Evalpreneurship: The Role of Entrepreneurship in the Evaluation Marketplace

As a professional service within the knowledge economy, evaluation is a commercial industry as much as it is an academic discipline (Nielsen, Lemire, & Christie, 2018). However, the scholarship and training supporting evaluation practitioners focus primarily on how to conduct evaluation studies with little to no consideration of the business processes that enable the production and exchange of services (Nielsen et al., 2018). In response to the recent call for research on the evaluation marketplace (Hwalek & Straub, 2018; Kinarsky, 2018; Lemire, Nielsen, & Christie, 2018; Nielsen et al., 2018; Peck, 2018), this dissertation study explores the role of entrepreneurship in influencing the supply of and demand for evaluation services and products. Two phases of research were conducted to empirically investigate the role of entrepreneurship in the evaluation marketplace. First, Phase 1 utilized secondary data analysis to assess the landscape of evaluation entrepreneurship in the United States. Next, Phase 2 leveraged focus groups, surveys, and interviews with both entrepreneurs and commissioners to examine the role of entrepreneurship in influencing evaluation supply of and demand in the philanthropic sector (i.e., foundations and nonprofits), which is identified as a market segment that is advantageous for small businesses. Findings in Phase 1 demonstrate the differences between entrepreneurship and independent consulting to highlight the unique role of entrepreneurship in shaping consumer expectations, accelerating innovation, creating opportunities for professional evaluators, and differentiating evaluation services from other types of knowledge work. Entrepreneurs differ from consultants in regards to their business structures, level of commitment, personal and financial risk, and the size and scope of their projects. Phase 2 comprised of two parallel studies; Study 1 captured perspectives of supply, while Study 2 captured perspectives of demand. Phase 2, Study 1 revealed the primary factors that drive evaluation entrepreneurship, including motivation, target market, products and services, business operations, and business development. Entrepreneurs influence other suppliers through three types of influence: evaluation practice (via collaboration, partnership, and peer learning), production and sales of evaluation services (via marketing, differentiating, innovating, adaptation, advancing trends), and business practices (via shared business knowledge and disrupting business norms). Phase 2, Study 2 revealed the primary drivers of commissioning evaluations: internal evaluation capacity, evaluand and evaluation purpose, and source and amount of funding. Though these contextual factors are mostly out of entrepreneurs’ control, findings suggest that entrepreneurs influence commissioners by: leveraging the interconnected marketplace, establishing a niche, educating and coaching clients to broaden perspectives of evaluation, co- creating opportunities, and cultivating positive experiences. This research concludes that entrepreneurs have a prominent role in the marketplace, suggesting they also have a responsibility to uphold standards and value of evaluation, especially amid a lack of professionalization of the field and potential tensions between quality andprofitability. This study also explores wider implications of evaluation entrepreneurship as a means to disrupt “business as usual,” dismantle white supremacy in the marketplace, and reimage equity-focused business practices in a way that liberates Black, Indigenous, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian, and other evaluators who have been historically excluded from evaluation scholarship, practice, and leadership

Development of durian leaf disease detection on Android device

Durian is exceedingly abundant in the Philippines, providing incomes for smallholder farmers. But amidst these things, durian is still vulnerable to different plant diseases that can cause significant economic loss in the agricultural industry. The conventional way of dealing plant disease detection is through naked-eye observation done by experts. To control such diseases using the old method is extensively laborious, time-consuming and costly especially in dealing with large fields. Hence, the proponent’s objective of this study is to create a standalone mobile app for durian leaf disease detection using the transfer learning approach. In this approach, the chosen network MobileNets, is pre-trained with a large scale of general datasets namely ImageNet to effective function as a generic template for visual processing. The pre-trained network transfers all the learned parameters and set as a feature extractor for the target task to be executed. Four health conditions are addressed in this study, 10 per classification with a total of 40 samples tested to evaluate the accuracy of the system. The result showed 90% in overall accuracy for detecting algalspot, cercospora, leaf discoloration and healthy leaf

Geographic Crime Information Reporting System

The primary goal of this study is to successfully develop a Geographic Crime Information Reporting System at a station in Mandaue City, an electronic blotter that uses Geographical Information System (GIS) in recording crime information. The “Geographic Crime Information Reporting System” contains a Geo Spatial Crime Visualization module that loads and displays the maps from shape files. The Crime Management Module to assign coordinates in the map given by the user to be stored in a Database. The Geographic Crime Information Analyzer analyzes the data and creates a report which is a list of possible suspects. The system is then evaluated by randomly selected Philippine National Police Officers (PNP Officer) and Philippine National Police Information Technology personnel (PNP IT Personnel) of Mandaue City. The Results show that 75% of the respondents are familiar with the Electronic-blotter (E-Blotter), with only 26.7% of them who are currently using it. 85% are familiar with maps and pins, with 64.7% of them who are currently using it. The PNP Officers evaluated the usefulness of the E-blotter with a mean rating of 3.25, which is interpreted as Moderately Acceptable. And to the usefulness of the maps and pins with a mean rating of 3.82, which is interpreted as Very acceptable. The Response clearly showed that the proposed system is useful. The PNP officers evaluated the system interfaces ease of understanding as 3.95, which is interpreted as very acceptable. The system’s provision of time efficient decision making was rated 3.9, which is interpreted as very acceptable. The system’s implementation of the theories was rated 3.85, which is interpreted as very acceptable. The system’s accuracy of results was rated 3.75, which is interpreted as very acceptable. The PNP officers evaluated the systems importance (include all results) with an overall rating of 3.8625 which is interpreted as very acceptable. The PNP IT personnel evaluated the system with an overall rating of 4.515 on a 5-point rating system which is interpreted as completely acceptable. Functionality had a mean rating of 4.35, which is interpreted as completely acceptable. Usability had a mean rating of 4.68. This is interpreted as completely acceptable

Strategies towards carbon-carbon bond formation via tandem hydrothiolation/Kumada cross-coupling

Using recently developed methodology from our group, a variety of aryl and aliphatic terminal alkynes were reacted with n-propanethiol to undergo catalytic alkyne hydrothiolation in the presence Tp*Rh(PPh₃)₂ The alkynes examined afforded the branched isomer with high regioselectivity and moderate-to-high yield. Unsubstituted aryl alkynes, or those containing an electron-donating substituent at the para position, gave the branched vinyl sulfide in good isolated yield. In contrast, vinyl sulfides derived from aryl alkynes containing an electron-withdrawing substituent at the para position showed a decrease in reactivity and yield. The aliphatic alkynes that were investigated gave the desired branched vinyl sulfide in good yield. The isolated vinyl sulfides were then subjected to Kumada cross-coupling in the presence of NiCl₂(PPh₃)₂ with various aryl and aliphatic Grignard reagents, affording the corresponding 1,1 -disubstituted olefins. While benzyl-, phenyl- and trimethylsilylmagnesium halides were shown to be suitable cross-coupling partners, phenylethynyl-, vinyl- and n-butylmagnesium halides were not. Once the viability for the Kumada cross-coupling of vinyl sulfides was established, a one-pot protocol was investigated. It was shown that the one-pot procedure afforded the desired 1,1 -disubstituted olefin from readily available terminal alkynes in similar, and in some cases superior, yields than the two-step process.Science, Faculty ofChemistry, Department ofGraduat

Pagbuo ng kagamitang pang-ebalwasyon sa programang novice una hanggang ikatlong baitang ng special Filipino sa paaralang De La Salle Santiago Zobel gamit ang modelong CIPP

