Th1s study investigates the terms, dialogue, structure and active learning in Open Distance learning texts in aa constructivist and problem-solving approach. In-text activities are imbedded in selfstudy texts. Their construct is validated against appropriate instructional design and learning theories for active learning. A course team developed, implemented and piloted a Unisa course for mathematics teachers in South Africa. The results describe their professional development through action learning. The Tornado-approach affects teams in organisations. A team used participatory action research and action learning with rich descriptions to document the longitudinal case study of four action research cycles over eight years. Qualitative research involved a literature survey, notes, portfolios, mindmaps, letters, interviews, document analyses, and assessment results. Our action research demonstrates ways to implement a post-modern learning design in an industrialized· institution. The researcher applies action learning in professional development, in team management, and suggests models for successful/unsuccessful teams (tornado-effect).

This single case study in Peace Education (PE) was conducted in Central Mexico where violence is manifest in different ways and consequently, PE may be an important intervention. The aim of this study was to acquire an understanding of the impact of PE in Mexico and to understand how students conceptualize peace and violence and how these phenomena impact their aspirations. Participants in this study were a school principal, teachers as well as 9th grade students from a telesecundaria. This research produced a number of key findings: Mexico does not have one concrete conception of PE; the student participants’ definition of peace and violence reflect their reality; and their aspirations can be commensurate with the principles of PE. One of the main conclusions drawn from this study is that although there are a several practices of PE in Mexico, the country needs one concrete proposal of PE tailored to its specific reality.

This single case study in Peace Education (PE) was conducted in Central Mexico where violence is manifest in different ways and consequently, PE may be an important intervention. The aim of this study was to acquire an understanding of the impact of PE in Mexico and to understand how students conceptualize peace and violence and how these phenomena impact their aspirations. Participants in this study were a school principal, teachers as well as 9th grade students from a telesecundaria. This research produced a number of key findings: Mexico does not have one concrete conception of PE; the student participants’ definition of peace and violence reflect their reality; and their aspirations can be commensurate with the principles of PE. One of the main conclusions drawn from this study is that although there are a several practices of PE in Mexico, the country needs one concrete proposal of PE tailored to its specific reality.

Students enrolled for the Network Systems III module at the Vaal University of Technology are experiencing problems with passing this module. Many of them fail due to the fact that they do not understand the subnet masking part of it. In an attempt to increase the students' pass rate, this study will make additional study material available to them, complying with their learning style preferences. This material will be available as elearning material on the Internet. The usage and success of elearning material implies a holistic approach towards learning styles. Learning styles consist of different interrelated learning elements. This study will make use of an action research approach comprising four phases. In the first phase, different learning styles are diagnosed by means of a literature study. The information obtained is applied to compile an interpretive questionnaire for completion by students. This questionnaire will enable the researcher to do an empirical study with regard to their learning preferences. The data obtained from the questionnaires will be analysed and information obtained will be applied to make additional module related elearning material available on the Internet. During the second phase, results obtained from the empirical investigation will be used to develop elearning material on subnetting, while also addressing the identified learning styles of participants. The elearning material is provided on the Moodle learning management system, enabling students to use it according to their own preferences. In the third phase, the success of the intervention on the elearning material is investigated. In this phase, the activities of students using the elearning material are analysed and tests and examination results processed to determine whether there is any correlation between time spent on elearning material and these results. The usage of elearning material is tested by means of an interpretive questionnaire to the students. The last part of the action research approach deals with the question of whether the research was conducted successfully. A second iteration of the process proved the results to be satisfactory. The elearning material was positively received by students participating in the research, while a growing interest in this material was noticed from the last semester in 2007 to the first semester in 2008. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

