Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka hur Räddningstjänsten sprider kunskap som erhållits från erfarenheter och övning, samt vilka strukturella faktorer som påverkar denna spridning. Med strukturella faktorer avses exempelvis hierarkier, avdelningsgränser, strategier för kunskapsöverföring och belöningssystem. Studiens empiri har samlats in genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer och är således en kvalitativ studie. Urvalet består av sju medarbetare på olika befattningar som bedömts som nyckelpositioner för kunskapsspridning. Studien utgår ifrån olika Knowledge management-strategier och Communities of practice för att förklara skapande och spridning av organisatorisk kunskap.   Resultatet påvisar att det finns olika spridningsmetoder för kunskap som består av ett avvikelsesystem, insatsrapporteringssystem samt Communities of practice inom arbetslagen. Data visar att spridningseffektiviteten varierar och att det föreligger olika hindrande och främjande faktorer för spridning av kunskap metoderna emellan. I studien framkommer det att kunskap sprids mest effektivt inom arbetslagen och avvikelsesystemets tydliga ansvarsfördelning och infrastruktur fungerar bättre än insatsrapporteringssystemet, då detta saknar struktur och har en svårhanterlig mängd information. / The purpose of this study is to examine how the Swedish fire brigade disseminates knowledge from experiences, obtained from emergencies and practice, and the structural factors that affect this distribution. Structural factors referred to in this study are for example hierarchies, department boundaries, strategies for knowledge transfer and reward systems. The study's empirical data were collected through semi-structured interviews and is thus a qualitative study. The studies population consists of seven employees in various positions identified as key positions for knowledge dissemination. The study is based on various Knowledge management strategies and Communities of practice to explain the creation and dissemination of organizational knowledge. The result demonstrates that there are various methods of dissemination of knowledge consisting of a deviation system, effort reporting system and Communities of practice in work teams. Data show that the efficiency of dissemination varies and that there are both hindering and facilitating factors affecting the efficiency. The study shows that knowledge is disseminated most effectively within teams and that the deviation systems clear infrastructure works better than the effort reporting system, due to it’s lack of structure and unwieldy amount of information.

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This research focuses on the transition of Bahraini students to a Western medical university which has been ‘transplanted’, with its values and context of practice, to the culture of Bahrain. A socio-cultural model of Communities of Practice was adopted as a theoretical framework in this research for it linked in well with the personal context of this study which suggested that students’ transition could be related to the practices in Bahraini schools associated with science and English education, as well as general school pedagogy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore how different participants perceive the role of school practices, as well as science and English education in transition. In order to explore these different understandings, a case study methodology was adopted and insights into the practices of students’ school and university community were gained through the use of focus group and individual interviews, as well as a descriptive questionnaire. The data from the qualitative investigation was analysed deductively under the three themes of science background knowledge, the English language and school pedagogy, while the questionnaire data was subject to univariate analysis based on mean responses. The key findings indicated high levels of confidence in students’ science base and approaches to study, which enabled the students to take a number of strategic actions in order to move through the educational outcomes of the university programme. In terms of the English language, a compromised foreign language (L2) proficiency caused by inadequate school practices was perceived not to play an important role in the transition process, which suggested a diminished role of L2 in transitions in the context of language change. As far as school pedagogy is concerned, whilst all participants at the secondary level agreed that general memorisation-based pedagogy in secondary schools could play a negative role in the transition, the participants at the university revealed that rote-based approaches to study formed in school could also be strategically used at university. Hence, the findings from this research have specific implications for the model of Communities of Practice and suggest future work within this theory regarding the role of students’ individual agency. These findings also suggest a new understanding of transitions in the context of language and culture change.

Published Article / The paper reports on the findings of a study that investigated the impact of leadership and management on the construction of professional identity of teacher trainees. The writer argues that the overall leadership and management of the host schools, where student teachers do experiential training (teaching practice), has an impact on the construction of their professional identity. The host schools provide different learning experiences (environment) which may either enhance or hinder the development of a positive professional identity. A questionnaire comprising of open-ended questions was administered to 40 teacher trainees at the School of Teacher Education, Central University of Technology, Free State. The students had just return from a six-month period of experiential training. The aim of the questionnaire was to examine their views on their experiences and expectations of the teaching practice, and whether or not the leadership and management of the school has had an impact on the construction of their professional identity. The findings revealed that a supportive and enabling environment within the host school provided a good learning experience and consequently enhanced the development of a positive professional identity whereas a non-welcoming and threatening environment had the opposite effect. Suggestions and recommendations for providing a supportive and enabling environment for all students are made.

