DTheses (Athabasca University)
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Individual and Institutional Factors Affecting the Professional Development Activities of Canadian Museum Educators
Get PDFMuseum educators (ME) play a pivotal role in translating an institution’s collection into meaningful experiences for visitors. Yet, little is currently known about the most effective ways to support the development and sharing of professional knowledge among ME’s. Informed by the epistemological premises of social cognitive theory and ecological constructivism, this mixed methods study investigated the ways in which perceptions of personal investment contribute to Canadian museum educators’ ongoing learning activities. To address this question, 172 museum educators from across Canada responded to an online survey, from which 6 were selected for a follow up telephone interview. Results revealed distinct participation and cost/benefit perception patterns for each of 11 forms of professional development, with strong preference for peer learning formats. Substantial correlation was uncovered between the availability of employer support and participation in a given activity, with more modest correlations being present regarding perceptions of financial cost, skill development potential, topical interest, and enjoyment of the format. Participant age, experience level, and educational background were found to have negligible impacts on activity selection decisions. Interview findings supported these survey findings, and offered further insights into the role of convenience in selection decisions and the ways in which ME’s use learning communities to inform their learning pursuits. Synthesis of these findings produced four distinct pictures that illustrate how museum educators’ professional networks, personality factors, and perceptions of the convenience and accessibility of learning resources work in concert to influence the ongoing learning habits of Canadian ME’s.2019-0
Phenomenology as a Method of Psychological Inquiry: Developing Freedom From Suppositions
Get PDFEdmund Husserl developed phenomenology as a method to enrich a naturalistic-driven scientific inquiry by including the person of the researcher. Developing freedom from suppositions, or the practice of epoché, is a core concept in phenomenological research. This qualitative inquiry into the work of Husserl and Moustakas situates their notions of epoché in the Theravada tradition of mindfulness. Furthermore, this exploration includes a review of literature related to the clinician’s presence with the client, parallel to the researcher’s presence with a phenomenon. Author comes to the conclusion that an inner practice of cultivation of wisdom driven by an attitude of openness, curiosity and acceptance is an integral part of phenomenological method of psychological inquiry. The core of this practice can be summarized as alteration of consciousness and psychological awareness of self, supported by intentionality, integrity, values, and intuition; and evoking a sense of relatedness, immediacy and depth, and feeling of joy.2018-0
MEASURES OF TRANSITION READINESS IN ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS WITH CHRONIC DISEASE: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Get PDFThe transition from pediatric to adult healthcare for adolescents with chronic illness has emerged
as a critical period in long-term health outcomes. Suitable transition readiness measures are
necessary for healthcare professionals to assess the readiness to transition of their patients and
improve transition outcomes. Currently, there is no consensus about well-validated transition
readiness measurements. The goal of this thesis was to systematically review the literature for
transition-readiness tools for adolescents with chronic health illnesses published in peerreviewed
journals. Forty-eight articles, representing 19 different tools, were included in the
review. Ten of the tools were disease-specific; nine were disease-neutral. Eight measures were
“well-established assessments” (Cohen criteria). Overall, the Transition Readiness Assessment
Questionnaire remains the best well-validated measure of transition readiness available. In
conclusion, even after the release of the national practice guidelines and ongoing policy
development, there continues to be only slow movement towards achieving a “gold standard”
measure of transition readiness.2018-0
A tale of two identities: Distinguished and Different. An application of Bourdieu's "thinking tools" to making sense of an information technology system implementation.
Get PDFThis dissertation presents an emic qualitative study of the introduction of a new information system technology tool at a firm in the Canadian financial sector. The goals of the study are two-fold: to demonstrate the efficacy and appropriateness of Bourdieu’s critical social theory as a framework for sensemaking in organizations, as well as to understand how users make sense of a new tool. Users’ accounts of the change to the new tool, with context provided by internal organizational communications and information about the firm available externally, are examined through the analysis of antenarrative. It adds to the body of knowledge through this unique application of Bourdieu’s theory, studying “the making sense of” a systems implementation in a professional firm and supports the body of knowledge referencing the importance of identity, context and plausibility in making sense of change. As well, it provides some insights into the work done by users to maintain, recover, reclaim or re-balance identities under threat. It also adds to the work initiated by Bourdieu in his discussion of ‘split habitus’, by demonstrating the possibility of simultaneously being in multiple (i.e., plural) habitus, and using the logic associated with each to make sense of the experience of using new tools in a work environment. Additionally, the study informs the practice of change associated with systems implementations, giving insight to the importance of “user identity logic(s)”, and paying attention to situations in the design, development and implementation of the system that may be impacting user identity logic.2018-0
An exploration of the personal values that motivate responsible leaders in Canadian organizations: A personal perspective on corporate social responsibility
Get PDFThe personal decisions and actions of the senior leaders of business determine the social responsibility of the firm. To understand why one company is socially responsible and another is not, we should examine the leadership. Curiously, it is only recently that senior leaders have become the focus of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature, even though their decisions drive performance and shape the organization’s culture.
Scholars have now identified a leader’s mindset as a missing link in understanding the inconsistencies of CSR. While some new studies have explored leaders’ mindsets, an examination of personal values has not formed part of that research. Building on the findings of some contemporary scholars, I designed a study with a research question that went to the heart of this issue: What are the personal values that affect the decisions of responsible leaders around social responsibility? For the research design, I employed a qualitative, multi-theoretical, multi-case study approach with a focus on micro-foundations. Stakeholder and responsible leadership theories formed the theoretical foundation and I consulted multiple literatures to ensure a more holistic description of the project.
