The last couple of decades have witnessed an exponential increase of interest in religion and spirituality in the academic disciplines of leadership and organization. Some scholars argue that this interest is prone to neglect analysis of Western religion’s historical origins and therefore of what may be its repressed influences on leadership and organizational practices. Others, that this revived focus on the sacred may be limited by an over-reliance on too narrow a theology rooted within a singular (Judeo-Christian) cosmology. I seek to both speak to and expand the concerns of such previous research. I do this by introducing ecofeminism as a theoretical framework for a critical analysis of the macro level of what has already been framed as the repressed influence of mainstream religious orthodoxy within the field of leadership studies. Building upon the perspectives provided by ecofeminism and feminist spirituality I extend the aforementioned concerns by suggesting that some of the ethics within the Judeo-Christian cosmology itself bear some relationship to and responsibility in crises relating to environmental sustainability and social justice. I explore a number of related themes, arguing in particular that the demotion of nature and partnership with what might be described as the divine feminine within Western culture are not only linked but also generate profound dysfunction, in both leadership and organization. In the second section I present empirical data at a micro level, collected within a contemporary spiritual community where both nature and the divine feminine play central roles in its cosmology. The School of Movement Medicine functions as a financially successful business organization dedicated to the encouragement of spiritual fulfillment, ecological sustainability and social justice. The practices it teaches are specifically designed to assist those who engage with them to take responsibility for responding to the individual, societal and global challenges that lie before us - aiming, in other words to make leaders out of members. My hope is that these explorations may answer some of the calls of previous work to broaden representation within the leadership and spirituality field, as well as enriching its theory and practice with greater potential to generate increased levels of social justice, environmental sustainability and human fulfillment.

This thesis explores the relatively under-researched experiences of module design of academics employed within one UK university. In all, 96 people responded to an initial e-questionnaire survey, and 23 of these participated in follow-up semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data collected from both sources is the main focus of discussion. The thesis contextualises the research by presenting a brief description of the university of study and a sense of the social and political context of higher education in the few years preceding the onset of the project. Following this, there is a review of the existing literature around module and curriculum design. A separate chapter outlines the mixed methods employed to collect the data and the form of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) used to theme the qualitative data provided by the survey and interviews. The findings supported previous studies, but there was some contradictory data concerning assessment design, the value of the institutional approval procedures, and the usefulness of involving students in the design process. This study found that, as a result of the effect of institutional processes and documents on design, the consequence of changing student profiles (particularly around assessment), and the obligation staff feel to their students (despite their expressed lack of available time and resources), module design (and redesign) is more situation-informed than evidence-informed. It concludes that module designers employ a realistic and pragmatic approach to the process, even when their views, attitudes, and consciences around the rights and wrongs of the design process are sometimes questioned.

This thesis explores the relatively under-researched experiences of module design of academics employed within one UK university. In all, 96 people responded to an initial e-questionnaire survey, and 23 of these participated in follow-up semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data collected from both sources is the main focus of discussion. The thesis contextualises the research by presenting a brief description of the university of study and a sense of the social and political context of higher education in the few years preceding the onset of the project. Following this, there is a review of the existing literature around module and curriculum design. A separate chapter outlines the mixed methods employed to collect the data and the form of Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) used to theme the qualitative data provided by the survey and interviews. The findings supported previous studies, but there was some contradictory data concerning assessment design, the value of the institutional approval procedures, and the usefulness of involving students in the design process. This study found that, as a result of the effect of institutional processes and documents on design, the consequence of changing student profiles (particularly around assessment), and the obligation staff feel to their students (despite their expressed lack of available time and resources), module design (and redesign) is more situation-informed than evidence-informed. It concludes that module designers employ a realistic and pragmatic approach to the process, even when their views, attitudes, and consciences around the rights and wrongs of the design process are sometimes questioned. / The full text was made available at the end of the embargo, 26th Oct 2020

