With the current drive of both academia and practice to ensure that there is an appropriate degree of collaboration to ensure mutual benefit, any study undertaken that has the application of theory as one of its objectives, should therefore be able to make a contribution to both areas. From a strategic ICT planning perspective the ability to apply a planning process in a cohesive and coordinated manner throughout diversified or complex organisations has been one of the challenges that faced both academics and practitioners. This becomes especially relevant in view of the drive to ensure alignment between business and ICT so as to ensure that the potential utility of ICT can be leveraged and sustained to contribute towards the competitive advantage of the organisation. This situation is also relevant to the South African Department of Defence as a particular kind of diversified organisation. With this in mind the initiative was recognised to establish an appropriate strategic ICT planning process for the department and to apply it to the point where a corporate strategic ICT master plan could be institutionalised. A progressive and longitudinal action research process resulted in not only the development of an appropriate process of definition and alignment, but also on the ability to apply and manage the strategic ICT planning function with full collaboration of all role players and stakeholders. The conclusion from this research was that it is indeed possible to develop and apply an appropriate strategic ICT planning process that recognises the strategic – corporate and business unit level – environment of a diversified organisation, but that it is largely dependant upon the ability to ensure collaboration and participation within a clear and distinct construct of functions and responsibilities. Without appropriate management arrangements and mechanisms, it was found to be very difficult indeed due to issues relating to the semi-autonomous nature of the respective business units in relation to corporate management. / Thesis (PhD(IT))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Informatics / unrestricted

abstract: The purpose of this action research study was to help medical students normalize feelings of shame related to academics and to respond to these feelings in more adaptive ways. Several cycles of research informed this study, which investigated the influence of an educational innovation. The innovation focused on helping medical students understand feelings of shame, foster self-efficacy in shame resiliency practices, and encourage help-seeking behaviors. In short, the study sought to understand how these medical students responded to feelings of shame related to academic performance before and after participation in the educational innovation. A total of 14 second-year medical students participated in this concurrent mixed-method study. The educational innovation was designed by this action researcher and informed by Brené Brown’s shame resilience theory. Three sources of data were used to answer the research questions, including a pre- and post-innovation survey, interviews, and student journals. Major findings suggested that the educational innovation was effective in enhancing the study participants’ knowledge of shame, increasing perceptions of self-efficacy in the practices related to resiliency to feeling of academic shame, as well as, promoting help-seeking behaviors. The data also revealed a range of academic shame triggers identified by these medical students. This action research study validated the need to normalize feelings of shame and support medical students developing practices for resiliency to this powerful feeling. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Educational Leadership and Policy Studies 2020

While there is a plethora of research on the church, healing and reconciliation, there is none that has taken cognisance of the need to find solutions to deal with tribalism between Ndebele and Shona clergy in the Pentecostal church of Zimbabwe. Clergy are deployed according to the language they speak, instead of the passion and call of Elohim upon their lives. Many Researches have been done on centuries of tribal conflict; however, they centred on socio-political influences instead of socio-religious influences and consequences of the tribal conflict between Ndebele and Shona clergy. Tribal conflict has transcended generations and crossed all social settings that it has found its expression even among the clergy and laity within churches across Zimbabwe. The main focus of this research is the conflict between Ndebele and Shona Clergy in the Pentecostal church in Zimbabwe and has sought to “lift the carpet” and remove all the hidden social and unspoken debris, that continues to split the church along tribal lines. The Researcher writes from the perspective of being a female clergy who is also born by a Shona father and a Ndebele mother hence she relates to both sets of people outside the church. However, within the conservative Pentecostal church setting, the researcher was made to feel like an outsider by both groups which was even aggravated by the fact that her denominational organisation doesn't ordain and recognise female ministers let alone those of mixed ethnicity. The research established a participatory action research process so as to promote both education (creating curricula that deals with tribalism) and action (speaking against tribalism from the pulpit). The Research Methodology that was initially proposed was a Mixed Methods Action Research (Ivankova, 2015: 45), however during the course of the study it was changed to a qualitative method of enquiry as it thoroughly investigated and interrogated the tribal status quo among the Pentecostal clergy (Ndebele & Shona) in Zimbabwe. The research demography was two of Zimbabwe's largest cities (namely; Bulawayo and Harare), and the reason for choosing these two cities, was because they are predominantly Ndebele and Shona concentrations, respectively. Zimbabwe is composed of these two as the major tribes and many other small tribes, however these small tribes seem to be insignificant to the social fabric of Zimbabwe compared to the two major tribes (namely the Ndebele and Shona). The effects of tribal differences between the Ndebele and Shona people was assessed, in order to ascertain their effect on pastoral care. An exploration of the history between the Ndebele and Shona tribes formulated part of this research, thereby creating an understanding of the underlying causes of the existing Tribal Conflicts. Most of the literature that deals with the Zimbabwean conflicts has not tried to bring to light the tribal conflict between the Ndebele and Shona clergy. An investigation on how this conflict began and what has been its contemporary influence among the Clergy of Zimbabwe was conducted via interviews, questionnaires, folk tales, books and journals. The power of the church as the custodian of reconciliation was discussed in order to harness and promote a visible pastoral care drive that will promote real Truth and Reconciliation while bringing healing to the church of Zimbabwe, in particular. An interrogation of the effectiveness of previous truth and reconciliation efforts assisted to lay the foundation for engaging of the Clergy. This research sought to understand whether the 1983 to 1987 Gukurahundi incidents were clarion indicators of existing tribal tensions between the Ndebele and Shona people, in particular the clergy. / Dissertation (MTh)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Practical Theology / MTh / Unrestricted

