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Thesis (D.M.A.)--University of Oklahoma, 1995. / Includes bibliographical references.

Video game journalism has been accused for lack in journalistic legitimacy for decades. The historical relation between video game journalists and video game publishers has always been problematic from an objective point of view, as publishers have the power to govern and dictate journalistic coverage by withdrawing financial funding and review material. This has consequently lead to lack in journalistic legitimacy when it comes to video game coverage. However, as the grass roots media movement gained popularity and attention in the mid 2000s, a new more direct and personal way of coverage became evident. Nowadays, grass roots media producers operate within the same field of practice as traditional journalists and the difference between entertainment and journalism has become harder than ever to distinguish. The aim of this master thesis is to discover if grass roots media is more critical than traditional video game journalism regarding industry coverage. The study combines Communication Power theory, Web 2.0 and Convergence Culture, as well as Alternative Media and Participatory Journalistic theory, to create an interdisciplinary theoretical framework. The theoretical framework also guides our choice in methodology as a grounded theory study, where the aim of analysis is to present or discover a new theory or present propositions grounded in our analysis. To reach this methodological goal, 10 different grass roots media producers were interviewed at 6 different occasions. The interviewees were asked about their opinions regarding grass roots media production, their own contribution, as well how they identified journalistic coverage. It was discovered that the grass roots media producers were not more critical than traditional video game journalists. This was because grass roots media producers operate under the rules of entertainment production. It was discovered that if grass roots media producers break out of the normative rules of entertainment production, they would either loose their autonomous freedom or funding, resulting in a catch-22 situation. Furthermore, it was found that grass roots media producers did not identify themselves as journalists; rather they identified themselves as game critics or reviewers. Thus, a video game journalist is categorised as an individual that report writes or edits video game news as an occupation, with formal journalistic training. However, since neither grass roots media producers nor industry veterans in general have journalistic training, it is still unclear who is a video game journalist. Lastly, we found that grass roots media producers have little possibility to influence traditional video game journalism. The only way to increase the status of journalistic legitimacy is by encouraging journalism itself, to engage in critical media coverage. As there is a public demand for industry coverage, and journalistic legitimacy is grounded on the normative democratic self-descriptions of the profession, video game journalism needs to move beyond entertainment and engage in democratically, constructive and critical coverage.

The problem investigated in this study was how individuals participate in the local units of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and particularly how their participation relates to the program and policy initiatives of the national association. The purpose was to understand and describe how individuals experience branch membership, how they respond to the current program and policy initiatives of the association, and to examine some of the differences between members with regard to the salience of the initiatives. The research issues concerned why women join and retain their membership in local units, how they participate, and how they promote the program and policies of the national association. The grounded theory method was used to perform this qualitative study. Ten participants, in two branches, were interviewed. The interviews were transcribed, using The Ethnograph tool, and then open, axial, and selective coding was carried out to discern patterns and themes from the data. The findings, which emerged from the data, resulted in a model of four stages of increasing social activism and responsiveness to the national agenda. Attending to the mission of the association--to promote equity, lifelong education, and positive societal change--became increasingly important to some members as they moved through the stages. During the first stage, Participates, members simply attended meetings, took part in activities and fund-raisers, and some performed a branch role. During the second stage, Supports, they promoted education opportunities for specific women and girls, by setting up study groups, providing for local scholarships, or other educational activities. During the third stage, Facilitates, members actually promoted equity by disseminating information in the community concerning the association's issues. During the fourth stage, Advocates, members worked in the community to make changes based on issues from the national agenda. The conclusions addressed member motivation, the importance of the social capital built through participation, and the internal consequences of membership. While most women joined and retained their membership in the local units for social contact, some joined because of the organization's mission. Their motivation to join and retain their membership made a difference in their level and kind of branch involvement. The importance of the social capital built during participation in branch activities, often diminished, is of utmost importance to the usually, conservative members as some of them became more engaged in the activist, national agenda. The internal consequences of membership in the local units of the voluntary association were more important to members than the external consequences, which led to incongruence between the national office and the branches. This study adds to the body of knowledge regarding voluntary associations, particularly with respect to understanding how individuals experience membership at the local level, their goal orientation, and their motivation to participate over time. / Ed. D.

