New Zealand relies on overseas teachers to fill approximately 30% of annual vacancies (Ministry of Education, 2006). 41% of these cohort were teaching in Auckland when this study was conducted (Ministry of Education, 2001, 2003). As only 7% were new to teaching, it is likely that they bring a wealth of teaching experience to New Zealand classrooms. In 2002 New Zealand introduced a new school-leaving qualification, the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA), which includes a literacy strand in all subjects (Taylor, 2001). This thesis aims to investigate the needs, perceptions and insights of overseas teachers in Auckland regarding the literacy requirements of the New Zealand secondary curriculum. In this qualitative study, interviews were carried out with ten teachers who had been teaching in Auckland between one and six years and who had all previously taught overseas. Interviews were also carried out with two literacy leaders as part of the research. Key challenges that emerged were the incorporation of the NCEA literacy requirements in discipline areas; catering for the needs of students who speak English as a second language; dealing with the challenges of teaching literacy across the curriculum and subject specific language; finding and developing relevant resources and sourcing professional development relating to literacy teaching. Findings revealed there were two categories of teachers – teachers who were very aware of the literacy needs of their students and those who were less aware. Teachers from England and South Africa were very aware of the varied literacy needs of New Zealand students and had received professional development in this area. Other teachers seemed less aware of the literacy demands of their students, the curriculum or their own professional development needs. This study also reveals that recognition and provision for the professional needs of newly arrived teachers from overseas seems to vary. There is very little research on the experiences of immigrant teachers in New Zealand; this study helps to clarify the issues which these teachers face, particularly with regard to the dual challenges of teaching students with ESL and the expectations that all teachers will include literacy in their approach to teaching, which is part of the NCEA curriculum.

Master of Philosophy (Medicine) / Health care evaluation serves the purpose of monitoring the quality of health care provided by Health Care Providers (HCP), so that health care services can be provided most effectively and efficiently. Patient satisfaction studies are widely used to assess the quality of outpatient care. A client satisfaction study was conducted at an HIV health care facility in Sydney, Australia during 2007-2008. There were three objectives: 1.) To validate a questionnaire for future determination of client satisfaction in HIV health care facilities. 2.) To identify the levels of satisfaction of clients, and investigate any dissatisfaction and unmet needs towards HIV health care. 3.) To provide recommendations for improving client satisfaction levels in HIV health care. This research used a mixed method approach and consisted of two phases. The first phase was a quantitative survey conducted with 166 clients (both HIV positive and negative) at Albion Street Centre (ASC) using a newly-devised questionnaire. Clients were asked to answer demographic questions, rate their levels of satisfaction with each aspect and each HCP category, and provide suggestions for improvement. Quantitative statistical analysis was conducted to obtain a general view of client satisfaction levels. Dissatisfaction and unmet needs of clients were then investigated in-depth in the second phase of the research through qualitative face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Twenty-two clients (both HIV positive and negative) at ASC were interviewed individually and asked about their attitudes, perceptions, and experiences towards their HCP and the HIV health care services received. Thematic analysis was used to categorise and interpret the qualitative data. More than 90% of the clients were satisfied with most of the aspects covered in the survey, with a mean overall satisfaction score of 84 out of 100. Clients were most iii satisfied with the “technical quality” and “interpersonal manner” of the HCP, and were least satisfied with “waiting time” and “availability of HCP”. The HCP category with which the clients has the highest level of satisfaction was “nurses” (86%), followed by “psychologists” (84%), then “doctors” (83%). Clients who were HIV negative, had a full time job, visited ASC less frequently, or did not possess any type of Health Care Card were more satisfied with the services overall. No common dissatisfaction or unmet needs towards HIV health care service were identified. “Technical quality of HCP” and “the relationship with HCP” were the two most important determinants of client satisfaction, which outweighed the inconvenience contributed by the poor availability of HCP and the location of ASC. The maintenance of “confidentiality/privacy” was shown to be fundamental in HIV health care facilities. The multi-disciplinary nature of ASC increased the degree of convenience and satisfaction level among clients. Suggestions for improvement in client satisfaction levels include increasing the attractiveness of the physical environment and the variety of educational reading materials in the waiting area; introducing beverages, and encouraging clients to be involved in their treatment decisions. Health care administrative staff in particular are reminded not to neglect the importance of the availability of HCP, accessibility, and physical environment when establishing a new HIV health care facility. The mixed method approach (quantitative survey and qualitative interviews) proved beneficial. It increased the validity of the findings by assessing client satisfaction levels using more than one method. This enabled clarification of ambiguities noted in the initial survey through probes used in the interviews, and also allowed investigation of the determinants of client satisfaction through understanding their experiences in HIV health care. Future client satisfaction studies would benefit from using this approach.

