Desde a década de 80 o ensino de ciências sofreu diversas transformações. Se antes se buscava formar tecnicistas, hoje se busca formar cidadãos conscientes e críticos capazes de compreender e atuar no mundo em que vivem. Mas ainda hoje as disciplinas de ciências, como a química, são vistas como enfadonhas, difíceis e distantes da realidade, sendo necessário buscar métodos que possam alterar este quadro, como o caso do uso do humor no ensino, que apesar de ser visto com desconfiança, por razões históricas, têm apresentado bons resultados na literatura. Neste trabalho analisa-se o uso de recursos humorísticos, como tirinhas, músicas, vídeos e anedotas, no ensino de química, em uma turma de 1º ano do Ensino Médio, desde o preparo das aulas até as atividades avaliativas, através de uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa com estratégia da pesquisa-ação. Os dados foram coletados mediante uso de questionários, entrevistas e observações e submetidos a uma análise de conteúdo. Os resultados indicam que os alunos veem, na disciplina, potencial de se relacionar com o cotidiano, mas ainda assim a julgam com estereótipos tradicionalistas, e com isso anseiam por aulas que sejam diferentes das habituais. Dessa maneira, o uso dos recursos mencionados mostrou-se eficiente por dinamizar as aulas, promover interações sociais, despertar o interesse dos alunos, contextualizar o conteúdo exposto e trazer impactos positivos na memória dos estudantes. Por outro lado foi preciso cautela com o conteúdo humorístico utilizado, a frequência de utilização dos recursos e o controle da sala de aula. Foi possível também acompanhar a identificação de um perfil docente. E por fim destacar a importância da pesquisa-ação para aproximar a pesquisa e a sala de aula. / From the 80s to the present day science education has undergone several transformations. If before it was sought to form tecnicists today seeks to educate aware and critics citizens, who can understand and act in the world in which they live. But even science subjects such as chemistry, are seen as boring, difficult and far from reality, being necessary to find out methods that can change this situation, as the case of the use of humor in teaching, that despite being viewed with suspicion, for historical reasons, have shown good results in the literature. In this work we analyze the use of humorous resources, like strips, songs, videos and anecdotes, in teaching chemistry in a class of 1st year of high school, from the preparation of classes until the evaluation activities, through a survey qualitative research with action research strategy. Data were collected by use of questionnaires, interviews and observations and subjected to content analysis. The results indicate that students see the potential to relate chemistry to the everyday, but still judge it under traditionalists stereotypes, and thus crave for classes that are different from the usual. Thus, the use of resources was efficient for streamline classes, promote social interactions, arouse the interest of students, contextualize content exposed and have a positive impact in the minds of students. On the other hand, it was necessary caution with humorous content used, the frequency of use of resources and control of the classroom. It can also track the identification of a teacher profile. Finally highlight the importance of action research to approach the research and the classroom.

Ancorada na perspectiva de pesquisa proposta pelos Estudos Culturais e de Gênero, realizo essa tese que tem como objetivo descrever e analisar o movimento de inserção dos meninos no universo cultural da Ginástica Rítmica (GR) a partir das iniciativas da Federação Riograndense de Ginástica (FRG). Baseada nos/as autores/as que operam com a terminologia gênero como categoria de análise relacional temos que as masculinidades e as feminilidades são produzidas e reproduzidas em diferentes espaços, culturas e tempos. O esporte como um campo generificado também apresenta meninos e meninas atletas de diferentes maneiras e, com isso, produz e reproduz masculinidades e feminilidades possíveis de serem representadas. Analisando alguns livros técnicos/didáticos de GR podemos perceber como a modalidade foi criada e pensada de/para mulheres. Porém, estudar, discutir e rediscutir as possibilidades de meninos praticarem GR no Brasil se faz necessária em todos os âmbitos do ensino da Educação Física (da Educação Física escolar aos eventos competitivos), uma vez que a GR praticada atualmente já não é a mesma GR praticada na época de sua criação. Através da realização de pesquisa-ação na FRG, programando regulamentos que contemplem a participação dos meninos em eventos e competições de GR, busco visibilizar que os meninos podem ser pensados como praticantes em potencial dessa prática esportiva, assim multiplicando as formas de pertencer ao universo cultural da GR. As repercussões dessa iniciativa do RS também são analisadas e apontam para a necessidade de uma institucionalização das ações com esse intuito, através das entidades responsáveis pela organização da modalidade no Brasil. / Based in research perspective proposed by the Cultural and Gender Studies, realize this thesis aims to describe and analyze the insertion movement of the boys in the cultural universe of Rhythmic Gymnastics (RG) from the initiatives of Riograndense Gymnastics Federation (RGF) . Based on the author those operating with gender terminology such as relational analysis category have to masculinities and femininities are produced and reproduced in different places, cultures and times. Sport as a gendered field also features boys and girls athletes in different ways and, therefore, produces and reproduces possible masculinity and femininity to be represented. Analyzing some technical books of RG we can see how the sport was created and thought of/for women. However, study, discuss and re-discuss the possibilities for boys practice RG in Brazil is needed in all areas of teaching physical education (school physical education to competitive events), since the RG currently practiced is no longer the same RG practiced at the time of its creation. By conducting action research in the RGF, programming regulations to cover the participation of boys in events and RG competitions, I try to visualize that boys can be thought of as potential practitioners of this sport practice, thus multiplying forms of belonging to the cultural universe RG. The repercussions of this initiative are also analyzed and point to the need for institutionalization of actions to this end, through the entities responsible for the organization of the sport in Brazil.

