Profile of planning: A study of a three-year project on the implementation of collaborative library media programs

The implementation of collaborative planning and teaching models in ten flexibly scheduled elementary and middle school library media centers was studied to determine which factors facilitated the collaborative planning process and to learn what occurs when library media specialists (LMSs) and classroom teachers (CTs) plan together. In this qualitative study, 61 principals, CTs, and LMSs were interviewed on a range of topics including the principal's role, school climate, the value of team planning, the importance of information literacy instruction, and the ideal learning environment. Other data sources were observations, videotapes of planning sessions, and documents. This three-year school reform effort was funded by the Library Power Project to improve library programs, to encourage collaborative planning, and to increase curricular integration of information literacy skills instruction. ^ The findings included a description of typical planning sessions and the identification of several major factors which impacted the success of collaborative planning: the individuals involved, school climate, time for planning, the organization of the school, the facility and collection, and training. Of these factors, the characteristics and actions of the people involved were most critical to the implementation of the innovation. The LMS was the pivotal player and, in the views of CTs, principals, and LMSs themselves, must be knowledgeable about curriculum, the library collection, and instructional design and delivery; must be open and welcoming to CTs and use good interpersonal skills; and must be committed to information literacy instruction and willing to act as a change agent. The support of the principal was vital; in schools with successful programs, the principal served as an advocate for collaborative planning and information literacy instruction, provided financial support for the library program including clerical staff, and arranged for LMSs and CTs to have time during the school day to plan together. ^ CTs involved in positive planning partnerships with LMSs were flexible, were open to change, used a variety of instructional materials, expected students to be actively involved in their own learning, and were willing to team teach with LMSs. Most CTs planning with LMSs made lesson plans in advance and preferred to plan with others. Also, most CTs in this study planned with grade level or departmental groups, which expedited the delivery of information literacy instruction and the effective use of planning time. ^ Implications of the findings of this research project were discussed for individual schools, for school districts, and for colleges and universities training LMSs, CTs, and administrators. Suggestions for additional research were also included. ^

The use of computing technology in highway construction contractor companies as a Total Jobsite Management Tool (TJMT)

The integration of automation (specifically Global Positioning Systems (GPS)) and Information and Communications Technology (ICT) through the creation of a Total Jobsite Management Tool (TJMT) in construction contractor companies can revolutionize the way contractors do business. The key to this integration is the collection and processing of real-time GPS data that is produced on the jobsite for use in project management applications. This research study established the need for an effective planning and implementation framework to assist construction contractor companies in navigating the terrain of GPS and ICT use. An Implementation Framework was developed using the Action Research approach. The framework consists of three components, as follows: (i) ICT Infrastructure Model, (ii) Organizational Restructuring Model, and (iii) Cost/Benefit Analysis. The conceptual ICT infrastructure model was developed for the purpose of showing decision makers within highway construction companies how to collect, process, and use GPS data for project management applications. The organizational restructuring model was developed to assist companies in the analysis and redesign of business processes, data flows, core job responsibilities, and their organizational structure in order to obtain the maximum benefit at the least cost in implementing GPS as a TJMT. A cost-benefit analysis which identifies and quantifies the cost and benefits (both direct and indirect) was performed in the study to clearly demonstrate the advantages of using GPS as a TJMT. Finally, the study revealed that in order to successfully implement a program to utilize GPS data as a TJMT, it is important for construction companies to understand the various implementation and transitioning issues that arise when implementing this new technology and business strategy. In the study, Factors for Success were identified and ranked to allow a construction company to understand the factors that may contribute to or detract from the prospect for success during implementation. The Implementation Framework developed as a result of this study will serve to guide highway construction companies in the successful integration of GPS and ICT technologies for use as a TJMT.

Community environmental preservation initiatives in Borgne, Haiti

The purpose of this thesis was to complete an analysis of the work and practices of the community organizations of Borgne, Haiti. While the work of several community organizations were examined, research specifically focused on the community’s tree-planting project. Given the current state of Haiti’s environment and the historic record of development efforts in Haiti, this project represents a unique model that may have larger implications on the way in trees are planted throughout Haiti. Field research was completed on site in Borgne in the summer months of 2010. The primary methods employed in data collection were Participatory Action Research and semi-structured interviewing.

