DTheses (Athabasca University)
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Ethical tensions in sex addiction counselling
Get PDFThere is little research about how counsellors experience the process of sex addiction counselling. This study used the research methodology of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to explore how counsellors experience and manage ethical tensions in sex addiction counselling. Four certified sex addiction therapists (CSATs) were selected as participants and interviewed about their experiences. Analysis of interview transcripts produced three superordinate themes: preventative strategies, nuanced emotions during ethical tensions, and resolving tensions. Preventative strategies describe the counsellors’ efforts to implement practices that prevented negative experiences with ethical tensions. The theme of nuanced emotions refers to the intricate emotional experience the counsellors often had when they encountered ethical tensions. Resolving tensions relates how counsellors constructed ethical and personally meaningful decision-making processes to resolve their tensions. Findings are discussed in relation to extant literature about sex addiction counselling, including this study’s contributions, implications for practice and future research, and strengths and limitations.2019-0
An Investigation of teaching presence on Athabasca University's e-learning commons: the Landing
Get PDFThis dissertation investigated teaching presence on Athabasca University’s e-learning commons: The Landing. As a qualitative, exploratory research study, it investigated teaching presence as it is defined in the community of inquiry framework using the transcript assessment tool developed by Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, and Archer (2001). Booth and Hultén’s (2003) taxonomy of discussion indicators was also used to investigate the nature and depth of discussion on the Landing and shed light on how teaching presence prompted learning. Finally, the study also investigated the Landing’s value to stakeholders using Wenger, Trayner, and de Laat’s (2011) conceptual framework for assessing value creation in communities and networks. The investigation of teaching presence on the Landing, the depth of discussion, and the creation of learning value as measured in value creation stories established a preliminary indication of the value the Landing offers to students, staff, and faculty at Athabasca University. While this study was limited to the examination of two self-paced courses on one e-learning commons, it added to the very limited literature measuring teaching presence in self-paced university courses supported by such an environment and shed light on the teaching affordances and attendant value e-learning commons can offer teaching and learning organizations. The investigation revealed that the instructional design and organization of the courses created a cooperative, dialogue, not discussion-based learning environment. It also attempted to code educational groups, nets, and sets within the environment and showed some evidence of a correlation between instructional design and organization and students feeling a sense of being a member of a supportive community. As a result, a new model for dialogue-based, cooperative e-learning is proposed.2019-0
Big data innovation mechanisms in the Canadian television industry
Get PDFAs a response to growing fragmentation, niche programming, and increasing competition from other forms of media, the Canadian television industry is undergoing rapid changes through digital innovation. Existing audience information systems are being enhanced with big data in order to allow the television audience marketplace to gain thicker and richer insights about television audiences. This evolution has allowed broadcasters to manufacture new forms of the television audience product with many features that were previously absent in the traditional television audience product. This study investigates the various generative mechanisms allowing Canadian television broadcasters to successfully innovate by enhancing their systems with these new sources of data. Supported by critical realism, affordance theory, and a stepwise analysis method, semi-structured interviews were conducted across three Canadian television broadcasters as a means to understand this digital innovation process. Five generative mechanisms are identified through the digital innovation process allowing for a better understanding of digital innovation with big data, particularly related to the audience product. These findings build on previous work by expanding the current understanding of the digital innovation process as well as the digital infrastructure mechanism by highlighting the central role in which digital infrastructures can play within an industry. Concurrently a new understanding of audiences is further developed by providing evidence that the audience is a manifestation of the underlying data itself – a significant reconceptualization of the audience product. These findings, as well as the analysis process, provide an empirical example of the role of affordances with big data. Despite many calls for research, the role of big data in digital innovation is a significantly underdeveloped area of research. Lastly, by leveraging a quantitative method for pattern identification and grouping, the study further develops the existing critical realist methodology by building upon the analysis process for the identification of generative mechanisms.2020-0
Technology use in counselling practice: An actor-network theory report
Get PDFThe purpose of this actor-network theory report on technology use in counselling practice is to present a snapshot of how telecommunications technology is being used in counselling now and to present opportunities for counsellor responses to technology that could benefit clients, counsellors, and counselling practice. Voices of actors in the network were collected from interviews with counselling professionals, documents from organizational actors, and traces of technological actors present throughout the network. Technology use was presented as an integrated, routine, and often invisible component of contemporary counselling practice. Themes of responsibility, trust, and the unreliability of technology were prominent; these areas can be addressed intentionally and proactively to develop technology use in counseling practice.2019-1
Effects of Adlerian Birth Order and Disabilities on Sibling Relational Dynamics: An Inclusive Heuristic Inquiry
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to examine how birth order and disabilities impact family dynamics by gaining an in-depth understanding of individual family members’ lived experiences. Although researchers have previously examined this phenomenon, a noticeable gap in the literature highlighted that the voice of the disabled sibling is unheard. The significance of this study was the inclusion of all consenting siblings in a family case study to explore the impact of disabilities on sibling-relational dynamics and birth order so that individuals with disabilities have a platform to share their experiences alongside their non-disabled siblings. In consideration of Adler’s (1931) birth order, I explored how disabled and non-disabled siblings experience the impact of disabilities on the allocation of family roles and sibling-relational dynamics. Results highlighted themes of awareness, evolution, and direct impact; these results may contribute to a broader perspective for future counselling practices with families who live with disability.2018-1
A Diagnostic Model for ADHD with WLD in Students Using Healthcare Analytics
Get PDFPrevious research has shown students that have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a mental health disorder that displays excessive inattentive, impulsive, and hyperactive behavioural symptoms, have an increased risk of having Written Language Disorder (WLD), a learning disorder that displays written composition issues (multiple spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes, sentences that lack cohesion and topic flow, and written assignment completion). The prevalence of WLD without ADHD or another mental health disorder is quite rare.
