Globally, a phenomenon has transpired involving the fast-paced growth of mobile technology and the rapid adoption of smart technology. As technology continues to become more mobile, it could be beneficial for educational systems to begin to evaluate how mobile applications impact family, school, and community relationships; however, little research exists on this specific topic. The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover the experiences of district-level administrators during the implementation of mobile applications for a number of school districts. The diffusion of innovation theory, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, and various school, family, and community partnership frameworks informed this study. Administrators who oversaw the implementation of district mobile apps participated in this study. Data were collected using electronic questionnaires and phone interviews, with supportive information from archival documents. The resulting data were analyzed to uncover the unique experiences of each study participant and compared and contrasted to explore emerging themes. Families were identified as the target stakeholder group intended to be reached through mobile apps and participants recommended engaging diverse stakeholder groups when planning to implement apps. Focusing on the integration of new mobile apps with existing systems and supplying the apps with content emerged as themes. Communicating the availability of mobile apps to families and participant responsibilities associated with the implementation of mobile apps were areas of concern. This study potentially informs school districts regarding how to reach more diverse families.

Over the course of three to four decades, most well-established companies lose their dominating position in the market or fail entirely. Their failure occurs even though they have resources for sensing shifting market trends, skills and assets to develop next-generation technologies, and the financial means to fill skill gaps and afford risky investments. Nevertheless, incumbents obviously find it very difficult to invest in innovation that takes attention and resources away from a highly successful core business. A solution to this "innovator's dilemma" is the concept of "organizational ambidexterity," which has garnered considerable attention among researchers in organization and innovation. According to empirical findings and emergent theory, companies can improve their financial performance and ensure their long-term survival by balancing their innovation activities, so that they are equally focused on exploratory (discontinuous) and exploitative (incremental, continuous) innovations. But how can such a balance be achieved? The literature on the organizational theory and related fields (product innovation, knowledge management, creativity, etc.) identifies more than 300 contributing factors to innovation and ambidexterity: many are interdependent so that their impacts compound or cancel each other. Moreover, for many factors, there is limited empirical data and the size of impacts is unknown. To understand which managerial actions lead to ambidexterity, this dissertation develops a novel approach to the study and analysis of complex casual systems with high uncertainty: exploratory fuzzy cognitive mapping. Fuzzy Cognitive Mapping (FCM) is a semi-quantitative system modeling and simulation technique. It is used to represent qualitative information about complex systems as networks of casual relationships that can be studied computationally. Exploratory modeling and analysis (EMA) is a new approach to modeling and simulation of complex systems when there is high uncertainty about the structural properties of the system. This work is the first to combine both approaches. The work makes several contributions: First, it shows that only a small fraction of management interventions will actually lead to ambidexterity while most will, at best, improve one type of innovation at the expense of the other. Second, it provides a simulation tool to management researchers and practitioners that allows them to test ideas for improving ambidexterity against a model that reflects our current collective knowledge about innovation. And third, it develops a range of techniques (and software code) for exploratory FCM modeling, such as methods for transforming qualitative data to FCM, for exploratory simulation of large and complex FCM models, and for data visualization. They can be utilized to study other similarly complex and uncertain systems.

1 / elsa stephan

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 39-11, Section: A, page: 6473. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1978.

This study compared the efficiency of two curriculum placement methods and three lesson placement methods in a computer-based rule-use curriculum of five skills. It was hypothesized that cued curriculum placement and top-down or middle-entry lesson placement would result in less time at the computer terminal when compared to non-cued curriculum placement and no lesson placement; and would have no effect on the total number of lessons each group would pass either on the pretest and lesson posttests, or on the cumulative posttest. / The curriculum placement methods assessed performance on the terminal learning objective for each lesson. Two methods were compared, one with cued test items, one with non-cued items. The lesson placement methods tested individual objectives within each lesson. Three lesson placement methods were compared. The top-down method began testing the student with the terminal learning objective. The middle-entry method began testing at the middle of the hierarchy. The traditional method used no placement testing; the student began instruction with the bottom objective in the hierarchy. / This study used eighty-eight adult participants from two separate groups. A two-by-three design was used. No statistically significant differences were found for the number of lessons passed on the pretest or total time online. Statistically significant differences were found for the combined number of lessons passed on both pretest and the posttest, and the number of lessons passed on the cumulative retention test. The cued curriculum placement group scored higher on both tests. / Neither cueing of pretests, nor the use of lesson placement methods increased efficiency when compared to traditional methods. Cueing did result in enhanced performance scores on both the posttest and the retention test (cumulative posttest). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-10, Section: A, page: 3005. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

