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Die Dissertation entstand im Rahmen eines von der Europäischen Kommission geförderten Projektes (eL3 - eLearning Project Cluster for Third System Organisations in Europe), in dem die Autorin als wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin tätig war. In dem Projekt, das in dieser Arbeit als Fallbeispiel dient, arbeiteten Bildungspraktiker und Bildungstheoretiker über einen Zeitraum von zwei Jahren zusammen, um die Bildungsangebote der beteiligten Partner zu optimieren und den Austausch zu guter Bildungspraxis anzuregen. Es zeigte sich bereits zu Beginn des Projektes ein großer Bedarf nach Evaluationsmethoden, wobei die Partner Evaluationsaktivitäten eigenständig durchführen können wollten. Auf dieser Grundlage war die Entwicklung von Instrumenten, die von allen Partnern gleichermaßen individuell genutzt werden könnten, ein wesentliches Ziel im Projekt. Es wurde daher im Rahmen dieser Forschungsarbeit der Ansatz von Inventaren entworfen, die flexibel von den Bildungspraktikern genutzt werden sollten, um die Qualität ihrer Evaluationsmaßnahmen zu verbessern. Inventare sind im Gegensatz zu Fragebögen komplexere Instrumente, die aus mehreren Teilen bestehen und unterschiedliche Skalen enthalten können. Die Inventare wurden für drei verschiedene, von den Partnern definierte Zielgruppen (Lerner, Autoren und Entscheidungsträger), entwickelt und erprobt. Die Daten und Erfahrungen aus der Erprobungsphase sollten im Projekt ausgewertet werden und als Basis für einen Aufbau von Wissensinhalten rund um das Thema e-Learning nutzbar sein. Drei zentrale Forschungsfragen, die sich am Projektverlauf ergaben, leiteten das Forschungsvorgehen: 1. Wie ist die Evaluationspraxis der Partner zu Beginn des Projektes? 2. Können in dem transdisziplinären europäischen Netzwerk gemeinsam Inventare als Evaluationsinstrumente entwickelt werden? 3. Werden die entwickelten Inventare als Evaluationsinstrument in dem transnationalen Netzwerk genutzt? Das Forschungsvorgehen wird der Aktionsforschung zugeordnet, da die Projektpartner gleichberechtigt in den Forschungsprozess einbezogen wurden, die Bedarfe und Erwartungen die Forschungsarbeit prägten und die Ergebnisse in der Praxis nutzbar sein sollten. Die Forschungsmethoden wurden mit den Partnern abgestimmt und Ergebnisse transparent gemacht. Es kamen verschiedene Methoden zum Einsatz, die trianguliert wurden, um ein breiteres, umfassenderes Bild von dem Untersuchungsfeld zu bekommen. Die Kombination von qualitativen und quantitativen Verfahren sollte ebenfalls zu einem erweiterten Bild beitragen. Insgesamt lassen sich auf der Basis aller eingesetzten Methoden folgende Ergebnisse im Hinblick auf die Fragestellungen dieser Forschungsarbeit festhalten: Die Evaluationspraxis der Projektpartner war zu Beginn des Projektes eL3 sehr unterschiedlich. Außerdem waren sehr verschiedenartige Vorstellungen von und Erwartungen an Evaluationen vorhanden. Eine Gemeinsamkeit hatten jedoch alle Partner: Es bestand der Wunsch nach Austausch von Erfahrungen und guter Praxis sowie Unterstützung im Bereich der Evaluation von Bildungsprojekten. Der Ansatz der Inventare wurde in der Gruppe sehr positiv aufgenommen, und die Entwicklung der Inventare in dem transdisziplinären Netzwerk verlief zwar etwas schleppend aber dennoch erfolgreich. Nach zwei Dritteln der Projektlaufzeit waren Inventare gemeinsam für verschiedene Zielgruppen entwickelt worden, die in so einer Form bisher einzigartig sind. Die Partner wurden durch die Arbeit an den Inventaren angeregt und bekamen neue Impulse für ihre Arbeit. Bei der Erprobungsphase zeigten sich viele Schwierigkeiten, die zuvor nicht als solch große Hürden erschienen waren. Nur etwa die Hälfte der Partner nutzte die Inventare überhaupt, und dabei ergaben sich noch viele Probleme, die vorher nicht offensichtlich waren. Nach dem Ende des Projektes eL3 ist sehr deutlich, dass für eine weitere Verwendung der Inventare Hilfestellungen und Unterstützung notwendig sind, wenn sie in der Praxis tatsächlich genutzt werden sollen. Das Potenzial für eine sinnvolle, praxistaugliche und gewinnbringende Nutzung ist vorhanden, jedoch müssten Formen der Zusammenarbeit bzw. für den Umgang mit Ergebnissen gefunden werden. Es wurde deutlich, dass die Inventare keine Selbstläufer sind, sondern vielmehr sehr komplexe Instrumente, deren Nutzung der Unterstützung bedarf. Die Daten und ermittelten Befunde aus einer späteren Verwendung der Inventare (nach Projektende) zeigen, dass mit den Inventaren Möglichkeiten verbunden sind, weitere Forschungen durchzuführen, die zu interessanten und für die Praxispartner nützlichen Ergebnissen führen könnten. Es wurde deutlich, dass auch Planungsinstrumente wie die „Blended Learning Matrix“ auf der Basis des Inventareinsatzes entwickelt und veröffentlicht werden können, was den Bedarfen der eL3-Partner nach Anregungen für ihre e-Learning und Blended Learning-Angebote sowie dem Interesse am Teilen von Wissen beispielsweise sehr gerecht werden könnte Die Inventare könnten so genutzt werden, um gemeinsam erarbeitetes Wissen zu generieren, zugänglich und nutzbar zu machen.

