The author engages in a study of rhetoric and composition's disciplinary identity and representations as seen in various disciplinary locations. Despite individual preferences toward other titles, the discipline is commonly referred to as "rhetoric and composition," a title that embraces but does not categorize the field. In this dissertation the author examines the relationship between rhetoric and composition, arguing in the first section of the dissertation that the conjunction "and" is not sufficient to describe the many relationships between these two terms. The first section of the dissertation also examines the positioning of rhetoric and composition in historical texts as well as in journals published by the National Council of Teachers of English, concluding that the hierarchies often created between rhetoric and composition or theory and practice arehighly contextual.The second section of the dissertation examines the role of departmental and institutional structures in the development of doctoral programs in rhetoric and composition, and argues that the discipline needs to take a proactive role in addressing these influences. The author demonstrates this need through an historical examination of the formation of doctoral programs in rhetoric and composition and the disciplinary identity represented by TA training texts. The second section then argues that conscious and considered representations of disciplinary identity are important to the continued growth and development of rhetoric and composition. The dissertation concludes with an argument that rhetoric and composition needs to develop undergraduate majors and minors. The concluding chapter highlights the role of departments and undergraduate majors in the American university and urges scholars and administrators in the discipline to work toward the establishment of undergraduate curricula.

The ADA definition of disability reflects an historical shift from defining disability within the individual (the medical model) to constructing disability within the social environment (the socio-political or interactional model). Further, this shift reveals a movement away from paternalistic to empowering rehabilitation policies and service delivery systems. Similarly, academic programs in Rehabilitation are updating their undergraduate curriculum in ways that reflect changes that have taken place in public policy and service delivery related to disability, knowledge emerging from the field of disability studies, and a changing student demographic. Disability related rehabilitation research has not yet fully reflected this shift, and this has resulted in data and knowledge that are of limited utility. It has been well researched that negative attitudes toward individuals with disabilities held by rehabilitation professionals will limit the scope of services generated and provided by professionals and, ultimately, have a detrimental effect on a successful rehabilitation process. Knowledge about the ways that undergraduate students conceptualize disability may illuminate the content and origin of positive and negative attitudes and beliefs.The present study was a phenomenological examination of the framework students employed in conceptualizing, understanding and making meaning of the concept of disability. The study utilized in-depth interviews and students' course assignments in order to answer the question, "How do undergraduate students in disability related majors construct disability?" Data revealed six common themes which were: participants had difficulty defining the category of disability; disability was understood as an individual problem, requiring special accommodations, assistance and services; there was an altruistic desire among participants to challenge stereotypes surrounding disability, alongside limited self-awareness of the application of stereotypes in their own construction of disability; the meaning of disability was a reflection of participants' own identities; Concepts of opportunity, restraint, power and privilege had limited relationship with disability; and, motivation for professional practice was related to a desire to help those who need assistance. Suggestions were made relating to the undergraduate curriculum and future research.

Information technology (IT) is increasingly being used in the classroom to support instruction. This work addresses the integration of electronic medical records (EMRs) into undergraduate health informatics (HI) education. Such systems have been used to some extent in health professional education but effective integration into HI education remains a gap. This thesis explores the context of integration using the concept of Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPCK). A structured literature review of previous integration efforts involving EMRs or similar systems in all disciplines was conducted as well as a documentation review specific to undergraduate HI programs to gather insight into current HI education. The findings from these were combined with those of an original qualitative research study done to gather views of instructors and students within one school. This work resulted in an application of TPCK which expands the original framework, describing key findings for the three knowledge bases and adding specific contextual considerations that emerged in terms of when to integrate, instructors, students, courses, technical aspects, system aspects, and overall learning pedagogy. This thesis is organized into nine chapters, beginning with an introduction which explains the rationale for undertaking this work. Next, theoretical perspectives for IT integration are discussed along with the specific EMR integration challenge being addressed. The two additional literature reviews are presented along with their findings which then leads to the research questions for the original study which was undertaken. The next two chapters outline study methods and results. The main questions are then revisited and answered with study findings supplemented by the literature reviews. This leads to the discussion of an initial framework as well as theoretical and practical implications and future research directions for work in this area. / Graduate

