Teaching, research, and service constitute the three commonly articulated missions of American colleges and universities. The purpose of this study was (1) to examine whether public service is a viable element of the college mission or a marginal activity and (2) to analyze the forces that shape the public service responsibility of a given institution. The specific aspect of public service addressed is the college's role in providing continuing educational opportunities for adults in the surrounding community.;The College of William and Mary in Virginia was selected as a case study because of the wide variations it has undergone in character, purpose, and leadership. It was hypothesized that the interpretation of William and Mary's public service responsibility changed significantly with the shifting emphases in institutional mission. Also investigated was the possibility of a relationship between increased prestige and selectivity and diminished provision for continuing education. The scope of the study was from 1906, when the College became state-supported, to 1972, when credit-bearing extension courses were discontinued.;External forces that were found to influence the public service aspect of mission were political, military, economic, and demographic. Internal forces included changes in presidential leadership and disputes over the college's primary identity. The competing images of William and Mary were those of the prestigious liberal arts college renowned for its colonial heritage and the state-supported, service-oriented institution with a legacy of teacher education and broadly-based educational opportunity.;It was concluded that the public service mission is not constant but changes over time as an institution evolves; that public service is not a static list of obligations but a dynamic response to the circumstances that shape the identity of a college; and that the key to the type and extent of public service is the perception of the constituencies to be served. More study is needed on individual faculty initiatives in public service, the role of the student in public service, and the development of partnerships between colleges and corporations in addressing public needs.

Older adults of the 21st century have not grown up with information and communication technology and may not have used computers in their working lives. However, they have experienced the many technological changes of the 20th century. Some changes have fundamentally altered communication, entertainment, and the kinds of knowledge and skills that are sought and valued. These changes are difficult to ignore because of their pervasiveness. In order to actively participate in their lifeworlds older adults face an imperative to adapt and meet new challenges. The purpose of this research was to investigate and interpret the lived experience of laterlife computer learners in non-formal learning environments. The research focused on the interpretation and understanding of the learning experience from the perspective of participants. Hence there is an ontological thread that is grounded in the lifeworld of older adults in Sydney, Australia. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was considered suitable because of its emphasis on understanding the lived experience of humans. A qualitative method was used in this study because it enabled existential insights into the learning experience from the perspective of learners and privileged their voices. Fourteen older adults volunteered to participate and were interviewed. Participants identified themselves as laterlife beginning computer learners. Interviews were audio-taped and analysed using an interpretative case study approach. Other analytic tools used were grounded theory, thematic analysis and narrative inquiry. Existential themes were identified and interpreted within a framework of wellbeing. The research found that participants engaged in learning optimistically and that they believed in their abilities and also in the worth of the learning they were undertaking. The learners believed the outcomes from learning would lead to greater opportunity for participation in their lifeworld. Without computer skills and knowledge they believed they would be ignored and relegated to a peripheral position as observers in their lifeworld. By undertaking learning they believed they were taking control of their current and future lives, acting in defiance of developmental theories that suggested ageing was a stage of life and not a process. However, the sense of agency and purpose was not without its pressures and hurdles and learning was perceived to be difficult, dynamic, frustrating and immensely satisfying. Their purposes and expectations were situated in the changing nature of the world and a desire to continue to live their lives authentically, as participants and not spectators. Laterlife computer learners in this study were seen to be learning and growing their lives into a future of their making.

Marshaling Resources| A Classic Grounded Theory Study of Online Learners

<p> The purpose of this exploratory qualitative research study was to identify the elements of adventure travel experiences that contribute to the process of transformational learning in adults. A qualitative research design was employed for this study. The sources of data were twelve pre-existing and de-identified interview transcriptions. A textual analysis was performed on the data, using an <i>a priori</i> approach to coding and analysis. An analysis of the data identified seven key themes that were critical for transformational learning in adults: (a) A Call to Adventure; (b) Being Open to Experience; (c) Entering a Zone Unknown; (d) Extra-Ordinary &amp; Challenging Experiences; (e) Meaningful Interactions with Others (f) Re-Connecting to Self; and (g) Taking Action. These themes suggested a process for transformational learning in adults. In addition, (a) the authentic nature of the experience and (b) trip length, were also found to be important factors in transformational learning for these interviewees. These findings also suggest that intentionally designing adventure travel programs around these themes and the emergent transformational learning process has the potential to increase the likelihood of participants experiencing transformational learning through adventure travel.</p>

