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The world we live in today demands systems that make our lives easier and help us make the right choices on time. There exists a growing need for quality products that help us in our day to day activities. Easy-to-use computer-based decision support systems apply all available and applicable data with the correct model, knowledge and skill of decision makers to support the user to choose the best solution. It is therefore important to develop decision support systems correctly to be of value to the user. Looking at other information system developments, the author tries to suggest ways to develop decision support systems. System development methodologies are investigated to determine if they are able to address the development of the very important decision support system components. Five methodologies were discussed and researched for their theoretical suitability to address the development of decision support systems. The author performed qualitative research using case studies and semi-structured interviews to assess the use or non-use of system development methodologies in the development of decision support systems in a South African context. Content and cross-case analyses were used to achieve results that are discussed to broaden the knowledge on the development of decision support systems. The author provides some explanations to why system development methodologies were not used in the development of the case studies. This research not only contributes to the academic body of knowledge about using system development methodologies in the development of decision support systems, but could also be useful to developers embarking on a new decision support system development. / Thesis (MSc (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

The world we live in today demands systems that make our lives easier and help us make the right choices on time. There exists a growing need for quality products that help us in our day to day activities. Easy-to-use computer-based decision support systems apply all available and applicable data with the correct model, knowledge and skill of decision makers to support the user to choose the best solution. It is therefore important to develop decision support systems correctly to be of value to the user. Looking at other information system developments, the author tries to suggest ways to develop decision support systems. System development methodologies are investigated to determine if they are able to address the development of the very important decision support system components. Five methodologies were discussed and researched for their theoretical suitability to address the development of decision support systems. The author performed qualitative research using case studies and semi-structured interviews to assess the use or non-use of system development methodologies in the development of decision support systems in a South African context. Content and cross-case analyses were used to achieve results that are discussed to broaden the knowledge on the development of decision support systems. The author provides some explanations to why system development methodologies were not used in the development of the case studies. This research not only contributes to the academic body of knowledge about using system development methodologies in the development of decision support systems, but could also be useful to developers embarking on a new decision support system development. / Thesis (MSc (Computer Science))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2011.

China, the developing country with the largest and oldest public education system, is transforming its education system through a large-scale curriculum reform. The new national curriculum marks a dramatic change in the underlying educational philosophy and practices, which, in turn, have deep cultural and historical roots in Chinese society. During this system-wide curricular change, Chinese teachers find themselves, more or less, situated in an ambivalent space. That is, most teachers know of the curricular change, but they are uncertain about the meaning of the change and have some resistances borne out of the experiences of loss and challenges to their teacher identities. This study investigates what this massive curriculum reform means for Chinese teachers by grounding an enquiry in in-depth conversations with six teachers in Western China. An interpretation of these conversations reveals the complex dimensions of teachers’ compliance and/or resistance with respect to change at a time when the Chinese curriculum landscape is shifting dramatically from a local to global perspective. Hermeneutics is employed as the research approach in this study because it attends to the humanness and interpretive nature of the participants’ living through curriculum change and it offers important insights to the deeply inter-subjective nature of teachers’ learning and unlearning. New understandings of teachers’ identity transformation, cross-cultural curriculum conversations, and the psychic and social dynamics of teachers' learning are presented in this study. New discourses for enhancing cross-cultural understandings in curriculum studies and international development are also suggested. This study addresses an absence of research on education change and curriculum theories and serves as an example of engaging curriculum as a transnational conversation between East Asian and Western contexts.

