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This research explores the relationship between intention and actual usage of self-service technology (SST), and investigates the effects of facilitating conditions and customer readiness on customer adoption of SST. In recent years, self-service technologies have created many new service contents; nevertheless, the actual utilization is not actually common yet. Therefore, this research try to explore the relationship between customer readiness and facilitating conditions on the actual use of SST, then focus on narrowing the gap between intention to use SST and actual usage of SST. We believe that this understanding is imperative for service providers to make proactive strategies for fostering customers’ intention and actual usage of the SST. The framework makes it possible to understand and predict customer trial related to using self-service technology by thoroughly examining underlying customer readiness degree and use the internet to illustrate how our framework can be applied to study customer behavior related to a specific self-service technology. To analyze the longitudinal effect, a two-stage survey was conducted and lasted for seven months. As it is well known that behavior intention does not necessary lead to actual behavior, our findings offer proactive strategies to service providers in turning intention into actual usage. Implications are discussed for managerial strategy as well as for future research. The research can be referred as marketing strategy for self-service or kiosk industry, and on academic contribution of narrowing the gap between intention and actual use. It is expected that it is helpful to facilitate self-service development and to enrich customer experience and competitiveness in Taiwan.

This research examines the understandings and practices of inclusive minded principals toward facilitating the development of inclusive school environments for intermediate level (Grade 7 and 8) students who are experiencing behavioural problems in their schools. Qualitative interviews with 16 principals across 4 school districts were conducted to explore how these inclusive minded principals conceptualize and understand the needs of this particular group of students, and what they consider to be their roles and responsibilities as principals in meeting these needs. The data suggest that despite the number of barriers that serve to hamper principals’ efforts to develop the ideal inclusive school, there are a great many strategies principals intentionally use to facilitate change toward more inclusive school cultures and pedagogy. These strategies emanate from, and are reflective of, an inclusive philosophy that is common among participants. Principals’ individual philosophies and ideologies serve as a compass in guiding decision-making and actions that affect staff, students, and the wider school community. In an inclusive school, these ideologies are reflective of the principles of inclusion, such as the need to create a culture of care wherein all students feel valued, supported, and experience a sense of belonging and individual self worth. The implications of this research toward improving the schooling experiences of students with behavioural problems as well as other marginalized groups of learners are discussed in the context of the call for a re-culturing of schools toward more inclusive environments.

This research examines the understandings and practices of inclusive minded principals toward facilitating the development of inclusive school environments for intermediate level (Grade 7 and 8) students who are experiencing behavioural problems in their schools. Qualitative interviews with 16 principals across 4 school districts were conducted to explore how these inclusive minded principals conceptualize and understand the needs of this particular group of students, and what they consider to be their roles and responsibilities as principals in meeting these needs. The data suggest that despite the number of barriers that serve to hamper principals’ efforts to develop the ideal inclusive school, there are a great many strategies principals intentionally use to facilitate change toward more inclusive school cultures and pedagogy. These strategies emanate from, and are reflective of, an inclusive philosophy that is common among participants. Principals’ individual philosophies and ideologies serve as a compass in guiding decision-making and actions that affect staff, students, and the wider school community. In an inclusive school, these ideologies are reflective of the principles of inclusion, such as the need to create a culture of care wherein all students feel valued, supported, and experience a sense of belonging and individual self worth. The implications of this research toward improving the schooling experiences of students with behavioural problems as well as other marginalized groups of learners are discussed in the context of the call for a re-culturing of schools toward more inclusive environments.

This research examined the role of facilitating agencies in promoting public-private partnerships (PPP). Bangladesh's solid waste management sector was taken as a case study. As is the case in many developing countries, municipalities in Bangladesh could not cope with rapid urbanization resulting in a large proportion of solid waste remaining uncollected. The private sector took the opportunity to fill this gap in service. They started providing house-to-house garbage collection and charging citizens for this service. Therefore, two streams of service providers-public and private-became active in the sector. In some cities the two streams remained separate without coordination. In other cities the two sectors formed partnership with support from facilitating agencies. This research investigated the roles played by the facilitating agencies. Three broad aspects were investigated: (1) necessity of facilitating agencies, (2) the role of a facilitating agency in sustainability of partnership, and (3) the role of a facilitating agency in effectiveness of partnership. Four cities were included in the study with varying degree of PPP and facilitation. Primary data were collected from public and private sector staff, elected representatives, and citizens through interview, questionnaire survey and observation. PPP is a promising mechanism for urban service delivery. This study on the role of facilitating agencies may illustrate how to achieve and sustain PPPs in developing countries.

