Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-11-01T11:56:37Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Lenon Pinheiro da Silva_.pdf: 6887963 bytes, checksum: 62a960898c5f216dcfa043fae8028b15 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-11-01T11:56:37Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Lenon Pinheiro da Silva_.pdf: 6887963 bytes, checksum: 62a960898c5f216dcfa043fae8028b15 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-07-27 / Nenhuma / Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES), como qualquer organização de serviços, necessitam prover serviços de manutenção e conservação adequados às demandas de seus públicos e dos requerimentos das suas estruturas e instalações. Os serviços de manutenção e conservação ainda são vistos como despesas desnecessárias e muitas vezes são negligenciados pelos gestores das IES. Há o crescente aumento das expectativas dos alunos e funcionários sobre a entrega desses serviços, no que diz respeito à velocidade e qualidade. Além disso, a concorrência entre as IES privadas vem aumentando, o que torna os serviços de manutenção e conservação e as estruturas e instalações um diferencial competitivo. Dada a elevada variedade e complexidade desses serviços, encontrar o equilíbrio entre capacidade de entregá-los e demandas é um desafio. O objetivo desta pesquisa é identificar e caracterizar os problemas encontrados nos serviços e instalações de uma IES que mais requerem atenção, assim como propor soluções para esses problemas. O estudo de caso foi conduzido em uma IES privada situada na região Metropolitana de Porto Alegre, Estado do Rio Grande do Sul. O Processo de Pensamento da Teoria das Restrições foi utilizado para estruturar os dados da pesquisa e propor melhorias. Para o levantamento de dados foram utilizados questionários baseados na revisão da literatura sobre manutenção e conservação em IES e o Processo de Pensamento. Esses questionários foram aplicados alunos, funcionários, professores, gestores e especialistas dos serviços que foram classificados em 20 grupos focais. Além disto, cinco entrevistas individuais foram realizadas com os principais gestores da IES. Foi possível identificar que os principais problemas em serviços e estruturas da IES são a climatização, limpeza e conservação e a tecnologia da informação, respectivamente. Existem problemas específicos dos serviços e estruturas como a falta de planejamento na manutenção, escassez de recursos e o comprometimento da imagem da IES. Existem outras dificuldades que estão acima do setor que administra a infraestrutura como o não reconhecimento da função manutenção na estratégia da IES e a falta de planejamento dos demais setores da IES. Foram propostas melhorias, que partem desde simples diagnósticos até ações mais efetivas, para os serviços e estruturas que mais apresentam problemas. Esta pesquisa contribuiu ao revelar o quanto as falhas e ou faltas nas entregas dos serviços de manutenção e conservação e as estruturas e instalações podem prejudicar o andamento das atividades acadêmicas e administrativas, logo, comprometendo a IES como um todo. / Higher Education Institutions (IES), as any service organization, need to provide maintenance services and adequate conservation demands of its stakeholders and the requirements of its structures and facilities. Maintenance services and conservation are still seen as unnecessary expenditure and are often overlooked by managers of IES. There is increasing the expectations of students and staff on the delivery of these services, with regard to the speed and quality. The competition among private IES is increasing, which makes the maintenance and conservation services and structures and facilities as a competitive advantage. Because of large variety and complexity of these services, find the balance between ability to deliver them and demands is a challenge. The objective of this research is to identify and characterize the problems encountered in the services and facilities of an IES that require more attention, as well as to propose solutions to these problems. The case study was conducted in a private institution located in the metropolitan of Porto Alegre, of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. The Thinking Process of Theory of Constraints of was used to structure the survey data and propose improvements. For data collection were used questionnaires based on a review of literature on maintenance and conservation in IES and Thinking Process. These questionnaires were students, staff, professors, managers and specialists of the services that were classified into 16 focus groups and 5 individual interviews. It was possible to identify the main problems in services and structures of IES are cooling, cleaning and information technology. There are specific problems between the services and structures such as the lack of planning of maintenance, resources and commitment of the image of the IES. There are other difficulties that are above the infrastructure sector as the non-recognition of the maintenance function in the IES strategy and the lack of planning of other sectors of the IES. Improvements have been proposed for the services and facilities which present more problems departing from simple diagnostics to more effective actions. This research helped to reveal how much the flaws and faults or deliveries of maintenance and conservation services and structures and facilities can hinder the work of the academic and administrative activities, so compromising the IES as a whole.

