Theses and Dissertations from UMD
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New submissions to the thesis/dissertation collections are added automatically as they are received from the Graduate School. Currently, the Graduate School deposits all theses and dissertations from a given semester after the official graduation date. This means that there may be up to a 4 month delay in the appearance of a give thesis/dissertation in DRUM
More information is available at Theses and Dissertations at University of Maryland Libraries.
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Item PARENTS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: WHAT THEY KNOW, WHAT THEY THINK THEY KNOW, AND WHAT THEY WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SPECIAL EDUCATION RIGHTS AND PROCESS(2024) Kim, Julianna; Wexler, Jade; Special Education; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Parents of students with disabilities play a vital role in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) planning process. Research has shown that parents’ engagement and advocacy could benefit students’ services. In order for more effective advocacy, parents must know their special education rights and process. Therefore, this dissertation study explored parent’s knowledge and understanding of special education rights and process.Chapter 2 is a research synthesis of how studies have quantifiably measured parents’ knowledge and understanding. Chapter 3 is a mixed-method design study that explores whether parents’ perceived knowledge and actual knowledge are different constructs through a nationwide survey. The second section of the mixed method study is qualitative design through focus groups, and the purpose of the focus groups was to explore what information parents from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds desire to find and how that information should be presented. The findings from the focus groups were used to write a policy paper in Chapter 4. Finally, Chapter 5 summarizes the findings and shares limitations and implications.Item The Sociological Study of Expert Knowledge Work: Current Trends and Changes in the Study of the Professions, Professionalization, and Professionalism(2018) Yagatich, William; Fisher, Dana R; Sociology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This dissertation is a collection of three papers, separate but related investigations in the sociological study of expert knowledge. Drawing on the theoretical perspectives developed in the study of the professions, this work continues the current trend of applying the revised concepts to occupational groups that more accurately reflect contemporary economic arrangements. To contribute to the most recent trends in the study of expert knowledge, this dissertation endeavors to integrate the concepts of professionalism and professionalization to the study of expert knowledge—specifically, a group’s ability to control an area of labor and define its practice. The first case study builds on previous research pertaining to professionalization to argue control over consumers is integral to understanding how expert knowledge is leveraged and cordoned off from competition. Using a qualitative approach to the study of tattoo artists and their interactions with clientele and the public, the findings provide support for recognizing informal and formal means of control over consumers, in addition to controls over standards of practice and membership. The second case study investigates the professionalization of volunteer work. This study aims to explicate the ways in which volunteer work may operate and be understood in the same ways as paid occupational groups. Employing survey and in-depth interview data to evaluate the effects of volunteers’ training, the study reveals training programs for volunteer work can instill a sense legitimacy in volunteers and make them more effective in their work, however, like other occupational groups, to attain social closure they would also need a strong, active network of members and a coordinated means of influencing their public image. The last case study investigates how professionalism is maintained or diminished in the wake of change spurred by external bureaucratic arrangements. Taking faculty members of higher education as the focus of this study, situating them in the context of expanding enrollments and online course instruction, this work demonstrates how professionalism is exercised through defining problems in terms of their expertise. In that way, engagement with problems posed by external pressures may foster disciplinary identity and new boundaries of professional practice.Item LEARNING MECHANSIMS AND HEALTH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY(2012) Kothari, Anupama Kunal; Agarwal, Ritu; Viswanathan, Siva; Business and Management: Marketing; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Health information technology (HIT) is gaining momentum and widespread use globally in healthcare institutions through the implementation and use of HIT such as telemedicine and electronic medical records. Literature has discussed various aspects of health information technology such as increasing the accessibility of healthcare, improving the efficacy and reducing associated errors. However, the potential of HIT as a medium of learning has largely been ignored by extant literature. This dissertation seeks to understand the mechanisms of learning in the context of health information technologies, specifically- telemedicine and electronic medical records. The two essays investigate the characteristics of learning under telemedicine and under electronic records. The first essay uses a quantitative mode of investigation, while the second essay utilizes a qualitative mode of research. The first essay deals with telemedicine, a healthcare information technology that provides healthcare across geographic boundaries. The essay investigates how the telemedicine process facilitates synchronous learning in terms of a facilitator-learner theoretical model. It explores the impact of facilitator characteristics and learner characteristics on synchronous learning. Additionally, the essay also examines the impact of organizational variables such as technology on the relationship between learning and facilitator-learner mechanics. Data for this essay is drawn from surveys administered over several hospitals that use telemedicine in India. The second essay studies the role of electronic medical records in information dissemination and learning. In this essay, the role of electronic medical records in providing healthcare personnel with asynchronous learning opportunities is investigated. It explores the impact of individual and organizational factors on discovery learning through electronic medical records. The essay identifies factors such as case complexity, status, familiarity with technology and clinical specialty that influence learning through electronic medical records. The second essay draws on interviews of members of a healthcare team in a multiple specialty hospital that uses electronic medical records. Together, the essays explore various aspects of learning through health information technology, including synchronous learning, asynschronous learning, learning mechanics and motivations for learning.Item Applying Mathematics to Physics and Engineering: Symbolic Forms of the Integral(2010) Jones, Steven Robert; Campbell, Patricia F; Curriculum and Instruction; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)A perception exists that physics and engineering students