This study explored high school social studies teachers' perceptions of the degree of standardization of practice within their department. The three participants were members of a social studies department in a large, urban high school. One teacher was the department chair. The school administration had introduced professional learning communities (PLCs) during the year of the study, and the number of department meetings had been reduced to accommodate these PLCs.This was a qualitative study, using interviews to create case studies for each participant. The researcher used a three-part interview design developed by Seidman (2006). Five research questions served as a framework for data analysis.Participants believed teaching practice was not standardized within their department. They identified the following means to increase standardization of practice: develop a departmental philosophy, align the curricula of subject matter groups, share teaching techniques in department meetings, implement common assessments, increase the number of department meetings, make department meetings more professional, establish peer observations, and improve or replace the PLC model.The participants also identified a number of barriers to standardization of practice: the size and complexity of the school, weak leadership by school administrators, poor professional development, time constraints, ineffectiveness of the PLC model, interpersonal conflict within the department, uncertainty regarding the department's future composition, needs and limitations of students, lack of consensus on social studies content and assessment, teacher isolation and autonomy, ambiguity of teaching outcomes, and teacher fatigue.The type of standardization of practice envisioned by the participants reflected their desire for collegial, professional relationships. The methods of standardization they described would preserve teachers' freedom to conduct their practice according to their personal preferences.Barriers to standardization of practice identified by the participants were attributable to structural and cultural elements of the school site and to characteristics of social studies as a school subject. As such, they may prove difficult to overcome.The researcher concluded that modifications to department structures may promote the development of effective micro-PLCs. However, structural modifications should be framed so as to complement department work and teachers' professional standards.

The recent worldwide shift in focus from goods production to service provision in Western countries has resulted in the expansion of the service sector. The front-line worker has become a central figure in the new workplace, forming an important link between the company and the customer. The nature of the interaction between customer service staff and clients influences the perceived quality of service rendered by the company. Call centre work requires a high degree of personal contact with the public and the performance of emotional labour. Previous research found emotional labour to be a significant predictor of burnout. Given the above scenario, the lack of empirical research that systematically investigates burnout in a customer services environment in South Africa is a source of concern. The objectives of this study were to determine the construct validity and internal consistency of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) (Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach & Jackson, 1996) in a customer services environment, and to compare the relationship of burnout with various demographic characteristics. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of an accidental sample of customer services personnel (N = 228). The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) was used to determine the level of burnout in the participants. A biographical questionnaire was used to gather additional information. Structural equation modelling (SEM) methods as implemented by AMOS were used to test the factorial model for the MBI-GS. Cronbach alpha coefficients and inter-item correlation coefficients were used to assess the internal consistency and construct validity of the MBI-GS. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. T-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine differences between the sub-groups in the sample. Tukey tests were done to indicate which groups differed significantly when ANOVAS were done. The results confirmed a three-factor model of burnout, consisting of Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy. All three factors showed acceptable internal consistencies. The results also showed that customer service staff who measured high on exhaustion and cynicism (compared with those who measured low) experienced less job satisfaction. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is a challenging problem in Nova Scotia and is a leading cause of disability and a contributor to high health related costs to the system. The primary objective of this thesis is to develop and test a methodology for the creation of an electronic standardized assessment tool for chronic conditions such as CLBP using a triangulation method. The methodology involves evidence-based, expert and explicit clinical knowledge in the development of the tool. The outcome of this research is the development of a methodology model for the generation of electronic standardized assessment form for CLBP with 30 predictive factors. Experts evaluated the form for its use and usefulness, usability, and standardized terminologies. Intra-Class Correlation (ICC) and Cronbach’s alpha were used to measure inter-rater reliabilities among experts. The results were in the fair and moderate levels of agreement due to the limitation in sample size and the variation of disciplines among participants.

The recent worldwide shift in focus from goods production to service provision in Western countries has resulted in the expansion of the service sector. The front-line worker has become a central figure in the new workplace, forming an important link between the company and the customer. The nature of the interaction between customer service staff and clients influences the perceived quality of service rendered by the company. Call centre work requires a high degree of personal contact with the public and the performance of emotional labour. Previous research found emotional labour to be a significant predictor of burnout. Given the above scenario, the lack of empirical research that systematically investigates burnout in a customer services environment in South Africa is a source of concern. The objectives of this study were to determine the construct validity and internal consistency of the Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) (Schaufeli, Leiter, Maslach & Jackson, 1996) in a customer services environment, and to compare the relationship of burnout with various demographic characteristics. A cross-sectional survey design was used. The study population consisted of an accidental sample of customer services personnel (N = 228). The Maslach Burnout Inventory - General Survey (MBI-GS) was used to determine the level of burnout in the participants. A biographical questionnaire was used to gather additional information. Structural equation modelling (SEM) methods as implemented by AMOS were used to test the factorial model for the MBI-GS. Cronbach alpha coefficients and inter-item correlation coefficients were used to assess the internal consistency and construct validity of the MBI-GS. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. T-tests and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to determine differences between the sub-groups in the sample. Tukey tests were done to indicate which groups differed significantly when ANOVAS were done. The results confirmed a three-factor model of burnout, consisting of Exhaustion, Cynicism and Professional Efficacy. All three factors showed acceptable internal consistencies. The results also showed that customer service staff who measured high on exhaustion and cynicism (compared with those who measured low) experienced less job satisfaction. / Thesis (M.A. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2004.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Linköping : Linköpings universitet, 2006. / Härtill 6 uppsatser + 5 appendix.

