Women comprise half of the world's population but less than half of the paid workforce, less than half of organized workers, and far less than half of union leadership positions. Women benefit from union membership by enjoying a smaller gender wage gap than women without union representation. Unionized teachers enjoy higher salaries and better working conditions than those who are not union members. Despite the advantages of being in a union, women are under-represented in union membership and, more importantly, leadership positions. Considering these disparities, I conceptualized this critical study to describe and better understand how women's participation in union activities is meaningful to them. My ultimate goal was to find ways in which more union women could be encouraged to take leadership roles in the workers' rights movement. The primary purpose of this research is to identify factors that explain the dearth of women's participation in their labor union. Gender disparity in union leadership is, in part, a reflection of gender disparity in the workforce. Women make up less than half of the paid workforce but occupy the majority of the contingent workforce, which enterprise-based unions in Japan have been reluctant to organize (Weathers, 2012). Furthermore, a lack of female role models in union leadership might also contribute to gender disparity in unions' leaderships. From this, I suggest changes that potentially allow more women to participate and eventually lead in their unions. The theoretical justification of the methodology used in this study is to show the utility of communities of practice theory and intersectionality in this type of research. Because I examined participation, I used communities of practice as the primary theoretical framework, and because the participants were all women, intersectional feminism served as the secondary theoretical framework. Furthermore, I review conceptual research on communities of practice, women, and labor and review empirical research on labor, communities of practice, and women in the labor movement. For the methodology, I applied a qualitative critical case study approach to this investigation of a labor union in western Japan that primarily organizes foreign language teachers. This study is a collection of case studies of female non-Japanese English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers from inner circle countries. I investigated how these women participated in their labor union in western Japan and how their participation was meaningful to them. I was a participant observer, and the three core participants were all American. I am Canadian. At the time of this study, all four of us were union leaders. Data sources included interviews, a focus group discussion, artifacts, and the research journals that I kept over the years. The findings echoed aspects of communities of practice theory as well as intersectionality. Communities of practice theory highlighted the transformational nature of participating in a community. Furthermore, the importance of trust in the community was made clear. I considered the participants’ identities from the perspective of intersectionality. Considering differing emphases on these aspects of identity led me to realize that increasing solidarity between women working for workers’ rights and women working for women’s rights might lead to the growth of both movements. I drew the main conclusion from considering differing emphases on aspects of research participants’ identities. As has been well documented in research literature, women in the workers’ rights movement and women in the women’s rights movement place an emphasis on different aspects of their identities (Dye, 1975; hooks, 2012; Milkman, 2016). Therefore, what is lacking is a sense of solidarity, the fundamental principle of the workers’ rights movement, between these two groups of women. The original contribution to knowledge of this dissertation is an enhanced understanding of how both the workers’ rights movement and the women’s rights movement are held back by this lack of solidarity among women. / Teaching & Learning

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A significant body of writing and rhetoric research focuses on the literate practices that reflect or construct the professional self, particularly in disciplines that rely heavily on the use of forms to categorize or identify customers, clients, or patients. Many of these studies examine the influence of discipline-specific genres on the creation of a professional self for healthcare practitioners. Occupational therapy, a nearly 100-year-old yet little understood profession, is significantly different from many other healthcare disciplines, in part, because the genres used by occupational therapists reflect the profession's careful attention to the whole life of a patient. These genres are built around an understanding of a patient's occupation as the object of the profession's activity system. "Occupation" (commonly defined too narrowly by those outside of the profession as "work"), is, quite simply, anything that meaningfully and purposefully occupies a person's time. This broadly defined object invites an expansive professional vision that includes the patient's life and history outside of a diagnosis. This study presents the narratives of four occupational therapists and the literate activities that inform their practice. Their voices, as excerpted in this case study, join a strong, ongoing conversation in writing and rhetoric studies about the relationship between genre and identity. Using the lens of activity theory, this is one account of a healthcare profession that pays unusual attention to patients' whole lives through genres that mediate shared agency between the caregiver and patient. It is also, however, the story of the ways in which this identity, as a uniquely occupation-based discipline, becomes obscured as therapists translate their work to genres created and controlled by other, more powerful activity systems.

