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Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Work environments'
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Evanshen, Pamela, and L. Phillips. "Environments That Work!" Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2003. https://dc.etsu.edu/etsu-works/4395.
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Cham, Belinda. "Endurance in Extreme Work Environments." Thesis, Curtin University, 2021. http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/85805.
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Extreme work environments represent complex and challenging settings in which optimal performance is required rather than optional. This thesis advances knowledge of how demands and constraints within extreme work environments impact sustained human performance over time. This thesis establishes a theoretical framework of endurance that models ongoing human performance in extreme work-life systems; and provides empirical evidence on the different ways complex work demands can impact short- and long-term endurance in real-world extreme work environments.
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Bryant, Molly E. "Physical Environments Conducive To Creativity and Collaboration Within the Work Environment." The Ohio State University, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1338474660.
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DIAS, FABIO MEIRA DE OLIVEIRA. "WORK-FLOW EXECUTION IN DISCONNECTED ENVIRONMENTS." PONTIFÍCIA UNIVERSIDADE CATÓLICA DO RIO DE JANEIRO, 2003. http://www.maxwell.vrac.puc-rio.br/Busca_etds.php?strSecao=resultado&nrSeq=3903@1.
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COORDENAÇÃO DE APERFEIÇOAMENTO DO PESSOAL DE ENSINO SUPERIOROs sistemas de gerência de workflow são freqüentemente utilizados para modelagem, monitoramento e execução coordenada de atividades realizadas por grupos de usuários em diferentes contextos. Com a atual proliferação de computadores portáteis e seu crescente poder de computação, os sistemas tradicionalmente desenvolvidos têm se mostrado, muitas vezes, excessivamente rígidos, limitando o grau de autonomia dos usuários. O objetivo deste trabalho é identificar e analisar diferentes técnicas de flexibilização e mecanismos que possam ser empregados em um sistema de gerência de work-flow destinado a dar suporte à operação desconectada. O principal desafio é garantir um nível de independência satisfatório entre grupos de pessoas trabalhando de forma conjunta que possibilite a realização coordenada de tarefas, com um objetivo global comum, em ambientes com desconexão. Para testar a viabilidade das idéias discutidas nesta dissertação, foi construído um sistema cujo projeto levou em conta os vários requisitos apresentados e que permite explorar características específicas de diferentes tipos de work-flow, buscando flexibilizar sua execução, sem comprometer a estruturação preestabelecida.
Workflow management systems are frequently used for modeling, monitoring and controlling the coordinated execution of activities performed by workgroups in a variety of contexts. With the widespread use of portable computers and their growing computational power, conventional systems have often proved to be overly restrictive, effectively limiting the level of autonomy of the users involved. The primary goal of this work is to identify and analyze different flexibilization techniques and mechanisms that can be employed in a workflow management system aimed at supporting disconnected operation. The main challenge is to provide a satisfactory degree of independence among individuals in cooperating teams who share a common goal and work in disconnected environments. In order to test the viability of the ideas discussed in this dissertation, a system was built whose design met the requirements presented in the text and which allows the exploration of specific features of different kinds of workflow so as to enhance execution flexibility, without compromising the predefined structure.
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Stanley, Tracy. "Work environments, creative behaviours, and employee engagement." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2016. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/101547/4/Tracy_Stanley_Thesis.pdf.
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While research regarding the work environments of successful organisations reports separate outcomes of creative behaviours and highly engaged employees, little research has been carried out to simultaneously investigate both notions. This research uses a qualitative field study to investigate the creative behaviours and employee engagement of employees in five types of work contexts within a large project-based organisation. Findings highlight the importance of the challenge of problem solving as positive influence on creative behaviours and employee engagement. Implications for theory and practice include a stronger focus on job design, and manager actions in facilitating both creative behaviours and employee engagement.
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Jacobsen, Kristoffer. "Organizing Mobile Work Processes in Ubiquitous Computing Environments." Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Computer and Information Science, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-9262.
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This thesis explores the domain of ubiquitous computing and relates situations of mobile work to Virtual Organizations (VOs). Motivated by the work performed by the MOWAHS project, this thesis aims to contribute in understanding virtual organizations, and in continuously assessing and improving the work processes within these. Emerging technologies enable improved sensing of users, actions, wishes and requirements which can be utilized for facilitating situated activities in dynamic organizations. Taking an organizational approach to the subject we aim to describe new ways of coordinating actors automatically in these environments based on context information from the surroundings. Through analysis of simple mobile work scenarios, we can extract knowledge of how different situations of mobile work demand coordination. This is used as method for identifying the importance of work process information in monitoring coordination. We provide an architecture proposition for a coordination module and suggestions to how context information of the work processes could be acquired and represented as knowledge to the organization.
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Sørensen, Carl-Fredrik. "Adaptive Mobile Work Processes in Context-Rich, Heterogeneous Environments." Doctoral thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Computer and Information Science, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-1727.
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The rapid evolution in ubiquitous technologies has increased the demand and enabled for computational support of work anywhere, anytime. Mobility implies migrating computer systems from relatively static physical environments to highly dynamic and heterogeneous environments. The physical environment (including humans) is increasingly being instrumented with sensors, actuators, and other computing devices. These capture, contain, or represent different types of information and knowledge that can be used to monitor and infer different properties of the environment, both static and dynamic. The properties can be represented as explicit context information that can help support, monitor, manage, and coordinate work processes performed within that environment.
This work concentrates on how to support work processes in mobile and dynamic environments. Dynamic context information has normally not been an integrated part of process support software. Such software has traditionally been built for static, well-defined work processes and environments with a priori known resources, states, and working conditions. We introduce the notion of ”smart” work processes, enabling adaptation of work processes to dynamic working environments.
The contributions of this thesis can be divided into three main themes:
T1 Exploration and investigation of mobile workers.
T2 Investigation and development of concepts and frameworks to capture and describe properties of mobile work processes.
T3 Development of enabling technology to support ”smart” work processes in pervasive and mobile, ad hoc computing environments.
The main contributions are:
C1 A characterisation framework for mobile work to understand and find requirements for mobile work processes.
C2 An architecture to support context-aware, mobile (smart) work processes.
C3 Enabling technologies to support mobile work.
C3.1 A context-aware middleware for mobile ad hoc environments to support context-aware, mobile (smart) work processes.
C3.2 The NIDAROS framework for location-aware support on mobile devices.
The contributions are presented as a paper collection.
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James, Lois Anne. "An investigation of the psychological significance of work environments." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1986. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/28668.
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Panteli, Androniki V. "Computer-based informated environments : emergent forms of work organisation." Thesis, University of Warwick, 1995. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/4254/.
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This research formulates the concept of a Computer-Based Informated Environment (CBIE) as an emergent anthropocentric form of work organisation; this is a computerised office environment which informates and empowers lower level employees. The study attempts to enhance our knowledge over the nature of CBIEs. It hypothesizes that with the current interest in IT-enabled empowerment there are more opportunities for the development of CBIEs. A missing element on studies in informated and empowered workplaces is employees' interpretation of these forms of work organisation. A review of the literature on information technology (IT) in organisations supports the view that there is a need for further research on the meaning of technological and organisational changes. This study attempts to cover this gap while also making a contribution in the field of anthropocentric uses of IT in office environments. A structurational framework is developed to uncover the process and context of change and the linkages between the two. Considering the research topic, the case study approach was adopted. Three service-oriented organisations participated in the research. All three had within the last few years introduced the system ImagePlus which is promoted for its potential to empower employees. There have been two important findings about the nature of CBIEs. Firstly, it is found that the process and context of CBIEs should not be treated as mutually independent but as inextricably linked. Secondly, it is identified that CBIEs could occur without being anthropocentric-oriented. Informated employees are not necessarily truly empowered. When the 'empowerment' approach is diffused via IT, it is likely to be in forms that align more with managerial and organisational interests than those of employees. Using structuration theory, the complex dynamics of the use of IT in organisations become evident. The study argues that the 'determinism' and 'choice' perspectives need to be linked for each has a vital role to play in enhancing our understanding of the use of IT in organisations.
