This thesis is a study of how community participation is understood, enacted, produced and governed in the context of an organization that promotes community participation. The contribution of this thesis is to shed light on the frequently found gap between the expectations and the reality of community participation. In examining how community participation is promoted, the thesis focuses in particular on actors such as community leaders and development workers, and the interactions between them. The thesis applies a multi-disciplinary theoretical framework, which is built through combining theoretical approaches that include discourse analysis, institutional analysis, and the actor-oriented approach. The framework accommodates the examination of the roles of various types of social factors in shaping the workings of community participation. These include the idea of community, social relations in communities, and the agency of actors who are promoting the approach. This thesis conducts a case study of the Council of Community Organisations (CCO) programme in Thailand, which is a large-scale promotion of community participation in development and governance. The case study examines the operation of the programme from national to local level, and explores several localities where the programme is being implemented. The exploration of the CCO programme illuminates pathways through which the approach’s inner mechanisms can constrain it from fulfilling the expectations. The thesis identifies how the idea of community, through its association with the sense of collective identity, tends to distort community participation from achieving empowerment. Moreover, the social relations in communities, generally characterised by inequality and diversity of interests, frequently constrain the approach from achieving effective mobilisation of collective action. Such a constraint is often accentuated by adverse incentives that community leaders face when they become part of development interventions. Finally, it is found that the deficiencies of community participation are likely to persist. This is because the actors who are promoting the approach usually manoeuvre to gain advantages from their roles in ways that reinforce the influence of the aforementioned factors.

