Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2005. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-129).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Lehigh University, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 132-139).

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Lehigh University, 1997. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-128).

No description available.

This application for PhD by publication is the culmination of a series of investigations concerning the development of a conceptual model of student satisfaction with their higher education (HE) experience. The five core papers that sequentially contributed to knowledge are presented within this application, together with their supporting papers. In particular, the investigations focussed on what were the main determinants of student satisfaction utilising critical incident technique (CIT). New determinants of quality within higher education were identified as a result, namely motivation, praise/reward, social inclusion, usefulness, value for money and fellow student behaviour. The resultant research papers have made an original contribution to knowledge in the area of quality in HE. The rationale for using CIT to gather and analyse data was to investigate its effectiveness in triangulating with existing methods used in HE to measure student satisfaction. The CIT research was triggered by previous research that had developed and tested a student satisfaction questionnaire. CIT is used to gather data that is defined as ‘rich’. It is ideal when researching new areas. The questionnaire was based on the work of Sasser et al (1978) who proposed that service delivery consisted of a ‘bundle’ of goods and services, which incorporated distinct elements (the facilitating goods, the sensual service and the psychological service). The CIT survey instrument subsequently adopted, built upon the seminal work by Flanagan (1954) who developed it to assess the psychological impact (on pilots) when learning to fly. Both survey instruments were used to identify the determinants of quality in higher education from a student’s point of view and ultimately what was considered “critically critical” (Edvardsson & Nilsson-Wittel, 2004). An evaluation of teaching quality was carried out as part of this series during the mid-2000 era, and a comparison made of some of the existing measurement methods used at the time, such as student feedback questionnaires and peer review practices. A review of the potential use of mystery students in higher education was also carried out. This particular study highlighted the lack of confidence (by teaching personnel) in the existing methods for evaluating teaching quality as well as some mistrust of the concept of using mystery students in a classroom setting. A multi-method approach was chosen for this series of studies, because of the merits in using both quantitative and qualitative studies to generate data. Using such an approach provided a sequential method of analysing and presenting the data for this cross-sectional study. The initial student satisfaction questionnaire was a quantitative instrument and gathered data on importance and satisfaction ratings (using a five-point Likert scale) which were further analysed used quadrant analysis. The CIT survey was largely qualitative in nature and gathered written narratives from students about their positive and negative experiences; the resulting data used interpretive thematic analysis to identify key themes and any resulting patterns that could be coded quantitatively for input into the statistical software package SPSS. Each piece of research was underpinned by the existing literature at the time; this has inevitably progressed since then. CIT has been widely used in the service sector and additional determinants of quality within higher education have been identified within the current literature. A number of papers presented with this application have generated academic discussion in the field and these are evidenced by the number of citations for the applicant’s work. Moreover, the applicant’s additional supplementary papers also appended for background information have also been cited within the academic literature. The findings can be applied to teaching practice and within policy documents that support front-line teaching (and other) personnel in higher education.

No description available.