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Liu, Shuangyan. "Intelligent support for group work in collaborative learning environments." Thesis, University of Warwick, 2012. http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/46815/.
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The delivery of intelligent support for group work is a complex issue in collaborative learning environments. This particularly pertains to the construction of effective groups and assessment of collaboration problems. This is because the composition of groups can be affected by several variables, and various methods are desirable for ascertaining the existence of different collaboration problems. Literature has shown that current collaborative learning environments provide limited or no support for teachers to cope with these tasks. Considering this and the increasing use of online collaboration, this research aims to explore solutions for improving the delivery of support for group work in collaborative learning environments, and thus to simplify how teachers manage collaborative group work. In this thesis, three aspects were investigated to achieve this goal. The first aspect emphasises on proposing a novel approach for group formation based on students‘ learning styles. The novelty and importance of this approach is the provision of an automatic grouping method that can tailor to individual students‘ characteristics and fit well into the existing collaborative learning environments. The evaluation activities comprise the development of an add-on tool and an undergraduate student experiment, which indicate the feasibility and strength of the proposed approach — being capable of forming diverse groups that tend to perform more effectively and efficiently than similar groups for conducting group discussion tasks. The second focus of this research relates to the identification of major group collaboration problems and their causes. A nationwide survey was conducted that reveals a student perspective on the issue, which current literature fails to adequately address. Based on the findings from the survey, an XML-based representation was created that provides a unique perspective on the linkages between the problems and causes identified. Finally, the focus was then shifted to the proposal of a novel approach for diagnosing the major collaboration problems identified. The originality and significance of this approach lies in the provision of various methods for ascertaining the existence of different collaboration problems identified, based on student interaction data that result from the group work examined. The evaluation procedure focused on the development of a supporting tool and several experiments with a test dataset. The results of the evaluation show that the feasibility and effectiveness are sustained, to a great extent, for the diagnostic methods addressed. Besides these main proposals, this research has explored a multi-agent architecture to unify all the components derived for intelligently managing online collaborative learning, which suggests an overarching framework providing context for other parts of this thesis.
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Clack, Katinka. "Empowering leadership and safety behaviour in extreme work environments." Diss., University of Pretoria, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2263/62690.
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Research purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which both employees and leaders in extreme environments perceive the same levels of safety participation. Furthermore, this study examines the association between empowering leadership and team performance as well as empowering leadership and safety participation. Research design, approach and methods This study follows a quantitative approach as its main purpose is to establish relationships between constructs. As such, correlations and multiple regression analyses were conducted. Convenience sampling was applied to obtain the data. Firefighters and their immediate line officers (lieutenants) were surveyed. Five fire departments in small to medium cities were chosen in the Great Lakes and south-eastern regions in the United States (US). Questionnaires were distributed to 263 firemen, of which 186 were firefighters and 78 were their line officers/lieutenants. Main findings Results indicated that a positive association does not exist between firefighters' perceptions of safety participation and their leaders' perception of safety participation when control variables are added. Therefore, no significant relationship exists between firefighters' perceptions of safety participation and their leaders' perception of safety participation. Furthermore, the results also showed a positive association does not exist between empowering leadership and safety participation when control variables are added. Consequently, no significant relationship exists between firefighters' reports of empowering leadership and lieutenants' reports of safety participation. Lastly, regarding empowering leadership and team performance, the results did not support a direct relationship between these two constructs. Limitations The results should be interpreted bearing in mind that they are applicable to the United States of America and may not be generalised to the South African context. Additionally, very little research has been conducted on empowering leadership and safety behaviour in extreme environments, and therefore the literature review was limited to other organisational environments. Lastly, only three cultural groups (White, Black and Hispanic) and only men participated in this study, so results may not be generalisable to other demographic groups. The study was only positioned in extreme environments, specifically in firefighting, therefore it is unclear whether the results can be generalised to other work environments. Future Research It is suggested that this study is replicated, firstly because little research has been done in extreme environments but, secondly, that it also be specifically replicated in South Africa. Indicated by the data, a lieutenant's age has a positive association with how he perceives his team's safety participation. This could be due to various reasons. For example, the more experienced the lieutenant the more comfortable he gets towards the extreme environment. Lastly, it is suggested that research is conducted to determine other leadership styles which could be effective in extreme environments. Conclusion Insight was given into the empowering leadership style in terms of team performance and safety behaviour. Furthermore, the relation between firefighters' perceptions of safety participation and their leaders' perceptions of safety participation was not confirmed.Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2017.
Human Resource Management
MCom
Unrestricted
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Ayala-Bush, Mary T. (Mary Theresa). "Group Decision-Making in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work Environments." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1998. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc277771/.
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Computer-Support Cooperative Work (CSCW) reflects the change in emphasis from using computers to solve problems to using computers to facilitate human interactions. Most studies, however, have focused on the use of the technology rather than on the human-human interaction (HHI) in these environments due to: the varied perspectives of the investigators; and the lack of a consistent variables. Although numerous studies exist on a variety of products, only limited research has been conducted with the most prevalent of the technologies in the marketplace, Lotus Notes™. This field study, conducted using Lotus Notes™, operationalizes a model proposed, but not tested, for the study of group decision-making in CSCW environments put forth by Kraemer and Pinsonneault (1990). This study examines the use of CSCW in the group decision-making process, the participation rate for group decision-making in CSCW environments, and the criteria for determining quality in group decisions in CSCW environments. The study also proposes a new perspective for examining technology using the human context, recommends extensions for the group study framework and explores areas for future research.
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Griffiths, Richard F. "Time management in telework and other autonomous work environments /." Search for this dissertation online, 2003. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/ksu/main.
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Boaz, Evelyn Elizabeth. "Nurturing work environments : a description construct from the literature and participant interviews /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2001. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3026205.
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Muhammad, Ray. "African American Women Managers' Experiences in Predominantly Black Work Environments." ScholarWorks, 2018. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/5504.
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The experiences of African American women managers in predominantly Black work environments and the implication of these experiences on their ability to lead remains unknown. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to gain deeper understanding of the leadership experiences of African American women managers employed in predominantly Black work environments. This study was framed by three key concepts: intersectionality of gender and race, intraracial discrimination, and colorism. The trustworthiness of the study's data was supported by employing methodological triangulation of the study's multiple data sources: semistructured interviews with 10 African American women managers as participants, journaling/ reflective field notes, and archival data. Cross case analysis revealed 8 categories that enclose a total of twelve themes: (a) career trajectory of African American woman manager, (b) gender challenges in a predominantly Black enterprise, (c) race challenges in a predominantly Black enterprise, (d) leadership experiences with subordinates informed by gender and race, (e) further career goals as an African American woman manager, (f) colorism in childhood and adolescence, (g) colorism in daily adult experiences, and (h) intraracial discrimination from subordinates based on skin tone. This study is likely to promote social change by sensitizing predominantly Black work environments on issues of equal treatment between gender groups and ways in which an intraracial context influences African American women's management experiences.
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Fagge, Megan. "Variable learning environments." Thesis, Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/39595.
