The study addresses the process of teacher development in the context of close collegial relations. It is a case study of two teachers, Mary and Sadie, who worked collaboratively over two school years in a series of reciprocal cycles of clinical supervision. The main purposes the teachers held for the process were to develop their understanding about their teaching practices in order to grow professionally and to acquire new skills in supervision. Their beliefs, behaviours, and knowledge contributed to shape their relationship and serve their respective needs for growth. An interpretive methodology was employed. The research approach was derived from the theoretical perspective of George Herbert Mead (1932, 1934, 1938). This provided for an analytical description and interpretation of the meanings and knowledge constructed socially by the participating teachers about clinical supervision, collegiality and teacher development. It also enabled the identification of a number of factors which influenced the teachers' development in the context of a collegial relationship. The teachers practiced new behaviours in an unfamiliar context of close colleagueship in order to incorporate research-based knowledge into their practical working lives. They devoted considerable effort and attention during the first year to the mechanics of clinical supervision in order to become more proficient with the process. In the second year of the study, the teachers explicitly rejected the term "clinical supervision" in favour of "reflective conferencing". The new terminology reflected their deeper understanding about the processes of collaboration and reflection. As their relationship, knowledge and skills developed, they became more thoughtful about collaboration and purposeful about facilitating each other's development. The teachers discovered that change takes time and occurs incrementally. Trust was required from both colleagues, in the process and in each other, as they took turns observing each other teach and then meeting to discuss matters related to their instructional practice. A culture of collaboration took hold, albeit more slowly than either had envisioned. Through repeated practice in reflective conferencing, they acquired an appreciation of the challenges and benefits of collaboration for the promotion of teacher development.

No description available.

The purpose of this study was to identify and explain the dynamics involved in dyadic sport teams, as well as to differentiate dyads from larger teams. Semi-structured individual interviews consisting of open-ended questions were conducted with seven beach volleyball athletes. Cote', Salmela, and Russell's (1995) guidelines were used to inductively analyze and interpret the qualitative data. The results of the analysis revealed three higher-order categories concerning the dyadic relationship: (a) the sport environment, which included elements related to beach volleyball and an athletes' participation in it, the challenges a partnership sport presented, as well as comparisons between partnerships and other sports, (b) dyad structure and composition, which included elements that allowed a dyad to function and the importance of creating a sense of balance in the partnership, and (c) the dyadic interaction process, which focused on developing communication and cohesion in the partnership, and working towards an ideal state where interaction was efficient and effective, culminating in peak performance and a meaningful relationship. The results of the study have advanced the knowledge of group dynamics by differentiating the dyad from larger teams.

Teams play an important role in most organisations in today’s modern economy. The use of teams has expanded dramatically in response to competitive challenges. Research indicates that teamwork can achieve outcomes that could not be achieved by the same number of individuals working in isolation. However, teams need to be cohesive and effective in order to be successful. Team building, team cohesiveness and team effectiveness are discussed in detail, outlining their importance for good teamwork. The Police Services is dependent on effective teamwork as this forms an integral part of their daily work activities. Therefore, teams in the Police Services need to be highly cohesive in order to enhance team effectiveness. The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the impact of team cohesiveness on team effectiveness at the police services. The key dimensions of team cohesiveness that were explored in this study are : setting goals and understanding them, extent of participation, communication, idea generation, conflict management, interpersonal relations and obstacles and the extent of their influence on team effectiveness. The research was conducted at the police services in Kwa-Dukuza, Kwa-Zulu Natal. Simple random sampling was used in this study. Various statistical techniques were used to test the three hypotheses. The results were analysed and a presentation and discussion of the respondent’s perceptions were presented. From this study, it is evident that team cohesiveness with special reference to the following sub-dimensions: setting goals and understanding them, extent of participation, communication, idea generation, conflict management, interpersonal relations and obstacles does impact significantly on team effectiveness. The limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are also outlined. Furthermore, a discussion of the possible causes for the findings are included, along with recommendations to improve team cohesiveness in order to enhance team effectiveness. / Thesis (M.Admin.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Westville, 2004.

This thesis presents findings from a study of fifteen multi-disciplinary child protection teams in New Jersey, USA. The agencies represented in the teams were the prosecutor's office, the Division of Youth and Family Services, law enforcement, hospitals and mental health organisations. The professionals who were members of the teams included caseworkers and supervisors from the Division of Youth and Family Services, assistant prosecutors, law enforcement officers and captains, mental health staff, social workers, psychologists, physicians, nurses, assistant district attornies and victim witness staff. The data was collected through questionnaires, direct observation and in-depth interviews. The thesis explores the teams' structures, processes and interactions from two perspectives, that of the observer and that of the team members. The general findings of the study are that the prosecutor's office dominates multidisciplinary teams in the fifteen counties of New Jersey that have them, although this domination is more marked in some teams than in others. The findings reveal differences among the teams on two dimensions: 'multidisciplinary sharing' and 'team members' perceptions of the teams'. When positive and negative values are attached to each of the two dimensions a matrix of four typologies is constructed, as follows: Depressed Team: negative multi-disciplinary sharing/negativep erceptions of the team. Realistic Team: positive multi-disciplinary sharing/positivep erceptions of the team. Repressed Team: negative multi-disciplinary sharing/positive perceptions of the team. Pessimistic Team: positive multi-disciplinary sharing/negativep erceptions of the team. Each of these team types is characterised by a complex combination of attributes which are not easily disentangled and isolated. Explanations for the findings are formulated as are suggestions for promoting multidisciplinary co-operation.

