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Title: UTILIZATION OF CONCEPTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN, INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE AND USABILITY TO CREATE A CORPORATE EMPLOYEE TRAINING PROGRAM
Creator: DIGIACOMO, PHILIP A.
Date: 2007-05
Description: Purpose: The Bally Problem...
Show morePurpose: The Bally Problem In 2003, Bally Total Fitness began the process of an international restructuring. The purpose of this restructuring initiative was to address the continuing decay of process efficiency, profitability and company image through a bottom up approach with the staff of the 400+ Bally Total Fitness clubs. The key for this approach was to place the primary focus on two departments; Operations and Employee Training & Development. This documentation and accompanying materials have been compiled as a means with which to outline and catalogue the employee training component of this restructure as well as the process in which the project was carried out. One of the primary reasons Employee Training & Development was considered key in this restructure was due to the need for a single department to facilitate the cultural change throughout the company, which was considered essential to the turnaround effort. The company realized that the only way to properly facilitate this change was to assure that adult learning professionals worked at all levels of the company to educate the staff and steer the needed transition. It was determined that Employee Training & Development must be restructured in a way that allowed for a higher quality of effectiveness in the field, regional offices and the corporate headquarters. The company, as a whole, was looking to implement a more balanced approach to training that would create a well rounded club level employee rather than staff with limited niche roles. Additionally, the company mandated that the corporate team for Employee Training & Development would simultaneously help to educate the executive team while field training managers facilitated the initiative in the clubs and regional offices. For this reason, the corporation decided to restructure the department with the primary goal of recreating a training department from the ground up that would utilize modern philosophies, concepts and technology for adult learning in order to strengthen the ability, productiveness and quality of employee training. To address the employee training component of the restructuring initiative, a team of training professionals were assembled with an initial purpose statement: To assess, evaluate and develop the Bally Total Fitness employee training program utilizing contemporary theories and approaches to adult learning. This team was directed to create and execute upon an approved turnaround strategy with the goal of improved employee development as the dominant focus. Accomplishment of this goal would only be considered to be achieved through development of a training program that addressed and resolved any issues found within the original employee training curriculum that could be shown to adversely affect the average employee's ability with responsibilities, on-the-job attitude and customer service. Preparation for this restructuring required the newly created team to conduct in depth analyses of each department within the corporation to determine the level of importance they played within the overall structure of daily business and how employee training impacted the quality and productivity of their functions. Once these departmental analyses were completed, the team would be expected to create, present and execute a project plan to begin the process of resolving the employee training issues plaguing the corporation.
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Title: DEVELOPING INFORMATION PRODUCTS USING QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Creator: BATSON, LAURA SHEEHAN
Date: 2010-12
Description: In regards to information design, research provides high-level suggestions on how to learn and interact with customers to obtain their desired...
Show moreIn regards to information design, research provides high-level suggestions on how to learn and interact with customers to obtain their desired requirements; but specifics on an approach to eliciting and controlling measurable requirements throughout the development process are not explored. In other areas of design, such an approach already exists: Quality Management, which has successfully improved processes and provided measurements for improvement in order to decrease errors and increase productivity. This dissertation analyzes the applicability of quality management tools to the process of developing information products. The methodology involved two phases. In the initial phase, the researcher had the task of improving a company's benefits enrollment package for two groups. A Traditional Group used the currently accepted best practices in technical communication, performing a heuristic evaluation and a usability test to determine what changes to make in the existing package. This group focuses on the existing benefits enrollment package. In contrast, a Quality Management Group developed a benefits enrollment package using quality management tools, gathering quantifiable functional requirements early in the design and continuing throughout the process. The researcher prepared a revised benefits enrollment package for both groups, and the results of the studies were compared. According to the usability analysis, the Traditional Group showed considerable improvement from the original package to the redesigned package. However, the Quality Management Group showed even greater improvements in several areas, suggesting the potential viability of this method in information design. Future studies should focus on testing the effectiveness of this process on other types of information products. For the products that are successful, information designers could greatly benefit in learning how to use quality management tools to provide more precise and measurable information products.
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Title: THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE WISHNICK LEARNING CENTER: A DIGITAL MEDIA CENTER
Creator: SMITH, KEVIN G.
