The research presented in this thesis is the result of field data collection conducted by the Utah Local Technical Assistance Program (Utah LTAP) in conjunction with the Utah Department of Transportation. The first step of the research was data collection from 18 road safety audits conducted throughout the state of Utah. These Road Safety Audits (RSA's) provided a wide variety of data that was used for the validation of the road safety audit quantification methodology. The purpose of this research is to provide quantification to the RSA process that will increase the benefits gained from implementing the RSA recommendations. Benefits derived from the implementation of RSA recommendations were found by assessing the change of risk from before and after safety improvements. The RSA quantification tool was developed to analyze projects in both urban and rural settings. The implementation of the RSA tool will help practitioners show the benefits that can be gained from the safety recommendations and help decision makers in allocating funds to the areas that pose the most risk. The tool will show the difference in risk that the improvements make and the cost effectiveness of different project alternatives.

There is an increased use of public e-services integrating citizens into public administration through electronic interfaces. The relation among parents and public schools is a daily and important relation that has to be trustworthy. On-line interaction among public organizations and citizens can be seen as e-government, indeed embedded into daily practices. A safe entry into such systems is essential for security and trust in the e-governmental systems and schools as well as public services in general. This paper addresses how electronic identification has been used for access to public e-services in schools in a Swedish municipality. The aim of the paper is to present a case study on how electronic identification is used and implemented in ICT platforms in schools. The analysis focuses on information security, organization and potential development of the platforms. The main finding in the case study is that there was an un-organized presentation of information in the system; both general and personal information had to be accessed with the same level of security (identification systems). The organization of identification and access to public e-services seemed highly dependent of the organizational structure of the public schools. The more general implication is that safe and well organized identification systems that are considered as trustworthy and useful among citizens are essential for increased use of the services and legitimate public e-services in general. / FUSe: Framtidens säkra elektroniska identifiering – framväxt och användning av e-legitimationer

Outcomes of Standards-based Portfolios for Elementary Teacher Candidates by Christie McIntyre Documentation of outcomes associated with teacher education portfolios and the quality of the reflections contained within the portfolios is sparse. This collective case study (Stake, 1995) of six teacher candidates enrolled in an elementary teacher education program at a large mid-western university explores the outcomes of developing a portfolio based on state standards. The first question of this study focuses on the outcomes of the portfolio process for the teacher candidate; the second question is an investigation of the critical events that facilitate the outcomes associated with the teacher portfolio. Zeichner and Wray’s (2001) critical dimensions of a portfolio process are used as a framework for understanding current research and the data from these portfolios. The third question addresses the nature and quality of reflections that accompany portfolios using Sparks-Langer, Simmons, Pasch, Colton, and Starko’s (1990) Framework for Pedagogical Thinking. In this qualitative study, Glasser and Strauss’(1967) constant comparative method is used to analyze data within and among the six cases. Data sources include electronic-portfolios, observations of portfolio seminars, and interviews with teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, and center coordinators. Credibility and dependability is based on prolonged engagement, triangulation, a comprehensive member check, and an auditor check. A “reflexive journal” (Lincoln & Guba, 1985, p. 327) is used to increase the overall trustworthiness. Historical theories of reflection by Dewey (1933) and Schön (1987) are considered during the final analysis. The study identifies four outcomes of this portfolio process for the teacher candidate: it increased their understanding of standards; supported the organization and articulation of their thoughts; encouraged them to reflect; and provided a snapshot of their professional growth. Three additional critical dimensions support the portfolio outcomes: the rationale guidelines, the assessment process, and the entire portfolio process.

