This qualitative case study was designed to identify and analyze instructional strategies used by fifth grade teachers to meet the needs of students with disabilities receiving reading instruction in inclusive settings. Seven participants in a large suburban school system were chosen through purposeful, criterion-based sampling. Semi-structured interviews were used to gain information about how teachers use data related to student readiness, interests, and learning profiles to design differentiated instruction. Observations were used to gain information about how the teachers implemented differentiated content, process, and products in the classroom. As more students with disabilities are served in inclusive settings, teachers are finding they need to differentiate instruction to meet the varied needs of their students. Previous studies have found that adjusting one of the components of differentiated instruction (readiness levels, interest levels, learning profiles, content, process, or product) to meet individual needs increases the opportunities for students to be successful in the classroom. However, there is limited research on the impact of combining all of these components into the framework of differentiated instruction on achievement levels. There is also limited research on how teachers actually plan and implement differentiated lessons. The results of this study indicate that general and special education teachers can work collaboratively to meet the diverse needs of all students in an inclusive classroom. By using data to analyze the readiness levels, interest levels, and learning profiles of all students and planning lessons to address student needs, teachers were able to successfully teach the required curriculum to their students in an inclusive setting. The teachers that demonstrated the greatest amount of differentiated instruction had the strongest collaborative relationships. These were the teachers that described their relationship as a partnership. They analyzed student data and planned lessons together, felt a shared responsibility for all students in the class, and, as a result, provided a supportive learning environment. Administrative support, shared planning time, on-going professional development, and appropriate materials were identified by the teachers as key ingredients for a successful inclusive classrooms.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

This thesis examines the use of mediating entities in overcoming barriers found in many university-community partnerships, which arise out of unequal power, a lack of mutual understanding, and divergent agendas of the partners. In order to develop a theory or model of the functions and structure of these mediating entities, this thesis analyzes the Urban Routes program of International Project for Nonprofit Leadership. This study identifies four main functions of mediating entities: integration, interpretation, equalization, and sustaining. This case study reveals the importance of structuring these mediating entities in a way that allows for the most effective utilization of the personal relationships these structures rely upon.

The current generation of Palm PDA devices is designed to share information records primarily with a base desktop system, or a server. Therefore, their built- in features for sharing data during ad-hoc collaboration among groups of mobile users are inadequate. In this thesis, we describe a new framework that addresses this problem by allowing users to transparently share the record databases of common applications during spontaneous collaborative sessions. The framework also allows users to define custom sharing policies for each application/user pair. These policies determine the manner in which records are exchanged and update, thereby automating the process of handling conflicts and preserving user privacy preferences. We also present implementation results, in which we have used the framework to create shared versions of common applications, such as Calendar and Memo. Our experimental results show that the programming effort involved is minimal and the user interaction with the application is, essentially, the same as in the original application.

[pt] Esta dissertação, realizada em uma escola particular do município do Rio de Janeiro, tem o objetivo de estudar as interações entre os sujeitos, tanto adultos como crianças, nas salas de aula e na escola. Priorizou-se no estudo as interações dos sujeitos entre si e com o conhecimento, objetivando conhecer/compreender a partir das práticas se espaços e rotinas de colaboração são (ou não) construídos. Para tanto, a pesquisa foi de cunho qualitativo, tendo como metodologia a observação (utilizando caderno de campo) em duas salas de aula e na escola, conversas informais com adultos e entrevistas com a gestão, bem como análise de documentos da escola. Os entendimentos e viéses das interações tendo como pano de fundo a colaboração foram se mostrando e sugerindo categorias de análise exploradas no trabalho. Para interlocução com o tema, os teóricos utilizados foram Mikhail Bakhtin, Lev Vigotski, sociólogos da infância como William Corsaro e outros pensadores da infância e das interações. O primeiro capítulo apresenta o objeto de estudo, dialogando com a trajetória da pesquisadora. O capítulo aborda desde a formulação teórica das questões até a entrada no campo, bem com as estratégias de pesquisa. O segundo capítulo apresenta as fundamentações teóricas que embasaram a pesquisa e a interlocução com o campo e com os sujeitos, bem como as análises construídas. O terceiro capítulo propõe uma abordagem com relação às interações na escola que foram analisadas pela pesquisadora como aspectos que constroem um eixo de concepções, de objetivos e práticas da escola. Nas considerações finais são retomados os sentidos das interações e da colaboração encontrados, que permitem pensar nas interações nas escolas. A perspectiva da criança como sujeito histórico e social, que produz cultura ao mesmo tempo em que nela está inserida, trouxe a criança para o centro da pesquisa e para as análises propostas. / [en] This dissertation, performed in a private school in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, aims to study the interactions between subjects, both adults and children, in the classroom and at school. The interactions among themselves and with the knowledge were prioritized in the study, in order to know/understand, from practice, if spaces and collaboration routines are built or not. To this end, the research was qualitative, having, as its methodology, the observation (using field notes) in two classrooms and at the school, informal conversations with adults and interviews with the management, as well as analysis of school documents. The understandings and interactions biases, having collaboration as backdrop, showed and suggested analysis categories exploited in this work. The authors that were used as main reference were Mikhail Bakhtin, Lev Vigotski, childhood sociologists such as William Corsaro, and other childhood and interactions thinkers. In chapter one the idea is to present the proposed study object, in a dialogue with the researcher’s trajectory. This chapter discusses from the theoretical formulation of the issues till the field entry, as well as the research strategies. Chapter two presents the theoretical foundations that supports the research and the interlocution with the field and with the subjects, as well as the analysis that were being built. Chapter three proposes an approach with respect to interactions in school that were analyzed by the researcher as aspects that build a conception axis, of school objectives and practices. In the final considerations are taken up the established meanings for the interactions and collaboration, that make possible to think about the interactions in schools. The child s perspective as a historical and social subject, that produces culture at the same time that is inserted in it, brought the child to the center of the research and to the analyses.