The purpose of this study was to assess empirically software from Krell's 1981/82 SAT preparatory series purported to raise students' scores substantially after only short-term CAI. The latter involved individualized student use of Apple IIe microcomputers in a controlled setting. These students were forty-eight college-bound juniors from Escambia County (Florida) who were assigned as Experimentals and Controls such that two stochastically equated groups reflecting matched pairs resulted. / A two-phased, pre- and post-test design was used. Phase I involved: (1) pre-testing with: (a) the SAT, (b) the Otis-Lennon School Ability Test, and (c) the Witkin Group Embedded Figures Test; (2) fifteen hours of CAI with the Experimentals; and (3) post-testing with the SAT for outcome measures and baseline comparison scores. Phase II involved: (1) fifteen hours of CAI with the Controls, and (2) a second post-testing of both groups. The latter provided a 28-day retention measure for the Experimentals and Phase I replicated outcome scores for the Controls. Additionally, a student questionnaire was used to obtain demographic data in re: (a) gender, (b) number of siblings, (c) educational level of parents, (d) occupational status of parents, (e) family income, (f) G.P.A., and (g) proposed college major. / Data analyses utilized nonparametric statistics in testing ten hypotheses. With one partial exception, all were accepted in the null form. On the whole, post-CAI group mean SAT score gains were modest and deemed to be of limited practical consequence. These findings are consistent with previous reports of SAT coaching efforts cited in the literature. Recommendations suggesting caution and scrutiny relative to publishers' claims of product effectiveness are offered. Further research is encouraged, particularly as related to individual student score gains and the development of a predictive profile. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 46-06, Section: A, page: 1603. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1985.

This research determined existing patterns of required media education within the 136 National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education-accredited higher education institutions in the Southeast using responses from eighty-five per cent of the program coordinators. / Research questions sought to determine whether media education was required, delivery methods and departments delivering, support facilities, and efforts to coordinate a media education experience throughout the elementary education program. / Conclusions were: (1) Ninety per cent required media education. (2) Fifty-four per cent employed general media education course, usually delivered by education departments. (3) The second and third most often used delivery methods were including media education as part of one or more required education courses and integrating it throughout required education program, respectively. (4) One or more institutions in seven of eleven states surveyed required no media education. (5) Ninety-seven per cent provided actual contact with a wide variety and range of children's instructional materials through required methods courses. (6) Ninety-three per cent indicated presence of an instructional materials center. (7) Ninety-three per cent provided facilities, materials and equipment for producing instructional materials. (8) Fifty-nine per cent of twenty-two institutions integrating media education throughout elementary education program had no coordinator for it. (9) Eighty-two per cent ensured transfer students received media education. (10) No evidence existed that schools/departments of library science/media/educational technology exerted any influence upon teaching of media education. / Recommendations for further study: (1) Replicate for secondary, graduate, national and/or other regional levels. (2) Conduct comparison study involving institutions not accredited by National Council for Accrediation of Teacher Education. (3) Conduct experimental research relative to delivery method effectiveness. (4) Conduct qualitative evaluation of media education support facilities. (5) Discover how competencies identified by state education agencies are being implemented by higher education institutions. (6) Investigate conditions under which teachers are more likely to successfully and consistently apply media competencies. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-02, Section: A, page: 0362. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.

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