Packaged software is widely adopted and has become an integral part of most organizations’ IT portfolios. Once packaged software is adopted, upgrades to subsequent versions appear to be inevitable. To date, research on packaged software upgrade has not received the attention that it warrants, as academic research continues to focus on initial technology adoption. To explore this understudied yet important area, three research questions were proposed: (1) What influences the decision to upgrade packaged software? (2) How do stakeholders cope with software upgrade? (3) How does a packaged software upgrade affect stakeholders? A qualitative research method was used to study the research questions. Two cases were conducted at a Fortune 500 company located in the Southeastern region of United States. The first case studied Windows 2000 upgrades and the second case studied SAP 4.6C upgrade. A theoretical model with six components was induced from the study; the components are decision, motivating forces, contingency forces, planned strategies, corrective actions, and impacts. Upgrade decisions are the outcome of interaction between motivating forces that can originate from internal and external environments, and contingency forces. A decision to upgrade will lead to both positive and negative impacts as experienced by users and IT groups. However, stakeholders’ experiences differ according to the types of software and also their roles in the company. Two types of strategies were observed in the study: planned strategies and corrective actions. Planned strategies were used to tackle anticipated issues, and corrective actions were adopted to solve ad hoc problems when negative impacts arose. Both strategies can affect the final outcome of impacts. Finally, in the event a corrective action was used, there is a chance that it will become a permanent planned strategy.

The outsourcing literature has offered a plethora of perspectives and models for understanding decision determinants and outcomes of outsourcing of business processes. While past studies have contributed significantly to scholarly research in this area, there are an insufficient number of studies that are provider centric. Consequently, there is a need to understand how service providers address a core challenge: to achieve scalable growth by developing standardized offerings that can be sufficiently customized to meet the unique demands of individual customers. This study explores how patterns of collective action within and between a provider and two of their largest customers relate to the tension between standardization and customization of information technology (IT)-enabled service provisioning. Specifically, it investigates the relationship between such behavioral patterns and the development of an enterprise architecture designed to address the tension between standardization and customization. A socio-cognitive sensemaking framework consisting of six core properties provides the analytical lens through which the relationship is investigated. The study adopts an interpretive case study methodology guided by the assumption that distinct dimensions of the social world exist, but understanding them comes from inter-subjective interaction between researcher and subject. The approach adopts a combination of literal and theoretical replication strategies (Yin 1994) to help identify similarities and dissimilarities during cross case comparison. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews, direct observations, participant observations, and analysis of documentation and archival records. Our findings suggest that localized action at the expense of global coordination exacerbates the tension between standardization and customization. Furthermore, attempts to address the tension through the logics of spatial and temporal separation proved largely ineffective, as these initiatives put added pressure on the sensemaking processes responsible for guiding collective action. Our findings further suggest that a paradigm modification might be useful for service providers, where they shift their focus from reducing equivocality to improving their internal ability to respond to it. The results of this study contribute to a large body of outsourcing literature that has too often neglected a provider centric perspective. By uncovering key factors that exacerbate the tension within and between organizations, and providing practical methods for addressing them, this study also offers valuable insight for practicing managers.

On a brisk fall night in Detroit, after watching the San Francisco Giants celebrate the 2012 World Series championship live, baseball agent, Michael Moye, hailed a cab for the airport – the post season had ended and free agency was underway. Moye, who had years of experience managing players, knew that this off-season would be different from the rest. He was heading to Westlake, Texas, to meet his star client, outfielder Josh Hamilton, who had entered free agency after five years with the Texas Rangers.

