That an individual can be influenced by people they are close to and by society is something that most people are aware of and something that has been studied before. But how does a human resource student actually experience and reason about what influenced the study choice? The aim of this study is to investigate what is the basis for an individual's choice to begin studies on the human resources program. Furthermore, we want to investigate what the studentssee as important in their future working life and if there are any differences in how they reason. Questions asked are how the individual experiences and reason about what has influenced the study choice and its attitude to the future working life and also whether it is possible to distinguish differences between the students. This qualitative study bases its results on interviews with students who study semesters fiveand sixon the human resources program at two different universities in Sweden. The theoretical framework for this study consists of Pierre Bourdieu’s concepts about habitus, capital, social space and fields. The result indicates that all individuals in this study have experienced a certain influence from people around them to further their education and that the choice to study on the human resource program was made due to a certain uncertainty about what the individual would like to work with in the future. Furthermore, the result showed that the student’s attitude to the future working life was mainly about feeling comfortable in their workplace, having the opportunity to develop and to be appreciated for their work but also to be able to work with people in some way. Some differences in the attitudes towards the future working life could be discerned and these differences can be linked to previous work experience as well as parents’ influence in terms of profession and educational background. / Att en individ kan bli påverkad av personer i ens närhet och av samhället är något som de flesta är medvetna om och något som tidigare har studerats. Men hur upplever och resonerar egentligen en student på personalvetarprogrammet vad som påverkat studievalet? Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vad som ligger till grund för en individs val att påbörja studier på personalvetarprogrammet. Vidare vill vi undersöka vad studenterna ser som viktigt i det kommande arbetslivet och om det finns eventuella skillnader i hur de resonerar. Detta utifrån frågeställningarna om hur individen upplever och resonerar kring vad som påverkat studievalet och vilken inställning till det framtida arbetslivet personalvetarstudenterna har samt om det går att urskilja skillnader mellan studenterna. Denna kvalitativa studie baserar sitt resultat på intervjuer med sju studenter som studerar termin femoch sexpå personalvetarprogrammet vid två olika universitet i Sverige. Det teoretiska ramverket i studien består av Pierre Bourdieus teoretiska begrepp habitus, kapital, det sociala rummet och fält. Resultatet tyder på att alla individer i studien har upplevt enviss påverkan från omgivningen att vidareutbilda sig samt att valet av personalvetarprogrammet gjordes på grund av en viss osäkerhet kring vad individen vill arbeta med. Vidare framkom det i resultatet att studenternas inställning till det framtida arbetslivet främst handlade om att trivas på sin arbetsplats, ha möjlighet att utvecklas samt att bli uppskattad för sitt arbete men även att få arbeta med människor på något sätt. Vissa skillnader i inställningen till det framtida arbetslivet gick att urskilja och dessa skillnader kan kopplas till tidigare arbetslivserfarenhet och föräldrars påverkan i form av yrke och utbildningsbakgrund.

