A mini-dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Education in the Department of Educational Planning and Administration at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2009. / This study offers a critical appraisal of the role that the parent component of the School Governing Body (SGB) plays in governing primary schools. A literature review established the functions and significance of parent contributions to school governance. The study investigated strategies that can enhance parent participation. An empirical study then set out to test the extent and success of parent involvement in school governance. The study revealed that parent involvement in schools is limited and superficial. The empirical data suggested that: • Some principals are reluctant to allow parents their legitimate right to participate actively in the governance of schools, governors in some schools merely exist to 'rubber-stamp' decisions already made by principals. • Many parents do not have the necessary knowledge about school governance in general, and lack the necessary expertise required to enable them to participate effectively in decision¬making on school issues. The study was concluded by way of recommendations which point to the means to improve efficiency in governance and to promote significant parent participation in school governance.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / When the child welfare system becomes involved with a family in need of services it does so with the goal of concluding its involvement by finding a safe and permanent placement for the children, ideally with their parents. This challenging and complicated work often has many issues that need to be addressed before a successful closure can occur. To achieve this goal, multiple service providers with various backgrounds, degrees, and professions are tasked with working with each other and the family through a collaborative team called a multidisciplinary team (MDT). However, collaboration is not always guaranteed, and conflict can emerge as the team attempts to best serve the family. This conflict may emerge among professionals and between professionals and the family. Although the underlying factors of collaboration and conflict have been documented and studied, research on the process of resolving conflict when it occurs in MDTs is severely lacking in the literature. Furthermore, MDTs specific to the child welfare system also lack the focus they deserve within the child welfare literature. This grounded theory study addresses the gap by focusing on child welfare MDTs and specifically on home-based therapists (N=20) to determine not only their perceptions of facilitators and barriers to collaboration but also the process that they and their fellow service providers engage in when addressing and resolving conflict. In conducting this qualitative study, this researcher used grounded theory to construct a theory outlining the processes that home-based therapists utilize to resolve conflict within MDTs, starting with the emergence of the conflict and detailing the decision making process through the team’s reaction and the ultimate decision or final result. In the future, these findings could be used to aid and train other MDT members as they face their own conflicts with the hope that a more efficient conflict resolution process will lead to a more effective MDT that keeps its focus on the family and provides the needed treatment and services in a timely manner.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between Student Study Team (SST) training, the functioning of student study teams, and changes in special education referral and placement percentages. Problem. The study was designed to examine whether or not (a) SST training resulted in schools having fewer referrals for assessment and minimized inappropriate referrals to special education, (b) the structure and function of student study teams differed as a result of SST training, (c) the structure and function of these teams, school enrollment, socio-economic factors, and available school resources contributed to differences in special education referral and placement percentages, and (d) SST training provided a cost effective approach to reducing the number of students assessed and placed in special education programs. Procedures. Teams representing 27 of the 51 elementary schools in the San Juan Unified School District were trained in the SST model. Student study team chairpersons of the SST-trained and non-trained schools responded to a telephone questionnaire designed to gather information related to the composition and operation of their teams. Inferential and descriptive analysis techniques were utilized to describe the relationship among schools receiving SST training, the structure and function of the teams, the availability of school resources, and special education referral and placement percentages. The school district's 5-year referral and placement profile and the expenses associated with providing SST training were also described. Findings. In most instances, changes in the schools' special education referral and placement percentages were not found to be related to whether or not teams (a) received training in the SST model or (b) included specific team composition and operation variables. The study revealed that SST training did contribute to some changes in the structure and function of the schools' student study teams. Recommendations. This dissertation recommends procedural changes which could serve to further clarify the relationship between pre-referral interventions and subsequent IEP team placement decisions and outcomes. It also presents suggestions for future replication and follow-up studies.