Attempting to enhance their productivity or improve working conditions, many businesses have adopted organizational change programs that involve a participatory component. To attain a comprehensive understanding of these change programs we need to investigate the influence of social factors such as power, the impact of local and global contexts, and the role that agency plays in these programs. Further, because organizational programs do not unfold linearly and the contexts in which they are embedded continually evolve, it is crucial to employ an approach that allows studying organizational programs over time. Attending to these considerations enables the production of narratives of organizational change that are congruous with the dynamism of organizational life. This dissertation explores the dynamics of an organizational program in a particular type of occupational health and safety program, which emphasizes employee involvement: participatory ergonomics (PE). Participatory ergonomics, intended to reduce workers’ exposures to work-related musculoskeletal disorders, draws on the input of small groups of labour and management representatives called ergonomic change teams (ECTs) to address exposure to hazards that may lead to musculoskeletal disorders. The dissertation’s examination of an organizational change program consists of an analysis of PE programs in two workplaces: a courier depot and a manufacturing plant. The dissertation’s investigation of the PE programs is based primarily on observations, which were gathered longitudinally as the ECTs endeavoured to make ergonomic changes, and fifty-five semi-structured interviews, which were carried out with ECT members and other key informants who were not members of the ECTs. Data collection occurred during 48 months in the manufacturing setting; in the courier company, collection took place during a 30-month period. The dissertation’s analysis is informed by negotiated order and critical theory lenses. Negotiated order considers social order as an ongoing process and draws attention to the activities of individuals and groups, and the manner in which they influence the dynamics of social life. In regard to organizational programs, it rejects the idea that they unfold independently of actors’ efforts; rather, it considers them as products of individuals’ attempts to establish and maintain the necessary agreements to ensure their operation. Critical theory, as it pertains to occupational health, identifies the constraints that shape working conditions and links these with the uneven distribution of power in the workplace and production imperatives. The dissertation addresses the following general research questions: What actions were undertaken by individuals to ensure the PE programs functioned and continued? How did the organizational and societal context enable or constrain the pursuit of PE program activities? The presentation of the findings begins with an account of the problem-solving processes used in both of the settings, an overview of the types of knowledge that were used, and a description of the actors’ access to knowledge. In each setting, design parameters, production pressures, the nature of the knowledge required to design solutions, and the differential distribution of that knowledge among workplace personnel influenced (a) the effectiveness of the ECTs’ solution building activities, (b) the design process, and (c) the nature and degree of participation by the teams’ worker members. The dissertation then proceeds to an examination of the implementation process. It explores how this process is affected by the organizational context, in particular the ECTs’ limited authority as agents of change, and shows that the minimal authority they possessed prompted the ECTs to select an array of strategies to accomplish their work. These strategies often took the forms of persuasion, persistence, and enlisting the assistance of other personnel. Extending the discussion of implementation, the dissertation then focuses on the division of labour within the ECTs as they carried out their activities. In both settings, implementation activities were unevenly distributed among the ECTs’ membership; they were predominantly carried out by managerial personnel. Both the programs’ functioning and the participation of worker representatives were influenced by the interplay among three main factors: the type of activities that needed to be carried out, workplace hierarchy, and stance, or participants’ views about their ability to act effectively. The discussion of the PE programs then proceeds to an examination of whether the programs were supplied with the resources required to continue over time. The outcomes differed: in Courier Co. the program was discontinued, whereas in Furniture Co. it was maintained. The discussions investigate how PE program continuation was affected by the program supporters’ activities and shaped by conditions both internal and external to the organization. Foremost among these conditions were management’s view of health and safety and the occupational health and safety regulatory framework. The dissertation’s examination of the PE programs over time provides evidence that the functioning and the degree of worker involvement in participatory occupational health programs are conditioned by structural and interactional elements. The programs were shaped by an uneven distribution of power, limits on access to knowledge and scarce resources, and actors’ divergent interests and their capacities to act in accord with these interests. The final chapter of the dissertation reviews the key findings and examines common themes that arose across the workplaces. The dissertation concludes with observations on several topics: the challenges of evaluating program outcomes in settings such as occupational health and safety; the lessons that participatory ergonomics practitioners can take from the study’s findings; and suggestions for possible avenues of future research.