Through the use of action research methodology, this exploratory study examines the relationship between explicit grammar teaching and the development of year 8 students’ metalinguistic knowledge. The research particularly focuses on exploring the transfer of new grammatical knowledge into the students’ own writing, as well as charting their abilities to articulate the design decisions underpinning their linguistic choices. Throughout the research, students were encouraged to employ a range of supportive self-regulation strategies to meet the cognitive demands of writing. The research was conducted over one academic year and involved three different teaching and reflection cycles. Three students, with differing attainment levels, were selected at the start of the research process to be case studies. Their written work was analysed at five different points during the year: a pre-test writing assessment; a post teaching test assessment and after each of the three teaching cycles. Students were also encouraged to write reflective commentaries outlining their linguistic and grammatical choices. These data sets were complemented by the addition of case study participant interviews which were conducted within a few weeks of completing their written assessments. Both the commentaries and interviews were used to elicit students’ metalinguistic reflections regarding their written texts and the writing process as a whole. This data was inductively coded and analysed in order to identify patterns in students’ reflections. The findings are presented in case study form, highlighting individual student’s transfer and articulation of their new grammatical knowledge. This study reinforces recent research into the complexities associated with bridging the gap between grammar transfer and grammar articulation and therefore contributes to the growing body of research in this area.

The need for change and improvement in the construction sector has been well documented. The recent economic downturn, greater levels of competition, increasing product complexity, regulatory requirements and tougher environmental targets are all examples of current challenges that continue to add weight to this requirement and accelerate the pace in which the sector must respond. It is widely agreed that it is through innovation, which can be defined as the successful exploitation of an idea, that construction firms will be able to create and exploit solutions in response to many of these challenges. In response, more and more construction firms are seeking ways to manage innovation in a more strategic and conscientious manner. However, there is little practical guidance for construction professionals on how this can be achieved and progress towards the optimisation of intra-organisational innovation in construction is widely considered to have been slow. Progress has been hindered by a lack of research and understanding of innovation in the construction context. There is an urgent need to address this and equip construction firms with practical and effective approaches for improved innovation management. This thesis presents an action research project that has developed and tested two interventions aimed at improving the management of innovation at the intra-organisational level within a major construction, engineering and associated services firm. The first intervention comprised of a stage-gate idea management process, a support network of innovation champions and a web-based tool for capturing, storing and reporting on ideas, with the purpose of providing a new platform for innovation outside the normal scope and boundaries of a single project. The second intervention included an online resource that provided tools and guidance for innovation with the purpose of promoting and providing practical support for those seeking to facilitate innovation in their projects or teams. Evaluation of the first intervention has revealed a number of important results, including the improved performance of budgets for innovation, increased employee satisfaction with levels of support for innovation, improvement in self-reported innovation performance and an increased portfolio of innovation projects. Usability testing of the second intervention suggests that it is a valuable tool that encourages and supports innovation at the project level. The thesis concludes by outlining a number of recommendations for consideration by the industry, along with suggestions for future research.

This thesis concerns the development of a diagramming technique which assists in the specification of information systems requirements. The technique is called the Business Rules Diagram (BRD) although earlier versions were given different names. The term development in the title of this thesis is defined here to include both the work involved in designing the BRD as well as testing its usefulness. So, the scope of this research covers research activity starting from the original idea for the diagram through to testing its usefulness.Action research was the research method used. In all, two major action research studies were undertaken. The first involved working with an analyst only. The second involved working with an analyst and users.

