Human interactions with Information Technology tools are reproducing organisational cultural patterns in a process similar to the evolution of human tools and language. A multidisciplinary research in tool-mediated activity, culture, language and cognition will examine new concepts that can be important for the design of organisationally fit Information Technology interface tools. By using qualitative and quantitative analysis together with the fields of anthropology, philosophy, cognitive sciences and human computer interaction this thesis shows that cultural fitness is an important variable that can determine in a substantial degree the rejection or adoption of a tool in organisational environment. Qualitative and quantitative data collected from organisational simulations at the Faculty of Information Sciences and Engineering of the University of Canberra during the period 1995-1997 has been used and analysed.

<p>The purpose of this study is to investigate the young caregivers thoughts of the elderly caretaker. A qualitative method was chosen when interviewing young caregivers in order to get an insight of how they perceive and speak of the elders. The main questions of the study are: How do the caregivers believe that the elders perceive their day-to-day life and situation? Is it possible to distinguish if the young caregiver’s thoughts about the elders affect their work with the elderly caretaker? Is it possible to notice any common factors that the young caregivers perceive as important in their work with the elderly caretaker? The criteria for inclusion in this study are caregivers aged 18 to 25, who are working with elderly at special accommodation. The theories chosen for this study are the salutogenetic perspective, the activity theory and the theory of gerotranscendence. From the outcome of the study the conclusion is that the interaction between the elder and the caregiver seem to be decisive for how the young caregiver think of the elders and their life situation. The caregivers in this study experience that activities give the elderly a meaningful life.</p>

<p>Work integrated learning was established at Swedish universities about twenty years ago; and today there are some different attitudes about the purpose of integrating theoretical perspectives to practical experiences, during higher education. For example, there are arguments that students tend to become clients or tools in order to gain regional development if the practical perspectives overcome the possibilities of reflection. Education will in this case only serve to facilitate employment after graduation, rather than to facilitate developmental learning. To understand the relationship between reproductive- and developmental learning, this thesis explores the different kinds of strategies student teachers develop, during their teacher training – to gain the skills and knowledge needed to work as a professional teacher. The focus is how the students respond to the various emerging contradictions, while crossing the boundaries – between the university, and the workplace. The activity theory approach conceptualizes boundary-crossing as a phenomenon based on the idea of horizontal development – which requires the ability to find relevant information wherever it may be available. The implication is that change and development occur as a result of collaboration through mutual boundary objects, and via emerging contradictions between two or more interacting activity systems. The overall design resembles a phenomenological case study performed over a period of approximately six months. The population providing the empirical data consisted of five student teachers, in their first year, attending a teacher training program in Sweden. Data collection where gathered through a three-step design, where exploratory narrative interviews were conducted at three different occasions: (i) after their first period of work placement, (ii) before entering their second period of work placement and (iii) immediately after their second period of work placement. The results indicate that the students’ processes of learning include four distinct learning strategies (questioning, challenging, adjusting and imitating), to transform the information given in various situations. These strategies are consequences of the students´ prior experiences when encountering contradictions during their teacher training program.