Background: Research suggests that most South African learners are not achieving the expected literacy outcomes of their grades. Compounding the literacy crisis is the paucity of South African research related to information and communication technology (ICT)-based reading intervention, which may have potential for population-based service delivery. Aims and Objectives The aim of the study was to determine the effectiveness of the Virtual Reading Gym (VRG) online intervention for grade 3 to 6 learners with reading difficulties. The objective was to describe changes in learners’ reading skills (accuracy, rate, vocabulary and comprehension) after VRG intervention. Design Two studies were carried out: (1) A retrospective analysis used data from a previous study conducted in mainstream schools which used peer reading mentors; (2) A prospective study in a school for learners with special educational needs that had speech-language therapist led intervention. Both studies used matched subject pre/ post intervention designs. Methods and Procedures In Study 1, matched pairs were retrospectively created to form a sample (n=20, 8 males and 12 females, 10 intervention group and 10 control group) of grade 3 to 6 learners. In Study 2, the prospective study, participants (n=20, 14 males and 6 females, 10 intervention group and 10 control group) were grade 3 to 6 learners from a school for learners with special educational needs in Cape Town. For both studies, the intervention group received VRG intervention 3 times per week (30 minutes per session) for 10 weeks. The control group continued with regular school activities. Independent samples t-tests for gain scores were used to analyse results. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with intervention participants from the prospective study. Thematic analysis was used to interpret the transcribed interview data. 5 Results For the retrospective analysis there were no statistically significant differences between the intervention and control groups’ reading accuracy, rate, vocabulary and comprehension improvements at the completion of the VRG intervention. Similarly, the prospective study found no statistically significant differences between the reading accuracy, vocabulary or comprehension gains of learners in the intervention and control groups. However, there was a statistically significant difference between the groups’ gains on one measure of reading rate. The thematic analysis findings were that learners expressed enjoyment of the VRG and intervention experiences, valued the role of the reading partners, believed they had made literacy skill gains, described self-competency improvements, expressed the belief that the VRG could result in reading improvements, and portrayed positive attitudinal and behavioural changes related to reading. Discussion The study contributes by investigating the potential of one practical solution to South African learners’ reading difficulties and adding to the limited local evidence base on ICT reading intervention. Although an intervention effect could not be demonstrated in this study, the changes noted in reading rate and qualitative findings suggest the potential for impact. The discussion considers some explanations for the findings, suggestions for improving interventions such as the VRG, and lines of future research that could be developed to support South African children in their struggles with reading.

The issue of the environment (Umwelt) often fluctuates between two extremes: the cultural environment (architecture) and the natural environment (nature). Although the idea of the "natural environment" can (paradoxically) also be understood as a cultural construct. The project explores the ambiguity of artificial vs. natural through the design of an apartment building. The proposal uses a reinforced concrete skeleton of an abandoned shopping center built at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, into which it inserts individual "dwellings". The design examines the tools ranging from an "artificial stone" in the form of walls made of shotcrete to dramatic views of the nearby Holedná Forest, which both figuratively and literally (eg. during a walk) becomes another room of the apartments. The landscape and human emotions associated with the natural environment are an important motive for the whole proposal. To expose the tension between two modern tendencies: escape from nature vs. return to nature, it samples the topic of apartment and nature.

The main object of my diploma project is complex of schools in Czech city Ostrava on the place Černá louka (in English Black meadow). The plot is next to the city centre from one side, from the other side its in neighbourhood of nature across the river. At the moment the place is used as an gallery of miniatures. The whole area is mix of many functions, from living to shopping, market, gallery, theatre and many other. In 2010 there were a competition about Černá louka, a Dutch studio Maxwan won and designed a cultural cluster in the ring of buildings on Černá louka. They desided to place a school in our parcela, because its great connection between nature and city. I used this idea and worked on it. The main mass is composed by 5 objects - school, kindergarden, high school, gym and community centre. In the centre of whole complex there is a playground - it will play an active role in the daily life of schools. The gymnastics hall as such can perform as sqaure: a meeting place, a theatre, a room for ceremonies and festivals. At the same time it will form the connection between different functions of school.

