Who cares about who owns online courses? Nobody, because that is not what the issue is really about. Ownership is an emotional issue, but controlling the rights of a copyrightable work is tangible and logical. The important question to answer is not who owns online courses, but who controls the rights of any copyrightable work. For universities and faculty members, getting over the emotional issues and down to the foundation of what is truly at stake is of major concern. While it is nearly impossible to create qualitative guidelines for copyright policies and/or contracts, it is eminently possible to examine existing policies and contracts and relate how a handful of universities are handling copyright and intellectual property issues pertaining to online courses. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a starting point for this complex transaction in the form of a resource tool that includes some basic background about copyright law, relevant case law related to "work-for-hire," and relevant academic freedom issues. The original work of this thesis is the creation of a tool, which reviews of a sampling of university policies pertaining to online copyright issues and ownership. Accordingly, the contribution this thesis makes to the understanding and clarification of universities policies related to online material copyright ownership will be important for faculty members and universities in two ways. First, it will help others develop better online copyright policies based on tangible issues rather than emotional ones. Second, this thesis can be a basis for others to build upon for future research on this important topic.

This study represents an attempt by a distance educator at CB Alexander Agricultural College to find ways of improving the quality of its farm management distance education program. It describes an action research project in which the Principal Investigator and his co-researchers - a group of students enrolled in the Farm Management Certificate Course - simulate a distance education process as a springboard into collaborative and critical reflection. The study describes the present operations of the NSW Agriculture Farm Management Certificate Course and gives a critical overview of the current approach to course development. It draws on relevant professional literature to provide a theoretical basis for its critique of the curriculum. It asks whether inclusion of an epistemological development variable in course design could help the College more closely meet the needs of its clients. Rising out of this critique of existing practice, the thesis charts a quest by co-researchers for growth in understanding, by critical self-reflection, through dialogue. It proposes a theory of open system inquiry as a tool to help curriculum developers, distance educators and all aspiring open system learners to develop a personal praxis of open system inquiry in their vocations and in their lives. / Master of Science (Hons)

Management education for police officers has played a significant role in the desired transformation of police services around the world from vocational to professional status. This thesis reports research that employed qualitative and quantitative data collection methods to investigate the factors affecting participation and performance of Queensland Police Service officers who undertook the Management Development Program by distance education mode. Three phases of data collection were employed. The first phase involved interviews with facilitators of the program about their perceptions of factors that affected participation and performance of officers enrolled in the program. Data from this phase were used to develop a questionnaire with seven internally consistent scales. This questionnaire constituted the second phase of data collection and was completed by officers at the ranks of senior constable, sergeant and senior sergeant who had successfully completed at least one unit of the Management Development Program. Data gained from the questionnaire were used to investigate the relationship between an officer's characteristics and the factors that influenced participation and performance in the Management Development Program. An analysis of these data provided the basis for the development of a schedule for interviews that were conducted with the manager of the program and the head of the School of Management. Central to these two interviews were implications for the delivery of the Management Development Program as part of the Queensland Police Service's continuing education and professional development program. These interviews constituted the third phase of data collection for this study. This study found factors that influenced the participation and performance of officers undertaking the program were their attitude to in-service professional development, how they perceived professional development, issues about their success potential, the level of personal, professional and academic support they received, the impact of aspects related to program delivery, and discourse with facilitators of the program. A model that provides a comprehensive representation of the relationships among the variables was developed. Key recommendations derived from this study have implications for the clinical delivery of the Management Development Program. Recommendations focus on the need to market the benefits of the program to individual officers, to provide enhanced student support services, to ensure the appropriateness of the learning materials, and to establish orientation programs and assignment-writing workshops for officers. Recommendations for the Queensland Police Service include the need to market the program’s importance to continuing education and professional development for officers as well as the program’s contribution to ensuring officers possessed sound management skills. Recommendations focussing on human resources include ensuring that numbers of facilitators are adequate to meet the learning needs of officers and that all facilitators possess appropriate postgraduate qualifications. It is also recommended that the postgraduate level of the Management Development Program be reviewed to determine if it is the most appropriate for the needs of officers and the service.

