The Thesis focuses on architects, engineers and surveyors in English Local Government. The research question recognises difficulties these professionals can have in engaging with management approaches and practices. The Thesis begins with a case study and, following a literature research, employs informal and formal interviews, together with a questionnaire. The opportunity is taken to seed Vignettes drawn from personal and colleagues' experience, to provide a quasi- anthropological parallel commentary. Also of significance is the degree to which the writer has relied on his professional experience during the course of the research. This has influenced the methodology and the apphcation of surveying techniques, such as triangulation, has assisted the academic research. Experience has also influenced the style, presentation and use of language. Most significantly, it has resulted in a Thesis which is neither wholly theory driven nor wholly theory driving - it is a mixture of the two and draws strength and vigour from this hybridisation. From the research, which examined the issues in terms of the reasons behind the ambivalence of many professionals to management, the differences and similarities between the construction professionals and the role of context and contextual awareness, it emerged that an understanding of the internal and external context in which professions in local government work was of vital importance. Also important was the need for a shared lexicon and the recognition that management can be seen by professionals as a rival rather than complimentary systemised set of procedures. The writer has adopted an iterative and triangulated approach. The use of triangulation matures as the research proceeds and, together with the conclusions from the research question and lessons for management development of construction professionals, is offered as an output in its own right.

This qualitative study examines the practical effect of CCIE certification in individual and organization levels, in response to the following questions: why should an well experienced network engineer be certified? What can a company benefit from certified network engineers? Data for this study were collected through semi-structured interviews. Participants included students, network engineers,career changers and managers. The results indicate that obtaining this certification help little regarding job seeking and promotion. Participants from organizational level suggest that certification plays a less important role, compared with experience, in criteria of recruitment. The discussion of this study also provides recommendations for organizations and certification candidates.

Numerous changes in education in Ontario in the past few decades have lead to much discussion regarding the professionalism of teaching in Ontario. Some theorists suggest the changes are deprofessionalizing, leading to an intensification of work that detracts from the professional status of teaching by causing work overload and breaking larger tasks into smaller ones requiring less thought or decision-making by the teachers themselves. Others consider the changes reprofessionalizing, in that they are simply changing what it means to be in the profession of teaching, mostly by moving towards a system of collaboration. At the same time, the Ontario College of Teachers (2009) has declared teaching an official profession by allowing for the acronym OCT (Ontario Certified Teachers) to be added to the signature of teachers to denote their status. While others have certainly had their say, teachers themselves were the missing voice in this controversy. The purpose of this study was to examine the views of some female elementary teachers towards professionalism. This qualitative study consisted of interviews with seven female elementary teachers from one Ontario public school board to describe and examine their perceptions of professions in general, and what enhances or detracts from their sense of professionalism as teachers. Data analysis showed the emergence of themes regarding responsibilities, relationships, board and Ministry policies, job compensation, professional organization, job learning, and personal privileges. Within these themes a great deal of variance existed regarding what ii enhanced and what detracted from the sense of professionalism for the teachers interviewed. Of the many themes discussed, some teachers found them professionalizing, and other teachers found them deprofessionalizing. The teachers’ own personal standards and beliefs about professions and the standards and attitudes towards teachers held by their administrator seemed to be the deciding factor in what they found professionalizing and deprofessionalizing. While the theorists suggest deprofessionalization or reprofessionalization is based on the specifics of the changes themselves, this study suggests that a teacher’s sense of professionalism is constructed in a much more complex and personal manner, making it difficult to categorize certain changes or initiatives in education the way the theorists have. / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2011-04-29 14:46:15.745

No description available.

No description available.

Diss. Stockholm : Stockholms universitet, 2006.

Diss. Stockholm : Kungliga Tekniska högskolan, 2007.