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Research shows the environment affects the user both psychologically and physiologically. Teachers often alter their classrooms in order to effect these changes, for instance, by adding elements for warmth, offsetting harsh lighting, or using found objects to mark and divide space. Research and observed use communicate a need for a planned variety of spaces in function and in character.
The project is a redesign of Therrell High School in southwest Atlanta seeking to complement the new movement to small learning communities, which embeds programmatic variety in the public school system.
Therrell is divided into three small thematically described academies, which effectively function as three separate high schools: the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math; the School of Health Sciences and Research; the School of Law, Government, and Public Policy.
The design focuses on the necessary variability of spaces inherent in small learning communities. These spaces seek to address the varied instructional strategies that accompany the thematic endeavors of each school and introduce variety in architectural character, thus accommodating variable needs and desires of students. The focus of the project is on the student and the nature of space that fosters positive experiences as well as positive learning outcomes.
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Ayas, Ebru. "Engineering Quality Feelings : Applications in products, service environments and work systems." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Ergonomi, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-43388.
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Contemporary quality issues in product design are moving from materialistic to emotional user fulfillment; comprehensive research is needed to examine quality product feelings. This research is directed toward a deeper understanding of user and customer quality feelings for different product types, including services. The quality feelings concept includes dimensions of product quality, especially functionality, ergonomics and aesthetics. The first objective of this thesis is to identify, prioritize and synthesize quality feelings into product attributes in product development applications. The second objective is to explore, test and propose methodological approaches for designing quality feelings into products. Several methods from psychology, ergonomics, statistics and probabilistic methods and heuristics were applied to achieve the objectives. From a methodological viewpoint, Likert scales, free elicitation technique and Just About Right scales were applied for data collection. Multiple Regression, Factor Analysis, Correspondence Analysis, Genetic algorithms, Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Rough Sets (RS) were applied for data analyses. For ergonomic product evaluations, direct observations, 3D workload simulations, time and frequency analyses were conducted. Five product applications are included in this thesis: operator driver cabin design of reach trucks, steering wheel design trigger switch design in right-angled nutrunners, bed-making systemsproducts and waiting room environments. Heuristic methods were found effective when there is a high number of product attributes that interact to provide quality feelings. RS results are consistent with PLS attribute predictions. When the number of product attributes is large in comparison to the number of observations, PLS extracts informative results for quality feelings. The RS method is effective in identifying interactions among design attributes. Quality feelings are associated with both tangible (tactile characteristics) and intangible (quick and easy to use) product characteristics. Words such as safety, functionality, ergonomics, comfort, reliability, supportiveness, usability, feedback, pleasantness, attractiveness, durability and distinctiveness describe quality feelings from tangible products and services. Based on product type, the quality dimensions represented by these words possess different interactions and dependencies. In work environments, products act as prostheses between workers for social interaction, which need to be considered as important quality feelings dimensions.QC 20111017
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Sauer, Juergen. "Human skill maintenance in complex work environments : applications to extended spaceflight." Thesis, University of Hull, 1997. http://hydra.hull.ac.uk/resources/hull:8298.
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This thesis examines human performance under sub-optimal working conditions during work with complex and highly-automated process control systems. The operational context focuses on applications in extended spaceflight but the generic approach allows for generalisations beyond this target work environment The methodological approach is based on the use of a computerised multiple-task environment to carry out generic simulations of real work environments (micro-worlds) with a high level of ecological validity. For that purpose, a PC-based task. environment was developed to simulate the operation of a life support system in a spacecraft. This task environment has been used in lab-based experiments with trained participants from the student population and with real space crews during large-scale mission simulations. A series of six experiments was carried out (3lab and 3 field studies) to investigate the impact of different configurations of sub-optimal working conditions and unfavourable operator states, using the following independent variables: sleep deprivation, dialogue control, social isolation and confinement, training, noise, extended lay-off period and different types of system faults (corresponding to variations in workload). The task environment comprised up to five tasks, allowing for the observation of differential effects of the independent variables on different levels of cognitive activity. Dependent variables included primary task performance, secondary task performance, system control behaviour, information sampling behaviour, and subjective state measures. The findings suggested that primary performance was rarely affected, whereas certain secondary task measures and, notably, information sampling strategies appeared to be good indicators of changes in demand under the unfavourable conditions. The isolation and confinement experiments revealed no serious breakdown of performance among the crew but some indications of strain were observed. The use of two different training approaches displayed a very complex picture, with no method showing clear superiority over the other concerning performance, though there were differences in knowledge structure and system management behaviour. An important implication of the experimental work is that a broad methodological approach is needed in order to investigate the complex adjustment patterns displayed by individuals during the management of task demands under unfavourable conditions.
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MacDonald, Fraser. "Restoration Contractors' Experiences With Work Opportunities in Two Different Policy Environments." Thesis, University of Oregon, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/1794/10829.
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xii, 65 p. : ill. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number.Over the last decade, federal and state policy guiding natural resource management in Oregon has transitioned towards restoration of federal and private lands and streams throughout the state. This transition in work opportunities has resulted in a different business environment for the contractors performing the work. Interviews with 190 contractors provide the foundation for a discussion of contractors' experiences with work opportunities in two different policy environments. The discussion and findings show that when categorized into three groups: (1) federal, (2) nonfederal, and (3) contractors that work equally for both groups, all described declines in federal work opportunities and increased opportunities with community-based organizations. Other major themes include increased competition in the marketplace coupled with fewer federal work opportunities. These themes demonstrate the increasing role community-based organizations play in providing work opportunities for contractors throughout the state and reinforce other research showing declines at the federal level.
Committee in Charge: Dr. Cassandra Moseley, Chair; Dr. Mike Hibbard; Dr. Max Nielsen-Pincus
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Hynd, Michelle. "A study of new work environments piloted in Scottish Enterprise National." Thesis, University of Strathclyde, 2003. http://oleg.lib.strath.ac.uk:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=21379.
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New work environments bring together physical and social aspects of organisations in ways that create changes unfamiliar to many practitioners, and which are relatively unexplored theoretically and empirically by researchers. This thesis is concerned with increasing understanding of specific new work environments; those piloted within Scottish Enterprise National; and from this, drawing some general inferences on the nature of these environments. Literature from the multiple strands of organisation theory, management and organisation, and built environment literatures, were brought together in this thesis in order to guide the investigation. A single case study approach was adopted, with the researcher embedded in the organisation for the duration of the research. Primary and secondary data was reviewed in an historical manner. A descriptive and analytical form of case study write up was used in explanation and theory building of the thesis. It was established that, to increase understanding of new work environments a, conceptual level of investigation is essential. Elements emerge at this level which are not otherwise present. There is a complex mix of tangible and intangible elements that require careful consideration, to understand how the physical aspects in new work environments can contribute to organisation performance.
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Abdellah, Ibrahim M. "A grounded theory study of decision-making within informal work environments." Thesis, University of Liverpool, 2016. http://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/3009490/.