Submitted by JOSIANE SANTOS DE OLIVEIRA (josianeso) on 2017-06-06T12:13:24Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Gabriela Cleveston Gelain_.pdf: 2822869 bytes, checksum: 6a55ac10919adbbf56ac2d7ead2111a7 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-06T12:13:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Gabriela Cleveston Gelain_.pdf: 2822869 bytes, checksum: 6a55ac10919adbbf56ac2d7ead2111a7 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-31 / UNISINOS - Universidade do Vale do Rio dos Sinos / Este trabalho tem o objetivo de entender o que os elementos subculturais e sujeitos que envolvem a subcultura Riot Grrrl dizem sobre a sua atualização no Brasil. Enquanto elementos subculturais estão os fanzines, blogs, shows, bandas e eventos como o Girls Rock Camp no país. Enquanto sujeitos, entendo as mulheres que estão em contato direto e envolvidas com a subcultura Riot Grrrl no Brasil, amostra composta por 67 entrevistadas de 11 estados brasileiros, entre 15 e 47 anos de idade. A partir de autores e autoras como David Hesmondhalgh (2005), Paula Guerra (2010), Dick Hebdige (1979), Paul Hodkinson (2011) como base, proponho discutir o porquê de tratar Riot Grrrl enquanto subcultura, e ainda as questões de invisibilidade feminina na música e nos estudos subculturais e sobre juventude. Quanto à metodologia, assumo, através de uma observação participante (online e off-line) e inspirada na etnografia virtual, a posição de pesquisadora insider (Paul HODKINSON, 2005; Adriana AMARAL, 2009). Por fim, não há um consenso sobre o que significa ser uma riot grrrl, nem sobre o que seria a subcultura hoje no Brasil, mas nesta complexidade de vozes, idades, estados e opiniões, a vontade de trazer outras mulheres para pensar os feminismos parece falar mais alto do que os diferentes estilos musicais, as dissidências ou preocupações em dar nome às inspirações que tomamos sobre as atitudes das primeiras e “originais” riot grrrls. / This work aims to understand what the subculture elements and people that involve Riot Grrrl show about their update in Brazil. As subculture elements I understand the fanzines, blogs, shows, bands and events such as Girls Rock Camp. As people are the women who are in direct contact and involved with the subculture Riot Grrrl in Brazil, a sample composed of 67 interviewees from 11 Brazilian states, between 15 and 47 years of age. From authors such as David Hesmondhalgh (2005), Paula Guerra (2010), Dick Hebdige (1979), Paul Hodkinson (2011) as a basis, I propose to discuss why to treat Riot Grrrl as a subculture, as well as invisibility issues about women in music and in subcultural studies, and also on youth studies. About methodology, I’ve assumed through a participant observation (online and offline) and inspired by the virtual ethnography, the position of an insider researcher (Paul HODKINSON, 2005; Adriana AMARAL, 2009). Finally, there is no consensus on what it means to be a riot grrrl, nor on what would be the subculture in Brazil today but in this complexity of voices, ages, states and opinions, the desire to bring other women to think feminisms seems to speak louder than the different musical styles, disagreements or concerns in naming the inspirations we take about the attitudes of the first and "original" riot grrrls.

This thesis explores the chaotic, dynamic, ambiguous, complex and confusing world of the insider researcher. The proliferating species of insider researcher is common in public sector organisations and is particularly prevalent among post-graduate students who have combined study with work. Insider researchers range from the in-house researcher employed to conduct research to those who are conducting research in addition to their normal duties. This thesis, through five illustrative case-studies, discusses, reflects upon, explains, and clarifies the possibilities, limitations and the issues arising from a consideration of the practice of professionals conducting research in the large government education system in Victoria. The central focus of this thesis, that of exploring issues arising from professionals conducting research in their own working environments, has an importance that hitherto has had little direct recognition in the qualitative education research literature. And yet the practice of insider research is common and has a potentially large impact on the nature of the decision making process in public sector organisations. This relative invisibility in the social research literature of a discussion of issues relating to insider research demands to be made more visible. It is both useful and necessary to explore the particular possibilities, conditions and challenges of insiders conducting research in public organisations as the practice of insider research contines to grow. This thesis adds to the literature by locating insider research in a discussion of the wider soial context of ideology, culture, relationships, politics, language and meaning, and the decision-making process.

