Doctor Of Philosophy / Department of Curriculum and Instruction / Rosemary Talab / The purpose of this study was to learn the perceived training needs of the support staff in the six Kansas Board of Regents’ (KBOR) university libraries. Based on data from field and pilot studies and advice from an expert panel, a survey instrument was designed to assess library support staff’s perceptions of their train needs on computer skills, interpersonal skills, supervision/management skills, important library/organizational support, helpful training delivery methods, and training sources. The survey instrument was administered to the entire 167 support staff in the six KBOR university libraries, with a return rate of 83 percent achieved through two mailings and two postcard reminders. Quantitative data from the responses to closed-ended questions were analyzed through descriptive measures and one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Qualitative approaches to code answers from open-ended questions were utilized in order to allow stakeholder themes to emerge. Quantitative analyses indicated that the respondents viewed the most important training topics for each area of the study to be: database searching and MS Office suites for computer skills; working with difficult people and managing priorities for interpersonal skills; training new employees and supervising student employees for supervision/management skills; being supplied with appropriate software, release time, and technical support were viewed as the most important library support that would help their training. The respondents perceived classroom instruction with a teacher and interactive classroom discussions as being the most helpful delivery methods. The respondents considered in-house trainers, supervisors, and co-workers as being the most helpful training sources. A series of MANOVA tests were conducted on the six areas of the study. At the alpha = .05 level, statistically significant differences were found in the respondents’ perceptions of training needs on computer skills measured by their work units, supervision/management skills measured by their work units and level of job responsibilities, the respondents’ perceptions of important library/organizational support measured by their total years in the library filed and age range, and the respondents’ perceptions of helpful training sources measured by their total years at current positions. Qualitative analyses provided 314 units of information on 32 themes on additional training topics, library/organizational support, delivery methods, and training sources. The top 10 themes were related to “Software programs,” “Windows operating systems,” “Release time,” “Supervisor/management support,” “Relevance/applicable training,” “Promotion/opportunities,” “Training for motivation,” “Classroom with feedback,” “Training materials,” and “One-on-one and in-house training.” Based on the findings, summaries, and conclusions of this study, the researcher made recommendations for further study that focuses on job training needs of support staff at university libraries, including a broader scope of training topics, motivating factors, the perceptions of library administrators on the support staff’s training needs, training needs on supervision/management for non-supervision support staff, differing views on library/organizational support, different training delivery methods, etc.

With the changing laws and effective integration of assistive technology into the classroom environment, students can have the provision of multiple means to complete their work with greater independence. In post secondary education, any student who discloses a sensory, cognitive, or physical disability is eligible to request and receive assistive technology and other services. When used correctly, assistive technology can help students with reading, writing, math, and communication skills. With a possible influx of students, disability support staff must be prepared and willing to meet the needs and address issues relating to students with disabilities. If their needs are not met, this student population may be left to face accessibility challenges that will hinder their academic success. The goal was to make the college experience positive for all students by producing a resource guide for Disability Support Staff (DSS). This was accomplished by conducting an extensive literature review along with collecting data from DSS professionals from various community colleges within North Carolina. Analysis of the data resulted in recommendations on topics including, specific assistive technology solutions according to disability, training for students and faculty along with various outreach activities that can be used to increase awareness of services and accommodations provided by DSS.

Kostnaden för hälso- och sjukvård i Sverige uppgår årligen enligt Statistiska centralbyrån till drygt 230 miljarder kronor vilket kan anses vara mycket. Den svenska hälso- och sjukvården är viktig för samhället och således blir de interna förhållandena och processerna viktiga för de som arbetar inom hälso- och sjukvården. Denna fallstudie har genom två delstudier undersökt en större hälso- och sjukvårdsorganisation som för drygt 1,5 år sedan genomförde en omorganisering. Specifikt har studien undersökt stödfunktionernas teamarbete och syftar till att öka förståelsen för hur teamens nya organisation teoretiskt kan förstås. Vidare syftar studien till att söka förståelse för hur arbetet som teamen bedriver upplevs fungera och tas emot. I delstudie ett intervjuades 12 medarbetare och chefer och i delstudie två insamlades en webbenkät ifrån 10 verksamhetschefer. Empirin har analyserats tematiskt och visade bland annat att den struktur som teamen verkar inom bättre kan förstås som en matrisorganisation med tillhörande utmaningar. Vidare är några av slutsatserna att den interna kontrollen var bristfällig och att både medarbetare och chefer gavs föga möjligheter till att i förlängningen utveckla ett ansvarsfullt arbetssätt. Diskussion om vad som kan utvecklas har redogjorts. Förslag på framtida forskning är att jämföra planerad- och upplevd styrning med faktisk produktivitet. / The cost of health care in Sweden is annually, according to Statistics Sweden more than 230 billion SEK which can be considered a lot. The Swedish health care is important to the society and consequently, the internal conditions and processes are important for those working within the health care. This case study has been conducted through two sub-studies, examined a larger health care organization, which undertook a reorganization one and a half year ago. Specifically this case study has studied the support functions teamwork, and aims to increase the theoretically understanding of the team's new work organization. Consequently the purpose of this case study has been to seek understanding of the work that the teams engage in and how it is received. In sub-study number one, 12 employees and managers where interviewed and in sub-study two, a web-based questionnaire was distributed to 10 branch managers. The empirical data were analyzed thematically and shows that the team's new organization better can be understood as a matrix organization, with related challenges. Furthermore, some of the conclusions are that the internal controls were inadequate and both employees and managers were given little opportunity to take long term responsibility for their work. A discussion of what can be developed is outlined. Suggestions for future research are to compare planed- and perceived management control with actual productivity.

