Thesis (D. Min.)--Covenant Theological Seminary, 2000. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 259-263).

The mission with this essay is to find out how children talk about religion and what they associate the concept to. The purpose is also to investigate how children resonate about  religion as a subject in school. Do they think the education is important or would they rather be without it? And what do they actually know about differences within religion and cultures? It is important in today´s society that children have knowledge about different religions as it can contribute to mutual understanding between each others different religions and cultures. Such mutual understanding can counteract religious conflicts. Eighteen children have been interviewed and the method that I used for the interviews is called focus-groups. It's a kind of group interview where focus is based on the children’s interaction with each other and to find out how they in group talk about religion and religion as a subject in school. The results show that most of the children have a positive view of religion. They think it's an important subject in school. Some think it's so important that they could not live without it.  It was a few children who didn't have as big enthusiasms about the subject as others. The results also show that the religion that was primarily conveyed in school was Christianity. And the survey also shows that teachers use varied methodology in religious education, such as through ICT and aesthetic learning processes

A adolescência é um período de redefinição das identidades, incluindo a dimensão de gênero. Nesta pesquisa, procurou-se conhecer as concepções de adolescentes sobre o que é ser homem e ser mulher, a partir de suas próprias narrativas. Participaram 41 adolescentes, com idades entre os 14 e os 15 anos, estudantes de uma escola pública e de uma escola privada de Porto Alegre. Com eles, foram realizados 6 grupos focais online, através do programa de bate-papo MSN: 2 grupos compostos por adolescentes homens, 2 por adolescentes mulheres, e 2 mistos. As narrativas interacionais produzidas pelos grupos foram analisadas, em primeiro lugar, segundo a Análise de Conteúdo temática, que revelou uma predominância dos papéis tradicionais de gênero. Após, um trecho de cada grupo foi microanalisado, evidenciando que a interação fomentada pelos grupos focais promoveu também questionamentos e redefinições dos sentidos comumente atribuídos ao homem e à mulher. / Adolescence implicates redefinition of identities, including the gender dimension. The goal of this research was to identify teenagers’ conceptions about what does it mean to be a man and a woman, through their own narratives. Participated in the study 41 teenagers, between 14 and 15 years of age, who were students of a public school and of a private school, both located in the city of Porto Alegre. Through the chat software MSN, 6 online focus groups were carried out: 2 groups of young men, 2 of young women, and 2 hibrid groups. The narratives in interaction produced by the groups were analyzed, firstly, by using a thematic content analysis, that revealed a predominance of traditional gender roles. Then, a section of the narratives produced by each group was micro-analyzed, showing that the interaction fostered by the focus-groups promoted questioning and the redefinition of the meanings commonly assigned to men and women.

Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka musikteorilärares syn på musikteori som undervisningsämne. Detta har undersökts med fokusgrupper som metod där musikteorilärare i två fokusgrupper samtalar kring sin syn på musikteori som undervisningsämne. Studiens teoretiska ram består av diskursanalys som teori och metod. De transkriberade intervjuerna har analyserats och bearbetats med hjälp av diskursanalys som analysmetod för att därigenom synliggöra olika diskurser om synsätt. Resultatet visar på fyra större diskurser kring lärares syn på musikteori: musikteori som integrerat ämne, musikteori som verktyg för olika musikaliska ändamål, musikteori som gemensamt språk och musikteori som olika aspekter av kunskap.Det framgår även flera mindre diskurser inom flera av de stora diskurserna. Resultatet visar att musikteori bör vara integrerat med andra ämnen och att musikteoretisk kunskap bör ses som praktisk och personlighetsbaserad kunskap. Resultatet visar också att musikteori är ett användbart verktyg för musicerande, att skapa musik, konstnärlighet och för att uppnå musikalisk medvetenhet. I diskussionen lyfts de fyra större diskurserna ifrån resultatet fram, och de diskuteras i relation till tidigare forskning och litteratur. / The purpose of this study is to investigate music theory teachers approach to music theory as a teaching subject. This has been investigated with focus groups as a method in which music teachers in two groups are talking about their approach to music theory as a teaching subject. The theoretical framework for this study consists of discourse analysis as theory and method. The transcribed interviews have been analysed and processed using discourse analysis as an analysis method to make different discourses visible. The results show four major discourses about teachers approaches to music theory. There are also several minor discourses in several of the major discourses. The results show that music theory should be integrated with other music subjects where theoretical knowledge should be practical and personality based knowledge. The results also show that music theory is a useful tool for many different purposes. The discussion shows four major discourses: Music theory as an interactive subject, music theory as a tool for various purposes, music theory as common language and music theory as different forms of knowledge which is related to earlier studies.