The 21st century mathematics classroom looks and operates differently than it did half a century ago. Not only are teachers expected to facilitate activities rather than lecture, they are also expected to utilize technology. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics established the technology principle to guide teachers into this practice in 2000. Today there are middle school mathematics teachers who use technology effectively in the classroom. However, there is a dearth of literature in this area on how they select and use technology. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand the process by which these teachers select and use technology in their classroom. Activity theory and teacher thinking process model provided a conceptual framework for this study. The guiding research questions are: (1) How do successful urban middle grades mathematics teachers, who use technology effectively, describe their teaching practices? (2) What are the strategies teachers use when integrating technology effectively in the classroom? Using a case study approach, the researcher collected data over 4 months from 3 urban middle school teachers – one on each grade level 6th, 7th, and 8th. Data sources included lesson plans, semi-structured interviews, and classroom observations. Findings revealed that teachers consider the types of learners when deciding what technology is appropriate to use. Teachers also preview technology prior to using it in the classroom. Emerging themes were grouped in five categories to describe how teachers plan and implement technology effectively. They are preparation, engagement, assessment, communication, and evaluation. The research findings give strategies to support teacher’s decisions about using technology for all types of learners and how to be effective in every phase of learning – whether it is introducing a lesson, remediating skills, or assessing knowledge. These findings also enable stakeholders to make informed decisions about technology in their school so that teachers will be able to elevate the quality of instruction with appropriate technology resources. Extended research should measure the impact that technology has on student learning. The likelihood of teachers using technology and using it more often would increase at a faster rate if there is evidence that the growth of student achievement occurs more rapidly when using technology.

ABSTRACT DECISION MAKING IN INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS: ONE INSTITUTION’S JOURNEY TO MAINTAIN TITLE IX COMPLIANCE by John Rowland The allocation of resources and participation opportunities in intercollegiate athletics has been a debate among researchers for nearly 40 years. Title IX and traditionally male-dominated budgeting practices continue to be opposing forces that shape the financial and gender makeup of university athletic departments. In fact, the need to be Title IX compliant often dominates discussions when structural changes occur in athletic departments. This case study analyzed the decision making process of distributing resources and participation opportunities at Division I University from 1998 to 2007 based on John Rawls’ arguments about distributive justice. Division I University administrators focused on the substantiality proportionality clause of the three-part test as the only method to comply with Title IX. The Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act and other gender equity reports completed during certification play an important role in the decision making process. The analysis of the decision making process showed that Title IX was used as a political tool to deflect the controversy of program elimination. This analysis also showed that program elimination was not necessary in order to maintain Title IX compliance. Thus, the decision to eliminate sports was a violation of Rawlsian justice.

Due to the globalization trend, the transformation of Chinese OEM has become a hot topic in the last decades. Although the previous literature suggested that there were many different determinants influencing firms to be successful companies, there is a lack of combination in the context of Chinese OEM. Thus, the purpose of this research study is to find out the approach of Chinese OEMs to successfully launch their own products based on three perspectives - organizational structure, processes and culture.Applying a qualitative approach, the data was gathered through semi-structured telephone interviews with the senior personnel of one Chinese OEM company (Damekiss), complemented with secondary data collected from the company’s and public websites.The results of analysis showed different views of how organizational structure, process and culture influencing on the transformation of Chinese OEM. We found that four functions (i.e. manufacturing, distribution, new product development and human resource management) influenced the transformation of Chinese OEM in organizational structure perspective. Among these functions, human resource management and distribution are extremely weak in the organizational structure of Chinese OEM. Regarding to the process of formulating these functions, the deep understanding of the customers’ preferences and collaboration partners that influenced building distribution were figured out. In the case company, it showed a relative poor ability on distribution which would be the barriers for further developing. Building HRM process was raised as another issue of the transformation of Chinese OEMs. According to the case company, HRM was poorly organized. The recruitment did not get enough attention; the training programs stayed at a lower level. The last not least, the corporate culture was also proven to be playing an important role in the transformation of Chinese OEMs. Awareness of corporate culture as one of significant aspects influencing the entire company was found in the case company. Slogan, company heroes and rituals as an internal culture were properly used to motivate employees.