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The purpose of this study was to analyze ways in which the roles of instructional support staff as perceived by principals and instructional support staff members in a large, suburban school district have been affected by the implementation of site-based decision making (SBDM). Research questions focused on changes which have occurred in the roles of instructional support staff and in the services provided to schools by support staff since the implementation of SBDM, the roles which support staff members believe they have in SBDM, the perceptions of principals regarding the roles of instructional support staff in SBDM, and a comparison of the views of instructional support staff and principals regarding the district's implementation of SBDM.

Previous research shows that people with severe disabilities often are neglected in the work of enhancing user participation. It is shown that even though professionals increase the possibility for user participation in their work, it is not necessary that the users receive it. This study aims to show how professionals working for people with disabilities applies user participation in their everyday work. We used a qualitative exploratory method and interviewed ten social workers within service administration and supportive housing, located at three different municipalities in the region of Stockholm. Using Shier’s participation model in combination with theory of recognition we got similar results as previous research. The social workers have a great intention in enhancing user’s participation in their work, though organizational structures stand in their way. That drives them to use what is known as “silent knowledge”, a combination of their personality, previous experience and their ingenuity.

Bakgrund: Personer med funktionsnedsättning har i förhållande till övrig befolkning en lägre grad av delaktighet. De individer sin får stöd inom ramen för Lagen om stöd och service till vissa funktionshindrade (LSS) hamnar i en beroendeställning till den personal som utför insatserna. I syfte att öka brukares delaktighet används Delaktighetsmodellen, vilken bygger på professionellt ledda dialogmöten mellan brukare och habiliterare. Syfte: Syftet med studien är att undersöka hur erfarenheter och kunskaper från rollen som vägledare inom Delaktighetsmodellen har kommit till användning i habiliterares ordinarie arbete. Metod: En kvalitativ studie med induktiv ansats. Sex habiliterare, en man och fem kvinnor, deltog i semistrukturerade intervjuer. Utöver spridning i kön fanns också en spridning i ålder, utbildning och specifik yrkeserfarenhet. Resultat: Respondenterna upplevde att de erfarenheter och kunskaper de fått i och med sin vägledarroll har lett till reflektioner kring hur ens egna värderingar och attityder påverkar delaktigheten hos brukare samt vilken betydelse dessa insikter har för den professionella utvecklingen. Vidare visade resultatet att vägledarrollen har uppmärksammat respondenterna på maktförhållanden som råder mellan deras habiliterare och brukare samt vilken roll vägledaren kan fylla när det kommer till att skapa förutsättningar för en ökad delaktighet hos brukare. Slutsats: Vägledarutbildningen har lett till att habiliterarna reflekterat kring yrkesrollen samt fått insikt i hur värderingar och attityder påverkar brukares delaktighet. Habiliterarna har även fått en ökad känsla av meningsfullhet och förståelse för uppdraget och därmed en större trygghet i yrkesrollen. Studien belyser även komplexiteten i habiliteraruppdraget och vikten av kompetensutveckling och kontinuerlig reflektion kring uppdraget. / Background: People with disability report a lower level of social participation than others. Getting support through the Act concerning Support and Service for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments (LSS) lead to a dependency towards the support-staff. The Involvement Model is meant to increase the level of involvement among people with disabilities, with the guidance from trained facilitators. Aim: The aim of the study was to describe how the experience from being a facilitator in The Involvement Model have come into use in the support- staff’s ordinary occupation in-group homes. Methods: A qualitative interview with an inductive approach was used. There were six participants in the study, one male and five female. All of them where support-staff in-group homes. Apart from the variation in gender, there was also a difference in age, level of education and professional experience among the participants. Results: The participants reported that their role as a facilitator had led to awareness about how values and attitudes effect the involvement among people with disabilities. The participants describe their experience as professional development. They also report that they see their occupation from a new perspective and have realized their role in facilitating involvement for people with disabilities. Conclusions: This study has showed that the experience the support-staff gained, through the facilitator-education, led to an awareness about their role in empowering involvement. They also reported an increased meaning and understanding in their professional role. This study can also contribute to show the complexity of the support-staffs role.

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