An exploration of the marketing readiness of websites

The aim of the reported study was to assess the marketing readiness of websites using a tool developed from studies in the late 1990s. The research hypotheses suggest that, in line with earlier studies, government websites are more marketing ready than commercial service organisation sites in Australia. The paper reports findings that commercial service organisation websites are not as marketing ready as might be expected. The research hypotheses are partially supported in that Victorian local government websites show evidence of more sophisticated marketing capability than those of commercial service organisations in Australia and that the service organisations sampled are less likely to employ the Web as a marketing channel than local government.<br /

Rising House Prices in an Open Labour Market

In this paper we explore the consequences of the recent steep rise in house prices for the openness of the Irish labour market. Specifically we look at the possible effect rising house prices may have on the migration decision. Since many immigrants are in the household formation age group, and tend to be highly skilled, we argue that the boom in house prices, by reducing the attractiveness of Ireland for potential immigrants, could reduce labour supply. Thus housing emerges as an important infrastructural constraint affecting the labour market. To formulate the role of house prices in the migration decision we use a structural model of the determination of output, labour supply and labour demand in Ireland. We modify the basic model in a number of ways: firstly we endogenise the determination of house prices using structural equations for the demand and supply of housing; secondly we separate out the user cost of housing in the migrant's cost of living index; and thirdly we endogenise the determination of consumer prices. Simulation results suggest that rising house prices, by discouraging potential migrants, could significantly reduce the growth potential of the economy, shifting the balance of labour market growth from employment to wages, with a consequent deterioration in competitiveness. The welfare effects of this differ for different groups; there are unambiguous gains for current home owners while immigrants, first time buyers and those with lower labour market skills are net losers.housing, labour market, migration

Evaluation of the <i>Process of Learning</i>: an educational programme engaging first year college students in critically reflecting upon how they learn

This thesis evaluates the effectiveness of having students reflect upon their experiences of learning and use of critical thinking in their first year of study at University. Specifically, it responds to the debate on whether teaching a general course on critical thinking skills constitutes a 'syntax or semantic' for the students. McPeck (1990) initiated this debate, claiming that teaching general courses on critical thinking skills do not improve students' processes of reasoning. He believes that such courses are not meaningful to students and their learning, stating that the thinking skills the students require, must instead be derived directly from the subjects that they are studying. Educators such as Paul (1991; Siegel 1990) disagree with McPeck and argue that these courses improve students' reasoning processes at University level.In responding to this debate, I designed an introductory critical thinking skills course entitled the Process of Learning. This course was implemented with first year students enrolled on a design and media management course at a University in the United Kingdom. This case study was evaluated using an action research methodology. The findings of this research are discussed within the framework of student learning theory and the learning environment. The data includes student and staff interviews conducted over 18 months, triangulated findings from the course sessions and analysis of related assignments.This research found that students can benefit from first year introductory critical thinking courses in several ways. Students become sensitised or aware of the critical thinking skills that they use in first year. The subsequent application of these skills can lead to improvement in learning quality outcomes in subsequent studies. Students with a higher level of competency discuss these thinking skills more coherently and recognise their personal responsibility in learning. Students achieve insights into their own personal perception of learning and begin to assess objectively the implications of what they have learnt from this. Wide ranging feedback from students discussing critical thinking skills and learning activities can provide a medium for staff committed to improving both pedagogy and the curriculum. Better understanding of critical thinking skills can improve the students' confidence in learning.Further insights are presented in this research that help us to further understand the nature of `confidence' in learning. Students identified a number of difficulties with the Process of Learning. This would appear initially to support McPeck's belief that such courses arc not helpful to students in the first year of study. However, four key findings are presented in this thesis which explain why these difficulties arose. Consequently, this research supports educators who advocate the teaching of general critical thinking skills courses in higher education, due to the benefits for students and staff. It concludes that the 'syntax versus semantic' dichotomy is an oversimplification of the debate and explains why this is so. Finally, suggestions are made for future research directed at integrating critical thinking skills courses across the degree level at University

Remote control of migration: theorising territoriality, shared coercion, and deterrence

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies on 17 Oct 2019, available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2020.1680115‘Remote control’ has been a radical innovation that projects many aspects of migration and border enforcement beyond a state’s territory. Scholars across multiple disciplines make distinctive and sometimes contradictory claims about the extent to which state control over space and geographic borders is of declining significance. Drawing on a study of remote control policies in the United States, Canada, the EU, and Australia since the 1930s, this paper argues that states push much of their migration control out from their territorial boundaries though a process of extraterritorialisation. However, these liberal states simultaneously ratchet up controls at a finely calibrated border line in a process of hyper-territorialisation. The goal of restricting migrants’ access to territorialised human and civil rights drives both of these manipulations of territoriality. A taxonomy of controls based on the metaphor of an ‘architecture of repulsion’ describes their logic and practice. Many of these practices involve states sharing the legitimate means of coercion over movement in a way that challenges a core assumption about modern states. The degree to which remote control deters unauthorised migration remains a critical research question, but there is more deterrence than found in standard measures of border enforcement efficacy

