This study seeks, through an analytical investigation of educational literature, to discover what has been done in the past and what is now being done in other sections of the country for retarded children in our school population.

This study aims to describe the interaction of the final course in information literacy at Linköpings university library with the information practice in the environmental profession. The investigation is based on five interviews and one document that is used as educational material in the course. In the study an investigation is carried out of the information practice in the environmental science as well as of the curriculum in the course. The study use a qualitative method and the analysis is based on Annemaree Lloyd’s model of information practice in a work context. The analysis is also founded on Vygotskijs zone of proximal development.  The results shows that there is a similarity between the educational and the work practice where the alumni don’t get the opportunity to share the corporeal information. This has a negative effect on the development of the shared identity in practice and the confidence to act within the individuals. This study also discuss the need of an education in practice in the course, to make a transfer of knowledge possible for the students between an educational and a work context and shows the benefits with Problem-based learning as a method.

This thesis reports a qualitative case study exploring the connotation and implementation of reflection as an educational concept in a PGCE (secondary) programme at a UK university in the light of the perceptions of university tutors and student teachers. Reflection has been an important concept in many teacher education programmes but it has consistently been intricate in terms of its connotation and implementation and despite a vast amount of research aimed at deconstructing its complexity, the matter does not seem to have been resolved. Despite its conceptual complexity it has often been taken in its common sense meaning by practitioners in educational programmes and is, at times, turned into a slogan. This study was, therefore, aimed at an exploration of the meaning and implementation of the concept and the various factors that influence it in the programme under study. The findings of the study reveal that, true to its reputation, the concept defies any agreed upon understanding. On a conceptual level there was recognition of its complexity among the university tutors, although this did not come out in the case of student teachers who predominantly defined it in its common sense meaning. At the implementation level the common sense practice-oriented connotation appeared to prevail among both groups. Factors influencing this orientation included the practical emphasis of the PGCE, the focus on response to the centralised QTS standards, the time-work balance and the under-appreciation for theory in its technical-rational conceptualisation in the predominantly skill-oriented and subject-teaching focused structure of the training. The study implies that for reflection to be appreciated and implemented at the deeper, conceptual and critical level, it should be put into practice more overtly with elaborate theoretical underpinnings. This would call for changes in this and similar programmes in terms of structure, content and aims.

The problem of this study was to determine the effect mental practice, physical practice, and a combination of physical and mental practice had upon the accuracy of the football center snap for field goals and extra points after a touchdown.

by Leung Chung-poon, Wong Ying-fai. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Bibliography: leaf 98.

This exploratory study describes the variation in how evidence-based practice is understood in educational psychology. The study is comprised of two phases, which were both designed, analysed and interpreted using qualitative methodology. In phase one, twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with educational psychologists from eight services in England. A phenomenographic approach to analysis was applied, resulting in a conceptual framework, representing the variation in understandings of evidence-based practice of a group of educational psychologists. In phase two, two focus groups were conducted with a subset of participants from phase one to elucidate the influence of evidence-based practice on decision-making in practice. A framework approach to thematic analysis showed that practice decisions of educational psychologists are influenced by evidence-based practice according to contextual factors, training and practice experiences and personal characteristics. This study gives insight as to how educational psychologists experience and account for the role of evidence and evidence-based practice in their practice and informs how evidence-based practice might be conceptualised in educational psychology. The findings suggest that evidence-based practice is grounded on personal, internalised beliefs while being contextualised by the demands of specific circumstances. The findings have implications for providers of educational psychology training in terms of the curriculum for evidence-based practice and associated learning outcomes.