Date: 2004-03
Description: This research paper presents a case to establish a central location for multimedia usage, resources and services for both the IIT community...
Show moreThis research paper presents a case to establish a central location for multimedia usage, resources and services for both the IIT community and external communities on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology. Though a two phased research process, I worked to established baseline multimedia resource data from 10 separate university schools which in turn helped me to collect current multimedia resources information on all service providers on IIT campuses. The final step was to create and implement a detailed survey assessment of current IIT students and alumni, faculty and staff, community users, on campus service providers and partners on the impressions current impressions and needs of multimedia services on campus. I concluded that through more communication and collaboration between existing campus multimedia service providers and partners, plus open communication with the clients, IIT could better allocate current multimedia resources on campus for all respective clientele. By combining both financial and human resources and centralizing the efforts to one location, the campus can begin the current and growing need for more multimedia resources and services on campus. However, more in-depth research and assessment of current and future client needs are required to help support the case, while paying particular attention to current faculty skill set, incoming student skill set, and the surrounding community development in the area of technological skill set. Hypothesis and Objectives My hypothesis is that centralized multimedia resources and services on IIT's campuses would provide clients with more cost-effective, efficient services than the decentralized multimedia resources and services that are currently provided. Additionally, I plan to make recommendations for the role, staffing, facility usage, and placement of a new centrally located multimedia facility. The objectives of this research are to obtain insights, determine needs, and list accomplishments for multimedia facility usage currently provided on IIT campuses. I am also collecting information from faculty, students, and staff regarding current usage and projected multimedia needs. Information collected from the research will also help to establish future recommendations for the development of a Multimedia and Instructional Technology (MIT) facility on campus, (currently known as the Digital Media Center), and determine recommendations for current computer and technology resources on campus utilized by participants in the survey.
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Title: THE EFFECTS OF COMMUNICATION MODALITY ON PRESENCE, COGNITIVE LOAD AND RETENTION IN SECOND LIFE
Creator: WILKES, STEPHANY FILIMON
Date: 2009-12
Description: This thesis reports findings from a study (N = 60) of the impact of three communication modalities (voice only, text only, and voice and text...
Show moreThis thesis reports findings from a study (N = 60) of the impact of three communication modalities (voice only, text only, and voice and text simultaneously) on cognitive load, as measured by subjective reports of mental effort; on learning, as measured by tests of recall and retention; and on perceptions of presence as measured by a Presence Questionnaire (Witmer & Singer, 2005). Based on the results of prior empirical research, it is hypothesized that retention scores will be higher for voice participants and voice-and-text participants than for text-only participants; that cognitive load will be lower for voice participants and higher for text conditions; that voice will contribute to greater perceptions to presence; and that higher perceptions of presence will not correlate with deeper learning. Study results indicate that communication modality significantly effected cognitive load (F(2, 54) = 4.58, p = .01) and retention (F(2, 54) = 3.53, p = .04), and that experience with and time spent in the virtual environment had significant effects on measures of cognitive load, retention, and presence: Significant between-subjects effects were found for cognitive load and time (p = .23), for retention and time (p = .21), and for retention and experience (p — .03).
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Title: Online Satire in Iran: Social Critique, Counter-Publicity and Public Opinion
Creator: Mirghaderi, Leilasadat
Date: 2023
Description: This dissertation examines and investigates the recontextualization of theories of satire, public sphere, and communicative action in the...
