<p>I ett aktionsforskningsprojekt om kontaktmannaskap deltog en arbetsgrupp på ett vårdboende i tre fokusgruppssamtal. I problemorienteringsfasen klargjordes kontaktpersonens roller. Dessa roller var <em>relationsskaparen,</em> <em>länken</em> och <em>administratören</em>. Rollen som relationsskapare var den mest givande för kontaktpersonen. Rollerna som relationsskapare och länk var sammanflätade då länken var beroende av att relationen fungerade. Med rollerna som grund genomfördes planeringsfasen där arbetsgruppen diskuterade hur kontaktmannaskapet behövde förändras. För att kunna fullfölja de tre rollerna behövdes utrymme i form av tid, särskilt som relationsskapare och länk. Administratören behövde också tid, men var inte på samma sätt beroende av en relation till vårdtagaren. Gruppen identifierade tre förändringsområden <em>det första mötet</em>, <em>information</em> och <em>informationsöverföring</em>. Det första mötet behövde utvecklas då det var grunden för en god relation som byggde på ömsesidighet och förtroende. En sådan utveckling kräver att kontaktpersonen får tid, men också stöd från enhetschef, sjuksköterska och/eller vice kontaktperson. I aktionsfasen utformade gruppen tillsammans en informationsbroschyr för att förbättra informationen. Planerade första möten har genomförts av kontaktperson och sjuksköterska både på korttidsvård och med besök i den äldres hem. Ett gott kontaktmannaskap kräver inre förutsättningar i form av vilja och kompetens hos kontaktpersonen. Det krävs också yttre förutsättningar i form av tid och stöd.</p> / <p>In an action research project about the system of contact persons a working team in a nursing home participated in three focus group sessions. During the reflection phase the roles of the contact person were established. These roles were <em>the creator of relations</em>, <em>the link</em> and <em>the administrator</em>. The role as the creator of relations was the most rewarding to the contact person. The roles as the creator of relations and the link were intertwined as the link was depending on a good relation. On the basis of the roles, the planning phase continued with discussions about how the system of contact persons could be changed. To fulfil the three roles time was needed, especially as the creator of relations and the link. The administrator also needed time, but was not dependent on a relation to the elderly person in the same way. The working team identified three areas to develop; <em>the first meeting</em>, <em>information</em> and <em>transmission of information</em>. The first meeting was an opportunity to start a good relation based on reciprocity and trust. Apart from time the contact person needed support from the manager, the nurse and/or the vice contact person. In the action phase the working team designed an information brochure to improve the information. Arranged first meetings have been conducted by the contact person and the nurse at the municipal transitory care center and by visit the elderly person’s house. A good system of contact persons demands internal conditions such as the will and competence within the contact person. It also demands external conditions such as time and support.</p><p> </p>

This study focused on composition teachers in elementary and secondary schools who researched their own teaching practices. Specifically, it examined political implications of their work within the larger context of the education hierarchy. Central to this examination were teacher-researcher (t-r) perceptions of and interactions with other members of the education hierarchy (i.e. university researchers, other t-rs, and students). Evidence for this study was gleaned from journal articles, descriptive essays, and conference sessions in which composition studies t-rs and their consultants discussed their work. A rhetorical analysis of what t-rs have said and written, along with an examination of the politically charged origins of the t-r movement support the hypothesis of this study: t-rs research (at least in part) for political empowerment. In the process of researching, t-rs alter their traditionally defined relationships with university researchers, other t-rs, and students. Composition studies offers a natural setting (philosophically and practically) for the t-r movement. / Graduation date: 1993

Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of two models, namely an adaptable wellness programming model and an action research model, when creating and administering a stress management initiative for campus recreation settings that will have a positive effect on freshmen participants at the University of Tennessee. Eight freshmen from the University of Tennessee (6 females, 2 males) volunteered to complete a five week stress management initiative entitled the FROSH! (FResh Out of Stress, & Healthy!) Program which was based upon action research methodology. Program participants completed an exit interview and exit interview questionnaire after the program to determine if their levels of perceived stress had changed and to measure the effect that the program had on each individual. The Perceived Stress Scale was also administered before and after the program to detect any changes in perceived stress levels that participants experienced, but the sample size was too small to detect any significant changes in perceived stress levels. E. T. Stringer’s Categorizing and Coding procedure was used to decode responses from all meetings as well as from the exit interviews. Results indicate that the FROSH! Program was rewarding in various ways for participants, and 86% of participants said that their stress levels had lowered by the conclusion of the program. All participants thought that setting weekly goals was helpful in lowering their stress levels. Furthermore, the revised adaptable program model was perceived to be successful in creating the stress management initiative. It is recommended to increase the number of participants for future programs, and also to test the success of such action research-based wellness programs in campus recreation centers.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 223-241).

