Thesis (M.A. (Public Admin.))--University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 123-142).

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Texas, May, 2009. / Title from title page display. Includes bibliographical references.

Dissertation (Ph.D.)--The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2008. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed May 28, 2009). Advisor: Bert Goldman; submitted to the School of Education. Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-152).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Nov. 20, 2008). PDF text: 83 p. ; 2 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3309215. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Drexel University, 2010. / Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 96-100).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2005. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file viewed on (November 13, 2006) Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Boise State University, 2006. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-99). Also available online via the ProQuest Digital Dissertations database.

Patients with haematological diseases are entitled to supportive care. Considering organisational and technological development, support in the form of caring communication provided through the web is today a possible alternative. The aim of this thesis was to examine the usefulness and importance of a web-based counselling service to patients with haematological diseases. The basis for the thesis was a development project funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, which provided an opportunity to offer patients communication with a nurse through a web-based counselling service. Four studies were performed from a patient perspective. Study I had a cross-sectional design, measuring occurrence of anxiety and depression, and these variables’ associations to mastery, social support, and insomnia among patients with haematological diseases. Study II was a qualitative content analysis focusing on conditions for provision and use of the web-based counselling service. Study III used a qualitative hermeneutical approach to focus on patients’ experiences of using the counselling service. Study IV was a qualitative deductive analysis examining how communication within the web-based counselling service can be caring in accordance to caring theory. The results revealed that females of 30-49 years of age are vulnerable to experiencing anxiety. Low sense of mastery and support are associated with anxiety and/or depression. Being able to self-identify the need for support as well as appreciate the written medium are necessary conditions for the web-based counselling service to be used. The counselling service must also be part of a comprehensive range of supportive activities and web-based services to be useful. The main importance of the communication is that the patient’s influence on the communication is strengthened, and that the constant access to individual medical and caring assessment can imply a sense of safety. When patients share their innermost concerns and search for support, nursing compassion and competence can substantiate in explicit written responses. A conclusion is that there is a caring potential in communication within a web-based counselling service. To make this form of communication possible, nurses should take possession of and ensure that this medium for communication is offered to patients. Nurses should also increase their knowledge of caring communication in writing and how this possibly can impact patients.

Research has revealed that during systems design and development of e-learning technologies there is a tendency of neglecting the needs of end users and focus on the design process and the technology factors, and this has traditionally been the reason for poor usability of otherwise well conceptualized systems, as a result a number of IT-based learning tools ended up not being usable and not being utilized effectively. This study aims to investigate the impact of e-learning technologies, how people perceive the usage of e-learning technologies towards community skill development. An evaluation of four different e-learning technologies was conducted to investigate the role and efficacy of e-learning technologies within the surrounding communities. Data was analyzed as nominal data using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software 24. Descriptive analysis, frequency, reliability and correctional analysis and also measures of central tendency were computed. Reliability was evaluated for assessing the internal consistency of the items using Cronbach’s alpha. To analyze the relationship between variables matrices of Pearson’s correlation was used. Pearson’s correlation can only be accepted when the significant effect (P>.05), this indicates that there is a positive or a negative relationship between two variables, if these conditions are not met then the proposed correlation or hypothesis can be rejected. Results indicate a poor perception and poor acceptance of e-learning technologies due to a number of factors, these factors include lack of computer-self efficacy which leads to computer anxiety, affordability of internet connectivity which leads to inaccessible of e-learning technologies. The findings also indicated that LAMS was found to be less useable and less useful by a number of students. However, students who enjoy working in groups found LAMS to be useable because it was supporting their preferred learning style, whereas individualistic students preferred Moodle and Dokeos because it was supporting their personal preferences and assessment styles. Having understood all the characteristics of learning tools, relevant learning technologies that are suitable for students can then be recommended.

Online learning environments are being increasingly utilised in academic settings, with many universities developing online and blended programmes (Adekola, 2016). The student experience, in relation to working with others, when studying online, has been widely researched (Garrison et. al, 2000, Kehrwald, 2008). The tutor experience has not (Arbaugh, 2014). There are now a generation of experienced online tutors, particularly in institutions who were quick to take up online delivery, who have developed expertise teaching online. Their experience and knowledge of practice can add to the research, and knowledge base, on effective online learning. This research observed the role of the online tutor, when utilising collaborative activities in their teaching. An ethnographic observation of online practice was drawn, using an iterative mixed-methods approach. Data from the online space was used to observe the participation patterns of over fifty tutors, and over eight hundred students. Fifteen tutors were then interviewed, ten of whom took part in a subsequent focus group. Taking a narrative approach to analysis, the data gathered painted a rich picture of collaborative online practice. Qualitatively different approaches were observed in tutor's facilitation of collaborative online tools. Tutors were observed to be situated within layers of context, online teaching being culturally situated and mediated by the digital technology utilised. Text-based communications reified dialogue, mediating the interactions between participants. Many of the face-to-face feedback cues which tutors utilised in their teaching were lost in the online environment. The setting was opaque, but at the same time mediated higher levels of disclosure. The online environment challenged traditional physical and temporal boundaries; the responsibility for establishing boundaries becoming that of the tutor, rather than the institution. Tutors drew on previous experiences; their participation was shaped by the situated nature of their practice and their own aspirations for the future. The observation drawn, of pedagogic collaboration, highlighted the social and cultural nature of online participation.