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The need to visualise sets of data and networks within a company is awell-known task. In this thesis, research has been done of techniques used to visualize complex networks in order to find out if there is a generalized optimal technique that can visualize complex networks. For this purpose an application was implemented containing three different views, which were selected from the research done on the subject. As it turns out, it points toward that there is no generalized optimal technique that can be used to default visualize complex networksin a satisfactory way. A definit conclusion could not be given due to the fact that all visualization techniques which could not be evaluated within this thesis timeframe. / Behov av att visualisera data inom bolag är ett känt faktum. Denna avhandling har använt olika tekniker för att undersöka om det existerar en generell optimal teknik som kan tillämpas vid visualisering av komplexa nätverk. Vid genomförandet implementerades en applikation med tre olika vyer som valdes ut baserat på forskning inom det valda området. Resultatet visade att det inte existerar en generell optimalteknik som kan tillämpas vid visualisering av komplexa nätverk, det medför att en definitiv slutsats inte kan dras. Det på grund av att alla de visualiseringstekniker som existerar inte kunde undersökas inom examensarbetets tidsram.

<p>Within legal positivism, the theory which holds that there is no necessary connection between legal validity and morality, there is dissensus about whether there can be a contingent connection. Inclusive legal positivists suggest that it is possible for morality to play a role in determining a norm’s legal validity while exclusive legal positivists argue for the opposite. This dissertation examines this debate between inclusive legal positivism and exclusive legal positivism focusing on how paying attention to all of the fundamental secondary rules in a legal system can affect arguments about the coherence of either theory. The fundamental secondary rules being the rules which identify other rules, identify authority and authorize changes. I will be demonstrating that three exclusive legal positivist arguments against inclusive legal positivism are unconvincing because of the role that fundamental secondary rules play in our legal systems. Shapiro and Raz offer arguments against inclusive legal positivism based on different important features that they believe the law possesses. However, given their commitment to a particular type of fundamental secondary rule, specifically a directed power, exclusive legal positivism is unable to better capture these important features. Himma suggests that inclusive legal positivism cannot explain how a court can have final authority to determine constitutional cases involving moral criteria. Again, however, we examine what fundamental rules an inclusive legal positivist could employ to explain the phenomenon, we find that exclusive legal positivism is in no better position. At the end of the dissertation, I will suggest why I think continuing with these types of arguments will continue to be fruitless and briefly examine how similar inclusive and exclusive legal positivism are through investigating how one might determine whether a given legal system had an inclusive rule of recognition or exclusive one.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

The retention literature concerning online education suggests a dropout crisis among most institutions offering online courses and programs. Despite the fact that online courses and programs are making it easier than ever before for students to have access to college education, students are dropping out of online classes at a much faster pace than the traditional brick and mortar or on-ground classes. It would benefit these institutions to understand why students are not finishing their courses in an effort to improve persistence and therefore retention in online education. Furthermore, to increase program retention in online education, it is important to determine what factors are related to course completion and non-completion so that at-risk students can be identified and offered support services. The characteristic of self-direction is an important concept in understanding student readiness for online education. The purpose of this study was to analyze the difference in self-direction, as measured by the Oddi Continuing Learning Inventory (OCLI), between students who persist and those who don't persist in an undergraduate online asynchronous program. The data were gathered from undergraduate students at a four-year baccalaureate degree-granting college that has both an online campus and on-ground campuses across the United States. Although self-directed learning as measured by the total score on the OCLI was not statistically significant, the foundation was laid in this study for important future research. GPA and how the student connects to the internet from home were statistically significant. Further research is needed to ascertain (1) whether self-direction is in fact related to persistence in online programs and (2) what other variables are related to student persistence. Institutions may be able to implement some mechanisms within the online course with the intention of increasing student persistence and therefore retention in asynchronous online programs. / Ph. D.

This descriptive case study investigated the effects of widespread availability of information technology in a fifth grade classroom using a constructivist paradigm. The same computer configuration that students used in the classroom was provided for them at home, along with an Internet dial-up connection. The technology was used as an adjunct to the classroom and was utilized when appropriate. In addition to general classroom observations, four students were chosen for closer study. Their progress was monitored throughout the year with respect to three emerging themes related to information technology use: self-directed learning, collaboration, and social interaction. The results of this study were organized into individual student stories with each theme explored. The results showed that the students used the available technology both in the classroom and at home. There was a natural fit between the requirements of the fifth grade class and the available tools. Students chose to utilize the available technology and derived new ways of doing so, particularly at home where they were totally self-directed. For the students in this study, learning became a two-way process. Skills students developed on their own were shared with their teachers and other classmates. / Ed. D.

Organizational commitment has been recognized as a multiple foci phenomenon with two of the more important foci being the work team and the organization as a whole. That organizational and team commitment can vary differentially has been established. However, research has not attempted to determine the antecedents that may cause them to do so. At the same time, a number of constructs that have been explored as antecedents of organizational commitment have also been recognized as having particular salience in a self-directed work team environment. The purpose of this research is to test a model in which it has been hypothesized that certain antecedents will have differential effects on organizational commitment and team commitment. The model was developed employing constructs that are antecedents of commitment in the workplace and are of particular importance in a self-directed work team environment. All but one of the hypotheses were supported indicating that factors that are important in a self-directed work team environment have differential effects on organizational and team commitment. The results are discussed in terms of both theory and praxis. Implications for practicing managers and future research are presented along with the limitations of the study. / Ph. D.