A youth vision of the city: The socio-spatial lives and exclusion of street girls in Bogota, Colombia

This dissertation documents the everyday lives and spaces of a population of youth typically constructed as out of place, and the broader urban context in which they are rendered as such. Thirty-three female and transgender street youth participated in the development of this youth-based participatory action research (YPAR) project utilizing geo-ethnographic methods, auto-photography, and archival research throughout a six-phase, eighteen-month research process in Bogotá, Colombia. ^ This dissertation details the participatory writing process that enabled the YPAR research team to destabilize dominant representations of both street girls and urban space and the participatory mapping process that enabled the development of a youth vision of the city through cartographic images. The maps display individual and aggregate spatial data indicating trends within and making comparisons between three subgroups of the research population according to nine spatial variables. These spatial data, coupled with photographic and ethnographic data, substantiate that street girls’ mobilities and activity spaces intersect with and are altered by state-sponsored urban renewal projects and paramilitary-led social cleansing killings, both efforts to clean up Bogotá by purging the city center of deviant populations and places. ^ Advancing an ethical approach to conducting research with excluded populations, this dissertation argues for the enactment of critical field praxis and care ethics within a YPAR framework to incorporate young people as principal research actors rather than merely voices represented in adultist academic discourse. Interjection of considerations of space, gender, and participation into the study of street youth produce new ways of envisioning the city and the role of young people in research. Instead of seeing the city from a panoptic view, Bogotá is revealed through the eyes of street youth who participated in the construction and feminist visualization of a new cartography and counter-map of the city grounded in embodied, situated praxis. This dissertation presents a socially responsible approach to conducting action-research with high-risk youth by documenting how street girls reclaim their right to the city on paper and in practice; through maps of their everyday exclusion in Bogotá followed by activism to fight against it.^

Creating a Culture of Thinking that Cultivates the Perspective-Taking Disposition

Through action research, the researchers engaged a group of third grade children in a project that offered a variety of learning activities to develop the children’s perspective-taking ability. As a result the teachers found a significant increase in the emotional connection of the students to the characters in the literature.

Information systems to support decision-making in *construction owner organizations: A data warehousing approach

Construction organizations typically deal with large volumes of project data containing valuable information. It is found that these organizations do not use these data effectively for planning and decision-making. There are two reasons. First, the information systems in construction organizations are designed to support day-to-day construction operations. The data stored in these systems are often non-validated, non-integrated and are available in a format that makes it difficult for decision makers to use in order to make timely decisions. Second, the organizational structure and the IT infrastructure are often not compatible with the information systems thereby resulting in higher operational costs and lower productivity. These two issues have been investigated in this research with the objective of developing systems that are structured for effective decision-making. ^ A framework was developed to guide storage and retrieval of validated and integrated data for timely decision-making and to enable construction organizations to redesign their organizational structure and IT infrastructure matched with information system capabilities. The research was focused on construction owner organizations that were continuously involved in multiple construction projects. Action research and Data warehousing techniques were used to develop the framework. ^ One hundred and sixty-three construction owner organizations were surveyed in order to assess their data needs, data management practices and extent of use of information systems in planning and decision-making. For in-depth analysis, Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) was selected which is in-charge of all transportation-related construction projects in the Miami-Dade county. A functional model and a prototype system were developed to test the framework. The results revealed significant improvements in data management and decision-support operations that were examined through various qualitative (ease in data access, data quality, response time, productivity improvement, etc.) and quantitative (time savings and operational cost savings) measures. The research results were first validated by MDT and then by a representative group of twenty construction owner organizations involved in various types of construction projects. ^

Information systems to support decision-making in construction owner organizations : a data warehousing approach