</p> / <p>För omkring 20 år sedan utvecklades arbetsintegrerat lärande som en ny pedagogisk form på svenska högskolor och universitet Det råder dock delade meningar om syftet bakom högskolans ambition att integrera teoretiska perspektiv till individuella praktiska erfarenheter. Exempelvis riskerar studenter att liknas vid klienter, eller verktyg för regional utveckling om fokus på praktiska erfarenheter överordnas möjligheten till reflektion. Utbildningens roll kan i så fall bli att underlätta anställningsbarhet efter examen istället för att leda till ett utvecklingsinriktat lärande. För att förstå relationen mellan anpassnings- och utvecklingsinriktat lärande undersöker denna uppsats vilka strategier lärarstudenter utvecklar, under utbildning på lärarprogrammet, för att uppbära den kunskap som behövs för att kunna arbeta som lärare. Fokus ligger på hur studenterna svarar mot de varierande motsättningar som uppstår vid övergångarna mellan högskolan och arbetsplatsen. Uppsatsen utgår från verksamhetsteoretiska resonemang och speciellt fenomenet ”boundary-crossing” som innebär grunden för horisontell utveckling och innefattar förmågan att finna relevant information där den är tillgänglig. Utgångspunkten är att förändring och utveckling sker som ett resultat av samverkan mot gemensamma mål och på grund av motsättningar mellan två eller flera verksamhetssystem. Det övergripande upplägget av studien kan liknas vid en fenomenologisk fallstudie och utfördes under sex månader. Populationen som ligger till grund för studiens empiriska data består av fem lärarstudenter som studerar sitt första år vid en av Sveriges lärarutbildningar. Data samlades in genom narrativa intervjuer vid tre olika tillfällen: (i) efter studenternas första praktikperiod, (ii) innan studenterna påbörjade sin andra praktikperiod och (iii) direkt efter att studenterna avslutat sin andra praktikperiod. Studiens resultat visar att lärarstudenterna använder fyra olika lärandestrategier (ifrågasättande, utmanande, anpassande och imiterande), för att omvandla den information de möter till kunskap, vid olika tillfällen under lärarutbildningen. Dessa strategier utvecklas som följd av de erfarenheter studenterna har med sig när de möter olika motsättningar under lärarutbildningen.</p>

Work integrated learning was established at Swedish universities about twenty years ago; and today there are some different attitudes about the purpose of integrating theoretical perspectives to practical experiences, during higher education. For example, there are arguments that students tend to become clients or tools in order to gain regional development if the practical perspectives overcome the possibilities of reflection. Education will in this case only serve to facilitate employment after graduation, rather than to facilitate developmental learning. To understand the relationship between reproductive- and developmental learning, this thesis explores the different kinds of strategies student teachers develop, during their teacher training – to gain the skills and knowledge needed to work as a professional teacher. The focus is how the students respond to the various emerging contradictions, while crossing the boundaries – between the university, and the workplace. The activity theory approach conceptualizes boundary-crossing as a phenomenon based on the idea of horizontal development – which requires the ability to find relevant information wherever it may be available. The implication is that change and development occur as a result of collaboration through mutual boundary objects, and via emerging contradictions between two or more interacting activity systems. The overall design resembles a phenomenological case study performed over a period of approximately six months. The population providing the empirical data consisted of five student teachers, in their first year, attending a teacher training program in Sweden. Data collection where gathered through a three-step design, where exploratory narrative interviews were conducted at three different occasions: (i) after their first period of work placement, (ii) before entering their second period of work placement and (iii) immediately after their second period of work placement. The results indicate that the students’ processes of learning include four distinct learning strategies (questioning, challenging, adjusting and imitating), to transform the information given in various situations. These strategies are consequences of the students´ prior experiences when encountering contradictions during their teacher training program. / För omkring 20 år sedan utvecklades arbetsintegrerat lärande som en ny pedagogisk form på svenska högskolor och universitet Det råder dock delade meningar om syftet bakom högskolans ambition att integrera teoretiska perspektiv till individuella praktiska erfarenheter. Exempelvis riskerar studenter att liknas vid klienter, eller verktyg för regional utveckling om fokus på praktiska erfarenheter överordnas möjligheten till reflektion. Utbildningens roll kan i så fall bli att underlätta anställningsbarhet efter examen istället för att leda till ett utvecklingsinriktat lärande. För att förstå relationen mellan anpassnings- och utvecklingsinriktat lärande undersöker denna uppsats vilka strategier lärarstudenter utvecklar, under utbildning på lärarprogrammet, för att uppbära den kunskap som behövs för att kunna arbeta som lärare. Fokus ligger på hur studenterna svarar mot de varierande motsättningar som uppstår vid övergångarna mellan högskolan och arbetsplatsen. Uppsatsen utgår från verksamhetsteoretiska resonemang och speciellt fenomenet ”boundary-crossing” som innebär grunden för horisontell utveckling och innefattar förmågan att finna relevant information där den är tillgänglig. Utgångspunkten är att förändring och utveckling sker som ett resultat av samverkan mot gemensamma mål och