Thesis (M. Com. (Accountancy)) -- University of Limpopo, 2021 / This study investigated the effect of mayoral attributes on the financial performance of selected municipalities for improved service delivery in South Africa. The study adopted the quantitative research method to examine the relationship between mayoral attributes (age, administrative experience, and educational background) and financial performance. This study used data from 30 municipalities based in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study used data collected from selected municipal annual reports available on their websites using purposive sampling and panel data analysis to analyse the data. The results showed a positive relationship between administrative experience and financial performance, a negative relationship between age and financial performance, and a negative relationship between educational background and financial performance. Therefore, the study recommends that to improve financial performance in municipalities for improved service delivery the appointment of a municipal mayor should be based on administrative experience. Furthermore, the study suggests that in consideration of the need to interpret constantly emerging new financial regulations to promote financial stability in municipalities, the educational qualifications of mayoral candidates should be prioritised. However, the study did not examine other mayoral attributes that can affect financial performance, such as independence, race, and allowance because they are challenging to estimate. Keywords: Financial performance; age; Administrative experience; Educational background; municipalities; mayoral attributes.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T16:33:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Viviane Saladino Passos.pdf: 584104 bytes, checksum: 7f0e68f1e4e2df69a2c6b58b9a85db48 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-09-20 / This research analyzed the ways in which families social levels determined the different trajectories in the search for solutions for their children with severe cases of cerebral palsy. These same social levels constituted maternal expectations relating to the process of their children s schooling. The main hypothesis relates to the factor of social levels, composed of economic, social and cultural factors, revealing themselves to be the fundamental elements, along with the degree of organic deficiency present in the child, which created seemingly similar parental expectations, but which in reality resulted in diametrically opposed significations. This study utilized the services provided by a private, philanthropic institution which treats and rehabilitates those with severe cerebral palsy. Two mothers, whose girls were in therapeutic processes at said institution, were selected as the subjects of this research. Thus, based on the fundamental works of Bourdieu, utilizing concepts and contributions from Goffman and Crochik, the analysis revolved around the conforming to a specific perspective not only of the possibilities and limitations of the deficiency but also of the most adequate social and educational spaces, arising in the first place from the necessity of the girl s mothers to deal with their children s severe disabilities. A qualitative study, semi directed interview methods were utilized with the two mothers, based on the methodological procedures indicated by Bourdieu. The interview results were analyzed via six thematic spokes, to whit: understanding the deficiency, socio-economic levels, discovery of the illness by the family, the search for formal treatment, past schooling experience and current academic level. The main discoveries refer to the unconscious forms in which different trajectories generate differentiated expectations about schooling and the social destinies of the women s daughters; especially, those trajectories which involved access to health services, specialized information, housing conditions and formal schooling contributed to the above mentioned expectations / Este trabalho analisou de que forma as condições sociais de famílias, cujas filhas eram crianças com quadro de paralisia cerebral grave, determinaram trajetórias diferenciadas em busca de soluções dos problemas e constituíram as expectativas das mães frente aos processos de escolarização. Tivemos como hipótese que essas trajetórias, determinadas por condições sociais, econômicas e culturais concretas, foram elementos fundamentais, aliados às conseqüências orgânicas originárias da deficiência, e construíram expectativas que, aparentemente, revelam semelhanças, mas cujos significados atribuídos por elas são diametralmente opostos. Como sujeitos da pesquisa, foram selecionadas duas mães, cujas filhas eram atendidas em processos terapêuticos oferecidos por instituição privada de caráter assistencial-filantrópico que mantém atendimento de reabilitação voltado a pessoas com paralisia cerebral grave. Neste sentido, procuramos investigar, com base fundamental em Bourdieu, mas também nos reportando as contribuições de Goffman e de Crochik,. como o advento de um filho com deficiência grave e a busca de soluções foram conformando uma determinada perspectiva tanto das possibilidades/limitações da deficiência quanto do espaço social e educacional mais adequado. A pesquisa, de cunho qualitativa, realizou entrevistas semidirigidas com as duas mães com base nos procedimentos metodológicos indicados por Bourdieu. A análise dos resultados foi realizada com base em seis eixos temáticos, quais sejam: a compreensão da deficiência, as condições de vida, a descoberta pela família, a busca de encaminhamentos, as experiências de escolarização e a fase atual de escolarização. Os principais achados referem-se às formas inconscientes que trajetórias diferenciadas na busca de soluções, especialmente no que se refere à possibilidade de acesso a serviços de saúde, a informações especializadas, às condições de moradia e de escolaridade mais ou menos qualificados geram expectativas diferenciadas sobre a escolarização e o destino social de suas filhas

This thesis explores the experiences of foreign-born women entering the Swedish labor market. A lot of the existing research clusters foreign-born women as a homogeneous group, missing various factors that impact their ability to access the labor market. Current initiatives and strategies therefore risk overlooking the importance of personalized support, which can result in inadequate responses to the unique needs and challenges each woman faces.  The study aims to explore foreign-born women’s experiences to better understand the obstacles the women face when trying to enter the Swedish labor market. The thesis investigates previous research that raises the significance of networks, language proficiency, and support and guidance and five interviews are conducted to understand the women’s experiences better.  The findings of this study show that discrimination, the discourse surrounding foreign-born women and, lack of adequate individualized support hinder women from establishing themselves on the labor market. Hence, the results highlight the need for more tailored support and new ways to learn the language. To achieve this, an intersectional approach is important to grasp the complex challenges that foreign-born women face in entering the Swedish labor market.  Overall, the thesis underscores the need for individualized support initiatives that consider the unique challenges and experiences of foreign-born women. By centering the women’s experiences, this study provides a valuable contribution to the ongoing efforts to improve the support for foreign-born women in the Swedish labor market.

