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The purpose of this study was to determine the understandings and perceptions that teachers in one elementary school in Virginia had about the teacher evaluation system. Participants were recruited from one elementary school in Virginia. All of the teachers and specialists were asked to participate and 12 participants volunteered. General education teachers made up 25% of the participants while specialists who taught in areas such as Music, Art, Physical Education, or Special Education made up 75% of the participants. Participants were interviewed individually and were asked the same questions about the teacher evaluation process. Interviews were transcribed and primary codes were developed from the data. Interview questions asked participants to describe both their understandings of the evaluation system under which they worked and the perceptions they had about their experiences with evaluation. Even though there were no questions dealing with emotions and feelings, emotional language was prevalent throughout the data. The overall findings from this study indicated that teachers had a limited knowledge about a problematic evaluation system. The fact that elementary teachers have unique responsibilities means that they may need multiple ways to TEACHER UNDERSTANDINGS AND PERCEPTIONS OF EVALUATION iii show their effectiveness. Other findings suggested that inconsistent evaluation practices in this school caused teachers to see no benefit from the process. Finally, findings also suggested that there was a misalignment between the evaluation instrument and the jobs of teachers, particularly those of specialist teachers. Implications for future research include studies which focus on teacher learning over time in order to support teachers at any level of experience. Future research also needs to be conducted with elementary classroom teachers and specialist teachers to discover ways that may create a more aligned and fair process. Further research would also include studying the perceptions of evaluators and how they carry out the evaluation process and make decisions about its use. / Ph. D.

Heuristic Evaluation (HE) is a popular method of usability inspection. However, its outcomes are dependent on the expertise of evaluators. This study explored and described the difference in quality of outcomes (reports) of a collaborative HE conducted by evaluator groups of distinct composition, regarding different numbers of expert evaluators in each group. Twenty-seven (27) evaluators voluntarily contributed with this study, nine (9) expert and 18 novice evaluators. Thus, I organized seven (7) HE groups according to four (4) different levels of the factor presence of an expert, which ranged from no expert up to three (3) experts in the same group. Each group agreed to provide their reports for this study. Thereafter, I conducted a comparative analysis on the reports based on standard methods of the field and on a cluster analysis of similarities. I described the F-measure for each group report according to a relaxed and a strict criteria. Also, I described the dendrograms formed from the cluster analysis and the respective similarities indicated by each cluster. The results showed that the quality of reports from collaborative HE conducted by experts and novices together can be more similar to the quality of reports from a traditional HE with multiple expert inspectors (Benchmark Group) then to the quality of reports from a collaborative HE conducted by a group composed only by novice evaluators (Baseline Group). Finally, I discuss additional findings and implications for future studies in the field. / A Avaliação Heurística (AH) é um método popular de inspeção de usabilidade. Entretanto, seus resultados são dependentes da experiência dos avaliadores. Este estudo explorou e descreveu a diferença na qualidade de resultados (relatórios) de AH colaborativa conduzida por grupos de avaliadores de composição distinta, considerando diferentes quantidades de avaliadores experientes em cada grupo. Vinte e sete (27) avaliadores contribuíram voluntariamente com este estudo, nove (9) experientes e 18 novatos. Assim, foram organizados sete (7) grupos de AH, de acordo com quatro (4) níveis diferentes do fator presença de avaliador experiente, variando de nenhum experiente até três (3) avaliadores experientes no mesmo grupo. Cada grupo de avaliadores concordou em entregar seus relatórios de AH para este estudo. A partir de tais relatórios, foi conduzida uma análise comparativa baseada em métodos específicos da área, e também baseado em uma análise de agrupamento com base em medidas de similaridade. Como resultado, descreveu-se as medidas F (F-measure) referentes ao relatório de cada grupo respeitando critérios estritos e relaxados de comparação. Além disto, foram descritos os dendrogramas resultados das análises de agrupamento. Os resultados mostraram que a qualidade de relatórios de AH colaborativas conduzidas por avaliadores experientes e novatos juntos pode ser mais similar à qualidade de relatórios de AH tradicional conduzida por múltiplos avaliadores experientes (Grupo Benchmark) do que à qualidade de relatórios de AH colaborativa conduzida por grupos formados apenas por avaliadores novatos (Grupo Baseline). Finalmente, discutiu-se resultados adicionais e implicações para pesquisas futuras na área.

