Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / We assume pisciculture is not traditional activity for family agriculture, therefore, that research emerge from the question: how occur innovation processes in pisciculture? The major goal of that dissertation is to characterize characterize the dynamics of the innovation system in pisciculture in the county of Santa Maria, RS Brazil. After the bibliographic research in agriculture innovation, we take the option for the systemic perspective reading, particularly, with soft systems and systems of innovation approach to understand the reality object of that research. That qualitative research comprises semi-structured interviews, site visits and documental analysis. The investigation of the pisciculture history in the Santa Maria identify the major actors which interact in the making of the system of innovation in the field, emphasizing that is a dynamic system in permanent process of structuration with many actors and interests. The empirical research with the farmers has the goal to identify the modification in the fish farming system with the characterization of the technological trajectory of each one of the farmers and the process of learning related with innovative practices. The results show an affluence of innovation in the Santa Maria pisciculture with a major influence of coordination actors of the systems that make an effort to the professionalization of the farmers technics. In the analysis of the technological trajectories and the motivation for technological changes highlights the importance of the living fish marketplace as an event of major importance in the structuration of Santa Maria pisciculture system of innovation. / Tomando como pressuposto que a piscicultura não é uma atividade tradicional para a agricultura familiar, essa pesquisa surgiu a partir de um questionamento: como ocorrem os processos de mudança tecnológica na piscicultura? O objetivo geral dessa dissertação é caracterizar a dinâmica do sistema de inovação na piscicultura no município de Santa Maria, RS Brasil. Após revisar leituras sobre os processos de inovação na agricultura, optou-se por utilizar como a perspectiva sistêmica, com o recorte dos soft systems e dos sistemas de inovação para o entendimento da realidade em estudo. Essa pesquisa de caráter qualitativo foi viabilizada através da realização de entrevistas semi-estruturadas, visitas de campo, observação e análises de documentos. A recuperação do histórico da piscicultura no município identificou os atores que interagiram na construção do sistema de inovação em estudo, enfatizando que se trata de um sistema dinâmico, com múltiplos atores e interesses, e que está em permanente estruturação. A pesquisa empírica com os produtores foi direcionada à identificação das modificações realizadas no sistema de cultivo de peixes identificando a trajetória tecnológica de cada um dos produtores e os processos de aprendizagem relacionados as mudanças tecnológicas identificadas. Os resultados demonstram uma diversidade de mudanças tecnológicas na piscicultura em Santa Maria, que se mostram influenciadas, em sua maioria, pelas iniciativas dos atores coordenadores do sistema no sentido de profissionalizar a piscicultura. Ao analisar as trajetórias tecnológicas e as motivações que originaram as mudanças no formato tecnológico, ressalta-se a importância da feira do peixe vivo, colocando-a como evento importante na estruturação do sistema de inovação na piscicultura em Santa Maria.

Almost one quarter of children, by the time they reach 18 years old, will have experienced domestic violence (DV) at some point in their childhood (Bentley et al., 2017). The impact of DV on children can affect the areas of emotional and social development, communication, physical health and learning, in the home and school environments. Rather than being passive witnesses to abuse, children experience it through all of their senses. Despite a wealth of research exploring the areas of DV and the impact on children, there is limited current research in the area of DV in relation to children in education, and teacher perspectives of DV. This research therefore aims to add to the body of literature by exploring the educational experiences of children who have lived with domestic abuse and the views of teachers supporting those children. There were two phases to the research. Phase one involved working with children to explore their views of education and what was important to them, using image-based data collection methods. Phase two explored teacher perspectives of the effects of DV on children and a discussion about the implications of phase one, using a soft systems methodology approach. A visual arts-based methodology was utilised in order to allow children to explore and share their thoughts and feelings in a creative way; to tell their stories, take ownership over their own information and feel empowered to do so through a method of their choosing. The data was analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The findings illustrated that children’s experiences of school were centred on six key areas: play, education, identity, relationships, feeling safe and linking the past to the future. Teachers in the study expressed an understanding of DV and the impact on children and families. They described what children think about school and what children need at school. However, there were many barriers and conflicts for teachers in providing such support, and they felt disempowered to enact positive change for those children. Visual methodology allowed for children to express their views in a way that linked the past with the future that helped them navigate the present situation. The implications for educational psychology practice were explored at various levels of working. In particular, with relation to eliciting child voice, supporting schools at a systems level and promoting organisational change.

This thesis has two distinct research threads. One thread examines the effectiveness of technology support on the performance of focus groups. Unlike previous research, the work described in this thesis addresses the fundamental issue that groups are social systems, and that comprehensive measurement of the effectiveness of group activities requires assessment of both the task-oriented and social aspects of the group activity. In this research, four different communication modes are used to compare group effectiveness. The second research thread in this thesis is the use of Systems Thinking, and specifically Soft Systems Methodology (SSM), as the framework for inquiring into the effects of technology support on group effectiveness. The strategy in this thesis for developing and evaluating hypotheses extends the general descriptions and guidance in the literature on using SSM for hypothesis testing. Systems thinking also provides the basis for examining the prevailing ???profile deviation??? view that the better the fit between the group task and the technology support the greater the group performance. Using the six perspectives of fit developed by Venkatraman (1989), the most common GSS models and other models developed to examine Task-Technology Fit (TTF) are analysed. The results show that group performance models are most often tested from a ???profile deviation??? perspective and TTF models developed from a profile deviation perspective claim to have predictive and descriptive validity for assessing the level of group performance. To assess whether an SSM based approach can improve the predictive and/or descriptive analysis of the impact of technology support on group work, a field experiment was conducted at the Australian Defence Force Academy. Twenty focus groups of officer cadets assessed their military training program using a GSS in one of four communication modes. The results showed little predictive or descriptive support for the profile deviation perspective of TTF when measuring the group???s overall effectiveness, task effectiveness, participant satisfaction or group relations. The alternative ???gestalt??? perspective, operationalised in this research by using SSM, provided a more comprehensive approach to examining the effectiveness of technology support for group work.

With the first commitment of the Kyoto Protocol commencing in 2008, many signatory governments have identified bio fuels as a favoured response to the problem of fulfilling their countries' pledges to reduce total greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels. Despite the tendency for pressure over climate change to expedite the commercialisation process, detailed evaluation of the claimed benefits, likely efficacy or environmental impact of bio fuels in New Zealand in the form of the Bio fuels Sales Obligation policy (BSO): a mandate place on the Oil Companies to supply a percentage of bio fuel. Systems thinking propound the notion of complex interrelatedness: a pivotal concept in our current understanding of the cumulative effects of greenhouse gas emissions and their relationship to climate change. It also recognizes that the multiple ways in which different stakeholders perceive a contentious question are an integral feature of any problematical situation. By applying systems concepts to qualitative research, Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) is therefore particularly suitable for the analysis of multiple stakeholder discourse in this situation. The present study employs SSM to examine stakeholder opinion through the construction of conceptual models in the form of rich pictures and root definitions. The researcher invited diverse stakeholders to ‘see what they were thinking’ and reflect upon the beliefs and assumptions that informed their views with respect to New Zealand bio fuels development. With reference to official documentation arising from the policy development process and through a series of interviews and a focus group, the research examines perceptions of the consultation process on bio fuels development and its contribution to informed decision-making. The study data indicates that the scope of enquiry tended to be restricted by early presuppositions regarding the consultation process and its desired outcomes, which consequently shifted the focus of consultation the enquiry from an assessment of the desirability of bio fuels to an appraisal of the feasibility of government policy. However inadvertently, communication was distorted. The research examines the basic assumptions that shaped the discourse and enabled already established opinions to prevail. Furthermore, the thesis explores how using SSM to surface tacit assumptions and challenge proposed models of intervention can help improve the reflexivity of discourse and decision-making. By ensuring open communication remains at the centre of discourse, SSM could provide a means of establishing productive conditions for learning and co-creative dialogue. Consequently the study has important implications for how the ‘health’ of public discourse in New Zealand might be sustained when addressing other similarly complex issues.

