The study aimed to investigate the educationally-related challenges faced by teenage mothers in coming back to school in two senior schools in the Kavango Education Region. This small-scale study focused on the challenges that influence or affect the academic progress and development of these learners. The study looked at how teenage pregnancy is perceived as a social problem in many countries as well as in Namibia and examined its impact on the educational aspirations of the young mothers. Namibia has a policy in place to cater for the continued education of learners returning to school after the birth of their babies. This policy was analysed and its implementation in the selected schools formed part of the study, The findings revealed that the educational challenges faced by these young women range from social exclusion to the need to manage the dual responsibilities of motherhood and study. The way in which the learners who participated in this study are viewed by their peers and their teachers was found to be influenced by the cultural connotations ascribed to women as soon as they become mothers, a factor that adds to the challenges these learners face when returning to schools. Cultural connotations which perceived a mother as an adult in the society was attached to the change of the behaviours and attitudes of school young mothers. The findings also showed that while these learners tended to be withdrawn in class and were generally unable to participate in extra-mural activities, they none the less were able to compete with their peers in terms of their academic performance. The study revealed that there is no shared understanding of the policy among the participants and that it is not effectively implemented in the schools, nor is it uniformly applied.

One of the goals for Namibia’s Vision 2030, through ETSIP (2005‐2015), is to establish a preprimary year in primary schools for all children aged 5‐6 to be developed first in schools serving the poorest population and OVCs. ECD is widely recognised as having a significant impact on the subsequent learning of children. The high failure and dropout rate in grade 1 made this process an important one. In 2008 the integration of ECD became a reality in five schools in the Khomas region of Namibia. At present there are 29 pilot schools in the Khomas region 29 schools, and 504 in the whole of Namibia. According to the MoE all primary schools should have a preprimary class as ECD has been recognized as a key contributor to positive outcomes in schools. This study sought to investigate various stakeholders’ experiences and views of the integration of pre‐primary into mainstream pre‐primary schooling. The goal was to investigate the management and leadership implications of this integration. The study is an interpretive case study of three pilot primary schools. The research design made provision for data collection through semi‐structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. The main finding was that, despite numerous challenges, principals are positive about the integration of pre‐primary. There is a sense of appreciation of the importance of pre‐primary. Principals adopt participative and collegial management approaches in leading their schools towards becoming learning organisations. The study also uncovered several significant challenges, such as the need for more training and the provision of infrastructure to make the process more effective.

The purpose of the study was to identify and describe the approach and strategies used to downsize a mental health organization. This ethnographic study was conducted at a psychiatric hospital that is beginning the 4th year of a 10 year downsizing plan. Data were gathered through interviews, informal observations, and field documents. This research design facilitated an understanding of the phenomenon in the context of the practices and beliefs of the executive management team. Semistructured interviews were conducted with six executive and four middle managers who were involved in the downsizing decision making process. Freeman and Cameron's (1993) definition of downsizing was broadened to encompass not-for-profit reasons for downsizing. Cameron's (1994) downsizing model was supported and an additional best practice called alignment of purpose was proposed in which the leadership of an organization attempts to align the stakeholders with similar goals and objectives for downsizing. The emotional process of downsizing emerged as a key area to address concurrently with job security and other more pragmatic consequences of downsizing. Empathy was suggested as one method of dealing with the emotional process of downsizing. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences / Department of Communication

Development has suffered a great deal due to the frequent changes that occur in life and these changes inevitably cause conflict. A typical example is the research setting, the Bawku Municipal area in Ghana. This area has suffered severe forms of conflict which in one way or the other have affected the development of the district and the people as a whole. The effect of conflict has not only affected the rural development but also social, human, intellectual, economic and technological developments in general. While the aim of all countries is to develop, some may have reached a stage where they qualify as developed; others are still in the process of reaching their goal; yet others are still struggling to barely survive thus the names ‗developed countries, developing countries and under developed countries‘. Most developing countries are faced with the problem of rural underdevelopment and Ghana is no exception. Most rural areas have been neglected in the development project of the country. Resources are channelled to the urban areas and other places where the government reaps profits; however the Bawku municipal area has not only suffered underdevelopment from government negligence but also from conflict. The district of Bawku has been in tribal war stretching for the past ten years. This has stalled most developmental works from both government and external bodies. The area is one of the poorest places in Ghana; the problem is not only with rural development but social, economic and human development as well.

This case study examined how a team of middle school teachers from different subject areas collaboratively planned interdisciplinary experiences for their students. Using fieldwork research methods, including long-term participant-observation, interviewing and document analysis, the study explored how team members planned interdisciplinary experiences. Data were analyzed through a process of searching for patterns, coding and comparison, utilizing the Hackman and Oldham (1980) model of group effectiveness as a heuristic for understanding the group processes. The results of this study raise questions about the preeminence of the "interdisciplinary thematic unit" in middle school rhetoric. The team developed a conception of interdisciplinary that progressed through phases of elusion and inclusion to allusion. Team members chose not to create any tightly-structured interdisciplinary thematic units, and they did not follow any established planning processes designed for creating such units; rather, they dialogued about their subject areas in ways that allowed them to make ongoing connections between subjects. Through their dialogues, team members gained insight into both their own subject areas and connections among subject areas. The Interdisciplinary Judgment Matrix was developed as a means of understanding team members' decision-making in determining whether to plan interdisciplinary experiences. This matrix presents the teachers' decision-making as a process of judging the relevance of potential interdisciplinary experiences both to the established curriculum and to the subject specialists’ criteria for what students ought to derive from a course. The matrix argues that team members do not merely follow a curriculum guide or textbook, but make professional judgments balancing the demands of the curriculum with subject specialists' assumptions and concerns. The study has implications for both practitioners and researchers. Middle school team members need to be given time to develop a conception of interdisciplinarity that fits with their understanding of the purposes of teaming. Also, rather than implementing pre-packaged interdisciplinary thematic units, such teams should be encouraged to dialogue about their subject areas in order to make meaningful and ongoing connections for their students. Rather than adhering to a set of steps for creating interdisciplinary thematic units, middle school teams must learn to discuss the substance of their teaching with one another. Such discussion promises professional growth through everyday occupational conditions. Based on the findings of this study, researchers might profitably investigate the role of unit planning as the common focus of collaborative planning. The study also suggests research into the effectiveness of pre-established planning models as compared to the dialoguing the study recommends. Finally, the study raises a research question about the interplay of collaborative groups with the larger culture of the school. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of culture conflict in second-generation Indo-Canadian women. An existential-phenomenological approach was used to gain an understanding of culture conflict from the perspective of those who have experienced it. Five second-generation Indo-Canadian women participated in this study. The participants took part in an in depth, unstructured interview in which they were asked to describe their experience of culture conflict. The interview was taped and transcribed. The transcripts were then analyzed and common themes were explicated. The 29 themes that emerged from the data were written into an exhaustive description of the experience of culture conflict. The themes and exhaustive description were then presented to each of the participants for validation. From the exhaustive description, the essential structure of the experience of culture conflict was also formulated. The findings of this study are discussed in terms of implications for further research as well as implications for counselling individuals who are experiencing culture conflict. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The selection interview is frequently regarded as a situation in which communication between the two participants is effected solely through the medium of spoken and heard words. Closer examination reveals it to be a complex interaction involving subtle contents mediated through several channels of communication - visual, olfactory, tactile, kinesthetic (all "non-verbal") as well as the verbal channel. This study examines the effect of information mediated by non-verbal channels of communication upon the selection judgments made by the interviewer. Interviews under normal face-to-face conditions (where non-verbal communication channels are open) were compared with interviews by another interviewer of the same candidates over a telephone (where non-verbal communication is eliminated). Three interviewers participated, and they, and the order of conditions, were randomized to control order and interviewer effects. The forty-three pairs of interviews were conducted by regular Naval Recruiting Officers upon applicants for officer training in the R.C.N. Results of the interviews were actually used for selection. The principal hypothesis, that assessment ratings by the interviewer are influenced by information communicated through non-verbal channels, was supported: the assessments of 10 of the 22 separate attributes rated showed significant differences between telephone and face-to-face condition. The single overall rating of each candidate which represents the interviewers recommendation to higher authority, did not, however, show a statistically significant difference as made under the two conditions. A secondary hypothesis, that overall assessments made in the face-to-face condition will correlate highly with assessments of appearance and bearing, while overall assessments based on the telephone interview will not, was supported. This suggests that at least one kind of information communicated through non-verbal channels, namely, the appearance and bearing of the candidate, does in fact, influence the final evaluation of his suitability. However, appearance and bearing were found to have no significant relationship to the more detailed assessments of "social interests", "motivation", "range of knowledge" and "personal characteristics". Comparisons of the times expended in the two types of interview showed face-to-face interviews to be substantially larger overall than those on the telephone. The interviewer talked relatively more, and the candidate relatively less in the face-to-face as compared with the telephone situation. The proportion of silent time was substantially the same for both types of interview. Implications for further research and application to interviewing practices are discussed. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

Probation is only one of the alternative dispositions available to the court in sentencing an offender. The present study has two major parts, (a) It examined in detail the personal, social, and environmental characteristics of all adult males placed under the supervision of the British Columbia Provincial Probation Branch in the fiscal year 1955-56. (b) The relation of a group of selected characteristics to the outcome of the cases is explored, (i.e. whether or not they successfully completed the time period of probation prescribed by the court). Definition and description of probation introduces the study. The Canadian, and more specifically the British Columbia history and current picture of adult probation services is given. The present limited supply of probation facilities and the need to use this limited resource to best advantage is highly relevant. Material drawn upon for the survey of the 1955-56 probationers, (223 in all), included probation branch files, (particularly the social histories contained therein), correspondence with probation officers throughout the province and correspondence with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The variables selected for further analysis were: age at start of probation; marital status and number of dependents; nature of the instant offence; number of previous convictions and extent of incarceration; type of investigation carried out by the officer and the assessment of the offender's suitability for probation; and steadiness of employment while on probation. A short follow-up check on the offenders' post-probation success was carried out. The first product of the study is a descriptive profile of the probation clientele, giving a clearer picture of those who the service is set up to serve. Second, the relating of selected characteristics to outcome of case is a first step toward providing some limited predictive guides to assist the officer who is attempting to foresee how the offender will do on probation. The follow-up check served to balance what otherwise might be an unrealistically high success rate. The "profile" of probation clientele reveals that the group investigated appears not markedly different from the general population of British Columbia judged by place of birth, level of education, physical health, work habits and number of siblings. Some possible variations from the general British Columbia populace are noted in that the group may have contained a higher proportion of young people, persons with no dependents, single persons, unskilled workers, persona with a background of broken parental relationships, and in that all the group were males. The variables related to outcome of case that seem to be of greatest significance include: steadiness of employment while on probation, extent of previous criminal record, marital status, and nature of the instant offence. Of the 221 cases ending their probation period either successfully or unsuccessfully 185, (83.7 per cent), were successful. Of these 185 cases 77.3 per cent still had no new record of convictions when the follow-up check was completed in February, 1959. Several implications of the study are discussed. The need for adequate presentence investigation is stressed. The expansion of adult probation services in Canada is urged, -with a cautionary note that geographical and numerical expansion must not be substituted for quality in the services. The Federal Government can perhaps facilitate expansion of the service by intervening into the area of adult probation as a standard setting body. There is a need for a closer working relationship between the courts and welfare agencies, public and private. / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

A substantial number of whiplash injuries are reported for motor vehicle accidents which produce little or no structural damage to the automobile. These injuries are predominantly associated with rear-end type accidents affecting passengers of the struck vehicle. Since passengers of the striking vehicles are not reporting as many injuries for the same accidents, occupant and vehicle dynamics experienced during low speed-rear impacts were proposed to be a major source of the whiplash claims. A review of previous research revealed that little information exists for this type of accident. In general, vehicle safety research and government regulations have been directed towards occupant mortality - not injury - in frontal collisions. Occupant dynamics research has been limited to sled testing, using modified seat structures, or out-of-date vehicle models. Full scale, rear impact, crash testing has concentrated on high impact speeds (above 30 km/h) where significant structural deformation occurs. A research program was designed to investigate the occupant and vehicle dynamics during low speed - rear impacts. Experimental research was undertaken to document the structural performance of vehicles, noting the impact speeds necessary to initiate the crush mechanisms in the rear portion of the vehicle. To facilitate this testing, a pendulum impactor, based on the government test procedures, was designed and built to consistently reproduce impact speeds below 20 km/h. A total of 56 rear impact tests were conducted with 1977-1982 Volkswagen Rabbits. The vehicle wheels were locked to represent a vehicle stopped in traffic - the most commonly reported whiplash producing accident. An anthropometric test dummy was used to represent a front seat passenger during the tests. High speed video recordings of the tests were digitized to provide kinematic information on the occupant and vehicle response. Accelerometers were incorporated into the last 24 tests to monitor the acceleration levels at the bumper mount, seat mount and within the dummy. Information obtained from this testing suggested that permanent structural damage was only visible when an impact speed between 14 and 15 km/h was experienced by the vehicle. Very little frame deformation occurs for impact speeds below this value. Below this threshold, the vehicle frame can be considered rigid; vehicle response being dominated by the compliance of the bumper and suspension systems as well as sliding of the locked wheels. The accompanying occupant response was a differential rebound of the head and shoulders off the seatback and head restraint. This relative motion between the head and torso was evident in each test and increases the potential for injury. Typical occupant response observed consisted of an initial loading and deflection of the seatback due to the occupant's inertia followed by the release of this stored spring energy as the occupant was catapulted forward. It is this elastic behaviour of the seatback which is the likely cause of whiplash injury. Resulting head velocities were found to be in the order of 1.5 - 2 times the resulting vehicle speed. Initial occupant postures which increased the distance between the torso and seatback tended to increase the dynamic loading experienced by the passenger. Analytical modelling of the vehicle was initiated as the groundwork for full occupant-vehicle simulation. A finite element model of the vehicle frame, bumper, and suspension was created. Previously obtained empirical information suggested that a non-linear bumper and suspension system connected to a rigid frame would be an acceptable approximation. A parametric analysis of bumper stiffness and braking conditions was conducted in a 30 simulation matrix. General kinematic trends of the tests were observed in the simulations, however, limitations in the material properties introduced a much stiffer response than that experimentally observed. Results from this study show that little protection is offered to an occupant during a rear end collision. Impact energy management within the vehicle may not be adequate to prevent injury. Improved occupant protection requires the highly elastic behaviour of the vehicle frame and seatback to be attenuated. This will eliminate the amplification of vehicle motion through the seatback to the occupant. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Mechanical Engineering, Department of / Graduate