This dissertation analyzes instructional leadership and evaluation protocols from a large, diverse district in the Southeastern United States in order to investigate layers of accountability and tensions created when principals are asked to fill the dual roles of both instructional leader and supervisor in a newly implemented teacher evaluation system reform. For this dissertation I investigate the role of the principal as a colleague and mentor and compare this with the role of the principal as supervisor and evaluator in hierarchical systems. I include the role of the peer evaluator, a new position, in my analysis. Critical discourse analysis is utilized, primarily informed by Fairclough's Three Dimensional Framework for investigating discourses of instructional leadership and attendant Foucauldian notions of governability. The analysis shows that district administrators, principals, peer evaluators, and teachers employ nuanced definitions of instructional leadership. These definitions are impacted by deeply entrenched norms of what it means to be a principal and a teacher within the hierarchy of the school district of interest. Principals in this study were able to navigate the dual roles of instructional leadership and supervision largely due to how they and teachers defined the role of instructional leadership. The teacher evaluation reform has brought with it a new perspective on the hierarchy coinciding with new power dynamics. The results of this study have implications for our understanding of the role of the principal and how that role is constructed by principals and teachers as well as district administrators and peer evaluators.

Research object – Lithuanian commercial banks. Research subject - bank activities. Research aim – by analyzing the subjects that are interested in bank activities, their needs, aims for choosing rates of bank evaluation to suggest the model of evaluation bank activities. Objectives: 1) to classificate the subjects that are interested in bank activities, their aims; 2) to analyze rates of bank evaluation; 3) to analyze the ranges of the bank; 4) to suggest the model of evaluation bank activities and to use this model of evaluation Lithuanian commercial banks activities. Research methods – the analysis of research economic literature, the method of questionnaire. After carrying out the analysis of aims of bank evaluators, we examined the criteria according to which bank activities were evaluated, what rates chosen in order to compare and evaluate activities and their effectiveness of different banks. The model of evaluation banks activities, based on theory of balanced rates of evaluation, may be applied for improvement of bank activities, client service and application of new instruments of work, for the indication of specific features of banks, the choice of rates for the evaluation of banks, which may help to analyze directions and perspectives of bank activities and to evaluate their efficiency.

Tyrimo objektas - Lietuvos komercinių bankų veikla. Tyrimo dalykas – bankų veiklos vertinimas. Darbo tikslas – išskirti bankų veiklą vertinančius subjektus, jų tikslus bei vertinimo rodiklius, parengti banko veiklos vertinimo modelį ir patikrinti jo taikymą, vertinant AB SEB banko veiklą. Uždaviniai : 1. Išskirti bankų veiklą vertinančius subjektus, jų vertinimo tikslus. 2. Išnagrinėti bankų veiklos vertinimo rodiklius. 3. Išanalizuoti atskiras banko veiklos sritis, turinčias skirtingą reikšmingumą bendram visos banko veiklos vertinimui. 4. Išskirti reikšmingiausius rodiklius vertinant bankų veiklą pagal atskiras banko veiklos sritis. 5. Pasiūlyti banko veiklos vertinimo modelį. 6. Patikrinti šio modelio pritaikomumą AB SEB banko veiklos vertinimui. Tyrimo metodai - loginė analizė ir sintezė, ekspertinis vertinimas, sisteminė analizė, duomenų palyginimas, modeliavimas. / Research object - Lithuanian commercial bank activities. Research subject - bank activities evaluation. Research aim - to classificate the subjects that are interested in bank activities, their needs and aims for choosing rates of bank evaluation to suggest the model of evaluation AB SEB bank activities. Objectives: 1. To classificate the subjects that are interested in bank activities, their aims. 2. To analyze rates of bank evaluation. 3. To analyze the ranges of the bank. 4. To classificate importance rates which may to help analyze bank activities. 5. To suggest the model of evaluation bank activities. 6. To use this model of evaluation AB SEB banks activities. Research methods – logical analysis and synthesis, expert estimation, systematic analysis, comparable of fact, modeling.