Childhood obesity is a serious public health problem. The present study investigated the association of parental educational background and social support with children’s weight status, and assessed whether parental depression influences the association of educational background and social support with children’s weight status. The study included data from 175 children in Stockholm County aged 4–6 years with obesity and a mean body mass index (BMI) standard deviation score (SDS) of 3.2; 45% of the cohort were male. Data included information provided by 98 mothers and 93 fathers. Forty-four percent of mothers had a university education, 66% were overweight or obese, and 77% displayed minimal depression symptoms. Forty-six percent of fathers had a university education, 52% were overweight or obese, and 87% displayed minimal depression symptoms. The association between parental educational background and social support and child BMI SDS was investigated using regression analysis for mothers and fathers. Results showed that educational level reported by fathers was negatively associated with high BMI SDS among children. Even after controlling for covariates, a low level of paternal education remained associated with a high BMI SDS among the children. Neither social support nor parental depression modified the effect of parental education on child BMI SDS.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-27T14:31:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Odila Amelia Veiga Franca.pdf: 2994384 bytes, checksum: acf3465c90987c958bde50d992c43211 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-10-30 / background of the researcher, rescued by memory. It has to do with a thesis originated from the pedagogic fact experienced by the pupil Jairo, in the teaching of reading and writing in his early stages of the literacy process, in an Emergency Multi-series School, situated in the countryside of the municipality of Sete Barras, São Paulo State, southern region of the Vale do Ribeira, in 1968. The problem of the research, or even the restlessness of the researcher in her first search, is then formulated. In which sense, can the inter-disciplinary theory, taken as theoretical illumination of the study of the pedagogic fact, justify the discussion over the researcher s disciplinary educational background, a researcher nowadays? Can also explain the relationship of both the teacher and pupil with knowledge? Can fertilize the ways of the best teaching qualification to the educators generations? This research has as its main purpose to take experience as an object of study as a means of carrying out a critical analysis of the effects of a literacy action related to the disciplinary educational background of the researcher. It aims at fecundating the originating elements of the pedagogic fact, analyze its most enhanced traces in epistemological, method as well as political - pedagogical dimensions confronted with the educational reality of the context analyzed, in order to find senses and meanings of the experiences here put to the light of the inter-disciplinary and phenomenological science. Due to the contributions of the study for the initial and continued educational background of teachers from the basic education, it is possible to recognize the social, theoretical and political-pedagogic relevance of the research. The researcher defends the idea that satisfying results in the teaching and learning process, as well as pupil s performance evaluation is closely related to the quality of teacher s educational background.it is understood that looking at the educational reality as a problem, is, before being a salutary exercise, it is a duty and ethical attitude of any educator. A teaching desired to be rethought and qualified, has primarily to probe its senses and meanings in favor of the historical and socio-cultural quality of the community it serves. Considering the nature and singularity of the inter-disciplinary research, it is forcedly necessary to respect its amplitude and broadness of its theoretical field, interweaving it to other aspects of knowledge such as life history, teacher s education background, and dialogical education with the possibility of freeing the human being, and at last, education based on the fundamentals of Phenomenology and self-knowledge / A interdisciplinaridade é a base desta pesquisa, de abordagem qualitativa, que se vale de uma narrativa entretecida na história de vida e na formação pedagógica da pesquisadora, resgatada pela memória. Trata-se da tese que tem origem no fato pedagógico vivido com o aluno Jairo, no ensino da leitura e da escrita no processo inicial de alfabetização, numa Escola de Emergência Multisseriada, localizada na zona rural do município de Sete Barras, Estado de