The purpose of this study was to describe the development of Thailand's oldest private university, the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, Bangkok, Thailand, from 1963 to 1987. This historical research used records and documents which are primary sources from the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Private Higher Education Institutions of Thailand together with interviews with the chairman of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, president, faculty and staff of the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. Secondary sources were reports and publications from the Ministry of University Affairs and libraries in Thailand. The areas of emphasis in the study were government policies on private higher education, legislation that initiated the founding of the University, the founder, the university's goals, the university's organizational structure, financial sources, admission policies, physical plants, programs, faculty and students. It was found that the Thai government encourages the establishment of private higher education institutions. The Private Higher Educational Institution Act of 1979 was enacted to allow Private universities to be equal to government universities. The university of the Thai Chamber of Commerce was founded by the Thai Chamber of Commerce with the purpose of training Thai students for the business sector and promoting the economic stability of the nation. The university's organizational structure is centralized and is self-supporting. The university strives for academic excellence, and thus supports the development of the nation. Suggestions for further study include: (a) the study of private higher education institutions which were established with all of the various fields of study in place, and (b) a study to identify factors that will contribute to the future development of the university of the Thai Chamber of Commerce and other private universities in Thailand.

Thesis (Ph.D. (Educational Studies)) -- University of Limpopo, 2018 / The primary aim of this study was to investigate the growing rate of dropout phenomenon within the ambiance of higher education and to develop a support model for lower-postgraduate students. Anchored within Maxwell’s (2012) model of qualitative design, this case-study research has employed the deficit theory and the theory of transactional distance to guide the investigation. While the theoretical evidence was garnered through the application of traditional (narrative) literature review design, the empirical evidence was achieved by targeting lecturers, administrative officers and dropout students. These participants were only those who have respectively taught an advanced communication research (COM4809) module which is offered in the department of communication science as part of the honours programme, who have been involved into the administration of the module in the same department and who have dropped out of COM4809 between 2011 and 2016. Purposive selection technique was used to sample distinct units of analysis at various levels. At the first level, the University of South Africa (Unisa) was used as a case ODL university. At the second level, COM4809 was used as an ideal module to demonstrate that dropout is prevalent at an honours postgraduate level within the ODL domain. At the third level, lecturers were also purposively included into the study since they were key informants. With regard to administrative officers, a census approach was adopted to include the only two administrative officers who have been involved in the administration of COM4809 between 2011 and 2016. Dropout students were selected using snowball and purposive sampling techniques. While the purposive selection of dropout students from the given dataset (statistical information) of 219 dropouts, which was requested from the information and communication department (ICT), was used, the snowball selection method came into play when lecturers identified twenty-one dropout students from their personal records and furnishing the researcher with detailed contact information about them. However, the researcher has managed to hold focus-group interviews with a group of six dropout students and telephonic interviews with ten dropout students, summing up to 16 participants. Focus-group interviews were also undertaken with a cohort of eight lecturers while another seven lecturers have participated in the in-depth interviews. Data were analysed through the use of qualitative content analysis method, and O’Connor and Gibson’s (n.d) design viii    to analyse qualitative data was used. To ensure the credibility and dependability of findings, a triangulated approach to data collection and analysis were used. The study unveiled four major themes on dropout factors, namely: dropout factors associated with students’ personal circumstances, with lecturers’ personal circumstances, with institutional (academic) circumstances and with those factors which are determined by circumstances of other units of analysis (other research contexts). The study has further revealed that while the majority of factors can be controlled, others cannot. Based on the findings and the literature, an integrated honours student-centred support model (IHSCM) was developed to serve as a framework within which to understand dropouts of lower-postgraduate students in an ODL institution. Findings have demonstrated the importance of providing support services in an ODL environment and advocate for a holistic approach towards addressing attrition. The proposed model is envisaged to better expound dropout attributes, which lead students to discontinuing their studies in the ODL environment, and to assist ODL institutions to effectively address the concern. ODL institutions, which want to apply the proposed IHSCM, should do that with caution in mind owing to the fact that the model is not yet tested. Hence, it is inferable to suggest that future research should focus on its impact in the reduction of dropouts of honours students in ODL contexts.   Key words: Student dropout (attrition), dropout student, open and distance learning (ODL) institution, Higher education institution, distance education, student support intervention (services, intervention, mitigation strategy) and student support model (framework).