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Sharing of information between health care workers improves evidence dissemination and quality of care. One way to share information is through a community of practice (CoP), whereby members interact regularly towards a common goal. Advances in technology allow CoPs to exist virtually, removing the traditional barriers to information sharing. Virtual CoPs have been shown to be effective, but little is known about why health care workers choose to use them — warranting further investigation. This exploratory research consisted of 86 participants and took place in partnership with Health Quality Ontario. At the time of data collection, the organization was developing a virtual CoP for those in health care to learn from one another about quality improvement. The research utilized the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) — a theoretical model of persuasion that posits that one’s motivation and ability determines how information is processed — to guide the study of attitude formation. ELM distinguishes between Central Route information processing, whereby one is highly motivated and able and pays attention to argument quality, and Peripheral Route processing, whereby lower motivation and ability cause one to be persuaded by peripheral messaging cues. The sustainability of resulting attitudes is influenced by the route through which information is processed. Higher motivation to use a virtual CoP was found to be more strongly correlated to the central route than peripheral route, as expected. Post-hoc analysis found that argument quality had the greatest overall influence on attitudes towards virtual CoPs, regardless of the user’s experience level with them. Users with more experience were also influenced by peripheral cues. The chosen theoretical framework provided insight into the determinants of attitude formation, allowing for a better understanding of how to design and position a virtual CoP for those working in health care — a population yet to be studied through ELM. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / A community of practice (CoP) is a group of people with a shared interest who regularly interact to share knowledge and increase their expertise. Virtual CoPs use information and communications technology to support these knowledge-sharing activities, and have been shown to effectively improve knowledge utilization, but researchers have not examined them from a health care practitioner point of view. The present research aimed to explore the factors affecting how attitudes towards virtual CoPs are formed. The elaboration likelihood model was used to guide this study and suggests that a person’s motivation and ability determine the route through which they process information and form attitudes, leading to their intention to use the system. By understanding what influences attitudes, we can better understand how to design and position a virtual CoP for health care practitioners.

No / This paper examines the current circumstances of minority ethnic media production. It particularly addresses the tensions that may exist for minority ethnic media workers between their commitment to a professional identity and status, and their negotiation of their own ethnic identity. Through employing a specific model of communities of practice this paper provides an analytic frame which illuminates some of the challenges which may be particularly present in the institutional dynamics and identity politics operating within minority ethnic media enterprises. In noting the synergy between the minority ethnic media activities and the media systems of the dominant ethnic communities this paper argues for a recognition of the role of minority ethnic media in shaping a vigorous public sphere, and advocates a more extensive commitment of research resources to the analysis of their role in the multi-ethnic nation-state and transnationally.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having remarkable effects and promise potential solutions to many of the South Pacific islands’ geographic, economic and social challenges. Access to ICTs is also an increasingly important factor for education and training in the region. While the Pacific eLearning Observatory, supported by the University of the South Pacific, has been monitoring the development and access to ICT in education across the 12 university’s campuses, studies that specifically examine the attitudes and understanding of educators working on the islands of the South Pacific towards the use of ICT in their profession, as well as for their professional development, are rare. This study aims at addressing the gap in the literature by examining the professional development of facilitators working in blended learning environment across the remote islands of the Cook Islands. The research outcomes of this study are based on the analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and the theoretical foundation of this thesis is grounded in the social and situated theory of learning. By closely examining the facilitators’ perceptions, the project sheds new light on the still little recognised concept of online communities of practice in teaching and learning. The central finding of the study is that participation in online communities of practice offers on-going opportunities for learning, development and support, and reduces the feeling of remoteness and isolation associated with the geographical conditions of the South Pacific region.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) are having remarkable effects and promise potential solutions to many of the South Pacific islands’ geographic, economic and social challenges. Access to ICTs is also an increasingly important factor for education and training in the region. While the Pacific eLearning Observatory, supported by the University of the South Pacific, has been monitoring the development and access to ICT in education across the 12 university’s campuses, studies that specifically examine the attitudes and understanding of educators working on the islands of the South Pacific towards the use of ICT in their profession, as well as for their professional development, are rare. This study aims at addressing the gap in the literature by examining the professional development of facilitators working in blended learning environment across the remote islands of the Cook Islands. The research outcomes of this study are based on the analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews, and the theoretical foundation of this thesis is grounded in the social and situated theory of learning. By closely examining the facilitators’ perceptions, the project sheds new light on the still little recognised concept of online communities of practice in teaching and learning. The central finding of the study is that participation in online communities of practice offers on-going opportunities for learning, development and support, and reduces the feeling of remoteness and isolation associated with the geographical conditions of the South Pacific region.