Professional Statement Technology has been the focus of my professional life, whether the field has been manufacturing, corporate retail, nonprofit services, training and consulting, or education and whether the position has been that of an executive director, program director, instructional designer, market researcher, or institutional research analyst. In these various positions I've tried to incorporate the tools and techniques that I've used in my previous work and in my academic career, including my engineering, business and education courses. My current interests lie in the area of Internet-based business and academic applications. This includes the design and development of general web sites for professional and personal purposes and the design and development of web-based training applications. My current work at Radcom, Inc. in Hudson, focuses on such development. I recently completed two online sales training courses for National City Bank (with another new course to be started shortly) and am currently working on designing several new literacy and leadership courses for the Ohio e-Read program, based at the University of Akron. In addition to technology, I have been involved with research methods in both business (market research) and academic applications (educational research and institutional research). I have developed a deep interest in the use of Q Methodology, a "mixed method" research technique, founded by William Stephenson, a physicist/researcher/psychologist, nearly seventy-five years ago to identify perspectives. The technique involves the collection of numerical data (using what is called a Q-sort), the interviewing of the subjects of the study, and an analysis and interpretation of the data. Besides the Master's program, I am also completing my PhD at the University of Akron in Curricular and Instructional Studies. My work in the program has also focused on the use of technology as well as the application of various research methodologies. Quite naturally it seems, my dissertation will combine these two interests. Specifically, I will be developing and testing a web-based application for conducting Q Methodology studies. While several problem-specific web-based tools currently exist, the tool that I am developing will be a general-purpose tool that allows a researcher to setup a study, invite subjects (respondents) by e-mail, facilitate the data collection (through a web-based Q-sort tool), and export the data for analysis. The dissertation will chronicle the development of the tool and document the effectiveness (or lack, thereof) of the tool (based on validity and reliability tests as well as feedback from researchers and users themselves) compared to the traditional, manual method of conducting Q Methodology studies. While I plan on finishing the doctorate later this year on in early 2009, I believe that my professional future will, in the short term at least, focus on a continuation of my work in instructional design, web design and development in the business, academic and nonprofit areas.
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