As an art educator, it has been a personal struggle of mine to motivate students in an academic setting, and to empower them within and beyond school walls. I believe that those schools walls are more than just physical boundaries and borders, but are an integral factor in how and what children can learn. Literature has given a broad view of the relationship between a school’s architecture and its pedagogy, identifying how paint colors or the arrangement of desks can influence student actions. Although these studies provide relevant information for educators and architects, investigation that reports from the student’s perspective are lacking in number. This thesis explores the impacts of the participatory design strategy of a newly renovated high school. Through active and often artistic involvement, students contributed to the appearance of their learning environment. This resulted in a tight-knit community, a boost in self-esteem, a sense of ownership and a source of empowerment. The findings of this study add to the body of resources aimed at child-centered pedagogy, and aim to serve as a model for empowering students through the arts. / text

This research aims at understanding the career development of women in the high-level management in corporat ions and enterprises. I t will focus on their leadership uniqueness and inf luences, the conf lict of balancing fami ly wi th career, and how to coordinate and communicate. This research adopted multiple approaches on individual case studies. I t incorporates in-depth interviews of upper female leaders¡¦ career development and inf luence factor to acquire study results. The process included interviewing four women execut ives, t ranscribing the interview content , and analyzing the content. The study f inds even though the women execut ive¡¦s performance at work is outstanding, the responsibi lity in the fami ly does not reduce. With the increase in career opportunity, these women st ill have to be responsible for children¡¦s education as wel l as household duties. This renders greater pressure for women than men. Companies based on policies and system or indust ries that ¡¦s more sui table to women, wi th less obst ruct ion in career development wil l result in less family conf lict . Women execut ives with leadership styles that lean towards employee centered, team bui lding, proper delegat ion, and social experience, tend to have more pat ience and empathy. This is especially t rue in the communication and negot iat ion process. More democrat ic and inclusive spirit is incorporated. Encouragement and teamwork creates mutual t rust, and posi tive compet it ive envi ronment. As the famous quote by the American f irst lady Eleanor Roosevelt , ¡¨A woman is like a tea bag- you never know how st rong she is unt i l she gets in hot water¡¨, women leaders should possess self -knowledge, understand the inner-self and the role she wil l play. She should consider the nature of the job and its requirements. With personal uniqueness, distinct ive personali ty, and self -discipline, she wil l be convincing and possessing charming conf idence.

The negative impact of HIV/Aids, internationally and nationally; as well as on the education system of South Africa, is well-documented and cannot be ignored. The latest statistics indicate that South Africa currently has the highest occurrence of HIV/Aids in the world. Due to this high occurrence of HIV/Aids infected people, an unbelievably high percentage of the community is affected by the pandemic. Teachers, specifically life orientation teachers, are also affected by this phenomenon. All teachers, but specifically Life orientation teachers, are faced on a daily basis with various personal and professional challenges related to the HIV/Aids pandemic. These challenges threaten the well-being of teachers, so that researchers have been asked to empower teachers so that they can resist these challenges. A resilient teacher avails of the correct information on HIV/Aids and can therefore contribute to fighting the pandemic by providing correct information. This teacher will, amongst others, also have strong faith, the ability to discuss the pandemic openly and to obtain access to counselling. This resilient teacher realises the importance of a positive attitude despite the fact that she is realistic about the impact of the pandemic, has positive relationships and realises the value of support. The aim of my study was to determine the degree to which the programme Resilient Educators (REds) can support life orientation teachers who are affected by HIV/Aids, so that they will be equipped to resiliently withstand the challenges HIV/Aids set them. REds has been evaluated many times, but until the present, participants have not been life orientation teachers. In response to this aim, I followed a pre-experimental research design in the course of my study with twelve affected life orientation teachers in Sasolburg, as participants. Before beginning with the programme, a pretest (qualitative as well as quantitative data were collected) was done. Intervention took place over seven weeks by means of the REds programme. I wrote a reflection journal during the intervention and asked participants to report their impressions of the sessions in writing. After completing the programme, a post test was written (qualitative as well as quantitative data were collected) to determine the degree to which participants were able to withstand the challenges of HIV/Aids more resiliently. Thorough analysis of the pre and post test data, as well as the reflection data, creates the impression that participants were already resilient to some degree before joining the programme, but after completing the programme, their resilience can be described as more profound than before, and this fact can largely be ascribed to the effectiveness of the REds programme. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Educational Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