The Financing Policy for Developmental Social Welfare Services in South Africa (1999:15), which is currently under revision, aims to address and eliminate the current imbalances in service delivery by promoting equitable distribution of finances, services and infrastructure for all people in need of social services. In order to achieve these aims, the Financing Policy for Developmental Social Welfare Services (hereafter referred to as the Financing Policy) proposes a shift in service delivery from a remedial approach towards a developmental focus by 2004. As a social worker working in communities with other social service providers at grass-roots level, the researcher found little evidence that transformation to developmental welfare services was indeed taking place. Service providers working in communities do not know how to transform their services. The aim of this research study was to evaluate the impact of the Financing Policy for Developmental Social Welfare Services on service delivery in the Nellmapius community in the Gauteng Province. This research study formed part of a team research where the impact of the Financing Policy was studied in three different communities in the Gauteng Province. The researcher utilized a combined research approach whereby the qualitative research approach was more dominant than the quantitative approach. The researcher utilized a personal administrated questionnaire (quantitative) with the service providers working in Nellmapius. Focus group discussions (qualitative) were conducted with service beneficiaries in Nellmapius. From the research findings derived out of the data analysis, the researcher was able to made valuable recommendations with regard to the improvement of service delivery at grass-roots level. The final recommendation of this study is to integrate the findings of this study with the findings of the other three studies (respectively in Tembisa and Atteridgeville). This integration could then be utilized as a policy analysis towards writing the new planned policies to address funding, transformation and monitoring of social welfare services in South Africa. / Dissertation (MSD (Social Development and Policy))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Social Work and Criminology / Unrestricted

This doctoral thesis entails a research project to determine whether grass roots preachers in a southern Africa context can be instructed to prepare effective expository sermons. In order to make that determination it was necessary to first collect and analyze expository sermons from such preachers prior to any instruction. Then, on the basis of instruction in expository preaching in a seminar format, it was necessary to collect and analyze additional sermons from the same preachers. To that end we conducted two five-day seminars in Zimbabwe and South Africa respectively. The content of those seminars included two major elements. The first was a theology of preaching that is detailed in Chapter 1. Within a theology of preaching we have given treatment to various topics including the need for a theology of preaching, the Old Testament basis for preaching, the New Testament mandate for preaching, a definition and defense of expository preaching, and a discussion of the necessary qualities of effective expository preaching. The second element of the seminars involved a method of preaching detailed in Chapter 2. Within the method of preaching we have given treatment to various topics, including the role of the Holy Spirit in preaching, exegesis of the sermon text, and making the transition from the text to the completed sermon. Given the foundational material of Chapters 1 and 2, we developed the seminar materials found in Chapter 3. Chapter 4 includes the schedules by which the sermons were analyzed. Each sermon was subjected to the same schedule to determine its effectiveness as an expository sermon. Those results are then analyzed in Chapter 5 leading to the conclusion that grass roots preachers in a southern Africa context can indeed be instructed to preach effective expository sermons. / Practical Theologyy / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Bakgrund: I socialtjänstens utredning om barn är barnen en viktig informationskälla. I svensk lagstiftning beskrivs det att barnets bästa ska betraktas när åtgärder rör dem. Socialarbetare känner sig ibland osäkra inför samtal med barn. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilken möjlighet socialarbetarna har gällande kompetensutveckling i att samtala med barn och behovet av verksamhets ut veck l ing för att förbättra samtal med barn. I studien ingår det två arbetsgrupper, socialarbetare som arbetar inom öppenvården och socialarbetare som arbetar med främst myndighetsutövning, mellan dessa grupper kommer det ske jämförelse för att se om det finns likheter och olikheter i upplevelsen av sin kompetens. Metod: Studien har genomförts med kvantitativ metod där datainsamlingen har bestått i online - enkäter. I studien är det totalt 10 av de totalt 13 tillfrågade kommunerna i Region Jönköpings län som har tackat ja till att vara med. Av tillfrågade 77 socialarbetare inom den sociala barnavården deltog 52 (65,7 procent) och av dessa arbetar 19 inom öppenvården och 33 arbetar med myndighetsutövning. Resultat: I studien framgår det att det finns förbättringsmöjligheter i samtal med barn för socialarbetare rörande utbildning och arbetsmaterial. I studien framgår det också att det inte finns några signifikanta skillnader mellan socialsekreterare och behandlare. Slutsats: Studien tyder på att socialarbetare är i behov av mer kunskap kring samtal med barn, samt att det finns områden som behöver förbättras för att känslan i samtalet med barnet ska bli mer positiv. / Background: Children are an important source of information in the investigations of the social services. Swedish law stipulates that the best interests of the child should be considered when measures concern them. Social workers sometimes feel insecure about speaking with children. The purpose of this study is to examine the opportunities of social workers for training in speaking with children, and the need for development of the organization in order to improve conversations with children. Two groups are included in the study, social workers that work with non-institutional care, and social workers that primarily work with the exercise of public authority. These groups will be compared to see whether there are similarities and differences in their perception of competence. Method: The study has been done by a quantitative method where data has been collected with online surveys. In total, 10 of the 13 municipalities in Jönköping County have participated in the study. Out of the 77 social workers in child welfare asked to participate, 52 (65.7 per cent) chose to do so, whereof 19 work with non-institutional care and 33 with the exercise of public authority. Results: The study shows that there is room for improvement of social workers’ conversations with children with regards to education and work material. The study also shows that there are no significant differences between different types of social workers. Conclusions: The study indicates that social workers need more knowledge of speaking with children, and that there are areas that need improvement for the conversation with the child to be perceived as more positive.

