This thesis argues that changes in the 'idea' of the university can be identified through an analysis of the textual identities of institutions utilising Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software (CAQDAS). The historical review at the beginning of the work identifies four key, perennial aspects of university identity and function: (i) transmitting knowledge and producing cultured students; (ii) research; (iii) training for employment; and (iv) a wider duty to society. The thesis rests upon the premise that the relative prominence of each of these four aspects in university publications gives a university a certain textual identity at a given time. The thesis further suggests that certain specific forces - State intervention, economic pressures, industry, and competition - affect the priority given to these aspects. The University of Surrey is examined as a case study and changes in the relative prominence of these aspects are observed in the textual presentation of this institution over time. These findings, when compared with an analysis of the public documents of a cross-sector sample of other institutions, revealed different textual identities and this has implications regarding university mission and performance. The thesis shows that external factors do have an influence upon textual identity. CAQDAS was also able to reveal that university textual identity is not monolithic and varies over time and depending on the intended audience. The remit of the study extends to January 2002, and is therefore timely in light of the 2001 review of the structure and funding of higher education (Newby, 2001), particularly because a key aspect of the Newby review is the increasingly explicit linking of funding to mission. This analysis contributes to debates in higher education concerning institutional identity, the usefulness of existing institutional typologies, mission, and possible futures for the sector. The study also makes a methodological contribution to educational research in its innovative employment of the CAQDAS tool.

The aim of this research is to explore how Öland could attract Chinese tourists to sustain its development. This study is conducted on the basis of group interviews among 20 respondents selected from Chinese tourists. This research reveals that learning and experiencing, building a social relationship and enjoying natural landscape are the major reason for Chinese tourists traveling abroad, among which, the main motivations for Chinese tourists visiting Öland is the attractive spot. The research finds that not many Chinese tourists have been to Öland before. However, among those who have been, they said that Borgholm Castle was the most attractive tourist spot. The major approaches for Chinese tourists accessing information of Öland are travel agencies, travel apps, TV shows, movies and the internet , whereas little marketing strategies such as advertising (in Chinese) and cooperating with local travel agencies has been utilized by the government. An analysis of the key motivations of Chinese tourist reveals one challenge in attracting Chinese tourists facing the government: Öland is not well recognized as a World Heritage among Chinese tourists compared to other popular travel destinations. The strength and weakness of Öland tourism indicates that Öland need to take more active marketing strategies to brand their tourism targeting Chinese tourists.

Sharing and reusing data can help researchers answer new questions and approach data from different analytical perspectives. The extant literature on data sharing has focused almost exclusively on qualitative data specifically, such as interviews and focus groups. Observational and video data capturing family interactions are a common data collection method in family science research. While quantitative analytic approaches are common, observational and video data can lend itself well to qualitative analysis. This paper introduces a secondary data analysis approach, referred to as methodological expansion, which involves the process of qualitatively analyzing pre-existing data that were collected for quantitative research purposes.

Made available in DSpace on 2015-05-14T12:36:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 arquivototal.pdf: 1893673 bytes, checksum: 55063213a7764403cd19557f2628cb42 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-03-29 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The importance of collaborative environments in a globalized world to enable the sharing of information or make the interaction among people from different locations possible is undeniable. It is also fact, in today s society, the need of carrying out tasks and solving problems in a collaborative way. As an example, one can cite the qualitative research which, when performed with the aid of computers, can make use of CAQDAS (Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software) applications. Although it is possible to perform qualitative analysis within CAQDAS applications in isolation, the study/work performed by a group has the differential to enable the interaction among members of a team and provide the expression of different points of view and opinions, besides being more likely to comments and criticisms that help improve the quality of the work. Thus, this document presents WebQDA, a collaborative tool that uses the basic features of qualitative data analysis with the aim of illustrating how Web 2.0 new concepts can affect productivity in qualitative research by working in a cooperative way. / É inegável a importância dos ambientes colaborativos no mundo globalizado, seja para possibilitar o compartilhamento de informações ou tornar possível a interação entre pessoas distantes. Também é fato, na sociedade atual, a necessidade de realização de tarefas e solução de problemas de forma colaborativa. Como exemplo, pode-se citar a pesquisa qualitativa que, quando realizada com o auxílio do computador, pode fazer uso dos aplicativos CAQDAS (Computer Assisted Qualitative Data Analysis Software). Apesar de ser possível realizar análises qualitativas em aplicativos CAQDAS de forma isolada, o estudo/trabalho realizado por um grupo possui o diferencial de permitir a interação entre os membros de uma equipe, possibilitando a expressão de pontos de vista e opiniões diferentes, além de ser mais propenso a comentários e críticas que contribuem para a melhoria e qualidade do trabalho. Desse modo, este documento apresenta o WebQDA, uma ferramenta colaborativa que utiliza as funcionalidades básicas da análise qualitativa de dados, visando ilustrar como os novos conceitos da Web 2.0, como redes sociais, podem afetar a produtividade na pesquisa qualitativa ao se trabalhar de forma cooperativa.

Sustainable development (SD) is a pressing global issue that is becoming increasingly prominent on clients and governing bodies agendas. In order to survive, organisations are seeking ways to negate their detrimental environmental impacts. This is no easy feat: SD is both complex and dynamic. To be successful, organisations need to leverage and expand their most valuable asset – knowledge. Civil engineering plays a significant role in SD – it shapes our environment and governs our interaction with it. However, extant research asserts that civil engineering related disciplines have been slow to adopt SD oriented practices; a possible result of their complex and fragmented organisational environments. The literature suggests that effective knowledge sharing (KS) can overcome these barriers, thus driving enhanced SD performance. Consequently, this research aims to investigate how the civil engineering sector can improve its intra-organisational sharing of SD knowledge, using an international civil engineering consultancy as an exemplar. Whilst there has been much research surrounding KS and SD there has been limited research that has investigated KS for SD, thus this thesis contributes to this limited body of knowledge. Mixed-method research was used to address the abovementioned aim. An increasingly popular approach, it is widely believed to generate greater value through complementary integration of quantitative and qualitative research paradigms. This approach lends itself also to the ethnographic inclinations of the reported research: the author was embedded within the case organisation, and sought a rich and reliable understanding of the study phenomena. An initial set of semi-structured interviews suggested that the case organisation’s members exhibit positive attitudes towards KS and SD, yet are often constrained by a number of common KS barriers, namely: a lack of organisation slack (i.e. time); a silo mentality; and poor SD ICT systems. These socio-cultural and technical barriers were subsequently investigated and contested using social network analysis techniques and an intranet acceptance model. A number of observations are made on the relationships between the findings from the research activities. It is believed the organisation often exhibits a reactive approach to KS for SD, which is deemed undesirable. This signals the need for greater senior management support to cultivate a culture where KS for SD is the norm and is integrated with work practices. A series of recommendations are provided to help the case organisation understand how such change could be cultivated. Several implications follow from this work. The mixed-method approach revealed a number of contradictions between the findings of each research activity. It is therefore postulated that mixed-method designs can provide a richer understanding, thus reducing misconceptions of KS phenomena. Following from this, the research contends that it may be too easy for researchers to identify with ubiquitous KS barriers as the reported research suggests that these may be perceived rather than actual. The research also reinforces the need for senior management support. These individuals govern the systems in which organisational members operate and thus have the ability to enhance KS for SD. Finally, the research demonstrates that SD ICT systems have little impact unless they are embedded in receptive contexts. Thus, an action research approach to KS system development is advocated to ensure systems are shaped to meet user expectations and drive desired KS behaviours. This research is presented in five peer-reviewed articles.