Covid-19-pandemin och de åtföljande restriktionerna i samhället har haft stor effekt på våra liv och ekonomi. Företag har fått anpassa sig och digitala lösningar har implementerats för att möjliggöra arbete på distans, i hopp om att minska pandemins spridning. Distansarbete har hindrat fysiska träffar och därför har företag tvingats att hitta nya lösningar för att hjälpa de anställda att fortsätta sitt arbete. Följaktligen har kommunikation och samarbete på distans blivit viktiga faktorer för att kringgå de utmaningar som har uppstått till följd av pandemin. Syftet med uppsatsen har varit att undersöka vilka utmaningar som finns inom semi-virtuella teams från medarbetarnas perspektiv. Även medarbetarnas upplevelser har undersökts med fokus på samarbete och kommunikation.  En kvalitativ intervjustudie har genomförts för att samla empiriska data om kommunikation och utmaningar inom semi-virtuella teams baserat på fynd av Daim et al. (2012). Författarna beskriver att kommunikation och utmaningar inom virtuella grupper är baserat på tillit, relationer, ledarskap och teknologi.  Empiriska resultatet har sedan analyserats och jämförts med litteraturen från litteraturstudien, samt har en metodreflektion gjorts om undersökningens metodval och genomförande. Utmaningar inom semi-virtuella teams har hittats och presenterats och likaså har informanternas erfarenheter angående samarbete och kommunikation undersökts och presenterats. Kommunikation räknas som det viktigaste kriteriet för ett lyckat samarbete. Även att samarbete och kommunikation i semi-virtuella grupper är sammanhängande eftersom bra kommunikation är avgörande för ett lyckat samarbete vid distansarbete. Svårigheten att kommunicera eller komma i kontakt med gruppmedlemmar är en utmaning. Brist på sociala interaktioner gör det svårt att främja relationer. Det leder till minskat förtroende inom gruppen speciellt för nya medarbetare. Forskning visar att teknologen har varit en har varit en utmaning när arbetet skiftades digitalt. / The Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent restrictions in society have had a major impact on our lives and economy. Businesses have had to adapt and digital solutions have been implemented to allow remote work in the hopes of minimizing the spread of the pandemic. However, remote work has hindered physical encounters and so companies have been forced to find new solutions to help employees continue their work. Subsequently, communication and remote collaboration have become important factors in evading the challenges that have emerged due to the pandemic. The purpose of the thesis has been to investigate the challenges that exist within semi-virtual teams from the employees' perspective. Also, the employees' experience has also been examined with a focus on cooperation and communication. A qualitative interview study has been conducted to gather empirical data on communication and challenges within semi-virtual teams based on the findings by Daim et al. (2012). The authors explain that communication and challenges within virtual teams are based on trust, relationships, leadership, and technology. The empirical results has been analysed and compared with the literature from the literature study, and a method reflection has been made on the survey's method choice and implementation. Challenges within semi-virtual teams were found and presented and the informants' experience regarding cooperation and communication has also been investigated and presented. Communication is considered the most important criterion for a successful collaboration. Also that collaboration and communication in semi-virtual groups are coherent because good communication is crucial for successful collaboration in telework. The difficulty of communicating or getting in touch with team members is a challenge. Lack of social interactions makes it difficult to promote relationships. This leads to reduced trust within the group, especially for new employees. Research shows that technology has been a challenge when the work was shifted digitally.

The recent study by Goossens et al. (2012) concluded that, “By means of an Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) team, malfunctions can be effectively managed, giving staff nurses more time but less stress in their daily care for patients with TIVADs [totally implantable venous access devices]”. However, that conclusion is not supported by their study because there was not a control group and no data was provided that had any bearing on whether the malfunctions were effectively managed or whether the staff nurses had more time or less stress.

Global virtual (GV) teams provide an opportunity for engineering students to participate in meaningful, cross-cultural learning projects without additional costs of time and money associated with study abroad programs. However, students must learn how to communicate effectively with international team members. Instruction to help students learn which virtual communication technologies to use and how to use them is needed. Training must include cross-cultural training that facilitates team communications and interactions with people from different cultural backgrounds. This study focused on how 10 specialized lessons, Principles of Global Virtual Teams (PGVT), facilitated the communications and interactions of students participating on GV teams in an advanced engineering design course. All GV teams provided evidence that communications and interactions on GV teams are different than Co-located teams. However, teams receiving the PGVT instruction showed indications of increased communication ability on GV teams. These indicators included technology use, vernacular phrase use, communication competence ratings and descriptors from team emails.