This PhD by project outlines research conducted in 2007 on the Thai Burma border, introducing social work education to Burmese health and community workers. In addition to experiencing physical and social upheaval, workers have little access to general education or training in relation to their work with refugees and displaced people. A request from the director of a Refugee Health Clinic to provide social work education for local workers led to my research question: How do I develop and teach a culturally relevant, cross cultural, sustainable social work curriculum for Burmese health and community workers on the Thai Burma border? The project consists of a product: three manuals of curriculum developed on the border and written for use by future visitors or locally trained workers, and an exegesis: an exploration of the research, methodology and a detailed analysis of my product in the context of the literature. The exegesis is organised around three main themes. First is the intersection of social work education and international social work, with a critique of colonialist impositions of Western social work in developing Asian countries. This section considers what constitutes relevant social work and social work education in this context. The second theme examines the researcher's attempts to suspend her assumptions and create a learning exchange through culturally sensitive social relationships that acknowledge and scrutinize power relations within the Burma border context. The final theme raises questions of critical pedagogy. Key differences in beliefs about educational purpose and approaches can be identified between Asia and the Western world. The project employed adult learning principles and explored the challenges of teaching critical thinking. Based on a participatory action research model, the curriculum design process attempted to be collaborative, inclusive and recursive. As a corollary, the project created a community of practice that continues to meet and work together towards social justice for migrants on the border, concepts that were not known to the participants prior to the training program. The project aimed to connect international social work education to social work's core missions of emancipation, human rights and activism on the Thai Burma border. The themes are transferable to other sites of social work in the Asia-Pacific region where social development precedes the practice and teaching of social work.

This study explores how reflection upon oneself and one's own behaviour assists people - and, in particular, managers - to develop. Reflective techniques are examined in the context of action-learning (Revans, 1980 and Marsick, 1992) and are argued to be a powerful means of creating self-understanding, which in turn creates opportunities for self-directed personal change. Reflective techniques are also examined as a means of developing the personal craft or praxis of those who try to assist the development of managers, and as a technique for use in action research (Lewin, 1946) and the development of collective knowledge. Schon's (1987) concept of the 'reflective practitioner' provided a major theoretical foundation for this work. The study employed action research and action learning methodologies. The researcher spent six years honing her understanding and application of reflective techniques in assisting the development of managers. She also applied self-reflection to the development of her own praxis over that time. One result of the study has been the enhancement of the practical, reflection-based techniques used by the writer to facilitate the development of managers - and more importantly, offered to them to facilitate their own continuing development. Hopefully, these techniques will be of value to other practitioners in this field. A second outcome has been the review and refinement of some of the theoretical constructs used by this writer and other practitioners and theorists which help to describe and explain the phenomenon of reflection-based behavioural change. A third outcome has been the documentation of a case-study in the application of reflective techniques to the development of personal praxis, tracking the integration of conceptual understanding and technique. Chapter 1 provides an overview of the rationale, scope, methodology and outcomes of this study. Chapter 2 explores reflection as a technique for research and the development of collective knowledge, and incorporates a review of the relevant literature. Chapters 3 and 5 examine reflection as a tool for learning, drawing on the literature and tracking the development of the researcher's own understanding. Chapter 4 describes how the researcher learned to use reflective learning techniques when working with others and follows the gradual integration of her understanding with her practice. Chapter 6 summarises and reflects upon both the processes and the outcomes of the research.