<p>This study focuses on the nurse education at Uppsala University and more precisely on the final semester of practical training on site, where nurse students are instructed and supervised by their professional equivalents. This training period is supposed to enable the symbiosis of theoretical and practical knowledge for the student, turning her into a fully educated and independent professional. However, the period is however not unproblematic. The aim of the study is therefore to explore this practical training period with particular emphasis on the perceptions held by nurse students and nurse instructors regarding the prerequisites, process and outcome of this training.</p><p>Based on a theoretical framework that draws on Wenger’s social theory of learning and its concept of communities of practice a case study is conducted focusing on the municipality of Uppsala. Interviews with three nurse students and three nurse instructors were carried out. The empirical findings suggest that the training period is an essential part of the nurse education where nurse students’ theoretical knowledge becomes instrumentalised. However, the period has many shortcomings such as a lack of continuity and an unnessary complexity that limit the practical knowledge that can be gained by the nurse students.</p>

The objectives of the research was to identify how knowledge, learning and reflection is mediated in communities of practice. The overall aim was to base the evidence from the lived experiences of those who are part of the communities of practice under study. The research was undertaken through a qualitative inquiry using a social constructionist perspective. The research was pursued through participative action research in one case study organisation, and through participative observation, or observation in fifteen others. The key findings of this inquiry include six sociological elements which were common to all sixteen organisations. Further, four key knowledge flow processes were consistent across all cases. In total forty-one main findings were identified to the pursued research questions. Two conceptual models of learning and reflection were presented as ways to help understand how knowledge, learning and reflection are mediated in communities of practice. The models can be used at different levels of abstraction and conceptualisation. The study provides original insights into consulting activity within communities of practice, and highlights key themes based upon the lived experiences of the participants in the inquiry.

The purpose of this study was to observe weblogs in their natural setting and to investigate the nature of collective learning within the debt blogging community. How individuals who blog their experiences with getting out of debt use their weblogs as well as the role of the commenter in the debt blogging process were also researched. Four distinct literature pools were used to frame this study including the theory of social constructivism, the context of communities of practice, the problem of consumer debt, and the medium of blogging. Utilizing observational netnography, six weblogs were researched which were comprised of individuals or couples trying to get out of debt or who have recently achieved that goal. The primary data included weblog entries and comments from the inception of the weblog to the date of the IRB approval. In addition, “About Me” pages, blogrolls, personal widgets, hypertext links, static text, and the visual context of the weblogs were also included as part of the data. The findings are as follows: First, the analysis of the data revealed six main themes in regard to the nature of collective learning within the debt blogging community. These weblogs (1) distinguish levels of participation, (2) unify and commit participants, (3) remove barriers, (4) contribute to personal growth, (5) allow for personal navigation, and (6) inspire/help others. Many of these themes are founded in the communities of practice literature, but were expanded in this study to illustrate understanding in the context of a weblog as a virtual community of practice. Second, research findings indicate the main uses of debt blogs were to (1) document financial life, (2) articulate opinions, (3) reach out, (4) express self, (5) build communities, and (6) promote accountability. Each of these findings with the exception of promoting accountability has been found in the literature. Accountability has two distinct components – internal and external. The debt bloggers feel obligated to post due to their own internal sense of responsibility as well as external obligation to post due to their duty to the community. This may be unique to debt bloggers or to those who blog about a specific problem. Finally, the analysis of the data provided seven distinct roles of the commenter: (1) supporter, (2) challenger, (3) confirmer/mirror, (4) admirer, (5) seeker of information/advice, (6) provider of information/advice, and (7) connector of community. The research findings revealed insights to the complex interaction of bloggers and commenters and the technical difficulty with capturing the dynamic nature of weblogs.

Thesis advisor: Laura M. O'Dwyer / Youth civic participation is at alarmingly low levels. In 2014, nearly 80% of eligible 18-29 year-olds did not vote in the midterm election (CIRCLE, 2014). Other forms of civic engagement are also at starkly low levels: less than one in ten 18-29 year-olds report contacting a public official, boycotting a product, or frequently expressing political opinions on the internet (U.S. Census Bureau, 2014). Historically, schools have been tasked with preparing students with the knowledge and skills to be active democratic citizens. However, few studies have examined the role of teachers in fostering students' civic knowledge and skills. This study used data from the 2010 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 8th grade civics assessment to analyze the relationships between teacher participation in professional learning, use of interactive instructional practices, and student achievement in civics. Participation in professional learning significantly predicted both interactive instruction and student achievement: a one standard deviation increase in professional learning was associated with a predicted .32 standard deviation increase in interactive instructional practices, and a predicted .045 standard deviation increase in student achievement. There was no significant difference between more traditional and communities of practice based forms of professional development in their relationships with interactive instructional practices and student civic achievement. Interactive instructional practices were also significantly associated with increases in student achievement on NAEP civics, but the effect size was small: a one standard deviation increase in interactive instruction was related to a predicted .03 standard deviation increase in student achievement. Moreover, the relationship between interactive instruction and student achievement was curvilinear; high levels of interactive instruction were associated with decreases in student achievement. The study did not find any evidence that teacher participation in professional learning increased the effectiveness of interactive instructional practices. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement and Evaluation.

