This dissertation describes health care delivery in a Ryan White Program (RWP) HIV clinic, with a focus on medical home care, using the Bayesian Case Study Method (BCSM). The RWP funds medical care for uninsured HIV patients and Pappas and colleagues (2014) suggested enhanced HIV care build upon medical home models of care rooted in the RWP. However, little research describes how RWP clinics operate as medical homes. This study developed the BCSM to describe medical home care at a RWP clinic. The BCSM combines a case study framework with Bayesian statistics for a novel approach to mixed method, descriptive studies. Roberts (2002) and Voils (2009) used mixed-method Bayesian approaches and this dissertation contributes to this work. For this study, clinic staff and patients participated in interviews and surveys. I used Bayes’ Theorem to combine interview data, by use of subjective priors, with survey data to produce Bayesian posterior means that indicate the extent to which medical home care was provided. Subjective priors facilitate the inclusion of valuable stakeholder belief in posteriors. Using the BCSM, posterior means succinctly describe qualitative and quantitative data, in a way other methods of mixing data do not, which is useful for decision makers. Posterior means indicated that coordinated, comprehensive, and ongoing care was provided at the clinic; however, accessible care means were lower reflecting an area in need of improvement. Interview data collected for subjective priors captured detailed service delivery descriptions. For example, interview data described how medical and support services were coordinated and highlighted the role of social determinants of health (SDH). Namely, coordinated and comprehensive services that addressed SDH, such as access to housing, food, and transportation, were necessary for patients to focus on their HIV and utilize healthcare. This case study addressed a gap in the literature regarding descriptions of how RWP clinics provide medical home care. For domains with high posterior means, the associated interview data can be used to plan HIV care in non-RWP settings. Future research should describe other RWP HIV medical homes so this information can be used to plan enhanced HIV care across the healthcare system.

When a wind farm is repowered, decommissioned turbines are discarded. This creates a stock of wind turbines that can be acquired for a fraction of the original cost, and refurbished. Taking advantage of the reduced price and the ruggedness of first generation wind turbines, new markets for sale of wind energy can be explored. This thesis first analyses the repowering background of Germany, Denmark, and other European countries, where transition to repowered or “second generation” wind farms is taking place. Then, a number of feasibility studies are reviewed to create a study framework, which will allow in-depth study of suitable energy markets. Using this framework, the suitability of four countries is analysed in detail: Djibouti, Madagascar, Mozambique, and Tanzania. Two countries are selected to perform a total of 6 site studies: Djibouti and Tanzania. Using WindPro 2.9, six model wind farms are simulated. A financial model is built, based on an NREL study, to analyse the economic viability of wind farms. Using the financial model, the levelized cost of energy is obtained, and used to evaluate the competitiveness of the model wind farms. A sensitivity study is carried out to identify the major influences on the LCOE. Using the cost data, the cost competitiveness of the proposed wind farms is discussed, including competitiveness in the target markets, and a cost comparison with commercial wind farms with new turbines is performed. Five out of six proposed wind farms are competitive in price in the target markets, and all achieve an average installation cost per kW of one third of conventional wind farms, while producing energy in the low range of commercial projects, and even lower for sites with excellent wind resources.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand Vietnamese immigrant parents’ conceptualizations and practices related to school, family, and community partnerships that support their children’s early learning and development in a Canadian context. The study was guided by three research questions: In what ways do Vietnamese immigrant parents conceptualize school, family, and community partnerships related to their children’s early learning and development? What supports and challenges do Vietnamese immigrant parents have in building and maintaining school, family, and community partnerships that facilitate their children’s early learning and development? What practices related to the partnerships do Vietnamese immigrant parents employ to assist their children’s early learning and development? Joyce Epstein’s (1997) Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence and her Six Types of Involvement Framework were employed in this study. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews and observations to answer three research questions. Participants of the study included three sets of Vietnamese immigrant parents, three teachers, two Vietnamese immigrant children’s grandmothers, and one friend of a Vietnamese immigrant family who was selected on the basis of relational proximity with the focal child. The findings of this study confirmed those of previous studies that immigrant parents share interests in and responsibilities for their children’s early learning and that the partnerships are significantly beneficial for immigrant children’s early learning and their transition to a new environment out of their home setting. In addition, the findings contributed to previous theories in the field of school, family, and community partnerships. Specifically, guidelines for parental involvement that better represent the involvement of immigrant parents were suggested to extend Epstein’s (1997) framework. Additionally, this study shed light on some misaligned perceptions and interpretations related to language barriers, time constraints, the significance of grandparents’ involvement, the principle of equity and respect for diversity, and the expectation for immigrant children’s academic early learning. In addition to implications for theory, the researcher also attempted to provide some implications for practices and future research. Noticeably, some practices related to “Parenting”, a dimension of the partnerships significantly acknowledged by the Vietnamese immigrant parents, were presented in detail.

