Rapid reform in the vocational education and training sector within Australia has driven the need for a more flexible approach to the delivery of education and training. One facet of such flexibility is Open Learning. Currently there is little research on Open Learning within the training sector on which planning decisions can be based.A model of educational productivity (Walberg,1981) has been proposed in the research literature to investigate relationships between key factors such a student antecedents, learning environments and learning outcomes. The Walberg model has been employed in this current study to explore how these factors may be studied in an Open Learning environment and a more Traditional Learning environment within the vocational education and training sector. The research design is a comparative description, utilising techniques from both quantitative and qualitative paradigms.A major aspect of this current study has been to investigate the constructs proposed by Walberg's Productivity Model and source appropriate instruments to measure these constructs. Where the appropriate instruments were not available, a process of instrument development and validation was conducted.The research has identified Walberg's model as being a valid frame of reference within the Vocational Education and Training sector. As expected, significant differences between the Open Learning environment and the Traditional Learning environment were apparent for the measures of Classroom Environment. Of interest, however, was that the productivity factor of Quantity, for students studying in both learning environments, was shown to have a negative relationship with achievement. While small differences were apparent for other factors, generally, the relationship between productivity factors and educational achievement was seen to be similar for both the Open Learning and the ++ / Traditional Learning environments.The findings of the study should be of significance to a range of people involved in the Open Learning environment, including decision makers in the areas of educational policy, curriculum design and implementation, administration and teaching.

This thesis is a documentation of the author's learning journey with the farmers, researchers and development agents in the eastern hills of Nepal.The purpose of the study was to find a solution to the problem of food security faced by the farmers in this area. The basic assumptions underpinning agricultural development in Nepal are that food security can be improved through the application of agricultural technologies and increasing production. The findings of this research question these assumptions.The study demonstrated that external changes which take place in the real world are connected to the internal changes which occur within the individuals and groups involved.An action research methodology was chosen to find alternative strategies to examine the current approaches to addressing the food security situation. The findings revealed three dimensions needing to be addressed to deal with food security at the farming household level. The fact that a collaborative partnership must be established between all the stakeholders involved in order to bring about improvements in the situation was revealed.This called for the conversion of 'experts' into 'co-partners' in the learning process. The learning journey showed that it is possible to initiate change, and the changes achieved indicate a huge potential for researchers and those interested in food security to make a real and lasting difference / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

<p>Denna studie syftar till att ta reda på vilka element som höjer det innovativa klimatet i företag och organisationer. Utifrån dessa element har författarna skapat kriterier som heter ”Soft innovation”. Visionen är att framtiden skulle kunna standardisera dessa kriterier. En abduktiv metod har använts. Metodvalet har motiverats med att kriterierna lättare accepteras om de är socialt konstruerade. Man kan påverka innovationsklimatet i företag, då det tar kortare tid än att förändra organisationskulturen. Dock antas att organisationsklimatet på sikt kan påverkar organisationskulturen. Kriterierna ska ses som vägledande riktlinjer för att stimulera ett innovativt klimat. Teori och empiri visade på många gemensamma faktorer som påverkar innovationsklimatet i företag. Resultatet av teori och empiri visade att de viktigaste faktorerna för att uppmuntra till kreativitet hos medarbetare var ett bra ledarskap, uppmuntran, belöning av kreativt beteende och misslyckande, projektgrupper som driver idén till verklighet och strukturer för hur kreativiteten ska hanteras.</p>

<p>Denna studie syftar till att ta reda på vilka element som höjer det innovativa klimatet i företag och organisationer. Utifrån dessa element har författarna skapat kriterier som heter ”Soft innovation”. Visionen är att framtiden skulle kunna standardisera dessa kriterier. En abduktiv metod har använts. Metodvalet har motiverats med att kriterierna lättare accepteras om de är socialt konstruerade. Man kan påverka innovationsklimatet i företag, då det tar kortare tid än att förändra organisationskulturen. Dock antas att organisationsklimatet på sikt kan påverkar organisationskulturen. Kriterierna ska ses som vägledande riktlinjer för att stimulera ett innovativt klimat. Teori och empiri visade på många gemensamma faktorer som påverkar innovationsklimatet i företag. Resultatet av teori och empiri visade att de viktigaste faktorerna för att uppmuntra till kreativitet hos medarbetare var ett bra ledarskap, uppmuntran, belöning av kreativt beteende och misslyckande, projektgrupper som driver idén till verklighet och strukturer för hur kreativiteten ska hanteras.</p>