Heuristic Evaluation (HE) is a popular method of usability inspection. However, its outcomes are dependent on the expertise of evaluators. This study explored and described the difference in quality of outcomes (reports) of a collaborative HE conducted by evaluator groups of distinct composition, regarding different numbers of expert evaluators in each group. Twenty-seven (27) evaluators voluntarily contributed with this study, nine (9) expert and 18 novice evaluators. Thus, I organized seven (7) HE groups according to four (4) different levels of the factor presence of an expert, which ranged from no expert up to three (3) experts in the same group. Each group agreed to provide their reports for this study. Thereafter, I conducted a comparative analysis on the reports based on standard methods of the field and on a cluster analysis of similarities. I described the F-measure for each group report according to a relaxed and a strict criteria. Also, I described the dendrograms formed from the cluster analysis and the respective similarities indicated by each cluster. The results showed that the quality of reports from collaborative HE conducted by experts and novices together can be more similar to the quality of reports from a traditional HE with multiple expert inspectors (Benchmark Group) then to the quality of reports from a collaborative HE conducted by a group composed only by novice evaluators (Baseline Group). Finally, I discuss additional findings and implications for future studies in the field. / A Avaliação Heurística (AH) é um método popular de inspeção de usabilidade. Entretanto, seus resultados são dependentes da experiência dos avaliadores. Este estudo explorou e descreveu a diferença na qualidade de resultados (relatórios) de AH colaborativa conduzida por grupos de avaliadores de composição distinta, considerando diferentes quantidades de avaliadores experientes em cada grupo. Vinte e sete (27) avaliadores contribuíram voluntariamente com este estudo, nove (9) experientes e 18 novatos. Assim, foram organizados sete (7) grupos de AH, de acordo com quatro (4) níveis diferentes do fator presença de avaliador experiente, variando de nenhum experiente até três (3) avaliadores experientes no mesmo grupo. Cada grupo de avaliadores concordou em entregar seus relatórios de AH para este estudo. A partir de tais relatórios, foi conduzida uma análise comparativa baseada em métodos específicos da área, e também baseado em uma análise de agrupamento com base em medidas de similaridade. Como resultado, descreveu-se as medidas F (F-measure) referentes ao relatório de cada grupo respeitando critérios estritos e relaxados de comparação. Além disto, foram descritos os dendrogramas resultados das análises de agrupamento. Os resultados mostraram que a qualidade de relatórios de AH colaborativas conduzidas por avaliadores experientes e novatos juntos pode ser mais similar à qualidade de relatórios de AH tradicional conduzida por múltiplos avaliadores experientes (Grupo Benchmark) do que à qualidade de relatórios de AH colaborativa conduzida por grupos formados apenas por avaliadores novatos (Grupo Baseline). Finalmente, discutiu-se resultados adicionais e implicações para pesquisas futuras na área.