<p>Aim: The aim was to investigate the ambulance nurses experiences during a specific ambulance missions that led to usage of LUCAS ™.Method: Participating ambulance nurses were randomly assigned from a total sample group of 12 women and 39 men. Five women and five men participated. Qualitative interviews were conducted, where the Critical Incident Technique approach was used. Collected interviews were valued using qualitative content analysis.Result: Interview texts were divided into three domains, 10 subcategories could be identified which were sorted into three categories. A theme was finally formulated.The initial alarm data from SOS Alarm is important for the ambulance nurses preparation. There where cardiac arrest situations when the work went well, as well as situations where problems arose. The informants expressed that they should practice on LUCAS ™ to a greater extent than they now are doing. Staff in the emergency room, some time was perceived as stressful and they did not listen. The informants expressed frustration with the major administrative tasks after a LUCAS™ case, on the other hand, the "team spirit" where highlighted, they solve the task together.Conclusion: Developments during ambulance missions where LUCAS ™ will be used depends on, alarm data, resources, situation at the scene, planning, roles, supervision, handling of LUCAS ™ and Case Report Form, relatives and viewer reactions, the receipt at the emergency department and finally that ambulance staff cooperates after the LUCAS ™ mission.</p> / <p>Syfte:<strong> </strong>Syftet var att undersöka ambulanssjuksköterskors upplevelser under ett bestämt ambulansuppdrag som ledde fram till begagnande av LUCAS™.</p><p>Metod: Deltagande ambulanssjuksköterskor lottades ur en total urvalsgrupp bestående av 12 kvinnor och 39 män. Fem kvinnor och<strong> </strong>fem män deltog. Kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes, där Critical Incident Technique metoden användes. Insamlade intervjudata värderades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys.</p><p>Resultat:<strong> </strong>Intervjutexten kunde delas in i tre domäner, 10 underkategorier kunde identifieras som sorterades i tre kategorier. Slutligen formulerades ett tema. De initiala larmuppgifter från SOS Alarm är viktiga för ambulanssjuksköterskornas förberedelser. Det förekom hjärtstoppssituationer där arbetet gick bra, likväl situationer där problem uppstod. Informanterna uttryckte att de borde öva på LUCAS™ i större utsträckning än de gör i nu läget. Vid en del situationer upplevdes mottagande personal på akutmottagningen som stressade och att de inte lyssnade. Betecknande för informanternas upplevelser vad gäller de administrativa uppgifterna efter LUCAS™ uppdraget var inte positivt, dock betonades "team work".</p><p>Slutsats: Utvecklingen under ambulansuppdrag där LUCAS™ kommer till användning är beroende av; larmfakta, resurser, situationen på plats, planering, roller, arbetsledning, hanterandet av LUCAS™ och Case Report Form, anhöriga och åskådares reaktioner, mottagandet på akutmottagningen och slutligen att ambulanspersonalen samarbetar efter LUCAS™ uppdraget.</p>

Aim: The aim was to investigate the ambulance nurses experiences during a specific ambulance missions that led to usage of LUCAS ™.Method: Participating ambulance nurses were randomly assigned from a total sample group of 12 women and 39 men. Five women and five men participated. Qualitative interviews were conducted, where the Critical Incident Technique approach was used. Collected interviews were valued using qualitative content analysis.Result: Interview texts were divided into three domains, 10 subcategories could be identified which were sorted into three categories. A theme was finally formulated.The initial alarm data from SOS Alarm is important for the ambulance nurses preparation. There where cardiac arrest situations when the work went well, as well as situations where problems arose. The informants expressed that they should practice on LUCAS ™ to a greater extent than they now are doing. Staff in the emergency room, some time was perceived as stressful and they did not listen. The informants expressed frustration with the major administrative tasks after a LUCAS™ case, on the other hand, the "team spirit" where highlighted, they solve the task together.Conclusion: Developments during ambulance missions where LUCAS ™ will be used depends on, alarm data, resources, situation at the scene, planning, roles, supervision, handling of LUCAS ™ and Case Report Form, relatives and viewer reactions, the receipt at the emergency department and finally that ambulance staff cooperates after the LUCAS ™ mission. / Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka ambulanssjuksköterskors upplevelser under ett bestämt ambulansuppdrag som ledde fram till begagnande av LUCAS™. Metod: Deltagande ambulanssjuksköterskor lottades ur en total urvalsgrupp bestående av 12 kvinnor och 39 män. Fem kvinnor och fem män deltog. Kvalitativa intervjuer genomfördes, där Critical Incident Technique metoden användes. Insamlade intervjudata värderades med hjälp av kvalitativ innehållsanalys. Resultat: Intervjutexten kunde delas in i tre domäner, 10 underkategorier kunde identifieras som sorterades i tre kategorier. Slutligen formulerades ett tema. De initiala larmuppgifter från SOS Alarm är viktiga för ambulanssjuksköterskornas förberedelser. Det förekom hjärtstoppssituationer där arbetet gick bra, likväl situationer där problem uppstod. Informanterna uttryckte att de borde öva på LUCAS™ i större utsträckning än de gör i nu läget. Vid en del situationer upplevdes mottagande personal på akutmottagningen som stressade och att de inte lyssnade. Betecknande för informanternas upplevelser vad gäller de administrativa uppgifterna efter LUCAS™ uppdraget var inte positivt, dock betonades "team work". Slutsats: Utvecklingen under ambulansuppdrag där LUCAS™ kommer till användning är beroende av; larmfakta, resurser, situationen på plats, planering, roller, arbetsledning, hanterandet av LUCAS™ och Case Report Form, anhöriga och åskådares reaktioner, mottagandet på akutmottagningen och slutligen att ambulanspersonalen samarbetar efter LUCAS™ uppdraget.