A journey comprised of three paths is the metaphor through which I i) reflect and report on my involvement with four New Zealand primary school Boards of Trustees (BOTs) investigating the emancipatory potential that applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) may have on their governance processes, ii) analyse appreciative inquiry through application(s) of critical theory, with specific reference to the investigation above so as to deepen understanding of the research method, and iii) reflect on my personal development, as achieved through my engagement with participants and the research process. Stemming from an interest in improving school governance I was keen to identify current use of ICTs by BOTs and to work with them to identify potential applications. Appreciative inquiry with its focus on enhancing existing positive organisational attributes seemed to provide an appropriate structure for my investigation. At the back of my mind however, a concern was formulating: Does this method of research deliver the benefits the literature espouses? What influence would the positive orientation have on the research process and on the power dynamics within the research environment? Complementary streams of critical thinking and reflexivity were invoked to assist my analysis. Applications of ICTs which may appear 'helpful' to BOT governance processes are identified in this report. However, uncritical uptake of these applications may not necessarily be consistent with the emancipatory intentions I aspire to. Framed within Habermas' theory of communicative action, the potential colonisation of the BOT lifeworld by the system is considered. Domesticating influences may potentially constrain democratic processes at local school and societal levels. The participatory action research process undertaken facilitated a deepened understanding of governance for all involved. Identification of time and funding constraints indicates BOTs may be prevented from reaching their true potential. Attempts to enhance governance through additional applications of ICTs will be of minimal effect unless efforts are made to better understand and resource the governance efforts of Trustees. Purported empowerment of the community as mandated in the Education Act 1989 comes with a heavy cost, for schools and individuals. Care must be taken to ensure that 'efficiency' gains are not made at the expense of democratic processes. Critical analysis of appreciative inquiry as a research method highlights the influences of power and language use within the research process. Appreciative inquiry should be seen as a process for, rather than a master of change. The contribution of appreciative inquiry to organisational and personal transformation may be drawn from the ontological basis of the approach rather than from the technicalities of a specific form of implementation. I suggest the focus on what is 'good' be made more complex, to recognise that appreciation may also mean 'to know, to be conscious of, to take full and sufficient account of'. Application of an enhanced definition of appreciation has deepened my understanding of not only the situation under investigation but also the research process itself. Through my enhanced concept of 'appreciation' embedded and sometimes obscured influences were highlighted, better understood, and at times transformed to serve the emancipatory aspirations of participants. In keeping with the reflexivity mandated by my commitment to critical theory and action research, I applied this enhanced definition of appreciation to my personal development during my engagement with participants and the research process. My struggles to apply my chosen social constructionist and critical theory lenses to this work are evident in my attempts to work with the largely functionalist literature in this field and the influence of my undergraduate education. Recognising the theoretical and personal developments I gained as I travelled the three paths of my PhD journey, the scene is now set for me to challenge the predominance of functionalist, mechanistic metaphors which dominate organisational literature. In doing so, I seek an alternative approach to understanding organisational activity; and a new vocabulary through which I might extend my understanding, and negotiate new and emancipatory meaning(s) with others.

My abiding concern with human and planetary wellbeing and an emerging interest in the potential of Participatory Action Research as a method of engaging with restorative, life-enhancing ways of being are central to the research reported here. Chomsky (2003), Kelsey (2002), Roddick (2001), and Stiglitz (2003) are amongst many authors who argue that the way in which we shape and are shaped by our relationships with one another has contributed to an intolerable, inhumane and unsustainable compromise of human and planetary wellbeing. Through a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project with staff from Te Ra, a community based on the holistic ideals of Rudolf Steiner, and thus an organisation explicitly committed to holistic wellbeing of people and planet, we sought to explore the challenges to such wellbeing. While our mutual attention was focused on enhancing staff wellbeing at their place of employment, my wider attention was also given to an investigation of the value of a critical analysis to the wider political and economic context in which this organisation works to meet the aspirations of this community. My deep attention has also focused on the potential for PAR to make a contribution to the transformational aspirations of critical theorists who are concerned to uncover and transform aspects of society that inhibit justice and wellbeing of people and planet. My metaphor of choice, to allow me the engagement in all three spheres simultaneously, is the metaphor of Dance. In my work with the staff of Te Ra, our intent was to 'dance with the Shadows', alluding to Jungian references to hidden aspects of ourselves and this community, to discover if un-wellness and disconnection from self and others could be transformed into flourishing relationships and wellbeing in the organisation. McNiff (2000) proposes that PAR has the potential to generate living theories that redefine the main purpose of organisation theory in terms of human wellbeing. Throughout this research project, principles of PAR are woven in with work of critical organisational theorists, psychologists and anthropologists. The already established ideas of reflection, observation, reflexivity, and action are choreographed with the less often considered ideas of those aspects of the research relationship that may inhibit mutuality. While this organisation is explicitly and deeply committed to underpinning all that is aspired to with a relational ethic, the impact that instrumental practices associated with an intensifying neo-liberal economic external environment have not left this organisation untouched. It took commitment, courage and resources to identify and engage with the Shadows masked by intrinsic and extrinsic pressures and processes that these research participants were experiencing. Engaging in PAR processes allowed us dance 'up close and personal' with their aspirations to begin transforming what was not well, while recognising and reinforcing the organisation's existing strong philosophical and spiritual foundations that emphasized individual freedom and collective responsibility for wellbeing of all. Based on the significant transformations achieved during this project we posit that PAR provides a collaborative opportunity for academics and practitioners to 'dance with the Shadows' of individuals and communities to make a significant contribution to the development of sustainable relationships in workplaces where human and planetary wellbeing is the priority.

This thesis is about exploring possibilities for improving the situation of a rural community in the Philippines. The philosophy. theories and assumptions underlying are discussed. This research which fulfilled its primary intent of fostering change through action also served as a verification of the value and usefulness of a Participatory Systemic Action Research. The role of participation in an emancipatory process is highlighted. The research process, following the methodological framework of Soft Systems Methodology, is described. Based upon the experience of a participative research, a critique of the Soft Systems Methodology is forwarded. The emergent outcomes of the research are also discussed / University of Western Sydney