The purpose of the research was to investigate the way in which employees in two departments of a Greek industrial company resolved conflict situations encountered in the context of their department. The premises are that (a) the positive effects of conflict for the organization are related to the way in which it is resolved; (b) the investigation of the phenomenon of conflict resolution necessitates the examination of employees' conflict handling behaviour during a conflict episode, as well as of their representation of the particular episode; (c) the bureaucratic culture of the organization and the wider social culture determine the conditions within which employees represent and deal with conflict situations. The research used a single case design to develop new ways to model the conflict resolution process. The use of open-ended interviews constituted the methods of data collection. Employees from two departments (Research/Design and Supplies) of the organization were selected. The analysis of data in the first part of the thesis led to the development of a net model, indicating patterns of conflict handling behaviour during any conflict episode; the generic structure of the net model, which was found to be common to both departments, was discussed in the light of Greek culture, as well as of the bureaucratic practices of that particular organization. On the basis of this analysis, a further analysis was made of the data relating to those nodes of the net model where employees were found to be involved in a decision making process. The methodology selected enabled the representation of the process of the conflict management problem by organizational members. The basic assumption incorporated within this methodology is that the conflict management problem can be represented in more than one way. The identification, via employees' discourse, of the way in which conflict situations are conceptualized in the context of the two departments, indicated how this representation relates to the wider social and organizational nexus within which it is embedded. The contribution of this study lies in identifying the conflict resolution structures and processes within two departments of the organization studied and, to a certain extent, the wider organization, while offering an insight into how this organization shapes the way in which conflict situations are processed by organizational members, using their own discourse.

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The aim of this study is to gain a greater understanding of how the social work with children and adolescents are performed in addition to the challenges social workers face in a context affected by conflict. East Jerusalem is according to international law occupied, the children and adolescents in the area are highly exposed for the consequences of the occupation. The empirical data for this thesis were collected at a center for children in East Jerusalem where I conducted qualitative interviews with the help of a semi-structured interview guide. Based on my interviews I had a result that describes the methods and the challenges of the social work within the work at the selected center which is located in an area highly affected by conflict. The social workers at the certain center assess each patients need for help to resolve psychosocial problems in the families. Their work was conducted by various methods such as for instance: individual- and group therapy, play therapy, outdoor activities, and dance lessons. The social workers expressed that it was important for the outcomes of their assignments to work together with the whole families and then especially the mothers. Many of the social workers pointed out the importance to develop gender issues and worked to increase the equality among boys and girls through mixed group activities among the children. The results of the study shows that the perceived main challenge among the social workers were founded in the political situation although factors as family-relationships, culture and the public schools for Palestinians turned out to be of importance for the progresses in their work. Those aspects were in many cases seen as problematical and arisen as a direct consequence of the occupation in the area. The results also shows that the social workers experienced all of these factors as interdependent. The results are analyzed through the theory: “The ecology of human development” which were created by Urie Bronfenbrenner (1979). The last part of the thesis contains conclusions, a discussion of the results and suggestions for new research, it ends with my own reflections of the work performed for this study.

This research investigated the correlation between the principal's leadership style and the school organisational climate. The literature study established the importance of leadership in the context of an open and positive school organisational climate. In this regard, it was found that a supportive principal leadership style is positively related to an open and positive school climate, where educators are engaged and enjoy high collegiality and intimate relationships. The school organisational climate as variously defined, relates to educator perceptions of principals or school management behaviour and refers to how educators experience, especially the management aspects that influence the climate in the school. Thus, organisational climate is related to the quality of experiences an educator has in the school, which is expressed in how he or she experiences the school life. The Organizational Climate Descriptive Questionnaire for Elementary Schools, consisting of six organisational climate descriptive dimensions was used for data collection. The dimensions describe the behavioural aspects of principal leadership namely, supportive, directive and restrictive and educators' behavioural aspects namely, collegial, intimate and disengaged. The behavioural interactions of principals and educators provided the basis for the analysis of the correlation between the principal's leadership style and the school organisational climate. It was established that there was a correlation between principals' leadership styles and school organisational climates. It was found that the organisational climates of the surveyed schools are characterised by principal leadership behaviour that is high on directive behaviour, slightly below average on supportive and restrictive. Educator behaviour was found to be slightly below average on collegial behaviours. Educator behaviour scored below average on intimate behaviour and scored slightly above average on disengaged behaviour. Principal openness behaviour was found to be below average while educator openness behaviour was found to be average which translate to school organisational climates that are relatively closed, which actually indicates a relationship between principal leadership style and school organisational climate. This research therefore draws a conclusion that there indeed is a correlation between school principals' leadership styles and school organisational climates. / Thesis (M.Ed. (Education Management))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2008.

