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Blended learning is a mixture of e-learning and traditional face-to-face learning, also known as hybrid learning. The study examined how blended learning affects learning outcomes in Higher Education in Qatar. This study also investigated how enablers and barriers influence learners, teachers, and pedagogy, and it gathered evidence from professors and students about their involvement with blended learning. The mixed-methods study used a sequential explanatory technique, employing an in-depth survey and interviews carried out on a random sampling of n = 176 out of 457 students and professors (110 students and 66 professors) in one Qatar institution during the Winter 2020 semester. The findings obtained from the explanatory research included seven variables. Of these, satisfaction, student perceived usefulness, awareness, and professor perceived usefulness showed significant positive effects, and they influenced student outcomes using the learning approach directly. However, the data did not support student achievement and professor training as having any effects. The study concludes that training might significantly impact all aspects of blended learning when successful training is provided. Finally, the findings helped develop a framework of recommendations to support the successful adaptation and implementation of a blended learning approach in a Higher Education context and with some suggestions to expand the body of knowledge in this area.

Dementia is a progressive condition which is synonymous with cognitive decline. In the UK, it is estimated that the number of people living with the condition is 800,000, a figure which is anticipated to rise above 1 million people before 2021. Symptoms of dementia include short-term memory loss, communication problems and difficulties with reasoning. In addition to these symptoms, many people living with dementia experience neuropsychiatric symptoms, including depression and apathy. Positive reminiscence is a non-pharmacological intervention which has the potential to improve the happiness of people living with dementia. Reminiscence utilises prompts, such as music and photographs, to evoke the long-term memories of the person with dementia, a capacity which is the last to be affected by the condition. Generally, reminiscence uses generic prompts, however, there is research suggesting that personalised memories lead to greater engagement in the activity. This research uses a mixed methods approach to develop a theory-based reminiscence program which can be implemented on a tablet computer and evaluate the potential for it to be accepted by people living with dementia and their care-givers. An initial study within this project found that personalised memories which use photographs, stories and music as stimuli are effective at evoking positive emotions in people over the age of 50. The research then develops a set of guidelines which can be used to design technology interaction to ensure that it is dementia friendly. Further research used these two areas of theory which have been developed to design and implement an application to facilitate the reminiscence program. The acceptance this application is then qualitatively assessed using people living with dementia and their informal care-givers. Results suggest there is the potential for the tablet application to be accepted by the target user group. This thesis makes a number of contributions to knowledge including the most effective types of stimuli and memories to evoke positive emotions, guidelines for dementia friendly technology interaction, and the potential for the theory-based reminiscence program implemented on a tablet computer to be accepted by people living with dementia and their care-givers.

This thesis reports on research to develop the first adaptive learning system for the Arabic language. The research also develops the first robust translation of the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS) instrument into Arabic. Literal translation of the ILS applied to a pilot study resulted in lower internal validity in the instrument than found in the English language versions. The research discusses the development of a translation protocol undertaken to improve the validity and internal reliability of the Arabic version of the ILS. The new Arabic version of the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS) instrument has been applied to two Arabic speaking groups in different Faculties at the King Abdul-Aziz University in Saudi Arabia: The Arts and Humanities Faculty and the Economics and Administration Faculty a total of 1204 students. Further analysis indicates that the Arabic version of the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS) seems to be an appropriate psychometric instrument to identify learning styles in Arabic speaking communities. The second major part of the research was to use the Felder-Soloman Index of Learning Styles (ILS) instrument to develop an adaptive learning styles system and evaluate its effectiveness. The Teacher Assisting and Subject Adaptive Material System (TASAM) was tested out on different cohorts of students. Results showed that students taught using the learning style adaptive system performed significantly better in academic achievement than students taught the same material without adaptation to learning style. The feedback of student’s Survey overall students seemed to have enjoyed using the TASAM system and there seemed to have been a positive impact on learning performance. The thesis also provides guidance on translations of psychometric instrument and developing adaptive learning system.

The sociology and economics of the conduct of international e-health technology transfers (IeTTs) is examined. Most African countries are perennial recipients with variations in their domestic e-health utilisation, development and implementation. We identify, explore, and demonstrate how complex and interlinked global, continental, national and subnational actions and institutions condition their national e-health implementations. Multidisciplinary literatures are from national e-health implementations, national innovation system (NIS) interactive learning, international technology transfers, global development and globalisation. Methodically, a unique combination of middle-range and moderate Science and Technology Studies constructivism, NIS institutionalism and Deleuzian poststructuralist narrative is employed. The conduct of IeTTs is characterised by technological path dependency, history, complexity, power, politics, multiple identities, self-interests and contestations in complex global and transnational interactions. Recipients‘ exercises of National Agency mirror their varied domestic technology acquisition dynamics and trajectories. Successful transfers are institutionally conditioned by interactions of global geopolitics, fragmented continental governance and national reticence. Agential asymmetry that results, accounts for why most recipients are variably struggling in their technology acquisitions. The exercise of National Agency is paramount. National economic size and maturity of extant national innovation capacity can determine if a recipient can acquire domestic e-health innovation and industrial competences. Actions taken by National governments, can strategically determine if technologies are accumulated and technical knowledge assimilated, for addressing the challenges of technology inappropriateness, incompatibilities and obsolescence encountered during subnational utilisations. We contend that implementing a national e-health infrastructure is a long-term and large-scale institutional engineering endeavour. Cumulative advantage explains difference between Schumpeter and Schumacher on e-health technology design and production. A Schumpeterian domestic industrial model of hi-tech e-health technology development, rather than a cosmopolitan Schumacher consumerist one, is proposed. Whilst, appreciating that Schumacher on incremental accumulation and assimilation from small-scale technological implementations can be instrumental. Uniquely, we identify that global geopolitical contention between global west and east economies and competitive global markets and global technoeconomic changes can either condition scale and depth of domestic acquisition. Nevertheless, these conditions and events have historically and contemporaneously shaped global e-health innovations. In a Schumpeterian evolutionary sense, Satcom technologies that powered e-health services in the past are now being substituted by mobile ones. This technological transition is bringing about a convergence of consumer electronics (i.e. Smartphones) and lifesciences industries, driven by a combinatorial biomedical, telecommunication and computing e-health innovations. With these findings, an innovation-based macro-societal perspective is proposed for studying e-health implementation, as opposed to the prevalent information based microbehavioural studies. Further contributions to academia and policy are made to ICT4D, Global Health and m-health practices. Policy recommendations are made to national, continental and global institutions on how to foster national technology acquisitions. Recipients are encouraged to learn from incremental domestic e-health implementations in global technology frontiers. Their share in intellectual property rights accruing from global-subnational e-health coinnovations must be repatriated. We conclude by proposing a global collaboration framework to guide and to foster cooperation amongst those involved in the conduct of IeTTs. Symmetry – an alignment of vertical hierarchical and diffuse horizontal complex sociotechnical interactions, though, not as the implied flat, circumscribed and cyclical dynamics of actor network theory, is proposed. So, an alignment of the constitutive diverse and competing interests and identities, is deemed strategic, to foster domestic accumulations and assimilations.

