Background/Purpose: Reducing the incidence and negative consequences of concussion among youth athletes is a public health priority. Fifty states have adopted legislation addressing the problem of sports-related concussions among youth-athletes. In 2010, Massachusetts adopted legislation based on Washington State’s Lystedt Law, enacting state-wide requirements for high school athletic programs. This study explored how the legislation has been implemented within Massachusetts schools and school-districts and identified factors influential to local implementation. Methods: A qualitative multiple-case study approach was utilized. US Census data concerning the household median income and population size of the school-district’s representative town(s) were used to purposively recruit cases. Semi-structured interviews with a breadth of school-district actors in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and archival records associated with participating schools were used for analysis. Interview data were analyzed using a conventional content analysis approach. Written documents were subjected to an archival analysis. Results: 19 participants from 5 schools were interviewed. Interviewed school personnel included 5 athletic directors, 5 coaches, 4 athletic trainers, 4 school nurses, and 1 health and wellness coordinator. Eight case-level themes related to how the regulation was implemented were identified, and 6 influential factors related to the regulation’s implementation emerged. All participating cases decided to utilize neurocognitive baseline testing programs to assist in diagnosing concussions. Cases also decided to place the decision making authority of removal-from-play and return-to-play situations in the hands of athletic trainers. Primary care physicians were expected to provide medical clearance for concussed student athletes. Funding and man-power emerged as a threat to schools’ ability to implement the regulation with high fidelity. Conclusions: At the local level, provisions of the Massachusetts regulation were implemented with high fidelity. However, differences and similarities regarding local-level implementation decisions existed across cases. Conducting the study qualitatively allowed the study to obtain rich detail and identify implementation decisions made within cases. However, the knowledge generated may not be generalizable to other school districts or other states. The study’s findings speak to the variability often found when implementation is relegated to the local-level.

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Background: As technology is advancing day by day, people tend to produce enormous volumes of data. This exceptional growth in data is leading to an increase in the development of intelligent systems that make use of this huge data available. We group the development of such type of intelligent software systems and term them as "Data-Centric Systems (DCS)". Such systems include AI/ML components in an aself-driving car, Recommender systems any many more. Developing DCS is complexin the Software development life cycle process; one of the main reasons behind this complexity is the ineffective handling of requirements. Moreover, the literature suggests that a large percentage (48%) of development problems begin during the requirements phase and fixing requirements-related problems consumes a high cost of rework in later stages of software development. To design DCS effectively, RE techniques are considered one of the essential factors, since it is required to promote the combination of a system’s functional and implementation expectations from two entirely different perspectives, such as customers and developers. Although RE frequently plays a critical role in DCS, little is known about how RE can effectively be incorporated into developing such systems. Objectives: This thesis aims to focus on understanding industry experiences in the development of DCS with the main emphasis on RE and investigate the techniques/approaches used in DCS designing during the RE process and identify the challenges practitioners face during the development process. Methods: Two workshop-style interviews are conducted to identify the design process of RE and the practitioners’ challenges during DCS development. To complement the results from the workshop and scaling up the target population, an online survey is conducted. Results: From the workshops, we have identified that no explicit stakeholder is involved during the RE phase of DCS. Still, all people collectively take the decisions when it comes to developing in agile, and the role varies depending on the type of projects the stakeholder is involved in. Four categories of requirements were identified, namely regulatory, infrastructure, data, safety and security requirements. Techniques/approaches used to elicit, document, analyse and validate the requirements were identified. Based on the data received, we have identified ten challenges faced by the practitioners during the DCS. Based on the number of responses recorded in the survey, the categorisation and the techniques/approaches used for RE were prioritised based on the highest number of responses received. A total of 15 themes were generated for the challenges based on the responses received from participants. Conclusions: To conclude, a specific RE architecture needs to be designed to help the practitioners during the development of DCS. We believe that the analysis of these insights provides the industry with a structured overview of the DCS development process in RE. Besides, this thesis allows the academic community to steer future research based on an understanding of industry needs in RE for DCS.

