Elementary school officials have reported difficulty motivating young African American boys to read. It is important that teachers understand why these children have not been motivated to read and create classroom environments that encourage reading motivation. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teachers' perspectives on best instructional practices for motivating 3rd -grade African American boys to read. The conceptual framework for this study consisted of critical race theory, self-determination theory, and the theory of social constructivism. The research questions focused on teachers' perspectives regarding 3rd -grade African American boys' motivation to read and best instructional practices in reading instruction for these students. Through a purposeful sampling strategy, 10 teachers were invited to participate and share their teaching experiences. The criterion for inclusion was that the participant taught reading to 3rd -grade African American boys. Data were collected from 5 teachers who agreed to participate through semistructured interviews. Recordings of the interviews were transcribed and analyzed using axial coding. Axial coding of the transcribed interview data and thematic analysis revealed 3 overarching themes: (a) best instructional practices, (b) motivation for reading, and (c) classroom resources. Results indicated that different types of instructional practices had influenced the teachers' perspectives on motivating these students to read. This study contributes to positive social change by providing school administrators and educational leaders with knowledge that may be beneficial to the initiation of policies, strategies, and procedures to motivate third-grade African American boys to read.

Denna kvalitativa studie har till syfte att öka förståelsen kring tjänstemännens egen upplevelse om sin arbetsmiljö inom socialförvaltningen, och de möjliga risker som arbetsmiljön kan komma att innefatta. Studien genomfördes med semistrukturerade intervjuer som kom att tematiseras och presenteras i resultatet. Det resultat som framkommit i studien presenteras genom tre teman; Förväntning och verklighet, Samverkan samt Utveckling. Det finns delar som socialförvaltningens tjänstemän upplever vara påtagligare än andra, och det är de riskfaktorer som kom att belysas genom dessa teman. Riskfaktorerna som framkom var dock inte de som förväntades enligt forskningsgenomgången, utan det påvisades finnas större betydelse av de interna faktorerna (strukturer, handlingsplaner, samverkan med mera) än det tidigare förväntade externa faktorerna (möten med klienter, politiska beslut med mera). Detta gjorde att det finns ett större intresse för vad vidare forskning kan komma att finna utifrån förutsättningen av de inre påverkningarna hos socialförvaltningen. Den teori som studien använt sig för att tolka resultatet om framgång och ett hållbart arbetssätt för socialförvaltningens tjänstemän är det salutogena perspektivet samt arbetets förutsättning utifrån KASAM. / The purpose of this qualitative study is to increase the understanding of the employees' own experience of their work environment in the social administration, and the possible risks that the work environment may include. The study was conducted with semi-structured interviews that came to be thematized and presented in the results. The results obtained in the study are presented through three themes; Expectation and Reality, Collaboration and Development. There are parts that social service officials find to be more evident than others, and these are the risk factors that were highlighted through these themes. However, the risk factors that emerged were not those expected according to the research review, but the internal factors (structures, action plans, collaboration, etc.) were found to be more important than the previously expected external factors (meetings with clients, political decisions, etc.). This meant that there was a greater interest in what further research might find based on the assumption of the internal effects of social management. The theory that the study used to interpret the results of success and a sustainable way of working for social service officials is the salutogenic perspective and the work's premise based on KASAM.

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The Master Thesis focuses on business performance measurement using The Balanced Scorecard base. The Thesis specifies, what is The Balanced Scorecard, explaines essential principles and perspectives of the concept and describes the implementation of the concept. The teoretical part of the Master Thesis is focused on explanation of essential methods of the strategic analysis and describe essential methods and indicators of the financial analysis. The Thesis measures the company performance by using financial and strategic analysis in the analytical part of the Thesis and measures the company Performance by using The Balanced Scorecard concept prepared and adjusted for specific needs of the company.

The diploma thesis focuses on the performance evaluation of Gastro, s. r. o. through the Balanced Scorecard method. The aim is to derive strategic goals from the financial and strategic analysis, create a list of benchmarks and performance indicators within the four BSC perspectives that will lead to improvement in meeting the company's strategic objectives and subsequently improving its performance.

The diploma thesis deals with the issues of evaluating the performance of a selected company using the Balanced Scorecard method. The first part of the thesis contains the goals, methodology, and theoretical basis for the issues. The next part is devoted to the introduction of the selected company, strategic and financial analysis. In the final part, based on the outputs of the analyzes, a proposal for the implementation of the BSC model is prepared in order to increase the performance of the company.

The main objective of this thesis is to evaluate the performance of selected production company and subsequent implementation of the model Balanced Scorecard as a strategic tool for performance management. The first part deals with the theoretical knowledge in the field of measuring corporate performance. At the end of the theoretical model is depicting the BSC. The analytical part is devoted to the implementation of the Balanced Scorecard, identification of risks and costs associated with the project and the evaluation of the benefits arising from the implementation of the proposed project.