A adolescência é um período de redefinição das identidades, incluindo a dimensão de gênero. Nesta pesquisa, procurou-se conhecer as concepções de adolescentes sobre o que é ser homem e ser mulher, a partir de suas próprias narrativas. Participaram 41 adolescentes, com idades entre os 14 e os 15 anos, estudantes de uma escola pública e de uma escola privada de Porto Alegre. Com eles, foram realizados 6 grupos focais online, através do programa de bate-papo MSN: 2 grupos compostos por adolescentes homens, 2 por adolescentes mulheres, e 2 mistos. As narrativas interacionais produzidas pelos grupos foram analisadas, em primeiro lugar, segundo a Análise de Conteúdo temática, que revelou uma predominância dos papéis tradicionais de gênero. Após, um trecho de cada grupo foi microanalisado, evidenciando que a interação fomentada pelos grupos focais promoveu também questionamentos e redefinições dos sentidos comumente atribuídos ao homem e à mulher. / Adolescence implicates redefinition of identities, including the gender dimension. The goal of this research was to identify teenagers’ conceptions about what does it mean to be a man and a woman, through their own narratives. Participated in the study 41 teenagers, between 14 and 15 years of age, who were students of a public school and of a private school, both located in the city of Porto Alegre. Through the chat software MSN, 6 online focus groups were carried out: 2 groups of young men, 2 of young women, and 2 hibrid groups. The narratives in interaction produced by the groups were analyzed, firstly, by using a thematic content analysis, that revealed a predominance of traditional gender roles. Then, a section of the narratives produced by each group was micro-analyzed, showing that the interaction fostered by the focus-groups promoted questioning and the redefinition of the meanings commonly assigned to men and women.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar as experiências dos alunos de graduação em Odontologia ao realizar tratamentos endodônticos em atividades de Pré-Clínica e avaliar níveis de confiança e o perfil de ansiedade neste grupo de indivíduos. Alunos de Odontologia que frequentavam a disciplina de Pré-Clínica Odontológica foram convidados a participar do estudo. Após o aceite, os participantes preencheram um formulário elaborado para o estudo, contendo perguntas sobre as diferentes etapas do tratamento endodôntico a serem realizadas em dentes monorradiculares, pré-molares e molares. O grau de autoconfiança para cada etapa foi atribuído, por meio de escala Likert de cinco pontos, variando de “muito pouco confiante” a “muito confiante”. Utilizou-se o inventário IDATE Traço e Estado para determinar o perfil de ansiedade dos participantes. Após a aplicação de todos os instrumentos quantitativos, foram sorteados 18 participantes para integrar de uma análise qualitativa por meio de um grupo focal. Foi realizada análise estatística e inferencial. Os dados obtidos no grupo focal foram compilados, e gerou-se uma nuvem de palavras, para representar graficamente os achados. Um total de 39 participantes integrou o estudo. A maioria deles sentia-se “confiante” para realizar as diferentes etapas do tratamento endodôntico simulado, independentemente do grupo dental. Contudo, observou-se que os participantes sentiam-se menos confiantes para realizar a “radiografia de prova do cone de guta-percha” em molares do que em monorradiculares e pré-molares. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante nos níveis de confiança para realizar as diferentes etapas de um tratamento endodôntico em um mesmo grupo dental. Participantes que tiveram escores de IDATE Traço/Estado acima do terceiro quartil foram categorizados como “altamente ansiosos”, representando 36,11% e 23,07% para IDATE-Traço e IDATE-Estado, respectivamente. Correlação fraca, porém estatisticamente significativa foi encontrada entre níveis de autoconfiança para realizar etapas específicas do tratamento endodôntico, nos diferentes grupos dentais. O grupo focal trouxe informações quanto às dificuldades encontradas pelos alunos na disciplina de Pré-Clínica, na sua percepção quanto ao desenvolvimento das atividades, e também dos sentimentos e expectativas a serem vivenciadas na transição entre os tratamentos laboratoriais e clínicos. Pode-se concluir que foram observados níveis importantes de ansiedade entre os participantes do estudo, conforme determinado pelo IDATE Traço/Estado. Contudo, parece haver fraca correlação entre a confiança em realizar determinada etapa do tratamento endodôntico em atividade Pré-Clínica e o nível de ansiedade. Torna-se importante discutir e considerar as impressões dos alunos ao se adotar abordagens de ensino e aprendizagem em Endodontia Pré-clínica. / The aim of the present study was to evaluate the self-confidence and experiences of dental students and assess their anxiety levels when performing pre-clinical root canal treatment.Undergraduate students answered the STAI-Trait/State and a questionnaire to assess their confidence level to perform each step of pre-clinical root canal treatment in anterior, bicuspid and molars. Further eighteen randomly selected students participated in a focus group aimed at obtaining qualitative data on perception of conducting endodontic treatment and the learning process necessary to perform it in a pre-clinical environment. Statistical analysis was carried out. A total of 39 students joined the study. The majority of the participants reported feeling "confident" to perform the different steps of the simulated root canal treatment, despite the dental group. However, students felt less confident to perform the master cone X-ray for molars than for anterior and bicuspid teeth. There was no statistical difference in the self-reported confidence to perform different steps of the root canal treatment in the same group of teeth. Students who scored above the 3rd quartile of STAI-Trait/State were classified as "highly anxious", and comprised 36.11% and 23.07% and for STAI-Trait and STAI-State, respectively. A weak correlation was observed for the levels of self-reported confidence for specific steps of the root canal treatment and STAI-Trait/State. The focus group brought information on the difficulties that the students faced in the pre-clinical activities, on the perception for the activities development in the classes, and also on the feelings expected in the transition from pre-clinical to clinical activities. It can be concluded that there were considerable levels of anxiety among the students, as determined by the STAI-Trait/State. However, it might weakly influence their confidence to perform simulated root canal treatments, in pre-clinical endodontics. The current findings suggest it might be important to rearrange consider the students perceptions for determining the learning approaches to be adopted in the Pre-clinical activities in endodontics.

