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This essay is about the worldview of Swedish people, who experienced healing. I presumed that concepts, which underpin healing phenomena and thereby express the healer’s worldview, could differ from many people’s concepts and worldviews. The question was, if people with a different worldview attended a healing session and experienced positive results for their health, would that give them reasons to reconsider their worldview? Four people were chosen for this research, who had experienced healing and were willing to talk about it. Based on a participating observation, I describe a personal and their healing session, to create an understanding of their experience. Moreover, the healing method Laying on of Hands, which is used during these sessions is described. With the following in-depth interviews, I documented the worldview history of the interviewees, with focus on religious aspects, and compared it with their worldviews after they were convinced, that healing was working for them. In the analysis, coping theory was applied, to describe processes around the healing, which possibly contributed to the change in the patient’s worldview. The results showed a connection between the patient’s goal to regain health and the acceptance of new concepts in their worldview.

Daar bestaan verskeie stressors in onderwysers se werksomgewing (Steyn & Kamper, 2006; Van den Berg, 2003). Cox (in Travers & Cooper,1996:4) noem egter dat volgehoue en voortdurende verandering, een van die grootste stressors blyk te wees. In die onderhawige studie is laerskoolonderwysers se aanpassing by veranderinge in die Suid-Afrikaanse kurrikulum ondersoek. Die navorsing het aan die hand van Interaktiewe Kwalitatiewe Analise (IKA) geskied, soos uiteengesit deur Northcutt en McCoy (2004). Die deelnemers was 14 laerskoolonderwysers wat 10-36 jaar ondervinding in die onderwys het. Die groep onderwysers het deel gevorm van ‘n gekose afdeling, op grond van wat hul in gemeen het en hoe naby hulle aan die fenomeen is, wat nagevors is. Die navorser het aan die hand van ’n gevallestudie as navorsingsontwerp en IKA as navorsingsmetode, gepoog om meer inligting rakende die navorsingsvraag in te win. Die Affiniteit Verhoudingstabel (AVD), Sistemiese Invloedsdiagram (SID) en Interverhoudingsdiagram (IRD), is gebruik en het deel gevorm van die ouditspoor. Tydens die navorsingsproses is IKA se sentrale benadering, naamlik dat deelnemers vrylik aan die navorsingsproses kan deelneem, deur die minimalisering van die invloed van die navorser en die ander deelnemers, as effektief en positief deur die navorser ervaar. Die navorser het slegs ‘n fasiliterende rol ingeneem en leiding aan die deelnemers verskaf terwyl hulle self hul data gegenereer, gegroepeer en benoem het. Deelnemers is elkeen die kans gegun om as individue hul persoonlike belewenisse en ervaring anoniem te beskryf en te benoem. Die studie demonstreer die belangrikheid van sewe konsepte, (naamlik: kurrikulum-veranderinge; onderwysers se gesindheid; negatiewe emosies en ervaringe; werkslading; groeiproses vir onderwysers; groeiproses vir kinders; en administrasie-frustrasie) in die navorsing van onderwysers se aanpassing by kurrikulumveranderinge. Die navorsing het gefokus op die invloed wat die kurrikulumveranderinge op die onderwysers en derhalwe ook op die leerders uitoefen. Msibi en Mchunu (2013:23) vestig die aandag op die belangrikheid van professionaliteit by die onderwyser en voer verder aan dat laasgenoemde die sukses van kurrikulumhervorming en ‘n algemene sistemiese verbetering van die onderwysstelsel sal bepaal. Ten spyte van die voortdurende veranderinge in die onderwysstelsel en kurrikulum, tesame met die toenemende werkslading, het die meerderheid onderwysers in die onderhawige studie steeds ’n positiewe gesindheid getoon en ook persoonlike groei beleef. Dié groep onderwysers plaas die leerders se belange en groei steeds eerste en vir hulle is dit die spil waarom alles draai. A variety of different stressors exists in the working environment of teachers (Steyn & Kamper, 2006; Van den Berg, 2003). Cox (in Travers & Cooper,1996:4), however, mentions that change and change-on-change seems to be one of the greatest stressors. In the present study, primary school teachers’ adaptation to the changes in the South African curriculum was studied. The research was conducted by the use of Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA) as outlined by Northcutt and McCoy (2004). The participants consisted of 14 primary school teachers whose experience ranged from 10–36 years in the teaching profession. The group of teachers, as participants, formed a constituency based on what they have in common and how close they find themselves to the phenomenon that was being studied. By using a case study as a research design and IQA as the research method, the researcher attempted to gain more insight and information with regards to the research question. The Affinity Relationship Table (ART), Systems Influence Diagram (SID) and Interrelationship Diagram (IRD), were applied during the research and formed a part of the audit trail that is presented in the present study. During the research process, the researcher experienced the IQA’s central approach, namely that participants can freely take part in the research process by minimizing the influence of the researcher and other participants, as positive and effective. The researcher filled a facilitative role only and guided the participants while they generated, grouped and named their own data. Participants were each given the opportunity to express and name their personal experiences and opinions with regards to the phenomenon, anonymously. The present study demonstrated the importance of seven concepts (namely, curriculum changes; teachers’ attitude; negative emotions and experiences; workload; development process for teachers; development process for learners; and administration-frustration) to the study of primary teachers’ adaptation to the curriculum changes. This study focused on the influence that the curriculum changes had on the teachers and subsequently also on the learners. Msibi and Mchunu (2013:23) highlight the importance of the professionalism of the teacher and argue that the level of professionalism will determine how sucessful a curriculum reform and a general systemic improvement of the education system will be implemented. Despite the recurring changes in the education system and curriculum, together with the increasing workload, the majority of teachers in the present study still displayed a positive attitude and experienced personal growth in terms of professional development. The learners’ interest and develpment remain pivotal and are still the main goal of the participants’ practice. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Educational Psychology / MEd / unrestricted