Klimpfjäll is a mountain village in the south of Lappland. In the middle of the 1970's a mine was set up in Stekenjokk about 20 km west of Klimpfjäll. A new housing estate was built, as an extension of Klimpfjäll, to accommodate the miners (about 170 people) and their families. This new part of Klimpfjäll was named, by the local inhabitants, Nybyn (The New Village), and the original village became known as Gammelbyn (The Old Village). For many of the people, the move to Nybyn was not just a case of being provided with the opportunity to earn a living. It was part of a life-objective. However, this way of life had an obstacle; the mine had a limited lifespan. A number of Nybyn's inhabitants could possibly remain in the village, even after the closing of the mine, but for the majority this was an impossibility. Nevertheless, the people still believed in the possibility of "saving" Nybyn as a whole, despite the unreasonableness of that belief. This was also the belief held by the local council, the state and the mining company. I have named this phenomenon "mystification". The future of Klimpfjäll became a mystery. The people would rather not discuss the future of Klimpfjäll because they know that it does not exist, they, nevertheless, want to believe in it. It is this mystification that made the establishment of the mine possible, and which holds Nybyn together socially. The Social Welfare Service in Vilhelmina had, for a long time, regarded Klimpfjäll as a social problem. The problem was defined as being traditional social problems, due partly to addiction and partly to loneliness. For this reason an action research project was started. But the real problem for the people of Nybyn was the uncertainty of the future. The project was doomed to fail. Why should the people of Nybyn "go to evening classes" when their village was being threatened with closure? The project became just one element in the continuing mystification. It was not possible to redefine the project as a "survival project", since everyone wanted to believe in a continue future for the mine. In this study I have attempted to understand why it was impossible for the action research project to succeed. In understanding its failure I believe that we can also understand the people of Klimpfjäll. / digitalisering@umu

This thesis aims at describing and analysing the process and content in knowledge development within a research circle. The participants in this circle are seven teachers who work with multilingual children diagnosed within the autism spectrum, and me as a researcher. The study is conducted within the tradition of participatory-oriented research. The research issue concerns the questions these teachers ask themselves in their everyday work. The study, consisting of twelve meetings, was carried out during 2004-2005. In the final meeting material collected in the circle was analysed together by all participants. The knowledge-content analysis disclosed four main themes: mother-tongue issues, disabilities and diagnoses, the issue of frames and matters related to working with parents and other professionals. The results show that once a child is diagnosed within the autism spectrum the diagnosis “takes over” and mother-tongue instruction is seldom discussed. The participants in the circle found it difficult to collaborate with the various authorities involved in working with a child and its family. They also found it difficult to communicate with parents, due to language barriers, different cultural contexts, and the observation that interpreters did not translate properly. The participants noted an existing hierarchy in relation to doctors and psychologists, regarded as having the mandate to assess a child’s ability and suggest placement in class. A conclusion is that the work of the teachers entails a high degree of complexity, and that knowledge meetings and collaboration between parents, teachers, and the various authorities are needed. During the circle process emancipating collective knowledge was constructed transcending what any participant had from the start. Experiences discussed in continuing dialogues, and in an on-going process, seem to be essential for generation of knowledge. When experiences were challenged, potentials for different actions were revealed.