Uno de los problemas que preocupa a la Universidades Venezolanas es la formación de docentes críticos y reflexivos, capaces de asumir con criterios sólidos el rol de investigadores y por consiguiente la investigación educativa; a la que desde su formación inicial manifiestan temores de enfrentar, aún cuando se traten de investigaciones dentro del campo de su especialidad y sea ésta una exigencia o requisito de grado, es tal el temor que se llega hablar "del problema de la tesis" o "la tesis como problema", así como del "síndrome del TMT", todo menos tesis, visto tanto en estudiantes de bajo rendimiento como en altos rendimientos y no sólo en pregrado sino en estudios de formación inicial, al verse obligados a poner en práctica una serie de supuestos teóricos no siempre asumidos y mucho menos comprendidos sobre la realidad a investigar, teniendo siempre como raíz la dificultad de acción y expresión más palpable como lo es la comunicación y elaboración del lenguaje, herramienta capaz de ofrecer una realidad de análisis basado en un conjunto de interrelaciones que observamos en nuestro contexto, sobre el cual se debiera ser autónomos para tomar decisiones, resolver problemas, tener cultura de excelencia académica crítica e investigadora, que respete la diversidad de criterios y modifique esquemas tradicionales que no permiten que la organización educativa aprenda y por ende el cliente obtenga la calidad de la enseñanza que se reclama día a día basados en las exigencias del hombre del siglo XXI. Es por ello que el estudio se realizó con el propósito de analizar la Investigación Acción como una estrategia válida para reforzar el programa de formación del rol de investigador en los docentes de la Escuela de Educación de la Facultad de Humanidades y Educación de la Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. Para ello se plantearon como objetivos: Analizar críticamente, si los elementos definitorios del Modelo de Investigación Acción, serían útiles, para tales fines, asimismo se consideró describir los elementos esenciales de la Política Educativa referente al rol del docente, a objeto de diferenciar los elementos teóricos constitutivos del rol del docente y del investigador, para asociar sus elementos teóricos curriculares, referentes a la formación del rol de investigador. Seguidamente se procedió a analizar la teoría de acción expuesta por Chris Argyris, en su dimensión de Teoría en Uso y la adición del Método Comunicacional de Satir, Bandler y Grinder y un modelo de observación basado en Haberlas, como un enfoque válido de Investigación Acción, a los fines de detectar, a la luz de sus conclusiones, los nudos críticos de la Teoría en Uso de los docentes de la Comunidad de Práctica, en el desempeño del rol de investigador. Con los resultados obtenidos en el estudio se procedió a elaborar una propuesta de programa de formación de docentes investigadores, a los fines de que pueda ser estudiado por las autoridades respectivas, como una vía para cumplir tal misión. La Investigación se realizó como un estudio cualitativo basado en la práctica. Asimismo, se aspira que la metodología utilizada contribuya a solucionar los nudos críticos planteados por los organismos competentes, respecto a la búsqueda de soluciones, para reforzar los programas de formación del rol de investigador en los docentes venezolanos, donde se pretenden cambios para no seguir apelando a la cultura de las ideas y paradigmas comúnmente aceptados. Se espera que los resultados obtenidos de esta investigación, contribuyan a estudiar la dimensión de su aplicabilidad en otras Instituciones, en formadores de formadores, en estudiantes de pregrado y en la formación permanente a la que todo docente debe acceder siempre y cuando este interesado en la mejora y calidad de la educación. / One of the problems that is of concern to the Venezuelan universities is the formation of critical and reflexive educators, who are capable of assuming the role of researches with solid criteria and consequently, educational research. From the time of their initial formation they show fear when facing research, even when it is in their fields of specialization and is a requisite for a degree. This fear is so great that "the problem of the thesis" or "the thesis as a problem", as well as the "ABAT (anything but a thesis) syndrome", is spoken of. This is seen both in students with low performance and in those with high performance and n ot only in undergraduate school, but also in graduate school and in the field of work. This problem is related to their initial formation; they find themselves obligated to put into practice a series of theoretical assumptions about the reality to be researched, not always undertaken and much less comprehended. The root of this problem is the obvious difficulty of action and expression, or communication and language elaboration. These tools are capable of offering an analysis reality based on a one must be independent in order to make decisions, solve problems, be open to change and break with the culture of silence and advance toward a culture of critical and research academic excellence that respects diversity of criteria and modifies traditional patterns that do not allow the educational organization to learn and hence, the obtaining of the quality of teaching that is required in the 21st century. Therefore, the study was carried out for the purpose of analyzing Action Research as a valid strategy for reinforcing the program for the formation of the role of the research among the professors of the Scholl of Education of the College of Humanities and Education of the Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela. To this end, the following Objectives were established: a critical would be useful for such a purpose and a description of the essential elements of Educational Policy related to the role of the educator so as to differentiate the theoretical elements that constitute the role of the educator and the research in order to associate the curricular theoretical elements related to the formation of the role of researcher. Then, the Action theory expounded by Chris Argyris in his Use Theory, with the addition of the Communicational Method of Satir, Bandler and Frinder and an observation model based on Habermas, was analyzed as a valid Action Investigation approach to detect, in the light of the conclusions reached, the critical problems of the Use Theory among the educators in the Practice Community in carrying out the role of researches. With the results obtained from the study, a proposal for a program for the formation of research educators was drawn up, so that it might be studied by the respective authorities as a means for fulfilling such a mission. The research was carried out as a qualitative study based on practice. Likewise, it is hoped that the methodology used will contributed to solving the critical problems presented by the appropriate entities with respect to the search for solutions for reinforcing the programs for the formation of the role of researches among Venezuelan educators, where changes are sought in order not to have to continue resorting to the culture of commonly accepted ideas and paradigms. It is hoped that the results obtained from this research will contribute toward studying the extent of its applicability to other institutions, to teachers of teachers, to undergraduate students and to the permanent formation to which every educator should accede if he or she is interested in the improvement and the quality of education.

Nurse education is continually adapting to meet the requirements of employers to develop increasingly autonomous practitioners who can provide evidence-based, high quality care. The work-based project examines the support available to mentors, known as practice teachers, in their role as assessors of nursing students in higher level practice. A qualitative study: the project employs a grounded theory approach to the analysis of data elicited from practice teachers and academics. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups alongside regular reviews of the literature are utilised to elicit data, and via an inductive process, categories emerging from the analysis are constructed to present new insights and understanding of the subject under scrutiny. Whilst it is clear that a degree of support is available to practice teachers in response to a rudimentary understanding of their role in higher level practice, it is also clear that this support is limited by a number of factors. The product of practice assessment for the employer is a newly-qualified practitioner who is able to carry out a role based on a specified set of competencies. For the educator, whether within the higher education institution or in practice, the process of education is ongoing; producing a practitioner with the capability to utilise higher level practice in ever-changing contexts and situations. Support for the practice teacher can only be enhanced if recognition of the role is promoted. This requires a shared understanding of the importance of developing both competence and capability for higher level practice. Only then will the vital contribution made by the practice teacher in the student’s development be understood by those supporting them. Converging rather than competing philosophies of training for competence and educating for capability are necessary to maintain the status and commitment of the practice teacher and consequently the rigour required of assessment in practice.

