The purpose of this research was to explore how a medium-sized, not-for-profit social services organization could strategically engage culturally diverse women in Canada between the ages of 30-50 in activities that would help to achieve the organization's strategic objectives. Research was related to determining the current state of engaging this population and the actions SOS could take to enhance engagement. Action research involved staff, volunteers, donors and representatives of other organizations. Research findings revealed a connection between engaging stakeholders and growing the organization, in particular engagement through dialogue on issues associated with orphaned and abandoned children using methods that address the diverse preferences of this population. Recommendations included targeting corporate marketing and communication efforts to create meaningful interactions, creating messages centred on issues, and developing organizational capacity to strategically plan and manage this kind of stakeholder engagement. This study was of minimal risk and adhered to RRU Ethical Guidelines.

This dissertation describes a research study that investigated cooperative inquiry as a strategy for professional learning of inner-city school principals in a large urban centre in Western Canada. The study attempted to identify the central issues of concern and means of redress for school leaders in high-poverty communities, many of which focused on educational leadership, school management, the context of their schools within impoverished communities, and the challenges of personal well-being. The findings suggest that cooperative inquiry was an effective strategy in that the approach was participatory, democratic, empowering, life-enhancing, and fostered community-building among participants. The findings also suggest that the approach was effective in that it was grounded in the action research cycle of planning, action, observation, and reflection. The study further examined the use of dialogue as a means of constructing knowledge regarding these issues, and identified the ways in which such knowledge impacts upon the professional practice of these principals. Findings suggest that participants gained knowledge from each other, offered knowledge from others, constructed knowledge together as a group, and developed deeper understandings of their own perspectives. Findings also suggest that meaning is lost when dialogic interactions are transcribed into print. Thus, dialogue is a form of communication in and of itself, one that cannot simply be transformed into the written word without losing part of that dialogic essence. Further, this study posits that dialogue has unique power to be both a process for meaning making, as well as an ontological means of clarifying one’s own sense of reality.

This thesis aimed to develop a clearer understanding of the academic and psychological patterns of elite student-athletes. In particular, it takes a psychological perspective on how these dual role individuals cope with potential role conflict and maintain balance in their lives. The thesis is comprised of four studies: Study I investigated the academic outcomes (grade point averages) and academic preparation (A level points) of 120 elite British student-athletes compared to the average of their non student-athlete peers (n = 5395). The results showed that firstly, some student-athletes - in particular those who were male, younger and who played team sports - were more academically 'at risk' than others. Study 2 presented a systematic review of student-athlete psychological outcomes. A variety of research implications were found, including the need to; measure student-athlete role conflict; link objective and psychological outcomes in the same study; measure student outcomes as well as athletic ones; utilise a studentathlete specific measure of career maturity; research the elite British student-athlete experience; and undertake comparative U.S./U.K. student-athlete research. Study 3 took its lead from the implications of the systematic review. Firstly, Study 3a aimed to construct and initially validate a multidimensional and bidirectional measure of student-athlete role conflict, using the conceptualisations of work-family role conflict from the organisational psychology literature (Carlson, Kacmar and Williams, 2000). The outcome of this study was a 23-item measure of student-athlete role conflict. Secondly, Study 3b aimed to use the role conflict. measure to investigate the psychosocial patterns of elite student- athletes finding that objective outcomes (e.g. GPA, sporting level, hours in role), identity, role conflict and career maturity associate and differ in ways that would be anticipated, i.e. sport with sport and academic with academic (including career maturity). In particular, career maturity positively associated with student identity. However, higher nonexclusive and more intrinsically committed identities helped protect against role conflict. Thus, from a personality perspective, to maintain one's identity balance, the study concluded that one could either adopt appropriate role behaviours or increase role commitment. Study 3c compared U.K. and U.S. student-athletes finding that, although no different in terms of overall GPA and career maturity, U.S. studentathletes experienced significantly more role conflict and were motivated significantly more extrinsically in both their sport and study compared to U.K. student-athletes. Study 4 used a cyclical and collaborative action research approach to understand and respond to a specific elite British student-athlete environment. Role conflict issues were identified and tackled bye ither behavioural psychoeducational programming or by structural management recommendations. The programme of research in this thesis highlights the benefit of taking a psychological perspective on the student-athlete experience. In particular it suggests that college sport can be more than developing one's sporting ability whilst becoming academically qualified. When structured in a developmentally appropriate way, sport and study can act as complementary activities to enhance personal development.

In the 1990s, Senge advocated building the Learning Organization by practicing five disciplines. Facing the uncertainties of a rapidly changing marketplace, the competitiveness between organizations has become conspicuously important. Therefore, learning, and acting faster than competitors is critical in the success of companies' existence, management and development. / Organizational Learning (OL) and renewed competence help an organization to better understand the actual situation, gain new knowledge, and adopt effective, innovative and coordinated action to suit the fast changing environment. Kurt Lewin (1946) first used the phrase 'action research'. Action research (AR) is a methodology which that uses an action spiral of planning, action, observation and reflection (including evaluation) to find facts, solve problems, and improve performance. Performance Management is also a continuing process, through the development of individuals and teams to promote organizational performance. The main purpose of performance management is to link individuals and teams to organizational goals for continuously enhancing their performance. / The action researcher first reviewed the literature about organizational learning, learning organizations, and action research and performance management; and brought up some new viewpoints and developments. Secondly, this study led to the design of a systematic framework (OL-WA model) including the organization's concerns, organizational learning, willingness to act, and organizational performance, to increase the research performance (i.e. main competitive advantage of the university) at Chienkuo Technology University (CTU) in Taiwan. Finally, this study used the methods of organizational learning, action research, performance management, and survey questionnaires to manage and enhance the research performance. Considering the improvement through implementing the above methods and critical factors that influence research performance at CTU, the findings, analysis and serial actions being explored should help bring out some valuable academic contributions and helpful experiences, knowledge and constructive suggestions for the academic and business circles in Taiwan. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Action research methods using Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) and Logico-Linguistic Modelling (LLM) were used to investigate and model decisions made in the buying of industrial machinery by twelve companies in Thailand. The research was exploratory and attempted to discover if SSM and LLM models could be used to structure problems that were common to more than one organization. The research also sought to discover if SSM could be used to build models in the Thai language and in a Thai cultural environment. The experiment can be considered a success in so far as the participants found the results both interesting and informative. Also the research produced a considerable amount of new information that can be used in the marketing of industrial machinery. However, neither the SSM models nor the LLM models could be used in the way their authors had intended. The logical and epistemological status of the models could not be explained in the available contact time. As a result the researcher developed a simplified modelling method. The theoretical conclusion is that a simplified version of SSM/LLM needs to be developed to structure problems that transcend organization boundaries. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Thesis (MEd - Curriculum Leadership) -- University of South Australia, 1992

The university-level environmental studies subject Living in the Environment moved online progressively over two years. A Web-based version of the pre-existing subject was designed, implemented and evaluated over five semesters during 1997 and 1998. By the end of 1998, an online version of the subject was functioning effectively in a manner that enabled a teacher and students to work as a class group transacting teaching and learning activities entirely via the Web. The question of what the subject would be like as a result of going online, in the experience of the subject educators who worked with it, was the starting point for the research reported in this thesis. (For complete abstract open document)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Toronto, 2004. / Adviser: Derek Hodson.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--University of Toronto, 2005.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Western Sydney, Hawkesbury, 1995. / "March 1995, minor revision and correction December 1996." Includes bibliographical references (p. 327-346).