Background As digitalization and the Internet of Things (IoT) evolves in a rapid pace, the need for engineers, IT specialists and software developers introduce an increasing shortage of skilled workers. Managing the existing workforce is a challenge, increasing the interest in the antecedents and implications of their mobility activities. Employee turnover has been broadly viewed as a disadvantage for firms losing valuable human capital, increasing the implementation of retention strategies. On the other hand, an increasing amount of studies argue that mobility within a region is a source of knowledge spillovers and can enhance innovation and productivity, as well as regional economic growth by facilitating access to new external ideas and capabilities. There is a gap in the research on employees’ perception of opportunities and preferences that leads them to engage in mobility within the regional high-tech sector instead of other types of mobility. Objectives The purpose of this thesis is to increase the understanding of what factors influence the mobility of employees within the regional high-tech industry. Therefore, the perceived opportunities and preferences for different types of mobility are investigated. The aim is that the findings will facilitate the management of employee mobility and maximize the local organizations’ joint human capital. Method A quantitative survey study is conducted, collecting data from two high-tech organizations operating within the same geographical region. The collected data includes individual, organizational and external factors, as well as the intentions for turnover and considerations for different types of mobility. SPSS is used to statistically test what factors are associated with high-tech employees’ opportunities and preferences for mobility within the regional industry. Results High-tech personnel perceive most opportunities for alternative employment within the high-tech industry in another region, while finding another job within the region is perceived more difficult. If employees considered leaving their current organization, most would prefer to take a job within the regional high-tech industry. Satisfaction with pay, training opportunities and supervisors in the current job have a reducing effect on the intention to leave the organization, while perception of having alternative employment opportunities have an increasing effect on both turnover intention and for considering mobility within the same industry. No significant model for predicting the preference for mobility within the same region was found in this study. Conclusions The majority of high-tech personnel already prefer mobility within the regional industry if they were leaving their current job, but there is a mismatch with the perceived opportunities for this type of mobility. Actions towards matching the opportunities with the preferences are expected to result in benefits for the region by increasing the local overall knowledge base, provide the organizations with more opportunities to attract highly skilled workers locally, and increase employees’ job satisfaction and performance through better job-matches.

Understanding dimensions that influence reinforcement is important for applied behavior analysts. Preference, and reinforcer effectiveness, may change depending upon several dimensions of reinforcement. Two influential dimensions that may influence preference and reinforcer efficacy are response-reinforcer arrangements and stimulus type. Many leisure items used as reinforcers may be classified depending upon technology level (e.g., highly technological items versus non-technological items). In recent years use of highly technological items has increased among individuals with disabilities. When using high- and low-tech reinforcers, reinforcer deliveries may be arranged to occur in a distributed manner (i.e., every response results in a reinforcer delivery), or an accumulated manner (i.e., reinforcers are accumulated and exchanged following completion of all the work). The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction and effects of reinforcer arrangements (i.e., distributed reinforcement and accumulated reinforcement) and technology level of items (i.e., high-tech and low-tech) on preference and reinforcer efficacy with three children with autism. Results demonstrated higher response rates and preference toward accumulated reinforcer arrangements compared to distributed reinforcer arrangements regardless of technology level. Overall, participants’ responding and preference were sensitive to different reinforcer arrangements but were less sensitive to differences in the technology level of the reinforcers used.

Two dimensions of reinforcement that influence behavior are reinforcer magnitude and stimulus type. One type of stimulus involving high technology (i.e., hightech stimuli) has not been examined to determine reinforcement properties. This project examined the interactions of reinforcer magnitude and high-tech stimuli and the effects of those interactions on preference and reinforcer efficacy. Participants included three adult individuals with disabilities. Two multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessments were conducted to determine a highly preferred high-tech stimulus and a highly preferred no-tech stimulus for each participant. A paired stimulus preference assessment was conducted to identify preferred reinforcer magnitudes using both highly preferred stimuli (high- and no-tech). A progressive ratio (PR) reinforcer assessment was then conducted to assess the effects of stimulus type and reinforcer magnitude on reinforcer efficacy. Results demonstrated a preference for high-tech stimuli at longer durations of access for two participants. Results also demonstrated participants responded more for high-tech stimuli as reinforcer magnitudes were increased, and responded less for no-tech stimuli as reinforcer magnitudes were increased (measured as total number of responses during the PR assessments). These results provide further evidence of the effects of reinforcer magnitude and stimulus type (high-tech stimuli) on preference and reinforcer efficacy and have implications for clinicians and caregivers using high- and no-tech items as reinforcers.