Submitted by Nadir Basilio (nadirsb@uninove.br) on 2018-07-23T18:20:19Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Diogo Henrique Magalhães Gonçalves.pdf: 1521507 bytes, checksum: 0d42f8a3b94345ef905deb7a85a90628 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-07-23T18:20:19Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Diogo Henrique Magalhães Gonçalves.pdf: 1521507 bytes, checksum: 0d42f8a3b94345ef905deb7a85a90628 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-12-07 / The reproducibility of scapular kinematics has already been tested intra- and inter-sessions and intra- and inter-days, however, these evaluations were only performed by experienced evaluators and the majority of studies included only one evaluator. Thus, the comparison between evaluators with different levels of experience has not yet been explored, leaving doubts as to the accuracy of the evaluation results when performed by different evaluators. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility inter and intra-rater, experienced and inexperienced, during flexion and abduction movements of the arm for the scapula, humerus, and trunk segments. Kinematic data were captured during flexion and abduction movements of the arm using a system of 8 cameras and a sampling frequency of 120 Hz. In total, twenty healthy volunteers were evaluated (10 men and 10 women), with an average age of 25.1 (1.1) years, who underwent 6 sessions of movement analysis. Each evaluator carried out three sessions, two sessions on the first day, with a three-hour interval between them, and the third session on the second day, twenty-four hours after the first day. For each session, 5 repetitions of each movement, unilateral abduction and flexion of the arm, were performed. Statistical analysis was performed by an independent evaluator and the Shapiro-Wilk test was used for data distribution. The reproducibility of the range of motion and angular values at angles of 30º, 60º, 90º, and 120º was verified through the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard measurement error (SEM). The values obtained for the angles 30°, 60°, 90°, and 120° intra-day ranged from 0.67-0.98 and (0.58° to 5.64°) for the inexperienced evaluator and from 0.67° to 0.98° and (0.64° to 6.17°) for the experienced evaluator in the flexion movement. During the abduction movement the values obtained at angles of 30°, 60°, 90°, and 120° intra-day ranged from 0.75° to 0.96° and (0.51° to 4.93°) for the inexperienced evaluator and from 0.62° to 0.97° and (0.66° to 6.58°) for the experienced evaluator. The model presented good to excellent intra-day reproducibility for both evaluators in the flexion and abduction movements of the arm. Inter-day values in flexion varied from 0.41° to 0.88° and (0.64° to 6.17°) for the inexperienced evaluator and 0.72° to 0.95° and (0.67° to 4.31°) for the experienced evaluator. In the inter-day abduction movement, values ranged from 0.33° to 0.91° and (0.74° to 6.60°) for the inexperienced evaluator and 0.72° to 0.98° and (0.73° to 5.01°) for the experienced evaluator. The reproducibility of the inexperienced evaluator presented from weak to excellent in the arm flexion movement and poor to excellent in abduction of the arm. The reproducibility for the experienced evaluator was good to excellent for flexion and abduction of the arm between the scapula, humerus, and trunk segments in healthy adults. The results showed that there is no difference between evaluators in the intra-day evaluations; however, on an inter-day basis the experienced evaluator obtained better reproducibility results, demonstrating that a difference in levels of experience between evaluators is of fundamental importance to obtain reproducible results on different days. However, we emphasize the importance of performing further studies, with different movements and patients, performed by two or more evaluators. / A reprodutibilidade da cinemática escapular já foi testada intra e inter-sessões e intra e inter-dias, porém essas avaliações foram realizadas apenas por avaliadores experientes e a maioria dos estudos com apenas um avaliador. A comparação entre avaliadores com diferentes níveis de experiência ainda não foi explorada, deixando dúvidas quanto a precisão dos resultados da avaliação se realizadas por diferentes avaliadores. O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar a reprodutibilidade inter e intra-avaliadores, com diferentes níveis de experiência, nos movimentos de flexão e abdução do braço para os segmentos da escápula, úmero e tronco. As capturas dos dados de cinemática foram realizadas utilizando um sistema de 8 câmeras e frequência de amostragem de 120Hz durante os movimentos de flexão e abdução do braço. Foram avaliados 