The present diploma thesis deals with the phenomenon of Local Exchange Trading Systems (LETS). Using the method of ethnographic research, the author sought a holistic description during her six-month participation in a LETS group in Toulouse. Drawing upon theoretical literature, she discusses the local forms of exchange, debt, the relationship to money and to the virtual currency. The findings show that such a system can change the perception of debt and the relation to money. The most common reasons for involvement are the need to establish social contacts, while the most pressing problem appears to be the lack of interest of young people in this phenomenon. Keywords LETS, ethnographic research, exchange, gift, debt, individualization, Toulouse

Employees are an organisation’s most valuable asset. Their significance to an organisation means that not only the best talent should be attracted but that they should also be retained for the long run. The purpose of this study was to explore the talent retention challenges faced by an HIV/AIDS testing organisation in Lesotho. The study intended to unearth the ideologies behind the high staff turnover in the organisation. The findings of the study indicated that the testing organisation in Lesotho should develop and implement effective policies, systems and strategies that would improve their level of talent retention. These findings can also apply to other non-governmental organisations. An ethnographic qualitative research design and snowball sampling, using semi-structured interviews were utilised to collect data from the testing organisation staff. The study found that field workers in the testing organisation worked extensive hours with limited resources. In terms of decision-making policies, only senior officers were included in the decision-making processes. There was lack of support from management to aid employees to achieve their targets. While the benefits were satisfactory, staff found their salaries low and not competitive in the market. Moreover, management’s lack of implementing training and development policies crippled the employees’ career growth and talent. Most managers did not regard the testing organisation as an employer of choice.Employees are an organisation’s most valuable asset. Their significance to an organisation means that not only the best talent should be attracted but that they should also be retained for the long run. The purpose of this study was to explore the talent retention challenges faced by an HIV/AIDS testing organisation in Lesotho. The study intended to unearth the ideologies behind the high staff turnover in the organisation. The findings of the study indicated that the testing organisation in Lesotho should develop and implement effective policies, systems and strategies that would improve their level of talent retention. These findings can also apply to other non-governmental organisations. An ethnographic qualitative research design and snowball sampling, using semi-structured interviews were utilised to collect data from the testing organisation staff. The study found that field workers in the testing organisation worked extensive hours with limited resources. In terms of decision-making policies, only senior officers were included in the decision-making processes. There was lack of support from management to aid employees to achieve their targets. While the benefits were satisfactory, staff found their salaries low and not competitive in the market. Moreover, management’s lack of implementing training and development policies crippled the employees’ career growth and talent. Most managers did not regard the testing organisation as an employer of choice. / Business Management / M. Com. (Business Management)

