The transformation from an industrial to a knowledge age has brought about a fast-changing world-focus and a competitive economy. The nursing profession, as part of the larger economy, is challenged by this transformation due to globalisation, internationalisation, capitalism within a consumer society, an ageing workforce, staff shortages, international migration and advanced technology. It is argued that these challenges are impacting directly on the nursing profession as a part of the global economy. This impact is intensified due to the ethos of nursing that is evaluated from a profit perspective and does not value the core values of nursing, that of caring and trust. The managerial strategies that are applied in nursing does not sufficiently harness and direct nurses. Focus is placed on nurse leaders as crucial role players in directing the nursing profession in peril. A call was made by followers for a different type of nurse leaders to lead this challenged profession, in an international arena. Social capital, being an abstract and multi-facet concept is presented as a possible framework to assist with the above crisis. Extremely limited literature was found on the utilisation of social capital to develop nurse leadership amongst these challenges. The research question, and later comprehensive aim, was formulated to examine how a theory in Nursing Science for authentic leadership embedded in a social capital framework, can be constructed. Theory construction of a middle-range theory was conducted in three phases. Phase One implied concept identification, descriptions, definitions and analysis. The actual theory construction was achieved in Phase Two, whilst Phase Three detailed the theory evaluation and guidelines for operationalisation. Main and related concepts were identified as agent, recipient, context, procedure, goal and dynamics. Data collection was conducted by means of a comprehensive literature search of all available national and international literature and included theories, textbooks and articles. Data saturation was achieved after no new information surfaced, n=188. The main concepts, authentic leadership (agent) and social capital (procedure) underwent a comprehensive concept analysis. Related concepts, namely the professional nurse (recipient), South African hospitals (context), positive impact on the triple bottom line (goal) and trust (dynamics) underwent a literature analysis. The theory was graphically portrayed and described by means of a model. The theory was submitted to a panel of experts (n=6). The panel was selected following purposive sampling due to specific inclusion criteria for expertise in social capital, and/or leadership and/or theory construction. The evaluation of the theory was conducted according to a specific framework for critical reflection. Guidelines for the operationalisation of the theory were formulated on a macro-, meso- and micro-level. The final step was the evaluation of the research and recommendations were made. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Nursing))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2009.

University of Technology, Sydney. Faculty of Education. / Education in NSW reflects world-wide trends that promise changed practices through the use of information and communication technologies (ICT), to assist students attain capabilities expected of an educated population in contemporary society. Most recently, the use of the Internet has become a major priority for NSW government schools, with the expectation that students will increasingly participate in online learning activities. As educators grapple to find evidence of changed practices and extended or enhanced learning experiences for students, attention has turned to new forms of activity that have emerged within the online environment. This thesis explores the implementation of online projects as one such emergent form. The study focuses on the experiences of students and the practices of classes, with a view to asking how the online projects reconstruct the learning environments and activities of classes, how they contribute to the learning achievement of students and to the effective use of Internet technologies in K-12 school settings. A collective case study approach was used to reveal multiple views of online projects implemented in five NSW schools. Particular value is attached to the viewpoints of students and to professional dialogues with teachers that contributed insights into what was occurring in the classes and what was achieved as a result. Meanings have been drawn from each case to build a better understanding of the phenomenon of online projects as a whole. The study draws on social constructivist and project-based theoretical perspectives, with their widely accepted claims to benefits for students of authentic, learner-centred, participatory learning. The thesis argues that online projects can stimulate and support learning activities that produce these known benefits, while recognising constraints that exist in every-day classes. The online projects present a disruptive force within classes, changing the nature of activities and forcing a shift in the roles of both teachers and students, and of the technology itself, making it subservient to the learning intentions. Findings for students relate both to participation and learning effects. Strength of student engagement and the value of authentic learning activities emerged as notable features of the online project experience. Rather than accepting these claims as sufficient outcome of the projects, this thesis identifies attributes that promote student engagement. It examines what constitutes authentic activity for school students, especially younger ones, and how a sense of authenticity is established in learning tasks. It particularly explores the contribution of online presentation of the projects to the benefits and constraints identified. The study has significant implications for education systems and teachers, and for the design and implementation of online projects as part an effective online learning provision for schools. In the highly conflicted area of investment in ICT and the search for purposeful learning uses of the Internet, online projects present a teaching and learning approach that can deliver some of the much-acclaimed potential – primarily because they promote changes in practice that are concerned with much more than just the use of the technology.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Theatre. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 51-54). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29548