A Proposed Form for Local Board Consideration of Conscientious Objector Claims

The general subject of selective service reform contains enough problems to busy the proverbial thousand monkeys at a thousand typewriters for a thousand years in an effort to solve just one. A solution to one of these problems, conscientious objection, would surely justify the effort. But this article, being the work of a single man using a single typewriter over a period considerably less than a year, makes no such pretense. Unlike most of the books, articles, and commission reports dealing with the selective service law, and conscientious objection in particular, this article is concerned primarily with procedural rather than substantive issues. It is a plea for an administratively imposed requirement that a standard form be used by local boards in considering conscientious objector claims

Program Evaluation of the Living Well With Diabetes Program of Prince William County, Virginia

Presented to the Faculty of the University of Alaska Anchorage in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF PUBLIC HEALTHApproximately 25.8 million US residents are living with diabetes. Research has demonstrated that healthy lifestyles can significantly reduce the onset of diabetes. Various community-based programs have been implemented nationally to address diabetes through lifestyle changes. One such program is the Living Well with Diabetes (LWwD) program of Prince William County, Virginia. The goal of this project practicum was to conduct a process evaluation of the Living Well with Diabetes (LWwD) Program of Prince William County, Virginia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with LWwD program educators. Qualitative data analysis on secondary, post-course evaluations was performed using a thematic method to coding on all short string responses. Results indicate that the intended delivery of the program curriculum resulted in positive changes in the knowledge, attitudes, and applied behaviors of the LWwD program participants. Overall, the continued support of the LWwD program goals would significantly improve the public health and safety of the community.Signature Page / Title Page / Abstract / List of Figures / List of Tables / List of Appendices / Acknowledgements / Introduction / Background / Goals, Objectives, and Research Questions / Methods / Results / Data Source 1: LWwD Participant Registration Database / Worksheet 1: Interview Template for Program Educators / Worksheet 2: LWwD Post-Course Evaluation / Worksheet 3: LWwD Post-Course Evaluation (January 2016) / Discussion / Strengths and Limitations / Public Health Implications / Conclusions and Recommendations / References / Appendice

Mixing methods and crossing boundaries in the study of international migration

"Building on the transnationalism literature, I argue for multi-sited fieldwork in countries of migrants’ origin and destination and the removal of national blinders so that both domestic and international migrations are brought into the same frame for comparison. Such an approach can move beyond description alone by amending the extended case method to engage theoretical research programs in ways that attend to the representativeness of a case study. The analytical fruit of these strategies is demonstrated with examples from the migration literature and ten years of ethnographic and survey fieldwork among Mexican migrants." (author's abstract

An Exploratory Analysis of Factors Affecting Participation in Air Force Knowledge Now Communities of Practice

As the AF continues to lose its knowledge base through retirements and downsizing, the need to get maximum use from the remaining knowledge base becomes increasingly important. In their efforts to help the Department of Defense and the Air Force Chief Information Officer (AFCIO) meet their knowledge management goals, Air Force Material Command (AFMC) has been working to implement the use of communities of practice. A primary goal of AFMC/DRW , the AF Knowledge Now program office, and the office of the AFCIO is to increase effectiveness and participation within communities of practice. The goal of this research is to identify factors from the literature that may affect knowledge transfer, information sharing, and technology acceptance, and compare those factors with AFKN hosted communities of practice (CoPs) exhibiting high and low levels of participation. Additionally, factors of interest identified in interviews with AFKN personnel will be researched. This research used a cross-sectional research instrument to survey CoP members within all AFKN hosted CoPs containing 20 or more members. This research suggests there are differences in the way members within high and low use CoPs perceive these factors: trust, willingness to share information, job fit, outcome expectations, social factors, facilitating conditions, anonymity, security constraints, knowledge champion, facilitator. The results of these findings may allow AFKN to focus on these factors when the goal is to improve participation in future CoPs

Determinants of Variation in Perioperative Red Blood Cell Transfusion During Adult Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

Background: Despite evidence-based guidelines informing indications for transfusions, unwarranted variability in performance exists across cardiac surgical programs. We aimed to identify to what extent distinguishing patient and procedural characteristics can explain center- level transfusion variation during coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) surgery. Methods: We evaluated 22,272 adult patients undergoing isolated CABG using cardiopulmonary bypass between July 1, 2011 and July 1, 2017 across 43 centers. Iterative multilevel logistic regression models were constructed using patient demographic, preoperative risk factors, and intraoperative conservation strategies to progressively explain center-level transfusion variation. Results: Nearly one-third (n=7241, 32.5%) of patients received at least one transfusion. Rates varied between 10.9% to 59.9% across centers. Among the models explaining center-level transfusion variability, the intraclass correlation coefficients varied between 0.072 to 0.136, while the coefficient of variation varied between 0.29 to 0.40. Conclusion: The results suggest that variation in center-level RBC transfusion cannot be explained by patient and procedural factors alone. Investigating organizational culture and programmatic infrastructure may be necessary to better understand variation in transfusion practices