Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Adult education Victoria Management'

Aging Well Day Care Center is a start-up company designed to offer an affordable alternative care for seniors living alone. The services offered will be equally beneficial for families caring for their aging parents. Recent legislation has emphasized the importance of developing daycare centers to handle the rapidly growing population of elder Americans that relies upon the federal insurance programs to help manage their long-lasting medical conditions which can be treated but not cured. The objective of this business plan is to illustrate the need for adult day care services within this region and that adequate resource are available to build and maintain a financially solvent organization.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relationship of student anxiety, student engagement, and student performance to the retention of students at a proprietary institution. Student anxiety, engagement, performance, and retention have been discussed in previous education literature; however, no such relationship has been investigated when linked to the proprietary institution. The study used the Noel-Levitz College Student Inventory ^TM online survey containing 74 closed-ended questions to measure a planned sample off 100 enrolled students' academic motivation, general coping, receptivity to intuitional services, and educational plans at the proprietary institution. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS 22.0) was used to code and tabulate scores collected from the survey. Inferential statistics were used to draw conclusions from the sample tested. Multiple regression analysis was used to evaluate the four research hypotheses. The findings of the study revealed that students' engagement and anxiety was not significantly related to students' retention; however, students' performance was significantly and positively related to retention. Further study is recommended for the research by using a larger sample, qualitative and mixed method formats to ensure true record of opinion from the sample, and results from the study should be compared with surveys to find correlation in students' satisfaction.

Limited research exists on the factors that influence an instructor’s choice to use a learning management system. The purpose of the current study is to explore how task technology fit constructs relate to the other constructs that comprise Davis’ Technology Acceptance mode. The technology acceptance model is widely used as an indicator of actual use of a technology system. A sample of 284 instructors completed a survey consisting of demographic questions, open ended questions about their reasons for choosing to choose to utilize a learning management system, and Likert scale questions about six constructs of the research model including task technology fit, ease of use, usefulness, attitude, intent to use, and actual use. The relationships between TAM model constructs and Task Technology Fit were analyzed using a partial least squares structural equation model method with SMART- PLS. The relationship between task technology fit and actual use was mediated by ease of use, usefulness, attitude, and intent to use. To evaluate the constructs in the model, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted and the factor structure for online and face-to-face instructors were different. Two models were developed, one for face-to-face instructors, and one for online instructors to account for this difference. The research models were evaluated for face-to-face instructors and online instructors. The study found significant relationships between all the TAM constructs and Task Technology Fit for face-to-face instructors. The relationship between attitude and intent to use was not significant for online instructors. This research supports the need for more research into the differences between online and face-to-face instructor’s perceptions of technology use. The differing instructional needs of face-to-face and online instructors have implications on the training and support an institution should provide to increase usage of learning management systems.

This study investigated the construct of the learning organization in the restaurant industry. Descriptive accounts of learning were gleaned from face-to-face interviews, focus groups, observations, document analysis, and data from the Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) from 52 participants employed in three US non-national chain restaurants in the Suburban Maryland / Washington D.C. area. This multiple-site case study extends the conversation of the learning organization by focusing on an industry that was not previously explored and offers new insight by providing a qualitative picture of how learning occurs in restaurants.

Five overall themes emerged from the data. Participants cobble together learning experiences from pre-shift meetings, formal training, learning from mistakes, and being thrown into the fire. Participants learn from customers through conversation and through trial and error as they adapt their service behaviors. Managers at each restaurant served as a learning champion by promoting dialog and prompting questions often in conjunction with food and beverage tastings. Informal and incidental learning was ever-present as participants naturally shared bits of knowledge through everyday interactions. Learning also took place off-the-clock as participants discussed their personal learning pursuits, such as accessing mobile apps or websites related to food and beverage, going to wineries, breweries, and specialty food markets, as well as reading cookbooks and magazines. Lastly, job rotation is a frequent learning practice during new hire training to expose individuals to the various roles within the restaurant. Cooks often rotate through different stations as they acquire and build up their technical skills.