abstract: Proponents of current educational reform initiatives emphasize strict accountability, the standardization of curriculum and pedagogy and the use of standardized tests to measure student learning and indicate teacher, administrator and school performance. As a result, professional learning communities have emerged as a platform for teachers to collaborate with one another in order to improve their teaching practices, increase student achievement and promote continuous school improvement. The primary purpose of this inquiry was to investigate how teachers respond to working in professional learning communities in which the discourses privilege the practice of regularly comparing evidence of students' learning and results. A second purpose was to raise questions about how the current focus on standardization, assessment and accountability impacts teachers, their interactions and relationships with one another, their teaching practices, and school culture. Participants in this qualitative, ethnographic inquiry included fifteen teachers working within Green School District (a pseudonym). Initial interviews were conducted with all teachers, and responses were categorized in a typology borrowed from Barone (2008). Data analysis involved attending to the behaviors and experiences of these teachers, and the meanings these teachers associated with those behaviors and events. Teachers of GSD responded differently to the various layers of expectations and pressures inherent in the policies and practices in education today. The experiences of the teachers from GSD confirm the body of research that illuminates the challenges and complexity of working in collaborative forms of professional development, situated within the present era of accountability. Looking through lenses privileged by critical theorists, this study examined important intended and unintended consequences inherent in the educational practices of standardization and accountability. The inquiry revealed that a focus on certain "results" and the demand to achieve short terms gains may impede the creation of successful, collaborative, professional learning communities. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011

The human brain is a complex and powerful organ, directing every aspect of life from somatosensory and motor function to visceral responses to higher order cognition. Neurological and psychiatric disorders often disrupt normal functioning. While the clinical symptoms of such disorders are known, their biological underpinnings are not as clearly characterized. Structural neuroimaging is a powerful, non-invasive tool that can play a critical role in finding biomarkers of these illnesses. Currently, variations in pre-processing techniques yield inconsistent and conflicting results. As neuroimaging is a nascent branch of medical research, gold standards in imaging methodologies have not yet been established. Quantitatively validating and optimizing the way these images are preprocessed is the first step towards standardization. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is one technique that is commonly used to compare whole-brain structural differences between groups. Statistical tests are used to compare intensities of voxels throughout all brain scans in each group. In order to ensure that comparable voxels are being tested, the images must be fitted into a common space, which is done through image preprocessing. Spatial normalization to templates is an early pre-processing step that is executed unreliably as many options for both templates and normalization algorithms exist. To determine the effect variations in template usage may cause, we utilized a VBM approach to detect simulated lesions. Template performance was analyzed by comparing the accuracy with which the lesion was detected.

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La mobilité existe de longue date dans la fonction publique mais demeure limitée par des obstacles relatifs à sa mise en oeuvre et à sa finalité. Depuis le début des années1990, l'amplification de la mobilité tente de dépasser certaines de ces considérations en procédant à une diffusion protéiforme des mouvements. En ce sens, la mobilité voulue se développe tant au sein de la fonction publique qu'entre celle-ci et le secteur privé. De même, la mobilité imposée connaît un net regain d'intérêt à travers les réorganisations administratives et le besoin d'une gestion plus souple de l'emploi public. Toutefois, qu'elle soit imposée ou voulue, la mobilité sert toujours les intérêts de l'administration en permettant sa modernisation. En effet, constituant une notion indéterminable, tant par des critères précis que par des effets donnés sur un agent, sa caractéristique principale est d'accompagner et parfois d'impulser le changement. Elle est ainsi un instrument perturbateur confortant l'hybridation du droit de la fonction publique et induisant le métissage de la fonction publique. / Mobility exists for a long time in the public service but remains limited due to obstacles relative to its implementation and to its purpose. Since the beginning of 1990s, the development of the mobility tries to exceed some of these considerations by proceeding to a protean distribution of the movements. By this way, the deliberate mobility develops as well as within the public service as between this one and the private sector. In the sameway, the compulsory mobility knows a real renewed interest through the administrative reorganizations and the need for a more flexible management of the public employment.However, whether it is compulsory or wanted, mobility always serves the interests of the administration by allowing its modernization. Indeed, constituting an indeterminable concept, as well by precise criteria as by effects given on an agent, its main characteristic is to accompany and sometimes to impulse the change. It is thus a disturbing instrument consolidating the hybridization of the law of the public service and leading to the interbreeding of the public service.

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