The research investigates the role of Knowledge Management (KM) in supporting innovation and learning in the construction industry. The Construction industry is complex in nature and notoriously fragmented suffering high losses in productivity. Being a substantial part of the national economy, the construction industry greatly influences the country's GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Innovation has lately been regarded as the key to improve its productivity and to change traditional and fundamental thinking that has plagued the industry for a long time leading to new and more rational philosophies. The research demonstrates that KM may act as an enabler of such innovation by facilitating organisational learning. The research is carried out in two phases. In Phase 1, the research employs grounded theory methodology to develop and map out the current state of knowledge related activities being undertaken in two leading Australian construction organisations. This results in the development of a model, the main depiction of which is a segregation between three crucial components (people, process & technology) of an organisation required to successfully carry out the construction work. It also helps identify the gap between the organisation's internal and external knowledge sources that restricts the pull of knowledge from external knowledge sources. The culture of the organisation is considered to provide this resistance. An improvement in this state through KM is the main objective of the research which is realised in Phase 2. Soft System Methodology (SSM) is utilised as a KM tool to achieve this objective in this phase. As one of the systems approaches, it has the capacity to make sense of intricate systems like const ruction where a complex interaction between people, process and technology occurs all the time. A mission critical business process of pre-tendering of a leading Australian construction contractor organisation is selected to carry out the SSM investigation that resulted in four SSM case studies. This investigation helps explain how KM initiatives through SSM improve the integration of people, process and technology; increasing the capacity of the organisation to pull external knowledge and improve its own internal knowledge bank. All these improvements help an organisation to transform itself into a learning organisation that could continually innovate.

This research investigates the application of an adaptive ecosystem approach to the problem of the Cooum River and environs in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. The Cooum River is an extremely polluted urban stream that flows into the Bay of Bengal through the heart of Chennai, India's fourth largest metropolis. During the dry (non-monsoon) season, the upper reaches of the river are dry and flow in the river may be attributed primarily to the production of sewage by the city's population. The river is essentially a foul-smelling open sewer. Complexity of the problem is due as much to human factors (population growth, poverty, uncontrolled urban development, jurisdictional conflicts, modes of behaviour of the citizenry, and institutional culture) as to physical characteristics of the system (flat topography, tidal action, blockage of the river mouth by sand bar formation, and monsoon flooding). Uncertainty in the situation is both structural (regarding main processes and activities in the system and the nature of relationships among the various actors and elements), and parametric (having to do with scarcity, poor quality and restricted access to data). This work has drawn upon methods and techniques of Adaptive Environmental Management and Soft Systems Methodology to operate the ecosystem approach and address the problem. Specifically, this has involved a series of workshops which have brought together planners, researchers, NGOs, and other stakeholders in a participatory process oriented toward problem definition, system identification and conceptualization, determination of objectives for management, and the generation and exploration of management interventions. In addition, a central component of the program has been the development of a loosely-coupled GIS, environmental simulation model, and a decision support module. This is based upon a framework provided by participants in the first workshop in the series, and operationalizes a common understanding of the system. In addition to generating new insight into the nature of the problem situation, the research has provided a potentially useful tool to planners, managers and researchers in Chennai in the form of a GIS database and decision support system (DSS). Aside from the tool itself, it was found that the process of developing a conceptual model, and attempting to represent this in the DSS has made a significant contribution to understanding of the Cooum system. In particular, this process forced assumptions to be stated explicitly and publically, highlighted areas of uncertainty and led to new understanding in participants' conception of the problem situation. The program of research also provided a much needed forum for open debate and exchange of information which was removed from the restrictive institutional culture of government departments.

In today’s manufacturing industry there is an increased focus to produce the right product at right time and in the automotive sector the pressure on suppliers in order to deliver is high. In this matter the organization has to have clear and reachable goals together with a production system that can meet these goals.  The aim of this study was to observe and discover improvements in an assembly line called EUCD 1 at a company working in the automotive industry. The task was from a third party perspective to identify bottlenecks and put forth recommendations for the future as to how the improvement work should be carried out at the line. The production flow has been mapped out by the use observations, interviews with personnel working on the line, qualitative and quantitative data along with System Soft methodology. The interview questions were based on Porras’ and Robertson’s Organizational framework which is divided into four sections namely technology, social factors, physical settings and organizational arrangement. The line assembles three types of gearboxes consisting of different models which make this line very complex. This case study also includes literature studies in order to support the results found in this thesis. This report includes a rich picture of the current state at the line for understanding how the line operates. Along with this observation and interviews have been made. Observations are supported by quantitative data and analyses to justify the problematic situation in the production line. The current state has been analysed with the help of the theories used and it revealed a distinct gap between the actual production and desired goals for the organization. The company used a methodology of solving the everyday problematic issues by temporary solutions which led to the reappearance of problems again.   The analyses conducted have resulted in general recommendation as to how the organization should be working to eliminate the different bottlenecks permanently. A desired state has been put forward that includes how the company should operate in a long term future to make the EUCD 1 assembly line more stable with less variation in standstill situations. The report ends with a discussion of the methodology used along with the findings obtained. The three research questions are answered along with discussions regarding how we could have done this thesis in a different manner. The reports sums up with a section for reliability of the data collected and what future studies can be conducted in the area.