This thesis explores the phenomenon of coping with dyslexia based on the perspectives of six Greek dyslexic adults, as expressed by themselves. The research is concerned with exploration of the phenomenon by standing out from linear reductionist approaches - whether pathologising person-focused or exclusively environment-focused - as well as interactionist approaches that are simplistically additive. Instead, the study explores the phenomenon of coping with dyslexia from a transactional perspective which assumes that the factors of coping are strongly interrelated, mutually affected and altered by the transaction, suggesting a more complex and holistic understanding of the phenomenon. More specifically, the study considers the adequacy of Schlossberg’s transitional 4 S System in explaining the experiences of individuals who cope with dyslexia. To pursue the purposes of the study, a multiple case studies design was employed and semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings suggest that for the participants, coping with dyslexia is not restricted simply to dealing with a set of difficulties, because the dyslexia ‘situation’ is a complex entity with a variety of aspects which relate directly or indirectly to literacy efficiency. Participants reported employing a complex and constantly evolving (across contexts and over time) system of different coping strategies. In fact, findings suggest that coping with dyslexia is not a stable entity but a transactional process which is characterised by fluidity, non-linear evolution and involvement of multiple factors. The 4 S System managed as an analytic tool to adequately identify and explain the complex transactionist relationships between the involved factors and the system of coping as a whole. Finally, in terms of effectiveness, findings suggested that there are no magic recipes. The usefulness of a coping or support activity seems to be an individualistic issue determined by contemporariness and so, a flexible approach towards coping with dyslexia is suggested.