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Environmental and Life Science, Dept. of Graduate School of the Environment, 2008. / Bibliography: p. 370-395. / Part 1: Introduction and contextual influences ; chapter 1: Getting a sense of the research terrain ; chapter 2: Shaping contextual influences -- Part 2: Theoretical foundations of the study ; chapter 3: Understanding organisational change ; chapter 4: Exploring organisational learning and sustainability as social learning processes -- Part 3: Methodology and research processes ; chapter 5: Critical action research methodology ; chapter 6: Research design and processes -- Part 4: Contextual issues and social learning outcomes ; chapter 7: Critical organisational analysis of the NMK ; chapter 8: Deliberating and exploring possibilities for change -- Part 5: Discussion of findings ; chapter 9: Ontological, epistemological and pedagogical implications of the study ; chapter 10: Reflections, contributions and recommendations -- References. / The main goal of this study was to deepen an understanding of exploring organisational learning and sustainability using critical action research methodology in a Kenyan context. The research process invloved a group of 23 middle level management emplyees of the National Museums of Kenya (NMK) in identifying and acting on sustainability issues. This group was designed and cultivated as a community of practice for organisational learning purposes. The basic premise underlying the study is that exploring agential, structural and cultural interactions (morphogenetic relationships) through educational interventions (communicative interactions) in a community of practice can deepen context specific understanding of organisational learning and sustainability. I developed this argument by drawing on a complex philosophical framework that brought together assumptions from Archerian social realism, Deweyan pragmatism and critical theory. The framework underpinned three distinct and yet related theoretical perspectives - the Archerian morphogenetic approach. Habermasian critical theory and Lave and Wenger's communities of practice. The Archerian morphogenetic approach and Habermasian critical theory respectively provided ontological and epistemological perspectives for the study. Lave and Wenger's communities of practice approach provided both a unit of analysis (the NMK community) and a social theory of learning to complement the Archerian and Habermasian theoretical perspectives. -- I generated data within a 14-month period between March 2005 and March 2007 in three distinct but integrally intertwined broad action research cycles of inquiry. During the first cycle, the research group identified contextual issues related to organisational learning and sustainability. In the second cycle the group investigated the issues deeper and deliberated possibilities for social change and the emergence of sustainability. The final cycle delineated social learning outcomes from the study and explored ways of institutionalising social change processes. Throughout these cycles, I explored ways of knowing the social reality of enabling organisational learning and sustainability. The cycles were integral to communicative interactions, which I implemented as educational interventions for developing agency in the NMK community of practice. Data analysis was undertaken within cyclical processes of entering and managing data, manual coding and developing categories, identifying themes, presenting results and validating findings. -- Undertaking a collaborative critical organisational analysis of the NMK revealed various contextual factors that both constrained and enabled participant learning capabilities and reflexivity to address sustainability issues. These factors manifested as contextually mediated issues of communication and information flows, decision making and leadership (governance), staff motivation and development, financial management and identity and role of the NMK. The research process promoted collective social action and innovation, forstered critical reflections and reflexivity, enhanced democratic deliberations and strengthened systemic thinking capabilities in the NMK community of practice. This study contributes to the body of literature on environmental education in its employment of a coherent and complex philosophical and thoretical framework for exploring organisational learning and sustainability. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / xvi, 419 p. ill. (some col.)

p. 1 - 215 / Submitted by Santiago Fabio (fabio.ssantiago@hotmail.com) on 2013-01-24T19:28:47Z No. of bitstreams: 1 aaaaa.pdf: 1265400 bytes, checksum: 163be47d0f3787f2684bde31cc1ae05b (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-01-24T19:28:47Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 aaaaa.pdf: 1265400 bytes, checksum: 163be47d0f3787f2684bde31cc1ae05b (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007 / O objetivo geral desta dissertação é analisar como se dão os processos de aprendizagem/compartilhamento de conhecimento em comunidades virtuais de prática, identificando como os conhecimentos individuais se transformam em conhecimentos coletivos. Comunidades de prática existem desde a Antigüidade, entretanto, somente há pouco tempo vêm sendo pesquisadas pela academia e estimuladas pelas organizações líderes. Tais comunidades são vistas como locus privilegiado de aprendizagem e, conseqüentemente, como fontes de vantagem competitiva para as organizações. Mais recentemente, com o advento da Internet, surgiram as comunidades virtuais de prática, que são redes eletrônicas que reúnem, por adesão voluntária, indivíduos comprometidos e engajados numa prática comum e que trocam experiências e conhecimentos a respeito de um tema. Estas distinguem-se das comunidades de prática tradicionais pela ausência da comunicação face-a-face nas interações, as quais são mediadas pelo computador. Apesar de já haver um volume razoável de estudos sobre as comunidades de prática, mormente no exterior, o mesmo não ocorre com as comunidades virtuais de prática. Os dados da pesquisa realizada na comunidade virtual de desenvolvimento de Software Livre DEBIAN-BR-CDD – uma comunidade virtual de prática – obtidos e analisados com base em técnicas qualitativas e quantitativas, corroboraram, em geral, resultados de pesquisas anteriores sobre aprendizagem de indivíduos em situações de trabalho e sobre processos associados de transformação desses conhecimentos adquiridos em conhecimento organizacional ou coletivo, indicando que, mesmo no ambiente virtual, a aprendizagem no plano individual ocorreu, por meio de estratégias acionadas pelos indivíduos, entre as quais, destacaram-se a busca em conhecimentos produzidos pela comunidade, o aprender fazendo e as consultas à comunidade. Esses conhecimentos adquiridos pelos indivíduos foram transformados em conhecimentos da comunidade DEBIAN-BR-CDD através de processos de codificação e socialização. Entre os processos de socialização foram enfatizados interações através de ferramentas assíncronas, especialmente lista de discussão, interações através de ferramentas síncronas e utilização da ferramenta de controle de versão, enquanto que os processos de codificação mais utilizados foram o registro de problemas em banco de dados de falhas, a utilização de ferramenta de controle de versão, a elaboração de manuais técnicos e de bancos de dados de Frequently Asked Questions. Foram ainda encontradas evidências de que, enquanto a tecnologia é indubitavelmente importante para suportar as interações no contexto das comunidades virtuais de prática, aspectos individuais como motivação e o nível de conhecimentos dos participantes, aliados a fatores como a confiança e a identificação destes com a comunidade são vitais para que os indivíduos compartilhem seus conhecimentos na rede, abrindo possibilidades de que a aprendizagem da comunidade venha a ocorrer. / Salvador