In this interview study involving the analysis of narratives collected from Japanese American professionals teaching English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) who have lived more than ten years in Japan, I focus on how the participants negotiated their often contested identities in the TESOL context in Japan. I use the notion of identity negotiation narrowly defined as "struggles which occur when certain identity options are imposed or devalued, and others are unavailable or misunderstood" (Pavlenko & Blackledge, 2004, p. 20). Most Japanese Americans share similar phenotypes with the majority of Japanese nationals, creating many misconceptions about our linguistic competence in Japanese and English and ability to act appropriately within Japanese cultural norms. Educational settings are also an arena contributing to a simplistic Japanese/non-Japanese, native speaker/non-native speaker (NS/NNS) framework within which such encounters are defined. I intend to illuminate the underlying assumptions responsible for the misconceptions that continue to challenge their authenticity. This is in line with inquiry into the role of race in TESOL (Curtis & Romney, 2006; Kubota & Lin, 2006). The six participants were two men and four women, including myself. I conducted multiple interviews individually and in groups over a period of four years. I transcribed the narrative data into numbered lines and reworked selected parts into stanza form (Gee, 2005) or used block quotes to analyze the identity negotiation processes. For the autoethnography, I used intensive reflective writings done throughout the course of this project in addition to interview data in which I am the interviewer who also shares stories. Through multi-layered analyses (Sorsoli, 2007), I hope to illuminate what the individuals' narratives reflect about the contested nature of values held about language, ethnicity, race, and identity in the context of English teaching, learning, and use in Japan today. I suggest that the findings and conclusions from this study can be applied to other contexts in the world as well. It is therefore important for the TESOL professional to become an actively critical observer of how her work is affecting all the stakeholders, including her own self. / Applied Linguistics

This interpretive study investigated the process of radical change for a collaborative team of investigators in an allied health school at the University of South Australia. Specifically, it investigated the process of developing and implementing a fully-integrated problem-based learning curriculum across the entire undergraduate curriculum for the School of Medical Radiation. The study examined the richness and complexity of the change process for this team of educators over a two year time period. The research builds on understandings of change derived from three main bodies of literature: the school-based educational change literature; the problem-based learning literature; and the organisational change literature. It interweaves knowledge gained from each of these areas to develop a new perspective from which to consider radical educational change in higher education. Much of the previous research into change ignores the participant experience, and particularly the emotional dimension of this experience. This study redresses that gap by exploring the human dimension of the change process. This study has provided an authentic and inclusive representation of participants' experience of radical educational change. It has shown that participants not only undergo considerable cognitive dissonance when implementing major change, they also undergo significant emotional dissonance. Thus, if we are to improve the outcomes of educational innovation, we need to develop change management practices that not only recognise but also support the emotional dimension of the change process.

