The purpose of this study is to investigate the young caregivers thoughts of the elderly caretaker. A qualitative method was chosen when interviewing young caregivers in order to get an insight of how they perceive and speak of the elders. The main questions of the study are: How do the caregivers believe that the elders perceive their day-to-day life and situation? Is it possible to distinguish if the young caregiver’s thoughts about the elders affect their work with the elderly caretaker? Is it possible to notice any common factors that the young caregivers perceive as important in their work with the elderly caretaker? The criteria for inclusion in this study are caregivers aged 18 to 25, who are working with elderly at special accommodation. The theories chosen for this study are the salutogenetic perspective, the activity theory and the theory of gerotranscendence. From the outcome of the study the conclusion is that the interaction between the elder and the caregiver seem to be decisive for how the young caregiver think of the elders and their life situation. The caregivers in this study experience that activities give the elderly a meaningful life.

Information technology and political motives, e.g. e-governance, freedom of information legislation, has recent years lead to an increasing emphasis on users and access to records, but little research based knowledge about those issues exist so far. The main focus of the previous research is the use of non-current records in archival repositories. The aim of this thesis is to make a contribution to the research field, in order to gain a better understanding of the information behaviour of users of records in contemporary organizational settings. The research questions addressed are: § How are records used in contemporary organizations?- In what context and for what purposes are records used?- What user categories can be identified? § How is the search for records mediated?- What intermediaries are used in the search process?- How well do the features of the artefactual intermediaries serve the users' information needs?- What is the role of human intermediaries? An additional purpose of the study is to contribute to theory development, and to provide a conceptual model of the information behaviour of users of records that can form the basis for further research. The thesis is based on explorative case studies undertaken in two contemporary Swedish public organizations, one municipality and one governmental agency. Data was collected through interviews, analysis of documentary sources and complementary observations. The analysis of the findings was guided by a theoretical framework consisting of activity theory informed by concepts from archival theory and models of information behaviour. The results of the cases studies showed that information behaviour of users of records and the search process could be described as a part of an activity system. The search process was a sub-ordinated activity of other activities. The needs for records was generated by a task or accomplishment of anykind with purpose to achieve something. Those needs motivated the purposes of use of records: material, operational, accountability seeking or knowledge enhancing purposes. The subjects, users in collaboration with the registrars and archivists, seeked to obtain records with help of different mediational means, e.g. artifactual intermediaries as the journal and the archives inventory that could be defined as representational systems, in order to reach a certain outcome: fact-finding, re-construction of past actions and events, regaining experience and knowledge, verifying status, or illustrating and exemplifying. A variety of user groups, internal as well as external, could be identified in both organizations. Those could act as direct or indirect users, and indirect use by one part meant direct use by another who acted as a mediator between the records and the end users. The external users could be defined as stakeholders of the organizations or other users. Users showed, with occasional exceptions, a preference for informal means of mediation, particularly personal communication. Certain features of the formal representational systems, journals and inventories, could be identified, which made them less useful as search tool. Those were generated by contradictions and tensions within the organizations: contradictions within the representational systems; contradictions between the tasks of the users and the representational systems; contradictions between user requests and the access points in the representational systems; contradictions between external users and the activities of the organizations; contradictions between exogenous institutional conditions and the the activities of the organizations; and contradictions of a temporal character. These circumstances necessitated an active intervention of human intermediaries. This could be seen as an example of the division of labour in the organizations. Search and retrieval of records were part of the registrars’ and the archivists’ specific professional knowledge, but were not considered as primary tasks of other employees or, especially not, of the external users. The results of the study contributes to to the knowledge about the use of records, and how records are approached. It provides a model of the search process that can form the basis for further research. The practical implications of the findings could be improved search tools and user services, i.e. enhanced access. The thesis can also contribute to theoretical enrichment of the field by combining a more comprehensive social theory with archival theory and concepts from information science. / Utveckling av arkiv- och informationsvetenskap

