This study focusses on the missiological response of the Pamodzi Free Methodist Church to the plight of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), specifically girl children in the Kawama Township in the Republic of Zambia. The major question to answer was “How can the cultural and biblical heritage of hospitality help the church particularly the Pamodzi Free Methodist Church to respond to the problems of OVCs, particularly girl children as victims of urban problems?” The study discovered that forces such as poverty, HIV/AIDS, child abuse, family breakdown, cultural beliefs and practices as well as a lack of care from the extended family have contributed to the vulnerability of OVCs. It recommends that the members of God’s household should have a mandate to restore the dignity and identity of OVCs in a holistic manner by linking the biblical and traditional values of hospitality as well as to develop intervention measures in order to meet the felt needs of OVCs. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology)

Abstracts in German and English / In dieser empirisch-theologischen Untersuchung werden ExpertInnen missionaler Jugendarbeiten in ostdeutschen Städten befragt. Es soll herausgefunden werden, welche Vorgehensweisen im Blick auf die missionarische Erreichbarkeit Jugendlicher wirksam sind. Der Aufbau der Masterthesis orientiert sich am Forschungsprozess des empirisch- theologischen Praxiszyklus. (Faix 2007:64ff) Im ersten Teil befindet sich die Einleitung, welche Forschungsmotivation und -Ziel erläutert und einen Überblick über die Methodologie und Vorgehensweise gibt. Dem folgt eine Einführung anhand der Schlüsselbegriffe, welche die soziologischen und theologischen Bedingungen des Praxisfeldes darlegt. Im dritten Teil befindet sich die missiologische Problem- und Zielentwicklung. Die methodologische Grundlegung schließt sich an: Der empirisch-theologische Praxiszyklus, die Vorgehensweise bei den ExpertInneninterviews und die Auswertung anhand der Grounded Theory. Dieser folgt die qualitative Erhebung. Die ExpertInnen werden nach ihren Sichtweisen befragt und diese werden nach der Grounded Theory ausgewertet. Die Ergebnisse werden im fünften Teil zusammengefasst und anhand der Frage nach wirksamen Vorgehensweisen für missionale Jugendarbeiten reflektiert. / This empirical theological study surveys experts in missional youth work in east German towns. The aim is to discover which approaches constitute effective means for missionaries to reach out to young people. The work is structured in line with the research process found in the praxis cycle of empirical theology. (Faix 2007: 64ff) The Master’s thesis thus starts with a preamble explaining the motivation and goal of research, and an overview of the methodology and approach used in the work. This is followed by an introduction, setting out the sociological and theological conditions of this field of practice based on the key terms. The third section contains the missiological problem statement and formulates objectives. After this, the methodological basis of the Master’s thesis is formed, with a description of the praxis cycle based on empirical theology, the procedure used in interviews and the analysis following grounded theory. The qualitative survey follows in the fourth section. Experts in missional youth work in east German towns are asked about their subjective views on how missionaries can reach out to young people in their projects, and their answers are analysed using grounded theory. The fifth part summarises the findings of this analysis, and reflects on means of effective practice for missional youth work, based on the research question. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / M. Th. (Missiology) / M. Th. (Missiology)

The Chapter consists in two sections complementing Analytical Short Films. The first is about a supposedly universal atmosphere called RED in the Bavaria-Lesson, the second about different cultures in voice and posture coming together in the Beijing-Lesson. Both are related to theory as well as German philosophies of music education.

Die Planungsregion Leipzig-Westsachsen gehört mit ca. 252 Einwohnern pro Quadratkilometer zu den am dichtesten besiedelten Gebieten in Mitteldeutschland. Wie in vielen anderen Regionen auch haben die zu Beginn der 1990er-Jahre einsetzenden wirtschaftlichen, politischen und gesellschaftlichen Veränderungen ihre Spuren in der bebauten Umwelt hinterlassen: Viele der vormals staatlichen Industrie-, Gewerbe- und Handelsunternehmen konnten nicht erhalten werden, was das Aufgeben zahlreicher Grundstücke, Gebäude und Anlagen nach sich zog.