<p>The IT and productivity paradox has been the subject of considerable research in recent decades. Many previous studies, based mainly on macroeconomic statistics or on aggregated company data, have reached disparate conclusions. Consequently, the question whether IT investments contribute to productivity growth is still heavily debated. More recent research, however, has indicated that IT contributes positively to economic development but that this contribution is not fully revealed when only productivity is measured.</p><p>To explore the issue of IT and productivity further, the ITOP (Impact of IT On Productivity) research program was launched in 2003. An alternative research approach is developed with the emphasis on the microeconomic level and information flows in processes in specific industry segments. In the empirical study, the development of information flows is tracked over several decades. Effects of digitized information flows are hereby identified and quantified in order to determine their importance in terms of productivity.</p><p>The purpose of this study is to explore effects of information technology by studying digitized information flows in key processes in the logging industry. The research shows that several information flows in the logging process have been digitized leading to new ways to capture, use, spread, process, refine and access information throughout the logging process. A large variety of effects have also been identified from this development.</p><p>The results show that only a minor part of the effects identified have a direct impact on productivity and thus that a large number of significant effects do not. Effects with a major direct impact on productivity include increased efficiency in timber measurement registration, lower costs of timber accounting and increased utilization of harvesters and forest resources. Other significant effects with no direct impact on productivity are related to a more open timber market, increased timber customization, control, decision-making and access to information, as well as skill levels and innovation. The results thus demonstrate that it is questionable whether conventional productivity measures are sufficient for measuring the impact of IT.</p> / ISRN/Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic-2005:40

In this work I integrate some of my recent research developments in the theory and practice of Productivity and Efficiency Analysis of Economic Systems. In particular, I present some new theoretical relationships between various measures of efficiency and productivity, propose new solutions to some aggregation problems in efficiency analysis and apply the existing theory and the new findings to empirical analysis in Industrial Organization. / Graduation date: 2003

There has been a lot of research addressing the relationship between Information Technology (IT) investments and productivity. Most of the work has been based on firm-level metrics such as total IT investment. We present what we believe is one of the first attempts to create a systematic methodology to assess the impact of IT in business process performance metrics. Our approach builds on the MIT Process Handbook as a basis to both guide the analysis and capture the resulting knowledge for future use. We will present preliminary results on how to use such methodology to analyze the impact of a given IT technology, namely RFID (radio frequency identification devices), in performance metrics of a consumer packaged goods company. We are interested in looking at how IT may impact performance metrics such as productivity, cost and value. We believe our methodology can help CPG companies prioritize their investments. We show results on how the specialization features of the MIT Process Handbook can incorporate performance metrics to help assess such investments in RFID

Thesis (M.Comm. (Industrial Psychology))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2008.

The contribution of phytoplankton productivity to higher trophic levels in salt marshes is not well understood. My study furthers our understanding of possible mechanisms controlling phytoplankton productivity, abundance, and community composition in salt marshes. Across three consecutive springs (2001 to 2003), I sampled the upper Nueces Delta in south Texas, a shallow, turbid, salt marsh system stressed by low freshwater inflow and wide ranging salinity (<15 to >300 ppt). Water column productivity and respiration were estimated using a light-dark bottle technique, and phytoplankton biovolume and community composition were determined using inverted light microscopy. To determine their effect on the phytoplankton community, zooplankton and bacterioplankton abundance and several physical parameters were also assessed. Meaningful relationships among the numerous variables evaluated in this study were identified using principal component analysis (PCA). Despite high turbidity, phytoplankton productivity and biovolume were substantial. Resuspension appeared to play a major role in phytoplankton dynamics, as indicated by a positive relationship between ash weight and biovolume that explained up to 46% of the variation in the PCA. Negative relationships between zooplankton grazers and pennate diatoms of optimal sizes for these grazers suggested a functional grazing food chain in this system. Salinity also may have been important in phytoplankton dynamics, whereas nutrients appeared to play a minor role. Salinity increases may have been responsible for a decoupling observed between phytoplankton and grazers during late spring. Findings suggest hypotheses for future studies focused on the role of phytoplankton in salt marshes, particularly those stressed by reduced freshwater inflow and high salinities.