São Paulo, região sul do Vale do Ribeira, no ano de 1968. O problema de pesquisa, ou a inquietação da pesquisadora e sua busca primeira, está assim formulado: em que sentido a teoria interdisciplinar, tomada como iluminação teórica do estudo do fato pedagógico, pode fundamentar a discussão da formação disciplinar da professora, hoje, pesquisadora? Pode explicar a relação da professora e do aluno Jairo com o saber? Pode fertilizar os caminhos da melhor qualificação docente às novas gerações de educadores? O objetivo precípuo é tomar a experiência como objeto de estudo com fins de realizar a análise crítica dos efeitos da ação alfabetizadora relacionada com a formação disciplinar da pesquisadora. Busca-se fecundar os elementos originários do fato pedagógico, analisar os seus traços mais salientes nas dimensões epistemológica, metodológica e político-pedagógica, confrontadas com a realidade educacional do contexto analisado, para encontrar os sentidos e os significados da experiência aqui colocada à luz da ciência interdisciplinar e fenomenológica. As contribuições do estudo para a formação inicial e continuada de professores da educação básica justificam a relevância social, teórica e político-pedagógica da pesquisa. Defende a pesquisadora que o alcance de resultados satisfatórios no ensino, na aprendizagem e na avaliação do desempenho escolar dos alunos está intrinsecamente ligado à qualidade da formação do professor. Entende que problematizar a realidade educacional é, antes de um exercício salutar, um dever e uma atitude ética de todo educador. Uma docência que se quer repensada e requalificada tem que, fundamentalmente, sondar os seus sentidos e seus significados em favor da qualidade histórica e sociocultural da comunidade à qual serve. Dada a natureza e a singularidade da pesquisa interdisciplinar, é forçoso respeitar a amplitude e a abrangência do seu campo teórico, entrelaçando-o com outras searas do conhecimento, como a história de vida, a formação docente, a educação dialógica enquanto possibilidade de libertação do ser, por fim, a educação pautada nos fundamentos da fenomenologia e no autoconhecimento

Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-03T16:16:21Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Maisi Matilde.pdf: 511176 bytes, checksum: 11eafcebd0093912cbe8feb075de395f (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-13 / Arts and creativity are essential elements for individual, social, cultural growth as well as for the development of society. However, since the sixteenth century we live strongly influenced by the parameters of cognitive instrumental rationality. particularly in western culture has been dominates the overvaluation of objectivity, rationality and the hard sciences to the detriment of artistic creation. This research examines the rational of art and its influence on limiting the creativity in the school environment. Thus, analyzing the different conceptions of creativity, in the light of historical evolution and the influences of inherited socio-cultural context. Also considers the concept of art/ education in its relation to the historical conditions of insertion of formal education in Brazil. Finally, this paper identifies the hallmarks of rationality in current educational processes in Brazil, with reference to contemporary theories. The conclusion of this study may serve as a basis for providing subsidies to reflect on the need for renewal of views on creativity as an instrument of intellectual education, the teaching of arts in the school context. / A arte e a atividade criativa são alguns dos ingredientes essenciais para o crescimento individual, social e cultural do ser humano e, em consequência, da humanidade. Contudo, desde o século XVI vivemos fortemente influenciados pelos parâmetros da racionalidade cognitivo-instrumental. Particularmente na cultura ocidental tem sido predominante a supervalorização da objetividade, da racionalidade e das ciências duras em detrimento da criação artística. Esta pesquisa examina a ocupação racional da arte e sua influência na limitação da criatividade no ambiente escolar. Assim, analisa as diversas concepções de criatividade, à luz da evolução histórica e as influências herdadas do contexto sóciocultural. Considera ainda o conceito de Arte/Educação em sua relação com as condições históricas da inserção da educação formal no Brasil. Finalmente, esta dissertação identifica as marcas da racionalidade em processos educacionais correntes no Brasil, tendo como referência teorias contemporâneas. As conclusões deste trabalho poderão servir como base para fornecer subsídios à reflexão sobre a necessidade de renovação dos olhares sobre a criatividade, como instrumento de formação intelectual, no ensino de artes no contexto escolar.

