Föreliggande studie har undersökt oro över att utsättas för hot om våld samt överfall eller misshandel hos yrkesgruppen ordningsvakter, genom den kriminologiska teorin om rutinaktivitet. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om det finns samband mellan respondenternas upplevda oro över att utsättas för hot om våld samt överfall/misshandel och grad av exponering, attraktivitet som lämpligt offer samt avsaknad av kapabla väktare. Studiens underlag bestod av en webbenkät som distribuerats genom sociala medier till yrkesgruppen ordningsvakter. 378 verksamma ordningsvakter ingick i det slutgiltiga urvalet. Underlaget analyserades genom logistisk regressionsanalys samt bivariata analyser. Resultaten visade att hög exponering samt avsaknad av kapabla väktare är starka prediktorer för oro över att utsättas för hot om våld samt överfall/misshandel. Dock förkastades hypotesen att attraktivitet som lämpligt offer är en prediktor för upplevd oro. Tidigare utsatthet för brott i arbetet utgjorde tillsammans med exponering och avsaknad av kapabla väktare en lämplig förklaringsmodell för upplevd oro bland ordningsvakterna. Slutsatsen blev att det finns en utbredd oro bland ordningsvakter att utsättas för hot om våld samt överfall/misshandel, dock kan rutinaktivitetsteorin som enskild modell inte förklara den upplevda oron. / This study examines the feeling of anxiety about becoming a victim of threat of physical violence or assault in the workplace. The study focuses on people working as security guards. The purpose of the study was to examine if there is a connection between the feeling of anxiety and the elements of the routine activity theory. The samples of participants were collected by social media, where web-based surveys were published. The final sample consisted of 378 participants. The analysis consisted of a binary logistic regression and bivariate analysis. The results of the study showed that exposure and the absence of capable guards are strong predictors of the feeling of anxiety. By the results of the analysis there was no strong evidence that the feeling of anxiety and attractiveness have a connection. The study showed that earlier victimization in the workplace can be a possible predictor of anxiety. In conclusion there is a widespread feeling of anxiety amongst security guards, however the routin activity theory can not explain the whole spectra of this problem.

A ‘new’ phenomenon in the form of employing foreign domestic workers (FDW), or maids, whose jobs often include caring for children, appears to be an increasing global trend. Consequently, migrant women from developing countries provide an inexpensive and accessible child care alternative, which could be regarded as widespread in certain regions. Growth in the movement of population and mounting global interdependence, has also contributed to an increase in educational institutions labelled international schools. As an educator in five of these diverse institutions, I became aware that the trend of hiring maids, who because of their social position often do many basic tasks for children in their care, has entered the world of international schools in particular geographical areas. This has often concerned professionals. This small-scale study, therefore, explores the perceived social and educational implications of home/school differences in pedagogic orientation in children who have maids, bringing to light a matter of consequence, to certain international schools in particular, in more academic terms. Two very different schools in the Arabian Gulf, both regarded as operating in an international context, were the focus for this study. Drawing on Vygotskian and post-Vygotskian theories, I used sociocultural theory and Engeström’s model of activity theory as a theoretical framework from which to design the inquiry, and carry out the analysis. Using the two sample schools to access key-stakeholders, this inquiry involved multi-methods of mainly qualitative data collection, which explored a situation where maids are often heavily involved in children’s upbringing. A range of nationalities were included. Important messages emerged, including the notion of maids appearing to be culturally embedded amongst a number of affluent host country nationals and expatriates in my context. Additionally, significant differences appear to exist between children with maids at home and those without, with implications for learning amongst ‘maid children’, which might be perceived as a result of maid intervention. The thesis concludes with recommendations for educationalists and parents. Views of most key stakeholders underpin a model which could guide new practice and go some way towards alleviating the consequences of such a situation.