On April 16, 2007, Virginia Tech became the site of the deadliest school shooting in U.S. history (Breed, 2007). Because of the tragedy at Virginia Tech, news reports all over the U.S. probed about what caused the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, to kill 32 students and faculty members. As the mainstream media talked about the possible causes, they ultimately pointed out that Cho's silence should have been detected as a warning sign to his violent rampage. As a result, the media named Cho a "silent killer." Due to the U.S. media's construction of silence through Cho, I argue that the news coverage helped perpetuate the notion that silence is not only a negative attribute in education, but it is also a dangerous behavior that can pose a threat to people's safety. Therefore, I ask in this dissertation, how did the news coverage of Virginia Tech serve as a public pedagogy of silence? That is, I argue that the news coverage of Virginia Tech served as what Giroux (1994) calls "public pedagogy" in which the media educate and influence the public about how silence should be understood in the classroom. With the media's construction of silence through Cho, it is timely to address how the meaning of silence has changed pedagogically. Even though numerous scholars have written about silence, very few--if any--frame silence within the performance paradigm, specifically in pedagogy. In this dissertation, I introduce silence as a pedagogical performance by using critical communication pedagogy as a theoretical framework to deconstruct problematic media constructions of silence. Through the use of cultural criticism, I analyze 36 mainstream U.S. mediated texts (e.g., newspapers, magazines, and news transcripts) to understand how the media rhetorically defined and constructed silence as a dangerous behavior. I also use an interview as part of multi-methodological approach to cultural criticism, adding clarification on how the surveillance of student behaviors, bodies, and pedagogical practices that do not fit the image of safety affect students in university classrooms.

The present thesis examines the relationship between innovation and gender diversity in the workforce, through the lens of new firms in the Stockholm Tech start-up ecosystem. Taking a point of departure in a knowledge-based understanding of innovation and firm dynamics, the study explores the relationship between gender and innovation at the firm level. First, the theoretical framework is built on relevant literature and empirical research in a multidisciplinary fashion. Then, a qualitative inquiry is designed with the aim of contributing to the growing research corpus in the intersection of gender diversity and firm capacity to innovate. Employing a qualitative interviewing method, data was collected among founders and founding team members of entry-level tech start-ups in Stockholm. The objective was to document how founders and entrepreneurs, in general, approach gender diversity when building their start-up teams. The analysis reveals that gender diversity, albeit acknowledged as an input to innovative performance, is not prioritized over other human capital aspects, such as talent. This is in line with the bulk of literature that studies the diversity in knowledge base and firm performance, hence highlighting the cognitive aspects of innovation process. The thesis findings are of considerable benefit both for broadening the extant approach to innovation process and for understanding gender diversity dynamics in the workforce.

The success of internationalization depends heavily on faculty support and engagement. Nonetheless, the motivations of faculty heavily engaged in international activities—described by scholars as champions and advocates—are not well understood, despite the fact that their efforts have been labeled as critical to advancing such efforts. This study examined the perceived motivating factors of faculty members heavily engaged in international activities at Virginia Tech, a university that created a strategic plan aimed at increasing such endeavors in 2004. Interviews with identified champions and advocates of internationalization in two colleges at Virginia Tech—the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences and the Pamplin College of Business—sought to explore the benefits and elements that led these faculty members to become and remain engaged in international activities. This study also investigated whether faculty members' involvement in international concerns could be linked to the influence of factors proposed in the faculty engagement literature as commitment enabling. Specifically, this research sought to test Wade and Demb's (2009) Faculty Engagement Model, which asserts that certain professional factors contribute to professors becoming involved in community engagement. This analysis found that five of the professional factors in Wade & Demb's (2009) model, discipline, status/rank, socialization, professional community and department support—are useful for examining faculty members' willingness and ability to engage in international activities. However, it also found that faculty member involvement is shaped by a convergence of professional, institutional and personal factors. These together enabled faculty members to begin and remain engaged in international activities. In addition, despite the rationales offered by leadership and through strategic plans for becoming engaged in international concerns, the most common motivating factors identified by champions and advocates were intrinsic or personal influences that are not captured in institutional efforts to internationalize. These findings suggest that although universities may create mission statements, strategic plans and policies to guide internationalization, the motivations of faculty members who undertake and implement such initiatives in their classrooms and through their research and outreach play a large part in whether and how such efforts will be realized. / Ph. D.