At a Muslim school a group of boys with a reputation for stealing got the opportunity to share stories with communities of concern. Honesty meetings, honesty tests, honesty certificates and honesty celebrations formed part of narrative therapy ways of working together to try and regain reputations for honesty. As an outsider researcher/therapist I was confronted by stories of slavery, racism, unemployment, poverty, crime and violence. Through collaboration with a cultural consultant it became possible to do theology and pastoral care as a Christian in a Muslim community in a respectful and ethical way. The sharing of stories of pain and resistance contributed to the mutual care and community amongst participants from communities separated by racism and apartheid legislation as well as differences of culture and religion. Reflections on this journey mark a migration of identity for me as researcher, therapist, Christian and white South African practical theologian. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.Th. (Pastoral Theology)

This thesis is about pastoral work with people who live with mobility impairment. The research address two main questions, namely "What are the implications of acquired mobility impairment for personal identity and collective identity?" and "How can we in Christian faith communities, through pastoral work, facilitate a sense of belonging and strengthen personal identity and collective identity for people who are mobility disadvantaged?" This thesis therefore addresses the problem of identity. Thus, a theoretical analysis from literature sources is undertaken to explore theories about narrative identity in relation to personal identity and the importance of the metaphor "belonging" to bridge the gap of personal identity to collective identity. Consequently, religious identity is discussed in relation to the notion of multiple identities and the importance of collective identity to shaping personal identity. The research questions are answered through a theoretical exploration of approaches to disability and qualitative, narrative empirical research is undertaken. A few people who are quadriplegic, a family member and an occupational therapist are interviewed and the recounting of their "stories" facilitated. The empirical research results in highlighting that the research participants' "stories" discloses a link between bodily restrictions and social restrictions to mobility. This combination works together to make social interaction very difficult and clearly influenced the transition from pre-quadriplegia to post-quadriplegia. Analysing the "stories" told by the research participants allows for critical reflection on a preferred pastoral work praxis to people living with mobility impairment. Narrative identity is linked with a theology of embrace and metaphors of "covenant" and "belonging" which expresses that faith communities should imitate the embracing love and compassion of the Triune God who through the act of suffering included all humankind. It provides the foundation for a preferred pastoral work praxis of "embrace" which can be practised holistically and actively through integration with the other practices of faith communities to facilitate a sense of belonging to a collective identity. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

Summaries in German and English / Die Zielgruppe der jungen Erwachsenen erhalt in evangelischen Kirchengemeinden und Jugendverbanden wenig Aufmerksamkeit. Zudem liegt kaum wissenschaftliche oder gemeindliche Literatur vor - noch weniger im direktem Bezug auf Mitarbeiterforderung der Altersgruppe 18- bis 22-Jahriger. Folglich hat die vorliegende Arbeit sich der Aufgabe gewidmet, eine Theorie der Mitarbeiterforderung zu entwickeln. Sie wird in Form von Prinzipien abgebildet, die eigens auf die Bedurfnisse von Nachwuchsmitarbeitern innerhalb der Teenagerarbeit eingehen. Die zu entwickelnden Leitlinien bilden sich zunachst aus zwei Quellen. Sie ergeben sich zum einen aus dem neutestamentlichen Befund zu 2Tim 2,2, zum anderen aus der Untersuchung von Literatur aus Gemeindepadagogik, CVJM und evangelischer Landeskirche sowie der Personalfuhrungslehre. Die durch Synopse gebildeten Prinzipien werden an der Empirie gepruft und erganzt. Das geschieht durch eine qualitative Vergleichsstudie innerhalb eines CVJM Ortsvereins in Baden. Auf der Basis der erarbeiteten Prinzipien der Mitarbeiterforderung entwickelt die Miterarbeit Anstosse fur die Praxis. / The target group of young adults (18-22 years) receives little attention in protestant churches and youth associations. Hardly any literature at all is available, even less on the training and support of voluntary leaders. Therefore, this dissertation attempts to develop a theory for training and supporting voluntary workers, portrayed in the form of principles aiming at the needs of upcoming junior leaders in teenage work. The developed guidelines originate from two sources, namely the New Testament findings around 2Tim 2,2 and the research literature in the areas of theory and methodology of Christian education, YMCA work, state church publications and personnel management and leadership. These principles, worked out through a textual comparison, are verified and complemented by empirical knowledge gathered from a qualitative study within a local YMCA group in Baden. Based on the theoretical findings, this dissertation offers practical help for the training and support of voluntary workers. / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)