<p>This research was undertaken to propose a model for eLearning adoption in Higher Education in Africa and to identify and empirically test measures to assess the model. The model identified eLearning, individual and organisational factors affecting eLearning adoption in higher education. eLearning factors were deemed to be aligned with the individual and organisational factors and therefore, the measurement of individual and organisational factors of eLearning adoption is essential in determining the current state, and future development that could enhance eLearning adoption in higher education. This study is a first attempt in Africa to define and present a conceptualization of an eLearning adoption framework. The framework is a combination of frameworks and models from various disciplines, including social psychology, information systems, anthropology, sociology, education, communication, marketing, management, geography, economics and cognitive psychology. These frameworks for eLearning adoption in Higher Education are synergised and contextualised in the study.</p>

Academia is a demanding profession, as evidenced by a body of research that documents the debilitating impact of occupational stress and burnout on the personal and professional welfare of academics. In particular, high levels of these pathological phenomena, left unchecked, undermine the quality, productivity and creativity of the academics' work in addition to their health, well-being and morale. Despite these indicators of "weaknesses" and "malfunctioning", academics know that there is times that they operate in a "milieu" of work - there is an intense focus and pleasurable emotions, accompanied by high levels of enthusiasm. Especially, with the upcoming positive paradigm in Occupational Health Psychology, "positive" trends such as work engagement, optimism, organisational commitment and life satisfaction are also commonplace among academics. The first step in the enhancement of work wellness is the successful diagnosis of stress, burnout and work engagement. However, to measure these constructs, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments, and at the same time, take into account the cultural diversity in a multicultural setting such as South Africa. Clearly then, an assessment of this type should be concerned with the issue of construct equivalency. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the causes and effects of occupational stress, burnout and work engagement of academics in South Africa. The general aim of this study was to standardise an adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for academics in South African higher education institutions, to determine their levels of occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health, and to test a structural model of work wellness for South African academics. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with stratified random samples (N = 595) taken of academics in six South African universities. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Job Characteristics Inventory, the Health and Organisational Commitment subscales of the ASSET, The Life Orientation Test and Satisfaction with Life Scale were administered. Cronbach alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-tests and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test a structural model of work wellness. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a three-factor model of burnout, consisting of Exhaustion, Mental Distance and Professional Efficacy. The scales showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups. Practically significant differences were found in the burnout levels of academics with regard to their age, marital status and working hours. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a two-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour/Dedication and Absorption. The scales showed acceptable construct equivalence for two language groups (Afrikaans and English). One scale, namely Vigour/Dedication showed acceptable internal consistency. Practically significant differences were found between the work engagement of academics with different job levels and qualifications. Compared to the normative data, academics reported significantly high levels of stress relating to pay and benefits, overload and work-life balance. Academics also reported high levels of psychological ill-health, but experienced high levels of commitment both from and towards their organisation. Organisational commitment did not moderate the effects of occupational stress on ill-health. Analysis of variance revealed differences between the levels of occupational stress and ill-health of demographic groups. Regarding a model of work wellness, the results showed that job demands contributed to burnout, while job resources contributed to work wellness (low burnout and high work engagement). Burnout mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health; work wellness mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Dispositional optimism moderated the effects of a lack of job resources on work engagement. Work wellness and health contributed to life satisfaction. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

