<p>IMIS (Integrated Mobile Information System for Diabetic Healthcare) aims at providing healthcare on both stationary and mobile platform, which is based on Engström’s triangle model in Activity Theory. It focuses on the need for communication and information accessibility between care-providers and their shared patients. Based on the identified need in the target area, IMIS has decided to construct a network-based communication system to support communication and accessibility to patients’ journal. Since the system integrates various roles from the heath care organization, it is a challenge to provide a useful software program to the group members. In order to facilitate the application and enhance the Human-Computer interaction of the system, agent technology is applied to increase the flexibility factor so that the system could be self-adapted to a wider range group of users.</p><p>Besides, this thesis also introduces the approach of using social-psychology — Activity theory in HCI, and discuss the integration of these different disciplines. The Multi-agents System is applied with Gaia methodology from micro perspectives. From the macro perspective Activity theory constructs the coordination mechanism of the different agents. A prototype is applied based on the different model of our research.</p>

This research involves a legal impact study of the State College Nuisance Property Ordinance and an assessment of State College Rental Property Managers in the role of place manager/intimate handler of offender. The impact of the Ordinance was assessed by employing an interrupted time series design which examined five years of pre-ordinance violations against five years of post-ordinance violations. The assessment of State College Rental Property Managers in the role of place manager/intimate handlers of offenders was assessed through a mail survey. The survey contained items that measured the level to which State College Rental Property Managers have assumed this role. This level was then regressed against the offenses covered under the Ordinance in order to determine if this role has an impact on reducing and/or deterring offenses in rental units. The data suggest that the Ordinance was successful in reducing violations in nuisance rental units. In addition, the analyses of the survey revealed that a higher level of place manager/intimate handler of offender was positively correlated with criminal and ordinance violations. / Dr. Randy L. Martin Dr. Kathleen J. Hanrahan Dr. Jennifer J. Roberts Dr. John A. Lewis

The purpose of this study is to describe how the activity is arranged for a student with learning disablities. I have used an method based on etnografic influences. I made observations in a school for three days I took notes during the observations. I made one interview with the teacher where I used open fomulatet questions. This study is based on activity theory and one of my results is that teachers in primary school did not have the competence to meet all childrens needs. I found that many things in the activity affected the students in it and that the purpose of the activity changed according to the activity in it. Primary school as activity seemed to push the student with learning disabilities towards special school since it was in special school the comptence and the ability to arrange the activity to meet the needs the student had in a better way. / Denna studie handlar om skolan som verksamhet och hur verksamheten arrangeras för att svara upp mot elevers behov. Jag har tittat specifikt på en verksamhet där en elev med inlärningssvårigheter finns och där eleven får stöd av grundsärskolans verksamhet. Jag har använt mig av ett förhållningssätt som inspirerats av etnografin som metod där jag använt intervju och deltagande observationer som verktyg. Eleven når inte kunskapskraven för grundskolan men hör heller inte till verksamheten grundsärskola. Detta gör att eleven står emellan verksamheter. Verksamheten grundskola som ska ge elever det stöd de har behov av men som inte riktigt förmår och verksamheten grundsärskola som eleven inte tillhör där kompetens att möta eleven och resurser att möta eleven finns. Mina frågeställningar handlade om vilka handlingar för att nå målen i verksamheten som synliggörs och vad samverkan mellan grundskola och grundsärskola innebär? Jag har kommit fram till att de handlingar som synliggörs i verksamheten grundskola inte leder eleven mot målen för verksamheten. Grundskolan har gjort sig beroende av grundsärskolans verksamhet för att ge elven det stöd eleven behöver.

A particular interest of distance education researchers is the community of inquiry framework, which was developed for the purpose of taking a closer look at computer mediated communication in educational contexts (Garrison, Anderson, Archer, 2000). However, it is somewhat surprising that although the community of inquiry framework has been developed based on distance education contexts, it does not consider the complexities of the community’s global and local contexts, the potential linguistic demands of the teaching and learning contexts, and how power, agency, and identities are negotiated in these contexts. Through six cases of online instructors teaching in international contexts at the tertiary level, I explored the negotiation of teaching presence as viewed through the lens of cultural historical activity theory (Engeström, 1999, 2001). In this view, instructors are engaged in a dynamic process in which teaching presence is shaped through the mediating components of the activity system. This multi-case study employed cross case analysis drawing on data from interviews with students, program coordinators, and instructors, in addition to analyses of discussion forum transcripts, course documents, formative evaluations, student and instructor reflections, and researcher-participant observations. The linguistic challenges faced by both instructor and students for whom the language of instruction was a second or third language and instructors’ sociocultural identities, positioning, and conceptualization of the online interaction spaces were found to be important mediators in the negotiation of teaching presence.

This doctoral dissertation investigates the challenges “foreign teachers” experience in the encounter with the Swedish school and the possibilities they have to manage challenges and to establish their legitimacy. The participants of this study were newly employed in the pre-school, the primary school and the secondary school. The material includes interviews with 21 teachers and complementing observations at the workplaces of five of these teachers. Principals and colleagues have also been interviewed as well as administrators and teacher educators of supplementary teacher training programs. The shift of language of instruction was reported as causing challenges and demanded time and energy from the teachers in preparing the lessons. Here the teachers mentioned knowledge and correct use of the subject specific vocabulary and the ability to use everyday language in the process of building a bridge to the language of the subjects. Difficulties in the interaction with colleagues and parents were reported; when being positioned as less competent due to their second language speaker status. Some examples also reveal that everyday interaction demands knowledge of social practices that are not always familiar to these teachers. The value of individual assets (e.g. professional experience, profound subject knowledge and multilingualism) is enhanced when school principals recognize the resources of these teachers and make use of them in the communities of practice at school. In using activity theory, difficulties in the interaction with students or problems with questioning parents could be analyzed with regard to communities of practice, rule systems or division of labor in the activities of the school. This thesis emphasizes the importance of a critical discussion of existing norms, values and hierarchies in local school contexts if schools in Sweden in general are to be seen as learning and working contexts for teachers as well as students of all backgrounds. / Flerspråkighet Litteractitet Utbildning (FLU)

The importance of studying challenges in implementing information technology solutions in health care organizations is highlighted by the huge investments in health care information technology (HIT) which has been spurred by recent government mandates. Information technology can help improve health care delivery cost by facilitating the standardization of work processes or routines and reducing variations among them. Set in a premier 950+ bed hospital in the south eastern part of US, this dissertation consists of two studies examining the challenges involved in implementing HIT solutions. In the first study, we seek to gain deep insights into how the process of creating a patient’s chart evolves over time in a health care institution. The second study focuses on the users of Electronic Health Records (EHR) system, investigating the compliance behavior of various providers with respect to patient records in the system. In the first study, through the lens of Activity theory our results show that the charting routine is implicated by the following environmental factors: (1) Tools, (2) Rules, (3) Community, and (4) Roles, and by individual factors: (5) Computer Self-Efficacy and (6) Risk Propensity. In the second study, our results indicate that there is a substantial effect of subculture of the different occupational groups on IT security compliance intent and behavior in a health care institution.

This thesis analyses the implementation of a student-centred learning approach at the Eduardo Mondlane University (UEM), in the context of the current curricular reform. The main objective of the thesis is to gain understanding of the implementation of a student-centred learning approach and how the innovation is related to the acquisition of teachers’ pedagogical competence at the above mentioned university. A sociocultural approach and more specifically Cultural Historical Activity Theory is used as a theoretical framework given that it provides a view of learning as a context based social activity. A qualitative approach based on document analysis, classroom observations and semi-structured interviews with different actors in the process of teaching, learning and teacher training was used. The findings of the three studies carried out and presented in four articles in the thesis show that the lecturers do not feel ownership of the curriculum reform introducing the new pedagogical approach, and revealed a conflict of interests in the process of implementation of the reform. Students appear to be unclear about the significance of the new approach and they cannot judge if it is correctly implemented. Contextual factors such as a high number of students in the classroom, poor infrastructure and inadequate access to educational resources also affect the students’ performance in their learning. The university teachers expressed a need for training and the creation of adequate material conditions in order to be able to apply the innovations. However, signs of positive attitudes towards this approach were also revealed by the informants, which demonstrates the existing potential of the reform. It was found that the role of the teacher is crucial in making students active, motivated and self-regulated. Moreover, the students’ active learning depends on several factors, such as contextual, social and psychological aspects of the process. In relation to the acquisition of teachers’ pedagogical competence, a comparative study of the official documents of Eduardo Mondlane University and Umeå University explicitly shows a focus on the development of pedagogical competence for all categories of teachers. However, due to significant differences in historical pre-conditions, cultural contexts and educational artefacts the findings revealed many differences in the corresponding collective activity systems. In conclusion, the thesis indicates that the implementation of student-centred learning at UEM depends on the availability of good educational infrastructure and also the development of human resources. Furthermore, less hierarchical communication at the university could accelerate the process.