In consideration of the evidence gathered, three conclusions are offered: (1) collaborative, informal learning practices are well pronounced learning strategies in restaurants; (2) leaders encouraging the development of new products (e.g., beverage / food) facilitate learning and experimentation in restaurants; and (3) a climate of consistent learning practices and procedures exist in restaurants. Overall, Watkins and Marsick’s (1993; 2003) learning organization model did not fully depict the learning culture in restaurants. Future learning organization research is needed to better capture the unique workplace realities of high employee turnover, tip-based compensation, and more narrowly defined jobs (e.g., bartender, cook, server) that comprise the occupational culture of restaurant workers.

Low health literacy impacts an individual's ability to comprehend communication from healthcare providers, reduces access to healthcare, and contributes to increased mortality. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of learning style on adult health literacy education. The health belief model, protection motivation theory, the transtheoretical model, and social cognitive theory were used to analyze the data in this study, and to further develop effective health literacy education. The research questions addressed the effectiveness of educational intervention adjusted to their appropriate learning style in comparison to a standardized health literacy intervention and potential difference, according to type of learning style, in the amount of changed performance between pretest and posttest. A sample of 80 adults in an urban community was recruited through organizations serving low-income individuals. The participants were assessed for baseline health literacy level, followed by identification of learning style, educational intervention, and posttest assessment, which led to determination by t test that changes between pretest and posttest scores were statistically significant between the control group and the study groups. This finding suggests that health education should be delivered to patients according to individual learning style in order for patients to comprehend and retain information provided. Social change implications include healthcare professionals appropriately addressing health literacy so that patients may participate more actively in their personal healthcare decisions to improve healthcare quality outcomes, decrease long-term costs of delivering healthcare services, and improve the general health of the community.

Administrators, students and faculty employed at or attending academic institutions in Florida have experienced numerous disasters in the last decade. Political pressures, financial restraints, and recent legislation has led to administrators’ at academic institutions to rely upon online education as a viable means for delivering education to students anytime and anywhere. Administrators at academic institutions have utilized online education as a way to ensure that academic continuity takes place while campuses are physically closed or are recovering from damages during and after disaster. There is a gap in the research as to how to best prepare faculty for academic continuity after disasters occur. The lack of available research regarding how faculty members at academic institutions prepared themselves prior to a disaster served as a major rationale for this study. The problem that was addressed in this phenomenological study was to identify the support needed by faculty to provide academic continuity during and after times of disaster in Florida. The purpose of the phenomenological study was to provide further knowledge and understanding of the support needed by faculty to provide academic continuity after a disaster. Data collection from this study will help human resource professionals as well as administrators of academic institutions to better prepare faculty to provide academic continuity in the future. Participants were recruited on LinkedIn and were qualified as having been faculty who taught traditional courses during disasters that occurred between 2004 and 2014 in Florida at accredited academic institutions. Faculty members were asked a series of open-ended questions to gain understanding of their experiences of how they prepared themselves for academic continuity prior to disasters. The findings from this study showed that faculty members identified assistance needed including professional development in the form of training and support, communication, and technological resources in order to provide academic continuity. The first conclusion from this study was that academic institutions need to support their students, staff and faculty with disaster training and the resources needed to provide academic continuity during and after disasters. The second conclusion from this study is that while disasters and other academic institution incidents are occurring more frequently, limited funding and the push for online education has created limited resources for academic institutions. The need to create partnerships and consortiums with other academic institutions and communities is crucial for the success and sustainability of academic institutions. Through these partnerships and consortiums academic institutions can share resources, knowledge, and training (Morris, 2013).

How master of business administration (MBA) graduates influence themselves to achieve their objectives in their careers can be linked to how well they identified with academics throughout their education. It is important that scholars understand this relationship between academic and career performance. The ability to self-regulate, self-motivate, and set goals, among other traits of self-leadership and academic identification, has been proven to increase personal and professional outcomes. Current research suggests that the two constructs, identification with academics and self-leadership, share similar qualities. This quantitative study used multiple linear regression to test the relationship between identification with academics and self-leadership while exploring the control variables age, gender, race, instructional modality, and years since graduation. To represent the population under study, the random sample consisted of MBA graduates who were employed. This population proceeded to take the School Perception Questionnaire, the Abbreviated Self-Leadership Questionnaire and answer questions regarding specific demographic information needed for the control variables. Detailed analyses were implemented on the collected data. It was determined from these analyses that MBA graduates? perception of identification with academics while attending their MBA program had a relationship to their perception of self-leadership in their current careers. Additionally, it was determined that gender had a controlling relationship between the two constructs. The multiple regression coefficient data showed that identification with academics was statistically significant at the p < 0.05 level and gender was statistically significant at the p < 0.05 level.