Construction organizations typically deal with large volumes of project data containing valuable information. It is found that these organizations do not use these data effectively for planning and decision-making. There are two reasons. First, the information systems in construction organizations are designed to support day-to-day construction operations. The data stored in these systems are often non-validated, nonintegrated and are available in a format that makes it difficult for decision makers to use in order to make timely decisions. Second, the organizational structure and the IT infrastructure are often not compatible with the information systems thereby resulting in higher operational costs and lower productivity. These two issues have been investigated in this research with the objective of developing systems that are structured for effective decision-making. A framework was developed to guide storage and retrieval of validated and integrated data for timely decision-making and to enable construction organizations to redesign their organizational structure and IT infrastructure matched with information system capabilities. The research was focused on construction owner organizations that were continuously involved in multiple construction projects. Action research and Data warehousing techniques were used to develop the framework. One hundred and sixty-three construction owner organizations were surveyed in order to assess their data needs, data management practices and extent of use of information systems in planning and decision-making. For in-depth analysis, Miami-Dade Transit (MDT) was selected which is in-charge of all transportation-related construction projects in the Miami-Dade county. A functional model and a prototype system were developed to test the framework. The results revealed significant improvements in data management and decision-support operations that were examined through various qualitative (ease in data access, data quality, response time, productivity improvement, etc.) and quantitative (time savings and operational cost savings) measures. The research results were first validated by MDT and then by a representative group of twenty construction owner organizations involved in various types of construction projects.

A inserção da família no processo socioeducativo de adolescentes em privação de liberdade

This master thesis has the main goal investigate how families are inserted in the socioeducational process of teenagers who are undergoing social measures of liberty deprivation. The specific objectives are: to characterize the family´s living together of adolescents deprived of their freedom and their families, from the actions and routines of the socio-educational system; to assess the professional working links in the context of socio-education, in order to care and strengthening families of the adolescents; to investigate how families evaluate the operation of socio-educational process in which adolescents are met. Method: to achieve the proposed objectives, data collection occurred in complementary steps: the first phase took place from visits to socioeducational units of liberty deprivation of RN, and dialogues with professionals working in socio-education. Subsequently, action research stage was carried out, from the insertion of the researcher in the extension project Family and the struggle for the effectiveness of the National Socio Service System, that aimed to strengthen monitoring the adolescents socio-education by their families, and had as methodology the conversation circles and thematic workshops. Lastly, were performed reading and analysis of the references to the family in the Individual Care Plans (PIAs) for adolescents. The information gathered was recorded in field diaries and subjected to thematic content analysis. This research was guided by the Marxist theoretical framework, structured on the understanding of the involvement of adolescents with illegal acts as a development and expression of the social question. From this theoretical framework, the prevailing view in the capitalist society of adolescents in conflict with the law as individuals who are treated by means of repression and segregation and the weakness of social policies is questioned, both in the execution of their own socioeducational measures as the articulation of network services for adolescent protection and strengthening your family. Results: in relation to the operation of the socioeducational system in RN in general, it was observed a state of unhealthy physical spaces and institutional practices that violate human rights, idleness and lack of access to social rights, and criminalization and institutionalization of poor young people and their families. With regard to family´s living together, it was noticed great distance between principles and guidelines recommended by the SINASE, about acquaintanceship and family strengthening, and every day practices of socio-education in RN: serious violations were observed that undermine the family´s living together, as the distance between the socio-educational units of deprivation of liberty and the cities where families live; absence, irregularity and poor conditions in carrying out the family visits; lack of conjugal visits; restricted and unarticulated actions for the care and strengthening of the families of adolescents, most of whom live in poverty or extreme poverty. Finally, it was found a number of blamefully and punishments to the family, including practices such as inward inspection (visual inspection while naked and squant), plus a series of violence and omissions care that sick family members and weaken the links between adolescents and their families.