Darbo aktualumas: Nuolatinė kaita, reformos kelia naujus reikalvimus žmogui ir organizacijai, tad norėdama išlikti paklausi ikimokyklinio ugdymo institucija privalo nuolat tobulėti, mokytis, tapti kokybiškai nauja organizacija. Tapimas besimokančia organizacija padės išlikti konkurencinėmis sąlygomis. Besimokančios organizacijos požymių raiškos analizė leis tobulinti ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaigos veiklą, edukacinę erdvę. Be to, neaptikta duomenų, kad buvo tyrinėtos ikimokyklinio ugdymo institucijos, kaip besimokančios organizacijos, bei nerasta tyrimų, kokiais požymiais, bruožais jos pasižymi. Atsižvelgus į visa tai, buvo iškelta tyrimo problema: ar ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaiga yra besimokanti organizacija? Tyrimo objektas: ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaigos, kaip besimokančios organizacijos požymiai. Tyrimo tikslas – atskleisti ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaigos, kaip besimokančios organizacijos požymių raišką vadovų ir pedagogų požiūrio aspektu. Tyrimo metodika. Respondentų apklausai buvo panaudota anketinė apklausa. Anketa sudaryta remiantis A. Juodaitytės, N. Kudokienės (2005, p. 38) straipsnio „Mokyklos, kaip besimokančios organizacijos, formavimosi tendencijos“ idėjomis bei teorine medžiaga (Targamadzė,1999; Simonaitienė, 2003; Stoll, Fink, 1998; Senge, 1990 ir kt.). Tyrimo imtis. Tyrime dalyvavo penkiolikos Šiaulių mieste esančių ikimokyklinio ugdymo įstaigų vadovų ir pedagogų. Buvo apklausti 199 respondentai, iš jų 19 vadovų (direktorei ir pavaduotojai ugdymui) ir 180... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Relevance: Constant change and reform has created new requirements for a person and organization, so in order to remain attractive preschool educational institution it has to grow, learn constantly and become a qualitative new organization. It will help for a learning organization to survive in competitive conditions. The analysis of the expression of the features of learning organization will improve preschool activity and educational space. In addition, there are not any data which could show the investigated preschool education institutions as learning organizations, and there has not been found any research in what ways, they are distinguished. All the things conceded the research problem was raised: whether pre-primary school is a learning organization? The research object: The features of preschool education institution as learning organization. The purpose of the survey - to reveal preschool education institution as learning organization, the expression of their features: teachers’ and heads’ aspect of attitude. The methods of research - Questionnaire survey has been used to investigate the respondents. The questionnaire is based on the article „Formation tendencies of the School as a learning organization“by A. Juodaitytė, N. Kudokienė (2005, p. 38), and other ideas and theoretical material (Targamadzė, 1999; Simonaitienė, 2003, Stoll, Fink, 1998; Senge, 1990, etc.). The sample of the survey - The study included teachers and heads from fifteen pre-school institutions... [to full text]

<p>This research was undertaken to propose a model for eLearning adoption in Higher Education in Africa and to identify and empirically test measures to assess the model. The model identified eLearning, individual and organisational factors affecting eLearning adoption in higher education. eLearning factors were deemed to be aligned with the individual and organisational factors and therefore, the measurement of individual and organisational factors of eLearning adoption is essential in determining the current state, and future development that could enhance eLearning adoption in higher education. This study is a first attempt in Africa to define and present a conceptualization of an eLearning adoption framework. The framework is a combination of frameworks and models from various disciplines, including social psychology, information systems, anthropology, sociology, education, communication, marketing, management, geography, economics and cognitive psychology. These frameworks for eLearning adoption in Higher Education are synergised and contextualised in the study.</p>

Academia is a demanding profession, as evidenced by a body of research that documents the debilitating impact of occupational stress and burnout on the personal and professional welfare of academics. In particular, high levels of these pathological phenomena, left unchecked, undermine the quality, productivity and creativity of the academics' work in addition to their health, well-being and morale. Despite these indicators of "weaknesses" and "malfunctioning", academics know that there is times that they operate in a "milieu" of work - there is an intense focus and pleasurable emotions, accompanied by high levels of enthusiasm. Especially, with the upcoming positive paradigm in Occupational Health Psychology, "positive" trends such as work engagement, optimism, organisational commitment and life satisfaction are also commonplace among academics. The first step in the enhancement of work wellness is the successful diagnosis of stress, burnout and work engagement. However, to measure these constructs, it is important to use reliable and valid instruments, and at the same time, take into account the cultural diversity in a multicultural setting such as South Africa. Clearly then, an assessment of this type should be concerned with the issue of construct equivalency. Furthermore, little information exists regarding the causes and effects of occupational stress, burnout and work engagement of academics in South Africa. The general aim of this study was to standardise an adapted version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS) and the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) for academics in South African higher education institutions, to determine their levels of occupational stress, organisational commitment and ill-health, and to test a structural model of work wellness for South African academics. A cross-sectional survey design was used, with stratified random samples (N = 595) taken of academics in six South African universities. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey, Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, Job Characteristics Inventory, the Health and Organisational Commitment subscales of the ASSET, The Life Orientation Test and Satisfaction with Life Scale were administered. Cronbach alpha coefficients, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson correlations, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), t-tests and multiple regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Structural equation modelling was used to test a structural model of work wellness. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a three-factor model of burnout, consisting of Exhaustion, Mental Distance and Professional Efficacy. The scales showed acceptable internal consistencies and construct equivalence for two language groups. Practically significant differences were found in the burnout levels of academics with regard to their age, marital status and working hours. Exploratory factor analysis with target rotations resulted in a two-factor model of work engagement, consisting of Vigour/Dedication and Absorption. The scales showed acceptable construct equivalence for two language groups (Afrikaans and English). One scale, namely Vigour/Dedication showed acceptable internal consistency. Practically significant differences were found between the work engagement of academics with different job levels and qualifications. Compared to the normative data, academics reported significantly high levels of stress relating to pay and benefits, overload and work-life balance. Academics also reported high levels of psychological ill-health, but experienced high levels of commitment both from and towards their organisation. Organisational commitment did not moderate the effects of occupational stress on ill-health. Analysis of variance revealed differences between the levels of occupational stress and ill-health of demographic groups. Regarding a model of work wellness, the results showed that job demands contributed to burnout, while job resources contributed to work wellness (low burnout and high work engagement). Burnout mediated the relationship between job demands and ill-health; work wellness mediated the relationship between job resources and organisational commitment. Dispositional optimism moderated the effects of a lack of job resources on work engagement. Work wellness and health contributed to life satisfaction. Recommendations for future research were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2005.