White administrators of nonprofit organizations are tasked with the challenge of making the right decisions when their nonprofit seeks to work in predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods. They utilize their personal worldviews and instincts to carry out the mission of their organization. The problem is that White administrators use their own cultural beliefs as their guide, which typically is counterintuitive to the cultural beliefs of Black and Brown people in the neighborhoods they wish to serve. This disparity raises issues, barriers, and sometimes conflict between both groups, which further divides efforts of collaboration. This study investigates the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes that exist and arise between administrators in a Whiteled nonprofit organization and residents in Communities of Color as they negotiate issues of trust, decision-making, and transformative practices through the context of a nonprofit agency’s mission and the neighborhood. By using portraiture, the assumptions, disparities, and paradoxes were examined utilizing the factors whereby groups engaged in relationship-building efforts. Employing one-to-one interviews, focus groups, observations, and documents allowed the researcher to answer the research questions through the portraits. These questions were centered on the understanding of the roles that White administrators and Black and Brown residents carry out in collaborative process efforts. Based on their understanding of these roles, the research sought to find a collaborative process that works. The findings revealed through the data that the Black and Brown residents and White-led administrators in nonprofits can achieve true collaborative practices through a more democratic approach. By understanding Black and Brown residents’ Community Cultural Wealth, both groups can engage in this democratic approach which benefits the mission of the nonprofit and empowers the Black and Brown residents.

The global marketplace, with its complexity, immediacy, and ubiquitous disruptions places almost impossible demands on its leaders and its leadership ranks. For many years, a top, perennial contender for the “what keeps CEOs up at night” list has been a severe lack in both the quantity and quality of effective leaders. The war for talent has been figuratively bloody and literally protracted. Leadership development and coaching modalities abound, but demand appears to be much greater than the supply of effective and measurable solutions. Nowhere does there appear to be a scalable approach to accelerate into this demand curve.

This descriptive phenomenological inquiry explores the lived experiences of 16 leaders who participated in an experimental Facilitated Peer-group Coaching experience (FPC). FPC is a coaching methodology where participants work on both their own leadership development and the development of their peers. Participants learn to coach and develop each other with the assistance of a trained facilitator. Subjects in this study responded to 20 face-to-face interview questions designed to identify their thoughts, perceptions, feelings and perspectives. The findings and conclusions of this study revealed five developmental fields that catalyze and empower leadership growth. These fields include creating community, self-exploration and illumination, the community mirror, leadership development, and organizational business results. Those fields comprise an ecosystem that presents opportunities for global organizations, coaches and coaching organizations, and academic scholarship.

Much attention has been paid to the current state of graduate business education, specifically the MBA degree, and the seeming disconnect between industry needs and what business schools are preparing MBA graduates for. A comprehensive study on the state of MBA education was completed in 2010 by Datar, Garvin, and Cullen (2010), the goal of which was to document the forces reshaping business education and the institutional responses to them, as well as provide suggestions on a path forward for MBA education. This research picked up where Datar et al. (2010) left off: the purpose of this study was to identify criteria for a new model MBA. The Datar et al. (2010) study defined the unmet needs, but what remained undefined were the (a) skills; (b) capabilities; and (c) techniques that are central to the practice of 21st century management, and the (d) values; (e) attitudes; and (f) beliefs that should be part of a 21st century leader's world-view and professional identity. This study used a qualitative approach to add meaning to the variables defined above; specifically interviews with 14 participants were used to gather perceptions of 21st century leadership and management from MBA stakeholders as part of an in-depth and detailed inquiry. This study also reviewed five Southern California business schools in order to identify best-practices curricula. Based on the data gathered in this study a new model MBA was posited. A discussion of the findings and the implications for MBA education was included in Chapter 5.

