Sandra Jarvis-Selinger
Relevant Thesis-Based Degree Programs
Affiliations to Research Centres, Institutes & Clusters
Graduate Student Supervision
Doctoral Student Supervision
Dissertations completed in 2010 or later are listed below. Please note that there is a 6-12 month delay to add the latest dissertations.
Universities are increasingly playing roles in society beyond education and research, often referred to as a third mission. As such, there are discussions within universities about their relationship with society, their desired impact in society, society's expectations of universities, and how universities can be more accountable to society. This dissertation explores the role that health Faculties, Departments, and Schools at the University of British Columbia (UBC) play in society, beyond the education of health professionals and conducting health-related research. UBC Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Nursing, and Department of Physical Therapy provided a comparative case study to explore the relationship between a university’s health units and society. This dissertation outlines the role each unit articulated beyond education and research in their strategic plans. It explores the dominant and competing neo-liberal and socially-oriented discourses embodied in how each unit articulated its relationship with society through a critical discourse. It also discusses an advocacy role played by units identified through interviews and a focus group with leaders from each unit. This dissertation explores this advocacy concept and determines how this role was operationalized similarly and differently across the three units, and presents an emerging framework to help other health units think critically about their relationship with society. This research highlights commonalities around how three health units at UBC articulated and operationalized their relationship with society and differences that stem from how they are situated within the university and the broader province landscape.
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Master's Student Supervision
Theses completed in 2010 or later are listed below. Please note that there is a 6-12 month delay to add the latest theses.
The importance of collaboration between physicians and engineers on improving the medical devices and patient safety is highly recognized. Previous studies found communication as an important component to interdisciplinary collaboration, however, maintaining an effective interdisciplinary communication can be challenging. With scarce literature on investigating the interaction between physicians and engineers, this study focuses on exploring the communication experiences of these two professional groups who have worked together collaboratively on medical devices. To better understand their challenges and facilitators, this research identifies six pairs of engineers and physicians who have worked together for years. All six cases, twelve engineers and physicians in total, are interviewed separately under qualitative case study method. The result of thematic analysis discovers three main categories: building relationship, team members quality, and communication techniques. The findings show that team members quality such as interest and dedication can help build strong relationships. Defining clear expectations at the beginning of the projects as well as sharing workload seem to improve relationships and foster communication. Other techniques contributing to effective communication include continuous feedback and face to face meetings. With a more careful analysis of findings, a model of personal and contextual factors with an emphasis on their interrelationship is suggested. Reviewing communication practices in all six cases illustrates that the benefits of collaboration overweigh the barriers. Thus, it is recommended that collaboration between physicians and engineers continue in the whole process of developing medical devices.
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