As South Africa is one of the countries with the highest HIVJAids prevalence in the world, many South Africans are affected by the pandemic. One of the structures being endangered by the HIVJAids pandemic is the education system. Educators are especially affected by the impact of the pandemic due to the fact that they not only have to cope with infected colleagues who are often absent, but are also burdened with numerous orphans and vulnerable children at their schools because of the pandemic. Sometimes these affected educators even have to care for their own loved ones who suffer from or die of the disease. The impact of the pandemic is personal stress, such as depression and suicidal ideation, plus professional impairment such as through increased workload and staff negativity. Affected educators are vulnerable, struggle to cope and are desperately in need of support, due to the pressure they experience regarding the pandemic. Current literature reports little support for educators affected by HIVJAids with regard to the personal and professional impact of the pandemic. This study focuses on determining the efficacy of REds (Resilient Educators), a support programme compiled to empower educators who are affected by HIVJAids, the implementation of which was also piloted by this study. A qualitative research design which included experimental and action research which focused on the latter (action research) was used. A purposive convenience sample consisting of eight volunteers from local primary schools participated. The researcher made use of a mixed-methods design for the pre and post-tests which included both qualitative and quantitative measuring instruments. REds was implemented over a period of nine consecutive weeks in a group setting and was continuously evaluated by the participants who proposed changes in order to improve the programme. In spite of being realistic about the obstacles they will face with regard to the HIVIAids pandemic, participants reported to be relieved, empowered and motivated to fight the effects of the pandemic. The quantitative results show some improvement in participants' experience of secondary trauma resulting from the impact of the pandemic. The results suggest that REds was efficacious, but that educators need continued support. Some modification of REds is also suggested action research affected impact. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

As South Africa is one of the countries with the highest HIVJAids prevalence in the world, many South Africans are affected by the pandemic. One of the structures being endangered by the HIVJAids pandemic is the education system. Educators are especially affected by the impact of the pandemic due to the fact that they not only have to cope with infected colleagues who are often absent, but are also burdened with numerous orphans and vulnerable children at their schools because of the pandemic. Sometimes these affected educators even have to care for their own loved ones who suffer from or die of the disease. The impact of the pandemic is personal stress, such as depression and suicidal ideation, plus professional impairment such as through increased workload and staff negativity. Affected educators are vulnerable, struggle to cope and are desperately in need of support, due to the pressure they experience regarding the pandemic. Current literature reports little support for educators affected by HIVJAids with regard to the personal and professional impact of the pandemic. This study focuses on determining the efficacy of REds (Resilient Educators), a support programme compiled to empower educators who are affected by HIVJAids, the implementation of which was also piloted by this study. A qualitative research design which included experimental and action research which focused on the latter (action research) was used. A purposive convenience sample consisting of eight volunteers from local primary schools participated. The researcher made use of a mixed-methods design for the pre and post-tests which included both qualitative and quantitative measuring instruments. REds was implemented over a period of nine consecutive weeks in a group setting and was continuously evaluated by the participants who proposed changes in order to improve the programme. In spite of being realistic about the obstacles they will face with regard to the HIVIAids pandemic, participants reported to be relieved, empowered and motivated to fight the effects of the pandemic. The quantitative results show some improvement in participants' experience of secondary trauma resulting from the impact of the pandemic. The results suggest that REds was efficacious, but that educators need continued support. Some modification of REds is also suggested action research affected impact. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2007.

Current literature on the developmentally disabled indicates they represent a large untapped labor pool that is significantly inhibited in its inclusion in the community. To address this unnecessary isolation, Right in the Community (RitC), a voluntary agency in Cobb County, Georgia, wanted to innovate its service offering by providing meaningful and sustainable work opportunities for those that are severely developmentally disabled. The Competing Values Framework (CVF) offers a dynamic and robust theoretical framework that has been adapted to explain many business factors in addition to organizational effectiveness. Based on a fourteen-month action research engagement at RitC, I adapted the CVF to concentrate on the dimensions of organizational focus, strategy formation and motivational traits to understand and guide service innovation in a voluntary organization. My research aided RitC’s development of a program to provide meaningful and sustainable work opportunities for those that are severely developmentally disabled. From a theoretical standpoint, I have added new knowledge on managing service innovation in voluntary organizations and adapted CVF for understanding and guiding service innovation in that particular context.

