The selected publications presented here are concerned with the development of practice and knowledge in midwifery. The thesis underlying the publications is that the development of a positive personal relationship between women and their midwives is fundamental to effective and sensitive midwifery care. The methodology used is essentially different to the thesis written prospectively. This is because the publications presented arise from years of work informed by 'hands on' practice, development of policy, leading change and development, supported by research and communicated and disseminated through writing. The work presented therefore could be viewed as a long research project, with these activities forming an iterative process in thinking through and writing for publication, as well as continuing practice development and research. The extended essay serves to introduce the publications and show how they are linked through common themes developed over time. It also demonstrates the originality, importance and contribution of the publications. The publications presented may be viewed conceptually in a number of different ways however these are all related to the relationship between women and their midwives. The essay is presented in sections. The first is the Introduction to key concepts and theories. The second is The Midwife with Woman Relationship. This introduces publications that describe the nature and purpose of the relationship. The third section, Changing Practice: the New Midwifery is concerned with what the midwife does in the context of that relationship. Publications introduced in this section propose ways of working in the best interests of women and their families. The fourth section, Influencing Policy Nationally and internationally, is concerned with the creation of national policy that has supported the development of what I have called the New Midwifery. The fifth section, Transformative Change and Rediscovering Midwifery is concerned with developing the organisation and culture of care, that is its context, to enable midwives to work in the best interests of women and their families. The sixth section Developing Patterns of Practice that Enable Personal Relationships Between Women and Midwives: One-to-One Midwifery introduces publications concerned with the development and evaluation of new structures that facilitate continuity of care and thereby relationship.

This study draws on multiple modes of expression in texts that have been generated by my experience of midwifery development since I moved from England to Australia in early 1997. The Professional Doctorate in Midwifery at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) has enabled me to produce and study my work as a midwifery practitioner, researcher, educator, writer and activist and to engage in a process of scholarship that both informs and is generated by practice. This has allowed me to analyse the complex issues that I, and other midwives in Australia, face as we strategise to narrow the gap between our ideals and the realities of the professional and political constraints that challenge midwifery. The study analyses the rhetorical communications I have employed as both carriers of 'vision' and 'means of persuasion' and the deliberate strategies to make changes that I believe will benefit childbearing women. My portfolio challenges me and others, to explore how we are able to identify, enact, and convince others of the emancipatory potential of midwifery. Rhetorical innovations are therefore linked to the exposition of woman centred midwifery care; an overall goal being to enable situations in which women can experience the potential power that transforms lives, through their experiences of childbirth. In the process, I aim to produce new knowledge that will equip midwives to understand practice, policy and political situations and see new possibilities for responding and taking action. I have analysed and explained my work using a framework appropriated from rhetorical theory and drawing on a range of feminist perspectives. This involves identifying and critiquing the rhetorical innovations that I have used when trying to create possibilities and persuade others of the value of midwifery and the need to make changes happen in practice, education and regulation. My study analyses the rhetorical nature of my own work as presented in my portfolio in a range of carefully selected texts that I have authored during my candidature. These include journal and newsletter articles, conference papers, research activities, policy submissions, education and training materials, the development of midwifery standards, formal and informal communications, and other documents, all aimed in one way or another at the rhetorical strategy of stimulating interest and action. The portfolio texts that arise from this work form the empirical data that is studied. However, in varying ways these texts elicit understandings about the rhetoric and reality of Australian midwifery and the deliberate strategies that are employed by midwives to make changes that will benefit childbearing women. They therefore stand in their own right as contributions to the thesis with their own discursive and epistemological intent. The reflexive process employed in this thesis highlights comparisons between what is being positioned as the potential of midwifery with what is also presented as the reality played out in contemporary Australian maternity service provision and in midwifery education and regulation. The thesis weaves its way around the portfolio documents, attempting to bring to life and discuss the culture in which rhetorical innovations and intentional strategies are aimed at narrowing the gap between 'rhetoric and reality'.