This diploma project deals with a problematic area called Black Meadow in Ostrava. It proposes a school building which is located on the edge between the city centre and the greenery by the river. The shape of the building creates two courtyards. The entrance courtyard is open to the park and the second courtyard is oriented to the city.

Den mentala hälsan bland den svenska befolkningen har försämrats under de senaste åren, i synnerhet bland unga vuxna. Ny forskning har belyst de många positiva effekter på den mentala hälsan som medföljer regelbunden fysisk aktivitet, men ändå är det endast en liten del av befolkningen som motionerar regelbundet. Dock har styrketräning på gym börjat öka i popularitet och därav var det intressant att undersöka vad som motiverar gymmotionärer till att bibehålla sin träning på lång sikt. Syftet med studien formulerades således till att undersöka unga vuxna gymmotionärers bakomliggande faktorer för motivation till långsiktig styrketräning, med mål att behålla fler gymmotionärer inom styrketräning och därmed även bidra till en ökad hälsa bland den svenska befolkningen. Studien utgick från teorin om de grundläggande psykologiska behoven skapad av Deci och Ryan. Åtta separata semistrukturerade intervjuer utfördes med unga vuxna gymmotionärer, och den insamlade datan analyserades genom en tematisk analys. Resultatet bestod av tre huvudteman: (1) individens valfrihet, (2) likasinnade människor i sin omgivning, samt (3) fokus på sig själv. Resultatet diskuterades sedan utifrån tidigare forskning kring de grundläggande psykologiska behoven i en idrottskontext. Den här studien kan bidra med en ökad förståelse för vad som motiverar unga vuxna till regelbunden fysisk aktivitet, vilket kan främja en hälsosam livsstil och bidra i det förebyggande arbetet mot mental ohälsa bland Sveriges befolkning.

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Svenskar lägger årligen tiotals miljoner kronor på gymkort för ett medlemskap som aldrig används. Min hypotes är att det handlar om motivationen med en avgränsning inom välkomnandet samt omhändertagandet för hur man som nybörjare bemöts på gymmen av de som redan är där. En undersökning genomfördes via intervjuer av både medlemmar, anställda samt chefer hos gymkedjorna Friskis och Svettis samt Fitness 24 Seven i Malmö. Komplement till undersökningen kom genom en kartläggning av gymkedjornas anläggningar för att se hur reklam och annan information faktiskt syntes utifrån en medlems perspektiv. En konkurrentanalys av liknande mobilapplikationer genomfördes också. Analysen av materialet resulterade i specifika värdeord med kompletterande fakta vilket blev min röda tråd. Värdeord som Community, Social samhörighet och Gemenskap var ord som präglade mina intervjuer från undersökningen och som blev designprojektets grund. Baserat på denna information designade jag en mobilapplikation vid namn Socify vars syfte är att lösa de sociala problemen som många nybörjare känner och samtidigt knyta samman det med de praktiska och teoretiska kunskapsbristerna som nybörjare oftast besitter. / Swedes spend annually tens of million crowns on gym memberships that are never used. My hypothesis is that it’s about motivation with a demarcation within the welcome and care for how beginners gets treated in the gyms by other members. A survey was conducted through interviews with both members, employees and managers from two gym chains, Friskis och Svettis and Fitness 24 Seven in Malmo, Sweden. A complementary to the survey came through a survey of the gym chains facilities to see how the advertising and other information was perceived by the members. A competitive analysis of similar mobile applications was also conducted. The analysis of the material resulted in specific core values including some additional facts which became my silver thread. Core values such as Community, Social affinity and Fellowship became words that characterized my interviews from the survey and later becoming the foundation for the design project. Based on this information, I designed a mobile application called Socify whose purpose is to solve the social problems that many beginners feel while linking it with the practical and theoretical knowledge gaps that beginners usually possess.