<p>Örebro University</p><p>Department of Humanities</p><p>Media and Communication Studies</p><p>Bachelor Thesis, Spring 2007</p><p>Title: Organisational Communication in Dutch Branches in Swedish Companies - A study of Securitas Systems, Volvo Trucks and Electrolux in the Netherlands</p><p>By: Patrik Edvardsson</p><p>Supervisor: Inger Larsson</p><p>Purpose</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how top management in three Swedish companies view the communication within the company. Aspects that are investigated are organisational structure, how core values are used in this communication and what role different communication forms such as intranet, organisational newspaper and face-toface communication play in value creation.</p><p>Theories</p><p>Theories in communication theory, PR, Intercultural communication and organisational theory are used as theoretical framework for the study. Important concepts that are used are sensemaking in organisations, core values, mission and vision as well as organisational structure as well as different communication forms.</p><p>Method</p><p>The method used in this thesis is semi-structured qualitative interviews with five people in top management, working in the three companies in this study. The interviews were</p><p>conducted at each company and took between 30 min and one hour.</p><p>Results</p><p>The study shows that all companies have clear core values that are communicated within the companies. They are communicated though different channels such as intranet and</p><p>magazines but also though dialogue; Securitas even have a game that is used to promote understanding and discussion concerning core values.</p><p>The organisational structure, which encourages informal communication, is crucial in the process of sensemaking in all companies. The companies have weak hierarchical</p><p>structures, which promote empowerment. The management believe that it is important for them to be good examples and live up to the core values, as well as maintaining an</p><p>environment that encourage communication and sensemaking among the employees. face-to-face meeting are important to build lasting networks.</p><p>Keywords</p>

<p>Denna undersökning är gjord med syfte att granska hur fyra svensklärare för grundskolans senare år bedriver sin grammatikundervisning. Detta för att se hur upptäckterna stämmer överens med tidigare rön inom den didaktiska forskning som behandlar ämnet grammatik. Studien lyfter fram definitioner av grammatikbegreppet, tillvägagångssätt och metoder i det didaktiska arbetet samt argument för- och emot grammatikundervisningens existens i svenskämnet. Vidare redogörs för metodval vilka innebär kvalitativa intervjuer utefter modellen ”föreställningskartor” där didaktikens tre huvudfrågor – vad, hur och varför – styr samtalen. Undervisningens resultatdel visar hur svensklärarna förhåller sig till begreppet grammatikundervisning och hur detta kopplas till den didaktiska verksamheten. Slutligen diskuteras det insamlade materialet och jämförs med den teoretiska bakgrunden utifrån de tre didaktiska huvudfrågorna.</p><p> </p> / <p>The aim of this study is to examine how four Swedish teachers, in the late years of compulsory school, teach grammar. The findings of this study are compared and contrasted with previous research in the field.</p><p>The study focuses definitions of the grammar terminology, procedures, teaching methodology and the argument for or against the teaching of grammar in Swedish schools. Furthermore, an account will be given of the research method chosen, namely qualitative interviews based on concept maps, focusing on the three main didactic questions: <em>what</em>, <em>how</em> and <em>why</em>. These interviews show the teachers’ approach to grammar instruction and its connection with didactic activities. Finally the collected material is discussed with reference to the theoretical background and the three main didactic questions.</p>

<p>In this study we wanted to have a closer look at how a specific working team of pedagogues in the senior part of elementary school works with student influence through a pedagogical concept created by themselves. We have used qualitative interviews as a method to achieve relevant information from the pedagogues, and from students teached by the same.</p><p>The purpose of the study was to investigate how the working team, through the concept, pursue real student influence within different school subjects and how the individual student is favored in his/her learning process. Another intention was to find out to what extent the students experience this influence. We also wanted to elucidate the advantages as well as the disadvantages of this concept, and to shed some light on how the informants view the future development of the concept.</p><p>The result shows that consensus prevails to a large extent among teachers and students regarding the signification of real student influence in the everyday learning situation. It also appears that the students’ abilities to exercise influence vary between different school subjects. The students seem to have understood and accepted the reasons for this.</p><p>The interaction between traditional teaching (in certain subjects) and the concept has resulted in the fact that students have succeeded in their learning process to a larger extent and that their engagement and sense of responsibility have increased significantly.</p>

Kalmar Municipality has in 2008-2010 made an effort to educate managers on gender, with the goal of mainstreaming gender into public activities so that all citizens should feel safe in that treatment and services are designed and resources are distributed equally to both sexes living conditions and needs. The overall aim of this study was to examine whether the training effort has paid off, and how gender mainstreaming has been implemented in the different activities. We have used a qualitative approach, which we examined through interviews managers' approach to gender equality. Gender was generally described as an important issue of all respondents, and all were working to mainstream gender into their activities and workplaces. The results show that the operational and management needed clearer directives and strategies in their efforts to promote gender equality. Education was necessary because personal definition of gender may differ from the control contents of the documents. We found that many respondents saw the barrier of time, but also difficulties in changing attitudes and preferences of employees. As a result, we realized that the problem was bigger than that, when society is ruled by norms and values. After analysis of empirical data, we concluded that gender mainstreaming is a difficult subject, and it demands hard work, efforts and resources.