Les études empiriques sur les technologies mobiles dans le cadre de l'éducation sont rares. Selon la revue de la littérature, différentes études théoriques critiquent les modèles actuels d'acceptation et d'adoption de la technologie mais peu d'études ont été menées sur le terrain. Il existe également peu de données empiriques sur la stratégie de l’université en matière d’adoption et de mise en œuvre de la technologie mobile. Nos propres recherches confirment le manque de telles études empiriques, en particulier en ce qui concerne les réponses des utilisateurs à la technologie mobile et leurs stratégies d'adaptation. De plus, la revue de la littérature suggère un manque de consensus théorique sur l'adaptation de la technologie mobile dans l'éducation. La théorie montre que l'éducation a besoin d'une vision holistique de l'adoption de la technologie mobile et de la recherche de ses différents aspects et composants. L’objectif de notre recherche est de comprendre la stratégie de l'université pour adopter et mettre en œuvre la technologie mobile. Cette recherche se structure autour de deux questions principales : Pourquoi la technologie mobile est-elle utilisée dans l’enseignement supérieur ? (au niveau stratégique) Comment la technologie mobile est-elle utilisée dans l’enseignement supérieur ? Cette thèse est une recherche exploratoire. Afin de laisser la théorie émerger des résultats empiriques, cette thèse est inspirée de la théorie enracinée. Au total, deux études de cas ont été menées. Deux écoles d'ingénieur françaises ont été choisies comme nos terrains de recherche. Première étude de cas réalisée par observation directe pendent 6 mois dans une école d'ingénieur A (1155 heures d’observations) comprenant 193 étudiants et 88 enseignants. Deuxième étude de cas réalisée par observation directe pendant 4 mois dans une école d'ingénieur B (704 heures d’observations) comprenant 115 étudiants et 29 enseignants. De plus, 15 entretiens semi-directifs ont été réalisés avec des professeurs en charge du projet de la technologie mobile, le directeur de l’université, le directeur du département et le personnel informatique et administratif. Toutes les données ont été codées et analysées. Au cours de cette recherche, nous avons constamment comparé nos résultats, les données codées, les incidents émergents et les concepts émergents pour générer des catégories et les comparer avec les résultats des terrains de recherche. Les apports principaux peuvent être classés en quatre catégories : Utilisation de la technologie mobile (selon les réponses des étudiants et des enseignants). Une analyse des perceptions du participant sur la technologie mobile adoptée. Une analyse des activités d'adaptation des participants (relatif à TI, aux tâches et l’individu) et trois phases du processus d'adaptation (au niveau individuel, organisationnel et du groupe). Une étude de la stratégie principale de l’université vers l’adoption de la technologie mobile et des moyens engagés pour soutenir les changements en vue de l'appropriation de la technologie mobile. En conclusion nous préconisons des implications managériales et théoriques et différents axes de recherche qui pourraient être développés ultérieurement en vue d’affiner le travail réalisé pour cette thèse et aussi afin de tester et généraliser les résultats aujourd'hui obtenus. / Empirical studies of mobile technology in education are scarce. According to the literature review, different theoretical studies criticizing the current models of technology acceptance and adoption are seeking for changes, but not many research works have been conducted in the field. There are few empirical data about the university’s strategy in adoption and implementation of mobile technology as well.This research confirms the lack of such empirical studies, especially regarding user’s responses to mobile technology and their adaptation strategies in education. Hence, more rigorous research is needed to understand the perceptions and adaptation process of university’ participants. Furthermore, the literature review suggests a lack of theoretical consensus on adaptation of mobile technology in education.Theory shows that the education needs a holistic view of mobile technology adoption and investigation of its different aspects and components. Few research works were conducted in investigating a whole organizational implementation.This dissertation aims at understanding the strategy of university for adopting and implementing the mobile technology.This research is articulated around two main research questions:• Why is mobile technology used in higher education? (at the strategic level)• How is mobile technology used in higher education?This study is an exploratory research in order to allow the theory to emerge from the empirical results and this research is inspired from the Grounded Theory.In total, two case studies were conducted. Two French engineering universities were selected as our fields of study:• First case study is carried out during a 6-month direct observation at engineering university A (equal to 1155 hours) including 193 students and 88 faculty members.• Second case study is carried out during a 4-month direct observation at engineering university B (equal to 704 hours) including 115 students and 29 faculty members.In addition, 15 semi-directive interviews were conducted with professors in charge of mobile technology project, the university’ director, head of the department as well as IT and administrative staff. All data were coded and analyzed.During this research, we constantly compared our findings and the coded data to the emerging incidents and to the emerging concepts with the purpose of generating categories and comparing with the findings acquired from the fields of research.The main contributions can be classified into four categories:• Utilization of mobile technology (according to students, faculty members use),• An analysis of the participant’s perceptions of the adopted mobile technology• An analysis of participant’s coping activities (IT related, Task related and self-related) and three phases of adaptation process (individual, organizational, and group level)• A study of the main university’s strategy towards the adoption of mobile technology and how far it supports changes towards mobile technology appropriation.The conclusion brings managerial implications, theoretical implications and some recommendations for further studies in order to deepen the research and to answer several hypotheses issued from our results.

