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Magister Educationis (Adult Learning and Global Change) - MEd(AL) / As a Nigerian, I became interested in investigating how Nigerian students, from different cultural backgrounds are able to integrate and persist in their academic programmes. I used Tinto‟s (1993) Longitudinal Model of Institutional Departure as a foundation for my conceptual framework. I adopted a qualitative research approach as this provides opportunities for interpretations by both participants and the researcher. I purposively selected 20 Nigerian students who were at different stages of their Master‟s programmes at a university in the Western Cape province of South Africa, but only 12 students were available and interviewed. The data reveals a significant relationship between intercultural peer group interactions, formal social integration and student persistence, while there was no significant relationship between intercultural peer group interaction, informal social integration and student persistence. Furthermore, informal social integration was partially related to formal academic integration and student persistence. Finally, it emerged that informal academic integration was also strongly linked to social integration and academic success. Due to the limiting nature of a research paper, the research has been restricted to the Nigerian experience to allow an insider perspective.

Föreliggande empiriska, kvalitativa studies syfte är att undersöka begreppet självbild med utgångspunkt i psykodynamisk och interaktionistisk forskning. Frågeställningarna är Hur används begreppet självbild ur psykodynamisk och interaktionistiskt perspektiv av föräldrar till barn mellan fem och tio år? och Vad kan föräldrars självbild säga om begreppet självbild? De fem halvstrukturerade intervjuerna omfattar frågor om informantens syn på sig själv i samband med föräldraskap och frågor vars syfte är att få informanten att analysera begreppet självbild utifrån sin egen syn på begreppet. Informanter är högskoleutbildade. De är mellan 33 och 48 år gamla. Resultatet visar att informanterna använder begreppet självbild i vardagligt tal. De definierar begreppet som en syntes av deras egen bild av sig själva och andras bild av dem. De menar att deras självbild ständigt förändras och begreppet ingår i deras strävan efter kunskap om sig själv, dvs de använder begreppet i sitt arbete med att få ihop en livsberättelse om vem de är. Resultatet visar också att de även använder begreppet mer fritt analyserande. En bild av föräldraskapet som en mognadsprocess framträder på två sätt, dels av kraven som ställs på dem som förälder och dels av känslorna som väcks i relationen med barnen. Slutsatsen är att när informanterna upplever att de växt och fått insikt i vad det är att vara människa, så innebär detta också att de upplever sin självbild som tydligare. Detta pekar mot att föräldrars självbild säger oss att en tydlig roll med självklar funktion är bra för vår självbild. / The objective of this empirical, qualitative study is to investigate the concept of self-image based on psychodynamic and interactional reserarch. The questions in this study are "How is the concept of self-image used from a psychodynamic and interactional perspective by parents of children between five and ten years old?" and "What can the self-image of parents tell us about the concept of self-image?". The five semi-structured interviews include questions about the informant's view of him/her-self with respect to parenthood and questions designed to get the informant to analyze the concept of self-image based on their own perception of the concept. The informants have college degrees, and they are between 33 and 48 years old. The result shows that the informants use the term self-image in everyday language. They define the concept as a synthesis of their own image of themselves and other people's image of them. They feel that their self-image is constantly changing and the concept is part of their quest for knowledge about themselves, i.e. they use the concept in their effort to formulate a life story explaining who they are. The result shows that they also use the concept in other aspects of their analysis. A view of parenthood being a maturation process from two aspects was found, first from the requirements placed on them as parents and second from the feelings occurring in the relation with their children. The conclusion is that when respondents feel that they have grown and gained insights into what it means to be human, they also perceive their self-image more clearly. This indicates that the self-image of parents tells us that a clear role with well-defined function is good for our self-image, i.e. they use the concept in their effort to formulate a life story explaining who they are [[and to find a reliable core of what they perceive as changing]]. The result shows that they also use the concept in other aspects of their analysis.