på grund av motsättningar mellan två eller flera verksamhetssystem. Det övergripande upplägget av studien kan liknas vid en fenomenologisk fallstudie och utfördes under sex månader. Populationen som ligger till grund för studiens empiriska data består av fem lärarstudenter som studerar sitt första år vid en av Sveriges lärarutbildningar. Data samlades in genom narrativa intervjuer vid tre olika tillfällen: (i) efter studenternas första praktikperiod, (ii) innan studenterna påbörjade sin andra praktikperiod och (iii) direkt efter att studenterna avslutat sin andra praktikperiod. Studiens resultat visar att lärarstudenterna använder fyra olika lärandestrategier (ifrågasättande, utmanande, anpassande och imiterande), för att omvandla den information de möter till kunskap, vid olika tillfällen under lärarutbildningen. Dessa strategier utvecklas som följd av de erfarenheter studenterna har med sig när de möter olika motsättningar under lärarutbildningen.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the young caregivers thoughts of the elderly caretaker. A qualitative method was chosen when interviewing young caregivers in order to get an insight of how they perceive and speak of the elders. The main questions of the study are: How do the caregivers believe that the elders perceive their day-to-day life and situation? Is it possible to distinguish if the young caregiver’s thoughts about the elders affect their work with the elderly caretaker? Is it possible to notice any common factors that the young caregivers perceive as important in their work with the elderly caretaker? The criteria for inclusion in this study are caregivers aged 18 to 25, who are working with elderly at special accommodation. The theories chosen for this study are the salutogenetic perspective, the activity theory and the theory of gerotranscendence. From the outcome of the study the conclusion is that the interaction between the elder and the caregiver seem to be decisive for how the young caregiver think of the elders and their life situation. The caregivers in this study experience that activities give the elderly a meaningful life.

Information technology and political motives, e.g. e-governance, freedom of information legislation, has recent years lead to an increasing emphasis on users and access to records, but little research based knowledge about those issues exist so far. The main focus of the previous research is the use of non-current records in archival repositories. The aim of this thesis is to make a contribution to the research field, in order to gain a better understanding of the information behaviour of users of records in contemporary organizational settings. The research questions addressed are: § How are records used in contemporary organizations?- In what context and for what purposes are records used?- What user categories can be identified? § How is the search for records mediated?- What intermediaries are used in the search process?- How well do the features of the artefactual intermediaries serve the users' information needs?- What is the role of human intermediaries? An additional purpose of the study is to contribute to theory development, and to provide a conceptual model of the information behaviour of users of records that can form the basis for further research. The thesis is based on explorative case studies undertaken in two contemporary Swedish public organizations, one municipality and one governmental agency. Data was collected through interviews, analysis of documentary sources and complementary observations. The analysis of the findings was guided by a theoretical framework consisting of activity theory informed by concepts from archival theory and models of information behaviour. The results of the cases studies showed that information behaviour of users of records and the search process could be described as a part of an activity system. The search process was a sub-ordinated activity of other activities. The needs for records was generated by a task or accomplishment of anykind with purpose to achieve something. Those needs motivated the purposes of use of records: material, operational, accountability seeking or knowledge enhancing purposes. The subjects, users in collaboration with the registrars and archivists, seeked to obtain records with help of different mediational means, e.g. artifactual intermediaries as the journal and the archives inventory that could be defined as representational systems, in order to reach a certain outcome: fact-finding, re-construction of past actions and events, regaining experience and knowledge, verifying status, or illustrating and exemplifying. A variety of user groups, internal as well as external, could be identified in both organizations. Those could act as direct or indirect users, and indirect use by one part meant direct use by another who acted as a mediator between the records and the end users. The external users could be defined as stakeholders of the organizations or other users. Users showed, with occasional exceptions, a preference for informal means of mediation, particularly personal communication. Certain features