Show moreThis dissertation examines and investigates the recontextualization of theories of satire, public sphere, and communicative action in the context of Iranian Instagram satirists. The importance of this investigation is two-fold. First, since the advent of social media sites, several theoretical concepts have gone through paradigm shifts. In this regard, theories of satire, public sphere, and communicative action are no exceptions. Second, these theoretical concepts were primarily developed and analyzed in Western democratic nations and need to be revisited in the context of Iran. To this end, by looking through the lenses of these theories and taking into account the context of Iran, this dissertation identifies the major topics that Iranian Instagram satirists address and criticize. Therefore, the first goal of this dissertation is to provide insights with regards to how Iranian Instagram satirists are using humor to criticize different aspects of social, cultural, and political matters that are more salient in the context of Iran and to investigate how they are trying to transfer their knowledge and raise awareness about topics that are less publicly discussed.Furthermore, by analyzing the topics that are the main focus of Iranian Instagram satirists, accompanied by observations from my netnography study, and considering the current atmosphere and historical background of Iran, this dissertation argues the extent to which Iranian satirical content on Instagram facilitates the democratic exchange of ideas as a requirement for transformation from a public space to public sphere(s). This dissertation also examines the communicative action strategies that Iranian Instagram satirists employ to reach an understanding with the state as well as their followers. Finally, the dimensions and attributes of satire as well as the features of Instagram that facilitate the formation of public discourse and public opinion formation in Iran are identified. Methodologically, this dissertation utilized a combination of qualitative research methods including but not limited to netnography, thematic and content analysis, transcription of publicly available trade publication interviews, and critical discourse analysis. While themes and topics were extracted from the collected media from the Instagram pages of the Iranian Instagram satirists, the transcription of the publicly available trade publication interviews as well as critical discourse analysis were used to describe why some topics were more salient and to provide answers to the developed research questions. From the analysis of the posts and stories, ten themes that fall into two broad categories of inward and outward criticism were extracted. In the context of this research, the inward criticism category refers to the topics that unravel the social and cultural dimensions of relationships and interactions, while the outward criticism category refers to the topics that criticize the state and its established institutions. Taking a closer look at the results, we can see that in the context of Iran, it can be concluded that the online world accompanied by satire facilitates the democratic exchange of ideas as a requirement for transformation from a public space to public sphere(s). However, as Iranian Instagram influencers are expressing their opposing thoughts against the established hegemony and are also challenging what matters belong to the private or public domains, it can be said that they are forming subaltern counterpublics in the online world.
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Title: Views on Ethical Issues in Research Labs: a University-Wide Survey
Creator: Laas, Kelly, Taylor, Stephanie, Miller, Christine Z, Brey, Eric M, Hildt, Elisabeth
Date: 2021
Description: Full survey used for "Views on Ethical Issues in Research Labs" published in the journal Accountability in Research: Policies and Quality...
Show moreFull survey used for "Views on Ethical Issues in Research Labs" published in the journal Accountability in Research: Policies and Quality Assurance in 2021. This survey was completed in 2017.
Sponsorship: National Science Foundation
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Collection: Accountability in Research: Policies and Quality Assurance

Title: Technological Consciousness in Midwestern American Farming: From Party Lines to Autonomous Tractors
Creator: Sziron, Mónika
Date: 2022
Description: This dissertation is primarily concerned with understanding the current conceptions, perceptions, and ethical concerns of artificial...
Show moreThis dissertation is primarily concerned with understanding the current conceptions, perceptions, and ethical concerns of artificial intelligence in Midwestern agriculture. Using the theory of technological consciousness as a backdrop for understanding the relationship between Midwestern agriculture and technology, in chapter two this dissertation first provides a narrative review of major technological developments throughout history in Midwestern farming and how the human experience in farming is influenced by technology throughout history. This history provides context for the current state of Midwestern agriculture, which is now increasingly entangled with artificial intelligence. The theory behind artificial intelligence ethics and general trends in artificial intelligence are discussed in chapter three. To understand present conceptions, perceptions, and ethical concerns of artificial intelligence for Midwestern farmers, a pilot survey was dispersed to farmers and pilot media content analysis was conducted on Midwestern agriculture publications. The results from this pilot survey and pilot media content analysis are discussed in chapter four. Chapter five delves into theory and how the human experience with technology has evolved over time and its effects on the human experience today. This chapter also provides theoretical insights for the future of farming with artificial intelligence. The dissertation concludes with reviewing the ethical concerns relating to artificial intelligence in agriculture for Midwestern farmers, provides recommendations for developers of agriculture technology, and highlights the new partnership between farmers and computer scientists and how this partnership will lead the way in the future of Midwestern farming.
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Title: ENGAGEMENT FRAMEWORK FOR SERIOUS THERAPEUTIC GAMES FOR HEALTH
Creator: Damarjian, Alex G.
Date: 2022
Description: The conventional treatment of amblyopia in pediatric patients routinely experience low patient compliance due toits limitations. Therapeutic...