Students enrolled for the Network Systems III module at the Vaal University of Technology are experiencing problems with passing this module. Many of them fail due to the fact that they do not understand the subnet masking part of it. In an attempt to increase the students' pass rate, this study will make additional study material available to them, complying with their learning style preferences. This material will be available as elearning material on the Internet. The usage and success of elearning material implies a holistic approach towards learning styles. Learning styles consist of different interrelated learning elements. This study will make use of an action research approach comprising four phases. In the first phase, different learning styles are diagnosed by means of a literature study. The information obtained is applied to compile an interpretive questionnaire for completion by students. This questionnaire will enable the researcher to do an empirical study with regard to their learning preferences. The data obtained from the questionnaires will be analysed and information obtained will be applied to make additional module related elearning material available on the Internet. During the second phase, results obtained from the empirical investigation will be used to develop elearning material on subnetting, while also addressing the identified learning styles of participants. The elearning material is provided on the Moodle learning management system, enabling students to use it according to their own preferences. In the third phase, the success of the intervention on the elearning material is investigated. In this phase, the activities of students using the elearning material are analysed and tests and examination results processed to determine whether there is any correlation between time spent on elearning material and these results. The usage of elearning material is tested by means of an interpretive questionnaire to the students. The last part of the action research approach deals with the question of whether the research was conducted successfully. A second iteration of the process proved the results to be satisfactory. The elearning material was positively received by students participating in the research, while a growing interest in this material was noticed from the last semester in 2007 to the first semester in 2008. / Thesis (M.Sc. (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

This health services study employed a participatory action research (PAR) approach to engage nurse practitioners (NPs) from two health authorities in British Columbia in separate and concurrent inquiry groups to examine the research question: How does collaboration advance NP role integration within primary health care (PHC)? The inquiry with NPs is significant and timely, because the introduction of the NP role was only recently formalized in BC, supported by the passage of legislation and regulation, and the introduction of graduate education programs. For this PAR study, a first-, second-, third-person action research framework was adapted and applied to facilitate graduate student research. PAR fostered an iterative process of social investigation, education, and action, in which NPs strengthened their relations, shared and generated practice and policy knowledge, and engaged in collective visioning and action to improve health care delivery. The findings of this PAR study include design and substantiation of an ecological framework about collaborative health care culture. This collaborative culture framework was applied to and substantiated by the NP inquiry discussions. NP practice patterns were examined and found to parallel the PHC principles, indicating the importance of the NP role to PHC renewal efforts. The meaning of role integration was explicated and collaboration was found to be foundational to NP practice. The study revealed the political nature of the NP role and the extent to which NPs are reliant on collaborative relations at all levels of the health system to attain role integration. Given that NP role development is still at an early stage in this province, this study provides important information about the current progress of role implementation and direction for future role advancement.

This research explores how Participatory Video (PV) can facilitate empowerment and strengthen dialogue and engagement for public policy with members of recycling cooperatives and government in the greater metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil. The research project provided opportunities for catadores/as (‘recyclers’) to explore PV as a way to shed light on their livelihood challenges, but also as an approach to celebrate, demonstrate and legitimize the value and significance of their work to local government and community. Working through a participatory approach, twenty-two leaders from eleven cooperatives were involved in all aspects of the video-making process, from script writing to filming, group editing and knowledge mobilization. The research took place during nine months of fieldwork located in four municipalities in the greater metropolitan region of São Paulo, Brazil using multiple ethnographic and participatory methods. The methodology for this research is action-oriented, and applies a participatory community-based multi-methods approach. The purpose of the videos was to relay the message that catadores/as perform a valuable service to society, and through the organization of cooperatives have the capacity to be further supported and integrated into waste management programs. The videos were used as a tool for communication with government and for community outreach. This research is supported through the Participatory Sustainable Waste Management (PSWM) project, a six-year Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) funded University Partnership project (2005-2011). The overall purpose of the participatory-based PSWM project was to increase the effectiveness, safety, and income generation of organized waste recycling in originally four and later six Brazilian municipalities in the metropolitan region of São Paulo: Santo André, Diadema, Ribeirão Pires, São Bernardo do Campo, Mauá and some parts of the municipality of São Paulo. The capacity building activities and actions of the PSWM project have contributed to structure, organize and strengthen cooperative recycling enterprises and their members, for example, by setting up a pilot project on micro-credit and advancing the practice of solidarity economy through collective commercialization and networking of the recyclers in the region. In addition, the project has helped create a more inclusive culture amongst the local governments in this region, where many recyclers are now present in political meetings and decision making related to waste management. Unfortunately, this is not the case in all the municipalities and there are still barriers to participatory models in decision-making and a lack of political support. Findings support the conclusion that PV can be a powerful methodological tool contributing to the process of individual, community and organizational empowerment and is significant for democratic governance and the increasingly popular notion of the knowledge democracy. This research also has policy relevance and practical application. The findings have the capacity to inform models of participatory governance, and improved democratic processes in addressing complex urban development challenges, in addition to advancing practices in government accountability and transparency. / Graduate / 0344 / 0700 / 0999 / crystaltre@gmail.com