A pesquisa tem como objetivo conhecer as crenças dos alunos em relação ao uso das tecnologias móveis, especificamente o celular, e identificar práticas de intervenção que permitam a inserção da tecnologia móvel na aprendizagem escolar numa perspectiva colaborativa, considerando o contexto proibitivo para o uso do celular nas escolas tocantinenses. O aporte teórico utilizado é a teoria sociocultural de Vygotsky (1978/1984) e Johnson( 2009), a concepção de Comunidade de Prática de Wenger (1998), Barbosa e Bedran (2016) Tecnologia na educação com ênfase em interatividade e mobilidade nas perspectivas de Lévy (1996), Leffa (2005), Moraes (2004) e concepção sobre crenças em Barcelos (2004). A metodologia empregada é a pesquisa-ação, de cunho etnográfico, na perspectiva de a professora-pesquisadora fazer intervenção em sua sala de aula, utilizando o recurso celular, integrando-o ao processo de aprendizagem escolar. Os dados gerados nos permite indicar que as crenças dos alunos, relacionadas ao uso do aparelho móvel enquanto recurso de aprendizagem, são reformuladas a partir do engajamento e empreendimento constituindo a sala de aula numa Comunidade de Prática. O resultado da pesquisa aponta que devido os alunos utilizarem as redes sociais nas postagens em comunidades que geralmente servem para trocar informações pessoais, ao utilizarem o aplicativo para o conhecimento científico, o movimento deles é se ancorarem no que já fazem e no que comumente postam em outros grupos. Daí porque a mediação do professor, identificada como elemento essencial na perspectiva sociocultural de aprendizagem colabora para o aprendiz superar desafios e sentir-se motivado a construir outras propostas de aprendizagem usando suas habilidades tecnológicas enquanto nativo digital, ressignificando, pois, suas crenças em relação as TIC e sua inserção na aprendizagem. / The research has the goal to know the pupils’ beliefs about the use of the mobile technologies, specifically the cellphone, and to identify practices of intervention which allow the insertion of the mobile technology into the school learning on a collaborative perspective, considering the prohibitive context for the use of cellphone to the Tocantinense schools. The bibliographic supply used is the sociocultural theory of Vygotsky (1978/1984) and Johnson (2009), the conception of Practice Community of Wenger (1998), Barbosa and Bedran (2016) Technology in the education with emphasis on interactivity and mobility Lévy (1996), Leffa (2005), Moraes (2004) and beliefs on Barcelos (2004).The methodology used is action-research, of ethnographic-oriented, on the perspective of a researcher-teacher for doing the intervention on the classroom, by using the cellphone resource and integrating it into the school learning process. The data generated have allowed us to indicate that the pupils’ beliefs related to the use of mobile set as while as learning resource are reformulated from the engagement and enterprise constituted in the Practice of Community of the classroom. The research result has pointed out that due the pupils make use of social networks on the posts in the communities which generally they serve to change a plenty of personal information, the act of using the applicative for the scientific knowledge, the movement of these pupils is to anchor at what they have already done and at what they have commonly posted into the other groups. Hence the reason of the teacher’s mediation, identified as the essential element on a sociocultural perspective of learning which contributes to the learner to overcome challenges and to make him/her motivated to construct other learning proposes by using his/her technological abilities as while as digital native, resigning, therefore, his/her beliefs in relation to the ICT ( Information and Communication Technologies) and his/her insertion into the learning.

