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This research takes an iterative multiple case study approach and seeks new insight from common language in the workplace - specifically exploring what we mean when we say that we're at our best in work. Being at your best is a common term in the workplace but one that is not reflected in the academic literature. Given that it is commonly used, perhaps there is a common or shared meaning. Exploring that shared meaning could help identify how to get more from individuals and support the development of positive workplaces. There are three strands to this research thesis. Firstly, the notion of being at one's best is introduced. The literature review identifies an overlap in the concepts of work performance, engagement and commitment. These three concepts are complex and have challenges of definition and measurement. It is suggested that being at one's best can be understood as involving high performance, engagement and commitment and will involve factors that are consistent to each of the three concepts. The overlap of the concepts is demonstrated in the pilot studies undertaken in three retail stores: the highest performing store; the store with the highest staff engagement survey results; and the store with the longest serving (committed) staff. Interviews, wordlists and questionnaires were interrogated and consistent themes across the 3 contexts formed a tentative framework of positive subjective states and positive behavioural patterns. Secondly, this thesis explores the possibility of a shared meaning of being at one's best - extending the research to wider organisations. Further case studies are undertaken involving a total of 154 individuals in: a highly engaged hotel team; a high performing executive search team; the top performing shop managers in one company; and a study of individuals with at least five years' service and intending to stay in their jobs. The common experiences of these individuals form the refined framework that describes being at one's best in terms of: Positive subjective states (feelings); Positive behavioural patterns; and values. Individuals were feeling positive about themselves, their job, and their colleagues. They also showed positive behaviours related to achieving, supporting, and interacting. The connection between an individual's values and their work was also highlighted as playing a role in being at one's. The third and final strand of the research is the opportunity to reflect on techniques used to explore shared meaning. There is little consistency in the literature regarding how to explore shared meaning. The iterative approach of this research allowed for reflection on: interviews, questionnaires, word lists, focus groups and mental model activities as potential techniques for exploring shared meaning. The reflections provide insight regarding each technique and lead to the suggestion that focus groups are used earlier in the process of exploring shared meaning in the future.

本篇論文主要在探討漢語幼兒同儕的假裝遊戲中的後設溝通，研究問題如下：1. 孩童在社會性的假裝遊戲(social pretend play)中，會使用哪些後設溝通策略？ 2.當幼兒在建構共享意義(shared meaning)時，哪一個後設溝通策略會是最成功的？參與本研究的兩位女孩同分別為四歲及五歲，總共在她們的托兒所進行兩次錄影。本研究採用Giffin在1984年發表的後設溝通策略架構，總共包含七個分類：(1)直接演出 (enactment), (2) 另有動機的話語 (ulterior conversation), (3) 強調(underscoring), (4) 說故事(storytelling), (5) 提示(prompting), (6) 不言明的建構(implicit pretend structuring), and (7) 直接言明 (overt proposals to pretend)。另外，本研究再加入第八個分類：直接接受 (simple acceptance)。研究發現孩童在他們的社會性假裝遊戲中，最常使用的策略是提示(prompting)，接下來為另有動機的話語 (ulterior conversation)、直接演出 (enactment)、不言明的建構(implicit pretend structuring)。而使用時最可以成功建構分享意義的後設溝通策略已成功率高到低分別為直接接受(Simple acceptance)、強調(underscoring)、另有動機的話語(ulterior conversation)、提示(prompting)以及不言明的建構(implicit pretending structuring)。 / The purpose of the present study was to examine how young children metacommunicate to construct shared meaning in social pretend play. The two research questions were: a) what are the metacommunication strategies used in children’s social pretend play with peers? and b) when children work to construct shared meaning, which metacommunication strategy leads to a higher success rate for shared meaning construction? The study included two female participants, Dora and Sally, who were four and five years old respectively. Two recording sessions were conducted during break times at their day care center. The resulting natural speech data was transcribed for further analysis using the CHILDES format. Analysis was conducted using Giffin’s framework of metacommunication strategies, which defines seven categories: (1) enactment, (2) ulterior conversation, (3) underscoring, (4) storytelling, (5) prompting, (6) implicit pretend structuring, and (7) overt proposals to pretend. An eighth category, simple acceptance, was added for the present study. The results showed that the two participants engaged in a large amount of social pretend play, and metacommunication was found to be an on-going process, with one shared meaning developing gradually into the next. Prompting was the most frequently used metacommunication strategy during the play, followed by ulterior conversation, enactment, and implicit pretend structuring. In respect to the second research question, it was found that the metacommunication strategy with the highest rate of success in constructing shared meaning was simple acceptance (the newly added category), followed by underscoring, ulterior conversation, prompting, and implicit pretend structuring. It could be seen from the children’s social pretend play that the participants were developing their cognitive competence (e.g. symbolic thinking), linguistic competence (e.g. attending to others’ speech, producing logical and coherent responses), and social competence (e.g. taking turns, taking perspectives, trying to understand others’ emotions). Studying peer interactions is crucial for understanding what factors are universal in children’s thinking and development, and future studies with larger samples and with participants from more divergent backgrounds are needed in order to advance systematic research on the issues concerned.

The main aim of this research is to relate the theory of ISD discussed in Hirschheim’s and Klein’s article ”Four Paradigms of Information Systems Development” (ISD) to Churchman’s theory of ISD discussed in his book ”The Design of Inquiring Systems”. It has been important to relate those two assumptions of ISD in order to enhance both of them and to get a more explicit understanding of ISD. The main hypothesis in this research has been that it is possible to relate them to each other and to clarify and enhance them since they are both based on philosophical assumptions of knowledge generation i.e. epistemology. Epistemological and ontological aspects of knowledge generation and nature of societies are very important for understanding of IS since knowledge transfer is more and more common because of ICT development. The synthesis of those two well-known approaches to ISD is the main contribution of this research master thesis. The other contributions are the solution for double-loop learning through multi-agent system development and the solution for developing sustainable network societies through peer-to-peer networking combined with centralised networking functioning as a library. I also have given an explicit explanation of the differences between monism (holism) and pluralism, in this case regarding to Leibniz’s and Locke’s philosophical views. Singerian epistemology has been generated from his explanation of insufficiency of either rationalist or interpretative approaches for explanation of natural laws and this is also one of my contributions in this research. I also recommended a complementary use of the rationalist, empirical and interpretative research methodologies for research in theoretical, experimental, applied and social science fields. It has been also examined which methodologies are predominating at universities offering degrees in social informatics and it has appeared that on the most of universities offering degree in social informatics, proper research methodologies for studying societies are used what had been expected.