Submitted by Filipe dos Santos (fsantos@pucsp.br) on 2018-10-19T11:51:38Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Priscila Barbosa Arantes.pdf: 3188753 bytes, checksum: cac55a7179739d3354eaacfde1969287 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2018-10-19T11:51:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Priscila Barbosa Arantes.pdf: 3188753 bytes, checksum: cac55a7179739d3354eaacfde1969287 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2018-09-10 / This research brings a possibility of formation to Pedagogical Coordinators, among active and direct participation of children, bring them like subjects and social actors in the research process by itself. It´s an investigation that purposes new perspectives of listening and looking in relation to children, once brings two central concepts of a new Childhood Sociology: children like social agent, active and creative and childhood like a structural way, like a part of society since birth. This observation purposed is by the owner figure of Coordinator, which put himself like a researcher adult who comes to children field and will participate just if been accepted by this group. There are no artificial purposes by the researcher, but an observation about routines and records. Thus, there is no structural questions beforehand, because relation will be done by enter, acception and participation of researcher, that will show us a view of production and reproduction culture process. Converges on current requests of Chilhood Sociology, for bring a cooperation view, that puts children as subject as the researcher, forming studies with and not about childhood. Children interact in the world because product their own cultures: enter by their families, but product and participate of a lot of peer cultures. Researches that defend listening and focus childhood and children culture consider children point of view in researches. It´s a kind of repair for long time that children were marginalized, in Sociology and other areas, and occupied a subordinated position in society. Besides to suggest a formation with active participation of children this project purposes to enlarge peer culture concept, looking for production of culture actions and analyze interpretative reproduction between children. This purpose converges on listening defense and childhood and children culture focus, under a newer technology and challenger, which involves a detachable view from adult’s point of view / O presente trabalho traz uma possibilidade de formação aos Coordenadores Pedagógicos, através da participação ativa e direta das crianças, colocando-as como sujeitos e atores sociais no próprio processo de pesquisa. É uma investigação que visa novas perspectivas de escuta e olhar em relação às crianças, uma vez que traz dois conceitos centrais de uma nova sociologia da infância: a criança como agente social, ativo e criativo e a infância concebida como uma forma estrutural, como uma parte integrante da sociedade desde o nascimento. A proposta de observação se dá pela própria figura do Coordenador Pedagógico, que deve se colocar na posição de um adulto pesquisador que entrará no campo das crianças e só poderá participar plenamente se for aceito por esse grupo. Não haverá uma relação proposta artificialmente pelo próprio pesquisador, mas uma observação das práticas rotineiras e seus registros. Desse modo, não há perguntas estruturadas de antemão, pois a relação que irá se estabelecer pela entrada, aceitação e participação do adulto pesquisador é o que vai permitir a visualização dos processos de produção e reprodução de cultura. Converge com as atuais demandas da Sociologia da Infância também, para que apareça na pesquisa uma visão de parceria, que coloque a criança como sujeito tanto quanto o pesquisador, constituindo estudos com e não sobre a infância. As crianças interagem no mundo porque produzem suas culturas: ingressam na cultura por meio da família, mas passam a produzir e participar de inúmeras culturas de pares. As pesquisas que defendem a escuta e enfocam as infâncias e culturas infantis consideram o ponto de vista infantil nas pesquisas. É uma reparação por tanto tempo em que as crianças foram marginalizadas na Sociologia e em outras áreas, por ocuparem sempre uma posição subordinada na sociedade, e vistas como incapacitadas a contribuir. Além de sugerir a formação com a participação ativa das crianças, a finalidade deste trabalho é também ampliar o conceito de cultura de pares, levantar ações de produção de cultura e analisar situações de reprodução interpretativa entre as crianças. A proposta converge com a defesa da escuta e o enfoque das infâncias e culturas infantis sob uma metodologia inovadora e desafiadora, que implica um desprendimento do olhar sob o ponto de vista do adulto

Empathy and cultural understanding of groups that are marginalized due to religious, ethnic or sexual background is essential for peace in schools, neighborhoods, and society at large. Literacy classrooms can be a safe environment in which students can develop their own understandings and empathies. Although worthwhile, much of the research lacks details of student reactions to the people and cultures read about in historical narratives, as well as a focus on pedagogical practices that could give students a deep understanding of the culture. This study analyzed the empathetic responses of 13 sixth grade students to themes presented in a Mexican American narrative text, The Circuit. The purpose of this study was to understand the nature of student empathy and how empathetic responses reflect a rich historical and visual context. Key data sources of this interpretive study included large group discussions, small group discussions, written journal responses, and interviews. The results of this study indicated that students' empathetic responses are varied and complex and seem to reflect familiarity with topics in the text and personal background. Minimizing the cognitive demand of cultural content seemed to be a key pedagogical factor in helping students reach deeper levels of empathy. Suggestions are given for educators looking to teach empathy through cultural texts. Possible areas of research are recommended.