The following key words were used: resistance, change, renewal, conflict, change management, resistance management, restructuring. All economies, and especially an economy like that of The New South Africa, depend on a well-educated, adaptable and continuously teaching work force to generate and implement change and innovation in schools. This requires a high quality and standard of education. Furthermore, education has a critical role to play in attempts to develop and maintain successful democratic societies. To address these objectives, order in the practical teaching situation is a prerequisite. Educators play a key role in creating quality and order in the practical teaching situation. Quality and order in education mean that the education process and outcomes must realise the best potential of the learners and meet the expectations of the community. Other factors such as resources may also contribute, but educators are mainly responsible for such quality and order since these aspects are rooted in their knowledge, skills and dedication. At present large numbers of pupils leave school with a school record of failure and without sufficient knowledge, understanding and competence to pursue successful careers. One of the reasons for this sense of failure is the almost complete absence of order in some schools since educators are resisting change which is brought about in the education system. There are many reasons for the apparent resistance to change. It is believed that educators can, to a certain extent, be regarded as a significant factor (perhaps a key factor) causing lack of order and discipline in schools, because of lack of support from the education department in meeting the needs of educators to enable educators to be productive. The management of resistance to change by school principals in Sedibeng-West (D8) was investigated in this study. Changes are continually occurring on all levels of a rapidly developing community. The school principal, as education manager, should be trained in a firm variety of skills, whlch will enable him to implement the management of resistance to change efficiently. Examples of large-scale changes that occurred in education during the past six years are the implementation of Curriculum 2005 and the transformation of Model C schools. It would therefore appear that it might be sensible to focus on reducing educators' resistance to change as part of a strategy to re-establish and promote order in education. The aim of this research centred on the following questions: How can the concept "resistance" be interpreted to create positive attitudes amongst educators to accept change in the education system? What is the role of principals as managers of resistance to change? Firstly, a literature study was undertaken to ascertain the nature of resistance to change, as well as methods and models according to which resistance to change can be managed. Findings from the literature study point to a number of aspects of resistance to change that play a decisive role in the management of change. These include factors giving rise to resistance to change, types of resistance to change, manifestation of resistance to change and reaction phases of resistance to change. Secondly, an empirical investigation was undertaken to investigate the degree and way in which school principals manage resistance to change and how educators' attitudes can be changed to accept change positively. For this purpose structured questionnaires were used. / Thesis (M.Ed.)--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2004.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have become increasingly utilized in the rebuilding of war-torn countries. This thesis is a grounded-theory qualitative study of the role of NGO educational projects in re-building civil society in Afghanistan as well as other conflict-affected nations. Six NGO project directors and field officers working on project work in Afghanistan were selected as interview participants. Analysis of the interview narratives revealed several key findings. These key findings suggest that while NGO officials recognize several root causes of conflict in their work contexts, conflict’s causes have limited impact on their project design. However, NGO officials believed educational project work had transformational potential. Further, NGO officials believed their project work to be successful in its development and peacebuilding goals, but suggested a need for increased project time frames. Finally, they believed their NGO project work to be but one track in a multi-track intervention into conflict-affected countries.

In certain rural areas of Manitoba, the character of the rural residential population has changed. People have built or bought houses around land that had been previously used exclusively for agriculture. These rural residents have invested in their property and are very sensitive to any activity that may interfere with their “rural lifestyle” or affect the value of their property. In the past, livestock production, in particular hog production was generally one component of mixed farming operation. Livestock production in Manitoba has undergone significant changes in recent years, both in size of operation and production method. It has now become a specialized industry where operations have become much larger and more capital intensive than farms of thirty years ago. These factors have resulted in situations where land use conflicts have and continue to occur. Typically, regulatory zoning, in conjunction with manual review of land cover overlay and topographic maps have been used to select sites for livestock operations. This approach can be time consuming and expensive. An alternative approach is the development of a geographic information system (GIS) to define optimal locations for livestock operations and non-farm rural residents. The use of such a model has the capability to reduce the number of rural land use conflicts. This study starts by documenting the significant changes in recent years of rural residential development and the size as well as the production method of hog operations in Manitoba. It then draws on a series of interviews to gain insight into the complex land use conflicts within the study area and to inform the creation of a geographic information system (GIS) model. This practicum explores “smart” land use analysis using a combination of GIS and Land Use Conflict Identification Strategy (LUCIS) modeling to represent the spatial consequences of land use decisions. This research has resulted in the development of a GIS model to be used as a decision support tool in developing policy surrounding future development and land use; including appropriate locations of any new or expanding livestock operations and rural non-farm residents within the Rural Municipality (RM) of St. Andrews, MB.

This thesis explores the ongoing Russo-Chechen conflict, which is one of the most intractable inter-group conflicts in the world. It analyzes the root causes of the Russo-Chechen conflict and discusses a number of key themes that are correlated to the consequences of the war and violence in Chechnya. This thesis also investigates the opportunity to improve the conflict situation and offers a systematic method of its resolution. The research is conducted through a number of qualitative data collection strategies such as interviewing, participant observation, and narrative analysis. Chechen refugees were interviewed in three countries- Azerbaijan, Canada, and the US. The research has resulted in a number of key findings. Those include but are not limited to the following: a) Thinking of conflict analysis and resolution as two separate fields would be misleading and unproductive. Instead, the former should inform the latter. It is true for any conflict case, including the Russo-Chechen conflict; b) A multimodal and multilevel approach to conflict analysis as well as an organic and multilevel approach to conflict resolution is needed in order to reach the objective of constructive conflict handling; c) Conflict resolution practices in Russia took place primarily within civil society organizations. The complexities of the Russo-Chechen conflict entail employing a number of different effective conflict transformation practices, which requires different conflict areas be addressed simultaneously; d) The Russo-Chechen war is not a religious- or culture-based war. However, both religion and culture have a strong motivational role in this conflict; e) Despite the severity of the conflict and the loss of human lives in Chechnya, most Chechens do not harbor hatred towards the Russian people; f) It is necessary that Chechens abandon their claims for full political independence, and Russians cease labeling the Chechens as terrorists to successfully transform the conflict; g) Even the most radical subjects interviewed for this study displayed some regrets that Chechnya did not follow the path of Tatarstan in the early 1990s, and h) Violence is not a solution to the problem. Furthermore, this thesis offers a comprehensive conflict resolution framework that includes forgiveness, peace education, storytelling, negotiating for mutual gains, interactive problem-solving workshops, and interfaith dialogue. The model offers an effective way to utilize informal conflict resolution methods that would involve all segments of population participating in the process of conflict transformation.

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