Approximately 40,000 certified registered nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) are included in the anesthesia workforce in the United States. They provide a critical portion of anesthesia care throughout the country often practicing in rural and underserved areas of America. CRNAs are educated and trained to provide high-quality, cost-effective care for patients. Policy makers and health care organizations consistently call for policies to enable these providers to deliver care to the full extent of their education and training. The National Academy of Medicine (former Institute of Medicine) recommends in their seminal report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, that CRNAs practice to their full potential as full partners with physicians. In order to promote CRNA ability to practice to the full extent of their training and education and assure that patients have access to safe anesthesia services, both policy and organizational influences on their care provision and should be taken into account. Whereas focus has been paid to policy restrictions and their influence on CRNA care, little is known about organizational influences on CRNA care or organizational structures that are present in the employment settings of CRNAs. Organizational climate, which is employees’ perceptions of and experience with organizational structures within their employment settings, has been studied in healthcare settings. Studying organizational climate in healthcare settings is important because research concludes that organizational climate of healthcare settings impacts providers and patients. Registered nurse (RN) organizational climate has been well studied, and researchers identified that important aspects of RN organizational climate include autonomy, control over practice, teamwork, and collaborative relationships with physicians and staff. When RN organizational climate is favorable, job satisfaction and nurse retention improve, and patients receive high-quality care. Researchers have also studied nurse practitioner (NP) organizational climate and have identified climate characteristics that enable NPs to function to their full capacity, while promoting job retention, decreasing costs, and improving access to care. Whereas evidence is clear that organizational climate is an important concept to study within healthcare organizations, little is known about CRNA organizational climate or how it impacts CRNA outcomes or patient outcomes, nor do we know how to measure organizational climate and further asses it. Therefore, this dissertation investigates CRNA organizational climate and adapts a tool to measure CRNA organizational climate. In Chapter 1, a background on CRNA contributions to anesthesia care in the United States is presented. In addition, challenges and restrictions affecting CRNA practice are discussed, and studying the concept of CRNA organizational climate is introduced. The theoretical and empirical underpinnings guiding the dissertation are presented, and the three aims of the dissertation are stated. In Chapter 2, aim one of the dissertation is addressed. Aim one of the dissertation is achieved by systematically reviewing and synthesizing evidence regarding CRNA working conditions and outcomes. This evidence lays the foundation for studying CRNA organizational climate. In Chapter 3, aim two of the dissertation is addressed. This aim is achieved by selecting an instrument to adapt to measure CRNA organizational climate. In this chapter, the processes of content validity testing and reliability testing of the Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist Organizational Climate Questionnaire (CRNA-OCQ), the adapted instrument to measure CRNA organizational climate, are presented. In Chapter 4, aim three of the dissertation is addressed. This aim is achieved by the further psychometric testing of the CRNA-OCQ, which is presented in this chapter. In this chapter, the CRNA-OCQ is refined and finalized through conducting exploratory factor analysis. In addition, the internal consistency reliability of CRNA-OCQ subscales is assessed. In Chapter 5, results from the three included studies are discussed and synthesized. In addition, practice, policy, and research recommendations are presented. Lastly, the strengths and limitations of the dissertation are discussed before the conclusion.

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In the field of alternative journalism, my work seeks to build empathy and combat inequalities of representation within a specified community of viewer-participants. Through MA thesis work, I built flexible, minimalist design systems that succeeded by receding—by eliminating expressive elements and pushing contributor content (visual and literary work in a variety of styles) to the foreground. In response to the highly technological, reductive mindset that had come to dominate my creative life, I engaged in exploratory exercises that were antithetical to this prior work. Through expressive engagement with analog materials, I isolated the skill of making and responding to a range of personal marks that were free of the constraints associated with developing marketing materials or periodicals for a general audience. Slowed into a more contemplative mindset, I explored abstraction, symbolism and personal history in works that engaged on different levels, and became more open to discovering images through the process. I found that at the heart of my work—from clean, legible layouts for books and magazines to the most abstract, personal or expressive wall-hanging pieces—is a desire to connect, to bring about preferred (clearer, deeper) states of information transfer by fusing content, form, and viewer participation into moments of contemplative engagement. Whether in pictures, objects, publications, or the user interfaces and platforms of the future that are yet unknown, this understanding will help me respond to changing media environments with work that connects and resonates.

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