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This thesis's objective was to discover a new understanding regarding decision-making inefficiencies within the researcher's informal work environment (UMR), and construct a framework for informed action. Using the broad research question, 'What data-emergent theory can help explain the impediments to effective decision-making within UMR's informal work environment?' the researcher started by conducting a foundational literature review that brought to the forefront the complexities of an informal work environment and the lack of relevant decision-making frameworks. An informal work environment was found to be characterized by Communities of Practice, emergent social groups, and self-interest, which were often incompatible with rational decisionmaking frameworks. Using core grounded theory concepts, a methodological framework of data collection and analysis was developed that focused on data centrality and discovering a data-emergent theory grounded within the research field. A core category of selective perception emerged that explained and captured the core phenomenon of sustained barriers to decision-making and selective bias towards information due to the interpretative nature of the socially constructed environment. At the core of the discovered theory is that individuals have a tendency to reject decisions within an informal environment based on external variables not directly related to the decisions. Theoretical conceptualizations put forth the variables of communication, trust, and resources, each which influenced and was influenced by selective perception. By constructing a theoretical model explained through 9 propositions, this thesis shows that decision-making efficiency is impacted by selective perception, communication effectiveness, the level of trust, and available resources, with a strong interrelation between each variable. By integrating the emergent theory and literature, short-term action strategies as well as long-term action and recommendations based on the notions of adaptability and proactivity were formulated. The concept of adaptability was applied and tested for relevance and effectiveness within the research field, with positive results. This was further extended through longterm recommendations, which focused on core areas of the emergent propositions, and emphasized proactivity through self-initiated and continuous changing. This thesis concludes with a discussion on the implications for practice, research, and suggestions for future research.
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Chorost, Michael Murray. "Designing online environments to facilitate classroom management and student collaborative work /." Full text (PDF) from UMI/Dissertation Abstracts International, 2000. http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/utexas/fullcit?p3004237.
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Zenkteler, Matthew. "Planning and city policy responses to remote work in urban environments." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2021. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/213156/8/Matthew%20Zenkteler%20Thesis.pdf.
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This thesis examines the impact of emerging practices of remote work and working-from-home on cities. While the study adopts a global perspective, empirical data from a case study of the City of Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, is analysed. Insights from the thesis inform several recommended strategies guiding urban planning and design practitioners to consider the evolution of residential neighbourhoods towards mixed live/work urban environments. While the majority of data analysed in the thesis was collected before the COVID-19 outbreak, some implications for post-pandemic cities were also able to be discussed.
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Kim, So Young. "Model-based metrics of human-automation function allocation in complex work environments." Diss., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/1853/41230.
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Function allocation is the design decision which assigns work functions to all agents in a team, both human and automated. Efforts to guide function allocation systematically has been studied in many fields such as engineering, human factors, team and organization design, management science, and cognitive systems engineering. Each field focuses on certain aspects of function allocation, but not all; thus, an independent discussion of each does not address all necessary issues with function allocation. Four distinctive perspectives emerged from a review of these fields: technology-centered, human-centered, team-oriented, and work-oriented. Each perspective focuses on different aspects of function allocation: capabilities and characteristics of agents (automation or human), team structure and processes, and work structure and the work environment.
Together, these perspectives identify the following eight issues with function allocation:
1)Workload,
2)Incoherency in function allocations,
3)Mismatches between responsibility and authority,
4)Interruptive automation,
5)Automation boundary conditions,
6)Function allocation preventing human adaptation to context,
7)Function allocation destabilizing the humans' work environment, and
8)Mission Performance.
Addressing these issues systematically requires formal models and simulations that include all necessary aspects of human-automation function allocation: the work environment, the dynamics inherent to the work, agents, and relationships among them. Also, addressing these issues requires not only a (static) model, but also a (dynamic) simulation that captures temporal aspects of work such as the timing of actions and their impact on the agent's work. Therefore, with properly modeled work as described by the work environment, the dynamics inherent to the work, agents, and relationships among them, a modeling framework developed by this thesis, which includes static work models and dynamic simulation, can capture the issues with function allocation.
Then, based on the eight issues, eight types of metrics are established. The purpose of these metrics is to assess the extent to which each issue exists with a given function allocation. Specifically, the eight types of metrics assess workload, coherency of a function allocation, mismatches between responsibility and authority, interruptive automation, automation boundary conditions, human adaptation to context, stability of the human's work environment, and mission performance.
Finally, to validate the modeling framework and the metrics, a case study was conducted modeling four different function allocations between a pilot and flight deck automation during the arrival and approach phases of flight. A range of pilot cognitive control modes and maximum human taskload limits were also included in the model. The metrics were assessed for these four function allocations and analyzed to validate capability of the metrics to identify important issues in given function allocations. In addition, the design insights provided by the metrics are highlighted
This thesis concludes with a discussion of mechanisms for further validating the modeling framework and function allocation metrics developed here, and highlights where these developments can be applied in research and in the design of function allocations in complex work environments such as aviation operations.
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Velasquez, Nicole Forsgren. "An Examination of Work Practices and Tool Use in High Risk Environments." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195045.
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This research presents an in-depth investigation and description of a single user group, system administrators. Following an overview of these computing professionals and their complex, risky work environment, system administrator work practices were investigated using data collected from previous experience, interviews, a usability study, and the literature. This research contributes to existing knowledge by presenting an analysis of system administrator work practices and identifying them as broker technicians. As such, many of the findings of this study may apply to other broker technicians. Because the work of system administration is so dependent upon technology and the way sysadmins access and control that technology, investigations of tool use were then studied. Through an analysis of work practices related to tool use, attributes important to system administrator work practices were identified. These attributes fell into two categories: information quality (currency, completeness, accuracy, format, logging, and verification) and system quality (reliability, flexibility, integration, accessibility, speed, scriptability, credibility, situation awareness, and monitoring).This research proposes the use of Wixom and Todd's (2005) integrated user satisfaction model in the context of system administration. This theoretical model provides an opportunity to link the identified characteristics with system administrator beliefs and tool usage. This research contributes to existing knowledge by identifying information and system quality attributes important to system administrators, and empirically testing the modified user satisfaction model in the untested context of system administration. The user satisfaction model was found to be significant and predictive of system administrator tool use behaviors, with two information quality attributes (accuracy and verification) and two system quality attributes (reliability and credibility) significant.
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Girardi, John. "An investigation of the relationship between employee work environments and customer satisfaction." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2001.
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Abridah, Alkddafi Ibrahim Altaher. "The influence of national and organisational culture on creativity in Libyan work environments." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2012. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/17513/.
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Culture is deemed to be a crucial basis for creativity in various respects. The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between different cultural dimensions, and the work environment for creativity. Within this area of study, little empirical research has been conducted that examines the roles that national and organisational cultures play in influencing a work environment that stimulates or impedes creativity. A research model has been developed that illustrates the possible relationships between the cultural dimensions and the creative work environment of an organisation. Essentially this model is to be utilised as a framework to examine the impact of cultural dimensions on the work environment for creativity. The method used to investigate this research question is a quantitative investigation of six companies that operate in the Libyan oil and gas sector: three Libyan companies, one Italian, one Spanish and one German. This was supplemented with qualitative investigations. This entailed gathering information through semi-structured interviews with Libyan employees from senior management to lower level employees, from different sectors including oil, food, banking services and communications. The aim was to identify the aspects of Libyan cultural dimensions that have an impact on creativity. The study draws the following conclusions: (1) Generally, the results of the study found a direct relationship between power distance and creativity. However, the relationship between power distance and creativity was found to be not mediated by power culture; that is, the correlation between power culture and creativity was weak. Similarly, the correlation between individualism and creativity was significant. In examining the relationship between uncertainty avoidance and creativity, it was found that uncertainty avoidance was not directly correlated with creativity, but that the relationship was mediated by role culture. In examining the relationship between femininity and creativity, it was found that there was no direct or indirect correlation between them. (2) There are differences in countries’ status on national culture dimensions. Libya, on one hand, and Germany, Italy and Spain on the other, have significantly different organisational culture types, which have affected the work environment for creativity. (3) A quick review of the principles of Libyan culture and the ways they conflict with creativity is in order. The first principle is the Family System, which blocks creativity through strict gender role expectations, rigid parent–child relationships and an overemphasis on obedience and loyalty. The second principle is the Education System, which inhibits creativity through rote learning, memory and conformity, and in which quantity is favoured over quality in the process of eradicating illiteracy; it has produced an unskilled workforce requiring extensive on-the-job training in order to be creative workers. The third principle is the Hierarchical Relationships, which decrease creativity through unequal relationships, rigid social structure, gender role expectations, and authoritarian relationships between people. The fourth principle is Self-Effacement which stifles creativity through suppression of emotion, the silence ethic, an extreme value of humility, and conformity; due to fear of losing face (dignity, prestige and self respect) among peers. Such self-effacement is linked to the Arabic cultural value of modest behaviour, a highly respected virtue in Libyan society. (4) Trust was found to be the key intervening variable, the necessary foundation, from which a creative context could be built. The establishment of trust between different levels of management and between management and employees had the most significant effect on organisational creativity. The effect of lack of trust was shown by Libyan employees – no willingness to present their ideas, even though the work environment still had problems with obstructing contextual elements, such as poor communication, and lack of autonomy, as there was a lack of trust operating between different levels of management, and management and between employees. As a consequence of the lack of trust, employees felt that even though they were provided with a number of organisational stimulants, they were not able to be creative within their work environment.