Show moreThe conventional treatment of amblyopia in pediatric patients routinely experience low patient compliance due toits limitations. Therapeutic games that utilize VR technology have the potential to open new avenues of medical research and treatment. A review of the prevailing literature shows the effectiveness of VR based games for therapeutic applications and the potential for increased patient compliance. A strong component of the literature is grounded in the medical humanities, specifically the way in which thought patterns, cognitive development, and perceived social rejection affect patient engagement and treatment efficacy. In order to increase the effectiveness of therapeutic games and streamline their development, a new framework has been created using existing research into therapeutic games. This framework ensures that all therapeutic games meet certain criteria within ethics, immersion, active learning, universal accessibility, aesthetics, and medicine. When applied to game development, specifically virtual and extended reality games, it can be used to transform existing therapeutic or diagnostic models into games operating as health care tools. The result is a more effective, lower cost, more accessible treatment option with increased patient compliance and greater overall outcomes.
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Title: The Voderettes: Gender, Labor, and Techno-Utopia at the 1939 New York World's Fair
Creator: Simon, Sara M. B.
Date: 2024
Description: This thesis explores the labor demands of the Voder, the electrical speech synthesis machine developed by Bell Labs to be a major component of...
Show moreThis thesis explores the labor demands of the Voder, the electrical speech synthesis machine developed by Bell Labs to be a major component of AT&T's 1939 New York World's Fair exhibit. With the United States emerging from the Great Depression, and with political tensions escalating across the globe, the paper situates the Voder's labor demands within the historical context of the fair. Specifically, I explore the decision to have young women operate the Voder, the intricacies of the machine cloaked by the warm presence of its highly-skilled female operator. Using archival records from Bell Labs engineers, the paper exposes the previously unacknowledged engineering contributions of Voder operators in the years before the fair. These young women not only influenced major decisions about the Voder's mechanics but also gave early credence to the notion that developing a performance with the machine could make for a thrilling fair exhibit. Moreover, the paper argues that at the fair itself, AT&T and Bell Labs executives used the Voder operators to normalize a new vision of a technological utopia that relied heavily and conspicuously on the infrastructural labor of women. Given the Voder's legacy, as a tool that laid critical groundwork for voice encryption technology, the paper adds important context to the historical record, highlighting the young women at the heart of the machine.
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Title: The Voderettes: Gender, Labor, and Techno-Utopia at the 1939 New York World's Fair
Creator: Simon, Sara M. B.
Date: 2024
Description: This thesis explores the labor demands of the Voder, the electrical speech synthesis machine developed by Bell Labs to be a major component of...
Show moreThis thesis explores the labor demands of the Voder, the electrical speech synthesis machine developed by Bell Labs to be a major component of AT&T's 1939 New York World's Fair exhibit. With the United States emerging from the Great Depression, and with political tensions escalating across the globe, the paper situates the Voder's labor demands within the historical context of the fair. Specifically, I explore the decision to have young women operate the Voder, the intricacies of the machine cloaked by the warm presence of its highly-skilled female operator. Using archival records from Bell Labs engineers, the paper exposes the previously unacknowledged engineering contributions of Voder operators in the years before the fair. These young women not only influenced major decisions about the Voder's mechanics but also gave early credence to the notion that developing a performance with the machine could make for a thrilling fair exhibit. Moreover, the paper argues that at the fair itself, AT&T and Bell Labs executives used the Voder operators to normalize a new vision of a technological utopia that relied heavily and conspicuously on the infrastructural labor of women. Given the Voder's legacy, as a tool that laid critical groundwork for voice encryption technology, the paper adds important context to the historical record, highlighting the young women at the heart of the machine.
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Title: My IIT
Creator: Namburi, Kartheeka
Date: 2024
Description: Master's Project focused on developing a user-friendly mobile application for Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT).

Title: #MeToo: What Urged Users to Post?