This study unites the concepts of self-directed learning and information literacy in the external higher education environment. It asserts that many attempts by librarians at building better working relationships with distance educators have failed because the approaches of distance educators to the information needs of students are not adequately addressed. This exploratory and qualitatively based study examines the approaches of ten distance educators at Southern Cross University (SCU) to the information needs of their external students. It then makes recommendations based on these interviews which aim to improve relationships and co-operation between libraries and distance educators and to promote self-directed learning approaches by external students.

The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe and communicate a student-constructed model of student services for electronic distance education (EDE). This study seeks to answer the following questions: Do students enrolled in EDE perceive a need for student services? If not, why not? Which services do students want/need? How do students want the services delivered? If students constructed a model of student services for EDE, what would it look like? A phenomenological approach was used. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with ten students, a document review, a survey of computer competency, and follow-up e-mail. Data were analyzed and systematically compared through constant comparative analysis and an inductive grounded theory approach was taken. One predominant finding that emerged from the conversations with the co-researchers was that of access for all students, particularly accommodations for those with special needs. Participants identified a number of services as basic to the EDE experience. They categorized services into three levels, expressing the expectation that services would evolve over time and technology. At each level a theme emerged that characterized the co-researchers' expectations and perceptions of student support services for EDE: access, interaction, and independence. The intent of level one was to provide entry to the college services and curriculum; access was used to define this level. The second level expressed the concern that students have the opportunity to interact with and be engaged by the services and the technology: interaction. The third level emphasized the need for information and services to promote independence, exploration, and autonomy in using electronic student services as well as to have available an "expert" for specific questions that are not easily or quickly answered by the services online. This level emphasized the use of real time transactions. The study concluded that students participating in EDE perceive a need for student services via distance. Participants further suggested that services provided to EDE must be equal and of the same quality as those traditionally delivered. Using the three levels that emerged from conversations with co-researchers - access, interaction, and independence - the researcher further classified the services into a model of student services using categories put forth by Namm and Holly (2000). / Graduation date: 2002

The purpose of this study was to assess the usage of distance education in undergraduate dietetics programs. Additionally, the possibility of obtaining an undergraduate degree in dietetics via distance education was examined. The population receiving the survey research was all directors (279) of Commission on Accreditation for Dietetics Education (CADE) approved/accredited undergraduate programs listed in the 2001-2002 Directory of Dietetics Programs. This included the Didactic Programs in Dietetics and Coordinated Programs. A database of the 54% survey respondents was compiled and a numerical summary was done. Frequencies of the responses were determined. Cross-tabulations using chi-square tests were done with Minitab Statistical Software (version 13.1) to determine demographic influence as it related to key responses, p <.05. The findings of the survey were compared with demographic information to look for relationships between the characteristics of the higher education institutions and their likelihood of offering distance education. The dietetics program directors indicated that 32% (n=150) of undergraduate dietetics programs offer distance education courses in some format. Land grant universities were significantly more likely to offer dietetics distance education courses, but less likely to offer non-dietetics distance education courses. Institutions that accept transfer dietetics distance education courses from accredited institutions were more likely to offer dietetics distance education courses. Institutions that offer non-dietetics courses by distance education were more likely to offer dietetics courses by distance education. The most common distance education format utilized in dietetics was 100% Internet courses (48%). The majority of dietetics programs that offer distance education offer a basic or introductory nutrition course (31%). Perceived barriers to distance education in dietetics most frequently included faculty time constraints (34%), lack of resources (17%) and lack of student and faculty demand or interest (11%). Suggestions for encouraging the development of dietetics distance education courses included give faculty more preparation or release time, or hire more staff (32%), acquire adequate resources (17%) and faculty training (12%). From the data of courses offered or permitted to be transferred, it would not be possible for a student to complete a four-year undergraduate degree in dietetics solely via distance education methodologies. / Graduation date: 2002

Thesis (Ph. D.)--School of Education and Dept. of Psychology. University of Missouri--Kansas City, 2005. / "A dissertation in education and psychology." Advisor: Linda S. Garavalia. Typescript. Vita. Title from "catalog record" of the print edition Description based on contents viewed March 12, 2007. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 124-134). Online version of the print edition.

