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How can a Digital Storytelling workshop help educate, inspire and mobilise young women engaged in a non-profit organisation, in order to assist their peers? This exploratory study investigates whether Digital Storytelling can foster digital literacy, self-awareness and reflection amongst workshop participants, and how young women may be able to support each other and their peers through the act of creating and sharing personal digital stories. Conducted using qualitative and participatory methods, with the theoretical underpinnings of Albert Bandura’s Social Learning Theory and Social Cognitive Theory, Paulo Freire’s conscientisation and participatory development, this research is conducted in collaboration with female mentors from the sport-based adolescent health organisation, Grassroot Soccer. First, I analyse the women’s interactions and learnings during the Digital Storytelling workshop, where participants create digital stories in a hands-on setting (using the Story Center model). This is done through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with participants following the workshop. Second, I seek to understand how or if young women can re-present themselves in the context of a facilitated Digital Storytelling workshop and challenge gender stereotypes through their own digital stories. This data is collected through a pre-workshop questionnaire, participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and analysis of the digital stories. While this is an exploratory study, I anticipate results in the following areas: (1) cross-pollination of knowledge between workshop participants and facilitators; (2) self-awareness, self-confidence and reflection amongst young women; (3) increase in digital literacy, storytelling and audio/visual skills; and (4) increase in understanding of, or introduction to, digital media and communication, activism and social change.

This study used mixed methods to examine middle school mathematics teachers’ beliefs about English Learners’ ability to participate in rigorous, grade-level math instruction as well as beliefs about their own capacity for teaching English Learners. Additionally, the study investigated the influence of teachers’ beliefs on their instructional practices and identified the types of support teachers need to develop as culturally and linguistically responsive educators. Findings revealed some dissonance between teachers’ explicit beliefs about teaching English Learners and their implicit beliefs illustrated through instructional decisions made, as well as previously unrecognized gaps in teachers’ ability to identify and differentiate the needs of different types of English learners. Finally, the study identified teachers’ pressing needs for additional support at the school and district levels to continue to develop skills and knowledge to improve their teaching for English learners. The study concluded with an action plan for developing a robust professional learning system to develop teachers’ self-efficacy as culturally and linguistically responsive educators while also addressing implicit bias through reflection.

SAMMANFATTNING Bakgrund: I Sverige lever knappt 10 000 barn med cancer och 85% av de barn som drabbas botas. Både cancersjukdomen och den onkologiska behandlingen påverkar dessa barn fysiskt, psykiskt och socialt. Hela organsystem kan påverkas negativt och många drabbas av fatigue. Syfte: Syftet var att undersöka resultaten av den senaste forskningen gällande biopsykosociala effekter av fysisk träning för barn som är under pågående onkologisk behandling, eller som nyligen genomgått behandling. Metod: Genom litteratursökningar i databaserna PEDro och PubMed valdes fyra randomiserade kontrollerade studier ut. Väsentliga data från studierna extraherades och sedan bedömdes studierna avseende relevans och kvalitet. Slutligen bedömdes sammantagen preliminär evidens. Resultat: Interventionerna innehöll fysisk träning med inslag av konditionsträning, styrketräning, stretching samt träning av psykologiska funktioner. Interventionstiden varierade mellan åtta veckor och sex månader. Antalet deltagare varierade mellan 68–222. För utfallen fatigue och muskelstyrka i nedre extremitet påvisades en signifikant förbättring. Den preliminära evidensen bedömdes vara låg. Slutsats: Resultatet av denna översikt stärker betydelsen av fysisk träning för populationen. Sättet som träningen administreras på, påverka givna utfall där interaktion med andra deltagare samt träningsledare har en stor inverkan. Således kan man konstatera att fysisk träning är fördelaktigt för populationen och det finns ett värde i att utgå från ett biopsykosocialt perspektiv vid utformning av träning. / ABSTRACT Background: The prevalence of children with cancer is barely 10 000 in Sweden and 85% are cured. The disease itself, as well as the treatment affects children physically, mentally, and even socially. Organ systems are negatively affected, and fatigue is a common side effect. Objective: The aim was to investigate results of the latest research on the biopsychosocial effects of physical training for children undergoing oncological treatment, or children who recently have received treatment. Method: For this systematic review, four randomized controlled trials were selected through literature searches in the databases PEDro and PubMed. Essential data from the studies were extracted and relevance and quality of each trial were assessed. Finally, the overall preliminary evidence was evaluated. Results: The interventions included physical exercise with elements of aerobic exercises, strength training, stretching and psychological tasks. The intervention duration varied between eight weeks and six months, and the number of participants ranged from 68 to 222. A significant improvement was demonstrated regarding fatigue and muscle strength in the lower extremity. The preliminary evidence was considered low. Conclusions: The effects of physical exercise in this review reinforce the importance of exercise for the population. The administration of physical exercise should be considered, as interactions with other children as well as trainers seemingly have a considerable beneficial impact. Thus, this indicates that physical activity is beneficial for this population and that implementation of a biopsychosocial perspective is favorable in this setting.

People around the globe rely on their mobile devices for instant access to entertainment and social media. Children comprise a large majority of individuals who use smartphone applications, particularly for gaming and learning opportunities. Understandably, these apps become part of the identity development process, including the formation of one's gender identity. App developers include gendered content to capture and maintain children's attention, but much of the existing research examines children in late childhood and early adolescence, leaving the ages of six to eight relatively undiscussed. The researcher utilized a thematic analysis to review 20 children's mobile applications for instances of gender stereotypes. Social cognitive theory offers a guiding principle for understanding the process of developing one's gender identity, as well as the role that external stimuli, such as digital media examples and parent models, play. This study aimed to determine whether mobile applications targeting the identified age group use gender stereotypes, as well as how they employ these stereotypes within the application. The researcher randomly selected 20 top children's applications on the Apple App Store and examined them for gendered instances, such as occupations and interests as well as character depictions. The results reflect that instances of gender stereotypes do occur in the children's mobile applications. Many of the applications portrayed feminine stereotypes surrounding nurturing and caregiving tasks ("Mommy in Training"), making it one of the most frequently exploited feminine stereotypes in the sample. The "Boys will be Boys" stereotype comprised the most frequently displayed masculine stereotypes across the studied applications. These findings represent the idea that society places higher value on these stereotypes than others, such as social relationships ("The Power of Motivational Friendship") or recklessness ("The Risk Taker"). Implications include modeling of traditionally masculine and feminine stereotypes for young users by utilizing popular characters recognizable by most children in the target age range. / Master of Arts / Handheld electronic devices, such as smartphones and tablets, encompass some of the most widely used electronic devices in today's society. Most families in America have at least one mobile device with internet capability. Apple, the manufacturer of perhaps the most popular brand of electronic devices, pre-install their App Store on all devices they sell, giving users instant access to hundreds of thousands of different mobile applications that offer functions to make every aspect of life simpler. Young children spend a significant amount of their time playing games on these devices, although the American Academy of Pediatrics (2017) recommends that parents limit their children's daily screen time to no more than 2 hours, depending on the age of the child. The games that children download and play impose a number of different messages and stereotypes on their users, including gender stereotypes. Due to the substantial time children dedicate to these apps, the messages communicated regarding gender play crucial roles in the development of their gender identity. Social cognitive theory offers valuable insight and guidance into the gender identity development process. Therefore, the present study examines the gender stereotypes conveyed within 20 of the top children's mobile applications available on the Apple App Store in April 2018. The researcher randomly selected 20 children's applications, 10 each from the Top Free and Top Paid categories and examined them for gendered instances, such as occupations and interests as well as character depictions. The results reflect that instances of gender stereotypes do occur in the children's mobile applications. These represent the idea that society places higher value on certain stereotypes, like being caring and nurturing ("Mommy in Training") or engaging in messy, adventurous play ("Boys will be Boys"), than others, such as social relationships ("The Power of Motivational Friendship") or recklessness ("The Risk Taker"). Implications include modeling of traditionally masculine and feminine stereotypes for young users by utilizing popular characters recognizable by most children in the target age range.

The primary research strategy of this study was to elicit meaningful answers from viewers by means of a focus-group procedure; this is a method associated with qualitative research (see Creswell, 1998; Berg & Lune, 2011) The group consisted of ten adults, whose visual literacy in terms of narrative films, was described as high (they frequently watch films at home, or in the theatre). The researcher acted as the moderator; and a set of semi-structured questions, based on meanings attached to camera-angle codes as defined by Mascelli, were answered by the participants. The codification scheme of Mascelli was applied to the unconventional camera angles in Avatar and The English Patient. These were compared with the viewers’ responses. Finally, the results were interpreted, in order to establish whether a meaningful relationship exists between the viewers’ responses and the interpretation of unconventional camera angles by such a seminal figure as Joseph V. Mascelli. The literature study focused on a media aesthetic explanation of cinematography, which included media aesthetics theory, framing, and composition, as well as the general codes and conventions relevant to cinematography. The literature overview includes a study of books, academic articles, internet sources, legislation, and training videos. A Nexus and EbscoHost search (Academic Search Premier and Jstor) was conducted on cinematography in general, and on camera angles in particular. Chapter 5 indicates the viewers’ overall interpretations of the unconventional camera angles used in Avatar and The English Patient. The graphs in Chapter 5 indicate that the viewers found the unconventional camera angles used in the films to represent the meaning of the shots appropriately, and that they understood why each unconventional camera angle had been used. The viewers’ responses correspond with the meanings of the unconventional camera angles, as stated by Mascelli. To ensure the effectiveness of a film and the accurate representation of the meanings of camera angles and camera sizes, the way it is described by Mascelli should ideally be taken into consideration by all future producers. Mascelli’s descriptions of camera angles and camera sizes, combined with the media aesthetics, as described by Zettl – when successfully applied – could lead to the production of a good quality film and images within the film. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The primary research strategy of this study was to elicit meaningful answers from viewers by means of a focus-group procedure; this is a method associated with qualitative research (see Creswell, 1998; Berg & Lune, 2011) The group consisted of ten adults, whose visual literacy in terms of narrative films, was described as high (they frequently watch films at home, or in the theatre). The researcher acted as the moderator; and a set of semi-structured questions, based on meanings attached to camera-angle codes as defined by Mascelli, were answered by the participants. The codification scheme of Mascelli was applied to the unconventional camera angles in Avatar and The English Patient. These were compared with the viewers’ responses. Finally, the results were interpreted, in order to establish whether a meaningful relationship exists between the viewers’ responses and the interpretation of unconventional camera angles by such a seminal figure as Joseph V. Mascelli. The literature study focused on a media aesthetic explanation of cinematography, which included media aesthetics theory, framing, and composition, as well as the general codes and conventions relevant to cinematography. The literature overview includes a study of books, academic articles, internet sources, legislation, and training videos. A Nexus and EbscoHost search (Academic Search Premier and Jstor) was conducted on cinematography in general, and on camera angles in particular. Chapter 5 indicates the viewers’ overall interpretations of the unconventional camera angles used in Avatar and The English Patient. The graphs in Chapter 5 indicate that the viewers found the unconventional camera angles used in the films to represent the meaning of the shots appropriately, and that they understood why each unconventional camera angle had been used. The viewers’ responses correspond with the meanings of the unconventional camera angles, as stated by Mascelli. To ensure the effectiveness of a film and the accurate representation of the meanings of camera angles and camera sizes, the way it is described by Mascelli should ideally be taken into consideration by all future producers. Mascelli’s descriptions of camera angles and camera sizes, combined with the media aesthetics, as described by Zettl – when successfully applied – could lead to the production of a good quality film and images within the film. / MA (Communication Studies), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