The purpose of this study was to explore how elderly people in Gävle cope with their life by using of Internet and what are their perceived benefits and barriers of the use of Internet. Qualitative methods were used with face-to-face interviews and email correspondence to gather the data. Six elderly people participated in this study. Coping theory was used to analyse the results. The results were divided into three parts. They were describing the use of Internet, benefits and barriers of using the Internet and reasons behind using the Internet and coping. Benefits include connectedness, gratification, usefulness, and active learning experience. Barriers include limitation, distrust and frustration. This paper used the coping theory to try to describe how these persons adjust the way of thinking and the way of behaving and how they use these strategies to cope with the daily life. It was found that Internet for elderly people is becoming more important nowadays and also it is significant to know how they think about the Internet.

This is a study about employment officers at the Swedish public employment service. The aim of this study was to examine how they understand and use their discretion in their daily work. We used a qualitative method and the data was gathered by semi-structured interviews with eight employment officers working at the same office in a small town in Sweden. Lipskys theory about street-level bureaucracy and Lazarus description of coping theory are applied to analyze the empirical data. The work for the Swedish employment officers have changed over the last years with an increasing focus on control and administration. The results from the study show that the employment officers considered that they have a freedom of action in their daily work about planning their meetings, but all of them thinks that the administration, and the fact that they have to handle too many unemployed means that they are lack of time, what leads to a negative impact on their discretion. All of the interviewed subjects indicated that the Swedish public employment service has a top-down organization. We found that the informants used a unified strategy to cope dilemmas by referring to the existing laws, both when they handled disgruntled unemployed and even as a way to cope their own liable situations. They could interpret the laws in different ways and they took help from the colleagues at the local office to decide how to interpret the laws. Even if dilemma was common in their work with the unemployed, they considered that their mission to control was mainly positive. The main reasons, to how the employment officers margin for manoeuvre are limited, appears to be the laws, the regulations and the available efforts for the unemployed.

Objective: The goal of this empirical and theoretical review was to examine how pregnant women used faith, religion, and spirituality as stress-related coping mechanisms throughout their pregnancies. Methods: A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to identify relevant studies, and a total of 10 peer-reviewed articles were included in this review based on the inclusion criteria. Results: Three major themes emerged from the review. Faith, religion, and spirituality were 1) a more common form of coping than optimism, 2) a useful stress-reducing resource among those who value it, and 3) viewed as being as impactful as preparation throughout pregnancy. Two primary theories were invoked across this research: coping theory and hope theory. Conclusions: This review provides a look at the state-of-the-science on how faith, religion, and spirituality are used as a coping mechanism during pregnancy and identifies meaningful gaps in the literature with regard to theory and research.

The purpose of this study is to identify the existential themes present in the movie Where the crawdads sing (2022) by using the method thematic content analysis. The method is used when the aim is to identify themes or patterns within the data. In the movie the main character, Kya, faces challenges in life that raise existential thoughts and questions that together point to the existential themes being identified. Furthermore, the study examined how the main character deals with these existential challenges by applying Pargament’s religious coping theory. The theory explains how people use religious or spiritual beliefs to cope with stress and adversity. The research questions for this study are:  What existential themes challenge Kya? How does Kya relate and deal with these existential challenges? The result of the study showed that the movie explores themes of social context, to be exposed to threats and thoughts of life and death. When researching how Kya copes with her challenges, it was discovered that nature and social relationships are significant for Kya throughout the movie. However, she uses a reconstructive coping mechanism in order to conserve her significance. Kya does this by getting rid of obstacles in her way.

Övergången från studier till arbete kan upplevas som en stressande period i livet för universitetsstudenter. Studiens syfte är att undersöka de stressorer som sistaårsstudenter upplever inför övergången från akademiska studier till yrkesliv, samt vilka copingstrategier studenter använder för att hantera övergången. Det är även av intresse att undersöka mer eller mindre framgångsrika copingstrategier som studenterna använder i denna övergång. Det genomfördes en kvalitativ datainsamling i form av nio semi-strukturerade intervjuer med sistaårstudenter på universitet och högskola. Intervjuerna genomfördes delvis genom fysiskt möte och delvis via det digitala mötesverktyget Zoom. I analysen gjordes tematisering av intervjuerna som genererade sju olika teman, varav tre teman beskrev olika stressorer och fyra teman beskrev copingstrategier. Resultatet visade att den tydligaste stressorn hos studenterna var oro inför sociala relationer och den copingstrategi som användes mest var omvänt fokus. Dock var denna strategi inte särskilt framgångsrik för studenterna. Med stöd från tidigare forskning var även en betydande stressor brist på arbetslivserfarenhet inom rätt område.