The main theme of the study is exploring and understanding the impact of an innovative continuing professional development model for integrating ICT into classroom pedagogy. The focus is on the relationship between teachers’ beliefs, knowledge and pedagogic practice in the process of developing and adopting new knowledge and skills to cope with 21st century education. The study explores the 'future schools' primary teachers’ education, in-service training, status, beliefs, knowledge, and skills of using ICT in practice in the Kuwait context. The finding from the exploratory study shows that teachers’ lack of Technological, Pedagogical and Content knowledge TPACK and that this impacts on their capacity to improve their pedagogic practice. The study applied a social-constructivist approach to understand the process of change in the nine participants' teachers' beliefs, knowledge through an innovative continuing professional development model, and stimulating teachers to develop a reflective practice skills focusing on improving pedagogic practice and using ICT. A case study approach was used as the methodology of the study to develop an understanding of the process of change in the nine participant teachers' reflection on and experienced of the effects of adopting alternative pedagogic practice and integrating ICT. The numerous small findings from the quantitative and qualitative methods applied to the six months of continuing professional development involving nine primary teachers come under four main themes: 1) In-service teachers' beliefs and knowledge development, 2) Classroom pedagogy for autonomy with ICT integration, 3) Constraints affecting future schools’ teachers' integration of ICT, and 4) The key principles of an RP-BCPD model for teachers CPD in Kuwait. The understandings from the findings of the study show that the quality of the CPD for improving teachers' pedagogic practice is affected by the socio-cultural context of the 'future schools'. The study shows that the nine participant teachers can develop effective alternative pedagogic practice and successfully integrate ICT, when they are empowered to reflect, inquire into their practice, and learn from each other and from cross-cultural best practice. The unique finding of the study indicated that the nine participant teachers experiences some difficulties with engaging in the change process because of classroom cultural context such as: teachers' TPACK knowledge and competences, curriculum overload, and classroom size. Finally, the finding shows that providing the participant teachers with reflective practice as the base of CPD programme within schools context linked learning theory to improve pedagogic practice.

Syftet med denna studie är att observera mitt lärande i studerande av irländsk musik. Studiens metod är att genom en mästare, lära repertoar som förmedlar stiltypiska drag. Som teoretisk utgångspunkt för studien har det sociokulturella perspektivet med fokus på mästarläran valts. Frågeställningarna som ligger till grund för studien undersöker vilka redskap som används för att appropriera den irländska musiken och vilka insikter och framsteg som gjorts i den irländska spelstilen under studiens gång. Efter analys av det under processen inhämtade material framkommer i resultatet användning av både materiella och teoretiska redskap som ofta samverkar. Vidare visar resultatet tecken på lärande inom områdena tempo, stråk och förståelse kring musiken. I diskussionen tas några av de slutsatser som framkommit i resultatet upp och kopplas till den litteratur och forskning som presenteras i arbetets bakgrundskapitel. Några av de punkter som tas upp i diskussionen är hur min musikaliska identitet utvecklas, lärande i sessions, vilken stil jag utvecklar under detta arbete och vad redskapen har för betydelse. / This study’s purpose is to observe the learning process of studying Irish traditional music. The method used in the study, is to learn repertoire mediating the Irish style from a master in the tradition. As a theoretical basis for the study a socio-cultural perspective with a focus on master-learning is used.  The study is based on research questions investigating how tools are used to learn the Irish style and how learning becomes visible and changes during the process. After analysing the material, collected during the process, the results show the use of both material and theoretical tools which often cooperate. Furthermore, the results show, how learning is achieved in the categories: tempo, bowing and understanding of the music. In the discussion some of the conclusions, appearing in the result, are brought up and connected to literature and research presented in the studies background chapter. Some of the topics discussed are how my musical identity develops, how learning takes place in sessions, how my style is affected during the study and what impact the tools have on learning.

(in English) The main goal of the diploma thesis "The Possibility of Social Work in Rural Areas. On the Example of the Village Majdalena" is to introduce possible implementations of social work in villages or rural communities on the example of Majdalena, a village located in the South Bohemia region, Czech Republic. The theoretical portion of this thesis describes different approaches to social work and the status of a small community in the Czech welfare system, primarily with focus on social work. Legislative background of social work in a village and community social worker's job duties and responsibilities are also discussed in the thesis. The hands-on research presented in this work focuses on Majdalena, Czech Republic. A sociodemographic analysis and a field survey were conducted to characterize the investigated community, in addition to two case studies targeting Majdalena citizens. Finally, conclusions include suggestions of particular goals and objectives for a social worker in Majdalena.