Computer-based information systems (IS) play an increasingly pervasive and important role in contemporary organisations. Despite decades of continuing research and the development of an extensive prescriptive literature, IS development projects continue to be problematic, with many failing or being seriously challenged. In addition, the IS development environment has changed significantly in recent years, with rapid advances or shifts in technology, increasing devolution of IS responsibility and expenditure to user groups, high levels of packaged software acquisition and customisation, greater outsourcing of IS development, and an increasing emphasis on enterprise-wide and inter-organisational IS. In many cases these changes are interrelated and involve more flexible, ad hoc or non-traditional development approaches. Combined with the fact that at the same time IS have become increasingly sophisticated and integrated, the potential for unpredictable or unintended consequences has also increased. Together, the continued problematic nature of many IS projects and the changing IS development environment, suggest that there is an ongoing need for a fuller understanding of IS development processes and practices. Given the limitations of factor-based, prescriptive studies, an understanding of how contemporary IS development is enacted needs to be grounded in and built upon the cumulative body of research that attempts to understand the complexity and dynamic nature of IS development. Accordingly, this study uses a conceptualisation of IS development as a process in which an IS emerges from a dynamic and interactive relationship between the technology, its social and organisational context, and the negotiated actions of various individuals and groups. The thesis presents the results of an extensive empirical investigation into contemporary ARE development practices based on data collected from New Zealand. The study uses a range of research methods and ultimately develops a sociotechnical process model of IS development as situated action. Following Walsham’s (1993) emphasis on the content, context and process of IS-related organisational change, the methods used in this study are three-fold. First, an extensive literature review is undertaken to provide a comprehensive synthesis of contemporary empirical knowledge about the content of IS development. Second, a survey is used to collect contextual data about IS development and acquisition practices in New Zealand. Finally, these both support an in-depth longitudinal case study of the IS development process in an organisational setting. The literature review synthesises the results of recent empirical studies of the various influences that shape IS development, using a classificatory framework based around actors, project content, IS development processes, and context. The review shows that, while a number of traditional factors influencing IS development continue to be relevant, other factors have emerged as important as a result of changes to the IS development environment and to IS development practice. In particular, increasing recognition within the IS literature has been given to the relative importance of people and process and of the organisational and environmental context in which IS development takes place. The results of the literature review inform the design of a survey instrument intended to provide an updated assessment of IS development and acquisition practices in New Zealand organisations. A Web-based survey was administered to a sample of senior IS managers in 460 public and private sector organisations with 200 or more FTEs. Based on the 106 usable responses, the results of the survey confirm the ongoing relevance of a number of traditional factors identified in the IS literature as facilitating or inhibiting IS development. However, a number of factors were identified as emerging or increasing in relevance in light of changes in the IS development environment. While the survey provides a useful description of contemporary IS development and acquisition practice in New Zealand, it does not enable a detailed understanding of IS development in action. To address this, an IS project in a large New Zealand organisation was followed in action for over two years. The project involved the development of a sophisticated financial database model using a purchased commercial software package and external consultants. As such, it provides a useful exemplar of development in a contemporary IS environment. The case study illustrates how a seemingly small, well-defined project experienced delays and difficulties as might be expected in larger, more complex projects. It offers insights into the significance of external actors, the importance of full stakeholder participation, the influence of initial characterisations of the nature of the project, and the observance of project management processes. Consideration of the project outcome reveals its multi-dimensional, subjective and temporal nature. A process approach (Markus & Robey, 1988) is employed to structure the analysis of the case study. A combination of temporal bracketing, narrative analysis and visual representation is used to analyse the sequence of social action and organisational processes involved in the project and to develop a process explanation of how and why the particular project outcome in this case study developed over time. Underpinning and informing this analysis is the construction and utilisation of a model of IS development as a situated, sociotechnical process. Drawing on theoretical concepts from structuration theory and the sociology of technology, the model considers the situated actions and practices of various individuals and groups involved in IS development, the ways in which these are enacted within different contextual elements, and the role of existing and new technological artefacts in this process. IS development is characterised as iterative and emergent, with change occurring dynamically from a trajectory of situated interactions (in which meanings and actions are negotiated) and intended and unintended consequences. As a whole, this PhD highlights the changing nature of the IS development environment and the way a complex ensemble of ‘factors’ interact to influence IS project outcomes. Common themes emerge around the importance of people and process, and the context in which IS development takes place, while at the same time explicitly including a consideration of technology in the analysis.