Bibliography: leaves 390-409. / vii, 409, 14, 12 leaves, [3] leaves of plates : col. ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Concerned with how fifty people diagnosed with schizophrenia invested their world with meaning, utilizing the resources which were available to them in their daily lives. "Extraordinariness" which has its basis in personal experience, is elaborated and multiplied by the social conditions and institutional structures of people's everyday lives. As a consequence of their placement within a field of deinstitutionalized psychiatric services, participants continually traversed the border between their own extraordinary experiences (which highlighted their distinctiveness) and those experiences which were taken for granted by themselves as well as others (and which allowed them to lay an equal claim to ordinariness). In this context, schizophrenia serves as a particularly apt case study in the limits and possibilities of intersubjectivity which is explored as the capacity to render experience meaningful to both self and others. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Depts. of Anthropology and Psychiatry, 1999

Bibliography: leaves 390-409. / vii, 409, 14, 12 leaves, [3] leaves of plates : col. ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Concerned with how fifty people diagnosed with schizophrenia invested their world with meaning, utilizing the resources which were available to them in their daily lives. "Extraordinariness" which has its basis in personal experience, is elaborated and multiplied by the social conditions and institutional structures of people's everyday lives. As a consequence of their placement within a field of deinstitutionalized psychiatric services, participants continually traversed the border between their own extraordinary experiences (which highlighted their distinctiveness) and those experiences which were taken for granted by themselves as well as others (and which allowed them to lay an equal claim to ordinariness). In this context, schizophrenia serves as a particularly apt case study in the limits and possibilities of intersubjectivity which is explored as the capacity to render experience meaningful to both self and others. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Depts. of Anthropology and Psychiatry, 1999

Questions about knowledge flows between different fields of science are important &om a policy perspective. This thesis focuses on knowledge transfer between physical sciences and life sciences. Science and technology are increasingly intemvined in a complex continuum. This complexity of the science and technology today asks for a concerted, articulated and comprehensive understanding of the process of science and technology. The approach that this research has taken is to analyse the process of science and technology. The thesis asks: What is the trade of science and technologv? In order to answer this question we developed an anatomy of knowledge and we analysed the internal developments in science via the analysis of the role of the researchers as carriers and producers of knowledge. Secondly the thesis asks: What are the mechanisms and directions on which scientzjic knowledge migrates? This research postulates that the analysis of the process of science and technology translates to the analysis of the production and transfer of scientific and technological knowledge. What is obvious and essential for science and technology is the difference between the specific mechanisms of knowledge production. This thesis suggests that the modem mode of knowledge production is characterized by an increasing density of communication on three levels: between science and technology - on one hand - and society on the other-; between scientific practitioners; and with the entities of the physical and social world. Central to our research is the concept of 'mode of knowledge production ' with mode 1 and mode 2 being defined by Gibbons. The four case studies employed emphasise on how collaboration across disciplines is highly important for the production of new knowledge. The main characteristic of newly emerging fields in an increasing synergy between disciplines, which leads to several types of communication between them. With the increasing of the interdisciplinary intensity the border between the production of knowledge and the transfer of knowledge begins to be blurred. The transfer of knowledge occurs today at a more conceptual level. It follows that the production of knowledge has a large .component of knowledge transfer. To study it, ths thesis proposes a quasiquantitative model. In h s unified &mework for the knowledge tmnsfer mechanisms, transfer is seen as a process with a number of stages and forms. We tested our framework on four case studies. The third part of the thesis proposes a taxonomy of interdsciplinarity. and deals with the social engineering of knowledge transfer that is the design of adequate guidelines for policies aiming at maximization of knowledge transfer. In this way the thesis aims to contribute to the understanding of processes of development of new emerging scientific fields.

Problematic use of massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) is an emerging societal challenge worldwide. There are increasing numbers of incident of problematic use of MMOGs and even reported cases of death from playing MMOGs excessively. With its prevalence, problematic use of MMOGs has received increasing awareness from the scientific community, the general public, and the media. Since information systems (IS) research traditionally emphasizes the positive and productive values of system usage, relatively few published studies on problematic use of MMOGs are found in mainstream IS journals. In addition, research on problematic use of MMOGs is hindered by a lack of uniform conceptualizations, valid measurement instruments, and theory-guided study. As a step towards bridging these gaps and fostering the understanding of problematic use of MMOGs, this study aims (1) to conceptualize problematic use of MMOGs and distinguish it from its counterparts, (2) to develop and validate an instrument of it using a rigorous approach (Study 1), and (3) to propose and empirically test a theory-driven model explaining the development of problematic use of MMOGs (Study 2). Study 1 aims to conceptualize problematic use of MMOGs, and develop and validate an instrument of it. First, drawing on the literature of problematic use of MMOGs and behavioral addiction, this study distinguishes among the often interchangeably used terms of “addiction, “problematic use, “excessive use, and “dependence, suggesting that their use requires careful consideration of the research scope and context. Second, following the robust paradigm in the IS literature, the instrument development process is carried out in three stages, including item generation, scale development, and instrument testing. The instrument is empirically validated with 517 active MMOG players. The final instrument, consisting of 37 items, exhibits adequate levels of reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and nomological validity. The validated instrument adds to the repertoire of rigorous research instruments available to future IS researchers, helping to establish a tradition of IS research on problematic use of MMOGs and other hedonic technologies. Study 2 aims to advance theoretical understanding of the development mechanism of problematic use of MMOGs. Drawing on the hedonic management model of addictions, this study proposes a theoretical model explaining how the duality of hedonic experiences, mood enhancement and emotional relief, derived from playing MMOGs lead to problematic use. The research model is empirically tested with 468 active MMOG players with the majority of the hypotheses supported. The findings suggest that both mood enhancement and emotional relief are important mechanisms leading to salience of gameplay, which in turn, explains the development of problematic use of MMOGs. This study adds to the growing body of knowledge on technology usage-related problems and advances theoretical understanding of development mechanism of problematic use of MMOGs. In addition, the findings provide MMOG developers, policymakers, and educators with insights on how to alleviate problematic use of MMOGs