Nurses are the backbone of the health care system in South Africa and spend more time with patients than any other member of the health care team. They are required to behave in a professional manner at all times. Unfortunately, professionalism within the nursing profession appears to be deteriorating. Nursing students entering the profession are at risk of assimilating unprofessional behaviour from their colleagues and inevitably, unprofessional behaviour negatively affects service delivery and the quality of patient care. Nurse educators play a key role in facilitating professional socialisation in students to enable them to mould into the nursing profession as they integrate the fundamental norms, values and standards governing the nursing profession. Unfortunately the concept of professionalism is poorly defined and might interfere with this education and assessment of professional socialisation of nursing students. The aim of this study was to define professionalism within the nursing profession using a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design to obtain an in-depth understanding of the concept of professionalism. The concept of professionalism was analysed in-depth using the concept analysis method of Walker and Avant (2011), based on Wilson‟s work (1963). A clearer meaning of professionalism was obtained when the ordinary and professional meaning of the concept was examined by using a systematic way to search the literature. Qualitative content analysis resulted in the key attributes of the concept of professionalism being identified and extracted. Thematic analysis contributed to a further reduction of the data into categories of similar attributes, followed by quantitative content analysis where the data was classified in terms of frequency to identify meanings that are most often associated with the concept. Thereafter a connotative definition was formulated. The clarification of the meaning of professionalism was obtained by using model, contrary and borderline cases. The findings reveal many definitions on professionalism with overlapping defining characteristics, however when recognised attributes of professionalism were grouped together an exact definition of professionalism was not easy to obtain. The concept of professionalism was defined in the context of the nursing profession and the aim of the study was effectively achieved. The findings of this study provide the opportunity for further research, education and recommendations for nursing practice. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Nurses are the backbone of the health care system in South Africa and spend more time with patients than any other member of the health care team. They are required to behave in a professional manner at all times. Unfortunately, professionalism within the nursing profession appears to be deteriorating. Nursing students entering the profession are at risk of assimilating unprofessional behaviour from their colleagues and inevitably, unprofessional behaviour negatively affects service delivery and the quality of patient care. Nurse educators play a key role in facilitating professional socialisation in students to enable them to mould into the nursing profession as they integrate the fundamental norms, values and standards governing the nursing profession. Unfortunately the concept of professionalism is poorly defined and might interfere with this education and assessment of professional socialisation of nursing students. The aim of this study was to define professionalism within the nursing profession using a qualitative, explorative, descriptive and contextual research design to obtain an in-depth understanding of the concept of professionalism. The concept of professionalism was analysed in-depth using the concept analysis method of Walker and Avant (2011), based on Wilson‟s work (1963). A clearer meaning of professionalism was obtained when the ordinary and professional meaning of the concept was examined by using a systematic way to search the literature. Qualitative content analysis resulted in the key attributes of the concept of professionalism being identified and extracted. Thematic analysis contributed to a further reduction of the data into categories of similar attributes, followed by quantitative content analysis where the data was classified in terms of frequency to identify meanings that are most often associated with the concept. Thereafter a connotative definition was formulated. The clarification of the meaning of professionalism was obtained by using model, contrary and borderline cases. The findings reveal many definitions on professionalism with overlapping defining characteristics, however when recognised attributes of professionalism were grouped together an exact definition of professionalism was not easy to obtain. The concept of professionalism was defined in the context of the nursing profession and the aim of the study was effectively achieved. The findings of this study provide the opportunity for further research, education and recommendations for nursing practice. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

While various forms of teachers' habitus have been described in education studies, little consideration has so far been given to their interaction with fields in schools. This article draws on Bourdieu's theory and related concepts of field, habitus, capital and doxa to explore types of teacher professionalism, especially in Austrian secondary schools where innovative measures and reforms have been introduced. By combining a model of teaching profession with a Bourdieu-based analysis in the interpretation of 70 interviews with secondary school teachers, we show that a double field structure has emerged in some schools, where a field of traditional teaching competes with one of new professional field teaching. We argue that further initiatives will be needed from the field of education policy and other forces in society to stabilise the field of new professional teaching. This article illustrates the dynamic interrelationship between professional habitus and conflicting fields in one particular school.