This dissertation research investigated the role of online discussion in students’ experience in an academic writing class. As an intervention study, I implemented 20-minute-long online discussions at the end of every class period over a semester as part of required class activities and measured students’ subsequent timed writings and their first and final essays to trace some possible influence from online discussion to their writing development. Topics for online discussions were organized according to course objectives and the day’s lesson, with students developing subtopics reflecting their own interest according to the evolution of each discussion. These topics included theoretical concepts on academic writing as well as orthographical, lexical, grammar, and discourse-related inquiries. Participants included 10 treatment and 12 control students registered in two sections of a rhetoric and composition course designated for non-native English speaking students at a private university. This course was not an ESL class, but was part of the regular composition course offerings, except that it was restricted to international students specifically. Data sources included the treatment group’s 26 online discussion transcripts, 12 sets of timed writings, individual interviews, field notes, two types of essays, and surveys. The control group contributed essays, one set of timed writing taken in the middle of the semester, survey responses, five class recordings, and an instructor interview. Data analysis was performed by using a mixed method approach. Results from online discussion transcripts revealed that treatment students made use of online discussions for their learning, shown through types and characteristics of language-, content-, and writing-related episodes and the semester-long changes and pattern in such talk. Interviews and survey data showed students’ positive learning experiences and changes in their perception toward computer-mediated learning experiences over the semester. In terms of students’ writing, the treatment group made significant improvement in their timed writings over the semester and also outperformed the control group in essay writing significantly, in five of seven categories on a writing rubric. The most significant finding from this study was the improvement of treatment students’ writing scores over the semester. This study suggests the possible value of incorporating computer-mediated instruction in writing instruction as well as future research ideas that bridge research on traditional L2 writing and technology-enriched language learning. / text

The purpose of this study is to explore leadership and interprofessional team learning in well-established specialist teams in an academic health care organization. It also illuminates the data with more precise team leadership theories to help advance interprofessional health care practice. Employing an interactionist ethnographic approach, the study focuses on exploring team leaders’ role, their perceptions, meanings, and behaviours within the culture of two teams in the department of nephrology in an academic health care organization. Qualitative data derived from interviews, observations, and documents were gathered over a two-year period to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the workings of the teams. The research is also informed by the experiences of the researcher who had been a member of the department of nephrology under study. Data analysis involved an inductive thematic analysis of observations, reflections, and interview transcripts. The three broad themes of this dissertation reflect the characteristics and activities of leaders of team learning: first, situational team leadership, as a process, affects the social context of interprofessional team-learning relationships, interactions, and activities within the complex culture of an academic health care organization. Second, team learning embodies the collective praxis of its members. The members inform the role of leading learning through the social construction of meaning in dialogue and their reflective practices. Third, effective team leadership ensures the transfer of collective knowledge to students and trainees. Effective leaders also help team members deal with the challenge of learning how to work within a well-established, specialized health care team as community of practice. Such a team has special capabilities that enable interprofessional team learning. Hence, a leader who learns how to use team learning to create new and collective knowledge will be able to create a learning experience for students, trainees, and team members who are focused on interprofessional practice and care. This study offers a contribution to the interprofessional education literature in two ways. First, the study’s use of theoretical perspectives provides new ways of thinking about leaders and learning in interprofessional communities of practice. Second, the study provides a rare empirical in-depth account of, interprofessional team leadership within well-established specialized teams in an academic health care organization.

