Over the last fifty years, literacy and its study have moved considerably beyond the ability solely to read and write; it may be now viewed as a centrally mediating factor to interpret the signs engraved into the texts of our experiences and the fulcrum to participate more fully in our public and our private worlds. Among these realms of literacy, the world of work has borne witness to incredible changes in the form and content of professional occupation. With growth in global political, economic and technological interdependency, transfer of knowledge and professionals across borders accelerates and becomes more prevalent. Addressing the professional domains of literacy practices, this is a descriptive study designed to investigate how professionals experience and use literacy, be they literacy skills (technical knowledge or expertise) or literate behaviors (practical knowledge or know how) in transnational contexts of practice. Using an ethnographic methodology and multimethod strategies (informant interviews with professional stakeholders from the regulated, globalized professions in the United States in construction and design, business and finance, allied health, and technology and engineering; published professional development international training program curriculum review; and focus group sessions with accreditation, licensing and certifying body officials addressing the need for guidelines for professionals in transnational practice) data gathering and analysis are focused on input from quality assurance authorities, faculty from professional schools, multinational corporate human resource executives, and the practitioners themselves. In the broadest sense, the study's purpose is to map the relevant dimensions of literacy in transnational professional practice in the regulatory, cultural, linguistic, technological and locational realities of another country. The results of this study indicate that across the affinity groupings mentioned above, professionals in transnational contexts of practice operate within at least five categories of literacy engagement: resources, people, information, systems, technology, with literacy skills and literate behaviors being directed principally toward working with people and within systems overseas. An array of literacy insights are also provided, drawn from thematic congruencies across the three data sets.

This dissertation examines the use of group support systems (GSS) and cooperative learning techniques to improve classroom productivity. Cooperative learning assumes that learners have prior knowledge they can contribute, that knowledge is expanded, clarified and created as it is shared, participation is critical to learning and learners will participate given necessary and sufficient conditions. GSS were initially developed to support users and analysts in identifying system requirements, a task which satisfies the assumptions of cooperative learning. GSS features such as anonymity and parallel communication can overcome obstacles to cooperative learning such as air-time fragmentation, production blocking, free-riding, evaluation apprehension and dominance. Additional issues examined in this dissertation include the relationship between deindividuation and electronic communication and the effect GSS have on affective reward. The following research questions were identified: (1) What influence can the use of GSS have on classroom participation? (2) How are obstacles to participation such as dominance, free-riding, production blocking, evaluation apprehension and the sucker effect influenced by the use of GSS? (3) What effect can the use of GSS in the classroom have on both self-reported and observed learning? (4) What is the relationship between GSS and both flaming and off-task buffoonery in the classroom? (5) What is the relationship between GSS and affective reward? A longitudinal experiment was conducted comparing two sections of an introductory MIS course held in consecutive semesters. The two sections were identical with respect to lectures and class-activities with the exception that the second class received GSS-support for the course's eight group tasks. In the GSS-supported class, total student participation increased by over 500% with all students engaging in every task. Dominance was cut by 50%. Process losses such as free-riding, production blocking and the sucker effect were substantially reduced. Flaming and off-task buffoonery occurred in the first task and then subsided. Students in the GSS-supported class reported a greater degree of affective reward. Perhaps more impressively, students in the GSS-supported class were more successful in retaining and applying concepts learned during the group tasks.

<p> The purpose of this study is to explore global leadership communication competencies, as the communicative knowledge, skills and abilities of current business leaders do not meet the current sophisticated and fast-paced business demands of the interconnected global marketplace. Specifically, this study examines what attributes comprise communication competency for corporate leaders with global responsibilities, how those competencies are developed, and finally the impact the competencies have on organizations. A qualitative field study was conducted with two global leaders from two different regions of the world as they interacted with others from different cultures. A separate quantitative survey was administered to 95 global leaders from North America, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Findings from a review of the literature combined with the correlation of these two studies are as follows: (a) virtual communication efficacy may be greatly enhanced when the terms and conditions associated with non-verbal clues is deliberate and modeled by leadership; (b) foreign language competency is deemed more important by global leaders outside of North America, but all respondents report general dissatisfaction with the corporate support of foreign language competency; (c) the concept of facework, and its associated competencies, are key to working across borders but awareness and understanding of this concept is very low. The findings of this study demonstrate a business case for building global leadership communicative competency with new skills, in new ways, for new demands in the face-paced and interconnected business environment.</p>