Creator: Hirsh, Rachel Anna
Date: 2023
Description: In this dissertation, I explore the motivations that compelled individuals to share their stories during the #MeToo movement, an unprecedented...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I explore the motivations that compelled individuals to share their stories during the #MeToo movement, an unprecedented digital phenomenon that thrust discussions of sexual harassment and assault into the public sphere. The central research question guiding this study was, "What urged users to post during the #MeToo movement?," which worked to uncover why and how the movement became so widespread.. Research demonstrates that when people are sexually harassed or assaulted, often times they do not come forward (Hlavka, 2014). Spencer et al. shares some of the common reasons women do not come forward are that they don’t classify their harassment or assault as a big enough deal, they do not know who or how to report it, they are afraid, they were drunk, they are ashamed, they don’t want to get their assailant in trouble, or they blame themselves (2017). However, those reasons fell by the wayside, as so many people came forward during the #MeToo movement. This paper aims to figure out why that was and how we can continuously get survivors to come forward. This paper also asks the question, did people come forward to share testimony, be part of a movement, or both?Two distinct hypotheses were formulated to unpack the complex dynamics at play The first hypothesis posited that users who engaged with central nodes, encompassing key figures within the #MeToo movement, original contributors, celebrities, and influencers, were more inclined to hold a positive outlook on the movement as a progressive step for women. This data was collected through a quantitative survey, and the analysis yielded inconclusive results, with 79.15% of the sample population expressing support for the movement while only 54.17% reported following central nodes. Qualitative interviews further underscored the multifaceted nature of motivations.The second hypothesis posited that individuals were more inclined to share their personal experiences of harassment or assault online when they observed weak ties within their social networks, such as acquaintances or friends of friends, sharing their own stories. The findings from survey data revealed that 68.87% of participants witnessed weak ties sharing personal experiences or using the #MeToo hashtag on their social media platforms. Qualitative interviews unanimously highlighted the significant influence of observing friends or weak ties posting about their experiences, further underscoring the diversity of motivators behind #MeToo participation.These findings shed light on the multifaceted nature of online activism and the pivotal role of personal networks in shaping the movement's trajectory. In essence, this research demonstrates that while the motivations for user participation in the #MeToo movement are diverse and complex, the presence of weak ties, or distant social relationships or relationships with infrequent interactions, within social networks emerges as a critical influence.
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Title: #MeToo: What Urged Users to Post?
Creator: Hirsh, Rachel Anna
Date: 2023
Description: In this dissertation, I explore the motivations that compelled individuals to share their stories during the #MeToo movement, an unprecedented...
Show moreIn this dissertation, I explore the motivations that compelled individuals to share their stories during the #MeToo movement, an unprecedented digital phenomenon that thrust discussions of sexual harassment and assault into the public sphere. The central research question guiding this study was, "What urged users to post during the #MeToo movement?," which worked to uncover why and how the movement became so widespread.. Research demonstrates that when people are sexually harassed or assaulted, often times they do not come forward (Hlavka, 2014). Spencer et al. shares some of the common reasons women do not come forward are that they don’t classify their harassment or assault as a big enough deal, they do not know who or how to report it, they are afraid, they were drunk, they are ashamed, they don’t want to get their assailant in trouble, or they blame themselves (2017). However, those reasons fell by the wayside, as so many people came forward during the #MeToo movement. This paper aims to figure out why that was and how we can continuously get survivors to come forward. This paper also asks the question, did people come forward to share testimony, be part of a movement, or both?Two distinct hypotheses were formulated to unpack the complex dynamics at play The first hypothesis posited that users who engaged with central nodes, encompassing key figures within the #MeToo movement, original contributors, celebrities, and influencers, were more inclined to hold a positive outlook on the movement as a progressive step for women. This data was collected through a quantitative survey, and the analysis yielded inconclusive results, with 79.15% of the sample population expressing support for the movement while only 54.17% reported following central nodes. Qualitative interviews further underscored the multifaceted nature of motivations.The second hypothesis posited that individuals were more inclined to share their personal experiences of harassment or assault online when they observed weak ties within their social networks, such as acquaintances or friends of friends, sharing their own stories. The findings from survey data revealed that 68.87% of participants witnessed weak ties sharing personal experiences or using the #MeToo hashtag on their social media platforms. Qualitative interviews unanimously highlighted the significant influence of observing friends or weak ties posting about their experiences, further underscoring the diversity of motivators behind #MeToo participation.These findings shed light on the multifaceted nature of online activism and the pivotal role of personal networks in shaping the movement's trajectory. In essence, this research demonstrates that while the motivations for user participation in the #MeToo movement are diverse and complex, the presence of weak ties, or distant social relationships or relationships with infrequent interactions, within social networks emerges as a critical influence.
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