The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument for assessing distance learning readiness of institutions in Latin America for international projects of food and agriculture with higher education institutions in the U.S. The data collection followed two approaches: a quantitative, which was processed statistically, including mean (percentage), mode and cross-tabulation, and a qualitative, through semi-structured interviews. The population of this research was animal biotechnology institutions in Latin American countries, Spanish speaking, partners with the major funding organizations in the U.S., with Web pages on the Internet. Population included 17 countries with N=150, a random sample of n=83 for the quantitative analysis and n=20 for the qualitative approach. The instrument was developed by the researcher. Items were based on readiness surveys used widely in the U.S., and founded in two culture theories: Bank’s (2001) cultural elements and Hosfstede’s (1984) cultural dimensions. Using Bank’s theory it was concluded that English proficiency was considered an essential tool for research. Interviews exposed that researchers were aware of nonverbal communication differences between Latinos and Americans. Cultural cognitiveness showed to be exposed when researchers were confronted with another culture. The perspective of distance education showed to be considered different from face to face education. There was an appropriate perception of the need, ownership, and use of computer technologies and Internet accessibility with fast connections. Researchers perceived computer technology equipment as a measurement of the quality of their institution. Using Hofstede’s (1984) dimensions it was concluded that Latin American countries were considered to have high power distance on four of the six items assessed; had strong uncertainty avoidance with four of the six items assessed, where a collectivist society, with five items out of six. Interviews determined that a masculine dimension was predominant in the study. Assessment of technology involved: Internet, technological resources, computer proficiency, distance education and instructional design experience. Results of this assessment showed that technology must be measured through a cultural perspective to achieve accurate responses because people express and understand through their mental constructs which are tainted with their cultural experiences and their perception of life, work, academics, and society.

<p>The study attempts to understand how distance education practices influence the learning of calculus. Understanding student learning in a distance education environment is an important factor to consider in improving the learning experiences of students who for one reason or the other opt not to study in conventional institutional of higher education. On one hand, understanding student learning may illuminate the influences that the learning environment has on student learning and on the other hand, it may inform on how learning experiences can be improved. The aim of this study is to acquire a deeper understanding of the diverse manner in which distance students learn calculus, Specific focus is also placed on the distance education contect of the Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) influences student learning. The study describes a group of student's experiences of learning calculus in the ZOU distance education environment.</p>

The ubiquity of Web 2.0 technologies has led to a seismic shift in the way educational services are delivered. It comes as no surprise then that e-tutoring—otherwise known as electronic or online tutoring—is quickly supplanting face-to-face tuition for reasons of both cost and convenience. While e-tutoring is an effective form of academic support for many students, its efficacy remains tenuous for those confronted with a digital divide that figures predominantly around geographic barriers, socio-economic status, and educational levels. Premised on diffusion research, this master's dissertation explores the implementation of an e-tutoring service known as Homework Help that has effected relatively low adoption rates. It uses a concurrent mixed-methods approach—including surveys, interviews, and focus groups—to examine the factors that have led to this low adoption rate. The results are presented via two journal articles situated within a larger meta-talk: The first article contrasts the adoption patterns apparent between rural and urban students, while the second article looks at the utility of diffusion research in examining educational technologies, as it explores the use of e-tutoring for applied stream students. The findings of this study suggest that rural and urban, as well as applied and academic student subgroups, differ in terms of their perception and adoption of e-tutoring. Implications for educational policy, especially in regards to rural education, are discussed.