of the formal representational systems, journals and inventories, could be identified, which made them less useful as search tool. Those were generated by contradictions and tensions within the organizations: contradictions within the representational systems; contradictions between the tasks of the users and the representational systems; contradictions between user requests and the access points in the representational systems; contradictions between external users and the activities of the organizations; contradictions between exogenous institutional conditions and the the activities of the organizations; and contradictions of a temporal character. These circumstances necessitated an active intervention of human intermediaries. This could be seen as an example of the division of labour in the organizations. Search and retrieval of records were part of the registrars’ and the archivists’ specific professional knowledge, but were not considered as primary tasks of other employees or, especially not, of the external users. The results of the study contributes to to the knowledge about the use of records, and how records are approached. It provides a model of the search process that can form the basis for further research. The practical implications of the findings could be improved search tools and user services, i.e. enhanced access. The thesis can also contribute to theoretical enrichment of the field by combining a more comprehensive social theory with archival theory and concepts from information science. / Utveckling av arkiv- och informationsvetenskap

The aim of this thesis is to clarify the contradictions in teaching practice that are reflected in teachers' statements about the education of pupils in need of special support at the government-run special schools in Sweden, especially from the perspective of inclusion. The contradictions are explored using Engeström’s model of Activity Systems. The following questions are addressed: 1) What aspects are highlighted by teachers as essential in the instruction of pupils in need of special support? 2) What opportunities and barriers to inclusive education can be seen in the teachers' statements? 3) How does a teacher of pupils with multiple disabilities collaborate with other teachers in the team? Sixteen teachers from all five regional special schools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing were interviewed. The theoretical insights of cultural-historical activity theory were utilized to analyze the transcriptions. The study shows that there are several contradictions in the Activity System model. Some specific findings are as follows: Communication with some pupils requires teachers to use several modalities, and teachers who do not have every day contact with these pupils, feel awkward in interaction. A consequence of this will be that teachers do not readily substitute for one another or divide labor equally as much as expected. More time is needed for lesson planning in cooperation with other teachers and assistants. It becomes necessary to modify materials for teaching which was time consuming. Special education groups are sometimes forgotten in plans of common activities by other school personnel. Key conclusions are: There needs to be a greater variation and flexibility in teaching methods for all students to make it easier for pupils in extra need of special support within special schools to be better included. There needs to be more interactions with those pupils and with personnel other than their teachers in order to decrease exclusion.

Syftet med studien är att identifiera framgångsfaktorer, samt att påvisa hinder för att uppnå en fungerande elevhälsoorganisation, samt att visa hur Elevhälsans olika yrkeskompetenser bidrar till ett framgångsrikt elevhälsoarbete på en skola. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av kvalitativa djupintervjuer av Elevhälsans personal i åk 6-9 på en skola i en mellansvensk kommun, som enligt Skolverket anses ha en väl fungerande Elevhälsa. Resultaten grundar sig även på samtal med annan personal på skolan, samt på observationer i olika klassrum. Data från intervjuer, samtal och observationer har analyserats utifrån aktivitetsteorin, där fokus ligger på beskrivning av Elevhälsans olika yrkeskategoriers mål, handlingar och operationer. Undersökningen visar hur Elevhälsans olika yrkeskompetensers individuella arbete, samt samarbete sinsemellan bidrar till en fungerande elevhälsoorganisation. Elevhälsans arbete med eleverna kretsar kring hälsofrämjande arbete och arbete för att eleverna ska nå kunskapskraven. Detta bygger på värdegrundsarbete där det satsats mycket kraft på relationsbyggande och gott bemötande mellan elever, samt mellan personal och elever på skolan. Det finns dessutom en tydlig ledning och struktur i organisationen där rutiner och ansvarsfördelning är väl kända och accepterade av personalen. Det förebyggande arbetet bland personal och elever är betydelsefullt. Beslutsprocessen är snabb och dokumentationen upplevs som betydelsefull och användbar i praktiken. Det utgår stöd till elever i svårigheter utifrån deras individuella behov där lärarna visar att de tror på elevens förmåga att lyckas. Arbetet har sin grund i att det råder en positiv stämning bland både personal och elever, där det förebyggande arbetet för att stärka elevernas självkänsla och självtillit är betydelsefullt.   