experience difficulty in applying mathematics to physics and engineering coursework. While some curricular projects aim to improve calculus instruction for these students, it is important to specify where calculus curriculum and instructional practice could be enhanced by examining the knowledge and understanding that students do or do not access after instruction. This qualitative study is intended to shed light on students' knowledge about the integral and how that knowledge is applied to physics and engineering. In this study, nine introductory-level physics and engineering students were interviewed about their understanding of the integral. They were interviewed twice, with one interview focused on and described as problems similar to those encountered in a mathematics class and the other focused on and described as problems similar to those found in a physics class. These students provided evidence for several "symbolic forms" that may exist in their cognition. Some of these symbolic forms resembled the typical interpretations of the integral: an area, an addition over several pieces, and an anti-derivative process. However, unique features of the students' interpretations help explain how this knowledge has been compiled. Furthermore, the way in which these symbolic forms were employed throughout the interviews shows a context-dependence on the activation of this knowledge. The symbolic forms related to area and anti-derivatives were more common and productive during the mathematics interview, while less common and less productive during the physics interview. By contrast, the symbolic form relating to an addition over several pieces was productive for both interview sessions, suggesting its general utility in understanding the integral in various contexts. This study suggests that mathematics instruction may need to provide physics and engineering students with more opportunities to understand the integral as an addition over several pieces. Also, it suggests that physics and engineering instruction may need to reiterate the importance, in physics and engineering contexts, of the integral as an addition over several pieces in order to assist students in applying their knowledge about the integral.Item Digital Libraries in Schools: The Best Practices of National Board Certified Library Media Specialists(2009) Massey, Sheri Anita; Druin, Allison; Weeks, Ann C.; Library & Information Services; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This study investigated the digital library integration behaviors of school library media specialists (SLMSs) who have achieved certification from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). A qualitative interview study design was chosen to convert tacit knowledge related to digital library use into explicit knowledge that can be shared with others. The goal of this research was to identify behaviors and techniques that exemplary SLMSs share when using digital libraries to support the curriculum in K-12 schools. The researcher interviewed and collected artifacts from 10 local National Board certified SLMSs and analyzed the resulting transcripts and materials using thematic analysis. A preliminary coding scheme was derived from the NBPTS Library Media technology innovation standard, which requires candidates to demonstrate expertise in providing technology access, teaching effective technology use, engaging learners with technology, and using technology to enhance the curriculum. Themes related to these four areas emerged from the data, as did sub-themes in the form of barriers the SLMSs encountered and strategies they developed to meet the standard. The barriers are discussed using Ertmer's (1999) first- and second-order classifications. The strategies are the SLMSs' best practices. To provide digital library access the SLMSs made themselves and their assistants available to learners; demonstrated mental and resource flexibility when they encountered obstacles; and, implemented creative funding strategies. To teach digital library use they used the research process to help students bridge knowledge learned in various contexts; provided training; remained abreast of digital library innovations; and, offered suggestions to product developers. To maintain engagement with digital libraries they used proven teaching techniques that build on strong instructional design principles. Finally, they relied on collaborative relationships when integrating digital libraries. They increased collaboration by building trust among colleagues; extending their reach beyond the SLMC in person and virtually, diversifying their role within the school, and gathering curriculum information to incorporate information literacy skills into lessons. Key implications: encourage SLMS-teacher collaboration, build a knowledge management system that captures expertise and supports SLMS communication, reconsider blocking social networking tools in schools to bridge the disconnect between students' home and school information-related behaviors.Item Strategic IT Partnerships in Transformational Outsourcing as a Distinctive Source of IT Value: A Social Capital Perspective(2005-09-07) Ye, Fei; Agarwal, Ritu; Decision and Information Technologies; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Firms increasingly acquire needed information technology (IT) products and services from external sources through the formation of partnerships. In spite of the ubiquity of IT outsourcing practice in today's organizations however, theoretical understanding of IT partnerships in outsourcing is limited. Extant research has largely focused on the economic or strategic aspects of IT outsourcing, using transaction cost economics (TCE) and the resource-based view (RBV) as dominant theoretical frameworks. This dissertation adopts a social perspective to examine the IT outsourcing phenomenon. It focuses on IT partnerships in transformational outsourcing relationships that are interorganizational engagements formed to rapidly and substantially improve performance at the organizational level. By synthesizing the knowledge based view of the firm with the concept of social capital, I attempt to explain how IT outsourcing relationships generate value for organizations. I argue that IT outsourcing partnerships constitute a form of social capital for the firm that chooses to outsource, that facilitates knowledge exchange and transfer. The increased knowledge stock as a result of knowledge exchange and transfer, in turn, forms the foundation for IT value, which is manifested as success in business operations and IT-enabled innovation. To empirically test the theoretical model, I surveyed 151 client firms and 79 outsourcing service providers in China. Results suggest that both social capital and knowledge acquisition are crucial to the success of IT outsourcing. Evidence from the survey responses also indicates that different aspects of social capital play different roles in the process of IT value creation. Specifically, the structural dimension (partner resource endowment) and the cognitive dimension of social capital (shared vision and shared cognition) have a strong impact on knowledge acquisition; whereas the relational dimensions of social capital (social interaction and trust) has strong direct effects on successful outcomes of IT outsourcing. This study presented evidence that helps further our understanding of the IT outsourcing phenomenon through an alternative theoretical lens, and emphasizes the value other than immediate cost-related benefits that organizations may garner through IT outsourcing partnerships.