<p>No pages i or ii in the hard copy</p> <p>Pgs. 111 and 209 were combined together in Photoshop because pages were too large for scanning at one time.</p> / <p>This thesis is based upon ethnographic and archival research relating to the Crees of Red Earth in east central Saskatchewan. Ethnographic research was conducted at the Red Earth reserves for about a year, mainly in 1971 and 1972. Archival research was carried out at the Public Archives of Manitoba, utilizing documents of the Hudson's Bay Company and the Anglican Missionary Society.</p> <p>This research has been basically historical in orientation and directed towards obtaining information on the changing subsistence-settlement patterns and social organization of the Crees of the Red Earth region since about 1860. Culturally, the Red Earth people are Plains Crees, originally affiliated with those who centred their yearly activities about Ft. a la Corne, Saskatchewan. Of particular interest is the cultural and social affiliation of the Red Earth people with the Shoal Lake Crees, a Swampy Cree group who formed one segment of the large Indian group attached to The Pas, Manitoba.</p> <p>A major theme of this thesis is the development of a high degree of in-marriage between the Red Earth and Shoal Lake Crees and the formation of an in-marrying group which is here termed the "deme" or "marriage isolate". It is postulated that the marriage isolate is a social form characteristic of hunter-gatherer society throughout the world and that it was present among Northern Algonkians in the early contact period (and, therefore, also in pre-contact times). Due to the environmental instability of the boreal forest, disruptions due to contact (introduced diseases, fur trade vicissitudes) and contemporary government policies, it appears that Northern Algonkian demes have been in a recurrent state of disruption and re-formation throughout the contact period.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Esta dissertação investigou, através de um estudo de caso de uma instituição de ensino superior privada, o estágio supervisionado de professores no curso de Licenciatura para a Língua Inglesa. Embora tenha o propósito de promover uma experiência prática no local de trabalho, observa-se que o estágio supervisionado obrigatório, pela legislação, para o professor se formar muitas vezes se torna um momento de frustrações para o estagiário. Identificando os conceitos teóricos desse tipo de estágio, esta Investigação indicou que a burocracia interfere na construção de identidade, na formação e preparação do professor. Esta experiência singular pode, no entanto, ser um evento gratificante no percurso do estagiário se houver a devida orientação. A investigação conclui que com a adoção de uma abordagem sociológica, etnográfica e dialética para uma pesquisa inicial é de grande relevância, os estagiários tenderão a mitigar as frustrações relacionadas à documentação e envolver-se numa investigação valiosa a respeito de: o que é um professor, o que ele faz, quem sou eu (estagiário) e que tipo de professor eu quero ser. Argumento, portanto, que a participação ativa e engajada nesse momento da carreira do professor, é essencial para promover uma formação inovadora de professor para um mundo moderno e em constante mudança. / This dissertation has investigated, by means of a case study in a private college, supervised teachers internships at Teachers College for English teachers. Despite proposing hands-on experience in the work place, the supervised internship, legally mandatory for teachers to graduate, quite often turns out to be a moment of frustration for the teacher-to-be. By bringing to light the theoretical background of such an internship, this investigation indicates that bureaucracy interferes in the construction of identity, as well as in a teachers education and preparation. This unique experience can, however, be a fulfilling event in the interns journey if it is given the due orientation. The investigation has concluded that by adopting a sociological, ethnographic and dialectic approach to such an initial yet significant research paper, interns will be more inclined to see beyond the red tape and involve themselves in a rewarding investigation of: what a teacher is, what a teacher does, who am I and what kind of teacher do I wish to be. I therefore argue that active and engaging participation at this point in an interns career is essential for promoting innovative teacher education for the modern, everchanging world.

Ghana, a low-income developing country in sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing low maternal health service utilization and high rates of maternal mortality, especially in the rural areas. The Talensi-Nabdam District is one of the poorest and most remote districts in Ghana. The reproductive health status of women in the most remote communities in this District is poor. Dialogue about women’s reproductive health care needs in Ghana have been influenced by health care authorities, professionals, researchers and experts’ perceptions. The purpose of this ethnographic research was to explore rural Ghanaian women’s experiences of seeking reproductive health care from their own perspectives. The study was based on data collected from participant observations, unstructured face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 27 women of varying socio-demographic backgrounds participated in the study. Interviews were conducted at locations of the women’s choice and in women’s local dialect. Data were translated and transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Four major themes emerged from the findings: submitting to the voices of family, women’s experiences of receiving nursing care, the community of gossip, and gaining voice. The findings of this study have implications for nursing practice, education and nursing inquiry. Awareness of barriers that rural women encounter in meeting their reproductive health care needs among health care providers is important in facilitating positive health care seeking behaviours. Nurse educators should orient themselves to the challenges to meeting women’s health care needs, and include in culturally sensitive approaches in nursing education programs. Further research is needed to investigate strategies that will enhance women’s reproductive health care seeking behaviours in rural settings and to focus on women’s perspectives in particular. In addition, research is needed to examine nurses’ perspectives on factors that influence quality care delivery to address women’s reproductive health issues.

This thesis is an analysis of teacher perceptions of the implementation of their school's comprehensive school reform, and the George W. Bush administration's federal educational policy, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Data were collected by a research team as a part of the National Longitudinal Evaluation of Comprehensive School Reform (NLECSR), a project under the direction of the American Institutes for Research (AIR). The thesis is a supplemental qualitative analysis by the author who was part of the NLECSR research team from 2004 through 2005. The NLECSR had a quantitative component (called the Core Study) consisting of a large-scale national survey, and a qualitative component (called the Focus Study) consisting of interviews and observations in a smaller subset of schools in five urban districts in the central and eastern United States. AIR was primarily responsible for the quantitative study while researchers at USF were responsible for the qualitative work. This thesis exploited a major strength of the Focus Study, which made classrooms within schools the unit of analysis. This thesis analyzed data from three schools from one of the five Focus Study districts. Three research questions predominate: First, what do teachers who are implementing CSR say about how NCLB impacts their work? Second, what do teachers' responses reveal about how well NCLB as a policy aligns or misaligns with implementing CSR? Third, where might these perceived policy conflicts lie? Thematic analysis revealed perceived competing pressures in the development of social capital, or the collective commitment, relational trust and communications that foster productive or supportive exchanges between teachers, students and other school stakeholders. I found that the NCLB mandates and sanctions were perceived by teachers as unfair, at odds with the goals of reform and potentially detrimental to some of the gains won through implementing CSR, such as social capital.