Title: Discovering the Dark Side: A Multiple Case Study of IOMC Instability in Triadic Relationships Authors: Adam Hargrave, Iqra Ashfaq Mian, and Jan Peter van der Zwet Background: Within IORs, knowledge, activities, and resources are increasing shared amongst organisation members to obtain some sort of strategic advantage. Typically, forming a triadic relationship. Therefore, IOMC practices are regularly used to shape, support and control activities across the triadic relationship, but conversely, literature has not explored the instability certain shared IOMC systems can bring to partners through its complexity, triadic complexity, and instability drivers. Therefore, the investigation of IOMC’s instability influence on triadic relationships is investigated to contribute to the academic literature and organisations studied.  Purpose: The purpose for the research conducted is to investigate the shared IOMC in triadic, inter-organisational relationships that influence instability in buyer-supplier triadic relationships. Methodology: A multiple case study has been conducted through semistructured interviews. A critical realism perspective, descriptive-exploratory, and abductive research methodology was enacted. Analysis and Discussion: The multiple cases show that complexities in the from of triadic complexity and IOMC design complexity may lead to the drivers that introduce IOMC instability in the triadic relationships. The literature discussed is linked to the empirical findings and a research model is proposed. Conclusion: The conclusion discusses the theoretical and managerial implications of the presented research and possible future research opportunities of IOMC instability in triadic relationships.

Local public agencies turn to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to allow greater participation by private firms in delivering public services. In the last 25 years, private organizations had been reluctant to form PPPs with local government agencies because of the complex procurement processes and the bureaucratic business environment. Guided by the decision theory and complex adaptive systems theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify what information leaders within third-party administrators (TPAs) need regarding the contracting process in the formation of PPPs. The data collection process consisted of face-to-face interviews with 4 executive leaders of 3 Wisconsin state licensed TPAs and examination of contracts and plan service agreements (PSAs) between TPAs and local government agencies. Dada was analyzed using the Yin 5-step data analysis method and cross-case analysis. The results indicated that TPA leaders must understand collaborative leadership, key players, roles and responsibilities, and specialized services in the formation of a PPP; change and transfer of controlling interest, and understanding the strengths and weakness of contract provisions are complex business systems that influence the decision to form a PPP; ERISA and compliance with applicable federal and state laws are critical contract stipulations to consider in the formation of PPPs; that market assessment, health care reform, and transparency between private and public partners are critical in the formation of PPPs. The implications for social change include new insights for PPP leaders that may enhance the effectiveness of social services and save taxpayers' money.

Importance of the Study: Over the last decade or so the B2C organizations are making full usage of the social media platform as a tool of their marketing mix. However, the adoption of social media in the marketing activities of the B2B sector has not quite registered the growth which the B2C organizations have. The reason behind this being previous failed experiences of the B2B sector with the social media marketing usage. Furthermore, the B2B firms do not put many efforts in their social media activity as compared to B2C firms. Thus, the study of social media on the marketing management of the B2B firms becomes important. This was done by studying the case of multiple B2B firms and drawing best practices inferences from it. Purpose of the study: The reason why this study has been undertaken is due to the fact the previous studies have focused upon ‘why’ B2B firms have failed to achieve the success which B2C firms have achieved using social media marketing platforms. There is a lack of quality research studies on what techniques the B2B organizations are using currently as there have been rare cases of finding the success with the use of social media for the B2B firms. Thus, the purpose of this study was to research successful marketing techniques used by the organizations which have found success using social media and which can be used by other B2B firms. Methods: The mixed research method was adopted for this study as the study has been divided into two parts qualitative case study method and the quantitative survey method. The cases of five B2B firms namely Huawei, Accenture, Novartis, American Express and Lucid Press was taken to draw inferences about the best marketing techniques for B2B firms on social media. These findings were further validated by the quantitative survey which had 50 B2B marketing professionals randomly selected. Major Findings: Some of the major findings were that the B2B firms use e-books, webinars, case studies and infographics in order to present top to bottom information about their products and services to their B2B clients. Furthermore, when it comes to social networking websites, it was found that LinkedIn was more popular than the Facebook for the marketing of the B2B firm's products and services.