Lack of knowledge about the lived experience of leisure is a result of the distanced, objective way in which it has primarily been studied (Hemingway, 1999), and there is an increased interest in conceptualizing leisure as a dynamic force for social and political change (Shaw, 1994; 2001; Mair, 2002/03; Sharpe, 2008). Constructs such as resistance (Shaw, 2001), critically reflexive leisure (Mair, Sumner & Rotteau, 2008) and pleasure-politics (Sharpe, 2008) illuminate the role and potential of individual and collective leisure in social change. Within a critical constructionist, qualitative research design, this study of witchcamps and magical activism was informed by feminist, queer, and leisure theories. Data were collected through participant-observation at 2 witchcamps, 21 semi-structured intensive interviews, 11 focused interviews, and 19 elicited electronic text submissions. This research reflects the emerging trend within leisure studies of using qualitative approaches and reflexivity to look at our own leisure (Axelsen, 2009; Collinson, 2007; Havitz, 2007; Lashua & Fox 2006; MacKellar, 2009; McCarville, 2007; Parry & Johnson, 2007; Rowe, 2006; Samdahl, 2008). As a member of the witchcamp community under study, the research was carried out in the researcher’s own community ‘backyard’ (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992), and as insider research, it provides a detailed description of alternative culture from the viewpoint of a professional researcher and personal insider. Data analysis followed a constant-comparative method, and employed memo writing, thematic, and focused coding. The study provides insight into the intersection of leisure, ecospirituality, community, and social change. Setting, activities, beliefs, and community intersect to function as a container for personal and social transformation, and provide an ‘antidote’ to alienation and isolation experienced by individuals in the dominant culture. The study provides empirical evidence of the centrality of leisure to community responsibility for broader social, political and environmental concerns, as theorized by Arai and Pedlar (2003). This research furthers the perspective that community is multidimensional, and has the potential to unify marginalized groups (Arai & Pedlar, 2003). The findings of this study also reflect Mair’s (2006) conceptualization of community as one that provides a space for celebration of diversity.

Much is unknown about insular communities as they are often closed and guarded. This is especially so when it comes to crimes committed in their midst. Online forums geared to community members can reveal the discussions they have following a crime and the thoughts and feelings of the group. Using a functionalist approach, this study fills a gap in the literature on crimes committed in insular communities by and against community members by asking: what topics of discussion arose for Orthodox Jewish community members following a crime in their midst and were community members united or divided in their discussions? More explicitly, the sociological importance of what they discussed and how this affected community cohesion was examined. To address these questions, the comments following articles about a murder committed in an Orthodox Jewish community in New York on two Orthodox Jewish news websites (Yeshiva World News and Vos Iz Neias) were examined. Qualitative thematic analysis was used to examine how community members reacted to the murder through the discussions they had and whether these discussions affected and reflected community cohesion. Implications for better understanding crime in insular communities are discussed, as are directions for future research.

Lack of knowledge about the lived experience of leisure is a result of the distanced, objective way in which it has primarily been studied (Hemingway, 1999), and there is an increased interest in conceptualizing leisure as a dynamic force for social and political change (Shaw, 1994; 2001; Mair, 2002/03; Sharpe, 2008). Constructs such as resistance (Shaw, 2001), critically reflexive leisure (Mair, Sumner & Rotteau, 2008) and pleasure-politics (Sharpe, 2008) illuminate the role and potential of individual and collective leisure in social change. Within a critical constructionist, qualitative research design, this study of witchcamps and magical activism was informed by feminist, queer, and leisure theories. Data were collected through participant-observation at 2 witchcamps, 21 semi-structured intensive interviews, 11 focused interviews, and 19 elicited electronic text submissions. This research reflects the emerging trend within leisure studies of using qualitative approaches and reflexivity to look at our own leisure (Axelsen, 2009; Collinson, 2007; Havitz, 2007; Lashua & Fox 2006; MacKellar, 2009; McCarville, 2007; Parry & Johnson, 2007; Rowe, 2006; Samdahl, 2008). As a member of the witchcamp community under study, the research was carried out in the researcher’s own community ‘backyard’ (Glesne & Peshkin, 1992), and as insider research, it provides a detailed description of alternative culture from the viewpoint of a professional researcher and personal insider. Data analysis followed a constant-comparative method, and employed memo writing, thematic, and focused coding. The study provides insight into the intersection of leisure, ecospirituality, community, and social change. Setting, activities, beliefs, and community intersect to function as a container for personal and social transformation, and provide an ‘antidote’ to alienation and isolation experienced by individuals in the dominant culture. The study provides empirical evidence of the centrality of leisure to community responsibility for broader social, political and environmental concerns, as theorized by Arai and Pedlar (2003). This research furthers the perspective that community is multidimensional, and has the potential to unify marginalized groups (Arai & Pedlar, 2003). The findings of this study also reflect Mair’s (2006) conceptualization of community as one that provides a space for celebration of diversity.