Ghana, a low-income developing country in sub-Saharan Africa is experiencing low maternal health service utilization and high rates of maternal mortality, especially in the rural areas. The Talensi-Nabdam District is one of the poorest and most remote districts in Ghana. The reproductive health status of women in the most remote communities in this District is poor. Dialogue about women’s reproductive health care needs in Ghana have been influenced by health care authorities, professionals, researchers and experts’ perceptions. The purpose of this ethnographic research was to explore rural Ghanaian women’s experiences of seeking reproductive health care from their own perspectives. The study was based on data collected from participant observations, unstructured face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. A total of 27 women of varying socio-demographic backgrounds participated in the study. Interviews were conducted at locations of the women’s choice and in women’s local dialect. Data were translated and transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically. Four major themes emerged from the findings: submitting to the voices of family, women’s experiences of receiving nursing care, the community of gossip, and gaining voice. The findings of this study have implications for nursing practice, education and nursing inquiry. Awareness of barriers that rural women encounter in meeting their reproductive health care needs among health care providers is important in facilitating positive health care seeking behaviours. Nurse educators should orient themselves to the challenges to meeting women’s health care needs, and include in culturally sensitive approaches in nursing education programs. Further research is needed to investigate strategies that will enhance women’s reproductive health care seeking behaviours in rural settings and to focus on women’s perspectives in particular. In addition, research is needed to examine nurses’ perspectives on factors that influence quality care delivery to address women’s reproductive health issues.

Att vara ung kvinnlig chef är ett outforskat område som behöver belysas. Denna studie syftar till att undersöka vad det innebär att arbeta som offentligt anställd ung kvinnlig chef. Urvalet bestod av fyra unga kvinnliga chefer verksamma inom en stor kommun i Sverige. Med en etnografisk metodansats utfördes åtta deltagande observationer inklusive en fokusgruppsintervju. Resultatet påvisade att cheferna ansåg att faktorer som ålder och kön inte spelade roll när det gällde ledarskap. Trots detta uppfattades en känsla av ambivalens i synen på betydelsen av sin ålder och kön genom att man gjorde skillnad på sina medarbetares ålder och kön. Då ansåg cheferna att yngre, äldre, manliga och kvinnliga medarbetare behövde olika bemötanden. För att förstå studiens resultat i sin helhet användes teorier med inspiration från Charon och den symboliska interaktionismen som betonar att vi blir till i den sociala interaktionen med andra. Systemteori användes även för att synliggöra hur cheferna påverkas och påverkar den samhälleliga bilden av chefsrollen. / Being a young female manager is an unexplored area that needs to be highlighted. This study therefore aims to explore what it means to work as a young female public servant manager. The sample consisted of four young female managers in a large municipality in Sweden. With an ethnographic research approach, eight participating observations including a focus group interview was performed. The result showed that the managers felt that factors such as age and gender did not play a role in their leadership. Despite this, we perceived a sense of ambivalence in the view of the importance of age and gender by making a difference in their employees’ age and gender. The managers considered that younger, older, male and female employees were needed different treatment. To understand the result of the study in its entirety, theories inspired by Charon and symbolic interactionism was used which emphasizes that we become us by the social interaction with others. Systems theory was also used to show how the managers are affected and also affecting the society’s image of the general management role.

Sociology of dance is an evolving discipline that takes as a central focus the social makeup of dance – the societal structures and individual agency that are inherent within dance activity and practice. Relevant ethnographic literature that adopts particular sociological concepts and models is generally narrow in focus, with attention centred on the frameworks of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault and the conformation of vocational and professional ballet and contemporary dancer minds and bodies, to particular practice-specific behaviours and beliefs. Through drawing on Erving Goffman's (1959/1990) model of dramaturgy, this interdisciplinary thesis uncovers and interrogates the two-way relationship between sociological micro relations (social interactions), and various types of dance activity and practice. Six case studies undertaken encompass a wide range of dance and social settings; the professional ballet class, inclusive creative dance class, line dancing class, salsa club, Highland dancing class, and dance in primary education. Data was collected through undertaking participant observation (primary method) and qualitative interviews (secondary method): each specific combination was influenced by the reflexive approach followed, the nature and setting of each case study and as researcher, my own dance ability. The transcripts and field notes were analysed and situated within Goffman's (1959/1990) framework to interrogate the social and dance ‘performances' given. The research aims to firstly, uncover and present the nature of the ‘realities' (Goffman, 1959/1990) within each setting and secondly, to interrogate and demonstrate the applicability of the dramaturgical model to dance scholarship. The findings reflect the sociological binary of individual agency and societal structures as realities were shaped by the ‘place' of each dance activity and practice in the field of dance, and challenged, maintained or supported existing dominant perceptions.