A weaving program initiated in 1981 by the National Welfare Organization to support the women with low educational background living in a Slavic-speaking area of the mountainous borderlands of Northern Greece, and continued for thirty years until its suspension in 2010. This research aims to shed light on factors that are experienced as important by participants in handcrafted employability projects. By uncovering socio-political factors that led to the suspension of the program, and its consequences on the women, insights about better understanding and dealing with similar conditions could be beneficial for future programs. An open-ended research strategy using individual semi-structured interviews, under the scope of the biographical narrative approach, was followed. According to the research results, the existence of the workshop improved the working conditions of the local women. The positive impact of its operation is reflected on the economic and social life of the village too. However, the sudden decision for suspension left no room for reactions, thus resulting to various economic and social consequences on personal and community levels. In conclusion, the power of structural forces started and ended the program. Despite the restrictions and intentions of the program, the people of this small community managed to create beautiful artefacts and a balanced social atmosphere, as well as to enrich the social life of the village.

During the past years, gamification has become an influential trend in technology and the promises are widespread. The definition of gamification is known as the implementation of game elements (leaderboards, badges, points) within a non-game context. The term emerged as a result of business digitalization showing potential in increasing employee engagement and productivity. As a result of its infancy, little is known about the factors that define the use intention of a prospective user. Moreover, the role that different demographic backgrounds might have on the use intention of potential users is largely unknown.  This study has specifically sought to uncover these factors by subjecting the constructs of the Technology Acceptance Model within the context of gamification. The study investigates the factors that define the intention of users to engage in platforms based on gamification. Furthermore, by exploring the link between demographic factors and gamification use intention, this study contributes to filling an important research gap. Where prior research has predominantly focused on examining the effects of age and gender, this study has aimed to propose new findings on the factors of educational background and IT literacy.  This research has employed a quantitative research method based on the collection of survey responses. For data collection, an online survey was conducted within the organizational context of Volvo CE, 93 survey responses have been taken into consideration for the analysis. The data analysis method of choice is based on PLS-SEM, with the analysis performed through the software programmes SmartPLS and SPSS. Through this method, the relevance of the constructs to Gamification Use Intention (GUI) could be investigated, whilst the controlling effect of demographics was also uncovered. The conclusions indicate that the two main defining technological acceptance factors for gamification use intention are perceived enjoyment, and perceived usefulness. Additionally, perceived ease of use has materialized as an indirect indicator of GUI through its positive effect on enjoyment and usefulness. In the case of the demographic factors, gender was found to have no effect, age decreases GUI as individuals are older, individuals with higher IT literacy experience higher GUI, and higher GUI is found for individuals with lower educational backgrounds.

In order to research the limited English proficiency of First Year National Intermediate Certificate students at the Further Education and Training College of Ekurhuleni West, the researcher investigated various motivation variables, namely: * socio-psychological factors * learner factors * parental involvement and * contextual factors related to the influence of the school and classroom A review of literature and empirical research methods were used to this effect. The literature review revealed that instrumental and integrative motivation, self-determination and goal orientedness, parental support and school and classroom context factors contributed to the development of ESL proficiency. A motivation questionnaire and an English proficiency test were administered to the participants. The results indicated no significant relationship between the learner's level of ESL proficiency and motivation variables. These findings form the basis for recommending specific guidelines for possible directions for future research. / Linguistics / M.A. (Specialisation in Applied Linguistics)