<p>The value of specific individuals for the success of a company has increased drastically because of the increased demand on knowledge and service orientation, and job satisfaction has become more important in the competition of the most attractive employees. Improving job satisfaction also brings along additional advantages. For example, it has been proven to have a direct impact on customer satisfaction. This study aims at providing a working procedure for organizations that wish to increase the level of employee job satisfaction, and a method has been developed that gives practical instructions on how to organize the improvement work. To evaluate the current level of job satisfaction in order to find improvement areas, the most important determinants to job satisfaction have been identified through a literature survey. The method has four phases, Prepare, Investigate, Design and Implement, and is shaped as a closed loop to symbolize the need of continuous improvements. To validate the usefulness and precision of the method, it has been tested in a single case study. The case study showed that the method is applicable in the sense that all four phases were possible to carry out, and that it is capable of providing a practical working procedure to increase job satisfaction. It is also useful when it comes to evaluating already existing working procedures. Most important when it comes to increasing job satisfaction is to let the employees actively participate in the improvement work. This will ensure that the solutions suggested are relevant and enduring, and it will make employees feel acknowledged and motivated to follow out the changes.</p>

Tall buildings are becoming more common in the modern built environment and the method of evacuating or moving to a place of safety using the stairs is still the primary means of egress. Typically designers use tools such as computer models and hand calculations to predict the time taken for occupants to evacuate to an exit or place of safety. However, increasing trends of obesity, age and a sedentary lifestyle is raising questions about the accuracy of some of the tools. As the tools are based on case study data carried out in the 1980’s. This research compares evacuation performance of case study buildings to the predictions by Pauls’ simplified hand calculation and the EvacuatioNZ computer model. The comparison uses four multi-storey buildings from the case study data, ranging from 11 to 27 stories high. The research will also investigate the effect of how the building is represented in EvacuatioNZ on the performance of the prediction and make recommendations in best practice for further work. Results from the comparisons shows EvacuatioNZ is within 15% for total egress time of the case study data in six out of eight of the stairs. The average difference of EvacuatioNZ to the case study is 8.6%. Further comparisons of exit flow rate and descent speed show EvacuatioNZ is within 10% of the case study data in five out of eight of the stairs. Paul’s simplified hand calculation predicts a total egress time which is 6% to 38% shorter than the case study data. Modifying the equation to equalise stair entry delay improves the prediction to a difference of 0.9% to 31%. The modified equation is within 10% in five out of eight stairs. The comparisons for EvacuatioNZ indicate predictions which are generally with 10-15%. However individual performance is not investigated and this area should be fully investigated to answer concerns about contemporary occupants and their ability to descend multiple flights of stairs. Further work should include a larger range of data, particularly exploring building height and population. Given the recommendations are followed and more data becomes available for further work to support this research; EvacuatioNZ could be used as a tool for predicting evacuations in multi-storey buildings. Pauls’ hand calculation is not recommended for predictions of multi-storey evacuations without a safety factor. Differences between the prediction and case study result were improved with a modification of the equation to account for the case study stair entry times.

The primary purpose of this thesis was to explore the extent of the relationship between employee motivation and performance in a medium size organization, which produce parts for forestry machines. Empirical data was collected through the process of conducting qualitative interviews with production workers and an HR manager whom are currently employed by the studied organization. The qualitative approach was selected as a result of its ability to generate descriptive in-depth information of the studied phenomenon. Thus, the aim of the conducted interviews was to generate in-depth data regarding the interviewee’ perception and personal experience of work related motivation. The interviewees’ were asked to rank ten different factors according to their perceived importance and influence of the motivational level. The interpretation and analysis of the empirical data revealed that the interviewed production workers are primarily motivated by factors that are related to work conditions, such as the relationships with coworkers. In addition, the results indicate that the managers’ perception of employee motivation is highly inaccurate, which is congruent with previous surveys conducted by Kovach (1987). Furthermore, as the research process progressed it became evident that the production workers within the studied are predominantly motivated by extrinsic factors, which means that their motivational orientations are dominated by extrinsic factors. Thus, the findings indicate that the motivational strategy that is currently applied within the studied medium size organization is insufficient in terms of its ability to improve the production workers level of motivation and therefore the quality of the performance. Hence, the following research has generated descriptive data although further studies are required in order to fully comprehend the phenomenon of motivation.