The aim of this thesis is to clarify the contradictions in teaching practice that are reflected in teachers' statements about the education of pupils in need of special support at the government-run special schools in Sweden, especially from the perspective of inclusion. The contradictions are explored using Engeström’s model of Activity Systems. The following questions are addressed: 1) What aspects are highlighted by teachers as essential in the instruction of pupils in need of special support? 2) What opportunities and barriers to inclusive education can be seen in the teachers' statements? 3) How does a teacher of pupils with multiple disabilities collaborate with other teachers in the team? Sixteen teachers from all five regional special schools for the deaf and hard-of-hearing were interviewed. The theoretical insights of cultural-historical activity theory were utilized to analyze the transcriptions. The study shows that there are several contradictions in the Activity System model. Some specific findings are as follows: Communication with some pupils requires teachers to use several modalities, and teachers who do not have every day contact with these pupils, feel awkward in interaction. A consequence of this will be that teachers do not readily substitute for one another or divide labor equally as much as expected. More time is needed for lesson planning in cooperation with other teachers and assistants. It becomes necessary to modify materials for teaching which was time consuming. Special education groups are sometimes forgotten in plans of common activities by other school personnel. Key conclusions are: There needs to be a greater variation and flexibility in teaching methods for all students to make it easier for pupils in extra need of special support within special schools to be better included. There needs to be more interactions with those pupils and with personnel other than their teachers in order to decrease exclusion.

Syftet med studien är att identifiera framgångsfaktorer, samt att påvisa hinder för att uppnå en fungerande elevhälsoorganisation, samt att visa hur Elevhälsans olika yrkeskompetenser bidrar till ett framgångsrikt elevhälsoarbete på en skola. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av kvalitativa djupintervjuer av Elevhälsans personal i åk 6-9 på en skola i en mellansvensk kommun, som enligt Skolverket anses ha en väl fungerande Elevhälsa. Resultaten grundar sig även på samtal med annan personal på skolan, samt på observationer i olika klassrum. Data från intervjuer, samtal och observationer har analyserats utifrån aktivitetsteorin, där fokus ligger på beskrivning av Elevhälsans olika yrkeskategoriers mål, handlingar och operationer. Undersökningen visar hur Elevhälsans olika yrkeskompetensers individuella arbete, samt samarbete sinsemellan bidrar till en fungerande elevhälsoorganisation. Elevhälsans arbete med eleverna kretsar kring hälsofrämjande arbete och arbete för att eleverna ska nå kunskapskraven. Detta bygger på värdegrundsarbete där det satsats mycket kraft på relationsbyggande och gott bemötande mellan elever, samt mellan personal och elever på skolan. Det finns dessutom en tydlig ledning och struktur i organisationen där rutiner och ansvarsfördelning är väl kända och accepterade av personalen. Det förebyggande arbetet bland personal och elever är betydelsefullt. Beslutsprocessen är snabb och dokumentationen upplevs som betydelsefull och användbar i praktiken. Det utgår stöd till elever i svårigheter utifrån deras individuella behov där lärarna visar att de tror på elevens förmåga att lyckas. Arbetet har sin grund i att det råder en positiv stämning bland både personal och elever, där det förebyggande arbetet för att stärka elevernas självkänsla och självtillit är betydelsefullt.   De hinder eller svårigheter som kan finnas för utvecklingsarbetet med Elevhälsan är att det inte finns något facit på hur verksamheten ska organiseras, varje skola måste hitta sin egen modell utifrån sina förutsättningar. Brist på tid, långdragen beslutsprocess och komplicerad dokumentation av elevärenden kan vara andra hinder. En otydlig ledningsorganisation kring Elevhälsans arbete utgör dessutom hinder för att utveckla en fungerande Elevhälsa. / The aim of this study is to find factors for success, and indicated impediments to achieving a well-functioning organization for students’ health. The study was carried out with qualitative in-depth interviews with the staff of the Students’ Health Organization for grade 6-9 at a school in the middle of Sweden, which according to the Swedish National School Board (Skolverket) is considered to have a well-functioning organization for student’s health. The results are also based on conversations held with other staff members of the school and observations made in different classrooms. Data from the interviews, conversations and observations have been analyzed based on the activity theory, focusing on descriptions of the goals, actions and operations of the different professions of the Students’ Health Organization. The study shows how the work of the different professions of the Students’ Health Organization, as well as the cooperation among the different professions, contributes to a well-functioning organization for students’ health. The work of the Students’ Health Organization revolves around promoting the health of the students’ and to establish prerequisites for the students to reach the knowledge requirements. This work is based on values and ethics where much effort is put into the relationship-building and good interactions among students and students and staff. There is also a distinct leadership and a structure of the school organization where routines and distribution of responsibility is well known and accepted by all staff. The preventive work among staff and students is important. The decision procedure is quick and the documentation is experienced as significant, important and useful in everyday work. Support is given to student in need, based on their individual needs and it is shown that there is belief in the students’ abilities to succeed. The work has its foundation in a positive attitude among both staff and students, where the preventive work; to enhance the students’ self-esteem is of great importance. The impediments or difficulties that can be found for the development of a functioning students’ health organization is that there is no key or straight answer to how the work should be organized; each school has to create its own model based on its own conditions. Lack of time, protracted decision procedures and complicated documentation of students needs, abilities and how to work with them are other impediments. An indistinct leadership of the students’ health organization and their work is also an impediment to the development of a functioning students’ health organization itself.