Waiters who serve alcoholic beverages at the majority of bars and restaurants in the United States are apt to serve alcohol to patrons who are visually intoxicated, notwithstanding laws prohibiting such service. Adverse effects of this practice include patron injuries, deaths, and law violations resulting in fines, incarceration, and lawsuits. Waiters not effectively trained to practice responsible alcohol retailing practices put patrons and others at risk of harm from alcohol related injuries or death. The problem is that the perceptions and attitudes of waiters who serve alcohol regarding self-learning as a strategy to prevent patron intoxication are not known; the purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore these perceptions. The study utilized in-depth semi-structured interviews with 23 waiters who utilized a self-learning tool about preventing patron intoxication. The waiters perceived that this self-learning tool was a good training solution, that it would be beneficial if implemented, that the tool could be used to improve public safety, and that its specific data on patron behavior and BAC levels were helpful. The participants also indicated that there would be challenges to implementing such a tool, including the waiters’ assertiveness and social aptness. As a whole, the researcher recommended that this tool be implemented across the country to improve waiter knowledge and patron safety. For future research, the researcher recommended that the study be expanded to include the perceptions of waiters across the country, the perceptions of those who underwent this training more than a year ago, and that the learning tool be adapted for different learning styles.

Though hepatitis B virus infection is vaccine preventable, it remains a leading cause of serious liver disease including cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. With more than 2 million individuals living in the United States chronically infected, increasing the adult vaccination rate, currently estimated at only 26.3% based on large patient self-report surveys, is a public health imperative. Primary care visits represent an opportunity to assess hepatitis B risk and vaccination status, and to administer vaccine.

The purpose of the study was to determine the factors that affect primary care physician recommendation and delivery of hepatitis B vaccine as part of routine adult care, and measure vaccination rate in the primary care setting. A survey was developed, validated and completed online by a random sample of 319 physicians who provide routine primary care for >100 adult patients each month. Adult hepatitis B vaccination rate was calculated based on physician-reported caseload and number of vaccinations administered over a 6 month period. In addition to practice descriptors, 24 survey items assessed physician knowledge, attitudes and practices related to vaccination rate.

Statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software. The median and mean vaccination rates were 3.3% and 9.4%, respectively. Vaccination rates were highest among physicians practicing medicine for <10 years, in private hospital settings located in urban areas. Vaccination significantly correlated (p<.05) with routine assessment of hepatitis B risk, guidelines-based vaccination, and distribution of patient education materials. Focusing on history of intravenous drug use as the key indication for vaccination and concerns regarding related liability were found to be barriers to vaccination. Forward multiple linear regression analysis generated a model that predicted 26% of variance in vaccination rate, which suggested that physicians who have integrated risk assessment, discussion of vaccination rationale with patients, and vaccine delivery into their routine primary care practices exhibit higher vaccination rates.

The results suggest that adult hepatitis B vaccination rates may be increased through physician education that reinforces identification of CHB risk factors other than intravenous drug use and clarifies the limited nature of vaccine injury liability, as well as health policies that incentivize vaccination in the primary care setting.

This phenomenological research study examines the individual experiences of midcareer corporate managers (practitioners) with professional identity change, while undergoing work role transition to become college or university professors (scholars). Using a conceptual framework of culture, work role, and professional identity, this study focused on a group of twelve men and women who made an intentional decision to leave an objectively defined management role to enter a different subjectively defined teaching role.

The findings generated four conclusions. First, change in identity and work-role transition manifests with different affective responses in men and women. Second, cognitive decision making and intentionality are different for men and women in work role transitions. Third, career transitions are easier when autonomous decision making, continuing education opportunities, experimentation with provisional selves, and equal levels of social status, are present. Fourth, career transitions are more difficult when loss of social status and financial stability, liminality, and identity conflict or lack of career anchor, are observed.

Due to recent economic conditions related to the recession of 2008, and attendant fall-out related to the current career landscape, Mid-life Career Changers from Industry to Academia was the focus of a Professional Development Workshop during both the 73rd and 74th annual meetings of the Academy of Management (AoM). Because of growing interest in the topic, it has been included on the agenda of the AoM 75th annual meeting scheduled for Vancouver, Canada in 2015.