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Abel, Ann Todd. "The Characteristics, Behaviors, and Effective Work Environments of Servant Leaders: A Delphi Study." Diss., Virginia Tech, 2000. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/29753.
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Based upon the principles of equality, respect, and dignity for an organization and its community, Robert K. Greenleaf (1977) dedicated his life to conceptualizing and defining the humanistic philosophy of "servant leadership." With service and leadership sometimes seen as opposites, servant leaders are often misunderstood and perhaps underestimated. The purpose of this study was to create a well-defined comprehensive portrait of a servant leader by identifying key descriptors of the characteristics and behaviors of servant leaders and the work environments where they are effective.
The research procedure consisted of a three-round Delphi to gain consensus on responses to four key research questions. From your experience and observation, what are the key words or phrases that describe (1) the characteristics that distinguish servant leaders, (2) the behaviors that distinguish servant leaders, (3) the work environments in which servant leaders are effective, and (4) the work environments in which servant leaders are ineffective? The following groups were represented on the panel of experts: (a) appointed and elected officials, (b) authors, (c) business leaders, (d) clergy, (e) educators, (f) leaders of associations, and (g) leaders of volunteer organizations.
The first round Delphi instrument was open-ended. The second round gained opinion by adding a Likert scale to the results of the first round. The third round Delphi instrument was used to gather opinions from each panel member using a revised Likert scale instrument. In the third round each panelist received the statistical information calculated from the second round. The characteristics, behaviors, and effective work environments, as agreed upon consensually by the panel of experts in the third round, were reported.
Twenty-eight panelists participated in each of the three rounds of the Delphi study. The characteristics, behaviors, and effective work environments of servant leaders, as determined by the panel of experts, are presented and discussed. A Servant Leadership Inventory was created from the data. The self-rating inventory is offered as an instrument to create discussion and increase awareness about leadership based on service to others.Ed. D.
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Richardson, Sandra Kay. "Think-Assess-Design: a Model for Redesigning Traditional Organizations Into Empowered Work Environments." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1996. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc278686/.
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"Think-Assess-Design" is a model for guiding traditional organizations through
the steps necessary to redesign themselves into a more empowered, team-based work
environment. Three broad steps—think, assess, and design—provided the framework
for organizational change in this case study.
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Oachesu, Alex, and Nemanja Negovanovic. "The core problems of globally distributed work in software development environments, and possible solutions : DevOps environments' opportunities for better adoption of a globally distributed working culture." Thesis, Högskolan Kristianstad, Fakulteten för naturvetenskap, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:hkr:diva-21956.
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Both distributed work and DevOps are on an upward trend. There is a slight resemblance between the problems that DevOps is trying to find answers to, the solutions, and the common problems that geographically distributed work faces. Mainly, they are related to isolated environments that have difficulties in mutual understanding and communication, collaboration. All this leads to inefficiencies and costs that affect the overall efficiency of companies. This report identifies how DevOps engineering principles and implementations provide solutions to common problems in globally distributed work environments. It uses a literature systematic literature search and review to extract the recent and relevant academic data in the scope of the two research questions. Then, a proof-of-concept is implemented for DevOps, which confirms the literature. In parallel, a survey addressed to Swedish companies provides subject-related data from the professional environment, which largely supports the literature and brings extra knowledge. All of this is considered in data analysis and formulation of conclusions, showing DevOps features that can improve and support work in globally distributed environments and outlining the importance of the tailored organizational culture for the modern need of large-scale distributed work.
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Tsay, Jason Tye. "Software Developers Using Signals in Transparent Environments." Research Showcase @ CMU, 2017. http://repository.cmu.edu/dissertations/948.
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One of the main challenges that modern software developers face is the coordination of dependent agents such as software projects and other developers. Transparent development environments that make low-level software development activities visible hold much promise for assisting developers in making coordination decisions. However, the wealth of information that transparent environments provide is potentially overwhelming when developers are wading through information from potentially millions of developers and millions of software repositories when making decisions around tasks that require coordination with projects or other developers. Overcoming the risk of overload and better assisting developers in these environments requires a principled understanding of what exactly developers need to know about dependencies to make their decisions. My approach to a principled understanding of how developers use information in transparent environments is to model the process using signaling theory as a theoretical lens. Developers making key coordination decisions often must determine qualities about projects and other developers that are not directly observable. Developers infer these unobservable qualities through interpreting information in their environment as signals and use this judgment about the project or developer to inform their decision. In contrast to current software engineering literature which focuses on technical coordination between modules or within projects such as modularity or task assignment mechanisms, this work aims to understand how developers use signals to information coordination decisions with dependencies such as other projects or developers. Through this understanding of the signaling process, I can create improved signals that more accurately represent desired unobservable qualities. My dissertation work examines the qualities and signals that developers use to inform specific coordination tasks through a series of three empirical studies. The specific key coordination tasks studied are evaluating code contributions, discussing problems around contributions, and evaluating projects. My results suggest that when project managers evaluate code contributions, they prefer social signals over technical signals. When project managers discuss contributions, I found that they attend to political signals regarding influence from stakeholders to prioritize which problems need solutions. I found that developers evaluating projects tend to use signals that are related to how the core team works and the potential utility a project provides. In a fourth study, using signaling theory and findings from the qualities and signals that developers use to evaluate projects, I create and evaluate an improved signal called “supportiveness” for community support in projects. I compare this signal against the current signal that developers use, stars count, and find evidence suggesting that my designed signal is more robust and is a stronger indicator of support. The findings of these studies inform the design of tools and environments that assist developers in coordination tasks through suggestions of what signals to show and potentially improving existing signals. My thesis as a whole also suggests opportunities for exploring useful signals for other coordination tasks or even in different transparent environments.
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IJsselmuiden, Joris [Verfasser], and R. [Akademischer Betreuer] Stiefelhagen. "Interaction Analysis in Smart Work Environments through Fuzzy Temporal Logic / Joris IJsselmuiden. Betreuer: R. Stiefelhagen." Karlsruhe : KIT-Bibliothek, 2014. http://d-nb.info/1058165275/34.
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Bouanchaud, Paul Alexandre. "Male sex work in China : understanding the HIV risk environments of Shenzhen's migrant money boys." Thesis, London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London), 2014. http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/1065/.