While (big) data promises immense opportunity, initiatives focused on using data to pursue insight have mixed outcomes. The Management Support Systems (MSS) model summarises what we currently understand within Information Systems (IS) about the implementation and use of systems to improve organisations’ use of data. Adopting an ethnographic approach to observe how practitioners in two contrasting organisations actually generate insight from data, this research challenges the implicit information processing and implementation logics of the MMS model. The pragmatic messiness of pursuing insight is described in two monographs, which reveal the socially constructed nature of data in relation to phenomena, and the importance of data engagement to produce insight. Given that this PhD study also seeks to generate insight from data, it is compared and contrasted reflexively to the two cases observed. While the inquiry logic pursued in this study was made explicit, and was regularly reviewed and challenged, the two cases left this largely implicit. The use of tools is shown to facilitate and constrain inquiry, with related data acting as boundary objects between the different practitioner groups involved. An explanatory framework is presented and used to suggest various enhancements to the MSS model. First, the Problem Space is reframed to reflect the distinct, though interdependent logics involved in inquiry versus realising envisaged benefits from insights. Second, the MSS artefact itself is contextualised and Data Engagement rather than MSS or Tool Use is positioned as central. Third, Data are disentangled from the wider MSS artefact, as a critical, distinct construct. Fourth, an Alignment construct is introduced to address the boundary spanning nature of data initiatives. The thesis also highlights the value of using Wenger’s (1998) Communities of Practice (CoP) situated learning framework to study data initiatives, and the related value of mapping groups as a technique for further development. Some questions are provided for practitioners to gain a better understanding of data initiatives. Wider implications are also noted for the socio-material theorising of Data, and distinguishing between Data, Information and Knowledge concepts within the IS discipline.

This thesis is concerned with play, particularly the role of social play in a co-located context and its ability to bring people together. Participation in social play can have significant effects on an individual, group, community and culture, and thus, through practice-based research, this thesis documents the exploration of the design of “playful interventions” which may be artefacts or events which seek to bring people together through play. In play, individuals form shared meanings, understanding and values, as determined by the rules of the play situation. In the play experience, they become temporary communities, who, through play, can experiment, explore and redefine their relationships with one another, the play context and potentially the world beyond. The experimental nature of play leads it to be naturally imbued with transformative potential for everyone involved; whether that be small in scale, such as forming a new way of looking at a space through playing within it, or on a larger scale, through forming new concepts around a local area or governmental policy. Play is, however, very unpredictable, being led by player interaction, and always pushes up against the rules of the play situation. In play, the particular output (if there is one) is never certain, and no two play experiences will be the same. This unpredictability means that its transformational power is always a potential but never guaranteed. Designers, when working with play as a medium must embrace this unpredictability and explore approaches to design playful experiences which are satisfying in themselves for the participants whilst also trying to find methods to unlock the potential for individual (and group) transformation through play. The thesis is a narrative account of sustained academic research, based upon eight academic publications and practice works, produced between 2013 and 2018. Six of these publications document practical exploration of the creation of playful interventions, in the form of video games, performances and events. Two further publications explore design approaches to enhance participation drawing from expert interview analysis and theoretical engagement with institutional approaches to promotion of participation in the museum and gallery. The body of work thus explores the design of participation from two perspectives: the artist/designer of an artefact and as a “context provider” who designs events and spaces within which play, and participation can take place amongst participants. Within this thesis, the body of publications are contextualised in relation to theories of play, game design and art practice and also drawing from theories around communities of practice and communities of play. A series of expert practitioner interviews underpin both the academic and practical framing of this research, drawing from key practitioners in the UK and Europe working in play, game design, event curation and community work. The thesis formalises the design methods used to create playful interventions by the author and expert practitioners in the field of social play as presented both across the academic publications and within interview content. The formalisation of these design techniques is presented as two social play frameworks, one for designing participation around artefacts and one which focusses upon designing participation around events. Each framework aims to aid a designer and/or context provider in helping participants to unlock the unpredictable yet transformative potential of play as individuals and as communities whilst acknowledging the complex interrelations which occur in designed social contexts.