Com a expansão da Educação a Distância (EaD), vários cursos tem sido oferecidos no formato digital, inclusive cursos superiores de Ciências. Em trabalhos anteriores, pautados na Teoria da Atividade de Leontiev, desenvolvemos Atividades Orientadoras de Ensino (AOEs) sobre identificação-separação de metais pesados e investigamos a potencialidade destas como proposta teórico-metodológica em um Curso presencial de Licenciatura em Química. A formação presencial em Química do pesquisador e a atuação como tutor junto ao curso EaD em uma Universidade Paulista, favoreceram a definição da questão central neste trabalho: na EaD, como essa atividade mobilizaria os estudantes em direção a aprendizagem do conhecimento químico?A fundamentação teórica deste trabalho baseia-se em trabalhos de Vigotski, Leontiev e Engeström. A pesquisa qualitativa foi a metodologia de pesquisa adotada, com destaque para a análise microgenética. O campo empírico foi o fórum de discussão virtual no qual as Atividades de Ensino (AEs) foram disponibilizadas. Este fórum na forma de AE foi desenvolvido com alunos da EaD em 7 cidades do Estado de São Paulo. Ao planejar a AE a distância, concentramos em não valorizar situações práticas experimentais como no Ensino presencial, pois na situação virtual, o aluno estaria sozinho durante o desenvolvimento da atividade e sem muitos recursos laboratoriais. Pudemos notar que a interação aluno-aluno foi menor na atividade a distância, pois a maior parte da discussão ocorreu a partir da interação com pesquisador/mediador.Os resultados evidenciaram que nos 8 grupos em que a AE foi desenvolvida, surgiram diversas palavras relativas aos temas estudados, direta ou indiretamente, e que o sistema de análise realizado apontou para importantes processos de elaboração conceitual, uma vez que alguns conceitos foram estabelecidos, outros foram questionados e refutados. No ensino presencial a aplicação da AOE teria sido analisada em maior parte do ponto de vista de cada indivíduo e acreditamos que esta caracterização tenha sido mantida na EaD. Todavia, as informações ou experiências sócio-culturais se mostraram mais evidentes no formato AE a distância em detrimento da AOE presencial / As the Distance Education (DE) becomes more popular many course are being offered in the on-line version, including Science degree courses. In previous papers, based on Leontievs Activity Theory, we developed Teaching Guiding Activities (TGAs) about the indentification-separation of heavy metals and investigated the potential of these TGAs as a theoretical-methodological proposal in a face-to-face Chemistry Teaching course. The researchers regular face-to-face Chemistry degree and his work as a monitor in the Distance Education course at São Paulo University helped defining this paper central question: in Distance Education, how would a TA engage students toward the learning of chemical knowledge ? The theoretical bases of this paper are the works developed by Vigotski, Leontiev and Engeström. The methodology used was the qualitative research, with focus on the Microgenetic Analysis. The empirical field was the on-line discussion forums, where the TAs were available. The TA/forum was developed with distance education students from 7 different cities in São Paulo State. When planning the TA-DE (TGA for the Distance Education), we focused on not having experimental practices as it is common in face-to-face courses because the student would be alone during the activity and would not have many laboratory resources. We could notice that in the distance activity the student-student interaction was not satisfactory as the participants would interact with the researcher/professor. The results made it evident that in the 8 groups, in which the TA was developed, several words appeared on the subjects studied, directly or indirectly, and that in the system of analysis carried out pointed to important processes of conceptual elaboration, some concepts were developed, some were questioned and/or refuted. At the face-to-face education the TA development would be analyzed mostly from the individual perspective and we believe that this characteristic was kept at the Distance Education. However, social-historical information or experiences were shown more during the development of the distance TA than in the face-to-face one