Attracting and retaining student nurses who will persist in their academic studies is essential to the success of the Canadian health care system. While a small body of knowledge existed in the area of retention and attrition of undergraduate nursing students, little was known about the students’ perspectives on persistence. Through a qualitative analysis of the stories of persistence for six undergraduate nursing students from the University of Victoria, this study revealed and explored the variety of factors that influence undergraduate student nursing persistence. Important information for improving Canadian nursing education was revealed in the process. Mainstream qualitative research techniques in this study were expanded with the use of photovoice. Photographs taken by the study participants were used to elicit their narratives of persistence, increasing the accessibility of the stories’ emotional content. Internarratives were also derived from aspects of the participants’ original stories and provided an additional approach for understanding student nursing persistence. The results of the study revealed six main themes that represented major factors of influence on student nursing persistence: (a) support, (b) challenges to persistence, (c) motivation to continue persisting, (d) the nursing profession, (e) teaching, and (f) the curriculum. The study demonstrated the critical importance of understanding undergraduate nursing persistence from the students’ perspectives, as well as the value of incorporating photovoice as a methodological strategy. The implications for nursing recruitment, education, and future research were also discussed and continued research on and further dialogue about these issues were deemed important for nursing education. / Graduate / 0745 / briarschulz@shaw.ca

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 131-138).

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / In this doctoral thesis, I explored how the national guidelines for higher education to institutionalise service-learning as a particular type of community engagement were implemented in South African higher education institutions. Whilst the particular School of Nursing where the study was conducted was cognisant of the national policy imperative on service-learning as stipulated in the guidelines of the Higher Education Quality Committee (HEQC), operationalisation within the academic programmes had not been addressed. An intervention study was thus undertaken to develop a service-learning implementation framework for the School of Nursing using the multi-phased design and development model of Rothman and Thomas (1994). The factors that influenced the implementation of the HEQC’s service-learning policy guidelines in the nursing programmes were explored during the first phase: problem analysis and project planning. During this phase, the research focused on the readiness of the school to institutionalise service-learning at organisational and individual level because service-learning scholars advocate a systems approach to service-learning institutionalisation. At organisational level, the research question investigated whether the higher education institution had created an enabling environment for the school to institutionalise service-learning successfully in the academic. The factors that were associated with readiness at organisational (school) level were those cited as critical success factors for service-learning institutionalisation by Furco (2002) or better known in South African terminology as service-learning good practice indicators. Individual readiness was determined in terms of service-learning scholarship and willingness to participate in service-learning -capacitating activities.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Horticulture, Forestry, and Recreation Resources / Jason Griffin / Feeding preference experiments with the pine sawyer beetle (Monochamus carolinensis Olivier) were conducted using eleven taxa of Pinaceae. One newly emerged adult beetle (≤ 24 hours) was placed into each feeding arena (n = 124) containing three or four shoots of current season's growth from different tree species (one shoot per species) for choice experiments. Beetles were allowed to feed for 48 (2011) or 72 (2012-2014) hours, at which point shoots were removed and data collected on feeding occurrence and percent feeding area. Augmented design analyses of feeding occurrence and percent feeding area of the eleven taxa did not indicate significant evidence for feeding preferences of the pine sawyer beetle on most taxa except for a higher preference for both scots (Pinus sylvestris L.) and eastern white (P. strobus L.) pines compared to deodar cedar [Cedrus deodara (Roxb. ex D. Don) G. Don]. The feeding preference experiments suggest that pine sawyer beetle may feed on a wide-range of Pinaceae taxa. Virtual plant walk maps were developed using a web-application for two semesters of an ornamental plant identification course (n = 87). The maps allowed students to revisit plants and information covered in lecture and laboratory sections at their own convenience, using either a computer or mobile device. Survey results indicated 63% of the students used the virtual plant walk maps as a study resource. Students mainly used the maps to study the most current plant list. Most students who used the virtual maps did so to review the plants online. When asked to rate usefulness of the maps on a scale from slightly useful (1) to very useful (3), 43% of students indicated that the virtual maps study tool was very useful, 25% indicated the maps were useful, and 8% indicated that the maps were slightly useful. A significant dependence between student use frequency and student usefulness ratings of virtual plant walk maps was observed. As students’ use of the virtual maps increased, they perceived the maps to be more useful to their studies in preparing for identification quizzes. No differences between plant identification quiz scores were observed between students who used and did not use the virtual plant walk maps or between learning styles. Our survey indicated students used the virtual plant walk maps as a resource and perceived the maps as a useful tool in preparation for identification quizzes.