Religious education involves learning about religion and the possibility of having religious experiences. Although measuring religious knowledge can be fairly straightforward, assessing whether students are having religious experiences can be more difficult. The purpose of this self-study is to develop clearer understanding of the interactions that might enable my students' religious experiences and how I might recognize when such experiences are occurring. I have written 10 narratives describing situations in which I believed students in my seminary had religious experiences. I interviewed those students to better understand their side of the narrative, and then used the Listening Guide to analyze the narratives and find whether and in what ways I was able to tell when a student was having religious experiences in my classroom. Four plotlines emerged from the data, which centered on what the student was doing to prepare for religious experiences. These ranged from simple attendance and participation to extensive outside seeking and preparation. Regarding my involvement in these experiences as a teacher, I found that common elements across the plotlines included taking time to know students and attending to intuitions about their needs. Implications of the present study are explored for both religious educators and teachers in other content areas who might be interested in helping students move beyond content knowledge toward meaningful engagement with a discipline.

This study used action research to study the implementation of Critical Chain methodology in a multi-project environment. It used a medium sized company, which is an original equipment manufacturer, but due to the complexity of the equipment each is executed as a project. This creates a multi-project environment.The object of the research was to find the contributing and inhibiting factors to CC implementation. It further sought to discover improvements in business performance due to CC methodology.The study found resistance to change prevented CC implementation. The resistance to change was supported by incorrect application of CC principles and a false sense that CC is contributing to the business. On business performance improvements it was found that order intake improvements of thirty seven per cent year on year and reduction in lead time of projects due to implementation of CC principles. The latter also opened new markets which strategically benefitted the company. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

This research investigates the use of action research and Whole Brain Teaching© for beginner teachers’ professional development through the use of peer mentoring. Five beginner teachers formed part of a peer mentoring group. Whole brain learning and action research provided the theoretical framework for the informal mentoring project. It was used as content for professional learning and as core theories for the research design. Action research principles were applied by the mentor and the participants. In the first instance action research was used by the beginner teachers to consider their own teaching practice, while Whole Brain Teaching© was implemented as an innovative idea to consider its effect on whole brain learning and classroom management. The mentees were empowered to transform their teaching practice by implementing the principles of whole brain learning as a means to acting out the role of facilitator; and to take responsibility for developing scholarship of teaching as it is aligned with the role of scholar and lifelong learning. The practical mentoring sessions with the beginner teachers and the effect of the programme were evaluated both quantitatively and qualitatively. As part of collecting quantitative data, the Hermann Whole Brain Instrument (HBDI) was used. The instrument was used to determine the learning styles of the peer mentor and the mentees. The brain profiles were used as baseline data. Qualitative data were collected during and after the five mentoring sessions conducted over a period of two months. It included feedback questionnaires, observations and video en photographic evidence. The findings indicate that the peer mentoring programme contributed successfully to the professional development of the beginner teachers. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Curriculum Studies / MEd / unrestricted

I led a participatory action research (PAR) project with the staff and homeless clients of Ahope Day Center in Asheville, North Carolina, which was meant to evaluate client satisfaction with services and attitudes about certain issues. Project is led by an inquiry group consisting of members of Ahope staff and Ahope clients. The project is a co-designed, co-implemented, and co-interpreted mixed-method evaluation of Ahope's services, client attitudes about education and the environment, client adaptive strategies, optimism levels, and a mapping of client daily routines. The data was collected through participant observation, document analysis, surveys, a listing activity, and informal interviews. Documents were coded using grounded theory and themes emerged related to the value of the intangibles of security, community, and ‘being seen' at Ahope while some suggestions were also made. Findings included client attitudes indicating the importance of the environment and education to clients, high optimism levels among clients, and a number of suggestions for the improvement of Ahope's services.

This study involved examination of the processes employed in tailoring fourth-grade reading instruction to increase levels of student motivation. A participatory action research approach was utilized to design and conduct reading instruction that fourth-grade students perceived to be motivating. The reading instructional program was designed using the five key components of the MUSIC Model of Academic Motivation (eMpowerment, Usefulness, Success, Interest, and Caring; Jones, 2009) and was implemented daily in an elementary classroom. Students were interviewed to identify their perspectives about the reading program and student input was used by the teacher to inform instruction and adapt the program to increase motivation. The fourth-grade students in this study were motivated to read for a variety of reasons and enjoyed participating in numerous reading activities. The common theme among all of these motivating activities was personal choice or empowerment, such as selecting a book or choosing a topic of interest. When students made suggestions for improving reading instruction, most of the suggestions related to having the ability to make more meaningful choices. After the teacher implemented the suggestions and changes, the inventory scores for all five components of the MUSIC Model increased, with empowerment increasing slightly more than other components. Findings indicated that it was particularly important that students' voices were valued. The teacher finely honed the reading program based upon students' needs and ideas, resulting in increased reading motivation and achievement during a time when the motivation and achievement of fourth-grade students tends to decline. / Ph. D.

No description available.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Traditionally, gender has been viewed through an essentialist lens with fixed biology-based traits or polarized gender norms between women and men. As awareness of gender diversity grows, increasingly more people identify as nonbinary – or not exclusively a man or woman. Despite a growing literature on the experiences of binary transgender individuals, little has been explored regarding experiences unique to nonbinary individuals. The research that does include nonbinary individuals focuses primarily on adverse risks and outcomes. As such, a dearth of empirical research exists to understand the unique experiences of nonbinary people and how they relate to wellbeing. A qualitative participatory action study using PhotoVoice was conducted virtually to address the identified gaps in the literature on nonbinary individuals concerning gendered experiences and wellbeing. Prevailing theories of wellbeing informed the study along with minority stress theory and the resilience literature to account for environmental factors of oppression and individual and community resilience. A sample of 17 nonbinary adults in the Midwestern United States was recruited using convenience sampling and participated in online group discussions and individual interviews. The findings were reported in sections corresponding with the three study aims: 1) Explore core dimensions of wellbeing as defined by nonbinary individuals, 2) Identify promotive and corrosive factors of that wellbeing, and 3) Provide recommendations to bolster nonbinary wellbeing. The findings provided a thorough description of how nonbinary individuals perceive their wellbeing concerning their gender and as part of a marginalized population. Thematic analysis identified nine wellbeing themes for how participants conceptualized their wellbeing (e.g., Exploring gender identity and expression, Being connected to community, etc.), seven themes of promotive and corrosive factors of wellbeing (e.g., Positive, accurate, and nuanced representation, Coping skills to manage minority stressors, etc.), and three themes of recommendations (e.g., personal, interpersonal, and professional) with eighteen strategies to bolster wellbeing among nonbinary individuals and communities. The significance of the findings to social work was discussed, including practice application and advocacy. This study contributes to PhotoVoice methodology, wellbeing literature, and trans literature.