De hinder eller svårigheter som kan finnas för utvecklingsarbetet med Elevhälsan är att det inte finns något facit på hur verksamheten ska organiseras, varje skola måste hitta sin egen modell utifrån sina förutsättningar. Brist på tid, långdragen beslutsprocess och komplicerad dokumentation av elevärenden kan vara andra hinder. En otydlig ledningsorganisation kring Elevhälsans arbete utgör dessutom hinder för att utveckla en fungerande Elevhälsa. / The aim of this study is to find factors for success, and indicated impediments to achieving a well-functioning organization for students’ health. The study was carried out with qualitative in-depth interviews with the staff of the Students’ Health Organization for grade 6-9 at a school in the middle of Sweden, which according to the Swedish National School Board (Skolverket) is considered to have a well-functioning organization for student’s health. The results are also based on conversations held with other staff members of the school and observations made in different classrooms. Data from the interviews, conversations and observations have been analyzed based on the activity theory, focusing on descriptions of the goals, actions and operations of the different professions of the Students’ Health Organization. The study shows how the work of the different professions of the Students’ Health Organization, as well as the cooperation among the different professions, contributes to a well-functioning organization for students’ health. The work of the Students’ Health Organization revolves around promoting the health of the students’ and to establish prerequisites for the students to reach the knowledge requirements. This work is based on values and ethics where much effort is put into the relationship-building and good interactions among students and students and staff. There is also a distinct leadership and a structure of the school organization where routines and distribution of responsibility is well known and accepted by all staff. The preventive work among staff and students is important. The decision procedure is quick and the documentation is experienced as significant, important and useful in everyday work. Support is given to student in need, based on their individual needs and it is shown that there is belief in the students’ abilities to succeed. The work has its foundation in a positive attitude among both staff and students, where the preventive work; to enhance the students’ self-esteem is of great importance. The impediments or difficulties that can be found for the development of a functioning students’ health organization is that there is no key or straight answer to how the work should be organized; each school has to create its own model based on its own conditions. Lack of time, protracted decision procedures and complicated documentation of students needs, abilities and how to work with them are other impediments. An indistinct leadership of the students’ health organization and their work is also an impediment to the development of a functioning students’ health organization itself.

Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) are becoming standard tools in healthcare, lauded for improving patient access and outcomes. However, the healthcare professionals who work with, around, and despite these technologies in their daily practices often regard EPRs as troublesome. In order to investigate how EPRs can prompt such opposing opinions, this project examines the EPR as a collection of communication genres set in complex contexts. In this project, I investigate an EPR as it was used on the Nephrology ward at a large, Canadian, urban, paediatric teaching hospital. In this setting, this study investigates EPR-use in relation to the following aspects of context: (a) the visual rhetoric of the EPR's user-interface design; (b) the varied social contexts in which the EPR was used, including a diversity of professional collaborators who had varying levels of professional experience; (c) the span of social actions involved in EPR use; and (d) the other genres used in coordination with the EPR. <br /><br /> This qualitative study was conducted in two simultaneous stages, over the course of 8 months. Stage one consisted of a visual rhetorical analysis of a set of genres (including the EPR) employed by participants during a specific work activity. Stage two involved an elaborated, qualitative case study consisting of non-participant observations and semi-structured interviews. Stage two used a constructivist grounded theory methodology. A combination of theoretical perspectives -- Visual Rhetoric, Rhetorical Genre Studies, Activity Theory, and Actor-Network Theory -- supported the analysis of study data. This research reveals that participants routinely transformed EPR-based information into paper documents when the EPR's visual designs did not support the professional goals and