Thesis (PhD) -- Macquarie University, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, 2008. / Thesis by publication. Bibliography: leaves 124-133.

Chung Yuen Yee. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 168-174). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / Abstract (English Version) --- p.i-iii / Abstract (Chinese Version) --- p.iv-v / Acknowledgement --- p.vi / Chapter Chapter 1 --- Introduction --- p.1-15 / Chapter Chapter 2 --- Literature Review --- p.16-39 / Chapter 2.1 --- Cyberspace and its Activism --- p.17 / Chapter 2.2 --- Communication in Virtual Community --- p.20 / Chapter 2.3 --- Virtual Community and Public Sphere --- p.26 / Chapter 2.4 --- Virtual Community and Commercial Control --- p.32 / Chapter Chapter 3 --- Theoretical Framework and Research Design --- p.40-51 / Chapter 3.1 --- Theoretical Framework --- p.40 / Chapter 3.2 --- Research Design --- p.45 / Chapter 3.2.1 --- Participant-Observation --- p.46 / Chapter 3.2.2 --- In-depth Interview --- p.47 / Chapter 3.2.3 --- Textual Analysis --- p.49 / Chapter Chapter 4 --- Briefing on LIFT --- p.52-66 / Chapter 4.1 --- The Concept of LIFT --- p.52 / Chapter 4.2 --- Participants as Artist Managers in Virtual Music Community --- p.56 / Chapter 4.3 --- Participants as Artists in Virtual Music Community --- p.59 / Chapter 4.4 --- Main Events for all Members in LIFT --- p.60 / Chapter 4.4.1 --- Audition --- p.61 / Chapter 4.4.2 --- Post-audition Dinner --- p.62 / Chapter 4.4.3 --- Artist Management Talk --- p.62 / Chapter 4.4.4 --- Mini Show --- p.63 / Chapter 4.4.5 --- Street Show --- p.64 / Chapter Chapter 5 --- Interaction in Virtual Music Community --- p.67-107 / Chapter 5.1 --- Structure of the Corporation (Virtual Music Community): Loud Music --- p.69 / Chapter 5.2 --- Virtual Status on the Forum: How did the Virtual Members Build Up? --- p.73 / Chapter 5.3 --- Cultural Characteristics in Virtual Music Communities --- p.74 / Chapter 5.3.1 --- Usage Pattern --- p.75 / Chapter 5.3.2 --- The Use of Language --- p.76 / Chapter 5.4 --- Accomplishment through Interaction in Virtual Music Communities --- p.78 / Chapter 5.4.1 --- Company Name of the Virtual Music Community: How did the Virtual Members Make it? --- p.78 / Chapter 5.4.2 --- Company Logo of the Virtual Music Community: How did the Virtual Members Create it? --- p.80 / Chapter 5.4.3 --- Company Slogan of the Virtual Music Community: How did the Virtual Members Generate the Ideas? --- p.84 / Chapter 5.4.4 --- Lyrics Creations for Our Artists: How did the Virtual Members Draft and Collect them? --- p.85 / Chapter 5.4.5 --- CD Album Cover for the Artists of Virtual Music Community: How did the Virtual Members Conduct? --- p.87 / Chapter 5.4.6 --- Virtual Advertisement in Hompy of the Virtual Music Community: How did the Virtual Members Conceive such Idea and Put it into Practice? --- p.90 / Chapter 5.5 --- Difficulties of Interaction in Virtual Music Community --- p.96 / Chapter 5.5.1 --- The Concern of Off Topic Discussion and the Problem of Inactiveness --- p.96 / Chapter 5.5.2 --- The Occurrence of Virtual Argument --- p.99 / Chapter 5.5.3 --- The Existence of Troublemakers --- p.103 / Chapter Chapter 6 --- Commercial Intervention in Virtual Music Community --- p.108-127 / Chapter 6.1 --- The Arrangement of Real Core Groups in LIFT --- p.108 / Chapter 6.1.1 --- The Invitation of CUHK Real Core Group --- p.108 / Chapter 6.1.2 --- The Withdrawal of Real Core Groups --- p.111 / Chapter 6.2 --- Exclusive Participation --- p.113 / Chapter 6.2.1 --- Virtual Artist Managers as well as Net Users --- p.113 / Chapter 6.2.2 --- Virtual Artists as well as Net Users --- p.114 / Chapter 6.3 --- The Autonomy of Involvement in Virtual Music Community --- p.115 / Chapter 6.3.1 --- The Involvement in Judge Panel --- p.115 / Chapter 6.3.2 --- The Involvement in Promotion Work for the Artists --- p.116 / Chapter 6.3.3 --- The Role / Duties of Virtual Music Community --- p.118 / Chapter 6.3.4 --- The Interaction on the Forum --- p.121 / Chapter 6.4 --- Turning Point: Negotiation between the Organization and Virtual Music Community --- p.123 / Chapter Chapter 7 --- Conclusion and Discussion --- p.128-12 / Chapter 7.1 --- Conclusion and Discussion --- p.121 / Chapter 7.2 --- Limitation and Further Research --- p.134 / Chapter 7.3 --- Epilogue --- p.135 / Appendices (1 -26) --- p.137-16 / Bibliography --- p.168-17

This thesis explored the potential of engaging gifted and talented learners in an online community of inquiry promoted by the use of asynchronous discussion forums. It employed a mixed-method, case-study approach where non-participant observation of online interactions and focus group meetings with the tutors contributed to the qualitative analysis of how the members realised participation in the forums. Quantitative analysis of membership data and online questionnaire responses revealed member characteristics of the sample members and patterns of active (vocal and silent) participation. Analysis was inductive and interpretive, informed by an original synthesis of the theoretical perspectives of two theories: the online learning theory suggested by Garrison, Anderson and Archer (2000); and the cognitive and affective domains for learning skills, proposed by Bloom et al. (1956) and Krathwohl et al. (1964). Content analysis of over 3000 messages posted or read by approximately 4500 members revealed community-based and ability-based characteristics that enabled the group to deal with social stigma, co-construct knowledge and promote meta- learning skills. The study concluded that participation in online discussion forums held the potential to address several of the needs identified by research for gifted learners: The need for the company of like-minded and similar ability peers; the need to develop higher order thinking skills; and the need to become independent learners. In this online network, the gifted learners could receive communal support from other members and tutors who acted as 'mentors' and role models for honing interpersonal and thinking skills such that they were motivated to pursue their interests to their full potential.