Pain is experienced in 30-50% of cancer patients during active antineoplastic therapy and in 60-90% of patients with advanced cancer. One of the root causes for inadequate medication is inadequate pain assessment. Therefore, a hospital-based quasi-experimental study was implemented to evaluate the effect of a continuing education and institutionalization program¡]CEI¡^on nurses¡¦ cancer pain assessment. There were 57 frequency-matched patient-nurse dyads were interviewed by the structured questionnaire at three different stages (pre-test, post-continuing education and post- institutionalization ). After these 171 patients were discharged, their charts were reviewed and abstracted. Chi-square test and ANOVA were used in the statistical analysis. The results showed that CE only made statistically significant improvement on patients¡¦ pain impact of relationship, pain impact of sleep, satisfaction, and hesitancy to report pain. Additionally, institutionalization made significant improvement on patient¡¦s now pain and average pain severity, nurses¡¦ accurate assessment of patient¡¦s pain ratings of mild pain and expected pain, and documentation of pain assessment. In conclusion, CE and institutionalization of cancer pain assessment were effective in cancer pain management in two different fields, one was the improvement of patient¡¦ pain severity and satisfaction and the other was the improvement of nurse¡¦s practices of cancer pain assessment. Quality comes from improving the process , not evaluating the output after fact. The suggestion was that the head nurse of the ward audited actively on unit and rewards for chart documentation. The management of good quality required the good administrator. To whom persisted endless of quality improvement , they can study the further analysis and comparison within five years after institutionalization.

<p> Much of the resistance for returning to education seems to be related to the same reasons students left school to begin with. The reason for dropping out and resisting to return to school may be a result of too much emphasis on academic preparation and too little emphasis on satisfying the perceived needs for preparing a youth for adulthood. Four themes emerged from the field-note based interviews: (1) all students do not learn the same way, (2) there is a need for more participatory learning, (3) learning should be relevant to life as perceived by the student, and (4) there is a dislike of computer content that is not supported by personal instruction. While these themes are supportive of past research efforts and may not seem remarkable, the solutions offered by the participants to improve these problems are worthy of consideration, and may be of use to both secondary and adult education.</p>

This study examined the impact of a full-day evidence-based practice (EBP) process continuing education training on practitioners' self-efficacy pertaining EBP, attitudes toward EBP, perceived feasibility of EBP, intentions to engage in EBP, self-reported engagement in EBP, and EBP knowledge. A secondary aim was to assess the impact of post-training coaching on the aforementioned outcomes at three-month follow up. The EBP Assessment Scale (Rubin & Parrish, in press) and 10 knowledge questions were used to measure the dependent variables in this study. A pretest-posttest follow up design was replicated four times, with two of the four groups receiving the coaching component based on a coin-toss. The results of this study support the effectiveness of this EBP training model, as there was significant change and moderate to strong effect sizes for each of the dependent variables over time in the desired direction. This study did not support the effectiveness of the coaching component. However, very few practitioners participated in the coaching, and for those who did, the dose of coaching was minimal. Major implications of this study for practice and policy include: 1) This EBP Process training model should be utilized as a part of future efforts to implement EBP within the field of social work; 2) The EBP process may enjoy greater success than past efforts to integrate research and practice in social work and the allied fields; 3) Some hypothesized barriers within the EBP literature were confirmed, while others were not; and 4) This study provides additional support for multi-faceted continuing education approaches and adult learning and diffusion of innovations theories when teaching practitioners the EBP process model. Future research should concentrate on finding ways to further increase practitioner engagement in EBP; identifying ways to improve support for the implementation of EBP at the organizational and policy levels; finding ways to address the most salient barriers to EBP, such as time and resources; and more effectively study the potential impact of coaching during the implementation of EBP. / text

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Science in Information Technology in Education

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

published_or_final_version / Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration