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Emerging digital technological advances have been a driving force in the evolution of the modern workplace. This influence extends not only to the creation of new industries and types of work, but also to how work is completed. For example, new technologies have made it possible for us to coordinate and communicate over vast geographic distances. In response to these changes, considerable efforts have been made to re-train our existing workforce to have the technical and communication skills necessary to be successful. This shifting landscape presents exciting opportunities to focus on ways to support youth--who have spent their entire lives with access to inter-networked technologies--as they prepare to enter the workplace of the future. This dissertation describes longitudinal research conducted at the Digital Harbor Foundation 3D Print Shop over a period of more than three years. The print shop offers after-school technical employment to youth from diverse backgrounds. To understand the experiences and challenges faced by this population as they transitioned into this environment, we have utilized a variety of methods including participant and direct observation, interviews, the analysis of chat logs, a focus group, and a participatory elicitation method. The three studies included in this document all seek to better understand how youth coordinate work in technical settings with a specific focus on their usage of communication technologies. The first documents and unpacks instances where youth successfully and unsuccessfully coordinated their work during asynchronous handoffs. The second study characterizes the youths' use of Slack, a popular workplace chatting tool and investigates the factors motivating and limiting adoption of this tool. The final study examines the youths' attitudes and perceptions towards workplace communication technologies. Findings and recommendations from this dissertation offer insight into how we can better prepare and support our future workforce. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The advancement of innovative digital technologies has created a generation of digital natives (children) growing up in a diverse environment designed by a population of digital immigrants (adults). Consequently, this everyday experience has created some dissonance in their lifestyles, raising questions for educational leaders. The purpose of this mini-ethnographic case study was to develop a deeper understanding of how engaging with digital tools shapes the social interactions of young children, and to examine the various ways online/offline social environments influence face-to-face social peer group formation and functioning. Furthermore, this study explored whether digital technology influences the developing social identities of young children. This study reflects the voices, understandings, and beliefs of ten English speaking kindergarten children studying in an International School in Jerusalem, Israel, gathered through participant observations, interviews, and field notes. Data analysis resulted in key findings related to how children: 1) engage in online social environments; 2) watch online movies alone or with family members; 3) utilize stories and characters portrayed in these movies as the common communication thread and basis for social classroom interactions; 4) engage in outdoor play grounded in traditional young children's games; and 5) experience the dominant role that parents play in bridging, moderating, and managing the lives of young children in a digital era. Implications for early childhood educators, educational leaders, and parents are discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study determined whether the game of chess can be used as an educational tool to improve critical thinking skills of developmental mathematics students and improve mathematics achievement for these students. Five research questions were investigated. These questions were as follows: (a) Is there a correlation between critical thinking as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and math achievement for developmental mathematics students? (b) Is there a correlation between chess achievement as measured by a chess assessment and critical thinking as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal? (c) Will instruction in chess improve critical thinking as measured by the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA)? (d) Will instruction in chess improve mathematics achievement? (e) What were the students' perceptions of the relationship between chess, critical thinking and mathematics achievement? For the quantitative phase of the study, the experimental group consisted of twelve students given chess instruction once a week, eighty minutes a week, for ten weeks. The control group was not given any chess instruction. For the qualitative phase of the study, six students were chosen to understand the experiences of students in developmental mathematics as well as how they perceive their abilities to play chess and think critically. The results of the quantitative phase of the study indicated that the chess instruction did improve mathematical ability, but did not improve critical thinking ability. There was a weak positive correlation between critical thinking and chess achievement. There was no correlation between pretest critical thinking scores and pretest mathematics scores. For the results of the qualitative phase of the study, the students perceived that there are many relationships between chess, critical thinking, and developmental mathematics. Students perceived that rote memorization has a greater impact on mathematics achievement than critical thinking ability. The students perceived that playing chess can improve critical thinking ability. Limitations of the study, implications for practice, and suggestions on improving the research methodology are also discussed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

This study describes and tests a model of scientific inquiry as an evolving, organizational phenomenon. Arguments are derived from organizational ecology and evolutionary theory. The empirical subject of study is an "epistemic community" of scientists publishing on a research topic in physics: the string theoretic concept of "D-branes." The study uses evolutionary theory as a means of predicting change in the way members of the community choose concepts to communicate acceptable knowledge claims. It is argued that the pursuit of new knowledge is risky, because the reliability of a novel knowledge claim cannot be verified until after substantial resources have been invested. Using arguments from both philosophy of science and organizational ecology, it is suggested that scientists can mitigate and sensibly share the risks of knowledge discovery within the community by articulating their claims in legitimate forms, i.e., forms that are testable within and relevant to the community. Evidence from empirical studies of semantic usage suggests that the legitimacy of a knowledge claim is influenced by the characteristics of the concepts in which it is articulated. A model of conceptual retention, variation, and selection is then proposed for predicting the usage of concepts and conceptual co-occurrences in the future publications of the community, based on its past. Results substantially supported hypothesized retention and selection mechanisms. Future concept usage was predictable from previous concept usage, but was limited by conceptual carrying capacity as predicted by density dependence theory. Also as predicted, retention was stronger when the community showed a more cohesive social structure. Similarly, concepts that showed structural signatures of high testability and relevance were more likely to be selected after previous usage frequency was controlled for. By contrast, hypotheses for variation mechanisms were not supported. Surprisingly, concepts whose structural position suggested they would be easiest to discover through search processes were used less frequently, once previous usage frequency was controlled for. The study also makes a theoretical contribution by suggesting ways that evolutionary theory can be used to integrate findings from the study of science with insights from organizational communication. A variety of concrete directions for future studies of social and semantic network evolution are also proposed. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]

The current disparities within Ohio’s mental healthcare system stem from a long history of barriers to access as well as racist diagnostic and treatment methods. Despite the impetus to provide care for Ohio’s mentally ill during the asylum movement of the early nineteenth century, discriminatory notions about who should receive care prevented African Americans from entering the asylums. Barred from Ohio’s public institutions, African Americans were forced to endure unsanitary conditions as well as abusive treatment within the local infirmaries and jailhouses. After a lengthy legislative battle, colored citizens in Ohio won the right to use the state-established mental institutions, although their access was limited to one facility within the state. Situated in Cincinnati, an area of diverse views regarding black rights, the Longview Insane Asylum paved the way for Ohio’s care of African American mentally ill. Although the first asylum in the state to admit African American patients in 1867, Longview’s Colored Department reinforced racist understandings of mental illness through their diagnostic and treatment patterns, in which they displayed a clear tendency to label colored patients as violent and boisterous. When Longview struggled for adequate state funding amidst postbellum political tensions, they limited the admission of African Americans and resorted to the use of antiquated manual restraint to deal with chronic overcrowding. Thus, Ohio’s African Americans who already suffered from mental “otherness,” were forced to bear the weight of social “otherness” while seeking healing throughout the nineteenth century., History