Ang pag-aaral na ito ay nakatuon sa pagsusuri ng programang Novice sa akademikong Special Filipino sa Paaralang De La Salle Zobel. Layunin ng pag-aaral na makabuo ang kasalukuyang programa ng tool pang-ebalwasyon at makapagbigay ng rekomendasyon mula sa nakuhang datos upang higit na mapagbuti, mapagyaman at mapaunlad ang programa. Nahahati ang pag-aaral sa dalawang mahalagang salik ng programa; ang disenyo ng at ang kontent na nakapaloob dito. Layunin na matukoy ang mga nararapat isaalang-alang sa pagpapabuti bilang tugon sa rekomendasyon ng PAASCU at sa kabila na ito ay higit sa tatlumpung-taon ng kabilang sa kurikulum ng paaralan. Isinagawa ang pag-aaral gamit ang CIPP model ni Stufflebeam kung saan kinalap ang mga impormasyon ng programa sa apat na mahahalagang batayan. Ito ay ang konteksto, input, proseso at produkto na tutugon sa masusing pag-aaral at pagkakaroon ng ebalwasyon ng programa. Ginamit ang mga pantulong na instrument sa pananalikisik bilang bahagi ng metodo, ang pagsasagawa ng sarbey sa mga guro, ang interbyu at focus group discussion sa mga koordineytor, gurong nagtuturo ng asignaturang Special Filipino at maging ang mga guro sa yunit ng Filipino sa mababang paaralan at mga ilang piling mag-aaral na kumuha ng nasabing programa. Layunin ng isinagawang metodo ang matukoy ang naging kasaysayan ng Special Filipino sa paaralan at ang naging development nito hanggang sa maging isa sa mga asignaturang inihahain sa mga mag-aaral na naging bahagi ng kurikulum. Sa pagkakataon ring ito, natukoy ang kalakasan at kahinaan ng programa kung saan nakatutulong sa pag-aaral at pagbuo ng tool pang-ebalwasyon na magagamit upang sumuri at tumimbang sa kasalukuyang programa ng Special Filipino. Pagtitibayin nito ang isang programang pinagyaman upang lubos na maging angkop at kapaki-pakinabang para sa mga mag-aaral at tutugon sa tunay na pangangailangan nila. Ang tool pang-ebalwasyon ay dumaan sa iba’t ibang balidasyon kung saan sinuri, inalisa at pinagtibay ng mga ekspert balideytor na nakatuon sa binuong tool at face balideytor na sumuri sa sarbey na ginamit. Sa kabuuan, ang tesis ay isang pag-aaral na makapagbibigay nang sapat na kaalaman na may batayang impresyon tungkol sa pagpapatupad ng Special Filipino Novice Unang Baitang hanggang Ikatlong Baitang bilang isang akademikong asignatura kung saan makakapagbigay-daan sa mag-aaral na matutunan ang kanilang ikalawang wika. Ito ay magsisilbing ambag sa pagpapabuti ng programa upang lubos na makatugon sa layunin ng paaralan na mapagyaman ng mga mag-aaral ang kanilang kasanayan at kakayahan sa pagkatuto ng ikalawang wika- ang wikang Filipino. Maituturing na makatutulong din ito upang mapagyaman ang mga susunod na lebel ng Special Filipino, ang intermediate at advance. Maaaring magsisilbing batayan ang nabuong tool pang-ebalwasyon upang maipagpatuloy ang pagbuo ng mga susunod na hakbang na may katulad na programa

Filipino Adolescents’ Experiences of Abusive Parent-Child Relationship in Low Socioeconomic Status Families

This phenomenological-qualitative study aimed to describe how an abusive parent-child relationship of selected Filipino adolescents from an intact family of low socioeconomic status affects the perceptions of their potential romantic partner, marriage, and family. The study also uncovered their coping mechanisms and support system.  The seven informants were identified using a purposive sampling technique. The researchers devised an open-ended interview guide to elicit information from the informants and were conducted with a guidance counsellor. With the use of content analysis, the study revealed that their abusive experiences with one or both parents have significantly affected their perceptions. Most of them have resorted to using negative coping strategies and that their grandparents stood as their extended family support system with their friends as their non-family support system. The informants displayed a significantly entrenched position on the characteristics of their future marital partner and family. However, they have shown disapproval of marriage due to their experiences. The study also exposed that mothers have been more present in the abusive parent-child experiences than the fathers, which contradicts expectations that fathers act as strict disciplinarians and mothers being the child's protector in Philippine Culture. The study exposed the experiences of children in verbal and physical abuse in their homes from intact families with low socioeconomic status in Metro Manila, wherein expounds on the type of social support these children have been given and the kinds of coping mechanisms that are prevalent in their experiences and how these abusive parent-child experiences reflected with either positive or negative on their perception of marital partner, the concept of marriage, and concept of family, wherein provides substantial knowledge on how these experiences can be handled and faced in terms of treatment