The negative impact of HIV/Aids, internationally and nationally; as well as on the education system of South Africa, is well-documented and cannot be ignored. The latest statistics indicate that South Africa currently has the highest occurrence of HIV/Aids in the world. Due to this high occurrence of HIV/Aids infected people, an unbelievably high percentage of the community is affected by the pandemic. Teachers, specifically life orientation teachers, are also affected by this phenomenon. All teachers, but specifically Life orientation teachers, are faced on a daily basis with various personal and professional challenges related to the HIV/Aids pandemic. These challenges threaten the well-being of teachers, so that researchers have been asked to empower teachers so that they can resist these challenges. A resilient teacher avails of the correct information on HIV/Aids and can therefore contribute to fighting the pandemic by providing correct information. This teacher will, amongst others, also have strong faith, the ability to discuss the pandemic openly and to obtain access to counselling. This resilient teacher realises the importance of a positive attitude despite the fact that she is realistic about the impact of the pandemic, has positive relationships and realises the value of support. The aim of my study was to determine the degree to which the programme Resilient Educators (REds) can support life orientation teachers who are affected by HIV/Aids, so that they will be equipped to resiliently withstand the challenges HIV/Aids set them. REds has been evaluated many times, but until the present, participants have not been life orientation teachers. In response to this aim, I followed a pre-experimental research design in the course of my study with twelve affected life orientation teachers in Sasolburg, as participants. Before beginning with the programme, a pretest (qualitative as well as quantitative data were collected) was done. Intervention took place over seven weeks by means of the REds programme. I wrote a reflection journal during the intervention and asked participants to report their impressions of the sessions in writing. After completing the programme, a post test was written (qualitative as well as quantitative data were collected) to determine the degree to which participants were able to withstand the challenges of HIV/Aids more resiliently. Thorough analysis of the pre and post test data, as well as the reflection data, creates the impression that participants were already resilient to some degree before joining the programme, but after completing the programme, their resilience can be described as more profound than before, and this fact can largely be ascribed to the effectiveness of the REds programme. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Educational Psychology))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2010.

Suicide surpassed homicide to be the second leading cause of death among people 10-24 years old in the United States \cite{1}. This statistic is alarming especially when combined with the more than eight distinctly different types of clinical depression among society today \cite{2}. To further complicate this health crisis, let’s consider the current worldwide isolating pandemic often referred to as COVID-19 that has spanned 12 months. It is more important than ever to consider how we can get ahead of the crisis by identifying the symptoms as they set in and more importantly ahead of the decision to commit suicide. To capitalize on the modern shift to electronic-based interactions \cite{1}, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) methods to aid in identification have been previously implemented in Virtual Human interviewing platforms. This effort examines these existing approaches and includes an independent survey that is used to solve the gap in early identification of depression and suicidal ideation using a virtual human interviewing platform by soliciting honest, open, and current feedback from Soldiers on how to optimize such a system to encourage its use in the future. Specifically, the analysis of the survey results identify critical gaps from a participants perspective to be security, customization's, and error handling recommended to be included in future development of the EMPOWER (Enhancing Mental Performance and Optimizing Warfighter Effectiveness and Resilience: From MultiSense to OmniSense) platform. These recommendations are provided to the USC-ICT EMPOWER team to be included in the next prototype and system test.

Between 250.000 and  300.000 people live with psoriasis in Sweden today. 50% develop psoriasis before they are 25 years old. When living with psoriasis, one have an increased risk of developing comorbidities, which include overweight, joint problems, high blood pressure, cardiovascular diseases and depression, among others. Based on recent findings, people living with psoriasis can achieve health benefits and improve the symptoms of the condition through living and good life style. I have developed a lifestyle system named "núna", which will empower the patient, encourage a good lifestyle, prevent comorbidities and improve the healthcare personnel and patient communication. The system includes an application which consists of five different main categories (Activity, diet, quit smoking, photography documentation and administrating issues related to ones healthcare providers), and an activity tracker with two different portable docks and a charging station.

