<p> The purpose of this case study was to document stakeholders&rsquo; perceptions of adopting and integrating OER materials in higher education. Specifically, this study sought to understand the perceptions of institutional faculty, librarians, instructional designers, and students with the adoption and use of OER at a state college in east Florida. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with institutional faculty, librarians, and instructional designers. A survey was distributed to students enrolled in OER integrated courses during the Spring semester. Theoretical perspectives on the adoption and diffusion of OER as an innovation were grounded in Roger&rsquo;s Diffusion of Innovation theory. </p><p> An analysis of the data revealed that stakeholder perceptions are a key factor in the rate of adoption and diffusion within the institution. Faculty perceptions of resource quality and time involved to curate the resources proved challenging for OER adoption and integration. Instructional designers perceived the resources as time consuming yet highly accessible. Librarians perceived the resources as beneficial, but a lack of awareness and understanding of licensing rules made adoption and integration challenging. Students perceived the resources as advantageous, above average in quality, and just as effective as traditional textbooks. Despite the challenges presented, stakeholders agreed that access to the resources and the cost savings for students were significant enough to outweigh the time involved to locate, adapt, implement, and utilize the resources.</p><p>

<p>Traditional classroom educators face the challenge of teaching online due to the increasing demand of online courses at higher education institutions. Educators who transition from the traditional classroom to online instruction experience the need to incorporate different skills and strategies in order to become an effective online instructor. This qualitative study sought to investigate the difficulties experienced by traditional classroom instructors who are attempting to transition to an online classroom format and what strategies can be used to overcome these difficulties. A qualitative meta-synthesis design was used for this research study because the research questions and approach position towards the appropriateness of meta-synthesis research. Four themes presented themselves from the meta-synthesis of eight research studies. The following four themes captured the experience of educators transitioning from traditional instruction to online instruction: increased workload, changing roles and skills, enhanced support and training, and various communication and engagement strategies. The findings from this study found that traditional educators transitioning to online instruction face many challenges as they attempt to create an engaging classroom environment that echoes engagement in a traditional classroom. The results of this study can assist educators in developing their online teaching skills.

The following dissertation examines the history of general hospitals in modern, central and western Canada. It follows extensive case studies of the Toronto, Winnipeg, Calgary, and Vancouver general hospitals. The last few decades have seen an expanded interest in hospitals by Canadian medical historians, but the overall literature is thin. Further, many of the extant histories focus on a particular constituent: the medical profession, administrators, or architects. In this dissertation I argue that these general hospitals were contested spaces, and that their organization and layout reflected negotiation between several parties. A further important vector is the role hospitals played in the social life of their communities. As these general hospitals grew, and began treating middle-class patients, they also required large sums of money from the public purse. Administrators had to account for the shape and use of medical space to the general public that helped finance it, as they did to the doctors who worked there. During the period 1880-1945 general hospitals moved from the periphery of medical care to the centre, but not without substantial growing pains. These institutions routinely lacked funds and space, and remained in operation as much through the efforts of medical professionals as by concerned citizens. After the Second World War the Federal Government shifted from a standoffish institution to one ready to release funds and administrative energies towards new ideals of social welfare. Funding increased dramatically for the building of new hospitals, and legislative developments such as Medicare transformed the social and political relationship between hospitals and patients. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This dissertation began with the question: why do our general hospitals look the way that they do? It goes on to examine the ways in which multiple actors, including many non-medical ones such as local citizens, city councils, architects, and patients, interfaced with administrators and doctors to establish and build general hospitals in four Canadian cities. The core argument is that these were contested spaces, which reflected the communities in which they existed.

<p>The primary purpose of this study was to design a valid and reliable survey instrument gauging three concepts; (a) utilization of technology-enhanced instructional practices, (b) perceptions of Missouri higher education faculty concerning self-reported instructor role and (c) perceptions of millennial students&rsquo; preferred learning styles. The secondary purpose of this study was to identify differences and similarities among various subsets of the data, examined by investigated concepts, as well as disaggregated by each demographic for individual survey items. </p><p> The six independent variables included type of institution, size of institution (based on Carnegie Size Classification), department, rank, gender and age range. The study also included 34 dependent variables divided into three sections. First were 8 items (items 7&ndash;14), designed to discern the HE faculty&rsquo;s self-reported utilization of technology-enhanced instruction in their classroom. Next were 10 items (items 15&ndash;24), focusing on faculty perceptions of their instructional role in the classroom. Following were 16 items (items 25&ndash;40) asking for self-reported faculty perceptions concerning the learning preferences of higher education students. </p><p> The population for this study included 2,978 faculty at a randomly selected group of 15 two-year and four-year, public and private Missouri higher education institutions based on a listing of Missouri higher education institutions provided by the Missouri Department of Higher Education (MDHE). The survey was completed by 249 of these faculty members. Cronbach&rsquo;s alpha and a pilot survey were conducted to determine validity and reliability. Univariate analyses, including cross tabulations and graphs showing frequency counts and percentages and measures of central tendency and dispersion, consisting of mean, median, mode, standard deviation and variance, were employed to determine utilization of technology-enhanced instruction by Missouri HE faculty as well as perceptions concerning instructional roles and millennial students&rsquo; learning characteristics as identified by research. Finally, Chi-square analysis and cross tabulations showing frequency numbers and percentages of each survey item were generated for each of the six demographic items. </p><p> The findings confirmed that the Survey of Higher Education Instructional Practices (SHEIP) was a valid and reliable instrument for collecting information concerning utilization of technology-enhanced instruction as well as perceptions of instructor role and students&rsquo; preferred learning styles. It was also shown a majority of Missouri higher education faculty are employing technology-enhanced instruction. Findings also indicated percentages of faculty using traditional and contemporary instructor roles were nearly equal. A small percentage more faculty did report using more contemporary instructor roles, but this is a point that could be explored in further research. Furthermore, outcomes indicated that a majority of faculty did agree with the manners which current research indicated millennial students prefer to learn. The theory of disruptive innovation indicated manners in which higher education can implement the change needed to &ldquo;disrupt&rdquo; the current system in academia. Research indicates change is needed if higher education is going to prosper in the rapidly changing academic world. </p>