Electronic Patient Records (EPRs) are becoming standard tools in healthcare, lauded for improving patient access and outcomes. However, the healthcare professionals who work with, around, and despite these technologies in their daily practices often regard EPRs as troublesome. In order to investigate how EPRs can prompt such opposing opinions, this project examines the EPR as a collection of communication genres set in complex contexts. In this project, I investigate an EPR as it was used on the Nephrology ward at a large, Canadian, urban, paediatric teaching hospital. In this setting, this study investigates EPR-use in relation to the following aspects of context: (a) the visual rhetoric of the EPR's user-interface design; (b) the varied social contexts in which the EPR was used, including a diversity of professional collaborators who had varying levels of professional experience; (c) the span of social actions involved in EPR use; and (d) the other genres used in coordination with the EPR. <br /><br /> This qualitative study was conducted in two simultaneous stages, over the course of 8 months. Stage one consisted of a visual rhetorical analysis of a set of genres (including the EPR) employed by participants during a specific work activity. Stage two involved an elaborated, qualitative case study consisting of non-participant observations and semi-structured interviews. Stage two used a constructivist grounded theory methodology. A combination of theoretical perspectives -- Visual Rhetoric, Rhetorical Genre Studies, Activity Theory, and Actor-Network Theory -- supported the analysis of study data. This research reveals that participants routinely transformed EPR-based information into paper documents when the EPR's visual designs did not support the professional goals and activities of the participants. <br /><br /> Results indicate that healthcare professionals work around EPR-based patient information when that genre's visual organization is incompatible with professional activities. This study suggests that visual rhetorical analysis, complemented with observation and interview data, can provide useful insights into a genre's social actions. This research also examines the effects of such EPR-to-paper genre transformations. Although at one level of analysis, the EPR-to-paper-genre transformation may be considered inefficient for participants and so should be automated, at another level of analysis, the same transformation activity can be seen as beneficially supporting the detailed reviewing of patient information by healthcare professionals. <br /><br /> To account for this function in the transformation dysfunction, my research suggests that many contextual factors need to be considered during data analysis in order to construct a sufficiently nuanced understanding of a genre's social actions. To accomplish such an analysis, I develop a five-step approach to data analysis called 'context mapping. ' Context mapping examines genres in relation to the varied social contexts in which they are used, the span of social actions in which they are involved, and a range of genres with which they are coordinated. To conduct this analysis, context mapping relies heavily on theories of "genre ecologies" (Spinuzzi, 2003a, 2003b; Spinuzzi, Hart-Davidson & Zachry, 2004; Spinuzzi & Zachry, 2000) and "Knotworking" (Engestrom, Engestrom & Vahaaho, 1999). Context mapping's first three steps compile study data into results that accommodate a wide range of contextual analysis considerations. These three steps involve the use of a composite scenario of observation data, genre ecologies and the description of a starting point for analysis. The final two steps of this approach analyse results using the theory of Knotworking and investigate some of the implications of the patterns of genre use on the ward. <br /><br /> Through context mapping analysis, this study demonstrates that EPR-based innovations created by a study participant could result in the generation of other improvisations, in a range of genres, by the original participant and/or by other collaborators. These genre modifications had ramifications across multiple social contexts and involved a wide range of genres and associated social actions. Context mapping analysis demonstrates how the effects of participant-made EPR-based variations can be considered as having both beneficial and detrimental effects in the research site depending on the social perspective adopted. Contributions from this work are directed towards the fields of Rhetorical Genre Studies, Activity Theory research, and Health Informatics research, as well as to the research site itself. This study demonstrates that context mapping can support text-in-context style research in complex settings as a means for evaluating the effects of genre uses.

