Blended learning is the term used for a course with online and on-campus components. Multiple different versions have proliferated across higher education during the past decade. As with any new learning modality there are many issues which need to be addressed when considering a move of an entire institution's curriculum in this direction. The problem identified for investigation was the phenomenon of transitional change of DeVry University's instructional modality from a traditional on-campus to a blended on-campus experience. The explanatory case study explored the phenomenon through two main factors including the impact of the change on the culture of the university and the change in time format for the courses. Eight themes were analyzed and addressed including course format changes, communicating the change, training faculty, common course shell, workload changes, cultural impacts, communication and evaluation of the transition. The university went from a traditional 15- to 8-week course format while making the transition to blended learning. Reasons given for this schedule change were investigated. When creating a large institutional change communication is a key factor and how the change was communicated to both faculty and students is explored. Training faculty for the new blended environment as well as the introduction to a common course shell for all courses is analyzed. The perceived workload of both faculty and students in the new blended learning environment in regard to faculty course load taught and student credit hours taken is considered. The impacts on culture were addressed during the transition including faculty, students and administration impacts. A comparison is given for communication between faculty and students in the new blended learning environment. The evaluation considered the hiatus of rolling out the common course shells to faculty and students is given as well as the planned assessment for the blended learning environment.

Esta tese é um estudo teórico sobre como o formato serve de estrutura para as linguagens digitais, que são escritas com o signo informático. Usamos as ferramentas teóricas da Semiótica da Cultura para explorar esta hipótese com os textos digitais de informação jornalística. A noção do design é central para a compreensão dos nossos argumentos, no sentido de que o design é que torna a operação da escrita digital possível. Isso ocorre pela sua capacidade em atribuir modelos para as diversas ordens de códigos envolvidos no processamento informático de síntese. Temos a perspectiva de que o Jornalismo Digital de Bases de Dados (JDBD) é um texto da cultura que se atualiza tendo como princípios a representação numérica, modularidade, automatização, variabilidade e transcodificação. Seu limite são os bits, ou números. Discutimos também a noção de delimitação do texto jornalístico, considerada necessária em tempos de dúvidas sobre o campo. Fazemos um resgate sobre a importância da noção de formato para o campo do jornalismo e fundamentamos que as narrativas digitais, elaboradas com as linguagens digitais, se apresentam a nós como formatos. Para nos apropriarmos da teoria e aplicarmos os conceitos na prática, sugerimos duas matrizes para a geração de formatos jornalísticos. Tal condição de escrita gera novas condições práticas para o ensino e a sobrevivência do jornalismo. Finalmente, buscamos nesta pesquisa uma visão estrutural, e não circunstancial, sobre as linguagens, as narrativas e a escrita digitais. / This thesis is a theoretical study on how the format structures the digital languages, which are written with the informatics sign. We used the theoretical tools of the Semiotics of Culture to explore this hypothesis with the digital text of journalistic information. The notion of design is central to the comprehension of our arguments, in the sense that the design is what makes the operation of digital writing possible. This is due to its ability to assign models to the different sort of codes involved in the informatic processing of synthesis. We have the prospect that the Database Digital Journalism (DBDJ) is a text of culture that is updated having as principles the numerical representation, the modularity, the automatization, the variability and the transcoding. Its limits are the bits or numbers. We also discuss the notion of delimitation of the journalistic text, considered necessary in times of doubt about the field. We do a rescue on the importance of the concept of format to the field of journalism and we support that digital narratives, developed with the digital languages, are presented to us as formats. In order to appropriate the theory and apply the concepts in practice, we suggest two sources for the generation of journalistic formats. Such writing condition generates new conditions for teaching practices and the survival of journalism. Finally, we aim in this research a structural, not circumstantial, view about the languages, the narratives and the digital writing.