<p> The problem addressed in this study is that the recency of the social media phenomena created a research gap in terms of understanding how companies exploit various social media platforms for marketing purposes and measure the effectiveness of their social media marketing campaigns. Thus, there is a need for increased understanding of the effectiveness of social media marketing techniques. <i>Social media marketing</i> is defined as the blending of sociology and technology as a means to change marketing efforts from a monologue to a dialogue. The purpose of this study was to determine, based on research participants' perceptions, the reasons that select organizations use social media marketing, the different social media marketing strategies that companies utilized, and the perceived effect of social media marketing on revenue generation. In particular, the research questions concerned whether social media marketing had its own specific social metrics, and the study investigated the evolution of social media marketing and the benefits that social media brings to traditional marketing approaches. The overall research design employed semi-structured, in-depth, individual interviews with seven executives in regard to their use of social media marketing and its role as part of an integrated marketing approach. Commonalities in the interview data were color coded and analyzed, and field notes, verbatim transcriptions, and member checks were used to triangulate the data. The results of the study generated three specific categories: engagement with customers, the essence of social media presence, and communication by choice. Knowledge in each of these categories provides companies with a deeper understanding of the social consumer and enhances the value of social media marketing in terms of competitiveness. Specifically, based on such knowledge, companies have a greater ability to target qualified leads as well as to improve the conversion rate of those leads. Finally, they have a means to determine how their social media marketing efforts contributed to the overall revenue generated. </p>

The present study examines the effect of rehearsal, job interest, and self-monitoring on judges' accuracy to detect deception in selection interviews. The study also investigated the effect of those independent variables on judges' accuracy in assessing applicants' personality and self-reported qualifications. Subjects participating as applicants in mock job interviews were randomly assigned to rehearsal and interest conditions. These "applicants" were interviewed for jobs they liked or disliked and either rehearsed or filled out a distracter questionnaire. Subjects at a different university watched videotapes of applicants and rated their honesty, personality, and qualifications. As predicted, judges assigned more positive ratings to applicants who rehearsed than to applicants who did not rehearse. Contrary to predictions, applicant rehearsal tended to have a beneficial effect on judges' detection of applicant deception, personality, and qualifications. Applicant self-monitoring and judges' gender also affected judges' accuracy. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.

<p> The first timeshare resorts were created in the 1960s. Since then, the concept of vacation timesharing has spread around the world. Despite significant growth in the last 30 years, little academic research exists concerning the competencies required to manage timeshare resorts. This study provides new perspective on competency domain clusters within the timeshare industry. Three hundred thirty one property-level timeshare managers were asked to rate the importance and frequency of use of each competency domain cluster. The data gathered from the survey reveals a relationship between the types of resort a manager manages and the importance and frequency ratings of each competency's domain cluster. Further, a surprising result was the discovery of a lack of industry certification among the respondents. These results may be useful in training and development strategies for timeshare resort managers.</p>

<p> Globalization has resulted in the need for not only competent leaders but also leaders who have high levels of cultural intelligence. Currently there is a paucity of empirical research demonstrating causes of cultural intelligence, especially in the educational setting (Haigh, 2002; Knight, 2007; Rivera, Jr., 2010). The purpose of the current investigation is to examine whether educational experience (class level) has an impact on cultural intelligence and whether there is a statistical interaction between levels of cultural exposure and educational experience (class level) on cultural intelligence scores. A causal-comparative quasi-experimental cross-sectional quantitative study was used for the current investigation to describe differences between selected independent variables of educational experience (class level) and cultural exposure (none, minimal, moderate, high) on the dependent variable of cultural intelligence scores as measured by the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) (Ang et al., 2007). Main and interaction effects of the independent variables on the dependent variable indicated that differences in educational experience (class level) and/or cultural exposure level have an impact on cultural intelligence scores. The data were collected from a population consisting of business administration students at a community college in the midwestern United States. A convenience sampling technique was used, drawing from the database of students enrolled in the business administration program. Because differences in cultural intelligence scores were found between class levels in college in the additional analyses, education might impact cultural intelligence positively, and strategies to foster more educational opportunities were recommended. Differences in cultural exposure levels resulted in differences in cultural intelligence scores in both the primary and the additional analysis and additional opportunities for cultural exposure expansion were recommended. The results of this study are useful because institutions of higher education prepare students for a global environment and advance the cultural knowledge of their students. The information from this study corroborates and adds to the literature on education and cultural intelligence and may suggest that institutions of higher learning should promote augmented cultural information/exposure.</p>