Magister Artium - MA / The project examined the information seeking behaviour of Generation Y students at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The Internet has evidently become an integral part of this generation’s everyday life. The contributing factor to this is that Generation Y has been brought up in a high technology society. The Internet in conjunction with information and communication technology tools is used by Generation Y for different purposes during information seeking. Internet can be used for communication, acquiring information sources or as channels for disseminating information. Therefore, looked at was the role and impact of the Internet and information technology on Generation Y’s information behaviour; if there was a positive or negative effect on them. Literature has indicated that Generation Y is constantly connected to the Internet, great user of social media and relies on the web for their information needs. This study employed Savolainen’s Everyday Life Information Seeking model (ELIS) and Pettigrew’s Information Grounds theory as theoretical frameworks. The models involve unsystematic ways of acquiring information for daily activities that can be work or non-work related. The study was based on academic and non-academic information needs of Generation Y in order to establish a holistic understanding of their everyday information needs and seeking. The study was carried out at the UWC campus. Also reflected was how the university has adapted in the provision of services that meet the Generation Y student’s information needs. The research was based on mixed method approach, thus combing qualitative and quantitative methods. Findings of the study revealed that Generation Y students at UWC have been exposed to the use of technology at a later stage yet, they revealed similar characteristics as mentioned by different authors from the other parts of the world. The students relied on ICTs and the Internet for all their information behaviour.

An attempt was made to determine empirically the structure of self-disclosure. Based on the literature, a list of statements relating to the rating of self-disclosure was assembled. This list was condensed into dimensions by two evaluators, working independently. The dimensions were then used to score transcripts of male undergraduate students' verbal self-disclosures. Factor analyses of these scores produced four factors relating to self-focus, intimacy or depth, risk taking, and amount. A tentative fifth factor, intimacy value of disclosure topic, was also found. Regression analysis of dimensions on the Doster (1971) Disclosure Rating Scale produced three tentative scales for measuring self-disclosure. The first scale utilized stepwise regression of all dimensions, the second used stepwise regression of mechanical dimensions, and the third regression used composite scales representing the factors of the orthogonal factor analysis. For each scale, only three dimensions were included in the regression equation.

Magister Curationis - MCur / The clinical Skills Laboratory Method (SLM) is currently utilised at some universities in South Africa. This is an innovative clinical teaching and learning strategy that allows learner nurses to set their own goals and take responsibility for their learning. In 2007, the method had been introduced to the new first-year learners and subsequently the second, third and fourth year student levels followed. The skills laboratory method consists of five phases: orientation, visualisation, guided practice, independent learning, and assessment. It allows learners the opportunity to observe, practise, and develop their clinical skills in a safe and risk-free environment. In addition, it might assist learners with developing their critical thinking, critical reasoning, and decision-making abilities. As a clinical facilitator at a university, the researcher observed that certain problems occurred in relation to the implementation of the phases. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe learners’ perceptions of the manner in which the facilitators implemented the SLM and to describe guidelines for facilitators to improve the comprehensive implementation of the SLM of an undergraduate nursing programme. A quantitative, explorative, and descriptive research design was used to investigate how learner nurses perceive the skills laboratory method and to what extent the phases of the method were implemented. The accessible population (N = 980) consisted of learner nurses who were enrolled for a Bachelor of Nursing degree at a university in the Western Cape Province. In this study systematic stratified random sampling were used because class lists of all registered learner nurses from first to fourth year were available. The researcher identified every fourth learner (k = 4) of the four years respectively (n = 276). The researcher collected the data personally by means of a survey questionnaire with closed-ended questions that required responses to be indicated according to a 5-point Likert scale. It took approximately 15 - 20 minutes to complete the questionnaire. Descriptive statistics and a factor analysis were performed to reduce the data with the purpose of making it more interpretable. Data was analysed with the assistance of a statistician who used the Statistical Package for Social Sciences Version 21 (SPSS). For interpretation purposes, the researcher presented the statistical information in tables and figures. Twelve factors emerged from the factor analysis: (i) information received during orientation, (ii) introduction during orientation, (iii) orientation to resources in the skills laboratory, (iv) facilitator interaction during visualisation, (v) progression of demonstrations, (vi) authenticity of simulation, (vii) progression of guided practices, (viii) facilitator feedback during guided practice, (ix) encouragement during independent practice, (x) support during independent practice, (xi) planning of assessments, and (xii) facilitator’s role during assessments.The findings indicated that although facilitators did implement the phases of the SLM, some facilitators omitted or did not fully adhere to all the steps in each of the five phases. Factors such as the information and organisation during the orientation phase, knowledge and behaviour of facilitators throughout the phases, teaching strategies used by facilitators during demonstrations, and feedback to learners during assessments required attention. Twelve guidelines were described from those findings with the aim of improving the comprehensive implementation of the SLM and it was recommended that facilitators implement those factors to ensure positive learning experiences for learner nurses. The researcher ensured validity and reliability during the study and adhered to ethical considerations.