Schools develop organizational cultures of their own; these cultures establish traditions and norms that guide everyday life in schools. The purpose of this case study was to examine teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions of how a positive school culture has been shaped, maintained, and sustained over the past four decades at one midsized Catholic high school in Southeastern Ontario. The qualitative research design combined document analysis and qualitative interviewing with the aim to establish a greater understanding of the school’s history. The interviews were conducted with current and former teachers and administrators who have worked at the school between 1970 and 2013. By looking at this school as a case study, I have attempted to gain a deeper insight to the subjective experiences that different teachers and administrators have had with the school over the course of its recent history, and have thereby developed an understanding of the motivations and actions undertaken to both preserve and change the school’s normative structure over the course of time. The results of the study indicate that the school has been able to maintain and sustain a positive culture over the past forty years. The findings have determined the school’s cultural manifestations at each of the three levels of organizational culture, and recognize the fundamental importance of the role of selected stakeholders in projecting, and reflecting the existing culture in order to preserve core underlying assumptions in the process of adaptation to internal and external changes. The school’s long-standing history, tradition of excellence, and strong focus on Catholic education and “educating the whole person” have allowed for the establishment of a close community network within the school. From an ecological perspective (recognizing schools as living systems) these networks, supported by strong leadership, have served to sustain the healthy elements of the school’s culture allowing it to evolve over time. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2013-08-03 14:26:59.744

This collective case study examines ways in which digital technologies and texts impact three selected teachers’ pedagogy in high school Biology classrooms on southern Vancouver Island. Data from an anonymous online survey was used to compare and contextualize the case study data. Methodological triangulation for the three participants’ case studies included lesson plans, on-site lesson observations with accompanying field notes, digital photos and audio recordings, and semi-structured interviews. The collected data was coded, analyzed for themes within cases, and then re-analyzed for themes across the three cases. The salient themes that emerged centered on: changes to pedagogical and learning practices resulting from the use of digital technologies and texts; how teachers live with contradictions within their changing educational environment; and the role traditional methods have within a digital classroom. While these considerations of integrating technology may be useful to many educators, this study has specific implications for the development of new science curricula in British Columbia, and teachers of Biology adapting their practice to engage contemporary Millennial Generation learners. / Graduate / 0727 / 0714 / 0710

Software requirements, and how they are constructed, shared and translated across software organizations, express uncertainties that software developers need to address through appropriate structuring of the process and the organization at large. To gain new insights into this important phenomenon, we rely on theory of work design and the travelling metaphor to undertake an in-depth qualitative inquiry into recurrent development of packaged software for the utility industry. Using the particular context of software provider GridCo, we examine how requirements are constructed, shared, and translated as they travel across vertical and horizontal boundaries. In revealing insights into these practices, we contribute to theory by conceptualizing how requirements travel, not just locally, but across organizations and time, thereby uncovering new knowledge about the responses to requirement uncertainty in development of packaged software. We also contribute to theory by providing narrative accounts of in situ requirements processes and by revealing practical consequences of organization structure on managing uncertainty.

Whilst container shipping has become increasingly important over the past few decades due to its obvious advantages, container shipping companies have faced various risks from different sources in their operations. Systematic academic studies on this topic are few; and in light of this, this study aims to systematically explore and analyse the risks in container shipping operations and to examine the applicable risk mitigation strategies in a logistics perspective, including information flow, physical flow, and payment flow. This thesis uses Taiwan container shipping industry as a case study, and borrows four steps of risk management as the main method, which includes risk identification, risk analysis, risk mitigation strategies identification, and strategies evaluation. In order to ensure the analysis is inclusive and systematic, risk factors and risk mitigation strategies are identified through a related literature review and are validated through a set of interviews. Risk analysis is conducted through using questionnaires, and then through risk ranking, risk matrix, risk mapping, and P-I graph. Risk mitigation strategies are evaluated through classic AHP and fuzzy AHP analysis. A number of significant findings have been obtained. Firstly, 35 risk factors are identified and classified into three categories: risks associated with information flow, risks associated with physical flow, and risks associated with payment flow. After collecting and analysing the risk-factor survey, the results indicate that the risk associated with physical flow has the more significant impact on shipping companies’ operation. However, one risk factor associated with information flow, “shippers hiding cargo information”, has the most significant impact among the 35 risk factors. Secondly, 20 risk mitigation strategies are identified and classified into three categories: intra-organisational strategies, intra-channel strategies, and inter-channel strategies. After collecting the AHP survey and analysing through classic AHP and fuzzy AHP, the result indicates that “slot exchange, slot charter, joint fleet, ship charter with other container shipping companies” is the most important strategy. The main contributions of this thesis include: (1) based on the literature review, there have been no research on risk management in the context of container shipping operation from a broad logistics perspective, and this thesis is the first attempt to fill this research gap; (2) this thesis uses Taiwan shipping industry as a case study to apply the framework, which generates useful managerial insights; (3) the conceptual model of risk management developed in this thesis can be applied to container shipping operations in other countries and regions; (4) compared with several studies using secondary data, this thesis uses empirical data to conduct the risk analysis, and make the results more close to the reality situation in container shipping; (5) in terms of risk analysis, this thesis ranks the total 35 risk factors rather than only identify the most important one, this can be used to be generalised to the whole container shipping companies in Taiwan, or even to the whole world; (6) in terms of risk management, the previous studies usually analyse only the importance of strategies. However, this thesis analyses the results of AHP from three different angles: reducing financial loss, reducing reputation loss, and reducing safety and security incident related loss. This can provide different angles for the managers who are considering different aspects.