This descriptive study was designed to be a detailed, informative study of a group of adult males who have been gamers since adolescence. The purposes of the study are to provide information regarding gaming as a literacy practice and to explore other vernacular technological literacy practices. The study sheds light on the merits of gaming and other new literacies by examining the literacy development of a select group of adult males. This research was centered on vernacular technological literacy practices, the evolution of gaming practices, gaming intersections, and supporting school-based literacy. Through extensive interviews with the researcher, the selected participants disclosed their gaming experiences as both adolescents and adults. They also shared their personal connections to gaming, and the technological literacy practices they are using in their present lives. / Ed. D.

In the South African context, a geographical region prone to the occurrence of frequent and intense periods of drought, the emergence of climate conditions reaching new extremes raises concerns of adaptability to sustain living and work well-being in such circumstances. The realisation of economic, social, environmental and psychological impacts resultant from drought conditions is particularly relevant to farmers, an occupation group who are often characterised by socio-economic vulnerability in South Africa. Consequently, this research seeks to explore the yet undocumented experiences of farmers living and working in the current drought conditions, located in the Karoo region of South Africa. A further aim of this research is to explore how these experiences have affected farmers' psychological well-being, as well as understanding the coping mechanisms they have used to deal with this long-standing crisis situation. The present study adopted an exploratory case study design using an interpretivist paradigmatic stance. Based on research conducted and reviewed within the climate change domain, it was understood that farmers' experiences of working in drought conditions were complex, context specific and differed amongst individuals. Therefore, knowledge was viewed as subjective as there was no particular, correct path to knowledge as it emerged through various contexts. The case under study was Karoo farmers in the Western Cape province. Their living and working experiences, and coping mechanisms were specific to their surrounding landscapes and chosen type of farming. Furthermore, this case study was particularly concerned with farmers who retained close living, working and cultural relationships to their natural environments. Consequently, the unit of analysis in this study was the individual. A purposive sampling strategy was adopted and a total of eight participants were interviewed. An inductive approach to analysing the data was undertaken, using Braun and Clarke's (2006) Thematic Analysis. Three major themes emerged during the analysis with a number of associated sub-themes. The results describe the sample's shared ecological grief experiences due to both implicit and explicit impacts resultant from sustained drought conditions. The negative psychological outcomes the sample endured as a result of these experiences, demonstrates the implication of living and working in such conditions for work and psychological well-being. The common coping mechanisms employed over this time are also extracted from the themes. The discussion presents the findings of this study through the lens of the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach framework, to understand how drought conditions presents barriers to these farmers sustaining their well-being.

In the railway industry (like other industries), safety awareness campaigns are conducted as intervention programmes for providing educational programmes to change the attitudes and behaviours of the general public that interact with the railway environment. Such educational intervention programmes are ideally achieved by following pedagogical principles that ensure programme quality. However, it seems that even with the use of safety awareness campaigns, the desired safety behaviour among the general public in the railway environment is not yet established. The purpose of this research study was to understand how the Railway Safety Regulator (RSR) – as the custodian of railway safety in South Africa – plans, designs and implements its safety awareness campaigns as an educative process to combat railway-related occurrences involving the general public. As an exploratory study, the researcher applied the industry standard logic model framework (LMF) to guide the process of the investigation and utilised an interpretivist lens to understand the context of the phenomenon investigated. Following a qualitative programme evaluation research approach, a safety awareness campaign was studied as a single case study to understand how the RSR plans and develops their safety awareness campaigns. Six purposively selected RSR employees participated in the study, providing qualitative data through semi-structured interviews and document analysis. The findings of the study conclude that the Regulator’s current practice of conducting awareness campaigns does not reflect an educative process, hence helping to explain why the envisaged change in public behaviour is not attained. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2019. / Humanities Education / MEd / Unrestricted

Rural Tourism is increasingly being used as a development strategy to improve the social and economic well being of rural areas. Rural Tourism encompasses a huge range of activities, natural or manmade attractions, amenities and facilities, transportation, marketing and information systems (Sharpley & Sharpley, 1997). Rural tourism is very diverse and fragmented in terms of operational structures, activities, markets and operating environments (Roberts & Hall, 2001, citing Pearce, 1989). Benefits of rural tourism have been expressed as employment growth and broadening a region’s economic base, repopulation, social improvement, and revitalization of local craft (Sharpley, 2000). Governments can play active roles in tourism. In short the literature suggests rural tourism development policy approaches require: regeneration/revitalization, horizontal and vertical integration, interdependence, stewardship/sustainability, mediation, cataclysm, service and welfare provisions, spatiality – awareness, intra and inter regional complementariness, opportunism, realism and quality (Roberts & Hall, 2001). Murphy (1985) proposed a community approach to tourism development which included formation of businesses networks, and the sharing of resources and information. For rural tourism to be successful, collaboration needs to exist amongst entrepreneurs (Wilson et al., 2001). Useful integrated approaches to rural studies include acknowledging the importance of locally controlled agendas to reach centralization, awareness of the benefits for shared ideas and funding developments, and creating appropriate tourism plans for rural areas (MacDonald & Jolliffe, 2003). There are numerous challenges when attempting rural tourism development: the total product package must be sufficient; significant investment may be required; there is the adaption to a service role; the quality of products and services and the availability of skills and resources for effective marketing (Sharpley, 2000). Tourism development requires attractions, promotion, infrastructure and services and hospitality (Wilson et al., 2001, citing Gunn, 1988). The remote Eastern Hokianga area is situated in the Far North (Northland) region of New Zealand. The area has a low population and is sparsely populated presenting an ideal place to relax with an unhurried atmosphere, flourishing fauna and flora, rich in New Zealand history and culture. This is an economically depressed area that is situated in the centre of Northland’s three key tourism icons - The Bay of Islands, the Waipoua Forest, and the top of the North Island. The location of the Eastern Hokianga presents an opportunity to create a tourism destination that will attract travellers frequenting the key tourism icons. To date there has been no research on rural tourism development conducted in the Eastern Hokianga. Although comprehensive research was conducted previously in the Hokianga by the James Henare Maori Research Centre (1999) it was concentrated specifically to the “Maori culture”. This research aims to examine and identify the key challenges of rural tourism development for the Eastern Hokianga through an analysis of rural tourism development approaches, and identifying the social and economic impacts of tourism. Key findings show that the Eastern Hokianga is an undeveloped area and does not fit with the majority of the rural tourism definitions as described in the literature. The area is displaying positive impacts of rural tourism development. The negative impacts are minimal as the Eastern Hokianga is still in the initial development stage of rural tourism. There are many integrated approaches to rural tourism development currently. A strategic approach is occurring with a tourism policy and community involvement in decision making. There is an integration approach with one RTO actively involved in the communities’ tourism association with the local businesses. Two key clustering approaches are being utilized – the Twin Coast Discovery Route and total product packaging. Regeneration is not occurring but was not an issue raised by the community, whereas a financing approach was an identified challenge by Eastern Hokianga businesses. The need to improve accessibility through infrastructure was the second key challenge to rural tourism development. The area was not restricted by the other challenges of government’s role, education / experience and marketing.

The concept of strategic entrepreneurship has received increased attention over the past ten years. Viewed as the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy, this field of research is populated by conceptual studies which focus mainly on the nature and perceived benefits of strategic entrepreneurship. Similarly, the study of entrepreneurship in a public sector context has gained increasing support in recent years, but also remains underexplored. To address these gaps, this thesis considers: What are the underlying elements and financial implications of strategic entrepreneurship in New Zealand’s state-owned enterprises [SOEs]? New Zealand’s SOE sector, comprising 17 government-owned, commercially focused organisations, is considered to be a prime subject for this research. Well known for their implementation of new public management [NPM], many New Zealand SOEs have also been publicly recognised as both innovative and entrepreneurial. The research question is addressed by first developing a preliminary framework of strategic entrepreneurship from literature on entrepreneurship and strategy. This framework is then examined in the context of case studies on activity which is entrepreneurial and/or strategic within 12 of the 17 SOEs operating in New Zealand as at 2006. Transcripts from a series of interviews, and publicly available documents are analysed thematically. SOEs’ financial statements over a five year period are also analysed. The thesis contributes in two broad areas. First, much-needed empirical support is lent to the concept of strategic entrepreneurship. Key elements of strategic entrepreneurship identified include opportunity identification, innovation, acceptance of risk, flexibility, vision, growth, and leveraging from core skills and resources such that existing knowledge and skills are transferred and applied to create new products, services, and markets. Important supporting elements identified include an open, flexible, and progressive culture, operational excellence, and cost minimisation. The nature of each of these elements is also investigated. A detailed understanding of the relationship between strategic entrepreneurship and wealth creation reveals various internal and external factors which may influence the nature and strength of the relationship. These factors include changes within the organisation, as well as changes in the economic and political environment, and are important influences on the resulting returns realised. Second, this thesis offers valuable evidence in support of emerging change in the public sector towards the adoption of strategic entrepreneurship. Support for the value of NPM is provided, with clear evidence of financial returns from New Zealand’s SOE sector. Further, a key finding is the structured and systematic approach to entrepreneurial activity within the context of NPM in several New Zealand SOEs. Such behaviour is referred to in this thesis as new public entrepreneurship. This form of activity offers the potential for competitive advantage and financial gain traditionally associated with entrepreneurial activity, but also limits the respective risks through its structured, systematic approach.

No description available.

In many jurisdictions, policies aimed at improving educational processes and outcomes have focused on teacher professional learning. Yet, there is a gap in research concerning teachers’ understandings of their own professional learning as it is influenced by school improvement policies. Using an interpretivist approach, this case study of two schools in Alberta and England explored teachers’ understandings of their professional learning and the ways in which policy context interacted with these understandings. The findings suggested there is significant variability in the ways that teachers construct: 1) the notion of collaboration in working with others; 2) conceptualizations of teacher knowledge; and 3) the relationship of student learning to teacher professional learning. Additionally, findings indicated that teachers actively meditated their understandings of policy in their teaching practice, suggesting that policy context is one factor needing consideration in teacher professional learning research and policy development. / Educational Administration and Leadership

This thesis is an investigation into the university-level teaching of Buddhism in New Zealand, which has developed as part of the international spread of education about Buddhism for both Buddhists and non-Buddhists. The study was based on Interpretivism and accordingly sought to understand and interpret university teachers’ perceptions and experiences about their teaching of Buddhism; as they engage with the students' learning in this field. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were employed as the primary research method. All seven university teachers who teach Buddhism in New Zealand were invited to be the participants. Six university teachers participated in this research-study. Five of them were academic teachers, respectively teaching at Religious Studies of Massey, Victoria and Otago. Another one was a New Zealand-born Zen teacher who had been teaching a Zen meditation workshop at Auckland University of Technology for several years, and taught two Buddhism-related courses at the University of Auckland. These participants were chosen according to the information provided on official websites of New Zealand universities. The findings from the study showed that the university-level teaching of Buddhism in New Zealand, though growing, had been limited by the number of teachers and students. As fewer students were primarily interested in Buddhism, outward funding support appeared to be a very important factor for its future development. In terms of teachers’ role, objective-outsider remained the main position for scholars and scholar-practitioners in teaching Buddhism in university classroom. In addition to the pursuit of knowledge, there were also alternative educational opportunities, such as Zen workshop, for university staffs and students to learn Buddhism, outside university classroom. This thesis is significant in that it provided a bibliography and a set of data for the university-level teaching of Buddhism in the West, particularly New Zealand It established a space for future educational research into for the university-level teaching of Buddhism in the West, as part of the field of’ Buddhism and Education.’ In future studies, the limited approaches to teaching Buddhism in universities could be investigated on the basis of the literatures and findings of this study.

The concept of strategic entrepreneurship has received increased attention over the past ten years. Viewed as the intersection of entrepreneurship and strategy, this field of research is populated by conceptual studies which focus mainly on the nature and perceived benefits of strategic entrepreneurship. Similarly, the study of entrepreneurship in a public sector context has gained increasing support in recent years, but also remains underexplored. To address these gaps, this thesis considers: What are the underlying elements and financial implications of strategic entrepreneurship in New Zealand’s state-owned enterprises [SOEs]? New Zealand’s SOE sector, comprising 17 government-owned, commercially focused organisations, is considered to be a prime subject for this research. Well known for their implementation of new public management [NPM], many New Zealand SOEs have also been publicly recognised as both innovative and entrepreneurial. The research question is addressed by first developing a preliminary framework of strategic entrepreneurship from literature on entrepreneurship and strategy. This framework is then examined in the context of case studies on activity which is entrepreneurial and/or strategic within 12 of the 17 SOEs operating in New Zealand as at 2006. Transcripts from a series of interviews, and publicly available documents are analysed thematically. SOEs’ financial statements over a five year period are also analysed. The thesis contributes in two broad areas. First, much-needed empirical support is lent to the concept of strategic entrepreneurship. Key elements of strategic entrepreneurship identified include opportunity identification, innovation, acceptance of risk, flexibility, vision, growth, and leveraging from core skills and resources such that existing knowledge and skills are transferred and applied to create new products, services, and markets. Important supporting elements identified include an open, flexible, and progressive culture, operational excellence, and cost minimisation. The nature of each of these elements is also investigated. A detailed understanding of the relationship between strategic entrepreneurship and wealth creation reveals various internal and external factors which may influence the nature and strength of the relationship. These factors include changes within the organisation, as well as changes in the economic and political environment, and are important influences on the resulting returns realised. Second, this thesis offers valuable evidence in support of emerging change in the public sector towards the adoption of strategic entrepreneurship. Support for the value of NPM is provided, with clear evidence of financial returns from New Zealand’s SOE sector. Further, a key finding is the structured and systematic approach to entrepreneurial activity within the context of NPM in several New Zealand SOEs. Such behaviour is referred to in this thesis as new public entrepreneurship. This form of activity offers the potential for competitive advantage and financial gain traditionally associated with entrepreneurial activity, but also limits the respective risks through its structured, systematic approach.

Rural Tourism is increasingly being used as a development strategy to improve the social and economic well being of rural areas. Rural Tourism encompasses a huge range of activities, natural or manmade attractions, amenities and facilities, transportation, marketing and information systems (Sharpley & Sharpley, 1997). Rural tourism is very diverse and fragmented in terms of operational structures, activities, markets and operating environments (Roberts & Hall, 2001, citing Pearce, 1989). Benefits of rural tourism have been expressed as employment growth and broadening a region’s economic base, repopulation, social improvement, and revitalization of local craft (Sharpley, 2000). Governments can play active roles in tourism. In short the literature suggests rural tourism development policy approaches require: regeneration/revitalization, horizontal and vertical integration, interdependence, stewardship/sustainability, mediation, cataclysm, service and welfare provisions, spatiality – awareness, intra and inter regional complementariness, opportunism, realism and quality (Roberts & Hall, 2001). Murphy (1985) proposed a community approach to tourism development which included formation of businesses networks, and the sharing of resources and information. For rural tourism to be successful, collaboration needs to exist amongst entrepreneurs (Wilson et al., 2001). Useful integrated approaches to rural studies include acknowledging the importance of locally controlled agendas to reach centralization, awareness of the benefits for shared ideas and funding developments, and creating appropriate tourism plans for rural areas (MacDonald & Jolliffe, 2003). There are numerous challenges when attempting rural tourism development: the total product package must be sufficient; significant investment may be required; there is the adaption to a service role; the quality of products and services and the availability of skills and resources for effective marketing (Sharpley, 2000). Tourism development requires attractions, promotion, infrastructure and services and hospitality (Wilson et al., 2001, citing Gunn, 1988). The remote Eastern Hokianga area is situated in the Far North (Northland) region of New Zealand. The area has a low population and is sparsely populated presenting an ideal place to relax with an unhurried atmosphere, flourishing fauna and flora, rich in New Zealand history and culture. This is an economically depressed area that is situated in the centre of Northland’s three key tourism icons - The Bay of Islands, the Waipoua Forest, and the top of the North Island. The location of the Eastern Hokianga presents an opportunity to create a tourism destination that will attract travellers frequenting the key tourism icons. To date there has been no research on rural tourism development conducted in the Eastern Hokianga. Although comprehensive research was conducted previously in the Hokianga by the James Henare Maori Research Centre (1999) it was concentrated specifically to the “Maori culture”. This research aims to examine and identify the key challenges of rural tourism development for the Eastern Hokianga through an analysis of rural tourism development approaches, and identifying the social and economic impacts of tourism. Key findings show that the Eastern Hokianga is an undeveloped area and does not fit with the majority of the rural tourism definitions as described in the literature. The area is displaying positive impacts of rural tourism development. The negative impacts are minimal as the Eastern Hokianga is still in the initial development stage of rural tourism. There are many integrated approaches to rural tourism development currently. A strategic approach is occurring with a tourism policy and community involvement in decision making. There is an integration approach with one RTO actively involved in the communities’ tourism association with the local businesses. Two key clustering approaches are being utilized – the Twin Coast Discovery Route and total product packaging. Regeneration is not occurring but was not an issue raised by the community, whereas a financing approach was an identified challenge by Eastern Hokianga businesses. The need to improve accessibility through infrastructure was the second key challenge to rural tourism development. The area was not restricted by the other challenges of government’s role, education / experience and marketing.