20 voluntários saudáveis (10 homens e 10 mulheres) com idade média de 25.1 (±1.1) anos, que foram submetidos à 6 sessões de análise do movimento. Cada avaliador realizou três sessões, duas sessões realizadas no primeiro dia com intervalo de três horas entre elas e a terceira sessão foi realizada no segundo dia, 48 horas após o primeiro dia. Para cada sessão foram realizadas 5 repetições de cada movimento, abdução e flexão unilateral do braço. A análise estatística foi realizada por um avaliador independente, para distribuição dos dados, foi utilizado o teste de Shapiro-Wilk, A reprodutibilidade da amplitude de movimento e dos valores angulares nos ângulos de 30º, 60º, 90º e 120º do braço foi verificada pelo coeficiente de correlação intraclasse (ICC) assim como o erro de medida padrão (SEM). Os valores obtidos nos ângulos de 30°, 60°, 90° e 120° intra-dia variaram de 0,67-0,98 e (0,58° à 5,64°) para o avaliador inexperiente e variaram de 0,67-0,98 e (0,64° à 6,17°) para o avaliador experiente, no movimento de flexão. Durante o movimento de abdução os valores obtidos nos ângulos de 30°, 60°, 90° e 120° intra-dia variaram de 0,75-0,96 e (0,51° à 4,93°) para o avaliador inexperiente e variaram de 0,62-0,97 e (0,66° à 6,58°) para o avaliador experiente. O modelo apresentou de boa a excelente reprodutibilidade, intra-dia para ambos os avaliadores nos movimentos de flexão e abdução do braço. Os valores obtidos inter-dias na flexão variaram de 0,41 a 0,88 e (0,64° a 6,17) para o avaliador inexperiente e de 0,72 a 0,95 e (0,67° a 4,31°) para o avaliador experiente. No movimento de abdução inter-dias os valores variaram de 0,33 a 0,91 e (0,74° a 6,60°) para o avaliador inexperiente e de 0,72 a 0,98 e (0,73° a 5,01°) para o avaliador experiente. Apresentando a reprodutibilidade do avaliador inexperiente de fraca a excelente no movimento de flexão do braço e pobre a excelente na abdução do braço. A reprodutibilidade para o avaliador experiente foi de boa a excelente para a flexão e abdução do braço entre os segmentos da escápula, úmero e tronco em adultos saudáveis. Mostrando que não há diferença entre avaliadores nas avaliações intra-dia, porém inter-dias o avaliador experiente obteve melhores resultados de reprodutibilidade, mostrando que a diferença de níveis de experiência entre os avaliadores é de fundamental importância para se ter resultados reprodutíveis em diferentes dias. Entretanto devemos ressaltar a importância de mais estudos serem realizados, com diferentes movimentos e pacientes, realizados por dois ou mais avaliadores.

My thesis analyzes and evaluates the status and functioning of the education system in the Czech Republic. Furthermore, it analyzes the causes and consequences of influence of each factor on its quality. The found knowledge is summarized in the proposal of the new external school evaluation. Conslusions are based on the results of inquiry of directors, founders and employees of Czech School Inspection of Liberec region, based on the results of the national project Road to Quality Improvement realized in the Czech Republic, as well as the conclusions are based on results of international teams interested in implementation of evalution of school systems, for example Organization for Economic Cooperation Development (OECD), McKinsey & Company and Standing Conference of Central and General Inspectorates of Education (SICI). The aim of this thesis it to find the scale of competences and responsibility of each subject in educational politics. It is focused on qualification of founders and drawing of consequences coming from all indentified aspects. Not only evaluators' assistance and support to schools, but as well the mutual coherence and cooperation of all participating objects are very important parts of the process improving the quality of schools. The emphasis is laid on the cooperation of the...

Parental alienation is when one parent denigrates the other to turn their children against that parent, often after a separation or divorce. It is well-documented but poorly understood as a form of domestic abuse. This study explores how one Austrian and one Swedish father experience parental alienation in the wake of false allegations of sex abuse, how they perceive their emotional situation after the separation, how their interactions with their children have been affected and what economic impact this has had on their lives.  The study concentrates on white, heterosexual, agnostic men. It is based upon in-depth interviews, and analytically framed within the parental alienation theory. The analysis identified several core themes suggesting the need for better education and training on parental alienation, and strategies to enable effective change to public policies and family law.