Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1970. / Vita. Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Bibliography: leaves 176-181.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Instructional Systems Technology of the School of Education, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0066. Adviser: Thomas M. Schwen. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Dec. 11, 2006)."

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston University.

<p> The varied academic needs of students with learning disabilities throughout the U.S. and in Southern California, specifically, have driven demand for private learning centers. For the purposes of this study, a learning center refers to a private business that teaches primary and secondary school students with learning disabilities outside of the school system. However, these centers often struggle with business success and the retention of employees and clients. Little research exists to address this topic. Therefore, there is a need to explore strategies to sustain these centers for students with learning disabilities. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies used by a successful K-12 learning center for students with learning disabilities in Southern California to sustain their business. Data was collected from interviews with four employees, observations from four visits, and seven types of archival data. The data were analyzed and grouped into the five deductive themes found in the literature review: training, relationships, innovation, structure, and customer development. Five new inductively developed themes resulted from the analysis of the data: Theme 1: Engaging in closed-loop communication with all stakeholders; Theme 2: Taking a holistic approach to student improvement; Theme 3: Providing differentiated instruction for a personalized experience; Theme 4: Engaging in a growth mindset; Theme 5: Setting an intention for the learning center to follow. Aspects such as innovation, flexibility, and intentionality proved to be beneficial to improving student outcomes and sustaining a learning center. Three conclusions were made from the study: Conclusion 1: A learning center can be sustained through a focus on the five literature themes of training, relationships, innovation, structure, and customer development; Conclusion 2: Flexibility allows for individualization, and continual improvement; Conclusion 3: Learning centers seeking a competitive advantage should focus on innovation. </p><p>

<p> Today&rsquo;s complex global economy is often referred to as VUCA (volatile, unpredictable, complex, ambiguous) to express the rapid pace of disruptive change and the unreliability of long held structures, processes and beliefs. These unprecedented changes are impacting global leadership practice. Leaders can no longer rely solely on decisive and authoritative decision making to help their organizations remain competitive. The rapid pace of unpredictable change and ambiguity of clear solutions is demanding more collaborative decision-making for today&rsquo;s toughest challenges. Executive coaches who support global leaders are increasingly in positions of trusted adviser to senior level executives. This qualitative study interviews a group of seasoned executive coaches to gain a deeper understanding of the best practices for supporting global executives, the challenges they face in implementing these practices, the ways in which they measure their success, and their recommendations to other executive coaches who wish to support global leaders. Findings, therefore, contribute to the growing scholarly field of executive coaching in a number of areas, including: (a) executive coaching scholarship, (b) executive coaching training programs, (c) graduate business school curriculum, and (d) leadership development programs. </p><p>

<p> Healthcare spending in the United States has reached an all-time high in recent years, with an estimated $3.2 trillion spent, without any significant impact on patient outcomes because of this excessive spending. Whether the excess be attributed to over-utilization, fee-for-service payment methodology or medical errors, there is an immediate need to mitigate these issues and greatly reduce healthcare costs. </p><p> Epic Systems Corporation has developed a widely-adopted health management software that provides functionality to accomplish such goals. It applies a fully-integrated methodology to all of its different applications that support different healthcare business and clinical functions. Epic is a leader in the health management software industry. </p><p> ALLTAP Solutions, LLC provides high quality, efficient custom solutions to its clients, by applying healthcare industry expertise and Epic technical knowledge to increase efficiency and reduce costs. The market analysis that is to be presented will provide an overview of the target market, key players, the demand for these services and growth potential.</p><p>