Bakgrund: Vårdrelaterade infektioner är ett världsomfattande problem som genererar lidande och samhällsekonomiska förluster. Problemets omfattning kan minskas genom ett fungerande hygienarbete, vilket i sig förutsätter att hälso- och sjukvårdspersonal är följsam till rådande riktlinjer och rutiner. Syfte: Syftet med litteraturöversikten var att belysa sjuksköterskans underlättande av faktorer som påverkar följsamheten till hygienrutiner för att främja patientsäkerheten. Metod: En litteraturöversikt baserad på 15 vetenskapliga artiklar av kvalitativ, kvantitativ och mixad metod. Resultat: Identifierade faktorer som påverkar följsamheten till hygienrutiner är indelade i följande huvudkategorier; Attityder, kompetensutveckling, arbetsorganisation och ledarskap. Sjuksköterskan kan underlätta följsamheten genom att vara en förebild, arbeta med fortbildning och uppmuntra till reflektion. Teamarbete kan främjas genom att arbeta med rak och tydlig kommunikation, gemensamma mål samt genom att ge återkoppling på prestation och resultat. Slutsats: För att minska vårdrelaterade infektioner och främja patientsäkerheten behöver sjuksköterskan förstå att de faktorer som påverkar följsamheten till hygienrutiner är beroende av varandra i ett komplext samspel. Beteendet följsamhet kan till stor del underlättas genom att sjuksköterskan strävar efter att förbättra medarbetarnas attityd i det hygienförebyggande arbetet. / Background: Health care-related infections are a worldwide problem and generate suffering and socioeconomic losses. The extent of the problem can be decreased through proper hygiene, which in itself requires that healthcare professionals comply with current guidelines and procedures. Purpose: The purpose of the literature review was to highlight the nurse's facilitation of factors that affect the compliance with hygiene routines to promote patient safety. Method: A literature review based on 15 scientific articles of qualitative, quantitative and mixed method. Results: Identified factors that affect compliance with hygiene routines are divided into the following main categories: Attitudes, skills development, work organization and leadership. The nurse can facilitate compliance by being a role model, by working with continuing training and by encouraging reflection. Teamwork can be promoted by working with straightforward communication, common goals, and feedback on performance and results. Conclusion: To reduce health care-related infections and promote patient safety, the nurse need to understand that the factors that affect compliance with hygiene routines are dependent on each other in a complex interaction. The behavior of compliance can be facilitated by the nurse striving to improve the employees' attitude towards hygiene prevention.

A common phenomenon in the private higher education environment is that lecturers are highly qualified subject specialists and conduct research mainly in areas in their fields of expertise. Therefore they are not always well informed about the dynamics of the global educational environment and they do not have an indepth knowledge of how learning takes place. As a result of this the traditional lecturing style is mainly used during contact sessions and mostly theoretical knowledge is assessed in written examinations. During class visits that were conducted as part of my duties as quality assurer of the teaching, learning and assessment that take place in the Production Management Institute of Southern Africa (Pty) Ltd (trading as PMI), a private higher education institution, it was noticed that the facilitators of learning present mostly lectures that are based on one-way communication with very little student participation. Learning style flexibility and allowing active student participation during the contact sessions are, in most instances, not considered. This lecturer-centred practice prevents the students from developing responsibility for their own learning process and creating an interest in becoming lifelong learners. An action research-driven professional development programme was presented to the academic staff of PMI to allow them the opportunity to develop innovative facilitation of learning practices. The programme aimed to create a scholarly approach to establishing a culture of lifelong learning in the private higher education environment – in literature commonly referred to as a scholarship of learning and teaching. The academic staff members conducted action research on their own practices as facilitators and assessors of lifelong learning. I conducted living theory action research on my style of being a mentor for the participants of the project. The programme commenced in 2009. The content of and the level on which the programme was presented are in line with a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education (PGCHE) that is offered at a public institution. The participants were introduced to, inter alia, the principles of the Ned Herrmann Whole Brain® theory, Gardner’s multiple intelligence theory and Bloom’s taxonomy of cognitive levels. As the first step in the programme all the participants completed the on-line Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument® (HBDI®). An accredited Hermann Brain Dominance practitioner was contracted to provide feedback to the participants and to explain the principles of this instrument. The HBDI® practitioner is affiliated on a full-time basis with the education faculty of a public higher education institution. He was contracted to facilitate the professional development programme as well. The success of the programme became evident through student feedback and requests, and feedback received from the participating facilitators of learning. Top level management of PMI also became aware of the successes and it resulted in the inclusion of the development of the academic staff members as one of the main focus areas in the strategic management plan for 2010. It was decided that the programme should be repeated every year in order to ensure the continuous professional development of existing and new academic staff members. PMI was invited to offer the programme in the Agriculture and Science Faculty of a public university. Parts of the project were showcased at the 2010 and 2012 conferences of the Higher Education Learning and Teaching Association of South Africa (HELTASA) and the Knowledge 2011 international conference. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