The theme of this thesis is environmental research as a tool for change. In the first part of the thesis a “Situation of Opportunity” is studied, i.e. a situation when the opportunities to reduce negative environmental impacts are larger than usual. The maintenance of a multi- family residential area, here called a Small Neighbourhood, is studied as a series of Situations of Opportunity. To explore the prerequisites for using maintenance as a Situation of Opportunity, two case studies were carried out and reported as a licentiate thesis. The first one on the rental area Idö-Våldö in Stockholm managed by the association Stockholms Kooperativa Bostadsförening (SKB), and the second one on Järven, a housing cooperative in Malmö that cooperates with the management organisation HSB Malmö. In the study the researcher developed long-term environmental strategies based on the planned maintenance of the areas. Besides exploring the prerequisites for using planned maintenance as a Situation of Opportunity, the intention was that the studies would initiate an environmental practice within the areas studied. Results indicated that maintenance, at least in principle, creates many possibilities for reducing negative environmental impacts and that it to some extent also can be used for creating a dialogue between residents and managers. However, the conditions for using maintenance in the cases studied were limited by low interest among the residents as well as the economical and organisational prerequisites of the cases. The studies did not initiate an environmental practice as intended. The reason for that might be the mentioned conditions, but it could also depend on the researcher’s limited knowledge on action-oriented and collaborative research. Thus, the second part of the thesis aims at developing a research methodology for such research. Based on empirical experiences from the Idö-Våldö and Järven-studies and a literature study, a methodology for action-oriented research for environmentally sustainable housing (ARESH) is outlined. It is proposed that methods of action research and of case study methodology could be applied in ARESH. However, there are several potential conflicts in ARESH. The researcher has for instance to judge if the study should be led in the first hand by participants or by researchers, or if it should be more oriented towards theory than practice. One conclusion is that a research methodology for such research needs to be further discussed and also further explored in practice. Since there are indications that a collaborative and action-oriented research is evolving in the field of environmental research, it is hoped that the findings of the thesis can contribute to a discussion on how to carry out research as a tool for change / QC 20110121

I ett aktionsforskningsprojekt om kontaktmannaskap deltog en arbetsgrupp på ett vårdboende i tre fokusgruppssamtal. I problemorienteringsfasen klargjordes kontaktpersonens roller. Dessa roller var relationsskaparen, länken och administratören. Rollen som relationsskapare var den mest givande för kontaktpersonen. Rollerna som relationsskapare och länk var sammanflätade då länken var beroende av att relationen fungerade. Med rollerna som grund genomfördes planeringsfasen där arbetsgruppen diskuterade hur kontaktmannaskapet behövde förändras. För att kunna fullfölja de tre rollerna behövdes utrymme i form av tid, särskilt som relationsskapare och länk. Administratören behövde också tid, men var inte på samma sätt beroende av en relation till vårdtagaren. Gruppen identifierade tre förändringsområden det första mötet, information och informationsöverföring. Det första mötet behövde utvecklas då det var grunden för en god relation som byggde på ömsesidighet och förtroende. En sådan utveckling kräver att kontaktpersonen får tid, men också stöd från enhetschef, sjuksköterska och/eller vice kontaktperson. I aktionsfasen utformade gruppen tillsammans en informationsbroschyr för att förbättra informationen. Planerade första möten har genomförts av kontaktperson och sjuksköterska både på korttidsvård och med besök i den äldres hem. Ett gott kontaktmannaskap kräver inre förutsättningar i form av vilja och kompetens hos kontaktpersonen. Det krävs också yttre förutsättningar i form av tid och stöd. / In an action research project about the system of contact persons a working team in a nursing home participated in three focus group sessions. During the reflection phase the roles of the contact person were established. These roles were the creator of relations, the link and the administrator. The role as the creator of relations was the most rewarding to the contact person. The roles as the creator of relations and the link were intertwined as the link was depending on a good relation. On the basis of the roles, the planning phase continued with discussions about how the system of contact persons could be changed. To fulfil the three roles time was needed, especially as the creator of relations and the link. The administrator also needed time, but was not dependent on a relation to the elderly person in the same way. The working team identified three areas to develop; the first meeting, information and transmission of information. The first meeting was an opportunity to start a good relation based on reciprocity and trust. Apart from time the contact person needed support from the manager, the nurse and/or the vice contact person. In the action phase the working team designed an information brochure to improve the information. Arranged first meetings have been conducted by the contact person and the nurse at the municipal transitory care center and by visit the elderly person’s house. A good system of contact persons demands internal conditions such as the will and competence within the contact person. It also demands external conditions such as time and support.

In what ways can outdoor education be used when teaching immigrants the language of their new country? There is a need to both concretise grammar teaching and diversify teaching methods to bring language acquisition closer to real life situations. By using action research a collaborative study was made with four Finnish teachers in four immigrant language classes by implementing a series of lessons using outdoor education. Focussing on the teacher’s experience qualitative interviews were conducted both before and after the collaborative outdoor lessons. This was supported by observation and student verbal and written evaluation. Both positive and negative aspects of outdoor education were explored in relation to how effective it is as a teaching method and as a method of cultural assimilation and group socialisation. Outdoor education was found to support a sense of group inclusion and strengthen collective group experience. Difficult concepts were dealt with in a more tangible manner which specifically benefited weaker students. By exploring the unfamiliar as a group in a supportive environment constructive outcomes were gained. Being outdoors and using natural materials democratised the cultural meeting. Peer collaboration was demanding but fruitful and should be used more as a developmental tool in education.