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Despite the repeated call-to-action to identify more inclusive and equitable approaches within school music ensembles, choral teaching and learning in the United States still favors practices that perpetuate injustices while limiting democracy and student autonomy (Bradley, 2007; de Quadros, 2015; Howard, 2020; O’Toole, 2005; Philpott & Kubilius, 2015; Shaw, 2012, 2016, 2019). In many ways, music teacher socialization surrounding best choral practices for teaching and learning has remained stable since the 19th century. Most choral teachers in the United States continue to center sequential patterns of teaching and learning with a singular trained leader, Western Art Music (WAM), and polished products of music (Conkling, 2019). These practices are best defined as Formal Learning (FL), or learning that includes a structured curriculum and instructional plan, sequential learning process, teacher in charge, and clear assessment plan (Mok, 2011c). Though FL endures as the “default option” in large ensemble classroom settings such as bands, choirs, and orchestras (Conkling, 2019), Informal Learning (IL) in music education—learning that is “not sequenced beforehand” and contains components that are “self-chosen and voluntary” (Folkestad, 2006, p. 141)—has steadily gained popularity in the United Kingdom and the United States since its introduction in Nordic countries in the 1960s (Hallam et al., 2018). In the early 21st century, Green (2002) conducted a seminal study about how popular musicians learn using Informal Learning Practices and Processes (ILPP). Since then, researchers and teachers worldwide have explored IL in elementary music classrooms (Davis, 2013; Moore, 2019), secondary music contexts (Bersh, 2011; Costes-Onishi, 2016; Evans et al., 2015; Gower, 2012; Green, 2008; Hallam et al., 2018; Jones, 2015; Moore, 2019; Vasil, 2015; Wallerstedt & Pramling, 2016; Wright, 2016), and collegiate settings (Finney & Philpott, 2010; Isbell, 2016; Karlsen, 2010; Mok, 2017). Feichas (2010) called IL a “pedagogy of diversity and inclusion” (p. 57), because of the inherent choice involved, the minimization of Eurocentric musics, and the opportunity for all to access this way of learning. Jones (2009) claimed students’ engagement with music in IL settings as one of the most promising indicators of musicking throughout one’s life because of the student choice, informal skills, and self-regulated learning involved. Despite these benefits, research related to IL within high school choral contexts remains scarce. The purpose of this multiple case study was to investigate Informal Learning Practices and Processes (ILPP) within the context of three public high school choral programs. A qualitative multiple case study design guided me toward purposive sampling (Patton, 2015; Stake, 2006). In total, I selected and studied the experiences of three teachers and 59 total student participants, ages 14-18. Data sources and types at each site included choir teacher and student interviews/transcripts, observations/field notes, recordings from concerts and rehearsals, course materials, and other artifacts. In total, I conducted six individual interviews with the teachers and 89 individual/focus group interviews with the students. Additionally, I conducted approximately 104 total hours of observations, split among all three sites. Upon completion of data collection, I engaged in a within-case analysis by first constantly comparing the data with the emerging conceptual framework, The IL-FL Continua, and next open-coding the data and grouping the codes into themes. I subsequently completed the cross-case analysis, first by forming types/families of learning practices and processes (Miles et al., 2020), and subsequently by constructing nine explanations (Yin, 2018) that captured the essence of the quintain: student and teacher perspectives of ILPP in choral programs (Stake, 2006). To ensure trustworthiness, I employed triangulation, peer coding, and member checking (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). The within-case data analysis revealed a wide variety of benefits related to ILPP in choir including musical validation and growth, musical self-efficacy, bolstered community, creative freedom, feelings of ownership, enhanced life skills (e.g., communication, teamwork, independence, social-emotional skills), and a more relaxed environment. Challenges of ILPP in choir that emerged included musical setbacks, navigating open-ended and independent tasks, social dynamics in group work, unequal contribution, and limited time. The three teachers each held different values that prompted them to center ILPP in choir. For instance, one teacher centered ILPP because he valued student voice and democracy, while another teacher centered ILPP to foster lifelong music-making. The Informal-Formal Activities Continuum which emerged from the cross-case data analysis (see Figure 3), features four types of learning practices and processes in high school choirs: (a) teacher or student led rehearsals, (b) large group creative activities, (c) small group creative activities, and (d) non-compulsory performance opportunities. Further analysis revealed two models of integrating IL and FL in choral contexts: mutually-supportive and additive. A mutually-supportive model of IL-FL refers to a pedagogy of practice whereby students experience learning on all parts of the IL-FL Continua which contributes toward shared outcomes and goals. An additive model refers to a pedagogy of practice whereby some students may experience shared outcomes and goals. While additive and mutually-supportive models resulted in similar benefits such as student enjoyment and motivation, strengthened community, life skills, and recruitment/program advocacy, the mutually-supportive model promoted greater musical and communal outcomes. This study holds implications for developing and centering a new choral philosophy for inservice and preservice choral teacher education. At the core of this philosophy lies a mutually-supportive IL-FL model, facilitated by decentralized power and a democratic classroom environment. By engaging students in varying learning styles, decentering power in the classroom, and encouraging students to make choices to support their own learning, teachers may foster student lifelong and lifewide music-making. / Music Education

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