"Quem sou eu?": uma (re)construção do sujeito por meio da narrativa autobiográfica - proposta didática com um olhar nas interações em sala de aula

As we are aware, the classroom is emerging as a continuous build learning experiences and environment, however, for students also it functions as a place also to be due to socializing with friends. However, not always these elements complement each other, so as harmoniously as we are aware that there are many difficulties, both in the act of learning as in interpersonal relations between them. From this, we understand that it is for the school to seek ways to contemplate such issues so that they feel inserted both with regard to this learning as well as being able to interact with themselves and with others, in a participatory manner, to live well socially. Thus, we find ourselves facing a similar situation with a 9th grade class where the students had certain limitations to have a good relationship with one another, causing thus problems in learning. On the other hand, this difficulty as affectively interact with each other, also, was increased by the difficulty that some students had to speak for themselves and to show their feelings and emotions, getting even more difficult this interaction at school. Thus, we found ourselves obliged to act immediately and need to bring about change in this picture. So it came out the idea of the application of an intervening action which started taking shapefrom a pedagogical project that we developed in other classes in previous years, this time adapted to the situation experienced by the group. The project, framed in the qualitative research and characterized from the action research approach took shape, and elected as its main objective to seek possible alternatives to develop the communicative competence of students, which is why we invest in exercise oral communication (speaking and listening) in order to promote the use of language, the interpersonal involvement facilitating thus their participation both in the classroom and in social life. To fulfill this goal, we set out to develop a didactic book whose support materialized through the autobiographical narrative (molded in writing production) and worked along a structured instructional sequence in three distinctstages that dialogued with each other. Therefore, we base our study from the socio-historical conception and dialogue proposed by Bakhtin in line with the sociodiscursivo interactionism of Bronckart and resort to other scholars as Dolz and Schneuwly, Marcuschi among others. The development of all stages of the project not only has had an immediate effect on what we proposed ourselves as also yielded us very gratifying moments reinforcing to us that the classroom environment goes far beyond the fact ministering content. And that work with orality, with views on affective interaction of these students resulted in a project, so to speak, exciting.

Avaliação de qualidade da unidade de diálise no Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes - HUOL

Over the years there has been a broader definition of the term health. At the same time it was found also an evolution of the concept of health care which in turn has led to changes in the approach to delivery of health services and hence in its management. In this regard, currently the nephrology services have been searching for quality technical and social need. In view of these innovations and the quest for quality, it elaborated the general objective: to develop a quality assessment protocol for dialysis service Onofre Lopes University Hospital. It is an intervention project effected through an action research, which consisted of 4 steps. Initially was identified through a literature search in scientific literature, which quality indicators would apply to a dialysis unit being selected as follows: infection rate in hemodialysis access site, microbiological control of water used for hemodialysis and Index User satisfaction. Through critical reflection on the theme researched in the previous step, it was drawn up three data collection instruments, interview form type, applied between the months of October and November 2015. In addition to the information obtained, also made up of the use of information retrieval technique. The results were organized in graphs and tables and analyzed using qualitative and exploratory technical approach. Then a reflective analysis of the data obtained and the diagnosis of reality studied was traced and confronted with the literature was performed. The data produced in this study revealed that the Dialysis Unit of HUOL is much to be desired, considering that some weaknesses have been identified in its structure. Faced with this finding have been proposed, as a contribution and aiming to guide the development of future actions, suggestions for improvement that should be implemented and monitored to be assured overcoming these difficulties, allowing an appropriate organizational restructuring, and resulting in improved service public offered. It was concluded that for hemodialysis treatment results are achieved and positive, it is necessary to have physical structure and adequate infrastructure, multidisciplinary team specialized, trained and in sufficient quantity, well designed processes for professionals to have standards to be followed decreasing the chance to err, and a risk management system to detect and control situations that endanger patient safety.

Avaliação de qualidade da unidade de diálise no Hospital Universitário Onofre Lopes - HUOL