Despite being ranked according to narrow measures of pupil achievement, many schools aim to become more sustainable. Faced with indicators suggesting the rapid degradation of social-ecological systems, these schools would prefer not to be part of the problem. However, environmental education/education for sustainable development (EE/ESD) in schools does not reflect the transformative rhetoric of academic discourse. Research into this ‘rhetoric-reality gap’ has focused either on academic discourse or the psychology of individual teachers; there is a lack of critical research on teachers-in-context. This enquiry explores the notion of inherent contradictions in developing a sustainable school (however subjects define this). It applies an Activity Theory framework designed to identify contradictions within ‘activity systems’ (e.g. schools). The primary method is a semi-structured interview conducted with fifteen teachers/headteachers in twelve schools (primary and secondary). The thesis offers a resource-efficient qualitative interview process that can bring Activity Theory to school-based research with minimum disruption and outlines a streamlined process of dilemma analysis. The data highlights contradictions in the way that schools conduct EE/ESD noting that these are often not recognised by educators themselves. Five different responses to contradictions are identified, including ‘expansive learning’ that redefines the activity itself. In terms of an ESD1/ESD2 framework, this might be termed ‘ESD 3’. Four approaches that schools may adopt in relation to sustainability are also outlined. An empowering vision of schools – and society – as autopoietic systems, i.e. as both products and producers, suggests that social reality is not as inevitable as it seems. By confronting contradictions, educators demonstrate the adaptive capacity required by young people if they are to engage in remodelling their world. Finally, the thesis proposes combining a two-sided conception of ESD with Activity Theory, potentially to the mutual benefit of both. Investigating this further is one of a number of options for further research.

Com a expansão da Educação a Distância (EaD), vários cursos tem sido oferecidos no formato digital, inclusive cursos superiores de Ciências. Em trabalhos anteriores, pautados na Teoria da Atividade de Leontiev, desenvolvemos Atividades Orientadoras de Ensino (AOEs) sobre identificação-separação de metais pesados e investigamos a potencialidade destas como proposta teórico-metodológica em um Curso presencial de Licenciatura em Química. A formação presencial em Química do pesquisador e a atuação como tutor junto ao curso EaD em uma Universidade Paulista, favoreceram a definição da questão central neste trabalho: na EaD, como essa atividade mobilizaria os estudantes em direção a aprendizagem do conhecimento químico?A fundamentação teórica deste trabalho baseia-se em trabalhos de Vigotski, Leontiev e Engeström. A pesquisa qualitativa foi a metodologia de pesquisa adotada, com destaque para a análise microgenética. O campo empírico foi o fórum de discussão virtual no qual as Atividades de Ensino (AEs) foram disponibilizadas. Este fórum na forma de AE foi desenvolvido com alunos da EaD em 7 cidades do Estado de São Paulo. Ao planejar a AE a distância, concentramos em não valorizar situações práticas experimentais como no Ensino presencial, pois na situação virtual, o aluno estaria sozinho durante o desenvolvimento da atividade e sem muitos recursos laboratoriais. Pudemos notar que a interação aluno-aluno foi menor na atividade a distância, pois a maior parte da discussão ocorreu a partir da interação com pesquisador/mediador.Os resultados evidenciaram que nos 8 grupos em que a AE foi desenvolvida, surgiram diversas palavras relativas aos temas estudados, direta ou indiretamente, e que o sistema de análise realizado apontou para importantes processos de elaboração conceitual, uma vez que alguns conceitos foram estabelecidos, outros foram questionados e refutados. No ensino presencial a aplicação da AOE teria sido analisada em maior parte do ponto de vista de cada indivíduo e acreditamos que esta caracterização tenha sido mantida na EaD. Todavia, as informações ou experiências sócio-culturais se mostraram mais evidentes no formato AE a distância em detrimento da AOE presencial / As the Distance Education (DE) becomes more popular many course are being offered in the on-line version, including Science degree courses. In previous papers, based on Leontievs Activity Theory, we developed Teaching Guiding Activities (TGAs) about the indentification-separation of heavy metals and investigated the potential of these TGAs as a theoretical-methodological proposal in a face-to-face Chemistry Teaching course. The researchers regular face-to-face Chemistry degree and his work as a monitor in the Distance Education course at São Paulo University helped defining this paper central question: in Distance Education, how would a TA engage students toward the learning of chemical knowledge ? The theoretical bases of this paper are the works developed by Vigotski, Leontiev and Engeström. The methodology used was the qualitative research, with focus on the Microgenetic Analysis. The empirical field was the on-line discussion forums, where the TAs were available. The TA/forum was developed with distance education students from 7 different cities in São Paulo State. When planning the TA-DE (TGA for the Distance Education), we focused on not having experimental practices as it is common in face-to-face courses because the student would be alone during the activity and would not have many laboratory resources. We could notice that in the distance activity the student-student interaction was not satisfactory as the participants would interact with the researcher/professor. The results made it evident that in the 8 groups, in which the TA was developed, several words appeared on the subjects studied, directly or indirectly, and that in the system of analysis carried out pointed to important processes of conceptual elaboration, some concepts were developed, some were questioned and/or refuted. At the face-to-face education the TA development would be analyzed mostly from the individual perspective and we believe that this characteristic was kept at the Distance Education. However, social-historical information or experiences were shown more during the development of the distance TA than in the face-to-face one