This research used a case study based approach to test Abts’ CBS Functional Density Rule of Thumb (Abts, 2002; 2004) and to identify the factors influencing the costs of COTS-based systems by means of statistical analysis of a large component dataset from IBM, Grounded Theory analysis of a series of interviews with software architects and project managers and an extended literature review. Whilst the use of Glaser’s (1978) Grounded Theory approach provided support for Abts’ theory the statistical analysis provided no support for the theory that maximising the amount of system functionality provided by COTS components reduced system development costs. This has led to the identification of a weakness in the Grounded Theory method in that it is unable to move beyond the preconceptions of the interviewees if the interview data collection method is used in isolation of other data collection methods. However, overall this research has provided a deeper understanding of the issues affecting COTS-based design. By combining the outcomes of the Grounded Theory analysis and literature review a series of forces influencing the costs of building COTS-based systems have been identified, together with a set of principles, which when used in combination can enable software practitioners to make informed decisions about the impact on costs of using components.

Much work is currently being undertaken to explore the impact of varying factors such as compression and image display parameters upon both measurable and perceived image quality in the clinical setting. However, little specific work was found that related to the effect of these factors within Higher Education, where high numbers of students, non-dedicated lecture theatres and a large number and variety of display devices results in many conditions that could impact upon the quality of digital radiographic images. Additionally, the College of Radiographers has identified (2006) that a radiographer comment accompanying radiographs may become a core competency. The aim of this thesis is to present and reflect upon a programme of research undertaken to explore which factors impacted upon students’ summary measures of performance and to begin to establish guidelines to ensure that images are presented optimally to the students, without creating unnecessary work for the academic staff. The effect of differing summary measures was also explored. A series of experiments were undertaken utilising volunteers from an undergraduate radiography programme. Research question The research question was: “What factors might potentially affect the perception and interpretation of medical images used in Higher Education?” Methods A series of six experiments were designed to evaluate the following factors: 1. The effect of compression upon diagnostic accuracy and perceived image quality; 2. The students’ perception of brightness and contrast changes of digital projectional radiographs and the effect of education upon this; 3. The ability of a detailed digital test image to discern limitations of a system; 4. The effect of image size, display device standardisation and image optimisation on summary measures of performance; 5. The ability of students to report consistently from digital test images; 6. The effect of differing marking criteria, confidence scales and summary measures of performance. Results This programme of research demonstrated that for digital projectional appendicular radiographs there was a significant difference between the levels of compression that observers preferred (p<0.05). However, there was no significant difference in accuracy for images reported uncompressed or at lossy levels of 40:1 (JPEG). Higher levels of compression were easily perceived, but low levels were not. It also confirmed other work established that low levels of compression were preferred by the human visual system due to the slight softening effect of the JPEG algorithm. Whilst individuals’ perception of brightness and contrast changes differed, the mean for groups of students was not significantly different and education did not have a significant effect. However, there was a significant difference (p<0.05) between those 30 and under and those over 30 in the level of perceived change, but not in the selection of the last acceptable image. A mid level grey background was shown to reduce perceived error of change compared to black or white backgrounds. Radar plots within this context are proposed as a way of identifying ideal images from students’ responses. Images corrected for the gamma of the system were identified as optimal by the cohorts. Images at 50% resolution stretched to 100%, the standardisation of display devices and image optimisation did not significantly affect student summary measures of performance. However this part of the study lacked power due to fewer participants than was initially anticipated. The summary measure of performance identified as optimal was the area under an AFROC curve, created from a five point category scale. This scale should be used by the observers to categorise their confidence and the marker to rate their confidence based upon the observers’ comments. This will allow a kappa value to be calculated that will give feedback on the level of conveyed confidence. Conclusions This programme of research has identified a number of factors that warrant more detailed research within the field of Higher Education. One is re-evaluating the effect of the year group on the quality factor proposed, as this research seems to indicate that education does have a positive effect on the reporting scores from a digital test image. In addition, there seems to be scope in considering the radar plot as a method of identifying where the ideal image lies. A range of minimum standards, as proven by these experiments and taken from literature, are proposed as the best practice for lecture presentation and assessment. Recommendations are made for further research into the effect of several parameters where power was low. This research has established some of the ground rules for improving the display and assessment of medical images in Higher Education.