MSc (Nursing), Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand / Nurses working with critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs) have a unique role to play in health care. They spend 24 hours with patients and come into contact with all the disciplines which come to review these patients. Nurses therefore need to effectively collaborate with the multidisciplinary teams, especially physicians, in order to meet patients’ needs and maximise patient care outcomes. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe nurses’ perceptions towards nurse-physician collaboration in the intensive care units. A non experimental descriptive study design was utilised in this study. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed from the Jefferson Scale of Attitude toward Physician-Nurse Collaboration with additional two open-ended questions to cover the rest of the study objectives. Data were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics as well as content analysis. Results showed that nurses working in Intensive Care units (ICUs) had positive attitude towards nurse-physician collaboration regardless of gender, years of working in the ICUs and whether registered intensive critical care nurse or not. The findings also showed that nurses perceive that the process of nurse-physician collaboration in Intensive Care Units provokes a number of challenges, such as superior-subordinate relationships which exist between nurses and physicians, workload and overlapping responsibilities hence, nurses feel inferior, undermined, mostly overwork and become frustrated. However, nurses suggested that promoting team-work; a focus on patient-centered care and staff motivation would assist in creating effective collaborative environment. collaborative environment

Historically, school counselors have been the primary facilitators in supporting the career and college transition process for students, but many school counselors do not have the knowledge, resources, or materials to support students in this transition (Belasco, 2013). One way to help support career and college readiness is to develop comprehensive career and college readiness plans that involve more stakeholders than just the counselor and engage the community in supporting students to define and prepare for their paths for after high school (Alleman & Holly, 2013). This convergent parallel mixed methods study investigated what educators,students, and community partners in rural Oregon think is important to include in a career and college readiness plan that supports all students. I used Bronfenbrenner’s (1994) Ecological Model of Human Development to inform my data collection activities, casting a wide net to identify the stakeholder groups that have a potential impact on supporting students in their pursuit of a career or college education beyond high school. The qualitative data came from interviews with five Douglas County high school career and college readiness teams (n=8 participants), three student focus groups (n=24), and two partner meetings (n=15). The quantitative data was gathered through a career and college readiness survey administered to the staff and faculty at 14 Douglas County high schools (n=74 respondents). I used Farrell & Coburn’s (2016) Absorptive Capacity Theory as the lens through which to analyze the data, coding for the theory’s constructs around how prior knowledge, communication pathways, strategic knowledge leadership, and resources for partnering can be shared and leveraged between high schools and external partners. Findings from this study provide lessons learned about what should be included in a rural high schools’ career and college readiness plan that will help rural communities better support students in their transitions beyond high school.