In the past, the discussions on the development of service innovation are based on the analyses of manufacturing technology innovation and introduce the concept of manufacturing innovation and the model of product innovation to explore the service innovation of service industry sectors. Also, the past discussions center on the externalities of the service providers, the peripheral factors and new services introduced or provided by the enterprises and fail to focus on the impact of the service innovation on the interaction between customer service representatives and customers. This study will explore the interaction between the service providers (customer service representatives) and service demand (customers) from a microscopic angle and also analyze what roles of service providers and service demand play in the process of service innovation development. The purpose of the study is to understand the interaction roles played by the service representatives and customers, and to analyze the development and the model of service innovation when the representatives provide service to customers. The study will also explore the process of service innovation cycle development and what the driving force is in the formation of service innovation cycle development. The research obtains the qualitative data by the analysis of case study and supplements it with Critical Incident Technique (CIT). With the half structured questionnaire, the interview was conducted with the internal staff of the service providers and customers on the spot. The study tries to find out the reason behind the Critical Incident which prompts the service providers to innovate its service and its content. By analyzing the case study and Critical Incident of the innovation, the study proposes the model of the service innovation cycle and illustrates that the formation of service innovation is enhanced by repetitive evolution of innovation. Through the process of repetition and updated innovation cycle, the service providers can seek the goal of Continuous Service Innovation and outstanding performance. The study also employs Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to analyze the critical driving force of the service innovation during the service process and the meaning each represents.

The present study investigated what helped and what hindered multicultural supervision. The participants consisted of 19 females, and 6 males, including Asian-Canadians, Indo- Canadians, First Nations, Latin-Canadian and Afro-Canadian. They were individually interviewed, following an expanded version of Flanagan's (1954) Critical Incident Technique. There were 340 relevant meaning units related to positive incidents and 386 meaning units related to negative incidents. Forty-two meaning units were associated with coping efforts, and 87 meaning units were on recommendations. Categories extracted from these meaning units were grouped as follows: (a) 20 positive categories, (b) 15 negative categories, (c) 15 coping categories, and (d) 33 recommendations. The reliability of classifying meaning units according to these categories was satisfactory, based on inter-judge agreement (80% and higher). The validity of content analysis was established by (a) confirmation by participants, (b) crossvalidation by other participants, (c) cross-validation by an independent judge, and (d) cross-validation by other researchers. The most frequently cited positive categories were subsumed under five key areas: (a) personal attributes of the supervisor, (b) supervision competencies, (c) mentoring, (d) relationship, and (e) multicultural supervision competencies. The most frequently reported negative categories were associated with the following five areas: (a) personal difficulties as a visible minority, (b) negative personal attributes of the supervisor, (c) lack of a safe and trusting relationship, (d) lack of multicultural supervision competencies, and (e) lack of supervision competencies. The coping efforts employed were grouped into four areas: (a) help seeking, (b) existential coping, (c) active coping, and (d) emotional coping. Finally, recommendations were also grouped into four broad areas: (a) needs to improve the quality of supervision, (b) needs to improve multicultural supervision competencies, (c) needs for educational institutions to make changes, and (d) needs for minority students to make changes. The study provided a comprehensive picture of what works and what does not work in multicultural supervision. The results support a mentoring model, which posits that supervision is effective to the extent that the supervisor takes on the role of a mentor. The practical implications of the study include the need for cross-cultural supervision competencies and mentoring graduate students.