This diploma thesis deals with processing of the issue of current situation in the field of gender advertising strategies which are particularly targeted at women's marketing. Elaboration marketing researches and group interviews are identified women's' views on the selected advertising campaigns. Next step is evaluation and processing information of Focus Groups which are concerned shopping behavior of university women students. Sequentially, the models of shopping behavior have been created including factors which affecting to the target group.

To address a gap in the empirical literature on Educational Psychology (EP) practice and on adoption, and to gain perspectives from the Local Authority (LA), this thesis describes collaborative action research conducted by an Educational Psychologist (EP) with adoptive parents to support their communications with school staff. Participants were members of an Adoption Support Group and colleagues in Social Care. Information was gathered via focus groups and semi-structured questionnaires to ascertain the types of difficulties expressed by adoptive parents and inform the processes of communication systems. Participatory action research empowered participants to engage in meaningful and purposeful actions of planning, designing and evaluating information. The research narrative reports on first person inquiry through personal reflection and learning. Second person inquiry was generated in the course of research interactions with participants and the data that emerged from their realities to inform practical learning in action. Third person inquiry moved towards thinking around explanations for issues and the generation of knowledge. Knowledge was developed about parents’ perspectives on the barriers and enabling factors involved in their communications with school staff. The action research approach captured the potential of the insider position to generate rich data in situ while promoting a collaborative response to the social situation faced by the adopters when communicating with school staff. My insider position as researcher, holding multiple roles as an adoptive parent, as an EP and LA officer, is actively acknowledged as influencing understanding and the conceptualisations of the findings. The participants collaborated in the generation of a resource that provided opportunities for insight into issues to improve working practice and may provide a tool to allow parents to communicate effectively with school staff. The resource supported two main recognised functions: practical structure and emotional support. Empowering approaches were those that respected their knowledge, used their language and meanings in an emancipatory way that removed barriers, and were inclusive of them and their children. Communication is enhanced by and depends on systems that are empowering for parents and staff to co-construct shared understandings.