This research explores the learning of volunteers who are being trained to perform service-providing roles within UK health and social care charities. Within these charities, volunteers often perform complex roles in dynamic environments, supporting service users and addressing challenging causes. This thesis argues that the charity and voluntary environment offers certain affordances, and also constraints, that provide opportunities for transformative learning experiences. The limited previous studies on the learning of volunteers have tended to concentrate on training evaluations or informal learning 'on the job', resulting in an unhelpful formal/informal dichotomised approach to learning. The research proposes that this approach has been unable to offer a detailed insight into the learning experienced by volunteers within the training process. In particular, this dichotomised view has been unable to account for both the learning of scientific concepts, such as the specific health conditions these charities are addressing, and everyday experiences of both volunteers and service users that are integral to the learning process. To address this gap, the thesis draws upon Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), which is an approach grounded in Hegelian dialectics. Specifically, the CHAT-informed theories of expansive learning (Engeström, 1987) and Transformative Activist Stance (TAS) (Stetsenko, 2008) are synthesised to examine how volunteers interact with and within the charity environment through practices of training. Through this perspective, learning is conceptualised as a form of individual and social transformation, which expands the possibilities for collective activity. Expansive learning and TAS have previously been drawn upon to provide insight into learning in the workplace and in projects of social change respectively. However, so far the theories have not been focused on learning within the charity and voluntary environment. A multiple case study of three health and social care charities based in North West England provides the empirical data for the research. Each charity addresses a complex health and social cause, including stroke, sexual violence and HIV, and relies on volunteers to help provide services. Multiple qualitative methods, including observations of training, charity staff interviews, along with interviews and focus groups with volunteers, allow a range of perspectives and positions to be taken into account in line with the epistemology of the study. Data are analysed through the process of abduction drawing upon a CHAT-informed theoretical framework. The thesis intends to contribute to knowledge in two main areas. Firstly, it aims to increase understanding of learning within volunteer training, including how learning in the charity environment can be supported, sustained and made meaningful to enable transformative experiences. Secondly, it aims to theoretically advance CHAT, and the charity and voluntary environment is presented as a fruitful setting for developing particular aspects of the theory, such as emotion and agency.

This qualitative study was designed to explore undergraduate second language writers’ perceptions of and experiences with source-based writing and plagiarism. Grounded Theory (GT) was employed to systematically collect and analyze data throughout the study. By adopting Activity Theory (AT) as a theoretical framework, I was able to identify and analyze points of contradiction and tension that arose within the activity systems of my participants. The findings that emerged from GT showed that my participants were concerned with adapting to their new academic communities, and the L1 communities from whence they came played little to no role in hindering that adaptation. The findings that emerged from AT revealed that several of the struggles my participants faced with their source-based writing assignments stemmed not from a lack of understanding of plagiarism-related variables (e.g. paraphrase), but how these variables functioned within a larger systemic context (e.g. how paraphrase might differ across disciplines or assignments). This study provides the impetus for further investigation into how extant university policies, procedures, and guidelines affect students’ ability to construct meaning of source-based writing and plagiarism. Additionally, this study has the potential to open conversations regarding how universities can play a more positive and active role in students’ efforts to become new members of the academic community.