Computer-based information systems (IS) play an increasingly pervasive and important role in contemporary organisations. Despite decades of continuing research and the development of an extensive prescriptive literature, IS development projects continue to be problematic, with many failing or being seriously challenged. In addition, the IS development environment has changed significantly in recent years, with rapid advances or shifts in technology, increasing devolution of IS responsibility and expenditure to user groups, high levels of packaged software acquisition and customisation, greater outsourcing of IS development, and an increasing emphasis on enterprise-wide and inter-organisational IS. In many cases these changes are interrelated and involve more flexible, ad hoc or non-traditional development approaches. Combined with the fact that at the same time IS have become increasingly sophisticated and integrated, the potential for unpredictable or unintended consequences has also increased. Together, the continued problematic nature of many IS projects and the changing IS development environment, suggest that there is an ongoing need for a fuller understanding of IS development processes and practices. Given the limitations of factor-based, prescriptive studies, an understanding of how contemporary IS development is enacted needs to be grounded in and built upon the cumulative body of research that attempts to understand the complexity and dynamic nature of IS development. Accordingly, this study uses a conceptualisation of IS development as a process in which an IS emerges from a dynamic and interactive relationship between the technology, its social and organisational context, and the negotiated actions of various individuals and groups. The thesis presents the results of an extensive empirical investigation into contemporary ARE development practices based on data collected from New Zealand. The study uses a range of research methods and ultimately develops a sociotechnical process model of IS development as situated action. Following Walsham’s (1993) emphasis on the content, context and process of IS-related organisational change, the methods used in this study are three-fold. First, an extensive literature review is undertaken to provide a comprehensive synthesis of contemporary empirical knowledge about the content of IS development. Second, a survey is used to collect contextual data about IS development and acquisition practices in New Zealand. Finally, these both support an in-depth longitudinal case study of the IS development process in an organisational setting. The literature review synthesises the results of recent empirical studies of the various influences that shape IS development, using a classificatory framework based around actors, project content, IS development processes, and context. The review shows that, while a number of traditional factors influencing IS development continue to be relevant, other factors have emerged as important as a result of changes to the IS development environment and to IS development practice. In particular, increasing recognition within the IS literature has been given to the relative importance of people and process and of the organisational and environmental context in which IS development takes place. The results of the literature review inform the design of a survey instrument intended to provide an updated assessment of IS development and acquisition practices in New Zealand organisations. A Web-based survey was administered to a sample of senior IS managers in 460 public and private sector organisations with 200 or more FTEs. Based on the 106 usable responses, the results of the survey confirm the ongoing relevance of a number of traditional factors identified in the IS literature as facilitating or inhibiting IS development. However, a number of factors were identified as emerging or increasing in relevance in light of changes in the IS development environment. While the survey provides a useful description of contemporary IS development and acquisition practice in New Zealand, it does not enable a detailed understanding of IS development in action. To address this, an IS project in a large New Zealand organisation was followed in action for over two years. The project involved the development of a sophisticated financial database model using a purchased commercial software package and external consultants. As such, it provides a useful exemplar of development in a contemporary IS environment. The case study illustrates how a seemingly small, well-defined project experienced delays and difficulties as might be expected in larger, more complex projects. It offers insights into the significance of external actors, the importance of full stakeholder participation, the influence of initial characterisations of the nature of the project, and the observance of project management processes. Consideration of the project outcome reveals its multi-dimensional, subjective and temporal nature. A process approach (Markus & Robey, 1988) is employed to structure the analysis of the case study. A combination of temporal bracketing, narrative analysis and visual representation is used to analyse the sequence of social action and organisational processes involved in the project and to develop a process explanation of how and why the particular project outcome in this case study developed over time. Underpinning and informing this analysis is the construction and utilisation of a model of IS development as a situated, sociotechnical process. Drawing on theoretical concepts from structuration theory and the sociology of technology, the model considers the situated actions and practices of various individuals and groups involved in IS development, the ways in which these are enacted within different contextual elements, and the role of existing and new technological artefacts in this process. IS development is characterised as iterative and emergent, with change occurring dynamically from a trajectory of situated interactions (in which meanings and actions are negotiated) and intended and unintended consequences. As a whole, this PhD highlights the changing nature of the IS development environment and the way a complex ensemble of ‘factors’ interact to influence IS project outcomes. Common themes emerge around the importance of people and process, and the context in which IS development takes place, while at the same time explicitly including a consideration of technology in the analysis.

This study reports reanalyzed findings from three separate studies that examined the impact of professional development on teachers’ instructional change. The commonality among the studies was content area teachers’ resistance to ESL pedagogy, which inspired the current study in its undertaking and analysis of pooled data. The study aimed to more closely examine the effect of teacher resistance on reform efforts and ultimately its impact on English Learners’ (ELs) academic achievement. The reanalyzed findings show that all participants held strong feelings of resentment toward external mandates that required any change to their current teaching practices. This study determined that professional development alone cannot induce true reform for ELs in the classroom as long as teachers are reluctant to transform themselves.

The relationship between qualitative data analysis software (QDAS) and the development of new methods remains underexplored. While scholars argue that software tactics are used only to implement analytic strategies, some strategies are made possible only with new software developments. Aligned with the Five-Level QDA method, we aim to address the gap in the literature by thoroughly presenting the methodological aspects of an existing narrative inquiry. To be systematic in our explanation of QDAS integration, we begin by offering background information about the original project, followed by an analytical plan, which was informed by our researcher’s subjectivity and generativity theory. We then introduce our translational process that merges our subjective narrative strategy with objective ATLAS.ti tactics into a comprehensive framework for analysis. The findings, presented as a conceptual mapping of the data, informed deeper metaphorical exploration of generativity which is discussed as a life-long process of intergenerational connectedness.

Between 2007 and 2009, taxpayers paid $700 billion to bail out failing U.S. banks. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that leaders of a successful U.S. bank used to identify efficiency changes occurring during the financial crisis. The target population of this study included 6 bank leaders located in San Bernardino, California, who occupied a managerial role in a successful U.S. bank during a financial crisis, had experience with the efficiency changes that occurred during a financial crisis, and developed and implemented strategies to identify efficiency changes that took place during a financial crisis. The conceptual framework for this study was the theory of economic efficiency. Data consisted of semistructured interviews, annual fiscal reports, and proxy statements. All interpretations of the data were subjected to member checking to ensure trustworthiness of interpretations. Yin's method of qualitative data analysis was adopted, which consisted of five sequential steps: compiling the data, disassembling the data, reassembling the data, interpreting the meaning of the data, and drawing conclusions from the data. Based on the methodological triangulation of the data collected, 3 of the main themes that emerged were management strategies, application of digital technology, and growth maximization and risky loan elimination. The implications for positive social change include the potential to avoid bank failures in the future, resulting in a stronger and more robust economy, thus sparing taxpayers the burden of bailing out failing banks.