I dalsänkan mellan Västertorp och Hägerstensåsen i södra Stockholm ligger Mellanbergsparken. Det är ett långsträckt naturområde med stora naturliga variationer i topografi och landskap. Området domineras av den högresta och branta åsen, vilken löper längs hela parkens norra sida. Parkens östra del kantas av den högt trafikerade E4:an, vilken skär tvärs genom landskapet och skapar en stor bullerstörande trafikbarriär.  Mellanbergsparken är ett välanvänt parkstråk av invånarna i Hägersten. Den fungerar både som rekreationsyta, aktivitetsyta och pendlingsstråk mellan de olika stadsdelarna.Idag är största delen av ytan obebyggd, och är förutom fotbollsplanerna, minigolfbanan, utebadet och förskolan nästintill orörd. Ett par bostadshus har byggts intill tunnelbanestationen i Hägerstensåsen, vilket kan ses som en indikation på framtida planer att exploatera området. Västertorps simhall, som idag ligger inne i bostadsområdet, är sliten och behöver rivas. En ny kombinerad sim- och idrottsanläggning ska därför byggas, vilken planeras att kunna ta emot besökare från hela Hägerstensområdet. Mellanbergsparkens sydöstligaste del, invid E4:an, föreslås som tomtmark. Avsikten är att låta simhallen fungera som ett bullerdämpande skydd mot parken, eftersom att man tror att en ljuddämpning kan ge mervärde åt naturområdet. Med mitt projekt ifrågasätter jag starkt skälen till simhallens placering och nyttan av att låta byggnaden agera bullerskydd. Istället fokuserar jag på den nya simhallens relation till parken och på vad som händer om man väljer att vända sig mot urbana element i omgivningen istället för att stänga dem ute. / In the valley between Västertorp and Hägerstensåsen in southern Stockholm you will find Mellanbergsparken. It is an elongated nature area with large natural variations in topography and landscape. The area is dominated by a tall and steep ridge, which runs along the park's northern side. The park's eastern part is bordered by the highly busy E4, which cuts right through the landscape creating a disturbing traffic barrier. Mellanbergsparken is a well-used park by the inhabitants of Hägersten. It works both as a recreational area, activity area and as commuter routes between the various districts. Today, most of the surface is undeveloped, and is aside from the football fields, mini golf course, outdoor swimmning pool and preschool almost untouched. A few dwellings have been built next to the metro station in Hägerstensåsen, which can be seen as an indication of future plans to develop the area. Västertorp's current swimming center, which is incorporated in the residential area, is timeworn and needs to be demolished. A new combined swimming and sports center will be built, which is planned to receive visitors from all the Hägersten area. Suggested location is the southeastern part of the park, next to the E4. The intention is to let the new sports and swimming center serve as a noise-canceling protection from the expressway since it is believed that a silencing can add value to the nature area. With my project I am strongly questioning the reasons for the sports and swimming center's placement and the benefit of allowing the building to act against noise. Instead, I am focusing on the interaction between building and park and what happens if one chooses to include urban elements - such as disturbing expressways - instead of cutting them off.