Thesis (M.S.)--Marshall University, 2004. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 49 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 45-46).

M.Tech. / In order to be competitive in the global village, most countries in the world have embarked upon the implementation of sound educational systems and South Africa is no exception. The economic empowerment of a nation depends on the success of its educational system, interalia on the strength of the teaching, learning and assessment strategies on which the system operates. Over the years there has been many studies undertaken for the sake of developing successful models in assessment methods. An attempt has been made through this study to investigate assessments strategies that could be used to enable students to take ownership of their learning, thus empowering them and helping them. The approach is based on the use of a variety of tools that will complement the aim of the study. In this regard rubrics and task lists were used in a series of assignments in the Communication Skills course offered to Engineering and Radiography students at the Technikon Witwatersrand. An analysis of the results exhibited a positive shift towards students' ability to become responsible for their own learning. This provides a springboard to examine the impact of this venture on the exit level performances of students in other subjects in the long run.

This thesis presents an exploration of the operationalization of empowerment outcomes in research on transformative participatory evaluations, focusing on the context of international development evaluation. Covering a 15 year period from 1999 and 2014, through the examination of the empirical research literature, the study explores: 1) how empowerment outcomes are measured, 2) the extent to which these outcomes demonstrate empowerment principles, and 3) which factors and conditions appear to enable or detract from the attainment of these outcomes. I found that the current state of the empirical research on transformative participatory evaluation to be largely comprised of reflective case narratives that rely solely on scarcely documented qualitative methods. In general, transformative outcomes do tend to mirror empowerment principles such as ownership, inclusion, democracy, and social justice. Finally, I found that various factors and conditions are critical to the reported attainment of transformative outcomes, particularly in relation to the local program context, for example, reforms in local and international governments that support increased local control over resources and governance, organizational structures and priorities that are congruent with empowerment objectives, and previous experience with empowerment processes. I also highlighted deficiencies in the current empirical research and call on the evaluation community to improve research on transformative approaches to participatory evaluation by suggesting critical areas for practice and writing. These include strengthening research designs and the use of meta-evaluations, further defining and clarifying key terms, and providing rich detail to facilitate further learning in this area.

The primary health care (PHC) model is being actively promoted as an effective and lower-cost alternative to conventional health care delivery systems in many developing countries. Despite the fact that over 300 PHC projects of varying scale have been implemented and reported on throughout the Third World over the past two decades, there appears to be little evidence available to support the popular hypothesis that the availability and utilization of primary health care services necessarily results in significant improvements in health. The objective of this thesis is to identify alternative strategies for evaluating PHC projects which will establish credible and useful results. The thesis reviews the evolution of both the PHC model and evaluative research methodologies, and then presents a critical analysis of a set of PHC project evaluations. The aim of this exercise is to identify some of the major factors which have limited the validity, utility and significance of the evaluation results. The thesis suggests that less rigorous evaluative research designs and evaluative techniques which use a combination of quantitative and qualitative data be used to enhance the credibility and utility of evaluation results. / Medicine, Faculty of / Population and Public Health (SPPH), School of / Graduate

"The study of recent trends in elementary school evaluation, reported in the following pages, was made because the writer felt the need for further knowledge of the endeavors being made in the field of elementary school evaluations"--Introduction. / "August, 1950." / Typescript. / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Education under Plan II." / Advisor: Edna Parker, Professor Directing Paper. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 43-46).