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This study contributes to our understanding of the social organisation and lived experience of men in China’s sex industry. It employs a social epidemiological model to analyse the multiple levels of influence on HIV (and other non-HIV) risks to which this highly marginalised group are exposed. It highlights the complex interrelations between different factors influencing the lives of male and transgender sex workers (MSW) in China. It is the first mixed methods study of its kind in the Chinese MSW context. The thesis analyses data collected during five months of fieldwork in Shenzhen, China. Working through a community-based MSW organisation, a participatory approach was taken to study design and data collection. Community advisory boards were organised and used to develop and test study instruments. A structured survey was undertaken with MSW (n=251), with a sub-sample purposely selected for semistructured interviews (n=21). Key informant interviews were conducted with representatives from local and international organisations (n=5). Multiple linear and binary logistic regressions were used for quantitative data analyses, while qualitative data were coded thematically. Both data types are given equal weight throughout the analysis. The thesis demonstrates how China’s recent macro-level social and economic changes, characterised here through the microcosm of life in the city of Shenzhen, interact with the lived experiences of the men in the study, driving their rural-urban migration and contributing to their entry into sex work. The phrase “laugh at poverty, not at prostitution” was used by many of the respondents to explain their decision to sell sex, but this apparently simple idiom belies a more complex reality in which economic factors intersect with social networks, sexual orientation and an escalation in the provision of sexual services. Sex work careers are represented as providing both opportunities (for escaping poverty, expressing sexual identity, and accessing cosmopolitan lifestyles), as well as risks. Risk, understood as a socially constructed phenomenon, refers not only to HIV transmission, but also violence from clients, control by mami (pimps), and entrapment and arrest by the police. Multiple risks and opportunities arise through a range of social and professional interactions between the different actors involved in the industry, necessitating their dynamic management by the MSW. Sex work, HIV and homosexuality alongside migrant identities are highly stigmatised in China, and the active management of these intersecting identities, in part through their sexual practices, allows the MSW in this study to continue in their work without ‘losing face’. The MSW have complex sexual networks of male and female, paid and paying, and non-commercial partners. In exploring their partner concurrency, this complexity is examined, through the lenses of stigma and identity. Local, emic understandings of ‘safe sex’ indicate that while levels of HIV fear are substantial among the MSW, and condom use is commonly discussed, safety and hygiene are frequently conflated, and both are associated with HIV-avoidance. Hygiene, through showering and general cleanliness, is considered an important part of ‘safe sex’ for this group, but also emerges as a metaphor employed to counter the perceived dirtiness of selling sex for some of the MSW. The findings highlight the complexities involved in selling sex for these men. They must actively negotiate their work, risks and identities, while also being subject to unequal power relations and forces largely beyond their control. This thesis aims to present a nuanced account of these dynamic processes.
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Tucker, Ashton. "Virtual and Physical Environments in the work of Pipilotti Rist, Doug Aitken, and Olafur Eliasson." University of Cincinnati / OhioLINK, 2012. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1337084536.
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Gardenhour, Corey Ray. "Teachers' Perceptions of Empowerment in Their Work Environments as Measured by the Psychological Empowerment Instrument." Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University, 2008. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/1960.
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The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of their empowerment. Six school systems in the Northeast Tennessee region were used in the study. Of the 600 teachers who were surveyed, 312 responded (52%). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument was used to survey the sample.
Research supported the notion that teacher empowerment could be influenced by organizational structure, relationships, communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, motivation, job satisfaction, and transformational leadership. Teacher empowerment also involved servant leadership.
One research question guided the study. From this question, 12 null hypotheses were generated. Means were compared for the 4 dimensions of the PEI (Meaning, Competence, Impact and Self-Determination). The grouping variables were years of experience, gender, and level of education. ANOVAs and independent samples t tests were computed to evaluate the data.
The results of ANOVA and Independent Samples t tests were that there were significant differences in the 4 dimensions with teacher years of experience but not with gender or level of education. Findings suggested that seasoned teachers often showed a higher level of empowerment than beginning teachers. The findings also suggested that gender and level of education did little to influence teacher empowerment in their schools. From the results of the study, conclusions and recommendations for future research were formulated. It was suggested that teachers be involved in a mentoring program. It was also suggested that administrators determine teacher empowerment through faculty assessments and follow up with professional development to ensure the continued empowerment of their staff.
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Nutter, Kathryn L. "Bi Labor: Toward a Model of Bisexual Identity Management in Workplace Environments." Ohio : Ohio University, 2008. http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/view.cgi?ohiou1219541790.
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Hauber, Joerg. "Understanding Remote Collaboration in Video Collaborative Virtual Environments." Thesis, University of Canterbury. Computer Science and Software Engineering, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10092/1247.
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Video-mediated communication (VMC) is currently the prevalent mode of telecommunication for applications such as remote collaboration, teleconferencing, and distance learning. It is generally assumed that transmitting real-time talking-head videos of participants in addition to their audio is beneficial and desirable, enabling remote conferencing to feel almost the same as face-to-face collaboration. However, compared to being face-to-face, VMC still feels distant, artificial, cumbersome, and detached. One limitation of standard video-collaboration that contributes to this feeling is that the 3D context between people and their shared workspace given in face-to-face collaboration is lost. It is therefore not possible for participants to tell from the video what others are looking at, what they are working on, or who they are talking to. Video Collaborative Virtual Environments (video-CVEs) are novel VMC interfaces which address these problems by re-introducing a virtual 3D context into which distant users are mentally "transported" to be together and interact with the environment and with each other, represented by their spatially controllable video-avatars. To date, research efforts following this approach have primarily focused on the demonstration of working prototypes. However, maturation of these systems requires a deeper understanding of human factors that emerge during mediated collaborative processes. This thesis contributes to a deeper understanding of human factors. It investigates the hypothesis that video-CVEs can effectively support face-to-face aspects of collaboration which are absent in standard video-collaboration. This hypothesis is tested in four related comparative user studies involving teams of participants collaborating in video-CVEs, through standard video-conferencing systems, and being face-to-face. The experiments apply and extend methods from the research fields of human-computer interaction, computer-supported cooperative work, and presence. Empirical findings indicate benefits of video-CVEs for user experience dimensions such as social presence and copresence, but also highlight challenges for awareness and usability that need to be overcome to unlock the full potential of this type of interface.
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Koskina, Aikaterini. "Management and organisation of customer service work in Greece : patterns of diffusion in contact centre environments." Thesis, Keele University, 2011. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.699678.
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This thesis explores and explains customer-service work in contact-centre environments of different national origin} size, and sector in Greece, It has a pragmatist philosophical orientation and stands on a methodologically pluralist position that is framed with a case-study design, Evidence is drawn from six contact-centres in the Greek telecommunications and insurance sectors, Analysis takes places at three levels (country) sector, company) with the aid of a hybrid institutional framework that merges macro and micro theories and concepts of labour management, This is supplemented by within-case analyses and cross-case comparisons, which provide examinations of the ways in which contact-centre work is managed and organised in the case-studies in line with justifications for the observed findings, The research findings extend and challenge some of the existing accounts in the contact-centre literature, The study illuminates the functioning of industrial-employment and work-social relations, It suggests that voice-to-voice work can be visualised in a high-low commitment' management and high discretion rubric under certain circumstances. To this end} the exploratory aim of the thesis induced the descriptive and prescriptive 'neo-professional model' of management and organisation of customer-service work. The explanatory part of the research pointed to three sets of effects (macro; national/pan-national, meso: sector, micro: company) on the management and organisation of contact-centre work. These effects are captured in the 'contact-centre diffusion framework', which derived from a deductive~ inductive analytical reasoning. Macro and meso effects were also found to pose barriers to the forward diffusion of certain policies and practices in the foreign-owned case-studies. In specific, the results stress the significance of the host-country's background and proximate institutions in the transfer of employment, industrial, and work relations in multinational subsidiaries. At theoretical level, the thesis contributes to a number of disciplines, most notably the emerging field of international contact-centre work. At practical level, the study offers an understanding to organisational stakeholders on the management and organisation of customer-service work in one European Mediterranean country, where both cross-border diffusion and contact-centre research is underdeveloped.