The purpose of this study is to explore leadership and interprofessional team learning in well-established specialist teams in an academic health care organization. It also illuminates the data with more precise team leadership theories to help advance interprofessional health care practice. Employing an interactionist ethnographic approach, the study focuses on exploring team leaders’ role, their perceptions, meanings, and behaviours within the culture of two teams in the department of nephrology in an academic health care organization. Qualitative data derived from interviews, observations, and documents were gathered over a two-year period to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the workings of the teams. The research is also informed by the experiences of the researcher who had been a member of the department of nephrology under study. Data analysis involved an inductive thematic analysis of observations, reflections, and interview transcripts. The three broad themes of this dissertation reflect the characteristics and activities of leaders of team learning: first, situational team leadership, as a process, affects the social context of interprofessional team-learning relationships, interactions, and activities within the complex culture of an academic health care organization. Second, team learning embodies the collective praxis of its members. The members inform the role of leading learning through the social construction of meaning in dialogue and their reflective practices. Third, effective team leadership ensures the transfer of collective knowledge to students and trainees. Effective leaders also help team members deal with the challenge of learning how to work within a well-established, specialized health care team as community of practice. Such a team has special capabilities that enable interprofessional team learning. Hence, a leader who learns how to use team learning to create new and collective knowledge will be able to create a learning experience for students, trainees, and team members who are focused on interprofessional practice and care. This study offers a contribution to the interprofessional education literature in two ways. First, the study’s use of theoretical perspectives provides new ways of thinking about leaders and learning in interprofessional communities of practice. Second, the study provides a rare empirical in-depth account of, interprofessional team leadership within well-established specialized teams in an academic health care organization.

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the concept of collective behavior from different theoretical perspectives and the policy implications they imply for the Turkish Riot Police Units. The civil disturbances in the 1960s have clearly illustrated range of problems in the domain of crowd control. This work will start with the general characteristics and the classification of collective behavior. Second, two main perspectives on collective behavior, which are the structuralist and the interactionist perspectives, will be examined respectively. The question will be asked whether these two perspectives efficiently and effectively explain the crowds and the crowd control. Finally, the other factors in crowd control will be explored, and recommendations concerning the handling of crowds in a more peaceful manner will be made.

A prática de ensino dos conteúdos da Biologia como disciplina do Ensino Médio apresenta muitos obstáculos à aprendizagem, entre eles o de não desenvolver no estudante a visão holística e articulada quando se trata da abordagem da micro e macrobiologia. Isso favorece a construção de uma visão fragmentada de um sistema complexo e interdependente. Como forma de superar essa dificuldade, propõe-se a utilização dos mapas conceituais por alunos do 1º e 3º Ano do Ensino Médio de uma escola da rede particular de ensino de Pindamonhangaba - SP, objetivando oferecer uma prática pedagógica que, aliada à exploração dos mapas conceituais, crie condições para que o aluno construa o conhecimento de Biologia, desenvolvendo uma visão holística dos fenômenos com suas entidades e processos. A pesquisa foi aplicada em quatro etapas e realizada pelos alunos organizados em grupos. Inicialmente, foram desenvolvidas atividades para a familiarização com a ferramenta, utilizando-se o programa CmapTools. Em seguida, os alunos completaram mapas previamente construídos, inserindo conceitos e relações disponíveis em estacionamento, além de construírem um mapa a partir de texto do material didático adotado e completaram esse mapa a partir de pesquisa, o que buscou, entre outras coisas, o desenvolvimento da autonomia na busca do conhecimento. Finalmente, foram construídos quatro mapas a partir de questões-focais, elaboradas com intuito de buscar a reconciliação integrativa na construção de conhecimento dos alunos. Os resultados revelam que a maioria dos alunos conseguiu integrar os conceitos e relações necessárias para responder a questão focal, permitindo o protagonismo dos estudantes, a aprendizagem significativa e a construção colaborativa do conhecimento. / The practice of teaching the contents of Biology as a discipline of High School presents many obstacles to learning, among them the non-developing of the student\'s holistic and articulated vision when dealing with the approach of micro and macrobiology. This favors the construction of a fragmented view of a complex and interdependent system. As a way to overcome this difficulty, it is proposed to use the conceptual maps by students of the 1st and 3rd Year of High School in a private school in Pindamonhangaba - SP, aiming to offer a pedagogical practice which with the exploration of conceptual maps, creates conditions for the student to build the biology\'s knowledge, developing a holistic view of the phenomena with their entities and processes. The research was applied in four stages and carried out by the students organized in groups. Initially, activities were developed to familiarize with the tool, using the CmapTools software. Next, the students completed maps previously constructed; inserting concepts and available relations in stagnation, besides constructing a map from text of the didactic material adopted and completed this map from research, which sought, among other things, the development of autonomy in the pursuit of knowledge. Finally, four maps were constructed based on focal questions, elaborated with the purpose of seeking the integrative reconciliation in the construction of students\' knowledge. The results reveal that most of the students were able to integrate the concepts and relations necessary to answer the focal question, allowing the student\'s protagonism, meaningful learning and the collaborative construction of knowledge.

The purpose of this study was to explore how the pleasure and participation sports model as described by Coakley (2009) was reflected through an Advanced Physical Education course. This included an analysis examining whether the model was supported, expanded, or refuted based on characteristics of the model emphasizing (a) democratic leadership, (b) inclusive participation, and (c) the use of cooperation and competition with others to develop and test skills in a healthy and enjoyable context. A single-site, exploratory, qualitative case study design provided the opportunity to investigate the phenomenon under exploration. A particular Advanced Physical Education course was purposefully selected as the bounded case for the study. Fifteen students and one teacher agreed to participate. Semi-structured, one-on-one interviews (audio taped), observations, and documents provided data sources for information collected between August 2010 and April 2011. Data analysis procedures included a constant comparative method in which conceptually congruent categories were constructed to develop multiple iterations of analysis. Themes that developed based on the data suggested that students experienced a sense of enjoyment, empowerment, and connection resulting from their involvement in the class. From an interactionist perspective, as students found themselves interacting with one another in sports such as archery and kayaking, they were able to prescribe meanings that were often very different than their experiences in traditional sports. Conclusions from the study indicated that the course did reflect the pleasure and participation model. This study suggests that if students interpret their experiences in physical education and sports as positive, then they are more likely to participate. Utilizing Coakley’s model is significant because it provides a framework for considering sports from a broader perspective reflecting the diverse youth population. As a result, the research is beneficial in considering how current opportunities in sport and physical education can be expanded to offer all youth an opportunity to participate and experience sociopositive outcomes. This is also noteworthy since research has indicated the importance of physical activity and that in terms of health, the best physical activities consist of ones which are non-competitive and rhythmic (Chenoweth & Leutzinger, 2006; Curry, Arriagada, & Cornwell, 2002).

This dissertation examines key characteristics and factors shaping the leadership style of Swedish Prime Ministers (PMs). Based on the research of the American presidency, an interactionist framework is developed which draws upon institutional theory and political psychological theory. The analysis is advanced by exploring multiple sources and is based on four cases of leadership styles:  two single party Social Democratic PMs, Ingvar Carlsson and Göran Persson, as well as two center/right coalition PMs, Thorbjörn Fälldin and Carl Bildt. Leadership style is studied through a focused comparison of the PMs’ performance of four functions. Thus, the four PMs are studied as staffers and organizers of the cabinet and the Government Offices, decision makers, communicators and crisis managers. The results indicate that the office of the PM is elastic, accommodating a wide-ranging variation of leadership styles. The Social Democratic PMs display the most uniform leadership styles, but, rather surprisingly, they also have the most dissimilar leadership styles among the four cases. The center/right PMs’ approaches differ to a great extent from one another, displaying mixed forms of leadership styles. The analysis explains how the PMs’ leadership styles are shaped based on the interaction between their distinct personal characteristics and surrounding institutions. Thus, the dissertation concludes that leadership theories developed in a presidential setting are largely applicable in a parliamentary setting and that political behavior is not dictated by institutions such as formal structures or norms. The results encourage a reassessment of how personality, as an explanatory factor, is applied in mainstream political science. Furthermore, the analysis highlights the need for reconsidering the presidentialisation thesis and the notion of dominant leadership as there are alternative pathways to prime ministerial influence which are disregarded in the debate.