Typescript (photocopy). / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

The assessment of physical activity is of great interest to the public and to researchers. One of the most popular and objective methods of assessing physical activity is using motion sensors such as pedometers and accelerometers. The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy and reliability of step counting and energy expenditure estimation of two popular electronic pedometers and one accelerometer during running. In all step-counting trials, actual step counts were determined using a hand tally counter. Twenty subjects (18-40 years) were asked to volunteer to participate in the study. During the initial assessment subjects ran at five, six, seven, and eight miles per hour on a motor driven treadmill for ten minutes at each speed. While running they wore two pedometers and an accelerometer while oxygen consumption was measured. In the second assessment, all subjects ran a timed, self-paced mile around a 200-meter track while wearing all three activity monitors. In the third assessment, thirteen subjects ran at five, six, seven and eight miles per hour on a motor driven treadmill for three minutes at each speed to assess the step counting reliability of the devices. The three devices were accurate to within 1% at all speeds on the treadmill and on the self-paced track run. In addition, all three devices were reliable (r = 0.80). Caloric expenditure estimation accuracy the NL-2000 was ± 21% when expressed in both net and gross kcals. The Digi-walker was f 22% when assumed to be net kcals and ± 45% when assumed to be gross kcals. The Actigraph was accurate to ± 49% in terms of net calories. The results of the current study have shown that these devices are accurate and reliable for step counting at speeds between five and eight mph. However, their ability to assess caloric expenditure is not accurate at the same speeds. In conclusion, the application of these devices to runners is limited to highly accurate and reliable step counters. / School of Physical Education, Sport, and Exercise Science

Pacific whiting (Merluccius productus) is the most abundant groundfish species off the California, Oregon and Washington Coasts. The fish are mainly used as a raw material for the production of surimi. However, it is not economically wise to depend only on one product. There is a need to diversify the industry and develop a portfolio of product forms able to compete on the global marketplace. This study examines the characteristics of Pacific whiting individually quick frozen (IQF) fillets through an evaluation of consumer acceptability and sensory analysis, as well as their correlations to biochemical and physical properties. Additionally, a comparison is made between Pacific whiting IQF fillets and characteristics from seven other fish species. Sensory analysis by a trained panel showed Pacific whiting scoring highest in the flavor category of shellfish, medium in overall flavor intensity and fresh fish flavor, and high in moistness. Two different cooking methods: microwave (rapid) and conventional oven (slow) were studied with the results showing that the rapid method improved a number of texture attributes. Correlations between sensory texture attributes and instrumental texture results of Pacific whiting and the protease activity were found for both cooking methods but much higher in the slow one. All eight species were tested in a consumer test using a nine-point Hedonic scale. There were no significance differences (p>0.05) in flavor, texture, and overall acceptance of Pacific whiting with most of other commercial fish. However, the amount of variation in each group was high. No significant differences were found in firmness of Pacific whiting when compared to Dover sole. Five-point purchase intent scale showed no differences in consumers' willingness-to-buy when compared to species presently available in the marketplace. Pacific whiting IQF fillets, kept in frozen storage for 12 months, showed no differences in the flavor and texture attributes with fillets frozen for one month. The following findings are based on the information gained from the focus group: (1) The most important factor affecting consumers' purchasing decision on fish is flavor, (2) Fish flavor must be fresh, mild, pleasant, and true to species, and (3) Fish texture is varied. Texture is not as important as such factors as flavor, odor, appearance, and thickness of fillets. Pacific whiting was found to be tasty and acceptable to the focus group participants. Qualitative and quantitative data collected from the focus group and the consumer tests, combined with its sensory characteristics' similarity to desirable commercial fish suggest a good potential of Pacific whiting in being utilized as IQF fillets. / Graduation date: 1997