Abstract This thesis contributes to the field of collaborative information systems and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW). It extends the notion of technological support for design activities "in use" beyond providing the flexibility to tailor collaborative software, to provide means to support the appropriation process of these tools in their application fields. Two long-term studies on the evolution of usages of collaborative software in a German authority and in a network of freelancers in the field of consulting form the foundation of this work. Based on the experience there, it was possible to identify user activities that drive the appropriation process and to establish a perspective on the appropriation of a Groupware as a social process. Appropriation can be described as a collaborative effort of end users, who perform "appropriation activities" to make sense of the software in their work context. Besides activities to configure the software to fit into the technological, organisational and individual work context of the users ('Tailoring'), there is a larger area of technology-related communication, demonstration and negotiation activities aimed at establishing a shared understanding of how a software artefact works and what it can contribute to the shared work context. The mutual shaping of the technology and organisational contexts resemble an ongoing design process that end users perform largely without any involvement of professional developers. This perspective is the guiding line for developing means for "Appropriation Support", i.e., means to support the appropriation activities that end users perform. To inform the design of appropriation support measures and functions, current approaches that capture the collaborative dimensions of tailoring, and the necessities of 'discourse ergonomics' for technology-related online communication are explored. The trend to work with a tool 'infrastructure' instead of monolithic Groupware tools is a complicating yet important secondary consideration here, since it demonstrates the necessity to offer support 'beyond one tool' to support a use-oriented perspective on appropriation. The resulting idea of 'Use Discourse Environments' as a main concept for appropriation support which captures the activities of communication, demonstration and negotiation as well as the activity of tailoring (where possible) was implemented and evaluated in two prototypes that refer to the application fields of the initial studies. The idea of integrating online discourse, tool representations and tailoring facilities served as a guideline for the use discourse both in an event notification service as well as in the 'Online Future Workshop' that addressed a shared inter-organisational software development infrastructure. Based on the evaluations, design recommendations for appropriation support are made, and the problematic nature of appropriation activities as 'infrastructural work' versus the 'productive work' that end users consider their main area of work is addressed. The thesis concludes with a vision of collaborative software tools that do not only provide their original services, but also address end users as a 'virtual community of technology practice'.

The purpose of this exploratory and descriptive study was to determine the association (if any) between the self-concept awareness and emotion- focused coping of children with ADHD. Theories informing this study were Barkley’s conceptualisation of ADHD, Bandura’s social cognitive theory as a means of understanding self-concept awareness and Gonzales and Seller’s theory of emotion- focused coping. The study was conducted by means of an intervention research design. I purposively selected two children with ADHD and their respective parents, educators and therapists to participate in the study. Ebersöhn’s intrapersonal regulation intervention was implemented with the child participants at different intervals. Both child participant’s self-concept awareness and emotion- focused coping strategies were assessed pre- and post intervention, through the use of formal interviews and observations. The data was analysed and interpreted through thematic analysis. The following themes emerged; self-concept awareness, adaptive emotion-focused- coping strategies and maladaptive emotion- focused coping strategies. Findings of the study confirmed that prior to the intervention, the two child participants were predisposed towards emotion- focused coping, especially maladaptive emotion- focused coping strategies. Post- intervention findings suggested that increased self-concept awareness resulted in the use of two adaptive emotion- focused coping strategies (namely relaxation methods and re-appraisal) with maladaptive emotion- focused coping (namely direct- active physical aggression and direct-passive aggression) remaining. Thus, an association exists between self-concept awareness and emotion- focused coping in children with ADHD. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Educational Psychology / unrestricted

Bakgrund och problem: Att arbeta processorienterat är viktigt för alla typer av företag för att kunna möta en högre ställd kravbild från kunder och omvärlden. En del av processorienteringen involverar att utveckla och effektivisera affärsprocesser. För att möta behovet av utveckling har en mängd olika metoder tagits fram för hur bolag kan arbeta med detta. Bolaget Atea Logistics AB har identifierat ett problem i en av deras affärsprocesser som inte presterar på önskvärd nivå. Problematiken är kopplat till inköpsprocessen och hanteringen av leveransdata, vilket leder till svårigheter i att fastställa ett säkert ankomstdatum av gods. Detta påverkar flera delar i värdekedjan och det slutliga kundvärdet vilket väcker ett behov av utvecklingsarbete. Trots processutvecklingens ökade vikt menar en del kritiker att metoderna som tagits fram för detta är svårförstådda och saknar en praktisk användbarhet. Eftersom den tidigare forskningen sägs sakna praktisk förankring kring hur metoderna faktiskt kan bidra till bättrade affärsprocesser avser denna studie att testa och utvärdera en av dessa metoder på Ateas problematik för att i slutändan öka den praktiska användbarheten. Syfte: Uppsatsens syfte är att testa en metod för processutveckling på ett problem hos företaget Atea. Därefter ska en utvärdering av metoden genomföras för att bidra med eventuella förbättringsförslag sammanställt i ett ramverk. Vidare syftar även uppsatsen till att presentera rekommendationer till Atea kring hur de kan arbeta för att överbrygga sina upplevda problem i affärsprocessen. Metod: Den generella forskningsstrategi som använts är i huvudsak en kvalitativ fallstudie med en till stor del deduktiv ansats med vissa induktiva inslag. För att läsaren tidigt skulle ges en mer övergriplig bild kring processtänkandets olika delar samlades detta i en teoretisk referensram. Sedermera ämnade den teoretiska insamlingen som legat till grund för arbetet att skapa förståelse för de olika metoder som finns för processutveckling för att vidare kunna testa en av dessa i en praktisk miljö. Insamlingen av empiri har skett genom en särskilt verksamhetsnära forskningsmetod, interventionistisk forskning med hjälp av intervjuer, telefonsamtal, fokusgrupper och workshops. Metoden använder ett mer experimentellt och interagerande sätt för observationer genom att vara en del av forskningsobjektet. En testning av en teoretisk metod gjordes därefter på fallet för att lösa ett praktiskt problem parallellt som en utvärdering av metoden kunde genomföras. Den kunskapsteoretiska ståndpunkt som legat till grund för uppsatsen är empirisk realism för att skapa en ökad förståelse för verkligheten än den som teorin beskriver.  Slutsats: För att besvara uppsatsens frågeställningar var syftet att genomföra en testning av BPR på ett verkligt problem hos Atea. Slutsatserna som kan erhållas utifrån detta är först och främst att i egenskap av praktisk användbarhet så kan det konstateras att metoden som testades i uppsatsen definitivt var praktisk användbar men lämnade utrymme för förbättringspotential. Under uppsatsens gång har det uppenbarat sig en avsaknad av vissa aspekter i metoden. De anpassningar som gjorts av metoden på grund av detta är kopplade till praktiskt förekommande företeelser såsom tid, engagemang och motivation. Vidare ansågs metodens praktiska användbarhet kunna höjas ytterligare genom att förändra metodens ordningsföljd i en del av uppgifterna för att på så vis skapa en mer logisk arbetsprocess. Att säkert kunna konstatera att den praktiska användbarheten faktiskt höjts ställer krav på att en ny testning genomförs med det nya ramverket. Däremot finns det mycket som pekar på att dessa förändringar är ett möjligt steg till en mer praktisk metod med enklare användbarhet för processutveckling. Utvecklingsarbetet mynnade även ut i rekommendationer till Atea, de huvudsakliga förbättringsområdena involverade stärkt kommunikation såväl internt som externt, standardisering av processer, samt en utveckling av automatiseringslösningar. / Background and problem: Working process oriented is important for all types of companies in order to meet the high demands from customers and the outside world. Working process oriented involves developing business processes. To meet the increased need for process development a variety of methods have been made on how companies can work with this. Atea Logistics AB have identified an issue in one of their business processes that does not perform in line with their expectations. The issue is linked to the purchasing process and the handling of delivery dates, which leads to difficulties when determining certain arrival date of the goods. This affects several parts in the value chain as well as the final customer value, which raises a need for development. Despite the increased importance of process development, critics mean that the methods for this is difficult to understand and lacks a practical applicability. Since the previous research misses a practical anchoring on how the methods actually contributes to improved business processes this study aims to test and evaluate one of these methods for process development on Atea’s issue, to hopefully increase the practical usability.  Purpose: The purpose of the study is to conduct a testing of a method for process development on a practical issue within the company Atea. Thereafter an evaluation of the method will be done in order to present any suggestions for improvement and to compile these in a framework. Furthermore, the study also aims to provide recommendations to Atea regarding how they can work in order to overcome their experienced issues within their business process.  Method: The study is mainly a qualitative case study. The approach was deductive with some elements of inductive reasoning. A theoretical frame with key concepts was gathered in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive knowledge of the different parts of process orientation. Furthermore, the purpose of the theoretical sampling was to create an understanding of the different methods that exists for process development in order to conduct a testing of one of these in a practical environment. The empirical sampling has been conducted through a particularly practical approach, interventionist research method. The method uses an experimental and interacting approach to gather empirical observations by being a part of the research object. A testing of a theoretical method for process development were then conducted on the practical case in order to solve the issue in parallel to an evaluation of the method. The philosophy applied is empirical realism which strives to create an increased understanding for the reality beyond what is described in theory.  Conclusion: To be able to answer the question of the essay the purpose was to conduct a testing of the BPR method on a real problem within Atea. The conclusions that can be obtained from this is that the method that was tested was practical and useful but left some room för improvement. During the course of the essay, a lack of some aspects in the method has become apparent. The adjustments that have been made because of this is linked to practical phenomena’s such as time, commitment, and motivation. Furthermore, it was considered that the methods practical use could be increased even further by rearranging the order of some of the key tasks in order to create a more logical work process. To be able to state with certainty that the practical usability has actually been increased, it requires that a new test is conducted with the new framework. However, there are many indications that these changes are a possible step towards a more practical method with simpler usability for process development. The development work also resulted in recommendations to Atea, the main areas for improvement involved strengthened communication both internally and externally, standardization of processes, and the development of automation solutions.