Thesis (M.F.A.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Theatre. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-61). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR31985

Autentiskt ledarskap representerar ett nytt område inom ledarskapsforskning och fokuserar på ett äkta och genuint ledarskap som återspeglar ledarens sanna jag. Samtidigt finns tvetydigheter om det går att vara sann mot sig själv eller om organisatoriska komplexiteter försvårar ens möjligheter. Efter Migrationsverkets implementation av lean har autentiskt ledarskap lyfts fram som ett framgångsrikt ledarskap för ett lyckat arbete med lean. Syftet med studien var därför att studera upplevelser av det autentiska ledarskapet i en organisation som säger sig tillämpa lean. Studien hade en kvalitativ forskningsdesign vilket innefattade sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med ledare på Migrationsverket. Resultatet visade på att autentiskt ledarskap förklaras som äkta genom självreflektion och relationer. Studien visar också att organisationen har en betydande roll för ledarnas möjlighet att vara autentiska eller inte. Med denna studie vill vi uppmärksamma det autentiska ledarskapet och vad det kan bidra med, men också lyfta organisationens innebörd för det. / Authentic leadership represents one of the newest areas of leadership research and focuses on a true and genuine leadership that reflects the true self. There are ambiguities whether it is possible to be true towards oneself or if organizational complexities affect its possibilities. Authentic leadership has been pointed out as the successful leadership approach within lean at Sweden Migrant Board. The aim was therefore to capture experiences of the authentic leadership within an organization that claims to apply lean. The study had a qualitative research design which included six semi-structured interviews with leaders at the Swedish Migration Board. The result showed that authentic leadership was declared genuine through self- reflection and relationships. The study also shows that the organization has a significant role for leaders' ability to be authentic or not. With this study, we want to pay attention to authentic leadership and what it can contribute. We also want to lift the organization's meaning for authentic leadership.

Abstract Research into memory processes has progressed in recent years through the combined efforts of neuroscientists and cognitive scientists. This is especially aided by modern scientific research methods of the brain such as positron emission tomography and functional magnetic resonance imaging. The learner, through interaction with his environment, must actively create individual cognition; the brain is a dynamic adaptable organ. This research will limit the discussion of authentic learning and e-learning to an introductory chemistry laboratory course. The most popular, and yet the most heavily criticized style of laboratory instruction is the traditional (also termed verification or expository) style with a "cookbook" nature. On the basis of pilot action research, the goal of this study has been the use of e-learning for the purpose of placing more emphasis on the contemplation of chemistry's theoretical topics for effecting the quality of conceptual understanding. With systems thinking as a background, the qualitative research method was primarily used, but statistics of the external influences in the e-learning process were also improved. In an e-learning environment, the individually supported development of a learner's conceptual understanding was analyzed by SOLO-taxonomy by comparing the learner's own outcomes. The results show that e-learning with traditional laboratory activities has the effect of forming chemistry concepts, and results in meaningful learning. The SOLO-taxonomy would be a powerful tool for faculty for analyzing points of difficulty or confusion in students' understanding of chemistry concepts. To better understand the effectiveness of e-learning, studies have to be directed toward higher-order cognition by collaborative learning in addition to conceptual understanding of individuals.

Magister Commercii (Industrial Psychology) - MCom(IPS) / Leaders are often thought of as being the top management team of the organisation, illuminating the way forward for individuals by directing organisational activities towards a shared vision (Fernald, Solomon & Tarabishy, 2005). As organisations are constantly facing challenges in establishing a profitable presence in a competitive marketplace, effective leadership is one difference between organisations that successfully meet the challenges and those that do not (Wherry, 2012). In order for any organisation to cope with the demands of a dynamic and ever changing environment, it is necessary for management to move towards a leadership style that allows for the empowerment of employees (Carson & King, 2005). Scholars have identified a form of leadership termed “authentic leadership” where authentic leaders display traits such as honesty, sincerity, high moral standards, ethics and trustworthiness (Avolio et al., 2004; May 2004). According to George (2003), authentic leaders are self-aware and transparent therefore this behaviour sends a strong message to their followers influencing what they, the follower, attend to, how they view themselves and ultimately how they behave. Within organisations where authentic leaders are present, the importance of employee initiative and cooperation become very important (Le Pine, Erez & Johnson, 2002). The individual or employee initiative and cooperation can be viewed as in role (within formal job descriptions) or extra role (outside of formal job description) behaviour. Extra-role behaviour is also defined as organisational citizenship behaviour. This research study investigated if the dimensions of authentic leadership (self-awareness, moral perspective, balanced processing and relational transparency) had an effect on the dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour (altruism, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, courtesy and civic virtue). The population for this study was a provincial government department within the Western Cape. A non-probability sample based on the method of convenience was utilised of which 131 respondents completed three sets of questionnaires namely; a Biographical questionnaire, Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio, Gardner & Walumbwa, 2007) and the Organisational Citizenship Questionnaire (Podsakoff, Mackenzie & Fetter, 1990). Statistical analyses involved both descriptive (measures of central tendency and dispersion) and inferential statistics (correlation and multiple regression). The findings indicated that a moderate to weak relationship exists between the dimensions of authentic leadership (self-awareness, moral perspective, balanced processing and relational transparency) and the dimensions of organisational citizenship behaviour (altruism, conscientiousness, sportsmanship, courtesy and civic virtue). Organisational citizenship behaviour of the employees within the organisation is not largely influenced by their leader’s authentic leadership style. Therefore, other factors such as work ethic, organisational commitment, work motivation or personality may have greater influence on organisational citizenship behaviour than authentic leadership. However, a few limitations associated with the study were identified and it is suggested that a qualitative approach be implored as well as other provincial, local or national government departments in the Western Cape be used to contribute to greater representativeness and generalisability. Variables identified in this study are embodied in the human resource functions of the organisation and managers should utilise the findings of this study to better understand human behaviour within the workplace.

This study reports on the use and benefits of fiction as a method to teach English as a second language in primary school. The study was conducted by reading previous research and conducting one-on-one interviews with six active teachers. The teachers all taught English in first to third grade, and they all had received education for it. The interviews contained questions about the use of fiction in both English and Swedish education. The results show that the general idea of using fiction to teach English is positive; however, only one teacher used it in practice. The other teachers list films and speaking exercises as their main tools for teaching English. According to previous research and interviews, the results of using fiction are positive, as it enhances vocabulary, comprehension and pronunciation. It has been shown that reading fiction enhances vocabulary, as the children are interested in what they read and therefore learn more as it engages them.