<p> This study examined the process of team creativity in the workplace as it relates to experiential, cognitive, and social factors, including organizational and cultural structures, team social dynamics, and effects on individuals. Its purpose was to understand the quality of real-time social interactions and dynamics underlying the creative process in teams. The researcher employed a case study methodology, using observation and individual and focus group interviews of a highly creative team within an organization in a creative industry. Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. </p><p> The study had seven major findings: (1) the team actively integrated elements of play during initial interactions; (2) the setting provided a &ldquo;play&rdquo; environment that encouraged team members to view things from different perspectives; (3) the play mood that was initiated in early meetings accelerated team bonding and trust and consequently facilitated the emergence of creativity in subsequent meetings; (4) through the active integration of available resources and tools over time, team members generated novel ways of interacting with the environment; (5) the introduction of externally induced stress caused an abrupt shift from playful to task-oriented behaviors; (6) the final solution emerged gradually through incremental integration of ideas proposed by individual team members over time; and (7) all team members took part in developing elements of the final work product based on their individual strengths and preferences. Conclusions include the following: (1) the creative process incorporates play as a behavioral orientation; (2) the creative process is enabled by a combination of autonomy and constraint; (3) the creative process combines significant aspects of experiential and social learning expressed through the reciprocal interaction of the environment, personal and cognitive factors, and behavior; and (4) team member alignment around shared values helps facilitate social dynamics and the creative process. This study sheds new insight on the transdisciplinary nature of the creativity phenomenon that integrates creativity, play, adult learning, and general systems theories. Recommendations for practice and research include, but are not limited to, integrating this study&rsquo;s findings into existing innovative team learning models (e.g., action learning) and developing an inquiry-based design to generating creativity in organizations.</p><p>

The problem of this study was a comparison of the career interests, locus of control, attitude, and achievement scores of community college introduction to business "on-campus" students and "open-circuit instructional television" students. The "on-campus" sample included 102 students enrolled in traditionally taught "introduction to business" classes and the "open-circuit instructional television" sample included 279 students enrolled in the "introduction to business" telecourse offered for credit in four community colleges in a multi-campus district.

<p> Saudis in the private sector tend to change employers, and this study sought information on whether training and education experience, and access to these, influenced their career choices. A study of a Saudi conglomerate was used as representative of larger firms who offered training to their employees; and the sample, 105 Saudi nationals, were self-selected for an online survey. Analysis of demographics, and the participants' employment and training experience and intentions are presented. Analysis included medians and percentages of demographic characteristics and employee experiences and intentions, then descriptive analyses for relationships between the main questions and the demographic characteristics.</p><p> The results were a sample median of 35.5 years of age, with 84.5 percent under the age of 41 years. The participants were well educated with 87.6 percent holding Bachelor's degrees or higher; a further 80 percent had family responsibilities. The median work experience was four years; however, 33.3 percent had two years or less in the workforce, and 42.9 percent had changed their employer three or more times (median 2 employers). Over half (58.1%) attended pre-employment training comprising job skills training (31.4%) and workplace behavior training (12.4%). Upon recruitment, nearly two-thirds (62.1%) attended induction courses and 41 percent of these courses were a week or longer. On-the-job training was conducted by a supervisor (30.5%) or a team member (42.9%).</p><p> A majority (76.2%) of the participants were in training, predominantly (45.7%) with their employer for promotion or higher pay (23.8%). The remainder were training in other parts of the conglomerate (16.2%) or externally (30.5%). Further, over half (58.1%) of the participants stated that their acquired knowledge and skills were portable and could be used with another employer; nearly a half (47.6%) also stated an intention to change employers. Significant relationships between the demographic variables and survey responses were that older and more experienced employees assisted recruits; whilst older employees, those with family responsibilities and those who had more employers also intended to move. Those with higher qualifications were seeking more pay. In conclusion, experience with, and access to training and education were not associated with intention to stay with their employer.</p><p>

<p> This qualitative, phenomenological study examined the lived experiences of 25 National Guard members and reservists representing the United States Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps returning to civilian careers following a post-9/11 deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan. The research question asked: What are the lived experiences of post-9/11National Guard and Reserve military veterans as they transition back to the civilian workplace? The literature review revealed numerous studies focused on active duty military personnel transitioning out of the military and seeking civilian employment, but few studies were found regarding National Guard members and reservists serving in a post-9/11 deployment for over 90 days and returning to their civilian jobs &mdash; citizen soldiers. The transition experiences of these members are the focus in this study. Interview questions were designed based on Schlossberg&rsquo;s 4-S model and Bridges&rsquo;s transition theory. Six themes emerged from the analysis of this data offering insights on the experiences of these citizen-soldiers: (1) Getting to the core of what matters most and what is valued, (2) adjusting to the civilian workplace, (3) united in education: insider perspectives on Department of Defense workshops, (4) to have, or not to have, transition support, (5) wrestling with a new normal, and (6) transferring military skills to the civilian workplace: hiring our heroes. Recommendations for future research are to examine the curriculum and design of Department of Defense transition workshops, continuing and adult education for recruiting and retaining military veterans in the civilian workplace, and adult leadership programs for military-connected college students.</p>