Vi lagrar data mer än någonsin. Idag lagrar vi enligt analysföretaget IDC1(2007) upp emot 36 gånger mer information än vad vi gjorde under 1998.Men få tänker på säkerheten vid lagring av data. Med säkerhet menar vi härsäkerheten att datan som lagrats fortfarande kommer att kunna öppnas om 15-20 år.Med format i denna studie syftar vi huvudsakligen på filformat. HTML,JPEG, GIF, etc. är exempel på filformat i vilket information kodas för attkunna lagras. Vad innebär det i själva verket när man lagrar information it.ex. en DOC-fil? IDG (2007)Vilka faktorer kan påverka en filformats levnad? Vad bör man tänka på föratt data som lagras skall vara möjlig att öppna längre fram? Vi kommer att idenna studie redogöra för vilka risker som kan leda till att data kan gåförlorad. Därtill kommer vi att undersöka om huruvida öppna format kanerbjuda en lösning till problemet. Vidare kommer vi även att utreda omtekniker som emulering och virtualisering kan ge en lösning åt data somredan har gått förlorad. Kan öppna filformat vara en lösning på problemet?Vår förhoppning är att det som vi tagit upp i denna studie kommer attuppmärksamma frågor kring lagring av data över tid, öppna format samtinspirera till nya och intressanta frågor kring datalagring. / Uppsatsnivå: C

Os organismos reguladores da Contabilidade ao optarem por um usuário-alvo da informação contábil, na atualidade, tem dado ênfase aos investidores. As normas contábeis visam, em teoria, a geração de informações que sejam úteis e relevantes no processo decisório desses usuários. Entretanto, além do conteúdo, o formato de apresentação das demonstrações contábeis pode afetar a maneira como seus usuários incorporam-na em seus processos decisórios. Considerando os investidores como agentes racionais limitados, supõe-se que esses agentes buscam otimizar suas escolhas e consideram o custo-benefício das informações disponíveis, em vista da sua limitada capacidade de processamento. Nesse contexto, a literatura vem destacando que o formato de apresentação das demonstrações contábeis é capaz de afetar a atratividade das decisões sobre investimentos, o que, por consequência, pode influenciar o modo como as entidades divulgam suas informações financeiras. As preferências pelo formato de apresentação das informações contábeis podem ser intensificadas quando as entidades direcionam esse formato, visando destacar as informações que transmitam uma melhor posição financeira das mesmas, segundo o argumento da miopia do mercado acionário. Neste sentido, este estudo teve como objetivo verificar o impacto do formato de apresentação do Resultado Abrangente e da realização dos Outros Resultados Abrangentes (ORA) na decisão de investimento no mercado de capitais. Para o desenvolvimento da pesquisa, foi realizado um experimento 2 X 2 entre sujeitos, com 171 estudantes de pósgraduação lato sensu (MBA), e duração média de vinte minutos. Para a análise dos dados coletados, foi utilizado a técnica estatística de análise de covariância (ANCOVA), visto que a variável dependente era quantitativa e foram utilizados fatores quantitativos e qualitativos para explicar o comportamento dessa variável. Os resultados encontrados indicam que para as variáveis de investimento em ações e investimento em ações ponderado pela atratividade, a influência do formato de apresentação das demonstrações financeiras, deu-se apenas na variável multiplicativa entre aversão ao risco e o fato de se trabalhar em empresa financeira, como também entre ter experiência em investimento e o fato de se trabalhar em empresa financeira. Porém, como não foi possível segregar o efeito entre elas nas variáveis dependentes, não foi possível afirmar que o formato de apresentação separado do Resultado Abrangente afeta a atratividade de investimento. A temporalidade, em nenhuma das variáveis dependentes, demonstrou impactar a atratividade de investimento. Ao analisar o efeito interativo do formato de apresentação e a temporalidade dos ORA, não foi possível afirmar se houve impacto na atratividade do investimento. Com base nos resultados encontrados, não foi possível afirmar que o formato de apresentação da Demonstração do Resultado Abrangente (DRA) e da realização dos ORA ao Lucro Líquido (LL) impactam na decisão de investimento no mercado de capitais. O estudo possui limitações, principalmente em relação à técnica aplicada, à utilização de estudantes como proxy de investidores não profissionais, variáveis não controladas pelo ambiente experimental e possível desconhecimento do que é o Resultado Abrangente por parte dos respondentes. / Choosing a accounting information target user, nowadays, the accounting regulator bodies have emphasized to investors. In theory, accounting rules aim to generate information which is useful and relevant at those users\' decision-making process. However, besides the content, the financial statements presentation format may affect the way the users incorporate them into their decision making processes. Considering the investors as limited rational agents, this study has assumed that those agents seek to optimize their choices and consider the costbenefit of information availability, because of their limited processing capacity. At this context, the literature has highlighted that the financial statements presentation format can affect the investment decisions attractiveness, which, consequently, can influence how the entities disclose their financial information. The preference for the financial information presentation format may be intensified when entities direct the format in order to highlight the information that convey a better financial position, according to the argument of stock market short-termism. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the Comprehensive Income (CI) presentation format impact and the Other Comprehensive Income (OCI) maturity at investment decisions at the capital market. To develop the research, an 2 X 2 between subjects experiment design was conducted, with 171 MBA students, and average duration of twenty minutes. For data analysis, this study used the statistical technique of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA), as the dependent variable was quantitative and quantitative and qualitative factors to explain the behavior of that variable were used. The results indicate that the variables for investment at shares and weighted attractiveness investment at shares, the influence of the financial statements presentation format has been only in the multiplicative variable between risk aversion and the fact of the participant works at a financial company, as well as having experience in capital market investment and the fact of the participant works at a financial company. However, as it was not possible to segregate the effect on the dependent variables between them, it was not possible to say that the CI presentation format separately affects the investment attractiveness. In all dependent variables, maturity did not demonstrate to impact the attractiveness of investment. By analyzing the interactive effect between presentation format and the OCI maturity, it was not possible to say whether there was an impact on the investment attractiveness. Based on these results, it was not possible to say that the Comprehensive Income Statement presentation format and the OCI realization to Net Income impact on investment decisions at the capital market. The study has limitations, especially related to the applied technique, the use of students as a proxy for investors, experimental environment variables which were not controlled and misconceptions of what is the Comprehensive Income for the respondents.

Esta dissertação de mestrado versa sobre as diferentes formas com que a série televisiva americana House of Cards (Netflix, Beau Willimon, 2013-) interage e se comunica com seu público e sua época. Tendo como tema um inescrupuloso casal de políticos que escala os degraus do poder na capital dos Estados Unidos, a série trabalha na intersecção entre modalidades de manter a atenção do espectador, a produção de comentário político, e os imperativos comerciais da distribuição televisiva. Sendo o primeiro exemplar de um seriado distribuído por uma plataforma online de streaming, incentiva também questões quanto a inovação trazida pelo modo de exibição ao formato seriado. Dessa forma, o trabalho se inicia analisando o uso particular de apartes dramáticos pelo protagonista, que ao se dirigir diretamente aos espectadores os fisga para dentro da diegese e os estimula a continuar assistindo à série, enquanto co-conspiradores de suas tramas. O texto passa em seguida para uma interpretação do comentário político promovido pelo programa a partir de mecanismos melodramáticos, comentário que para ser efetivo necessita trazer para a diegese elementos extradiegéticos que assemelham a ficção ao mundo real e a familiarizam ao espectador. Ao mesmo tempo, internautas e jornalistas se apropriam dessa ficção para o comentário de sua época, demonstrando a reciprocidade entre mundos ficcionais e a realidade da qual comentam e aonde participam. Finalmente, é analisado a relação entre o formato seriado que estrutura o programa e a plataforma online de streaming que o distribui, indagando o quanto que modos de exibição que estimulam a fruição concentrada de produtos seriados inovam o conhecido formato, enquanto que o mesmo auxilia na promoção de novas formas de distribuição e exibição. / This Master\'s dissertation delves into the different ways with which the television series House of Cards (Netflix, Beau Willimon, 2013-) interacts and communicates with its audience and time. Having as theme an unscrupulous couple of politicians that climb the steps of power in the United States capital, the series works in the intersection between methods of keeping the spectator\'s attention, the production of a political commentary, and the commercial imperatives of television distribution. Being the first example of a series distributed by an online streaming platform, it also stimulates questions regarding the innovation brought to the serial form by this mode of exhibition. This way, this study starts by analyzing the particular use of dramatic asides by the protagonist, in which as he addresses directly to his audience he hooks them into the diegesis and stimulates them to continue watching the show, as co-conspirators to its schemes. It then moves on to an interpretation of the political commentary promoted by the show through melodramatic mechanisms, commentary that to be effective needs to bring into the story extradiegetic elements that resemble the fiction with the real world and familiarize the audience. At the same time, internet users and journalists appropriate this same fiction to comment on their own conjuncture, showing the reciprocity between fictional worlds and the reality that they comment on and which they participate in. Finally, it is analyzed the relationship between the serial form that structures the show and the online streaming platform that distributes it, inquiring on how much modes of exhibition that stimulate concentrated viewing of serial products innovate this known format, inasmuch as this format helps the promotion of new modes of distribution and exhibition.