Örebro University Department of Humanities Media and Communication Studies Bachelor Thesis, Spring 2007 Title: Organisational Communication in Dutch Branches in Swedish Companies - A study of Securitas Systems, Volvo Trucks and Electrolux in the Netherlands By: Patrik Edvardsson Supervisor: Inger Larsson Purpose The purpose of this thesis is to analyse how top management in three Swedish companies view the communication within the company. Aspects that are investigated are organisational structure, how core values are used in this communication and what role different communication forms such as intranet, organisational newspaper and face-toface communication play in value creation. Theories Theories in communication theory, PR, Intercultural communication and organisational theory are used as theoretical framework for the study. Important concepts that are used are sensemaking in organisations, core values, mission and vision as well as organisational structure as well as different communication forms. Method The method used in this thesis is semi-structured qualitative interviews with five people in top management, working in the three companies in this study. The interviews were conducted at each company and took between 30 min and one hour. Results The study shows that all companies have clear core values that are communicated within the companies. They are communicated though different channels such as intranet and magazines but also though dialogue; Securitas even have a game that is used to promote understanding and discussion concerning core values. The organisational structure, which encourages informal communication, is crucial in the process of sensemaking in all companies. The companies have weak hierarchical structures, which promote empowerment. The management believe that it is important for them to be good examples and live up to the core values, as well as maintaining an environment that encourage communication and sensemaking among the employees. face-to-face meeting are important to build lasting networks. Keywords

In this study we wanted to have a closer look at how a specific working team of pedagogues in the senior part of elementary school works with student influence through a pedagogical concept created by themselves. We have used qualitative interviews as a method to achieve relevant information from the pedagogues, and from students teached by the same. The purpose of the study was to investigate how the working team, through the concept, pursue real student influence within different school subjects and how the individual student is favored in his/her learning process. Another intention was to find out to what extent the students experience this influence. We also wanted to elucidate the advantages as well as the disadvantages of this concept, and to shed some light on how the informants view the future development of the concept. The result shows that consensus prevails to a large extent among teachers and students regarding the signification of real student influence in the everyday learning situation. It also appears that the students’ abilities to exercise influence vary between different school subjects. The students seem to have understood and accepted the reasons for this. The interaction between traditional teaching (in certain subjects) and the concept has resulted in the fact that students have succeeded in their learning process to a larger extent and that their engagement and sense of responsibility have increased significantly.

This study aims to gain greater knowledge about the phenomenon cheerleading journalism and its existence in the Swedish sports journalism. We did this by making an impact in the media debate, to thereby identify key aspects of cheerleading journalism. These elements are then used to reach a preliminary definition of the phenomenon. This was followed by qualitative interviews with six Swedish sports journalists from newspapers Aftonbladet and Dagens Nyheter, with the aim to find out how they behaved the phenomenon. The results of the earlier debate and the answers from the respondents show that cheerleading journalism is nationalistic, biased and seeks an inclusive effect on its audience. This phenomenon is considered to be an inferior form of journalism and progress especially in reporting on the Swedish national teams and / or individual representatives of Sweden. The results have also been related to selected theories, agenda-setting, gatekeeping and framing.

Our thesis focus on how retirees perceive Tv4s news casts of economy news where we focused on five different aspects: What is the relationship between the news cast and the viewer and how does the viewer express their understanding of the news cast and the way it is constructed? What are the viewers attitude towards the news content and how do they find the news cast useful for them personally? We choosed retirees as our target group due to their vulnerable economic position in today’s society and TV as an important medium for them due to the digital divide. The study was performed with twelve qualitative interviews and one group interview where six retirees took part. We discovered a big interest for economic news in the target group. The majority had a sympathetic view of the news cast they saw but they also expressed skepticism toward the economy segment and/or news castings. The majority expressed a lack of trust for the journalists and the experts brought in to share observations and make announcements, and the financial business overall. The majority of the interviewees spoke of a hypothetic and/or possible usefulness but no one could express how the news castings affected them personally.