The aim of the study was to investigate the dynamics of two online communities of practice (oCoP) for preservice teachers. The research process encompassed three main phases. Phase 1 was related to the design and development of online environment. By the help of existing literature and a pilot study, a portal which is called as &ldquo / Professional Development Circle (PDC)&rdquo / was developed. In Phase-2, 28 preservice teachers from three different universities participated to an online course as a part of an undergraduate course. During the term, they discussed on different video cases which were recorded in real classroom environments and produced new lesson plans for these lessons in the light of given suggestions. In the third phase, the same preservice teachers got involved in a different online environment without any grading motivation in the Phase 2. They discussed on some hot topics in mathematics teaching with other preservice teachers, academicians and experienced teachers. This research study was mainly a qualitative study. Two cases of the study were two oCoP which included mandatory or voluntary participation of preservice teachers to discussions. The data were collected through written reflection reports, observations and interviews. In addition, private e-mail exchange with participants and discussion list message history were rich data sources. The data were analyzed according to qualitative data analysis techniques. The design principles and findings of this research study were discussed in the frame of Activity Theory. This study revealed outcomes of two online communities of practice environments in preservice teacher education. In addition, motivators and barriers to be active in oCoP environments were discussed. Some of the motivators were getting more responsibility, self confidance, sociable personality, altruism, sincerity in the environment, and quality of materials while some of the barriers were not wanting to enter a fight, lack of time, the idea &ldquo / max benefit minimum effort&rdquo / , feeling availability of others, and Internet access and computer availability.

Contextual issues have considerable role on learning outcomes of instructional design process. In this dissertation study, an instructional multimedia design and development course was explored to understand how contextual issues influence the experience and processes of Novice Instructional Designers&rsquo / (NIDs) activities in an instructional design project. The main participants of the study were 47 junior Computer Education and Instructional Technology students who were enrolled in the course. Besides, 26 students who took the course in previous years also participated in the study to verify the results. In the course, the students followed an instructional design process, including analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation (ADDIE framework) phases while developing instructional multimedia products. The researcher, as one of the facilitators of the course, aimed to guide the project teams iteratively to make them effectively collaborate with the community consisting of target group students, teachers, group members, graduate students and subject matter experts. Moreover, the researcher and other facilitators provided methodological and technical tools that novice instructional designers needed for their projects. Thus, the researcher was a part of the natural context. A qualitative approach was used to collect the data and Activity Theory (Engestr&ouml / m, 1999) was utilized to analyze contextual issues, find out interrelationship between contextual issues and present the results. Results showed that especially expectation and motivations of NIDs, team working skills, role of facilitator and role of target group was important to understand the instructional design experience and quality of processes which was conducted in instructional design. The results will be useful in improvement of instructional design course settings to strength practical skills of novice instructional designers.

The aim of this thesis is to get a better understanding of the role of practical work in physics education in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). The Lao PDR is one of least developed countries in the world with a weak base for science, and poor market opportunities for science graduates. The rapidly expanding educational system has many problems concerning quality of the infrastructure and staff competence. A combination of qualitative and quantitative methods was used in the study in order to assure reliability of the results. Data was collected through questionnaires, interviews, video-recordings, and my own ethnographic experiences of working in the Lao educational system for more than thirty years. The study was informed and results analysed with help of curriculum perspective and Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). The findings show that Lao physics education curriculum at all levels is dominated by very traditional forms of teaching with an almost total absence of practical. Official curricular documents have statements prescribing teachers to do practical work in high school and university courses. However, few institutions have functioning equipment and skilled teachers for organising practical activities. Therefore, the majority of Lao students come to university and even can finish university without experience of practical work in physics. This shows the gap that exists between intended and implemented curricula. The majority of the students understand the importance of having practical activities in physics. However, after being exposed to laboratory experiments in an introductory physics course, they expressed criticism about the quality of instruction and the process of the practical work organisation. The laboratory group work analysis showed that discussions were mainly focused on understanding the experimental procedures, manipulating equipment, and collecting data for the report rather than on the physics content (object of activity, in CHAT terms). Based on the research results, it is possible to suggest that a systemic approach is needed to stimulate the development of a new practical work culture in schools and universities. This approach should include training and incentives for science teachers, development of assessment strategies including practical work, maintenance structures for physics equipment, and technical support for the organisation of demonstrations and laboratory exercises.

