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This thesis investigates the knowledge sharing process between individuals working at companies located in business centres. Through literature review and user-centred approaches taken from interaction design methodologies, I find clear patterns indicating that knowledge sharing can create individual, organizational, communal and in the long- term also societal growth. Throughout this thesis project I examine knowledge sharing in the specific context of business centres and highlight motivations and barriers in this process. In doing so I find that motivations for inter-organizational knowledge sharing exists amongst the intended users, but that these motivations are seldom realised into action. This is shown to be greatly related to the lack of a digital presence that considers the barriers in knowledge sharing, which opens up for possible design solutions. The project concludes in a high fidelity prototype of a CSCW-platform with the goal of increasing the knowledge sharing culture by giving users a greater awareness over individuals in their near surroundings and new ways to connect with these individuals.

The translation of research findings, and the development of products, has been identified as a research priority that may improve health outcomes for Indigenous peoples. Although knowledge translation is relatively new and emerging area in Indigenous science, Indigenous scholars have already been critical of Western defined knowledge translation theories and approaches as neglectful of Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing. Within Indigenous knowledge systems, the translation of research findings is best conceptualized as a ‘sharing what we know about living a good life.’ This dissertation explores and focuses on the use of Indigenous stories and storytelling as knowledge translation products that may be better equipped to share research findings with Indigenous peoples. Grounded in an earlier study exploring experiences and responses to depression among Indigenous peoples living with HIV, this dissertation reviewed the Indigenous knowledge translation literature, adapted narrative analysis to an Indigenous context using composite character development and a scared story (i.e., Animikii and Mishebeshu), and created an Indigenized research story titled “The Wisdom of Thunder.” Meant to inspire healing, this story was also meant to create space to rethink, reorder, and re-imagine a world where HIV-positive Indigenous people and experiencing depression can learn and understand through Indigenous eyes. In ways connected to an oral body of stories, Indigenous stories, as an artful research translation practice, may make the findings of research more culturally accessible for Indigenous communities thereby promoting healing and well-being. / Thesis / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / The sharing of research findings in cultural appropriate ways with Indigenous community stakeholders is an important endeavour. Guided by the Indigenous principle of "sharing what we know about living the good life," it is equally important that such activity be done so in ways that respect Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing. This dissertation explores and focuses on the use of Indigenous stories and storytelling as knowledge translation products that may be better equipped to share research findings with Indigenous peoples.

no / In two experiments, we investigated whether 4- to 5-year-old children's ability to demonstrate their understanding of aspectuality was influenced by how the test question was phrased. In Experiment 1, 60 children chose whether to look or feel to gain information about a hidden object (identifiable by sight or touch). Test questions referred either to the perceptual aspect of the hidden object (e.g., whether it was red or blue), the modality dimension (e.g., what colour it was), or the object's identity (e.g., which one it was). Children who heard the identity question performed worse than those who heard the aspect or dimension question. Further investigation in Experiment 2 (N= 23) established that children's difficulty with the identity question was not due to a problem recalling the objects. We discuss how the results of these methodological investigations impact on researchers’ assessment of the development of aspectuality understanding.

no / We investigated whether 6-year-olds’ understanding of perceptual aspectuality was sufficiently robust to deal with the presence of irrelevant information. A total of 32 children chose whether to look or feel to locate a specific object (identifiable by sight or touch) from four objects that were hidden. In half of the trials, the objects were different on only one modality (e.g., four objects that felt different but were the same color). In the remainder of the trials, the objects also differed (partially) on one irrelevant modality (e.g., four objects that felt different, two red and two blue, where the goal was to locate the soft object). Performance was worse on the latter trials. We discuss children’s difficulty in dealing with irrelevant information.

The ontology of organizational story begs us to discover when stories work best and why. Is there a best practice for creating and telling stories? This study examined one organization's use of storytelling as a means of facilitating an innovation and what happened from the perspective of the storyteller. The study revealed the role of storytelling during the organizational initiative. This qualitative study analyzed eleven written and oral stories using grounded theory. Also using grounded theory, six tellers' interviews were analyzed to gain the tellers' perspective of the role of story. Storyteller selection was based on those who had consistently told the stories throughout the initiative and were interested in the effort being successful. The study revealed an implicit message that was intended to be understood in gaining full acceptance of the initiative. Based on the results of this study, the story promoting innovation contained four consistent characteristics: event, dilemma, consequence(s) and outcome. The true event used in the story was relevant and known by most personnel. The dilemma contained the implicit tension created when choosing to go against the organizational practice and norm. The consequence(s) in the story always conveyed success. The outcome represented the personal benefits obtained. To improve on the story used to promote the new knowledge management innovation, the organization might further examine its explicit and implicit norms and address the emergent concerns and vulnerabilities of the characters in the story. / Ph. D.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether a required wellness course affected a change in the behaviors of college students. A post-course evaluation, which examined the relation between attitude, knowledge, and behavior, was conducted six months following the completion of the course. A secondary purpose of the research was to solicit information from participating students concerning which portions of the course they felt benefited them and those that did not. This was done to identify potential problems within the course in order to make improvements on content and structure. A survey was mailed six months after the completion of the course to 110 students who were enrolled in Health 200 Wellness Lifestyles in the 1997 spring semester at Radford University. Forty-five responses were returned for a return rate of 41%. An analysis of self-reported data discloses that student behaviors improved from before taking Health 200 to six months after completing the course in all behavior categories with the exception of alcohol consumption. A paired t test, which was conducted to compare knowledge between the end of the semester and the post-test, indicated a significant loss of knowledge at a p level of <.05. Results from a simple linear regression analysis revealed that 17.46% of the variability in behavior was attributed to attitude. Information gathered from the survey helped identify strengths and weaknesses of the course, which became instrumental in proposing recommendations for making course improvements. / Ed. D.