This study explores the leadership role of the Head of Department (HoD) in the teaching of Mathematics.It focuses on the perspectives that the educators hold about the leadership role of HoDs in the teaching of Mathematics in two Gauteng primary schools.The study was framed by the following research question: What perspectives do educators hold about the leadership role of the HoD in the teaching of Mathematics in primary schools? A qualitative case study was employed whereby data were collected in two primary schools in Gauteng Province. To examine the relevance and clarityinterview questions used, a pilot study wasat first conducted in which one HoD and one teacher were interviewed.For the actual study, ten individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with four HoDs, two principals and four teachers in two township schools in a Gauteng district. Documents such as monitoring instruments of HoDs were also collected and analysed for purposes of triangulation. Key findings were that HoDsnever received any formal preparation to lead the teaching of Mathematics. They learned about the role by participating in professional development activities offered by outside actors, upgrading themselves, assisting the Education district department in facilitating workshops for teachers as well as serving as acting HoDs.They provided leadership by monitoring teaching and teachers’ work,checking lesson plans, doing class visits, checking learners’ books and assessment tasks and doing follow ups.Challenges that were identified in relation to the leadership role of the HoD leadership in the teaching of Mathematics includedHoDs’ lack of Mathematics knowledge (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK), lack of teaching resources, teachers’ lack of knowledge of the new curriculum, a heavy workload, overcrowded classrooms, demotivated teachers, teacher absenteeism and too much paperwork.The perceived strategies that were used by HoDsto address challenges includedthe following:engaging in discussions with teachers in an attempt to collectively find solutions, substituting absent teachers, taking work home, using the expertise of other teachers through delegation, leading by example by presenting lessons for teachers, making learners their first priority followed by paperwork as well as engaging with some stakeholders for support. The following were the recommendations: there should be more clarity about what is expected of HoDs.Sufficient time should be allocated in order for HoDs to be able to balance their leadership duties and teaching effectively;current as well as prospective HoDs should be trained in both the subject in which they are expected to provide leadership as well as the generic leadership part of their job.HoDs should involve Mathematics teachers in the development of the monitoring tools since Mathematics teachers are familiar with a sensible blend of tools, methodologies and approaches that can meet the needs of their learners.HoDs should also be developed on what they should look for as they monitor teachers’ work.In that way they may be able to effectively use the results of their monitoring to support teachers.A final recommendation is that the workload of HoDs be reduced through the allocation of administrative tasks to school administrators and appointing paid HoD assistants such as subject heads. / Dissertation (MEd)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Education Management and Policy Studies / unrestricted

PhD (English Literature) / Department of English / This study explored the depictions and perspectives of health, illness and death in selected postcolonial texts written after the year 2000. Although tantamount attention has been directed to notions of health, illness and death in literary texts (medical narratives) largely from scientific and clinical perspectives, the study primarily focuses on memoir accounts of experiences and perspectives of health, illness and death. In response to the dearth of critical work, which primarily refers to body and its wellbeing socially integrating clinical diagnosis and the socio-natural human factors. The study interrogates how memoirs depict the health, illness and death subjective experiences and perceptions of people in typical African communities. My argument is that literature and memoirs in particular, are a site where conceptions of perspectives and experiences of people (Africans) are (de)constructed. The experiences of health, illness and death are not an exception. In reading the selected texts, I focused on how a merger of factors such as culture, gender, beliefs (African and Religious), age, society, and social status are drawn from the personal narratives in the selected memoirs (re) conceptualise the notions of health, illness and death in a typical African community. The discourses in memoirs challenge the norms and the construction of human and social expectations in dominant ideological discourses such as culture, beliefs, gender, race, class, democracy, post colonialism, Afrocentrism among others. The study enters into a critical conversation with the postcolonial personal (memoir) representation of health, illness and death as a human social context. Using discourse analysis and literature review, I have placed Postcolonial, Afrocentric and bio-political perspectives of several writers in conversation with the health, illness and death defined practices voiced in the selected texts. The discursive debates in the study allow us to consider personal or individual experiences and perspectives as chambers, sites and conceptions of knowledge production in a typical African community and this either silence or make visible the minority and marginal African social ideals and interpretations of health, illness and death as well as body agency. The study established that, the hybridity of perspectives and experiences in personal narratives (memoirs), the subject, and discourses are in the ‘third’ space from where the writers challenge the norms which dictate over the nature of how the body (subject) and the other social factors decipher health, illness and death. Thus, my thesis concludes that the perspectives and experiences examined in the selected texts, the socio-cultural factors of human existence premise the interpretations of the clinical understanding of the body as the point of departure, but socio-cultural interpretations of the body pre-occupy perspectives and experiences of health, illness and death. The clinical aspects and interpretations of the human body are then perceived through the social production of information. The selected texts are Our Kind of People: A Continent's Challenge, A Country's Hope (2005) by Uzondimna Iweala, Eloquent Body (2012) by Dawn Garisch, The Last Right (2013) by Marianne Thamm, Postmortem (2014) by Maria Phalime , Holding My Breath (2016) by Ace Moloi. / NRF

Die Leipziger Journalistik führte im Projekt „Zukunft des Journalismus“ (ZdJ) am Lehrstuhl Journalistik des Instituts für Kommunikations- und Medienwissenschaft der Universität Leipzig unter der Leitung von Prof. Dr. Michael Haller 2005 die bislang umfangreichste Online-Befragung unter Deutschlands Journalisten durch. Sie liefert erste Befunde über die Zukunft einer bedrohten Profession.