Over the years there has been a broader definition of the term health. At the same time it was found also an evolution of the concept of health care which in turn has led to changes in the approach to delivery of health services and hence in its management. In this regard, currently the nephrology services have been searching for quality technical and social need. In view of these innovations and the quest for quality, it elaborated the general objective: to develop a quality assessment protocol for dialysis service Onofre Lopes University Hospital. It is an intervention project effected through an action research, which consisted of 4 steps. Initially was identified through a literature search in scientific literature, which quality indicators would apply to a dialysis unit being selected as follows: infection rate in hemodialysis access site, microbiological control of water used for hemodialysis and Index User satisfaction. Through critical reflection on the theme researched in the previous step, it was drawn up three data collection instruments, interview form type, applied between the months of October and November 2015. In addition to the information obtained, also made up of the use of information retrieval technique. The results were organized in graphs and tables and analyzed using qualitative and exploratory technical approach. Then a reflective analysis of the data obtained and the diagnosis of reality studied was traced and confronted with the literature was performed. The data produced in this study revealed that the Dialysis Unit of HUOL is much to be desired, considering that some weaknesses have been identified in its structure. Faced with this finding have been proposed, as a contribution and aiming to guide the development of future actions, suggestions for improvement that should be implemented and monitored to be assured overcoming these difficulties, allowing an appropriate organizational restructuring, and resulting in improved service public offered. It was concluded that for hemodialysis treatment results are achieved and positive, it is necessary to have physical structure and adequate infrastructure, multidisciplinary team specialized, trained and in sufficient quantity, well designed processes for professionals to have standards to be followed decreasing the chance to err, and a risk management system to detect and control situations that endanger patient safety.

A Study of How Economic Attitudes Are Shaped by Environmental Shocks and Life Experiences

Social attitudes, attitudes toward financial risk and attitudes toward deferred gratification are thought to influence many important economic decisions over the life-course. In economic theory, these attitudes are key components in diverse models of behavior, including collective action, saving and investment decisions and occupational choice. The relevance of these attitudes have been confirmed empirically. Yet, the factors that influence them are not well understood. This research evaluates how these attitudes are affected by large disruptive events, namely, a natural disaster and a civil conflict, and also by an individual-specific life event, namely, having children.

By implementing rigorous empirical strategies drawing on rich longitudinal datasets, this research project advances our understanding of how life experiences shape these attitudes. Moreover, compelling evidence is provided that the observed changes in attitudes are likely to reflect changes in preferences given that they are not driven just by changes in financial circumstances. Therefore the findings of this research project also contribute to the discussion of whether preferences are really fixed, a usual assumption in economics.

In the first chapter, I study how altruistic and trusting attitudes are affected by exposure to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami as long as ten years after the disaster occurred. Establishing a causal relationship between natural disasters and attitudes presents several challenges as endogenous exposure and sample selection can confound the analysis. I take on these challenges by exploiting plausibly exogenous variation in exposure to the tsunami and by relying on a longitudinal dataset representative of the pre-tsunami population in two districts of Aceh, Indonesia. The sample is drawn from the Study of the Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery (STAR), a survey with data collected both before and after the disaster and especially designed to identify the impact of the tsunami. The altruistic and trusting attitudes of the respondents are measured by their behavior in the dictator and trust games. I find that witnessing closely the damage caused by the tsunami but without suffering severe economic damage oneself increases altruistic and trusting behavior, particularly towards individuals from tsunami affected communities. Having suffered severe economic damage has no impact on altruistic behavior but may have increased trusting behavior. These effects do not seem to be caused by the consequences of the tsunami on people’s financial situation. Instead they are consistent with how experiences of loss and solidarity may have shaped social attitudes by affecting empathy and perceptions of who is deserving of aid and trust.

In the second chapter, co-authored with Ryan Brown, Duncan Thomas and Andrea Velasquez, we investigate how attitudes toward financial risk are affected by elevated levels of insecurity and uncertainty brought on by the Mexican Drug War. To conduct our analysis, we pair the Mexican Family Life Survey (MxFLS), a rich longitudinal dataset ideally suited for our purposes, with a dataset on homicide rates at the month and municipality-level. The homicide rates capture well the overall crime environment created by the drug war. The MxFLS elicits risk attitudes by asking respondents to choose between hypothetical gambles with different payoffs. Our strategy to identify a causal effect has two key components. First, we implement an individual fixed effects strategy which allows us to control for all time-invariant heterogeneity. The remaining time variant heterogeneity is unlikely to be correlated with changes in the local crime environment given the well-documented political origins of the Mexican Drug War. We also show supporting evidence in this regard. The second component of our identification strategy is to use an intent-to-treat approach to shield our estimates from endogenous migration. Our findings indicate that exposure to greater local-area violent crime results in increased risk aversion. This effect is not driven by changes in financial circumstances, but may be explained instead by heightened fear of victimization. Nonetheless, we find that having greater economic resources mitigate the impact. This may be due to individuals with greater economic resources being able to avoid crime by affording better transportation or security at work.