The present study explored the impact of the individual difference, goal orientation, on the team intervention, debriefing, thus contributing insight into a previously unexplored component behind debriefing effectiveness. Three sub-dimensions of goal orientation were examined in terms of their influence on debriefing: learning goal orientation, performance-prove goal orientation and performance-avoid goal orientation. The outcomes investigated included elements of a successful debrief: self-correction, self-promotion and speaking up behavior. A sample (N=69) of undergraduate students at the University of Central Florida individually completed a goal orientation self-report measure and participated in a team debriefing session within their three-person teams. The audio-recorded debriefing videos were transcribed and coded line-by-line to indicate the presence of the outcome variables. Hierarchical multiple regressions were utilized to analyze the direct relationships between the specific goal orientation sub-dimensions and hypothesized outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

To date, the tandem interview approach has yet to be scientifically vetted as an investigative interviewing technique. Specifically, it is unclear what affect the application of two interviewers has on the investigative process. This is alarming considering that this approach is regularly applied under current law enforcement operations. Despite a dearth of research examining the tandem interview approach in investigative interviews, the extensive research on teams would lead us to believe that teams should benefit the overall investigative interview process and outperform individuals in detecting lies. Consequently, the goals of this research were to investigate these potential benefits. Findings from a laboratory study consisting of 90 simulated investigative interviews (N = 225) revealed several advantages associated with the application of the tandem interview approach. First, tandem interviewers found conducting the investigative interview to be less cognitively demanding and paid more attention to diagnostic cues to deception. Second, tandem interviewers conducted superior interviews than single interviewers. Specifically, they were able to obtain more information from interviewees, asked more open-ended questions, and asked a greater total number of questions. Despite outperforming single interviewers during the interview, tandem interviewers were unable to detect deception better than single interviewers. Still, overall detection rates were better than previous research. The general findings from this study suggest that tandem interviewers that adopt a rapport-based approach throughout the investigative interview can enhance investigative interviewing outcomes. Theoretical and practical implications, limitations, and future research are discussed.

Adverse events and medical errors plague the healthcare system. Hospital acquired infections and teamwork are some of the biggest contributor to these adverse outcomes. In an effort to mitigate these problems, administrators and clinicians alike have developed mechanisms, such as telemedicine. However, little research has been conducted investigating the role of telemedicine on teamwork -- a fundamental component of quality patient care. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of the impact of telemedicine on teamwork behaviors and subsequent teamwork attitudes and cognitions during a common medical task, rounds within the Trauma-Intensive Care Unit. To this end, rounds were conducted with and without telemedicine. During this 60 day period, 16 clinicians completed three surveys and 34 rounds were video recorded. The results of this study suggest that the relationships between teamwork attitudes, behaviors, cognitions, and outcomes are differential impacted under conditions with and without telemedicine. More specifically, telemedicine is associated with an increase in attendance and communication density. Meanwhile, it does not significantly impact teamwork attitudes or cognitions. The primary implications of these findings indicate that telemedicine is not the solution for improving all teamwork elements but yet it is not a complete detriment either

This study investigated the impact of diversity on the decision to trust at team formation when no history or prior relationship exists. The study consisted of two phases: 1) a selection phase and 2) a policy capturing phase. The first phase consisted of demographics, propensity to trust, and prejudice scales that were used to select participants for phase 2. The second phase consisted of a full factorial design, policy capturing study which consisted of 64 scenarios which varied the level (i.e., high and low) of 6 variables: cultural diversity, attribution, perceptions of risk, trustworthiness, third party information, and role clarity. The policy capturing study was used to identify the weights given to these variables when deciding whether or not to trust a new team member. Propensity to trust scores and prejudice ratings were used as moderators of the relationships between these 6 variables and the decision to trust. Findings showed that there was a strong moderating affect of the diversity of the simulated team member on the participant's decision to trust. However, there was no direct relationship between diversity and the decision to trust. The weight given to each variable, as well as the interaction of variables, was different based on the diversity of the new team member. Findings suggest that when forming teams, the diversity of new team members will impact what factors individuals consider in deciding to trust that other person. In addition to future research needs, the impact of these results is discussed in terms of both training and selection in teams.