognitiv dissonans innebär att beteenden ligger i konflikt vilket leder till obehag som behöver reduceras. En enkätundersökning med 120 deltagare genomfördes med syftet att se om individer inomhus i dagsljus förklarade sin frånvaro av reflexer abstrakt medan individer utomhus i mörker förklarade konkret. Resultatet visade inget stöd för detta men däremot att män hade en tendens att förklara sig mer abstrakt än kvinnor samtidigt som de använde reflexer mer sällan och ansåg dem vara mindre viktiga för säkerheten. Resultatdiskussionen gällde om frågorna i indelningarna av abstrakt och konkret är alltför olika. Dessutom diskuteras om den psykologiska distansen var för liten eller om kön avgör mer för typ av förklaring än miljön.

The distance to empty (DTE) for a heavy vehicle is valuable information both forthe driver and the hauler company. The DTE is estimated as the ratio between the current fuel level and a representative mean fuel consumption. This means the fuel consumption is a prediction of the most likely future mean fuel consumption based on earlier data. It is calculated by applying a forgetting filter on the signal of the momentary fuel consumption in the engine. The filter parameter control how many values that contributes to the output. This is a balance between desired robustness and adaptability of the estimate. Initially, a pre-stored value is used as an estimate of the mean fuel consumption. By this, the driver gets a first hint of the DTE value and the estimation of the DTE gets a good starting point. Stored values will adapt continuously with an online algorithm using vehicle data from previous runs. An alternative to showing the DTE is to present the time to empty when the vehicle speed is close to zero. The accuracy of the proposed algorithm depends on the quality of the input signals. With the current input signals, it is possible to get a DTE estimate that, over a longer time period, decrease in the same pace as the distance meter increase. This is considered as a good validation measurement. If altitude data for the current route would be used, a more accurate DTE estimate could be obtained. The sample distance for this altitude data could however be set to a 1000 meter without affecting the estimate significantly. / Sträckan till tom tank för ett tungt fordon är värdefull information, både för den enskilde föraren och åkeriet. Förkortad som DTE (Distance to empty) kan detta värde estimeras som kvoten av den nuvarande bränslenivån i tanken och en genomsnittlig bränsleförbrukning. Denna genomsnittliga bränsleförbrukning är en prediktion av den troligaste framtida snittförbrukningen baserad på tidigare värden. Detta görs genom att ett glömskefilter appliceras på signalen för den aktuella bränsleförbrukningen i motorn. Filterparametern avgör hur snabbt gamla värden på insignalen ska klinga av och när den anpassas så måste önskad stabilitet vägas mot önskad känslighet hos skattningen. Initialt så används förlagrade värden som skattning för den genomsnittliga bränsleförbrukningen. Detta gör att föraren får en första aning om hur långt fordonet kan köras samt ger DTE estimeringen en bra utgångspunkt. Dessa lagrade värden uppdateras under drift med information från det aktuella fordonet. För att hanterade problem som kan uppstå vid låga hastigheter eller tomgång kan istället tiden till tom tank visas. Resultatet av DTE skattningen beror på kvalitén på insignalerna. Med de nuvarande insignalerna fås en DTE skattning som över en längre tidsperiod minskar sitt värde i samma takt som avståndsmätaren ökar sitt, vilket är ett önskvärt uppförande. Om höjddata för en den aktuella rutten skulle användas skulle DTE estimeringen kunna göras mer noggrant. Det skulle dock räcka med att använda höjdinformation var 1000:e meter och ändå få en tillräckligt noggrann skattning.

