The thesis deals with the issue of adult education and development, is specially focused on the group of personal fitness trainers, their development and further professional education. In the theoretical part of the thesis, great attention is paid to the conceptualization and systemization of adult education, instead of adult education within the concept of lifelong learning. The thesis deals with one of the most important areas of education, namely further education. It deals with individual subsystems of further education with an emphasis on further professional adult education. The work also brings information about the possibilities of education and development of people in organizations, it deals with the importance of company education. The need for strategic and systematic staff training is highlighted. The work describes individual methods of education, both in the workplace and outside the workplace. A separate chapter focuses on personal fitness trainer, its characteristics, professional competencies and selected forms of coaching education. The aim of this thesis is to identify and to analyze the educational and development needs of personal fitness trainers. Quantitative research is carried out by a questionnaire survey and the data are supplemented with the results of semi-structured...

This autoethnographic study qualitatively explores a trainee's journey towards becoming a clinical psychologist in South Africa. Both the formal and informal processes for becoming a psychotherapist are explored. The formal processes governing the training and registration of a clinical psychologist in South Africa are outlined. A critical appraisal of the training program is covered. The informal processes of the journey of this trainee psychologist is contextualised within the life story of that same person. In so doing a seventeen-year long struggle and academic relationship with UNISA is highlighted, including the insatiable desire and life long dream of the writer in wanting to become a psychologist. An autoethnographic study was done by using the researcher as the only research subject. The personal writings of the researcher and her family serve as the primary data for the study. An autoethnographic approach was employed in creating and collecting the data. The stories are presented in narrative form, and the data are analysed by employing narrative analysis for extracting and highlighting initial and inferred themes. / Psychology / M. A. (Clinical Psychology)

Face aux effets de la révolution numérique, les organisations évoluent afin de proposer de nouveaux services à leurs clients, partenaires, fournisseurs et salariés (banque en ligne,données dématérialisées, espaces virtuels,…). De nouveaux modes de travail voient le jour, favorisant le nomadisme (travail à domicile ou à distance dans des salles connectées), la gestion de projets transverses et internationaux (outils et supports de communication) et la formation e-learning ou blended (alternant présentiel et distanciel). Du fait de ces transformations digitales, les formateurs d’entreprise - internes à l’organisation ou travaillant en prestation - se voient contraints de se professionnaliser à la formation numérique et de s’inscrire dans des diversités de fonctions (chef de projet, concepteur, ingénieur pédagogique,…). Cette thèse interroge la professionnalisation des formateurs au numérique à travers les opportunités d’apprentissages qu’ils identifient dans leurs environnements(formatif, organisationnel et professionnel) et des stratégies d’apprentissages qu’ils développement en regard. La problématique porte sur les apprentissages organisationnels et sociaux au sein des environnements de travail. Une étude de cas de formateurs issus de différentes organisations participant à une même formation certifiante à la « e-formation », choisie pour sa représentativité, présente les stratégies d’apprentissages déployées par les formateurs.Cette thèse défend l’idée d’une auto-professionnalisation des formateurs au numérique dans la construction d’écosystèmes d’apprentissages, au regard d’une culture d’entreprise (notamment « apprenante ») qu’ils perçoivent au sein de leurs organisations. / Facing the effects of the digital revolution, organizations are evolving to offer new services to their customers, partners, suppliers and employees (online banking, dematerialized data, virtual spaces, etc.). New ways of working are emerging, favoring nomadism (working from home or remotely in connected rooms), managing transversal and international projects (tools and communication media) and e-learning or blended learning (alternation of face-to-face and online training). As a result of these digital transformations, the company trainers - internal to the organization or working in delivery - are forced to professionalize in digital training and enroll in various functions (project manager, designer, educational engineer, ...). This thesis questions the professionalization of digital trainers through the learning opportunities they identify in their environments (training, organizational and professional) and the learning strategies they are developing. The issue is about organizational and social learning in work environments. A case study of trainers from different organizations participating in the same "e-training" certification course, chosen for its representativeness, presents the learning strategies deployed by the trainers.This thesis defends the idea of a self-professionalization of digital trainers in the construction of learning ecosystems, in the light of a corporate culture (especially "learning") that they perceive within their organizations .