This document presents a dissertation research study that examined parents of preteens and the protectionist and empowerment Internet mediation and media literacy strategies they reported using to guide their child's use of the Internet. Parents' use of protectionist and empowerment strategies, their confidence level in enacting these strategies, their attitudes about efficacy of these strategies, and the relationship among their attitudes about children's use of the Internet to these areas were examined. The study used an online survey (N=236) of parents who have preteens with Internet access at home, and parent interviews from a sample of the survey respondents (N=40), to gather data from a nationwide sample of parents. Parents were asked questions about their use of, confidence in, and perceptions of effectiveness of protectionist and empowerment Internet mediation strategies, what topics related to Internet use they have discussed with their child, and overall their attitudes about the Internet and children. The survey results show that the majority of parents use a combination of protectionism and empowerment strategies, but more heavily use protectionist Internet mediation overall. Parents reported high confidence in using most of the strategies, with slightly less (but still notably high) confidence in using empowerment strategies. Even though parents reported feeling confident using empowerment strategies, they used them much less than protectionist strategies. Protectionist strategies were also ranked as more effective than empowerment ones. Parents' attitudes about the Internet were also associated with behaviors. Parents' level of comfort in using the Internet and computers was positively associated with their overall engagement in their preteens' Internet use, whether protectionism or empowerment. Parental attitude about the Internet being a good place for their child was associated with the likelihood to use protectionist strategies. However, parents who did not believe the Internet was a good place for their kids tended to talk about more Internet behavior topics with their child. The interviews with parents revealed a typology of protectionist and empowerment strategies with three major themes and several subthemes. The first theme included strategies for monitoring the Internet, the second illustrated the types of protectionist and empowerment behaviors parents use, and the third theme encompassed the values that emerged regarding parents' family communication and roles, comparisons to other families, and hopes about the potential benefits of the Internet in their child's life. Among the three themes parents voiced their life experiences, feelings, and concerns and how those influenced their decisions around protectionism or empowerment. Similar to the survey results, the interviews show that most parents used protectionist strategies, with the most widely used strategies including "POS" (parent over shoulder), and having the child use the Internet in a public space in the home. Few parents who were interviewed co-surf online with their preteens, ask questions about the websites their kids visit, or encourage their kids to create things online. However, parents who worked in fields related to media and technology were more likely to use empowerment strategies. The interviews revealed that parents' use of protectionist or empowerment strategies is complex, and is interwoven with their attitudes, values, concerns, and hopes for the potential of the Internet for their child. This study challenges the field to consider four myths about parents and Internet mediation, including: 1) Parents are either protectionist or empowerment, but not usually both; 2) Parents who are more confident using Internet mediation strategies will use them more often; and 3) Parents who think the Internet is not a good place for kids are more likely to use protectionist strategies; and 4) Parents who are uncomfortable with technology are more likely to use protectionist strategies. Possible reasoning for these misconceptions about parents, and how this speaks to research in the field, are explored. This study encourages parent media literacy education efforts to include a balance and progression in protectionist and empowerment strategies by proposing a Stair Steps of Parent Internet Mediation framework. This framework explains an aspirational process for parent education around the Internet to guide future efforts for those who work in parent media literacy education. / Mass Media and Communication

This dissertation discusses Gayl Jones’s and Toni Morrison’s characterisation of black women’s journeying towards empowered subjectivity and agency. Through comparative analysis of eight fictional works, I explore the writers’ idea of female freedom and emancipation, the structures of power affecting the transition from oppressed towards liberated subject positions, and the literary techniques through which the authors facilitate these seminal trajectories. My research addresses a corpus comprised of three novels and one book-long poem by Gayl Jones, as well as four novels by Toni Morrison. These two writers emerge in the US literary scene during the 1970s, one of the decades of the second black women’s renaissance (1970s, 1980s). This period witnessed unprecedented developments in US black literature and feminist theorising. In the domain of African American letters, it witnessed the emergence of a host of black women writers such as Gayl Jones and Toni Morrison. This period also marks a turning point in the reconfiguration of African American literature, as several unknown or misplaced literary works by pioneering black women writers were discovered, shifting the chronology of African American literature. Moreover, the second black women's renaissance marks a paradigmatic development in black feminist theorising on womanhood and subjectivity. Many black feminist scholars and activists challenged what they perceived to be the homogenising female subject conceptualised by US white middle-class feminism and the androcentricity of the subject proclaimed by the Black Aesthetic Movement. They claimed that, in focusing solely on gender and patriarchal oppression, white feminism had overlooked the salience of the race/class nexus, while focus by the Black Aesthetic Movement on racism had overlooked the salience of gender and heterosexual discrimination. In this dissertation, I discuss the works of Gayl Jones and Toni Morrison in the context of seminal debates on the nature of the female subject and the racial and gender politics affecting the construction of empowered subjectivities in black women's fiction. Through the metaphor of journeying towards female empowerment, I show how Gayl Jones and Toni Morrison engage in imaginative returns to the past in an attempt to relocate black women as literary subjects of primary importance. I also show how, in the works selected for discussion, a complex idea of modern female subjectivities emerges from the writers' re-examination of the oppressive material and psychological circumstances under which pioneering black women lived, the common practice of sexual exploitation with which they had to contend, and the struggle to assert the dignity of their womanhood beyond the parameters of the white-defined “ideological discourse of true womanhood” (Carby, 1987: 25).