The overall aim of this thesis was to identify and analyze good innovation management practices in Sweden’s most innovative large companies, excluding governmentally owned organizations. Out of 500 large organizations in Sweden, the top 25 most innovative companies have been ranked based upon over 7,000 printed press articles from 2018 available through Retriever Media. The companies are ranked by their innovations score which is calculated by the number of articles a company is mentioned in, adjusted to the company size, and multiplied with the mean sentiment score. The top 25 companies from the ranking was compared with 25 reference companies, active within the same industry based on the Swedish Standard Industrial Classification (SNI) number, that received a lower innovation score. Good innovation management practices were analyzed based on 14 qualitative interviews in 12 of the top 15 ranked companies and a quantitative survey responded by 20 top ranked and 17 reference companies. The interviews were semi structured with open ended questions to identify used practices, and the reasoning behind them. Spearman’s correlation method has been used to investigate if there was any correlation between the company’s innovation score, the mean performance score, and the mean importance score rated by respondents. The company case studies provide authentic examples on how and when different methods and concepts are used within industry. However, while theoretical frameworks often are strictly defined and described in solitary, the interviews have shown that when used within industry, it is rather the opposite. In many of the interviewed companies, frameworks and methods are modified, combined and constantly evolving. Aspects that the interviewees have expressed as important for an innovative company are: Innovation and change should be iterative, decentralized and started in small scale while receiving full support from top management. Examples of identified practices are: The innovation vision is used in the decision-making process for new ideas. Keywords connected to innovation are used for guiding new aspirations. There is an overall aim to become industry or/and digital leaders. Although the interviewed companies had similar innovation management practices, they were usually modified to fit within the company’s own organization and industry. The interviews contributed with interesting collection of practices within their authentic setting from which other companies could draw inspiration from. Lastly, a handbook was created describing how to conduct the innovation ranking annually, including a description of how to use the software as well as the required script of code. / Det övergripande syftet med denna uppsats har varit att identifiera och analysera hur ett antal stora och framgångsrika bolag bedriver innovationsledning. Av 500 svenska företag har de 25 mest innovativa rankats baserat på hur företagen framställts i över 7000 tryckta artiklar under 2018. I artiklarna som tagits fram via Retriever Media har företagen poängsatts efter antalet artiklar som de omnämnts i, korrigerat efter företagens storlek, multiplicerat med artiklarnas genomsnittliga sentimentvärde. De 25 högst rankade företagen jämfördes sedan med 25 referensföretag aktiva inom samma bransch enligt standarden för svensk näringsindelning (SNI). God innovationsledningspraxis identifierades och analyserades genom 14 intervjuer med 12 av de 15 högst rankade företagen, samt en enkätstudie som besvarades av 20 av de 25 högst rankade företagen och 17 av referensbolagen. Intervjuerna var semi strukturerade med öppna frågor för att identifiera den innovationsledningspraxis som företagen använder sig av samt bakomliggande resonemang. Spearmans rangkorrelation användes för att identifiera eventuella korrelationer mellan företagens innovationsrankning och hur företaget presterar med avseende på olika innovationsaspekter samt hur viktiga dessa aspekter anses. Analysen av innovationsledningspraxis resulterade i praktiska exempel på hur och när olika metoder, verktyg och strategier användes inom företagen. Managementteorier som kan uppfattas som strikta i litteraturen visade sig kombineras, modifieras och utvecklas i flera av de intervjuade företagen. Aspekter som företagen lyfte fram som viktiga var att innovation och förändring behöver ske iterativt, decentraliseras och startas småskaligt med full uppbackning av företagsledningen. Några av de olika sätt att framgångsrikt leda innovation som identifierats är att: Det finns en vision för hur för företaget ska jobba med innovation och denna vision ligger till grund för mycket av den beslutsfattande processen när det kommer till nya idéer. Nyckelord kopplade till olika innovationsmål används frekvent för att leda forskning och utveckling i rätt riktning. Det finns även ett övergripande mål om att bli det ledande företaget inom olika områden och näringsgrenar. Även om många av de intervjuade företagen hade liknande innovationsledningspraxis så var denna ofta modifierade för att passa det enskilda bolaget eller branschen. De intervjuade företagen bidrog med en stor mängd intressanta metoder och insikter som andra företag kan inspireras och dra nytta av för att förbättra sin innovationsledningsförmåga. Slutligen sammanställdes en handbok för att genomföra en innovationsrankning, inklusive hur man använder de programvaror som krävs samt all nödvändig kod för att möjliggöra en återkommande rankning av innovativa företag.

Kooperation sowie Kommunikation und deren Organisation sind nicht Selbstzweck, sondern sollen die Leistung verbessern und Innovationen erzeugen. Ob sie das leisten, hängt weniger von den Technologien, d.h. den Mitteln ab, mittels derer sie abgewickelt werden sollen, sondern von den Inhalten und Arten der Kooperation selbst. Kooperation bei dafür ungeeigneten Aufgaben oder in ungeeigneter Weise wird auch durch innovative Vermittlungstechnologien nicht geeigneter.

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