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Hunt, Ronald Myers. "An exploratory study of entrepreneurial arts and sciences faculty in the context of their work environments." W&M ScholarWorks, 2002. https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd/1550154096.
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Siqin, Tuya, and 斯琴图亚. "Characterizing and assessing collective responsibility in computer-supported collaborative inquiry environments." Thesis, The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong), 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/10722/208544.
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Fraser, John. "Designing within a computer-mediated communication environment : three studies into the potential of online learning environments for collaborative design work in international educational contexts." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2005. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020483/.
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Computer-mediated communication has become a common part of higher education and of designers' professional practice in the twenty-first century. This research sets out to investigate student-centred group enquiry-driven learning in a distributed environment. The aim is to examine how students and instructors interact in online learning environments in the conduct of online collaborative design work in international educational settings, and thus provide the basis for the identification of factors that contribute to successful online collaborative work in design education. Through the study of three examples of online collaborative design work, the research addresses the following specific questions: (i) how do distributed groups of students use synchronous and asynchronous interaction when seeking collaborative solutions to design problems? (ii) how do instructors use the facilities provided by an online collaborative environment in interacting privately and publicly with students and with each other? (iii) how do students handle the challenges of group dynamics and partnership in online collaborative group work? Together, addressing these questions enables design educators to develop an understanding of the ways in which the use of online collaborative work can be of particular benefit for design education, for instance in facilitating the forms of international and inter-disciplinary collaboration that lie at the heart of contemporary professional design practice. This practitioner research suggests that, in the hands of committed design teachers, technology can support innovations that will improve student performance, help students develop cognitive design skills and can introduce a real-world design context for student learning. The findings indicate that a balance between dynamic synchronous and reflective asynchronous engagement is critical in establishing successful online collaborative design environments. The importance of privacy issues in the space used by design students is another interesting finding that can inform restructuring of collaborative interfaces for future design education.
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Choi, Yeon Jin. "Home and neighborhood environments and older adults' well-being." Thesis, Boston College, 2017. http://hdl.handle.net/2345/bc-ir:107533.
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Thesis advisor: Christina Matz-CostaGiven the rising numbers of community-dwelling older adults in the United States (US), understanding the effect of home and community factors on health and well-being is critically important. Although important contributions have been made, most existing studies have used unidimensional measures of neighborhoods, which provide insufficient empirical evidence to develop holistic interventions. Also, despite the prevalence of disability among older adults, only a handful of studies have explored the effect of physical functioning in the relationship between home and neighborhood environments and older adults’ well-being. Finally, the role of the global assessment of community in mediating the effect of home and neighborhood environments on older adults’ well-being has not been explored. To fill these knowledge gaps, this dissertation examined the relationship between home and community environments and well-being (i.e., self-reported health, global assessment of community, and likelihood of aging-in-place) among adults age 65 and older (n=4,066). Based on the press-competence model, differences in hypothesized relationships by respondents’ physical functioning was also examined. Further, this dissertation explored the mediating effect of older adults’ global assessments of their community to see if the effect of home and neighborhood environments on older adults’ likelihood of aging-in-place operates through the global assessment of community. Data were analyzed from the AARP Age-Friendly Communities 2015 survey, which was collected from 14 communities in the US and includes 66 items capturing aspects of home and community environments under eight domains. Results of multi-level regression analyses suggest that both availability of resources and the fit between respondents’ needs and available resources are associated with their health, global assessment of community, and the likelihood of aging-in-place. The impact of home and neighborhood environments was greater among respondents with functional limitations and with low income. Home and neighborhood environments are associated with older adults’ likelihood of aging-in-place through their effect on the global assessment of community. These findings provide a fuller understanding of the impact of surrounding environments on older adults’ well-being, which will inform policy and practice efforts to better serve community-dwelling older adults
Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2017
Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work
Discipline: Social Work
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Wolfe, Amy. "The effect of restricted environments on selected postural, physiological and perceptual responses." Thesis, Rhodes University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1005193.
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Manual lifting tasks are the predominant means of transporting materials in industry with many of these tasks being performed in confined spaces. Research has tended to focus on the biomechanical implications of working in small spaces with a decided lack of information about the physiological and perceptual responses in these environments. This holistic study therefore investigated the manner in which the human operator responded to conditions where the ceiling height was lowered and reach demands increased. Thirty-two young physically active male subjects (age: 21.55yr; stature: 1810mm) were recruited to complete a 2-way repeated measures experiment during which four lifting protocols where different combinations of ceiling height (‘normal’ or reduced to 1460mm in height) and reach demands (400mm or 800mm) were tested. A crude postural analysis was conducted while physiological responses were detailed and continuously monitored. Perceptual responses were also assessed. The tasks with a ‘normal’ ceiling height (mean compression forces: 2615N; mean shearing forces: 388N) and the greatest reach distance (mean compression forces: 3655N; mean shearing forces: 386N) placed individuals under the highest strain. Mean heart rate (HR) responses were significantly lower (p < 0.05) in the URN condition when compared to the RF condition. Furthermore, HR responses were statistically significantly affected by the height of the ceiling and the reach depth. Statistically significant differences (p< 0.05) in mean tidal volume (VT) occurred in the least (URN) and most (RF) restrictive conditions. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in mean VE were evident between URN and URF, between URN and RF and between RN and RF. Ceiling height and reach demands had a statistically significant effect on all respiratory responses. There was a statistically significant difference in mean oxygen consumption (VO2) between the URN and all other conditions, and between the most restricted task (RF) and all other conditions. Both the effect of ceiling height and reach demands had a statistically statistically significant impact on VO2. Respiratory quotient (RQ) was significantly higher when loads were moved over 800mm compared to 400mm yet ceiling height did not have a statistically significant effect on RQ. Mean energy expenditure was significantly higher in the RF condition compared to the two least restrictive conditions (URN and RN). Statistically significant differences in EE were also evident between URN and RN, and between URN and URF. EE was significantly affected by reductions in ceiling height and increases in reach demands. Perceptually, the RF task (mean ‘Central’ RPE of 11) was perceived to place significantly greater cardiorespiratory demands on the operator compared to the URN (CRPE: 10) and RN (CRPE: 10) conditions. Statistically significant differences in perceived musculoskeletal strain only occurred between URN and RF. The effect of reach was perceived to have a statistically significant effect on both cardiovascular and musculoskeletal demands whereas ceiling height only had a statistically significant effect on musculoskeletal demands. The greatest discomfort was experienced in the lower back with the most intense discomfort occurring in the RN condition.
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Martins-Crane, Lolin. "The Self-Managed Work Team Environment: Perceptions of Men and Women." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1992. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc500806/.
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The present study empirically examined working behaviors of men and women within a self-managed working environment. Three models of women and work were studied. Results indicated women exhibited higher levels of job meaning and continuance commitment. The more self-managed production team exhibited higher levels of growth need strength, support from co-workers, continuance commitment, task significance and lower levels of role conflicts. Support teams exhibited higher levels of autonomy and satisfaction with pay. Path analysis, testing a model based on Astin's sociopsychological model indicated direct effects from expectancy to general satisfaction, from gender to expectancy, and task significance to gender. An alternative model showed direct effects between general satisfaction and expectancy, satisfaction with pay, task significance and expectancies, and between satisfaction with pay and teams.