Submitted by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2017-02-16T15:14:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2015_Elieti de Fátima dos Santos.pdf: 1147296 bytes, checksum: d5c8b2729bcf8b7aefd8aa5ec727e106 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Jordan (jordanbiblio@gmail.com) on 2017-02-17T12:29:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2015_Elieti de Fátima dos Santos.pdf: 1147296 bytes, checksum: d5c8b2729bcf8b7aefd8aa5ec727e106 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-02-17T12:29:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISS_2015_Elieti de Fátima dos Santos.pdf: 1147296 bytes, checksum: d5c8b2729bcf8b7aefd8aa5ec727e106 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-05-29 / O objetivo desta pesquisa é investigar como o Projeto Sala de Educador (PSE) de uma escola pública de ensino médio em Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso, no ano de 2013, foi entendido, implementado e vivenciado por cinco professores da área de Linguagem para atender seus interesses pessoais e profissionais, mas também de seus alunos e da própria escola. A pesquisa é de natureza qualitativa de cunho etnográfico embasada em duas perguntas orientadoras: o que fazem professores da área de Linguagem quando se reúnem na Sala de Educador? Como os professores interpretam os acontecimentos em que se engajam? Os principais instrumentos utilizados para registrar os dados foram a observação participante, um questionário e entrevistas semi-estruturadas com os participantes do estudo. Além disso, dados atinentes às discussões de textos pelos professores foram gravados e transcritos. Na análise, com base nas perguntas de pesquisa, primeiramente, o estudo descreve os tipos de eventos em que os professores participam quando se reúnem na Sala de Educador; em seguida, apresenta e analisa dados que indicam os sentidos atribuídos pelos atores aos eventos em que se engajam. Através da análise, as múltiplas vozes dos cinco professores da área da Linguagem puderam ser evidenciadas e relacionadas a importantes aspectos para o desenvolvimento do PSE no futuro. Dentre os acontecimentos, diversas barreiras apareceram, trazendo oportunidades de decisões coletivas e envolvimentos dos participantes, outras tantas, embora não resolvidas, fizeram parte de reflexões e projeções de melhorias no futuro. Este estudo traz contribuições para o entendimento de que o PSE se constitui como espaço de formação contínua e, enquanto tal, pode e deve se constituir em espaço de reflexão, construção e desconstrução de ideias que possibilitem organizar a prática pedagógica de professores em função das necessidades locais de seus alunos e da escola, não como um ato isolado, individual, mas como uma ação de caráter coletivo e colaborativo. / The objective of this research is to investigate how the Educator Meeting Room Project in a public high school in the city of Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso, in 2013, was understood, implemented and experienced by five teachers of the area of languages to attend their personal and professional interests but also the interests of their students and their school. The qualitative ethnographic study has two guiding questions: What do the language teachers do when they meet in the Educator Meeting Room? How do the teachers interpret the events in which they engage? The main instruments used to record the data were participant observation, a questionnaire and semi-structured interviews with participants of the study. In addition, data related to the discussions of texts by the teachers were recorded and transcribed. In the analysis, based on the research questions first, the study reports the events in which the teachers participated when they met in the Educator Meeting Room were reported; next, it presents and analyzes the data, which indicate the meanings attributed by the actors to the events in which they engaged. Through analysis, the multiple voices of the five language teachers could be highlighted and related to important aspects for the development of the Educator Meeting Room in the future. Among the happenings, diverse barriers appeared bringing opportunities for collective decisions and involvement of participants. Though many were not resolved, they were part of reflections and projections for future improvements. This study brings, in the first place, contributions for the understanding that Educator Meeting Room Project constitutes a space for continuing education and as such can and should constitute a space of reflection, construction and deconstruction of ideas that enable organizing pedagogical practice of teachers in function of the local necessities of their students and school, not as an isolated, individual act but as an collective and collaborative action.