I läroplanens inledande del lyfts betydelsen av att elever aktivt får delta i planering och utvärdering av undervisningen och utveckla sin förmåga utöva inflytande och ta ansvar i skolan. Tidigare forskning visar att skolan inte lyckats i detta uppdrag. Studien är en del av en aktion vars utvecklingsfokus varit att öka elevers delaktighet i projektarbetsformen. Studien vill belysa elevdelaktighet ur elevernas perspektiv, vilken betydelse och vilket värde delaktighet har för eleverna, samt hur de anser att den fungerar i praktiken. Forskningsfrågan är: Hur beskriver elever delaktighet i skolan? Studiens syfte är att belysa elevdelaktighet ur elevernas perspektiv, för att förstå vilken betydelse och vilket värde delaktighet har för eleverna, samt hur de anser att den fungerar i praktiken. Data har skapats genom elevers loggboksskrivande om delaktighet och uppföljande samtal med elever, som analyserats genom dimensioner av delaktighet; innehållsdimension, drivkrafts-dimension och samspelsdimension. Elevers beskrivningar av delaktighet är i lika mån beskrivningar av lärandet. Resultatet visar att delaktighet ger mening till elevernas lärande. Den individuella valfriheten är motiverande för eleverna. Det absolut viktigaste för eleverna att få vara delaktiga i är lärandets innehålls- och formfrågor. Delaktighet beskrivs av eleverna både ur ett individuellt och ett kollektivt perspektiv. Studiens resultat bekräftar Illeris och Wengers teorier om lärandets samspel och socialt lärande. / In the introductory part of the Curriculum for the Compulsory School, the importance of pupils participation in the planning and the evaluation of their education is highlighted. Also to develop their ability to participate and to take responsibility in school is highlighted. Earlier research shows that the school has failed in this mission. This study is a part of an action, which developing focus has been to increase the pupils participation in project based learning. The intention of the study is to throw light upon pupils participation from the pupils view, what meaning and what value do the pupils give participation, and how do they think it is working in practice. The research question is: How do pupils describe participation in school? The purpose of the study is to highlight pupils participation from the pupils' view, to understand what meaning and value it gives to the pupils', and how they think it works in practice. Data has been produced by the pupils by writing logbooks about participation and by follow-up conversation with the same pupils. The empirics have been analyzed throw dimensions of participation; the dimension of content, the dimension of motive power and the dimension of cooperation. The pupils descriptions' of participation are also descriptions about learning. The result shows that participation gives meaning to the pupils learning. The individual freedom of choice is motivating for the pupils. The most important area for the pupils to participate in, is the content and the form of learning-area. Participation is described both from an individual and a collective perspective by the pupils. The results of the study confirm Illeris and Wengers theories about cooperative learning and social learning.

The festival of Karvachauth is celebrated by upper class married women of North India and occurs in the month of October or early November. On this day married women fast to ensure the long lives of their husbands. They wake up before dawn and eat a meal. After sunrise they do not drink water or eat any food until they see the moon at night. The moon is watched through a sieve and prayed to before breaking the fast. An important part of Karvachauth is a ritual that is performed by women in the afternoon. This ritual is hosted by a woman of the neighborhood and other women assemble in the house where they form a circle. The narration of a folktale of a princess named Veeravati forms the center of the ritual. Women also dress up in festive bright saris and lots of jewelry for the ritual. Some part of the day is spent in putting intricate designs of henna on their hands and feet. Although women's act of fasting for their husbands might appear as a sign of subjugation, in my thesis I argue that it is not. Rather, festivals like Karvachauth temporarily liberate women from daily restrictions and give them a licensed freedom to break away from customs that confine them to the threshold of their households. I argue that Karvachauth gives women a chance to move out of their confined private worlds into the public world, dominated by men, and out of their reach in daily life. I do acknowledge that women must satisfy the serious aspects of the ritual first if they wish to enjoy the liberties. But once they are able to do so, the freedoms are easily manipulated by women to empower them, albeit temporarily, in various ways.