O objetivo do presente estudo foi avaliar as experiências dos alunos de graduação em Odontologia ao realizar tratamentos endodônticos em atividades de Pré-Clínica e avaliar níveis de confiança e o perfil de ansiedade neste grupo de indivíduos. Alunos de Odontologia que frequentavam a disciplina de Pré-Clínica Odontológica foram convidados a participar do estudo. Após o aceite, os participantes preencheram um formulário elaborado para o estudo, contendo perguntas sobre as diferentes etapas do tratamento endodôntico a serem realizadas em dentes monorradiculares, pré-molares e molares. O grau de autoconfiança para cada etapa foi atribuído, por meio de escala Likert de cinco pontos, variando de “muito pouco confiante” a “muito confiante”. Utilizou-se o inventário IDATE Traço e Estado para determinar o perfil de ansiedade dos participantes. Após a aplicação de todos os instrumentos quantitativos, foram sorteados 18 participantes para integrar de uma análise qualitativa por meio de um grupo focal. Foi realizada análise estatística e inferencial. Os dados obtidos no grupo focal foram compilados, e gerou-se uma nuvem de palavras, para representar graficamente os achados. Um total de 39 participantes integrou o estudo. A maioria deles sentia-se “confiante” para realizar as diferentes etapas do tratamento endodôntico simulado, independentemente do grupo dental. Contudo, observou-se que os participantes sentiam-se menos confiantes para realizar a “radiografia de prova do cone de guta-percha” em molares do que em monorradiculares e pré-molares. Não houve diferença estatisticamente significante nos níveis de confiança para realizar as diferentes etapas de um tratamento endodôntico em um mesmo grupo dental. Participantes que tiveram escores de IDATE Traço/Estado acima do terceiro quartil foram categorizados como “altamente ansiosos”, representando 36,11% e 23,07% para IDATE-Traço e IDATE-Estado, respectivamente. Correlação fraca, porém estatisticamente significativa foi encontrada entre níveis de autoconfiança para realizar etapas específicas do tratamento endodôntico, nos diferentes grupos dentais. O grupo focal trouxe informações quanto às dificuldades encontradas pelos alunos na disciplina de Pré-Clínica, na sua percepção quanto ao desenvolvimento das atividades, e também dos sentimentos e expectativas a serem vivenciadas na transição entre os tratamentos laboratoriais e clínicos. Pode-se concluir que foram observados níveis importantes de ansiedade entre os participantes do estudo, conforme determinado pelo IDATE Traço/Estado. Contudo, parece haver fraca correlação entre a confiança em realizar determinada etapa do tratamento endodôntico em atividade Pré-Clínica e o nível de ansiedade. Torna-se importante discutir e considerar as impressões dos alunos ao se adotar abordagens de ensino e aprendizagem em Endodontia Pré-clínica. / The aim of the present study was to evaluate the self-confidence and experiences of dental students and assess their anxiety levels when performing pre-clinical root canal treatment.Undergraduate students answered the STAI-Trait/State and a questionnaire to assess their confidence level to perform each step of pre-clinical root canal treatment in anterior, bicuspid and molars. Further eighteen randomly selected students participated in a focus group aimed at obtaining qualitative data on perception of conducting endodontic treatment and the learning process necessary to perform it in a pre-clinical environment. Statistical analysis was carried out. A total of 39 students joined the study. The majority of the participants reported feeling "confident" to perform the different steps of the simulated root canal treatment, despite the dental group. However, students felt less confident to perform the master cone X-ray for molars than for anterior and bicuspid teeth. There was no statistical difference in the self-reported confidence to perform different steps of the root canal treatment in the same group of teeth. Students who scored above the 3rd quartile of STAI-Trait/State were classified as "highly anxious", and comprised 36.11% and 23.07% and for STAI-Trait and STAI-State, respectively. A weak correlation was observed for the levels of self-reported confidence for specific steps of the root canal treatment and STAI-Trait/State. The focus group brought information on the difficulties that the students faced in the pre-clinical activities, on the perception for the activities development in the classes, and also on the feelings expected in the transition from pre-clinical to clinical activities. It can be concluded that there were considerable levels of anxiety among the students, as determined by the STAI-Trait/State. However, it might weakly influence their confidence to perform simulated root canal treatments, in pre-clinical endodontics. The current findings suggest it might be important to rearrange consider the students perceptions for determining the learning approaches to be adopted in the Pre-clinical activities in endodontics.

Essa dissertação demonstra como a metodologia de pesquisa denominada grupo de foco oferece resultados consistentes para suplementar a avaliação quantitativa realizada pelo Sistema de Bibliotecas da Universidade de São Paulo (SIBi/USP). Tem como base uma pesquisa minuciosa realizada sobre as mais recentes aplicações da metodologia do grupo de foco em diversas áreas do conhecimento, especialmente no campo da Biblioteconomia. Para construir um referencial diversificado neste campo, foram selecionados e descritos experimentos realizados em bibliotecas universitárias nacionais e estrangeiras. É descrita ainda a experiência conduzida por esta pesquisadora junto a algumas bibliotecas integrantes do Sistema de Bibliotecas da Universidade de São Paulo (SIBI/USP). Procura dessa forma mostrar que o grupo de foco pode auxiliar as bibliotecas a incrementarem seus serviços e a melhorar uma competência que é fundamental para os bibliotecários: a arte de ouvir seus usuários. / This dissertation demonstrates how a methodology called focus groups provides solid results to supplement a quantitative evaluation performed by the Sistema de Bibliotecas da Universidade de São Paulo (SIBi/USP). The basis for this dissertation is a detailed research about the most recent uses of the focus groups methodology in different areas of knowledge, especially in the Library Science field. Experiments performed in national and international universities libraries were selected and reported to build a diversified reference in this subject. It is also described one experiment headed by this researcher in some Libraries that constitutes the SIBi/USP. In this way the focus group methodology may help the libraries to improve their services and develop a essential skill for librarians: the art of listen to their users.