Personliga tränare (PT) har en nyckelfunktion på gymmet, i och med sin uppgift att guida klienter till en bättre fysik och hälsa. Många gymutövare har PT som förebild både vad gäller hälsa och kroppsligt utseende. På gymmet finns dock en problematik med förekomst och reproducering av genuskodade kroppsideal, vilket bland annat kan bidra till ohälsosamma kost- och träningsbeteenden. Syftet med studien är att utforska vilka kroppar och kroppsideal i gymkontext som synliggörs i personliga tränares diskussioner. Vidare är syftet att belysa om och i så fall på vilket sätt maskuliniteter och femininiteter framträder i personliga tränares diskussioner om kroppar och kroppsideal. Totalt medverkade 19 PT i sju fokusgruppsintervjuer, som analyserades genom en kvalitativ innehållsanalys med en abduktiv ansats. Connells teoretiska begrepp hegemonisk maskulinitet och betonad femininitet samt Bauman och Mays perspektiv kring kropp användes under analysprocessen. Resultatet visade att PT talar om den perfekta kroppen, den överdrivna fitnesskroppen, den extremt magra kvinnokroppen och den feta kroppen. I PTs diskussioner går att utläsa hur den perfekta kroppen värderades högre än de andra kropparna, genom deras beskrivningar av övriga kroppar i negativa och nedlåtande ordalag. De övriga kropparna ansågs avvikande både vad gäller utseende och hälsa. Den perfekta kroppen kan därför tolkas stå för den hegemoniska maskuliniteten och betonade femininiteten, genom sin överordnade position på gymmet. Konsekvensen av denna kroppshierarki kan bli att klienter som inte har kroppar som anses ideala, kan uppleva sig exkluderade från gymarenan.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / To understand the development and the functioning of the carried out Processes of continued education in Schools of Basic Education (EEB) seems to be undelayable investment of teachers in professional exercise qualification and point out conditions to put changes into effect in their pedagogical practices. Our research, accomplished in the years 2005 and 2006, sought to find answers for the following problem: Which aspects characterize and which ones work as condition to the elaboration and accomplishment process of continued education of teachers in the Schools of Basic Education of Santa Maria and which relations are established between these aspects? It is a qualitative research that involved as research space, 4 schools of Basic Education of the Public Net of the Santa Maria city. We used as sources of information, the formative meeting carried out in these schools, besides the discourse of 50 persons who constructed our real sample of research, they are: four professional responsible for planning and developing the actions of continued education of the 4 investigated EEB; 38 teachers who had participated in the carried out formative meeting in the schools; 8 professionals invited to carry out the formative meetings with the teachers. We used as an instrument, to collect information, participated observations, collective and individuals interviews and scripts. We identified some aspects of the meetings organization and functioning which have limited the education to be a moment of these teachers collective production. We pointed out that continued education has been organized, in general, independent of the teachers and school s needs and difficulties. The teachers have a minimal participation on the decisions concerning the processes offered to them. Normally, the teacher trainers do not have knowledge about school contexts and about the teachers for which they carry out the meeting. The teachers, in turn, believe that the solution for their problems is in knowledge produced outside of the school space, mainly in the academy; therefore, they attribute to the teacher trainers the capacity to solve all the problems and difficulties faced by them. We conclude that, to occur significant changes in these processes, it is necessary to analyze the teacher trainers profile, in the construction of activities that give conditions, in the formative meetings, to teachers construct new knowledge, in the approach of the knowledge dealt with each school and its peculiarities, as well as, in the inclusion of studies on the continued education in order to the teachers adopt more independent and conscientious attitudes concerning their processes of professional development. / Compreender o desenvolvimento e o funcionamento dos Processos de Formação Continuada realizados em Escolas de Educação Básica (EEB) parece ser um investimento inadiável para que se possa avançar na melhoria da qualificação dos professores em exercício e apontar condicionantes para a efetivação de mudanças nas práticas pedagógicas. Nossa pesquisa, realizada nos anos de 2005 e 2006, procurou encontrar respostas para o seguinte problema: Que aspectos caracterizam e que aspectos condicionam a elaboração e a realização dos processos de formação continuada de professores nas Escolas de Educação Básica de santa Maria e quais relações se estabelecem entre estes aspectos? Trata-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa que envolveu como espaço de pesquisa, 4 escolas de Educação Básica da Rede Pública do Município de Santa Maria. Utilizamos, como fontes de informações, os encontros formativos realizados nestas escolas, além das falas dos 50 sujeitos que construíram nossa amostra real de pesquisa, a saber: 4 profissionais responsáveis pelo planejamento e desenvolvimento das ações de formação continuada das EEB investigadas; 38 professores que participaram dos encontros formativos realizados nas escolas; 8 profissionais convidados para realizarem os encontros formativos com os professores. Utilizamos, como instrumentos de coleta de informações, observações participadas, entrevistas coletivas, entrevistas individuais e roteiros. Identificamos aspectos, da organização e do funcionamento dos encontros, limitadores para que a formação se configure em um espaço de produção coletiva pelos professores. Constatamos que a formação continuada é organizada de forma independente das necessidades e das dificuldades dos professores e da escola de uma forma geral. Os professores pouco participam das decisões acerca dos processos a eles oferecidos. Normalmente os formadores não têm conhecimento dos contextos escolares e dos professores para os quais realizam os encontros. Os professores, por sua vez, acreditam que a solução para seus problemas está em conhecimentos produzidos fora do espaço escolar, principalmente na academia, por isso atribuem aos formadores a capacidade de resolver todos os problemas e dificuldades por eles enfrentadas. Concluímos que, para ocorrerem mudanças significativas nestes processos há de se começar pelo perfil dos formadores, na construção de atividades que potencializem os encontros formativos para a construção de novos conhecimentos pelos professores, na aproximação dos conhecimentos tratados com cada escola e suas especificidades, assim como, na inclusão de estudos sobre a formação continuada a fim de que os professores adotem atitudes mais autônomas e conscientes acerca de seus processos de desenvolvimento profissional.