As organizações buscam ter um posicionamento e ser atuantes em relação ao tema Sustentabilidade, devido à urgência dos desafios que ainda devem ser enfrentados em relação ao aumento da demanda da sociedade e da degradação do meio ambiente. Este tema é atual e um assunto sistêmico que deve ser considerado por todos os setores de uma organização. Em paralelo, percebe-se uma mudança na maneira como as empresas estão se configurando, na forma de redes, como alternativa às transformações econômicas. Deste modo, observa-se que os projetos que tem por objetivo promover a Sustentabilidade podem ser realizados pela formação de redes entre as organizações. Os fatores motivadores deste trabalho se devem às observações de iniciativas existentes para a promoção da sustentabilidade com o envolvimento de instituições distintas e a carência de pesquisas considerando estes assuntos. O objetivo principal deste trabalho é avaliar o grau de maturidade das organizações que desejam trabalhar em forma de redes de empresas nos projetos de implantação da sustentabilidade. Para alcançar tal meta, foi realizado um estudo de caso em dois projetos que promoveram a sustentabilidade e foram concretizados com o envolvimento de organizações distintas. Os resultados obtidos permitem confirmar as proposições teóricas construídas pela pesquisadora, apontando a importância de se avaliar a maturidade das organizações que desejam trabalhar em forma de redes de empresas em projetos de aplicação da sustentabilidade. / Organizations are looking at having a position and be active in relation to sustainability, because of the urgency of the challenges that must be addressed in relation to the increased demand of society and environmental degradation. This theme is present, and a systemic issue that should be considered by all sectors of an organization. In parallel, there is a perceived change in how companies are shaping up in the form of networks as an alternative to the economic. Thus, it is observed that the projects that aim to promote sustainability can be achieved through business networks between organizations. The motivating factors of this work are due to observations of existing initiatives to promote sustainability with the involvement of different institutions and the lack of research considering these issues. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the maturity level of organizations who wish to work in the form of business networks in deployment projects sustainability. To achieve this goal, a case study was conducted in two projects that promoted sustainability and were implemented with the involvement of different organizations. The results obtained confirm the theoretical propositions constructed by the researcher, pointing out the importance of evaluating the maturity of organizations wishing to work in the form of networks of firms in projects applying sustainability.

This study examines social factors in songwriting collaborations with the aim to understand the inner workings of co-writes. Previous research indicates significant benefits with songwriting collaborations, both related to productivity and creativity (e. g. Bennett 2012, Littleton &amp; Mercer, 2012). Nonetheless, it can be creatively frustrating to make music in a collaboration that does not work like expected. What is significant about the musical work in a fulfilling co-write? And how can you find your way out of struggle together? While there is qualitative research on musical collaborations, this study is distinguished by that the researcher is partaking in several co-writes. Six collaborations were documented with various methods, including video and audio recordings, post-hoc reflection, semi-structured interviews and communication memos. The comprised material was transcribed and analyzed in order to reveal socio-musical tendencies in the co-writes. The research suggests four socio-musical categories for explaining actions in co-writing sessions – ‘Artistic Concept’, ‘Concept’, ‘Meta’ and ‘External’. The two first categories are more artistically connoted, where the last two are more socially signified. During the study, purely artistic actions were outweighed by more socially connoted actions in the co-writes. This resulted in a fairly low generation of musical material per session. The prevalence of bonding may be seen as a way of avoiding rejection, which is a possible outcome when suggesting musical ideas (Bennett, 2012). The sessions that were most fulfilling for the researcher were characterized of nonverbal, musical means rather than linguistic ones - where the collaborators didn’t talk about the music, but connected through songwriting. High rates of fulfillment connected to musical communication was also supported by numerous co-writers in the project. / <p>Medley of songs created in the project. </p>

‘Partnership’ has become a buzzword in development circles. The term is used to describe almost any relationship that pools the resources of different actors to address societal challenges and concerns. Because it encompasses such a broad range of perspectives, the contention of this thesis is that partnership can only be fully understood in relation to practice. A critical assessment of a selection of my research publications is used to explore how partnership is interpreted in different contexts, why and by whom, and to what extent it might offer possibilities for achieving social progress. This review finds that partnership can be construed as both a structure and a process, and as a means to an end and an end in itself. Attention thus needs to be given to its instrumental value as a development tool and to its intrinsic worth in cementing social capital. Consideration is given to connections between these different forms of partnership and other development ‘solutions’; the complex interplay between external, organisational and individual drivers for multi-stakeholder collaboration, and evidence for the benefits of working in this way. This analysis reveals that it is hard to judge the effectiveness of partnership due to the complexity of different levels of interaction; lack of clarity on goals and motivations for partnering; and, because process-related results generally emerge in the long term, attribution is a challenge. It is thus suggested that assessments of partnership might more usefully focus on methodologies that enhance its potential to generate individual and societal value. The attributes of such ‘transformational’ arrangements, and how these compare with other collaborative connections, are examined using a typology that builds upon a transactional-transformational partnership continuum. Further investigation into the nature of stakeholder participation, and related power dynamics, indicates that partnership can both promote and embody social progress when participation is carefully facilitated by ‘partnership brokers’; embedded in sociohistoric contexts, and based upon open-ended dialogue processes that seek to comprehend different points of view rather than change them. In order to explore this potential more fully, as well as continued research into particular partnership experiences and possible alternatives, more imaginative exchanges of knowledge about working in this way are recommended.