The purpose of this research was to examine potential sustainable delivery methods for Oral Health Promotion (OHP) in developing populations in India, utilising non-dental rural community development groups, specifically those led by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGO) involved in community development. The focus of this research was based on a longitudinal cohort study experimental design for exploratory purposes conducted over a period of one year, using a randomised cluster sampling of community developmental projects within the rural-tribal villages of Ambernath, Maharashtra, India. The study was measured in 4 phases: oral health knowledge of village parents through a questionnaire, dental screenings of children, and integration of a ‘train-the-trainer’ type of Oral Health Awareness Programme (OHAP) for three test groups, followed by one-year comparison follow-up data. Findings show evidence of comprehension and dissemination of the information in the OHAP course. Screening data also showed a reduction in decay in primary and permanent teeth in the children, after one year, and a positive change in oral hygiene behaviours. The collaboration and utilisation of non-dental NGO teams and local participatory groups from a ‘grass-roots’ level was proven to be effective for disseminating information and activities for oral health awareness and promotional programmes within these populations. Evidence supports a collaboration of these groups can be recommended for introducing a structured and understandable oral health programme utilising non-dental NGO and local participatory groups.

The study aimed at getting a grass root opinion on poverty and why Ghana is still poor after 50 years of independence in spite of her richness in natural resources, second largest producer of cocoa in the word and appreciable stable political environment. The opinions of the ordinary people in the Bia district and their observed living conditions was analysed in line with theoretical basis of the study and previous studies to justify the stance that poverty should be considered as an abuse of human rights. It was concluded based on position of informants and previous data available that though many factors have been raised by previous scholars as the cause of poverty, the actions and inactions of both internal and external power-holders is the main source of poverty in Ghana. It was proposed that for poverty to be reduced in a sustainable way there should be strong civil society groups and active citizens through civic education to hold power-holders accountable. Until the actions and inactions of power-holders which have subjected many Ghanaians into intergenerational poverty are seen as human rights abuse, the rights of many Ghanaians would be constantly abused. This will eventually defeat the promotion of human rights culture in Ghana.