A Teoria da Liderança Autêntica baseia-se na filosofia e na psicologia, ao propor construir organizações mais autênticas, com líderes mais conscientes e relações mais transparentes e éticas. Este estudo, de delineamento metodológico, teve como objetivo realizar a adaptação cultural do Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) para a língua portuguesa no contexto da enfermagem brasileira. Esse instrumento, original em língua inglesa, possui duas versões, SELF e RATER, com o intuito de avaliar a autenticidade do líder e do liderado. O ALQ possui 16 itens distribuídos em quatro domínios: Transparência nos Relacionamentos; Perspectiva Moral e Ética; Processamento Equilibrado de Informações e Autoconsciência, com afirmações que são respondidas por uma escala Likert de zero a quatro pontos, sendo raramente/nunca (0 ponto), de vez em quando (1 ponto), às vezes (2 pontos), frequentemente (3 pontos) e muitas vezes, quase sempre (4 pontos). Assim, a pontuação varia de zero a sessenta e quatro, no qual os maiores valores refletem a maior a autenticidade do líder. O processo de adaptação seguiu todos os pressupostos necessários recomendados aos estudos metodológicos. As duas versões do questionário foram inicialmente traduzidas para o português, dando origem a duas outras versões que foram analisadas pelo comitê de juízes I, resultando na síntese da tradução de cada versão. As versões produzidas foram submetidas às retrotraduções e, posteriormente encaminhadas ao principal autor do ALQ. Ao serem acatadas as sugestões, foi realizada nova retrotradução das duas versões e, após sintetizadas, foram encaminhadas ao comitê de juízes II afim de garantir a equivalência cultural, conceitual e idiomática entre o instrumento original e o traduzido, o qual originou uma versão final para aplicação no pré-teste. Nesta etapa, foi verificada a validade de face e de conteúdo de todos os itens de ambas as versões do ALQ, por meio da aplicação da taxa de concordância de pelo menos 80% entre os participantes. Os membros do comitê de juízes I e II foram compostos por especialistas. O pré-teste foi realizado com 80 enfermeiros, sendo: 64 Assistenciais, 8 Supervisores e 7 Coordenadores de Enfermagem, atuantes em diversas clínicas de cinco hospitais de duas cidades da região Centro Oeste do país. Os dados foram coletados no período de junho a agosto de 2016. Posteriormente, um dos autores do instrumento atestou que ambas as versões foram devidamente traduzidas e adaptadas. Considerando que a validação de um instrumento é um processo acumulativo, o questionário, nas duas versões SELF e RATER, deverá ser submetido a novos estudos, no intuito de avaliar as propriedades psicométricas, a fim de disponibilizar um instrumento válido e confiável para os pesquisadores, que objetivem ter uma melhor compreensão no que se refere a autenticidade dos profissionais enfermeiros atuantes nas instituições brasileiras / The Theory of Authentic Leadership is based on philosophy and psychology as it proposes the establishment of more authentic organizations, with more conscious leaders and more transparent and ethical relations. The objective of this methodological study was to perform the cultural adaptation of the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) to Portuguese in the context of Brazilian Nursing. This instrument, originally written in English, has two versions, SELF and RATER: one assesses the authenticity of leaders and the other assesses the authenticity of those under leadership. ALQ has 16 items distributed into four domains: Relational Transparency; Moral Perspective and Ethics; Balanced Processing of Information; and Self-Awareness with statements answered on a four-point Likert scale: rarely/never (0 points), once in a while (1 point), sometimes (2 points), often (3 points), and very often, almost always (4 points). Hence, scores range from zero to 64; the higher the score, the more authentic a leader is. The adaptation process followed all the recommendations for methodological studies. Both versions (SELF and RATER) were initially translated to Portuguese and resulted in two other versions. An expert committee analyzed the versions and a synthesis of each version was obtained. These versions were then back translated and sent to the main author of the original ALQ. Changes were implemented according to the author\'s suggestion and the two versions were back translated once again. The syntheses were submitted to a second expert committee in order to ensure cultural, conceptual and idiomatic equivalences, resulting in the final version that was used in a pre-test. Face and content validity of all items of both versions was verified at this point by employing an inter-rater agreement of at least 80%. Both committees were composed of experts. The pre-test was applied to 80 nurses: 64 clinical nurses, eight supervisors, and seven nursing coordinators, who worked in various clinics of five hospitals located in two cities in the Midwest region of Brazil. Data were collected from June to August 2016. Afterwards, one of the instrument\'s authors certified that both versions were properly translated and adapted. Considering that the validation of an instrument is a cumulative process, the questionnaire in its two versions, SELF and RATER, should be submitted to new investigations in order to assess its psychometric properties and make available a valid and reliable instrument for researchers intending to acquire a better understanding in terms of authenticity of nurses working in Brazilian institutions

Philosophiae Doctor - PhD / This research study investigated the effectiveness of Peer Instruction (PI) in enhancing preservice teachers’ understanding of Electromagnetism I in a Nigerian college of education. PI as a research-based pedagogy was invented for the teaching of introductory science courses to large classes. Lectures in PI is made of short presentations on the main points, each followed by short conceptual questions known as ConcepTest, posed in a multiple-choice format, on the subject under discussion. Electromagnetism is a branch of Physics where students perform poorly at Colleges of Education in Nigeria. Electromagnetism I covers electrostatics, magnetostatics, current electricity, electrolysis, and capacitance. Each of these themes has different topics under it. Most students studying Electromagnetism I, cannot relate or connect what they learned in the classroom to real-world situations because they often learn by memorization (rote learning).