1 online resource (122 leaves : ill.) / Educator stress is a grave problem. The aim of this research is to understand female secondary school educators' personality awareness in relation to work related stress, with particular reference to an independent school in Witbank, Mpumalanga, South Africa. In the literature study I determined the nature of work related stress in educators' lives and investigated personality awareness. My empirical research established the level of work related stress experienced by female educators and how an awareness of different personalities may influence the person's experience of work related stress. The research methods were qualitative in nature and included an interview as well as focus group observations. Findings suggested that all the educators were stressed to a lesser or greater degree, but the critical fact was that what is stressful to one person may not be stressful to another. Based on the findings, recommendations were made for improvements to help alleviate educator stress. / Educational Studies / M. Ed. (specialisation in Guidance and Councelling)

South Africa has been witnessing an escalation in drug use amongst adolescents in high school. Thus, the main question that motivated this research was: How can a psycho-educational programme, using a selected audio-visual media resource, assist teachers and parents in an effort to prevent adolescent students’ substance abuse problem behaviour? Social cognitive theory (SCT) and self-efficacy theory (SET) were used as a conceptual framework. The study explained these theories in-depth. Adolescent substance abuse was also studied as well as programmes to address this problem. This was followed by a perusal of numerous audio-visual resources for their possible incorporation into prevention programmes. The ‘Above The Influence’ (ATI) resource was selected for the psycho-educational programme which was designed for the study. The programme was put into action during seven sessions over a period of about two months, and implemented with a group of 26 Grade 10 and Grade 11 students in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, to evaluate its relevance for adolescent substance abuse prevention. To evaluate the programme, a qualitative approach was used. The data were gathered during the programme implementation by means of in-person and online focus groups, individual interviews, written open-ended questions, observation notes and follow-up interviews some time after the programme had ended. Eleven principles were identified from the literature to evaluate the potential of the programme to be effective in preventing adolescent substance abuse. In particular the programme needed to increase adolescents’ skills related to studying, communication, peer relationships, self-efficacy, assertiveness, and drug resistance. The programme also had to employ interactive techniques and needed to address the type of drug abuse problem in the local community, for example, the ‘gateway’ substances of marijuana, alcohol and tobacco. In addition, the programme potential was evaluated in the light of SCT and SET. The findings indicated that the psycho-educational programme, using ATI as audiovisual medium, can be used very effectively by teachers to raise students’ awareness and develop particular skills that could contribute towards the prevention of adolescent substance abuse. It is recommended that the programme should be used in the long-term with repeated reinforcing sessions over time. / Psychology of Education / D. Ed. (Psychology of Education)

The aim of this study was to explore the role of feedback in managing resistance to organisational change. A general systems theoretical model of individual resistance to change was developed. It describes the origin, function and outcomes of individual resistance to planned organisational change. The role of feedback within this process was identified as a central one and feedback was therefore identified as an important point of leverage in managing resistance to change. The survey feedback approach was adopted in a retail organisation undergoing significant change. Staff were asked to respond to a survey on their experience of the change. Results were analysed and then fed back to them during group discussions. The process was repeated. It was concluded that the survey feedback approach significantly contributed to a reduction in resistance to change and that both survey feedback approach and the model of individual resistance to change merit further investigation. / Industrial Psychology / M.A. (Industrial Psychology)