Esta pesquisa apresenta um modelo de integração entre o projeto executivo e o planejamento operacional de empreendimentos comerciais, aplicado em 8 empresas (2 construtoras, 1 incorporadora, 3 consultorias de gerenciamentos de projetos, 1 empreiteiro e 1 empresa de projetos). A contribuição do modelo beneficia o processo de integração em 6 processos do planejamento de um projeto, a saber: (a) na criação da EAP (estrutura analítica do projeto); (b) na definição de atividade; (c) no seqüenciamento de atividades; (d) na estimativa de recursos da atividade; (e) na estimativa de duração da atividade e (f) no desenvolvimento do cronograma. Entre as principais conclusões, percebemos que a aplicação do modelo é possível pelo aumento da rapidez na preparação do cronograma do projeto e na simulação de tomada de decisões operacionais, mas desde que às empresas do setor consolidem as práticas de coordenar, projetar e gerenciar de forma simultânea e consistente; criando seu próprio banco de dados de tecnologias construtivas, integrado aos sistemas informatizados de projetos e de gerenciamento. / This research presents an integration model between the design and the operational planning of commercial enterprises, applied in 8 companies (2 builders, 1 company of incorporation, 3 consultancies of project management, 1 contractor and 1 company of projects). The contribution of the model benefits the integration in 6 processes of the planning of an enterprise, to know: (a) create WBS (work breakdown structure); (b) activity definition; (c) activity sequencing; (d) activity resource estimating; (e) activity duration estimating and (f) schedule development. Among the main conclusions, we noticed that the application of the model is possible for the increase of the speed in the preparation of the shedule of the enterprise and in the simulation of operational decisions, but since to the companies of the section consolidate the practices of coordinating, to design and to manage in a simultaneous and solid way; creating the own database of constructive technologies, integrated into the computerized systems of design and of management.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Carnegie Mellon University, 2006. / (UMI)AAI3236591. Adviser: Richard Buchanan. Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-10, Section: A, page: 3632.

Esta pesquisa apresenta um modelo de integração entre o projeto executivo e o planejamento operacional de empreendimentos comerciais, aplicado em 8 empresas (2 construtoras, 1 incorporadora, 3 consultorias de gerenciamentos de projetos, 1 empreiteiro e 1 empresa de projetos). A contribuição do modelo beneficia o processo de integração em 6 processos do planejamento de um projeto, a saber: (a) na criação da EAP (estrutura analítica do projeto); (b) na definição de atividade; (c) no seqüenciamento de atividades; (d) na estimativa de recursos da atividade; (e) na estimativa de duração da atividade e (f) no desenvolvimento do cronograma. Entre as principais conclusões, percebemos que a aplicação do modelo é possível pelo aumento da rapidez na preparação do cronograma do projeto e na simulação de tomada de decisões operacionais, mas desde que às empresas do setor consolidem as práticas de coordenar, projetar e gerenciar de forma simultânea e consistente; criando seu próprio banco de dados de tecnologias construtivas, integrado aos sistemas informatizados de projetos e de gerenciamento. / This research presents an integration model between the design and the operational planning of commercial enterprises, applied in 8 companies (2 builders, 1 company of incorporation, 3 consultancies of project management, 1 contractor and 1 company of projects). The contribution of the model benefits the integration in 6 processes of the planning of an enterprise, to know: (a) create WBS (work breakdown structure); (b) activity definition; (c) activity sequencing; (d) activity resource estimating; (e) activity duration estimating and (f) schedule development. Among the main conclusions, we noticed that the application of the model is possible for the increase of the speed in the preparation of the shedule of the enterprise and in the simulation of operational decisions, but since to the companies of the section consolidate the practices of coordinating, to design and to manage in a simultaneous and solid way; creating the own database of constructive technologies, integrated into the computerized systems of design and of management.