activities of the participants. <br /><br /> Results indicate that healthcare professionals work around EPR-based patient information when that genre's visual organization is incompatible with professional activities. This study suggests that visual rhetorical analysis, complemented with observation and interview data, can provide useful insights into a genre's social actions. This research also examines the effects of such EPR-to-paper genre transformations. Although at one level of analysis, the EPR-to-paper-genre transformation may be considered inefficient for participants and so should be automated, at another level of analysis, the same transformation activity can be seen as beneficially supporting the detailed reviewing of patient information by healthcare professionals. <br /><br /> To account for this function in the transformation dysfunction, my research suggests that many contextual factors need to be considered during data analysis in order to construct a sufficiently nuanced understanding of a genre's social actions. To accomplish such an analysis, I develop a five-step approach to data analysis called 'context mapping. ' Context mapping examines genres in relation to the varied social contexts in which they are used, the span of social actions in which they are involved, and a range of genres with which they are coordinated. To conduct this analysis, context mapping relies heavily on theories of "genre ecologies" (Spinuzzi, 2003a, 2003b; Spinuzzi, Hart-Davidson & Zachry, 2004; Spinuzzi & Zachry, 2000) and "Knotworking" (Engestrom, Engestrom & Vahaaho, 1999). Context mapping's first three steps compile study data into results that accommodate a wide range of contextual analysis considerations. These three steps involve the use of a composite scenario of observation data, genre ecologies and the description of a starting point for analysis. The final two steps of this approach analyse results using the theory of Knotworking and investigate some of the implications of the patterns of genre use on the ward. <br /><br /> Through context mapping analysis, this study demonstrates that EPR-based innovations created by a study participant could result in the generation of other improvisations, in a range of genres, by the original participant and/or by other collaborators. These genre modifications had ramifications across multiple social contexts and involved a wide range of genres and associated social actions. Context mapping analysis demonstrates how the effects of participant-made EPR-based variations can be considered as having both beneficial and detrimental effects in the research site depending on the social perspective adopted. Contributions from this work are directed towards the fields of Rhetorical Genre Studies, Activity Theory research, and Health Informatics research, as well as to the research site itself. This study demonstrates that context mapping can support text-in-context style research in complex settings as a means for evaluating the effects of genre uses.

The aim of the study was to investigate the dynamics of two online communities of practice (oCoP) for preservice teachers. The research process encompassed three main phases. Phase 1 was related to the design and development of online environment. By the help of existing literature and a pilot study, a portal which is called as &ldquo / Professional Development Circle (PDC)&rdquo / was developed. In Phase-2, 28 preservice teachers from three different universities participated to an online course as a part of an undergraduate course. During the term, they discussed on different video cases which were recorded in real classroom environments and produced new lesson plans for these lessons in the light of given suggestions. In the third phase, the same preservice teachers got involved in a different online environment without any grading motivation in the Phase 2. They discussed on some hot topics in mathematics teaching with other preservice teachers, academicians and experienced teachers. This research study was mainly a qualitative study. Two cases of the study were two oCoP which included mandatory or voluntary participation of preservice teachers to discussions. The data were collected through written reflection reports, observations and interviews. In addition, private e-mail exchange with participants and discussion list message history were rich data sources. The data were analyzed according to qualitative data analysis techniques. The design principles and findings of this research study were discussed in the frame of Activity Theory. This study revealed outcomes of two online communities of practice environments in preservice teacher education. In addition, motivators and barriers to be active in oCoP environments were discussed. Some of the motivators were getting more responsibility, self confidance, sociable personality, altruism, sincerity in the environment, and quality of materials while some of the barriers were not wanting to enter a fight, lack of time, the idea &ldquo / max benefit minimum effort&rdquo / , feeling availability of others, and Internet access and computer availability.