vi, 100 p. A print copy of this thesis is available through the UO Libraries. Search the library catalog for the location and call number. / Ancient Greek acts of commemoration aimed to preserve the memory of an event or an individual. By examining the commemoration of athletic victory, military success, and death in battle, with reliance upon theories ofmemory, this study examines how each form of commemoration offered immortality. A vital aspect was the way they joined word and material reminder. Athletes could maintain their glory by erecting statues or commissioning epinician odes, which often relied on image and words. The physical and ideological reconfiguration of the plain of Marathon linked the battle's memory to a location. Pericles' oration offered eternal praise to both the war dead and Athens, an Athens crafted as a monument by Pericles to remain for future generations. In different and complimentary ways, all of these forms of commemoration preserved the glory of a deed or an individual for posterity. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Mary Jaeger, Chair; Dr. Christopher Eckerman

“Today’s actions create tomorrow’s legacy.” This was the theme of the annual convention of the Institute of Retirement Funds held in Durban in August of 2008. The aim of this exploratory research is to gain an understanding of the steps that Chile went through in implementing its retirement reform and identify its strengths and weaknesses. Finally, the research will then draw lessons that will better inform, as well as assure the debate and discussion currently taking place regarding South Africa’s retirement reform. In-depth literature review of the Chilean retirement reform was done to tease out the propositions about its reform. Then eleven well-known experts in the fields of pension and retirement were interviewed face-to-face, following a semi-structured interview guide. Judgemental sampling, using the snowballing technique was utilised. The data was analysed using a combination of general analytical procedure principles, content analysis, and constant comparative analysis. Taking unemployment, systematic inequity, and HIV into account, the research recommends a multipillar system with a universal non-contributory first pillar, and a mandatory defined contribution secondary pillar, with some caveats. It concludes with a matrix, drawn from lessons in the Chilean reform, and the expert interviews, with design concerns, design recommendations, as well as the expected outcome based on the recommendation. / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Typescript, etc.

Social influence in marketing has generally been conceptualized in terms of conformity, where the individual's attitudes and behaviour are influenced by real or imagined group pressure. This is a one-way influence process where the group (majority) influences the individual. This research extends this conceptualization of social influence to include the influence of minority or deviant opinions. A simultaneous social influence paradigm is adopted, in which individuals may not only experience conformity pressure from the majority, but may also be subject to persuasion by minority opinions in the group. Such situations may arise in consumer groups as such organizational buying committees or families. Several conditions that may determine the extent of conformity or minority influence were delineated. It was hypothesized that the extent of social identification with a minority or majority source, i.e., source-similarity, would determine the extent of its influence. It was proposed that issue-involvement would play an important role in determining conformity versus minority influence effects, as well as interact significantly with source-similarity. The role of other mediating variables in this social influence process, such as source credibility and source feelings, were also explicated. An empirical test of the theory was undertaken through a 2 (high/low similarity) X 2 (high/low involvement) factorial design. Subject were exposed to persuasive communication from both a majority and a minority source, who advocated contrary positions. The two sources always assumed opposite social identities, and thus when one source was similar to the subject, the other was dissimilar. As anticipated, the minority opinion was more persuasive when the minority was similar, rather than dissimilar. However, this effect was dependent on the level of involvement. The results were generally consistent with the proposed model, with both similarity and involvement playing a crucial role in determining the extent of minority influence. Source credibility and feelings towards the source were both significant mediators in the social influence process. This research indicates a further need to explore the role of involvement in such simultaneous influence contexts using other consumer contexts, and it opens several avenues for future research. / Business, Sauder School of / Graduate