Recent research has shown that rating format design choices influence the quality of ratings. This subsequently has implications for the measurement of personality, job performance, and work attitudes. This symposium brings together a group of scholars who will share their research and expertise on this topic.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the differences in parent-child interactions when they played the same numeracy-related game using two formats, a technology-based electronic format and a non-technology traditional board format. It aimed at unpacking the game format effect on parent-child interactions in early home numeracy activities. A mixed-method study with an embedded design was conducted to approach the research questions. In the repeated-measures experiment, 39 parent-preschooler dyads played the same numeracy-related game – The Game of the Goose – using both an electronic format and a board format. The videos of all the play sessions were the data source. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. The quantitative analysis was the primary focus. The videos of parent-child play were coded using two pre-determined coding schemes, Parental Scaffolding Behavior and Mathematical Talk. Two repeated-measures multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were conducted respectively for each coding scheme. The qualitative analysis of the 30% selected dyads played a supportive role to further explore the similarities and nuanced differences in parents’ performance of each coded scaffolding behavior across the two formats. The MANOVA for Parental Scaffolding Behaviors showed that the game format had a significant effect on seven of the twelve coded behaviors. The frequencies of Affirmation/Encouragement, Explanation, Inquiry, Re-representation, Modeling, Correction/Disaffirmation, and Physical Control were significantly higher in the board game condition compared in the electronic game condition. The MANOVA for Mathematical Talk revealed an interaction between the game format and the player on Naming Numbers. Both parents and children engaged in more statements about naming numbers in the board condition compared to the electronic condition, but the difference across the two game formats was bigger for parents than for children. In terms of the main effect of game format, the frequencies of Counting, Using Spatial Words and Estimating were significantly higher in the board game condition compared to the electronic game condition. Themes from qualitative analysis revealed parents’ different roles when using the two game formats, as well as the affordances of each format and their influence on parental scaffold behaviors. Interpretations of the results and findings about the game format effect were provided through the lens of sociocultural perspectives and affordances. This study enlarged the understanding of parent-child interaction in early numeracy activities. The findings offered implications for how to help preschoolers develop early numerical skills using different tools and how to design effective learning products for early numeracy using the features of different formats.

This dissertation examines the process of commodifying television formats (e.g., Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Survivor, Big Brother, and Idol) from television show ideas into global commodities. Instead of assuming that a format has always been a commodity, this dissertation seeks to understand the historical process of the transformation from a concept into a commodity. Specifically, it answers three questions: a) What is the process whereby a format obtains property status and becomes a copyrighted work? b) Who enables the transnational movement of a format, and how does that happen? and c) How do people recognize which formats are more valuable than others? To answer these questions, by articulating the distribution of value as a theoretical framework, this dissertation closely examines institutions of format distributions: legal frameworks for copyright, multinational corporations, and global television markets. Through historical analyses, this dissertation reveals that institutions of distribution gave rise to three aspects of the commodity form of formats: legality, functionality, and materiality. The development of these three aspects shows that a format became a commodity, rather than simply a method of copying television programs, only after 2004. This dissertation contends that the long history of copying television show ideas was punctuated by the emergence of the commodity form of formats, distinguishing the present state of global format trade from the previous one.