This dissertation discusses a study that I carried out using action research methodology to answer to the research question; to what extent can the Mind Dynamix Profile® inform the practice of reflecting on change in facilitating learning in higher education? The Mind Dynamix Profile® instrument is used as a new and innovative profile instrument that has been developed in South Africa. Although the instrument can be used in a variety of circumstances, this research focuses on its use an instrument to facilitate reflection in the context of lecturers in a Private Higher Education Institution. A total of nine research subjects participated in this research project. As is often the case with action research the process of research was flexible and had to be adapted to the circumstances in which I, as the researcher, found myself. Through the process of doing this research I learned that the Mind Dynamix Profile® is a valuable tool for identifying areas of strength and areas of development among lecturers. Though the lecturers’ profiles varied, there were some common variables in their genetic profiles. However, the most important part of knowledge of the profile lies not in knowing the genetic profile, but rather in lecturers using that baseline knowledge to adapt their style of facilitating learning to the extent where they are able to accommodate the learning styles of all the students in the classroom. With the Mind Dynamix Profile® this flexibility is known as whole brain and whole body learning. The results of this study provide evidence that the Mind Dynamix Profile® is indeed a valuable instrument that assists in developing learning style flexibility and when used correctly, allows for definite change of facilitation strategies in the context of higher education. However, for lecturers to adapt these areas of development effectively a mentoring and coaching process needs to be implemented in conjunction with reflective tools. Although all the lecturers showed some sign of reflection on their style of facilitating learning, only two research subjects embraced the action research process to the point of deep, constructive reflection. Action research does not look only on the processes of the lecturers involved in this study, but more importantly on my own change of practice as a result of this research. My intention was to improve my own professional practice in addition to involving various lecturers in order to enhance their learning experience. Through the process of implementing this research I learned to reflect on my own values, attitudes and relationships with lecturers as they impacted on my practice. I believe that I have achieved reflective competence by demonstrating an ability to integrate and connect my own performance and decision making with understanding, and that I am successfully able to adapt, explain and change my style of facilitating learning and conducting research, when challenged by unforeseen circumstances. Copyright / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Curriculum Studies / unrestricted

In an increasingly digitised world, the pedagogy of education is at risk of being dictated by technological advancement. As fragments of teaching practice left over from previous curricula are adapted and amalgamated into new curricula, the educational landscape becomes a sea of learning terminologies used interchangeably. In many cases these terminologies are then disconnected from an underlying understanding of what learning is and how the best possible form and quality of learning can be brought about. Two recent technological advancements in the field of education is Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) and the MakerSpace movement. However, these fields need to be engaged with as avenues of investigation in the pursuit of the highest possible learning quality outcome required by a world that is super-complex. Through comprehensive literature research, the researcher first presented an in-depth argument detailing what learning is, what the highest quality of learning is and how this learning quality can be measured. The literature revealed a particular professional practice of “facilitating lifelong authentic learning” of which the sole purpose is achieving exactly that. In this mixed method research project, an attempt was made to re-connect the technological advancement of online learning with the theoretical framework of the learning process as laid down by Vygotsky, particularly through the Zone of Proximal Development. Within the context of a MakerSpace subject, the researcher attempted to determine how the identified practice of facilitating lifelong authentic learning would ensure the increase in the quality of learning in online groups where MakerSpace learners were required to resolve a real-life challenge. An experiment then followed where a professional facilitator of learning was present in the experimental groups, while the control groups attempted to resolve the challenge un-facilitated. A comparison of the analysis of chat transcriptions indicated that on average the quality of learning was higher in facilitated groups. Interview data collected after the experiment shed light on this finding and suggested that the quality of learning in an online group increases when a facilitator of learning increases the level of difficulty of the real-life challenge as perceived by the group’s dominant participant (the person who contributes the most to the group dialogue). This not only indicated the value of Facilitating Learning in an online learning evnvironment, but also highlighted its necessity in terms of improving the quality of the learning. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2021. / Humanities Education / PhD / Unrestricted

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