Using criteria from emerging research on responsible leadership and the findings from the 12 Canadian senior corporate leaders in my study, I identified value dimensions to explain the motivations of these responsible leaders. In doing so I have added a unique component to the responsible leadership framework that has been a missing element within the literature.
This study demonstrates how leadership plays a central role in determining social responsibility within the firm and that a values-based leadership approach embeds responsibility in the organization’s culture. The value dimensions I have proposed expand the narrative around the integrative responsible leader and should build support for responsible leadership theory. The findings may resonate with individual leaders who aspire to a more integrity-based, fair-minded, and collaborative form of leadership. On a broader level, a senior leader with integrative characteristics and values has the capacity to rebuild social responsibility and trust and provide a much-needed alternative to the dominant leadership style represented in the global marketplace today.2018-0
Identifying Malicious VoIP Usage using Computational Intelligence
Get PDFVoIP user accounts are a prime target for hackers to compromise for profit. VoIP accounts
are targets of the same types of attacks as any other Internet account that is authorized
with a username and password. Unlike many other Internet accounts VoIP has a direct
monetary cost to the user being compromised. Toll-fraud perpetrated using a compro-
mised VoIP account can accrue expensive toll-charges that either the user or the service
provider are liable to pay for. This paper discusses the prior research in detecting unau-
thorized usage on VoIP accounts. The researched methods are based on machine learning
techniques. A new technique of using a Recurrent Neural Network for detecting unau-
thorized usage periods on a VoIP account is developed and demonstrated. The technique
uses a Long-Short Term Memory style of Recurrent Neural Network to achieve over a 99%
accuracy when testing against calls tagged as occurring during a toll-fraud event.2018-10-2
Gaming as a Service Research Assessment Toolkit
Get PDFThe purpose of this research is to design and determine the effectiveness of using a Gaming as a Service (GaaS) Research Assessment Toolkit to facilitate and evolve GaaS research, and improve the end user experience. Previous research spanning a twelve-year period from 2006 to 2018 reveals that identified fundamental GaaS problems are being carried over into ongoing and future GaaS research. Each year new research experiments and approaches to solving ongoing GaaS issues are presented by the education and research community. The literature and this research reveal that there is a place for a unified facilitative tool, specifically a research assessment toolkit to facilitate, test, optimize and minimize common GaaS carry over issues, as GaaS evolves. This research introduces a unified, multiplatform and embedded smart application, the GaaS RATK with bundled assessment and optimization tools. The research establishes how the GaaS RATK is beneficial to GaaS and its community.October 19, 201
Building Commitment for a Campus-Wide Internationalization Initiative – A Case Study of a President’s Creative Challenge at Sheridan College
Get PDFThe process of building commitment for a President’s creative challenge with an internationalization theme at Sheridan College, a large community college in Ontario, is analyzed as an exploratory case study in this dissertation. Sheridan College was selected for this study because it is an institution that has a long history of success in leveraging its unique culture (i.e. creative campus) to enable cross-unit collaborations. Kezar’s (2005) stage model of collaboration development was the theoretical framework used to identify the institutional strategies employed by the senior leadership of Sheridan to remove barriers to building commitment for its President’s creative challenge (PCC). This model was also used to identify the essential organizational elements that were instrumental in building commitment for the PCC. Past studies have shown that personal elements are also important for building commitment for collaborative cross-unit endeavours. This study adds to the body of knowledge on collaboration by considering the personal elements that were not addressed in Kezar’s (2005) model of collaboration.
Through interviews with administrators, faculty members, and support staff involved in the President’s creative challenge and the analysis of documents dating back to 2010, the institutional, organization, and personal factors for building commitment were illuminated in this study. This case study highlights the features of a strong plan to internationalize a College in Ontario but then explains the barriers that prevented that plan from ever being implemented.
This case study highlights the fact that differing cultures and structures between Sheridan College and the universities that Kezar (2005) examined led to differences in the elements that were instrumental in building commitment. This case study also examined the interaction among the elements to explain how the leadership at Sheridan created a sense of urgency for collaboration and encouraged social networking to take place for a PCC with an internationalization theme at Sheridan. This study also revealed that it is the examination of institutional, organizational, and personal considerations for building commitment that are important for future management practice since all of these factors need to be considered to make a transformational change like internationalization happen within a community college.2018-0
The trans community says: An anti-oppressive, trans feminist research project with transgender communities
Get PDFTherapists in Canada are expected to connect to transgender communities in culturally-informed and emancipatory ways. However there is a lack of unbiased information, training, education, or institutional support to meet this expectation. The Trans Community Says (TCS) Project was created to delve into trans-centred knowledge about the strengths, challenges, and characteristics of trans communities in Alberta. Findings from this project can shed light on how these communities support their members and how they may be better supported. The study demonstrates an anti-oppressive, trans feminist approach to collaborative research with trans communities.2018-0
Then and Now: Technology Use Over Time
Get PDFIn this transcendental phenomenological study, the research question explored was: What is the essence of how counselling students related to technology over time? For participants, becoming increasingly familiar with technology involved receiving support, feeling uncomfortable, exploring possibilities, viewing technology as a tool, and examining the social dynamics involved with technology use. A new, developmental theory of using technology, the stages of technology use by Rempel and Jerry (2013), was described. Using the data from this study, Rempel and Jerry’s theory was refined and a conceptual model for understanding beneficial and problematic technology use was developed, based on attachment theory and Erikson’s (1950/1993) psychosocial developmental model.2018-0