This dissertation investigates the interaction of population invariance, equating assumptions, and equating accuracy with group differences. In addition, matched samples equating methods are considered as a possible way to improve equating accuracy with large group differences. Data from one administration of four mixed-format Advanced Placement (AP) Exams were used to create pseudo old and new forms sharing common items. Population invariance analyses were conducted based on levels of examinee parental education using a single group equating design. Old and new form groups with common item effect sizes (ESs) ranging from 0 to 0.75 were created by sampling examinees based on their level of parental education. Equating was conducted for four common item nonequivalent group design equating methods: frequency estimation, chained equipercentile, IRT true score, and IRT observed score. Additionally, groups with ESs greater than zero were matched using three different matching techniques including exact matching on parental education level and propensity score matching with several other background variables. The accuracy of equating results was evaluated by comparing each equating relationship with an ES greater than zero to the equating relationship where the ES equaled zero. Differences between comparison and criterion equating relationships were quantified using the root expected mean squared difference (REMSD) statistic, classification consistency, and standard errors of equating (SEs). The accuracy of equating results and the adequacy of equating assumptions was compared for unmatched and matched samples. As ES increased, equating results tended to become less accurate and less consistent across equating methods. However, there was relatively little population dependence of equating results, despite large subgroup performance differences. Large differences between criterion and comparison equating relationships appeared to be caused instead by violations of equating assumptions. As group differences increased, the degree to which frequency estimation and chained equipercentile assumptions held decreased. In addition, all four AP Exams showed some evidence of multidimensionality. Because old and new form groups were selected to differ in terms of their respective levels of parental education, the matching methods that included parental education appeared to improve equating accuracy and the degree to which equating assumptions held, at least for very large ESs.

Mixed-format tests containing both multiple-choice (MC) items and constructed-response (CR) items are used in many testing programs. The use of multiple formats presents a number of measurement challenges, one of which is how to adequately equate mixed-format tests under the common-item nonequivalent groups (CINEG) design, especially when, due to practical constraints, the common-item set contains only MC items. The purpose of this dissertation was to evaluate how equating properties were preserved for mixed-format tests under the CINEG design. Real data analyses were conducted on 22 equating linkages of 39 mixed-format tests from the Advanced Placement (AP) Examination program. Four equating methods were used: the frequency estimation (FE) method, the chained equipercentile (CE) method, item response theory (IRT) true score equating, and IRT observed score equating. In addition, cubic spline postsmoothing was used with the FE and CE methods. The factors of investigation were the correlation between MC and CR scores, the proportion of common items, the proportion of MC-item score points, and the similarity between alternate forms. Results were evaluated using three equating properties: first-order equity, second-order equity, and the same distributions property. The main findings from this dissertation were as follows: (1) Between the two IRT equating methods, true score equating better preserved first-order equity than observed score equating, and observed score equating better preserved second-order equity and the same distributions property than true score equating. (2) Between the two traditional methods, CE better preserved first-order equity than FE, but in terms of preserving second-order equity and the same distributions property, CE and FE produced similar results. (3) Smoothing helped to improve the preservation of second-order equity and the same distributions property. (4) A higher MC-CR correlation was associated with better preservation of first-order equity for both IRT methods. (5) A higher MC-CR correlation was associated with better preservation of second-order equity for IRT true score equating. (6) A higher MC-CR correlation was associated with better preservation of the same distributions property for IRT observed score equating. (7) The proportion of common items, the proportion of MC score points, and the similarity between forms were not found to be associated with the preservation of the equating properties. These results are interpreted in the context of research literature in this area and suggestions for future research are provided.