Self-direction is the process by which individuals collaborate in the construction of meaningful learning objectives and use internal and external controls to meet those objectives. In professional contexts, self-direction is seen as an increasingly important skill for engagement in complex organizations and industries. Modern innovations in program development for adult learners, therefore, should address learners’ needs for self-motivation, self-monitoring, and self-management. Social learning contexts—such as online class discussion forums—have emerged as potentially democratic spaces in online learning. Yet evaluation methods for assessing online discussion have not considered the ways in which student-introduced goals influence how quality is operationalized and studied. This research attempted to understand if, when, and how adult learners leverage online course discussions as a space to introduce and moderate their own learning and professional goals. The study used activity systems analysis as a framework for assessing self-direction within a complex social learning environment. A sample drawn from three sections of an online Research Design course was observed, surveyed, and interviewed to develop a visual map and narrative description of their perceptions of a discussion activity system. A cross-case analysis of these maps was used to define five systemic tensions that prevented students from aligning their goals with the instructor-designed activities. When faced with these tensions, students either subjugated their own goals to an instructor’s explicit goals, or else introduced one of eight mediating behaviors associated with self-directed learning. The study yielded five emergent hypotheses that require further investigation: (1) that self-directed learning is not inherent, even among Millennial learners, (2) that self-directed learning is collaborative, (3) that goals for interaction in social learning environments are not universal, (4) that goals must be negotiated, explicit, and activity bound, and (5) that self-directed learning may be not be an observable phenomenon.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate what an intervention comprising systematic discussion groups meant in the context of conflicts and cooperation between social care staff and nursing staff, over a period of 7–15 months. The intervention was carried out in four experimental dwellings in special types of housing for elderly and disabled people and in comparison with four similar reference dwellings. Results are based on 27 interviews prior to the intervention and 29 after. The interviewees were managers, registered nurses, enrolled nurses and care assistants and concerned their experiences regarding problematic situations that occurred in their everyday work. The questionnaires (before n=84 and after intervention n=93) used were: sense of coherence, job-satisfaction and burnout and were aimed at investigating staff experiences of working climate and the influence of the intervention. The issues were investigated both before and after the intervention. Observations were used to determine whether they could provide further knowledge about the intervention and thus extend our understanding of the marginal differences in the complementary studies. The phenomenological hermeneutic interpretation of the narratives in the interviews shows that the intervention was important to the experiences of being in problematic situations. The results before the intervention and in reference dwellings are equivalent and elucidate staff members' struggle to retain their self-esteem and to be confirmed by their colleagues. The experimental dwellings narratives show a change from rejecting to confirming communication among colleagues. Moreover, subtle changes are present which point to an emotional closeness where attempts have been made to understand colleagues' perspective and reactions where the residents are the central concern in the narratives. An analysis of the content of the interviews after intervention shows equivalent changes in experimental dwellings and reference dwellings. The analysis shows that the staff's view of problematic situations had been softened and that they viewed their colleagues as less of a hindrances. There were no mentions made of the previously indicated conflicts between social and nursing staff. The results also show that staff members are not afraid to stand by their own ideas of how they should act in various situations. The staff experience of the working climate was positive both before and after the intervention and no significant differences could be seen. What stands out from the observation study is that the groups have different cultures and thus different prerequisites for the intervention. In two of four groups the intervention seemed to give rise to positive meanings regarding the staffs´ understanding of each other, necessary for their successful cooperation, but when the groups are in the ”basic assumption phase” other additional strategies are probably also needed. The marginal differences shown in the other complementary studies can be understood in terms of two of the four groups not perceiving the intervention to any large extent. When the internal group processes are of great importance it is essential to pay attention to culture of the staff groups before the intervention is implemented.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 333-350). Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego and San Diego State University, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 110-119).

Since its inception the internet has grown to have an all pervasive impact on social life, affecting the private, socio-cultural, economic and political aspects of human existence. An email discussion list hosted on the internet by a South African Tertiary Education institution provides an opportunity for researchers to study how members of the list manage textual talk amongst themselves. Given the context of the study, race is the “elephant” in the room, or in this case the online space, which may be pointed out at any given moment in conversation on the discussion list. The analysis of the data in this study indicate that participants in an asynchronous discourse environment make extensive use of techniques such as addressivity, linking or quoting to maintain the relevancy of their contribution to the conversation. As well as these techniques, there is evidence that echoing is a crucial conversational process through which inter-subjective understanding is created amongst members of the discussion list. Furthermore, the analysis displayed that race talk in this context is occasioned to perform specific social activity, for example, drawing in the audience to inferred systems of meaning by gesturing towards a racial membership category which then forces listeners to apply their common sense knowledge in an effort to hear race as relevant for understanding the conversation. The study concludes by arguing that the discursive techniques presented in the data are relevant to the further study of discourse, and especially discourse where race may be occasioned at any given time, in post-apartheid South Africa. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2006. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 44-06, page: 2512. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 83-88).

Thesis (M.A.) - Carleton University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 164-180). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.