The thesis dealt with the basic elements of gymnastics in nursery schools in relation to education teachers. The aim of the study was to determine whether education kindergarten teachers in physical education, acquired at secondary pedagogical schools and faculties, is sufficient for quality management of physical activities and specifically gymnastic activities in nursery schools. The paper used two research methods: analysis of educational programs teaching schools from internet sources and interview teachers of kindergartens. The research was divided into three thematic areas. In the first part was analyzed curricula for secondary school teachers and teaching faculties devoted to physical education, has been found to the current state of education in this area. The second was investigated by questionnaire method glance graduates on their education in physical education. Emphasis was placed on their particular experience and personal opinion. The third area is also through the questionnaire dealt with the application of acquired knowledge and skills of teachers in practice. By analyzing the data the third lap was detected level of sports activities in the field of gymnastics to children in kindergartens.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-27T14:21:41Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Robson Luis de Araujo.pdf: 850179 bytes, checksum: 41cf31ed75399474777a31c1f5a745da (MD5) Previous issue date: 2008-11-17 / The dissertation presents results of a research done in an organization that acts in leisure sports, located in Goiânia-GO. The research has, as an general aim, to verify what senses of work to gym teachers by the psycodynamic view of work, and it has the specific aims: 1. analyse how the organization of work would be lived; 2. analyse how the conditions of work in the gym would be lived; 3. analyse the relations of work in the gym; 4. describe the experiences of pleasure-suffering in the work and 5. investigate what strategies of facing the suffering used by gym teachers . Considering that the organization belongs to the leisure segment, directed to A public and that it's one of the best ones in the state, it was considered that the organization and conditions of work were predominantelly pleased to the employees, since their goal is to provide health and fun to the customers, in their free time (time of non-working). The research was based in the psycodynamic approach of Dejours work. The study of case presented has a descriptive and exploratory view. Semi-structured interviews were done with fifteen employees, intencionally choiced, who are in charge of service direct the customers. It was analysed documents with informations about: instructions and ethics code, values and mission of the organization. The base was analysed by the graphic speech analyses. The results indicate that time is an important category of analyses to this group, since they provide a good (leisure) to whom don't have access because of lack of time; it was presented an organization of work with rigid rules od behavior to the employees. It was observed some factors that gives experiencies of pleasure, as freedom and recognition of work, pleasure in the socio-professional relations, environment of work and management, good salaries in relation to the average market. In relation to suffering factors, there were complaints about over-work and physical tiring, being emphatysed: tiring physical routine, tiring work, internal pressure to accomplish goals and precarious work conditions with loud noises, creating wearing and overweight in the employees. Facing the suffering, it was used strategies of facing, such as denied of reality work, rationalization and acceleration of cadências. It was noted that in the researched company the result of the ideological consolidation of the rules system works as an authority regulator system that provides the image of the company as a good object and by other way, to be to blame for the person. By this view, the organization is good, protector, and the man is bad and dangerous. / A dissertação apresenta resultados de uma pesquisa realizada em uma organização que atua no ramo de lazer esportivo, localizada em Goiânia-Go. A pesquisa teve como objetivo geral analisar o trabalho dos professores de academias de ginástica a partir da psicodinâmica do trabalho, tendo como objetivos específicos: 1- analisar como seria vivenciada a organização do trabalho; 2 - analisar como seriam vivenciadas as condições de trabalho na academia de ginástica; 3 - analisar como seriam vivenciadas as relações de trabalho na academia de ginástica; 4 - descrever as vivências de prazersofrimento no trabalho, e 5 - investigar quais as estratégias de enfrentamento do sofrimento no trabalho utilizadas pelos professores da academia de ginástica. Considera-se que a referida organização pertence ao segmento de entretenimento e lazer, direcionada para um público alvo da classe A e que goza do conceito de uma das melhores do Estado. Partiu-se do pressuposto de que a organização do trabalho e as condições de trabalho propiciariam vivências predominantemente de prazer aos trabalhadores, uma vez que a função destas era exatamente proporcionar saúde e diversão aos seus clientes no período de lazer (tempo do não-trabalho). A pesquisa fundamentou-se na abordagem psicodinâmica do trabalho de Dejours. O estudo de caso apresentado teve caráter descritivo e exploratório. Foram realizadas entrevistas semiestruturadas com quinze trabalhadores escolhidos intencionalmente, dentre eles os responsáveis pelo atendimento direto aos clientes. Foram analisados documentos com informações relativas a: normas e código de ética; valores e missão da organização. Os dados foram analisados pela técnica de análise gráfica do discurso. Os resultados indicaram que o tempo é uma categoria de análise importante para esse grupo, pois disponibilizam um produto (o lazer) ao qual não tem acesso pela falta de tempo e apresentou uma organização de trabalho com normas rígidas de conduta para os trabalhadores. Observou-se a presença de fatores que geram vivências de prazer, como liberdade e reconhecimento no trabalho, prazer nas relações sócio-profissionais, ambiente de trabalho e chefia, e boa remuneração salarial em relação a média do mercado local. Em relação aos fatores ligados ao sofrimento, houve queixas ligadas à sobrecarga de trabalho e ao desgaste físico, sendo enfatizados: a rotina fisicamente desgastante, o trabalho cansativo, a pressão interna para cumprimento das metas e condições de trabalho precárias com ruídos altos, gerando desgaste e sobrecarga nos trabalhadores. Diante de tal sofrimento, foram utilizadas estratégias de enfrentamento, como a negação da realidade do trabalho, racionalização e aceleração das cadências. Percebe-se que na empresa pesquisada, o resultado da consolidação ideológica do sistema de regras funciona como sistema de regulação da autoridade, que constitui de um lado uma imagem da empresa como bom objeto e de outro culpabilização do indivíduo. Nesta lógica, a organização é boa e protetora, e o homem que é mau e perigoso.