The tertiary education environment has become known for its stressful working conditions. Factors such as high work demands (i.e. work overload, excessive time demands and work pressure) and insufficient resources (i.e. limited developmental possibilities, poor performance feedback, lack of support, etc.) all contribute to these stressful circumstances. As a result, these circumstances can cause employees to experience negative interferences between their work and nonwork roles. In addition, employees do not have adequate time to invest in their nonwork domains, hence nonwork roles are neglected (such as being a parent, being a spouse, spending time on domestic activities and spending time on religious/spiritual activities). To decrease these negative interferences, it is important for employees to recover from strains that were activated at work. The objectives of this study were to determine 1) which demands and resources significantly predicted work-nonwork interference among employees working in a tertiary education institution; and 2) which recovery strategies were significant in dealing with high levels of work-nonwork interference caused by high demands and a lack of resources. A random sample of 366 married parents was taken from a tertiary education institution in the North-West Province. A list was obtained of all the married parents of the institution. All of these employees were given the choice to participate in the research. A measuring battery measuring job demands (i.e. work pressure, emotional demands and cognitive demands), job resources (i.e. autonomy, social support and developmental possibilities), work-nonwork interference (i.e. work-parent, work-spouse, work-domestic and work-religion/spirituality) and recovery strategies (psychological detachment, relaxation, mastery and control) respectively was utilised in this study. Descriptive and inferential statistics, Cronbach alpha coefficients, Pearson product-moment correlations and stepwise multiple regression, using the enter method, were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that work pressure and emotional demands significantly predict interference between all four nonwork roles. Additionally, autonomy and developmental possibilities significantly predicted work-parent and work-religion/spirituality interference respectively. Furthermore, all of the recovery strategies decreased specific worknonwork interference. Psychological detachment decreased the interference between the workspouse relationship and the work-religion/spirituality relationship. Relaxation predicted the decrease of interference between the following relationships: work-parent, work-spouse, and work-domestic. Mastery and control only significantly predicted the decrease of interference between the work-parent relationship and between the work-domestic activities respectively. Various recommendations were made for tertiary education institutions as well as for future research. Tertiary education institutions should manage high job demands by examining employees’ workload and job descriptions. Managers could possibly diminish work pressure and emotional demands by means of courses/workshops pertaining to self-management, time and organisational skills, emotional intelligence and/or coping with emotions. Tertiary education institutions should also focus on supporting employees who experience work-nonwork interferences and manage it effectively. In addition, the awareness of recovery and various recovery strategies should be promoted. Recommendations for future research include expanding the research to other occupational groups, longitudinal research designs, obtaining various opinions and perspectives of individuals also involved in the work-nonwork dyad and the study of the positive interaction between the work and nonwork roles. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011

<p class="MsoNormal" style="">The study shows the financial impacts on costs per student at academic module level, at departmental level, at faculty level, and at institutional level, thereby showing the effects of cross-subsidisation at all levels of management. The reports were developed in termsof the guidelines compiled in terms of Llewellyn's five levels of theorisation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style=""><span style="font-family: Garamond / "><o:p></o:p></span></p>