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Mo, Kevin, and Davis Jawan Luangikone. "Employee Motivation in Remote Work : Intrinsic Motivation and Self-Efficacy’s Role in Employee Motivation for Remote Environments." Thesis, Linköpings universitet, Företagsekonomi, 2021. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:liu:diva-176419.
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Information technology (IT) has enabled organizations to implement significant, beneficial traits of virtual organizations into their own structure such as the ability to work remotely. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the business world was forced to shift towards a virtual environment where remote working has become the new norm. Thus, this study seeks to contribute to the understanding of motivation and self-efficacy for workers in this relatively new environment. This is guided by three main research questions: (1) What are the aspects of intrinsic motivations that employees feel affect employee motivation in a remote work environment?, (2) How do employees perceive incentives and other extrinsic motivators within the remote work environment?, and (3) In which possible ways does an employee believe self-efficacy has altered due to remote work? Self-determination theory (SDT) and self-efficacy were utilized as the main theoretical tools to examine the motivation of remote workers within the engineering industry along with inductive reasoning. Data for this qualitative study was gathered through the conduction of seven semi-structured interviews on two engineering companies, which are identified as Sim Co. and Mech Co. It was found that extrinsic motivators within the more autonomy supportive environment—that is remote work—will not be as influential and prominent from the individual’s perspective. Hence, supporting an individual’s perceived locus of causality (PLOC) and intrinsic motivators will be much more beneficial to motivate remote workers. It was also observed that project burnout and personal disinterest continues to conflict with remote workers as the separation between work and personal life may be an issue for the individual. Vicarious experience and physiological and emotional states were primarily affected for the interviewees during the transition to remote work. This led to a change in self-efficacy for the individual along with competence and autonomy. This research has concluded: (1) remote employee motivation is influenced more by intrinsic motivations rather than extrinsic motivations similar to the in-office environment, and (2) self-efficacy judgment was affected in two components by remote work一vicarious experience and physiological and emotional states.
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Holsinger, Amanda Joy Toscano. "Are Nutrition and Food Security Concerns a Priority of Certified Nursing Assistants in Work and Family Environments?" Thesis, Virginia Tech, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/31932.
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Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) are responsible for the care of Americaâ s aging population. CNAs are paid a miniscule amount of money and are often ineligible for medical benefits through their employers. CNAs bathe, change, feed, and help toilet the residents of long-term care facilities. The stressful work and personal lives of CNAs leads to many problems such as high turnover rates, absenteeism, health problems, and elder abuse. In the United States, food insecurity is a concern for many of the uninsured working poor. The purpose of this study was to assess the overall perceived concerns, barriers, and solutions of CNAs in both their work and family environments, identify where nutrition and food security fits into the priorities of CNAs, and identify educational strategies to improve their health and overall quality of life. Twenty-nine CNAs participated in six focus groups across the state of Virginia. Triangulation techniques were used to compare both qualitative (focus groups) and quantitative (participatory activities and questionnaires) research. Participatory activities showed that the top home concern of CNAs was money management. CNAs ranked keeping their family healthy fourth (9.6%), and they ranked preparing fast easy meals eighth (1.7%). The top work concern of CNAs was time management. Staying healthy at work ranked fourth (12.9%), while packing a nutritious lunch was sixth (3.4%). The preferred methods of education for the participants were watching videotapes, attending classes at a central location, and having a mentor to help them with their problems.Master of Science
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Allen, Michael 1954. "An Investigation of Holland's Theory of Vocational Personalities and Work Environments As Applied to Undergraduate Music Majors." Thesis, University of North Texas, 1989. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc330790/.
Full textAbstract:
Holland's theory of vocational personalities and work environments incorporates four theoretical constructs (congruence, consistency, differentiation and identity) which attempt to explain sources in variability of achievement and satisfaction among employed adults and college students. This study sought to: (1) investigate the relationship of Holland's constructs to academic achievement and educational satisfaction of undergraduate music majors; (2) investigate differences in all variables according to gender and degree major. Data were collected from undergraduate music majors (N = 100) enrolled at the University of North Texas using the Vocational Preference Inventory. Mv Vocational Situation. and the Music Major Satisfaction Questionnaire. Reliability for the Music Major Satisfaction Questionnaire was estimated at .92 using Cronbach's coefficient alpha. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients indicated that: (1) congruence was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (2) identity was significantly related to academic achievement and educational satisfaction; (3) consistency was significantly related to academic achievement, but not to educational satisfaction; (4) differentiation was significantly related to academic achievement, but not to educational satisfaction. Multiple regression using a stepwise entry method indicated that: (1) the identity construct was the best predictor of educational satisfaction scores; (2) identity was the best predictor of academic achievement scores.
The results of the study suggested: (1) it is unlikely that any single theory accounts for all dimensions of variability in achievement among college music majors. To arrive at a comprehensive model of achievement, it will be necessary to utilize constructs of several theories. Such a model should include Holland's constructs of identity, congruence, and possibly differentiation. (2) similarly, a comprehensive model of satisfaction should include Holland's constructs of identity and congruence. (3) Holland's classification system may distinguish among two traditionally held divisions of college music majors, performance majors and education majors. (4) music education majors and music performance majors differ on the social dimension of their vocational personalities.
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Chafin, Carol Graybeal. "Transactions between individuals and family and work environments : a qualitative analysis of workers' adaptation to organizational restructuring /." Diss., This resource online, 1992. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07282008-134745/.
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Nilsson, Cindy. "Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Embodied Social Interaction." Thesis, University of Skövde, School of Humanities and Informatics, 2004. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:his:diva-903.
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Research in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) has identified a gap - the, so called, social-technical gap - between the wide range of human social interactions that CSCW ideally should support and what current technology actually does support. At the same time recent work in cognitive science and CSCW has begun to elucidate the multifarious roles that the body plays in cognitive processes as well as many forms of social interaction, e.g. gestures, pointing, eye-contact and bodily mimicry. The aim of this dissertation has been to analyse to what degree different aspects of embodied social interaction are supported by different types of synchronous, remote location CSCW technology, and to develop recommendations for future development concerning aspects of embodiment. For this purpose, a number of crucial aspects of embodied social interaction have been identified and about twenty CSCW systems - both research prototypes and commercial systems - have been analysed with respects to how well they support these different aspects. The analysis shows that most CSCW systems only support a very limited range of aspects of embodied social interaction.
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Wyatt, Erin Drankwalter. "Middle School Students in Virtual Learning Environments." Thesis, University of North Texas, 2010. https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc30529/.
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This ethnographic study examined middle school students engaged in a virtual learning environment used in concert with face-to-face instruction in order to complete a collaborative research project. Thirty-eight students from three eighth grade classes participated in this study where data were collected through observation of student work within the virtual learning environment, an online survey, and focus group sessions with students involved in the project. Results indicated students found the virtual learning environment to be valuable as a platform to complete a collaborative research assignment because of portability, ease of use, and organization. Embedded resources within the environment were helpful because of the convenience. Other people, including peers and teachers, were the preferred source of help when problems navigating the environment or finding information arose. Students communicated within the virtual learning environment as a social outlet, a way to check in, and a means to offer content related comments. Ideally the study's findings will give insight into student experiences in a virtual learning environment in order to help educators design more effective learning experiences and incorporate useful supports within such environments.