Perception and mental imagery are often thought of as processes that generate internal representations, but proponents of perceptual activity theory say they are better thought of as guided exploratory activities. The omission of internal representations in the perceptual activity account has led some to see it as computationally implausible. This thesis clarifies perceptual activity theory from a computational perspective, and tests its viability using a computer model called PABLO. The computer model operates in the Letter Spirit domain, which is a framework for creating stylistic variations on the lowercase letters of the Roman alphabet. PABLO is unlike other computer models of perception and mental imagery because it does not use data-structures to represent percepts and mental images. Mental contents are instead modelled in terms of the exploratory activity in which perceptual activity theory says they consist. PABLO also models the flexibility of imagery, and simulates how it can be harnessed and exploited by the system to generate a creative product. PABLO is a first attempt at an implementation of perceptual activity theory, but the results suggest that the theory is computationally viable, and that it has advantages over other theories of mental imagery in the context of creativity.

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) / This study looked at the implementation of a collaborative learning model at two schools in Sydney designed to realise the principles recommended by reform documents such as the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 2000) and policy documents including Numeracy, A Priority for All (DETYA, 2000). A total of 158 year seven and year eight students ranging in age from 12 to 15 years old from two schools participated in the study. In all, seven classroom teachers participated in the study each completing two topics using the collaborative learning model. Four research questions were the focus of the current study. Three research questions were drawn from eight principles identified in the literature regarding what constitutes effective mathematics learning. These questions related to the nature of collaboration evident in each classroom, the level of motivation and self-regulation displayed by students in the different types of classrooms and the relationship between learning mathematics within the collaborative learning model and real-world mathematics. A final research question examined the degree to which the concerns of teachers relating to preparing students for examinations are met within the collaborative learning model. Several different data collection strategies were adopted to develop a picture of the different forms of activity evident in each classroom and the changes that took place in each classroom during and after the implementation of the collaborative learning model. These included classroom observations, interviews with student and teacher participants, questionnaires and obtaining test results. Both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis were used to reduce the data collected. Factor scores and test results were compared using t-tests, ANOVAs and Mann Whitney nonparametric tests. Data collected from interviews and classroom observations were analysed using a grounded approach beginning with the open coding of phenomena. Leont’ev’s theoretical approach to activity systems (1972; 1978) was then used to describe the changing nature of classroom activity with the introduction of the collaborative learning model. Within the collaborative classrooms there were a greater number of mathematical voices participating in classroom discussions, a breaking down of traditional roles held by teachers and students, and dominant patterns of collaboration evident in each classroom reflecting pre-existing cultural ways of doing. Furthermore, there was some quantitative evidence suggesting that student levels of critical thinking, self-regulation and help seeking increased and students were also observed regulating their own learning as well as the learning of others. Classroom practice was also embedded in the cultural practice of preparing topic tests, enabling students to use mathematics within the context of a work group producing a shared outcome. Finally, there was quantitative evidence that students in some of the collaborative classes did not perform as well as students in traditional classrooms on topic tests. Comments from students and teachers, however, suggested that for some students the collaborative learning model enabled them to learn more effectively, although other students were frustrated by the greater freedom and lack of direction. Future research could investigate the effectiveness of strategies to overcome this frustration and the relationship between different types of collaboration and developing mathematical understanding.

<p>Denna studie beskriver innebörden i begreppen användbarhet och Activity Theory, samt hur den senare kan användas för att stärka utvecklingen av användbara webbplatser. Studien är genomförd ur ett utvecklarperspektiv. Resultatet av studien visar att användbarhet är en egenskap som uppstår i användandet av en artefakt, detta pekar både teori och empiri på. Studien visar också att Activity Theory kan användas på flera sätt för att stärka utvecklingen av användbara webbplatser. Vi anser att de resultat vi kommit fram till i vår studie gäller inte bara för utveckling av webbplatser utan de gäller även utvecklingen av informationssystem och informationsteknologi i en vidare utsträckning.</p>