<p> The concept of open innovation has been highly popularized both in academia and industry for the last decade. Various types of firms have been studied from high tech to service. Yet, there has been limited academic review of open innovation as a collective business ecosystem. In particular, little research exists on how a business ecosystem is generated, how it adopts concepts associated with open innovation in its business practice, and what sustains an ecosystem over time. </p><p> My dissertation demonstrates how one business entity &ndash; Chez Panisse &ndash; started its business journey and how it practiced what is popularly called open innovation within its community for over 42 years. In order to do so, I closely observed and participated in understanding the California Cuisine ecosystem to collect data. I employed a single-case study method by incorporating in-depth interviews, participatory observation, as well as a thorough collection of publically available data. The research findings indicate that (1) knowledge spillover was a conduit to expand and grow the Chez Panisse ecosystem, (2) co-creation of products and services with ecosystem participants contributed to collective ecosystem innovation, and (3) social innovation and learning were key factors in strengthening the bond among stakeholders and enabled the ecosystem's expansion to the nation, and global level. </p><p> I introduce the concept of an <i>Open Innovation Ecosystem</i> as a business ecosystem that co-creates innovations with its stakeholders and captures co-created values collectively within the ecosystem. The Chez Panisse case illustrates how what is popularly referred to as open innovation can be practiced at the level of a business ecosystem and become an important factor in its growth and expansion. The research outcomes suggest that business practitioners should consider employing the approaches identified in this thesis if they are interested in designing, creating and growing or maintaining a business ecosystem. These results additionally indicate that participants of the Chez Panisse open innovation ecosystem stayed engaged because of the educational and social innovation aspects; therefore businesses may want to consider the role that education and social innovation can play in sustaining a healthy business ecosystem.</p>

<p> The U.S. workforce is not prepared for the demands of today's workplace (Conference Board, 2006), Previously, workplace employers emphasized environments where the main thrust was expertise in technical skills of employees. However, a shift occurred that caused employers to realize the importance of soft skills in order to maximize business relationships. One major soft skill emphasized is the importance of a positive work ethic, which is a necessary attribute for any successful worker (R. Hill, 1996). Not only has there been a shift regarding the importance and implementation of soft skills in the business environment, but employers who once relied heavily upon adults as employees also now rely upon adolescents as employees. These adolescents are expected to provide the same positive work ethic as adults. Some of these adolescent employees are students in a co-op program in their local high schools where they obtain training in work ethic. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the perception of employers and supervisors regarding the work ethic of employed high school co-op and employed high school non-co-op students. Work ethic descriptors within this study that were examined included interpersonal skills, initiative, and dependability. The descriptors mentioned were statistically examined to ascertain differences in employer/supervisor perceptions among the two groups of students.</p>

This thesis traces the development of the New Zealand education reforms which began in the late 1980s from their ideological and theoretical foundations, especially those of human capital theory, through policy development and implementation. Polytechnic business programmes are used as a case study to illustrate the impact of the reforms and of one of the principal mechanisms by which the reforms were expected to be implemented-the National Framework. Evidence is provided that leads to policy questions regarding the implementation of the Framework under the aegis of the New Zealand Qualifications Authority. These concerns include competency based learning and administration and delivery complexities. The links between the reform intentions and the actuality of implementation are also examined. The assumption that the education reforms are expected to have significant impact on the country's economic performance is examined and factors which impact on workplace organisation and productivity and which may constrain the effects of improved worker education and training are discussed. The instrument of ‘the market’ as a means of achieving both efficiencies and effectiveness in tertiary education is also reviewed. There appears to be an absence of a common understanding of the nature, composition and behaviour of education markets. Indicative evidence is also provided regarding the complexity of student investment decisions with regard to tertiary education decisions. This study provides evidence to support human capital theory as a force influencing the decision to undertaken tertiary education, but as part of a much more complex model of the tertiary education decision making process than it would appear that policy makers have considered. Evidence is presented that leads to questions regarding the assumption that industry will take ownership of the reform processes. Evidence is presented of industry indifference and inertia to the reforms. Recommendations for the re-examination of developments to date are made, together with research programmes to provide a sound empirical base for future policy making. Without a structured critical review of the reform intentions versus the emerging actuality, there is a danger that the reforms may, in part at least, prove to be both inefficient and ineffectual. / Subscription resource available via Digital Dissertations only.