The advent of collaborative technologies has enabled people to work together apart. This has brought about the formation of virtual teams where members, usually from different geographies, come together to work on a common objective. Virtual teams encounter similar teaming issues as intact teams, but face additional challenges which include working with communication technologies and with teammates they might never meet. The nature of virtual work requires team members to manage ambiguity, work independently, adopt technology and work in a less structured environment. / The virtual work dimensions can be further mapped to Hofstede's cultural dimensions of Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI), Individualism (IDV), Power Dimension Index (PDI) and Masculinity (MAS). Those working in virtual teams should display a lower UAI working with ambiguity, higher IDV as they need to work independently, lower PDI as they work in a less structured environment and higher MAS as they work around systems and technologies. / Organizations can render support to facilitate virtual teaming, and encourage the growth of virtual teams. The organization can provide, among others, training for members to improve virtual teaming, remuneration such as reward and recognition and/or compensation and benefits, infrastructure support such as upgrade of hardware and software, work life balance programs like including virtual team members in company functions and allowing flexible work hours and finally, creating a positive communication environment. / This paper seeks to explore the virtual work dimensions and satisfaction among virtual team members in Malaysia, and the types of support organizations can provide to enhance virtual teaming. The focus will be on organization's support, team members' virtual status, communication channels used and virtual work satisfaction measurement. The need for this research is apparent as Malaysia progresses into the IT era, and would require a new competitive edge to compete for foreign investment and develop competencies for its workforce. Furthermore, similar research into this area of study is lacking. / The exploratory research findings show that only one of three hypotheses was accepted. The first hypothesis reveals that by providing infrastructure support, the organization is able to increase technology adoption. The second and third hypotheses are rejected. For Hypothesis 2, higher virtual status when interacting with work life balance does not have a positive impact on virtual work satisfaction. In fact, the findings reveal that virtual status does not impact work life balance or any of the organization support dimensions. For Hypothesis 3, face-to-face interaction when interacting with training and development does not have a positive impact on virtual work satisfaction. / Thesis (DBA(DoctorateofBusinessAdministration))--University of South Australia, 2006.

Thesis (PhDManagement)--University of South Australia, 2005.

Virtual collaboration-the act of working together across boundaries of space, time, and organization, aided by technology-has become increasingly commonplace in recent years. Doing so, however, presents a number of challenges to those involved. One of these is that because of a lack of experience in collaborating through computer-based collaboration systems, there is little knowledge on how to carry out collaboration virtually. Another is that it is not easy for those not directly involved in the collaboration to know what is, and has been, 'going on' during virtual collaboration. This thesis suggests that both of these challenges can be addressed with the same approach, namely by referring to observations of virtual collaboration. The problem then is how such observations of virtual collaboration can be obtained without requiring those involved in it to document their own actions. To address this problem is the objective of this thesis. The approach proposed here involves three elements: firstly, the collection of data about virtual collaboration; secondly, the modeling of this data; and thirdly, the derivation of increasingly abstract, larger-scale representations of virtual collaboration from this data. These representations are termed patterns of virtual collaboration, which are abstract descriptions of activities of virtual collaboration. A multi-layered conceptual model of information, the Information Pyramid of Virtual Collaboration, is proposed, providing different views of information related to virtual collaboration, at different levels of abstraction. The thesis then suggests how from a given body of data, patterns of virtual collaboration at a corresponding level of the Information Pyramid can be extracted, and how from collections of such patterns more abstract patterns of larger-scale activity can be derived, providing the observations of virtual collaboration sought. In considering how the extraction of patterns of virtual collaboration fits into the larger context of the conception, design, and use of collaboration systems, a Framework for Pattern Extraction and Feedback is proposed. This framework introduces the notion of collaboration memory, a type of organizational memory that contains records of collaborative activity. Moreover, the framework suggests how extracted patterns of virtual collaboration feed back into both ongoing development and use of collaboration systems. Finally, the modeling and extraction of patterns of virtual collaboration is illustrated in a case study involving the LIVENET collaboration system.

Thesis (M.S.)--Auburn University, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographic references (ℓ. 46-57)

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Toronto, 2005.