The third chapter, co-authored with Duncan Thomas, evaluates whether attitudes toward deferred gratification change after having children. For this study we also exploit the MxFLS, which elicits attitudes toward deferred gratification (commonly known as time discounting) by asking individuals to choose between hypothetical payments at different points in time. We implement a difference-in-difference estimator to control for all time-invariant heterogeneity and show that our results are robust to the inclusion of time varying characteristics likely correlated with child birth. We find that becoming a mother increases time discounting especially in the first two years after childbirth and in particular for those women without a spouse at home. Having additional children does not have an effect and the effect for men seems to go in the opposite direction. These heterogeneous effects suggest that child rearing may affect time discounting due to generated stress or not fully anticipated spending needs.

Immersive Learning Research Network

Computer games have now been around for over three decades and the term serious games has been attributed to the use of computer games that are thought to have educational value. Game-based learning (GBL) has been applied in a number of different fields such as medicine, languages and software engineering. Furthermore, serious games can be a very effective as an instructional tool and can assist learning by providing an alternative way of presenting instructions and content on a supplementary level, and can promote student motivation and interest in subject matter resulting in enhanced learning effectiveness. REVLAW (Real and Virtual Reality Law) is a research project that the departments of Law and Computer Science of Westminster University have proposed as a new framework in which law students can explore a real case scenario using Virtual Reality (VR) technology to discover important pieces of evidence from a real-given scenario and make up their mind over the crime case if this is a murder or not. REVLAW integrates the immersion into VR as the perception of being physically present in a non-physical world. The paper presents the prototype framework and the mechanics used to make students focus on the crime case and make the best use of this immersive learning approach.

An integrated psychology virtual research ethics committee

Research and professional ethics are an integral part of every Psychology degree, as this is seen as a key graduate learning outcome for students leaving to become clinicians working with clients and patients. The development of these skills is embedded in teaching, but they culminate in the final year of a degree when final year students must gain formal ethical approval for their final research project. Decision as to the ethical appropriateness of research are made by a Departmental Research Ethics Committee, which considers all research project proposals submitted by staff and students within the department. One of the challenges of this practice is the scale of work involved for committee members (Doyle & Buckley, 2014) who are all faculty members, and the tracking of applications and decisions, alongside the quality assurance required to ensure that all applications are treated fairly and equally. The time involved in performing this work is often underestimated by Universities, and the variety and complexity of decisions requires extensive discussion and negotiation. Traditionally, these decisions are reached by committee discussions, however this presents logistical difficulties as it requires meetings with quorate attendance. The University of Westminster launched a virtual tool in 2014 to facilitate the management of the Research Ethics Committee, to help track the progress of applications and to allow discussions to occur and be managed virtually. The Department of Psychology adopted the tools in September 2014 to deal with all ethics applications. Here we report on how this virtual committee has affected the role and practices of a working committee that deals with over 300 applications per year, and how an online ethics procedure has facilitated an integrated developmental approach to ethical education.

Engaging with the public in public engagement with research

Though there is now growing commitment to publicly engaged research, the role and definition of the public in such processes is wide-ranging, contested, and often rather vague. This article addresses this problem by showing that, although there is no single agreed upon theory or way of being public, it is still possible and very important to develop clear, public-centric, understandings of engaged research practice. The article introduces a multi-dimensional framework based on the theoretical literature on the ‘public’, and demonstrates – in the context of a recent engaged research project – how it possible to conceptualise, design and evaluate context-specific formations of the public. Starting from an understanding of publics as mediated and dynamic entities, the article seeks to illuminate some of the choices that researchers face and how the framework can help them navigate these. This article is for all those interested in what it means to address, support and account for an engaged public in contemporary settings.