Solitude is a National Register historic property that is today a central part of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University campus. The property was purchased in 1872 to create the site of the land-grant college that later became VPI. The focus of this study is a log dependency associated with the extant nineteenth century mansion on the property. Both buildings have suffered extensively from deterioration in recent years, but are now receiving some attention. By substantially augmenting a historic structure report on the outbuilding filed in 1989, this thesis contributes to the building's documentation and accurate interpretation. As one of two early structures on the site that still retains a large percentage of its original fabric, it is an important artifact that should be preserved for posterity. Documentation through meticulous research is an important part of preservation. When the building is physically gone, knowledge of it will survive. Little was known about the dependency prior to the completion of this research. The best guess on its age appears to have erred by thirty years. The building's original function has long been the subject of debate. If it was a dwelling, there are no historic documents by which to identify the occupants. This study examines various aspects of the building, including its present condition, construction practices and materials, dimensions, form and function, location, age, historical context, and buried cultural deposits around the building. The biological agents that have attacked and caused severe deterioration of the building are identified, as well as the conditions that precipitated the attacks. The methods employed or explored in this research include archaeological excavations, artifact analysis, relative dating methods, wood identification and pathology, dendrochronology, basic chemistry, database generated spatial imaging, library searches, measured drawing, and photography. Use of these methods has provided insightful information regarding construction materials and their properties, construction practices, date of construction, and the history of the building's use and maintenance. Information about the building's occupants has also come to light, such as their socio-economic status, their standard of living, i.e. the goods they consumed and the comfort of their quarters, and their refuse disposal practices. Considering all the information revealed, a strong case is made that the building was originally a domestic slave's dwelling, constructed in the early 1840s. / Master of Science

After Ted Kaczynski’s manifesto, Industrial Society and its Future, was published it hasbegun a small, but growing movement of people who support his ideas. After beginning my research, I have seen a rise in the visibility of Kaczynski’s ideas online. This thesis focuses on the Anti-Tech Collective (ATC) who, as a radical online community has begun promoting his ideas. This thesis has used communication phenomenology as a method to see how the ATC views their relationship with Kaczynski and his writings. In further analysis I then used Freudian defense mechanisms, repurposed as account structure as a way for the ATC to maintain social acceptability while promoting a radical ideology. In this research, I identified ways that the ATC views Kaczynski and his ideas and where this fits in online radicalism. These methods can be employed in looking at any radical online community where its members desire to maintain some level of social acceptability.

The purpose of this research study was to determine whether a project-based learning (PBL) academy utilizing the New Tech Network (NTN) model positively shaped the acquisition of 21st century learning skills based on the perceptions of graduates from the academy, and to what extent the graduates of this program were able to successfully use those skills after high school. This phenomenological case study focuses on the former students of a New Tech Network (NTN) academy contained within a larger high school in a rural school division in the southeastern United States. Graduates of the program participated in a survey and interview where they were asked to describe their perceptions about the impact that the NTN program had on their development of six 21st century skills. The data collected found that the NTN program had a positive impact on improving the participants skills in self-reliance, collaboration, communication and self-reflection, while also showing that participants felt they were better prepared to be successful in college and career opportunities after high school. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this research study was to determine whether a project-based learning (PBL) academy utilizing the New Tech Network (NTN) model positively shaped the development of specific work-based skills using the perceptions of graduates from the academy, and to what extent the graduates of this program were able to successfully use those skills after high school. This study focuses on the former students of an NTN academy contained within a larger high school in a rural school division in the southeastern United States. Graduates of the program participated in a survey and interview where they were asked to describe their perceptions about the impact that the NTN program had on their development of six work based skills. The data collected found that the NTN program had a positive impact on improving the participants skills in self-reliance, collaboration, communication and self-reflection, while also showing that participants felt they were better prepared to be successful in college and career opportunities after high school.

As the focus on computer science in K-12 classrooms grows, the 'Hour of Code' program has also grown. As Hour of Code is one of the largest educational campaigns, it is worth evaluation to ensure effects are well understood so that implementation can be made most effective. This research sought to better understand the impact of Hour of Code. This thesis presents findings from a systematic review and from a quasi-experimental study. A large number of research articles have been published on Hour of Code. Systematic review identified 64 papers including reports from experiments testing the efficacy of Hour of Code, analysis of learner behavior, reports of participation and suggestions for facilitating. Analysis of these articles provided detail into the known impact of Hour of Code and available resources. However, many questions remain and are outlined in the review. One such remaining question includes questions about the impact specifically on K-12 students. The quasi-experimental study reports findings from computer science education research with over 1000 7th-grade students who engaged in HOC activities. Students' interest and perceptions of CS were collected before and after completing HOC activities. Statistical analysis provided mixed results with some positive and some negative shifts but overall limited effect size.