Digitization, innovation, and participation: digital conviviality of the Google Cultural Institute

2018 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.To view the abstract, please see the full text of the document

The Road to Regulation of Private Military and Security Companies: An Analysis of the (Re-)Articulation of the Norms Governing the Legitimate Use of Force

Since the end of the Cold War, private military and security companies have gained a prominent place on the international battlefield. In an attempt to reduce monetary and political costs, states have not only outsourced some of the defense functions previously performed by uniformed personnel; they have also partly privatised the provision of security. Traditional accounts of the rise of private military and security companies have explained this evolution in terms of changing demand and supply of military force after the Cold War, in a neoliberal ideological environment. This rationalist account, however, overlooks the role of norms, which, as the constructivist research tradition has demonstrated, constrain state behaviour even in the domain of national security. From this constructivist point of view, the rise of private military and security companies is surprising given the existence of an anti-mercenary norm and a norm on the state monopoly on violence, both of which have precluded the private exercise of violence. How, then, should the rise of private military and security companies be understood in light of this hostile normative environment? Against a realist-constructivist background, this text draws upon models of norm change and epistemic communities to show that private military and security companies have used their pragmatic legitimacy and epistemic power to decisively shape the discursive construction of a new regulatory framework that legitimises the exercise of non-state violence

Research and Technology Objectives and Plans Summary (RTOPS)

A compilation of summary portions of each of the Research and Technology Objectives and Plans (RTOPS) used for management review and control of research currently in progress throughout NASA is presented. Subject, technical monitors, responsible NASA organization, and RTOP number indexes are included

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse

PERFORM: Performance Enhancing Routines for Optimising Readiness using Metacognition For the Management of Acutely Unwell Patients

Negative emotions and behaviours experienced during stressful situations may influence junior doctors’ capacity to manage clinical emergencies through compounding difficulties in synthesising information and decision-making. This may explain why newly qualified doctors frequently report under-preparedness to manage acute unwell patients. Until now, very little has been offered in the way of a solution to this problem. Elite athletes are coached in the application of Performance Enhancing Routines (PERs) to minimise the impact of negative emotions and behaviours during high stakes competition. Similar ideas trialled in healthcare, such as mental imagery, were found to enhance performance and decrease stress. However, the “one-size fits all” approach used in both these domains overlooks the importance of when and how individuals optimally apply PERs. To our knowledge this project is the first to design and evaluate an individualised, self-regulatory PER model to improve junior doctors’ emotional and behavioural control during acutely unwell patient management. The study contained Exploratory, Pilot and Full Intervention Phases. The latter was a dual-site multiple case study which used mixed-methods. The model was initially coached in simulation and successfully transferred to real clinical scenarios. Application of the model during an acutely unwell patient in situ behaviours (p=0.003). Doctors agreed that the original model reflected its application in clinical practice and were able to individualise it through adaptation or creating new PERs. Feedback supported the wider use of PERFORM and recommended improvements. This study supports previous findings that doctors do experience negative emotions and behaviours during the management of acutely unwell patients, which can affect clinical performance and that they currently lack strategies with which to manage them. Potential future work includes wider rollout of the programme to newly qualified doctors; inter-disciplinary adaptation for other healthcare professionals and/or feedback into other professions, including sport

Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses

Compiles peer-reviewed research and literature reviews on issues regarding patient safety and quality of care, ranging from evidence-based practice, patient-centered care, and nurses' working conditions to critical opportunities and tools for improvement

Women Seeking the Public School Superintendency: Navigating the Gendered and Racialized-Gendered Job Search

I have been an educator for my entire career. First, as a teacher and over the last decade as a school administrator. During my tenure, I have continually noticed the underrepresentation of women in the highest office: the school superintendent. This has vexed me over the years, and as a scholar practitioner in leadership and change, I have devoted my research to unearthing the inequalities and disproportional realities that exist within high-profile leadership, particularly the public school superintendency. Utilizing a grounded theory approach, this dissertation sought to better understand what happens at the micro-level, especially during and after the superintendent search and selection process, for women who successfully land a final round interview, but ultimately are not selected for the position. More often than not, women are quick to make the shortlist of finalists, and as nearly 74% of all superintendents are male (Tienken, 2021), yet only rarely get offered the position. Through the use of constructivist grounded theory methods, this dissertation reveals a navigational journey riddled with gendered and racialized-gendered experiences rife with barriers for the women who strive for the position. Despite these difficult and challenging obstacles, this dissertation found strength, resilience, and fortitude within the data and the following dimensions: navigating gendered and racialized-gendered experiences, living my core, drifting from self, The Big Kaboom, and finding peace. As a result, this study asserts three theoretical implications related to the experiences of women as they seek the superintendency. This dissertation is available in open access AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu)