The purpose of this degree study it to fill the research gap of outdoor education in Gaza Strip-Palestine. It explored the perspective of Elementary English language teachers on what they understand outdoor education and explained the lack of research on outdoor education in this region. The study adapted a qualitative research method by conducting semi-structed interviews with 11 teachers from both private and UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) schools in the Gaza-Strip. The data was analyzed by employing inductive content analysis. The result has provided that the teachers have heard of outdoor education, but yet they lack awareness regarding the actual term and what it means. Adding to this, they responded positively on considering implementing outdoor English language lesson. However, they illustrated limitation that they would face to conduct them. The research evoked that these limitation are the same reasons which why outdoor education and learning is not common in the Gaza-Strip. Thus, they stand behind the main causes of the lake of research in this field in that certain region.

Background: Individuals with metastatic bone disease (MBD) and multiple myeloma (MM) are commonly excluded from exercise oncology research due to safety concerns regarding potential skeletal complications including the incidence of pain, impaired mobility, pathological fracture, and spinal cord compression. However, over the past decade research has demonstrated that exercise is not only safe for this population but may offer other therapeutic benefits. To our knowledge, the specific perspectives and needs of individuals with MBD related to physical activity and exercise have not yet been explored. The objective of this study was to identify the attitudes towards and needs related to physical activity and exercise among individuals with MBD and MM. Methods: A phenomenological qualitative study utilizing a pragmatic approach to thematic analysis within a patient-oriented research framework was utilized. Semi-structured interview questions and various questionnaires were utilized to gather this descriptive information. Thematic analysis was completed using the 7-stage Framework Method, including transcription, familiarization, coding, analytical framework, and interpreting the data. Results: Of the 20 volunteer participants (90% male), four were living with MM (20%), and 16 had MBD diagnosed within 2-66 months of the study. Half of the participants did not report feeling any bone pain, with none experiencing severe bone pain, and eight (40%) experienced pain specifically with movement. Most participants engaged in a variety of physical activities and at various intensities, although 25% were found to be sedentary/insufficiently active. Five major themes emerged from the interviews including “meaning of physical activity”, “cancer care ‘exercise is medicine’ support (or lack thereof)”, “motivators to engage in physical activity”, “barriers causing a reduction in physical activity post diagnosis”, and “physical activity program preferences”. These themes encompassed a total of 32 categories and 44 subcategories, creating the overall thematic framework. Discussion: Individuals with MBD and MM do engage in regular physical activity, although differences in the frequency and intensity of exercise exist. Exercise has a recognized and valued role in their lives and health, including bone health. These patients are genuinely interested in some form of exercise program as part of their cancer care. Movement or activity modifications may be required for some based on bony lesions and fracture prevention. Differences may also be related to comorbidities, preferences, and/or abilities. While there is no “one size fits all” approach to oncology-based exercise prescription and implementation among this population, the findings of this study demonstrate that there is a strong patient-identified need to support those living with MBD and MM to engage in regular exercise in order to obtain its physical and psychological benefits. / Graduate / 2023-03-03

Over the past two decades the emphasis on corporate governance practice has increased globally. The corporate governance models which guide corporate ethics, currently employed in African countries, are extensively driven by Western elements. Corporate governance practice in relation to the African philosophy of Ubuntu is under analysed. While Ubuntu has been studied comprehensively in a number of legal disciplines, it has not enjoyed comparable attention in its application, relevance, and potential to enhance corporate governance practices in Africa. Limited academic research exists on the integration of the Ubuntu philosophy into corporate governance and the ethical perspectives introduced. Therefore, this dissertation aims to bridge this gap by exploring the current guiding frameworks of selected corporate governance practice in relation to the principle of the African philosophy of Ubuntu. Here, corporate governance practice is examined in South Africa and Namibia. Business ethics, ethical perspectives, corporate social responsibility, and the African notion of Ubuntu, in relation to the role that it plays in ethical leaderships, is evaluated. Links between Ubuntu and established Western ethical perspectives and theories support its use and significance for enhancing current corporate governance frameworks in these countries. The findings of this dissertation strengthen the need to analyse Ubuntu, particularly in relation to its link with social responsibility and ethical perspectives, in order to augment current corporate governance practices in Africa. It is submitted that corporate governance practices in Africa should reflect the notions of Ubuntu more clearly and coherently which will serve as a progressive model to enhance effective corporate governance.

This qualitative study investigates teachers' perspective on the use of assistive technology (AT) in their daily teaching and interaction with children with special needs. Previous research has investigated this subject from many different angles but has mostly focused on the effects of AT, whereas this study wants to understand  other complexities such as challenges teachers face and their perspective on the effects of AT. The study was carried out in Sweden and the data was collected from both private and public schools through interviews with teachers based on the aim to investigate the role assisitive technology plays in the education of children with special needs in Swedish schools from the perspective of the teachers. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed with thematic analysis with the knowledge from previous research in mind to increase the research focus based on previous experiences abd existing gaps. This study had several important finding. Most importantly, the teachers expressed that assistive technology encouraged and motivated the children and made it easier for the teachers to present information to the children. At the same time, the teachers expressed that too much use of AT could create an unnecessary dependency for the students, that AT has a risk of being emotionally harmful for the children, and they expressed a lack of training to use these devices properly. From this, it was concluded that there is a need for more collaboration among teachers to echange experiences and ideas and a need for creating an environment that is more conductive to testing, learning, and evaluating technology use. For the future, this will be beneficial for the children using these devices as this will allow us to enhance our knowledge on the subject and improve the experience of the chidren while using these devices in their education.

Today's research shows a clear direction that children and adolescents don't reach public health recommendations about physical activity 60 minutes a day. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether performances about if and how health, well-being and movement are expressed in preschool. This is done by studying the teacher ́s attitudes and thoughts about health, well-being and movement and how it seen in a preschool environment. The survey is based on a quantitative research method in form of a questionnaire survey and through a qualitative research method in the form of semi- structured interviews, where we have interviewed three educators. The empirical material is analyzed based on psychomotor theory and power perspectives.The results show that health, well-being and movement are not prioritized, and the concept are seen as difficult to interpret by the educators who work with them in everyday activities. The results also show that health work varies clearly based on the educators who participated in the study, where participation and opportunities for physical activity varied depending on the knowledge of the concept.

Research shows that physical touch is essential to human well-being. At the same time there is a fear in society about the subject. The preschool curriculum, Lpfö 18, emphasizes that children's integrity must be taken into consideration in parallel with the fact that children should be treated based on their individual needs. Our study is based on examining how educators navigate based on this. The purpose of our research is to investigate how educators talk about physical touch. How do educators reason about which children it is offered to and for what purpose physical touch is given? The study consists of qualitative interviews with five educators. The empirical analysis is analyzed from a care-ethical perspective as well as an intersectional perspective in order to document similarities and differences from the educators' stories. The result shows that the concept of physical touch creates a fear among educators of violating the child's integrity, which can result in a taboo perspective. Despite this, educators use physical touch as a tool to increase the child's well-being. They find the benefits to be greater than their fear. The educators state that the purpose of physical touch is to treat the child well, give love and to guide the child. It is mainly children who give clear signals of being in need of physical touch who are given access to the educator's closeness. Based on the results and from an intersectional perspective, our conclusion is that younger girls are the category that get the most physical touch. Although physical touch is seen as a natural element in the profession, the meaning of physical touch is rarely discussed among educators.

This work places itself in the field of woven textile design and the lenticular effect in a spatial context. The lenticular effect refers to a ribbed surface structure which changes appearance depending on from which angle it is viewed. The aim is to combine woven pleats with colours and patterns to create a lenticular effect. Bindings, patterns and colours have been investigated in both handweaving and jacquard weaving. Three suggestions for a woven, pleated, shifting textile have been developed. The three tracks are a colour shift and gradient with a surface structure, a pattern shift taking place across all sides of a pleat and a jacquard pattern hidden between the pleats. By creating a textile which shifts as it is viewed from different angles and distances, the motive is to encourage movement around the woven piece, broaden the possible uses of woven textiles and invite the viewer to take a closer look at the woven structure.

This thesis will explore the concept of cultural citizenship by researching visitor’s responses to five exhibitions across two museums in the Lower Hutt region of New Zealand. The thesis will also examine museum management and staff’s perspectives on these exhibits, and compare these to visitor’s. The aim of the thesis is to understand how museum visitors reflect upon and use museum exhibits as tools in relation to their cultural heritage and cultural citizenship. This approach provides a focus for reflection regarding the cultural importance of museum exhibitions. Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding model will serve as an overall framework for the study, and the theoretical concepts of memory, rhetoric, meaning making and cultural citizenship will further inform the analysis. The results indicate that museum visitors reflect upon exhibits as tools for reminding, and also indicate that exhibits are seen important for learning and representation. Furthermore, the study finds that visitors do not find exhibits particularly challenging or personal. Museum staff provide other perspectives on the importance of museum exhibits, such as their art historical, representational and community-museum relationship building potential, but the study finds that these themes are seldom explicitly recognised by visitors. The concluding discussion reflects on these results, and suggests avenues for future research.

Teacher attrition is a problem that has consequences for children and schools in many countries; children are affected negatively both emotionally and intellectually, while schools suffer setbacks, such as financial stress and disruption of the learning environment. This multiple case study explored the perspectives of stakeholders in India regarding how teacher attrition in private early childhood schools influenced students, teachers, parents, school leaders, and schools, as well as the factors that stakeholders identified as important for teacher retention in private early childhood education. The conceptual framework was Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Data were collected through interviews with teachers and school leaders with at least 2 years of experience, and parents of children at affected schools. Twelve participants were selected via homogenous purposive sampling, with 4 in each group. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results of data analysis showed that teacher attrition led to an increase in workload for the remaining teachers, causing mental and physical stress. Positive workplace relationships were needed to stem the problem. School leaders felt that teachers' salary should be commensurate with workload, while parents believed teacher contracts should include a minimum number of years of service required. Future research might focus on factors considered important to stemming teacher attrition such as flexible timetables, reduced workloads, and teaching independence. The study has implications for positive social change by providing insights to help policy makers and education leaders in India understand and possibly lessen the problem of teacher attrition

Elementary students in the United States are expected to read proficiently in order to be successful on high-stakes assessments. Researchers have found that many elementary students lack the motivation to become frequent readers. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the reading motivational techniques used at a local district to encourage elementary students to become frequent readers. Framed by Skinner's operant conditioning theory and the focus on motivators and their effects on learning outcomes, the research questions explored teachers' perceptions of the motivators that increase student reading in the elementary grades. Data for the study were collected through individual interviews with a sample of 6 teachers who volunteered from the district's elementary schools. Open coding of the transcribed interview data and thematic analysis revealed 5 overarching themes: difficulties and challenges, preexisting perceptions, perceived effectiveness of used incentives/motivators, applicability to other grade levels, and factors critical to support reading development. The findings revealed certain recommended strategies such as free choice reading, increased parental involvement, and grade enhancement that may support intrinsic motivation compared to external motivation, which may be better supported through more immediate rewards. This study has the potential to promote social change by providing educators and other stakeholders at the local site with research findings on effective techniques to motivate elementary students to read more frequently.