This research investigates the application of an adaptive ecosystem approach to the problem of the Cooum River and environs in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. The Cooum River is an extremely polluted urban stream that flows into the Bay of Bengal through the heart of Chennai, India's fourth largest metropolis. During the dry (non-monsoon) season, the upper reaches of the river are dry and flow in the river may be attributed primarily to the production of sewage by the city's population. The river is essentially a foul-smelling open sewer. Complexity of the problem is due as much to human factors (population growth, poverty, uncontrolled urban development, jurisdictional conflicts, modes of behaviour of the citizenry, and institutional culture) as to physical characteristics of the system (flat topography, tidal action, blockage of the river mouth by sand bar formation, and monsoon flooding). Uncertainty in the situation is both structural (regarding main processes and activities in the system and the nature of relationships among the various actors and elements), and parametric (having to do with scarcity, poor quality and restricted access to data). This work has drawn upon methods and techniques of Adaptive Environmental Management and Soft Systems Methodology to operate the ecosystem approach and address the problem. Specifically, this has involved a series of workshops which have brought together planners, researchers, NGOs, and other stakeholders in a participatory process oriented toward problem definition, system identification and conceptualization, determination of objectives for management, and the generation and exploration of management interventions. In addition, a central component of the program has been the development of a loosely-coupled GIS, environmental simulation model, and a decision support module. This is based upon a framework provided by participants in the first workshop in the series, and operationalizes a common understanding of the system. In addition to generating new insight into the nature of the problem situation, the research has provided a potentially useful tool to planners, managers and researchers in Chennai in the form of a GIS database and decision support system (DSS). Aside from the tool itself, it was found that the process of developing a conceptual model, and attempting to represent this in the DSS has made a significant contribution to understanding of the Cooum system. In particular, this process forced assumptions to be stated explicitly and publically, highlighted areas of uncertainty and led to new understanding in participants' conception of the problem situation. The program of research also provided a much needed forum for open debate and exchange of information which was removed from the restrictive institutional culture of government departments.

Information and communication technologies (lCTs) are increasingly changing the way in which working, learning, doing research and administrations are carried out. ICTs have the changed natute of many academic, public and organisations libraries. Health service is an important and essential element of any modern society. Therefore, development of this service and updating its services is a priority for most of modern governments. Current developments in ICTs are changing the nature of health science libraries. Therefore research in this area is important to provide guidelines, recommendations to improve the health services. This study explores the impact of ICTs in Hamad Health Science Library in Qatar. Physicians and staff in the Hamad Medical Corporation were surveyed by questionnaire to identify the use of ICTs and their effect on them. Then personal interviews detertnined their perceptions of the impact on the research productivity of end-users. There is a lack of this type of study in the literature. Those that there are specifically address the impact of ICTs in health science library. ICTs have become a major link to health care resources for many health care workers. The study employs a systems methodological approach in order to better understand the impact and value of ICTs in Hamad Health Sciences Library (HHSL). Using the systems intervention, issues that affect the system were identified (technological issues, cooperation issues, cultural issues and staff (and user) training and development) and the problem situation improved. An ordered roadmap of elements necessary to bring about change was produced and a HHSL systems model constructed to understand the change processes in context. Conclusions drawn reflect the level of success of the aims and objectives and indicate ways in which the problem situation can be improved from a systemic standpoint. Recommendations to management include aspects associated with operational planning, policy objectives and strategic formulation.

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative case study is to describe the formation of a graduate enrollment evaluation system (GEES) to capture and explore the perceptions of key stakeholders to critically examine the barriers and benefits of a PhD nursing program at a large, public designated high research institution. As the research suggest, there is a current need for increased enrollment for nurses into nursing doctorate programs to further meet the patient's expanding demand, to expand the science of the nursing profession, and to increase the pipeline of qualified nursing faculty. Without a pipeline of qualified nursing faculty, fewer new nurses can be trained for the nursing workforce that already experiences a critical deficiency in staffing.