I denna studie har jag undersökt hur ledarskap på distans bedrevs av ledare med chefsuppdrag inom laboratoriemedicin. Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur cheferna beskrev vad som utmärkte ledarskapet på distans, vilka egenskaper en ledare behövde för att leda en organisation på distans och hur de kommunicerade med sina medarbetare.  Jag har i denna studie intervjuat åtta ledare på olika nivåer. Sex av informanterna arbetade inom två olika landsting och två arbetade åt en privat vårdgivare. Vid genomgången av intervjumaterialet framkom nio olika teman vilka var specifika egenskaper, delegering, resor, motivation och feed-back, avstämmande kommunikation, kommunikationsformer, mötesformer, medarbetarsamtal och information. Det som utmärkte ledarskapet på distans var att en stor del av arbetstiden gick åt till arbetsresor antingen för att besöka medarbetare eller för att delta i möten. Därför var det också viktigt att de delegerade arbetsuppgifter till medarbetarna. Resultatet visade också att det var extra viktigt när man leder på distans att man som ledare hade en kommunikativ förmåga, vilket gällde både skriftligt och muntligt. Dessutom måste budskapen vara extra tydliga så att de inte misstolkades. Eftersom medarbetarna var geografiskt utspridda så var det även en svårighet att ha fysiska möten och få alla medarbetare samlade vid ett och samma tillfälle. Andra mötesformer som förekom var telefonmöten eller videkonferenser. Information till medarbetarna förmedlades antingen via fysiska möten, e-mail, intranät eller via telefonen. / In this study, I have explored how leadership at a distance was carried out by managing directors within the field of laboratory medicine. The purpose of the study was to investigate how the directors described the distinctive features of leadership at a distance, including the traits they felt were necessary for effective leadership and the manner in which they communicated with their employees. During the course of the study, I conducted interviews with eight directors employed at different organizational levels; six of the interviewees worked for two separate county councils, and the remaining two for a private healthcare provider. Upon review of the interview transcripts, nine different themes emerged as important: specific traits, delegation, travel, motivation and feedback, coordinating communication, forms of communication, types of meetings, employee performance reviews and information. One key characteristic of leadership at a distance was the fact that directors devoted a large portion of their work week to traveling—either to visit employees or to attend meetings. Delegation of tasks by directors to employees was also found to be important. The results of the study also indicated that, in order to lead effectively at a distance, directors needed to possess a good capacity for communicating, both in writing and in speech. In addition, directors' instructions needed to be exceedingly clear, lest they be misunderstood. Because employees were dispersed geographically, meetings in which all employees were simultaneously in attendance were difficult to bring about. Other types of meetings included telephone and video conferences. Employees received information both during meetings and by way of e-mail, intranet and telephone.

The choice of appropriate collaborative partners has consistently been reported as a key issue for contemporary managers. This study reports findings from a study which explored the process and criteria of partner selection - how and why partners are chosen. The results show multiple cycles of deal-making, partnership roles and organizational approval. Partner choice criteria focused on partnership requirements, but was influenced by additional factors. These results suggest that partner selection may be much more complex than previously recognized and could be better described as partner negotiation. <br /><br /> The researcher reviewed recent literature on partnerships, decision-making, and partner selection. Concepts from this previous work were updated with data from three initial interviewees experienced in university-industry partnerships. A conceptual Partner Negotiation Model was developed including three cycles of Deal-Making, Organizational Approval, and Partner Role/Selection. Our hypothesized Partner Choice Criteria centred on requirements, but were influenced by resource availability, social network, reputation, politics, and ambiguity. Two Canada-wide distance education consortia were identified as large-scale case studies for investigation of the research theory. A total of 34 informants were contacted. Written business plans, contracts, documents, partner network diagrams and 231 archival e-mails from 36 correspondents were collected and analysed for the two consortia. <br /><br /> The results showed strong support for partner selection included in negotiation cycles of deal-making and organizational approval. Partner choice criteria supported the need to meet documented requirements, but was also strongly influenced by resource availability, social network, and reputation. Additional issues of interest to the interviewees were motivation, operations, unit of partner, self-sustaining income, and integration to one consortium. As well, the Case Study Narratives offered deep, interesting insight into two specific cases of Canadian consortia. <br /><br /> The findings suggest that the formation of partnerships and the process of partner selection are both very complex. This research has provided new insights linking business negotiation concepts with partner selection. A model has been developed for viewing partner selection as negotiation. Three negotiation cycles of deal-making, organizational approval, and partner role/selection have been proposed. The research has identified four criteria that influence why specific partners are chosen ? requirements, resource availability, social network, and reputation. Finally, based on the complexities and issues from this work, a number of ideas for future research have been summarized.

No description available.