In recent years, distance courses combining online studies with physical meetings on campus have become increasingly common as an alternative to regular campus courses, even in vocational training programs with extensive practical skills components. This thesis is focused on the implementation of distance firefighter training in Sweden and the ways in which this intervention has affected training activities and participants, as well as on the impact that historical and contextual training aspects have had on the implementation process. Based on a sociocultural and activity theory framework, a longitudinal, comparative study was made of the distance and campus study modes, focusing on those challenges, contradictions and changes resulting from this intervention that have had the greatest impact on the students’ learning processes, the instructors’ teaching roles and the basic training program as a whole. Four data collections were made over a period of about five years. The data consisted of interviews with students and instructors, observations of practical exercises, logbook notes and general documents pertaining to the training programme. Three phases were identified in the implementation, viz. an introduction phase, an extension phase and a consolidation phase. The introduction phase was characterized by a focus on instructor-driven approaches where the instructors’ traditional one-way knowledge transfer approach to teaching was gradually re-assessed, which made possible the introduction of a technology-supported, more process-oriented and student-centered course design. This resulted in the distance students beginning to take greater individual responsibility for their studies than the campus students, who proved to be more dependent on the knowledge imparted by their instructors. The extension phase, during which other instructors, usually with little experience of technology-supported teaching, and additional student groups were included in the distance training, was characterized by a normalization of the changes brought about during the introduction phase, meaning that, to some extent, they tended to shift in the direction of the traditional knowledge transfer and practice-oriented approaches of the campus training mode. This tendency can be attributed to conflicts between the instructors’ conceptions of the online learning environment and their views of how vocational training should be conducted. The manner in which they dealt with these conflicts can be summarized as quiet resistance, manifested by reduced online presence, less support to the distance students and a continued focus on their commitments on the campus program. Over time, this appears to have resulted in the distance students adapting their study strategies to the dominating attitudes in the training program and spending less time interacting online. Although these patterns also occurred in the consolidation phase, it would appear that during this phase the distance students developed their own goal-oriented and self-directed learning strategies. An important conclusion of this thesis is that the traditional attitudes commonly found in the firefighter profession had less impact on the distance students’ learning processes than on those of the campus students. Furthermore, it was found that the implementation of the distance mode was a catalyst that brought to light conflicting views about the program’s goals and core content, and contributed to established attitudes to teaching and learning being challenged. However, it also contributed to some extent to changes in the approaches to teaching. Finally, the thesis demonstrates that the gradual changes in course design and the division of responsibility between instructors and students in the technology-supported distance mode resulted in the students becoming more goal-oriented, more focused on exercise preparations and better able to participate in exercises in a manner that deepened their understanding of the complexity of exercises.

This thesis makes two contributions to environmental criminology. The first contribution is a rational choice event model for mobile phone thieves. This is based on interviews with 40 mobile phone thieves. In addition, the deterrent effects of 23 designs of phone are assessed. Comparisons are made between the responses of offenders and non-offenders; and between experienced offenders and less experienced offenders. The results show that mobile phone thieves make discerning choices about which model of phone to steal at the point of theft. The factors affecting handset choice reflect Clarke s (1999) CRAVED characteristics. Mobile phone thieves are differentially deterred by a variety of design solutions, the most effective of which reduce the resale value of stolen handsets. In contrast with offenders, non-offenders are more easily deterred, and statistically significantly more deterred for five of the 23 designs presented in this thesis; do not appreciate the importance of resale value; and are not so aware of the possibilities for circumventing or neutralising security technology. The differences between offender and non-offender responses mean that offenders are arguably best placed to assess product use and misuse in the process of designing-out crime. The second contribution of this thesis is a Mobile Phone Theft Index which controls for phone availability in the absence of handset sales data. Mobile phone theft is arguably a form of pollution (Roman and Farrell, 2002) and can, therefore, be controlled using traditional pollution control instruments (Farrell and Roman, 2006). Informing the public of their risk of victimisation according to handset ownership would make security a marketable aspect of handset design, incentivising industry to decrease theft rates. Industry action to date shows evidence of obstructionism and pre-regulatory initiatives (Newman, 2004) meaning that a novel instrument such as the Index is necessary to alter the current status quo where industry costs UK society an estimated £1.2 billion per year (Mailley and Farrell, 2006).