Syftet med denna studie är att utforska mitt egna lärande i processen med att appropriera den ornamentik som är en central del i den irländska folkmusikkulturen. Syftet stärks med följande forskningsfrågor: Med vilka redskap tillägnar jag som lärling mig ornament från den irländska folkmusiktraditionen? samt I vilken utsträckning har jag approprierat irländsk ornamentik efter en period på tio veckor? Arbetet är baserat på ett sociokulturellt perspektiv med stark betoning på mästarläran. Detta ingår i bakgrundskapitlet tillsammans med relevant litteratur med inslag av tidigare forskning på området. Exempel på vad som tas upp är förklaringar om specifika ornament samt en översiktlig beskrivning av den irländska folkmusiktraditionen. Studien baseras på videoobservation av mig själv samt genom egna loggboksanteckningar. Resultatet presenteras med hjälp av olika rubriker; exempelvis olika redskap under enskilda fiollektioner, tillägnande av yrkesidentitet samt jag och min mästare. Avslutningsvis diskuteras resultatet i förhållande till litteraturen samt tidigare forskning där bland annat min etniska tillhörighet och outtalade regler vid sessions nämns. Här diskuteras även variation och improvisation samt vilka redskap som tillfört mest till min lärandeprocess. / The purpose of this thesis is to explore my own learning in the process of appropriating the kind of ornamentation that is a central part of the Irish trad music culture. The purpose is supported with these following reserch questions: Which tools do I use as an apprentice to appropriate the ornaments from the Irish traditional music culture? and To what degree have I appropriated the Irish ornamentation after a period of ten weeks? The thesis is based on a sociocultural perspective with a strong emphasism on master – apprentice teaching. This is included in the background chapter together with relevant litterature and earlier studies on this area. Explanations about specific ornaments and a brief description about the Irish trad culture are examples of what is brought up in the background chapter. The thesis is based on video observations of myself and by a written journal. The result is presented with several themes, for example different tools during individual fiddle lessons, adopting of professional identity and me and my master. In the conclution the results are discussed compared to the litterature and earlier research where my ethnical background and unspoken rules during sessions are mentioned. The discussion also include variation and improvisation together with which tools that have contributed the most to my process of learning.

No description available.

Hospital admissions for patients close to the end of life are considered ‘inappropriate’ in contemporary English health policy. Hospitals are supposedly unable to offer a ‘good’ death for patients, and dying there is thought to contradict patient choice, since patients are assumed to want to die at home. However, almost half of all deaths in England in 2015 occurred in hospital, and of these, nearly a third died within three days of admission. This thesis seeks to explore why these admissions are considered to be a problem and how they occur. Through a systematic review of UK literature I found that it cannot be stated that most patients want to die at home, because of the extent of missing data (preferences not asked, expressed, reported or absent). This finding challenges the justification that admissions are inappropriate because they contravene patient choice. Similarly inconclusive evidence about the undesirability, cost, and lack of need for patients to be in hospital were also found in a review of policy. Together with analysis of historical trends in hospital and hospice provision, it is apparent that attitudes towards end-of-life admissions reflect existing tensions about the role of hospital as an acute provider, and as a place of death. An analysis of interviews conducted with healthcare staff and next-of-kin involved in the admission of patients (case-patients) who died shortly after being admitted to Meadowbridge, a large English hospital explored these tensions further. I found that whilst hospital was not recognised as a place where ‘good’ deaths typically occurred, it was acknowledged as an emergency place of care. In this context, patients without obvious need for hospital care were nevertheless admitted to the hospital and the environment was subsequently recognised to offer distinct benefits. The need for emergency care reflected the difficulties of providing end-of-life care in the community. For dying to occur appropriately, home had to be adapted and care organised by healthcare staff. Both tasks were complicated by the unpredictability of dying, and family carers helped to absorb much of the uncertainty and support patients to die at home. Ambulance staff became involved when patients had care needs that exceeded care quickly and easily available in the community. When called to the case-patients, ambulance staff instituted familiar practices in transferring them to hospital. Hospital was recognised as a default place of care because ambulance staff struggled to facilitate alternative care and lacked sufficient professional authority to keep patients at home. The admissions of the case-patients represent the best attempts of staff to navigate the tangled practices of end-of-life care. These practices are the result of the actions of the staff, which in turn both constrained and enabled their action in providing care to patients. The term ‘inappropriate’ to describe admissions does not encompass these attempts, and moreover, devalued the significant care provided by healthcare staff in the community and hospital.