A particular interest of distance education researchers is the community of inquiry framework, which was developed for the purpose of taking a closer look at computer mediated communication in educational contexts (Garrison, Anderson, Archer, 2000). However, it is somewhat surprising that although the community of inquiry framework has been developed based on distance education contexts, it does not consider the complexities of the community’s global and local contexts, the potential linguistic demands of the teaching and learning contexts, and how power, agency, and identities are negotiated in these contexts. Through six cases of online instructors teaching in international contexts at the tertiary level, I explored the negotiation of teaching presence as viewed through the lens of cultural historical activity theory (Engeström, 1999, 2001). In this view, instructors are engaged in a dynamic process in which teaching presence is shaped through the mediating components of the activity system. This multi-case study employed cross case analysis drawing on data from interviews with students, program coordinators, and instructors, in addition to analyses of discussion forum transcripts, course documents, formative evaluations, student and instructor reflections, and researcher-participant observations. The linguistic challenges faced by both instructor and students for whom the language of instruction was a second or third language and instructors’ sociocultural identities, positioning, and conceptualization of the online interaction spaces were found to be important mediators in the negotiation of teaching presence.

This research focused on the question, How do practitioners understand the transfer of competence (that is, what do they know and can do) accross different workplace contexts and how does it influence their practice? The research investigates the experiences and perceptions of 108 workers, who have changed jobs or whose jobs have changed, as to how they were able to adapt what they knew and could do at the time. The research is phenomological, using a methodology designed to collect and analyse data from the participants without decontextualising it. The methodology is customised and contextualised and uses activity theory, Engestrom's theory of expansive learning, grounded theory and discourse analysis to interrogate the research question. The collection of data occurred over a period of five years and was in two stages, with the second stage validating and building on the first stage. Minimally structured interviews and a questionnare were the main data collec tion tools used. Some descriptive statistics have been used but the research is qualitative in intent. The research draws on current theoretical positions of learning, transfer, experimental learning, workplace learning, activity theory, qualitative research and reflection on experience. The thesis has been written to foreground the voices of the participants and the insights their experience brings to the research. The research addresses a current gap in research work, carried out in Australia or overseas, which focuses on the transfer of competence across workplaces. The outcomes provide new perspectives on the ways in which practitioners understand transfer and integrate these interpretations into their generalisation without decontextualisation, and thus makes a contribution to our collective knowledge and understanding. The outcomes of the research are a metaphoric framework to guide the transfer of competence over different work contexts; a record of the application of new understandings of transfer as a sequence of consequential transitions (Beach 1999); generalisations derived from the embedding of contexts (Van Oers 1998); and an innovative research methodology. In addition, the participants have provided their perspectives on the preperation of, and on-going support for, people entering or crossing workplace contexts, and the consequential, necessary changes to institutional learning.

abstract: Accounts in the media often demonize teachers and misrepresent what is happening in schools. Meanwhile, teachers' voices are largely absent from the national and international debates on school reform. This dissertation privileges the voices of nine participating Kindergarten through second grade teachers from a variety of public schools, including affluent schools and schools receiving full and partial Title I funding. Through observations and interviews teachers shared their narratives of classroom joys and challenges while also describing how policy has affected these experiences. A preliminary discourse analysis of these narratives was performed, identifying narratives related to nodes of the activity system of schooling. Further discourse analysis of these identified narratives revealed how these teachers' classroom experiences position them within an activity system strongly influenced by tensions between maternal relationships and the patriarchal project of schooling. A critical feminist theoretical perspective is utilized to respond to these tensions and to describe possibilities for future studies in education and the future of education in general. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ed.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2011