To measure the prevalence of ADHD and WLD in a student, this research created a computational 'artificial neural network (ANN)' model that combined the outcomes of common screening tools for ADHD with written performance tasks as a measure for WLD. A study based on this ANN shows that ADHD students have a high prevalence of WLD in comparison to typical (non-ADHD or control) students, demonstrating the link between ADHD and WLD.2019-1
Determinant of Analytics Adoption in K-12 Organisations
Get PDFIn times of increasing calls for controlling public spending, evidence-based decision making and capabilities in data analysis informing organisational choices align well with improving efficiency. However, technology adoption needs a strategy as part of the conditions for analytics to gain a lasting foothold in organisations. Short-term considerations and a search for expediency can take precedence over the implementation complexities and efforts to gain knowledge in the proficient use of solutions.
This research investigates the adoption of analytics in the publicly-funded education system of the province of Ontario in Canada. The relationship between themes of strategy, adoption, and analytics is explored from the perspective of Ontario school districts leaders in education. While previous research in the Ontario K-12 setting involved usage of technology in the classroom, this study extends the exploration of analytics adoption to an organisational setting. Data collection consisted of questionnaires and surveys based on two case studies conducted in different school districts. External evidence and observations were used to complement the empirical data.
A total of six hypotheses were developed from the research questions and tested. All hypotheses were rejected on the basis of their t Statistic, except one complying with the theory. A modified UTAUT model remained consistent with the theory in its results and took into account the assumptions of this study. However, an unexpected result was the strength of effort expectancy having twice the impact of either performance expectancy and social influence on behavioural intention. Facilitating conditions with the moderating effects of age, gender, experience, and willingness to use were not found to
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be significant. Contradicting interviewees who judged the issue relevant, school enrolment size was also not statistically significant in the inferential analysis results.
The results of the study suggest that strategy is central to the adoption of analytics. To assist adoption, the strategy should insist on extensive consultation with end-users and training by data professionals. The study also challenges the applicability of the basic UTAUT model for adoption of analytics in school districts by proposing an alternative model appropriate for school districts and the exploration of the topic and the themes.2019-0
Women with depression in online learning: A descriptive phenomenological analysis
Get PDFThis study explored how women in online learning contexts experienced and recovered from depression. Guided by the primary research question —What are the lived experiences of women in online learning who have lived with and recovered from depression? — and a descriptive phenomenological approach, I interviewed 11 women distance learners who suffered from depression during their online studies. Interviews were analyzed using Giorgi’s (2009) descriptive phenomenological method. The Theory of Social Domains was used during the analysis as a sensitizing concept to bring the disciplinary concerns of social work to the study. Seven invariant constituents of the experience were identified: the development of depression; the impact of depression on learning: treatment of depression: peers in online learning: role overload: self-identity; and personal agency. The study concludes with recommendations including increased opportunities for peer interaction in online courses as best pedagogical practice and as essential for students with depression.2019-0
MODELLING MARKET BEHAVIOUR WITH ENSEMBLES AND TECHNICAL INDICATORS
Get PDFThis research investigated the ability of different classification ensemble models to predict the outcome of market events defined by a technical trading system. The ensemble classification models used a diverse set of technical indicators to measure various aspects of market sentiment at the time of market entry as determined by a technical trading system. This research found that various ensemble classification models differ in their ability to classify the nonlinear relationships of market behaviour and are able to perform better than random chance in most cases.2019-0
Gender Issues Affecting the Use of Humanoid Robots in Education
Get PDFHumanoid robots are gradually finding their way into various sectors of the society including the educational sector. Over the years various teaching methods have been introduced to the educational system to make it more effective. The use of learning objects such as humanoid robots in education is aimed at achieving this objective. For the humanoids to be successfully integrated into the educational sector, there is a need for comprehensive study of the humanoid robots and the factors that might aid or hinder their successful integration. This study will look at various gender issues such as attitude, preference, level of interaction and appearance. It will determine how these issues will affect the acceptance and integration of humanoid robots in the educational system. This will assist in the design of humanoid robots that can be more easily adopted by both students as well as teachers.2019-0