Syftet med studien har varit att belysa fenomenet hälsoism utifrån personliga tränares perspektiv. Tidigare forskning har påvisat att hälsoism är ett starkt växande fenomen i västvärlden. Utifrån syftet skapades tre frågeställningar; Hur diskuterar personliga tränare synen på sig som en förebild inom hälsa? Hur framträder hälsomedvetenhet i vardagen för personliga tränare? Vad innebär en hälsosam livsstil för personliga tränare? Undersökningen använde kvalitativ metod och bestod av fyra intervjuer. Informanterna var utbildade och arbetade med någon form med personlig träning. En del av resultatet visade att personliga tränare anser sig själv som förebilder och representanter för hälsa. Detta leder till att rätt beteende måste ske i en omgivning där kunder eller potentiella kunder kan hålla koll på en. Att inte ha rätt beteende i sådana situationer kan resultera i att man anses som en opålitlig personlig tränare. Ett annat resultat visar på att en hälsosam livsstil är viktigt för personliga tränare men att det är lika viktigt att inte ha för hälsosam beteende heller. Ett för hälsosamt beteende eller att ha hälsa som religion kan anses som osunt beteende. Slutsatsen i uppsatsen tyder på att personliga tränare är en del av hälsoismen och uppfyller en del krav på att ha hälsa som religion. Men det finns fortfarande en negativ inställning mot att ha hälsa som religion och att prioritera hälsa först. Detta kan förklaras utifrån att det inte är socialt accepterat än att ha hälsa som en religion kanske eftersom det är ett så pass nytt fenomen. / The aim of the study was to shed light on the phenomenon healthism based on personal trainers’ perspective. Previous research has shown that healthism is a rapidly growing phenomenon in the western world. Based on the purpose, three issues were created; How do personal trainers discuss their view as a role model in health? How does health awareness appear in everyday life for personal trainer? What does a healthy lifestyle for personal trainer mean? The study used the qualitative method and consisted of four interviews. The informants were educated and worked in some form of personal training. A part of the the results show that personal trainers consider themselves as role models and representatives of health. This leads to the proper behavior must occur in an environment where clients or potential clients can keep track of one. Not having the right behavior in such situations can result in being considered as an extremely unreliable personal trainer. Another result shows that a healthy lifestyle is important for personal trainers but it is equally important not to have too healthy behavior either. A too healthy behavior or to have health as a religion can be regarded as unhealthy behavior. The conclusion in the paper suggest that the personal trainer is part of the healthism and fulfill some requirements to have health as a religion. But there is still a negative attitude towards taking health as a religion and prioritize health first. This can be explained on the basis that it is not socially acceptable yet to have health as a religion perhaps because it is such a new phenomenon.

A recent Report Card on Physical Activity and Health in South African Children and Youth 2010 states that at least four major factors place young children at risk: tobacco use, poor diet, lack of physical activity and facing weight challenges, this then including being overweight, underweight, obese or stunted for one’s age. One of the areas for action and intervention mentioned in the report card is training of teachers. The aim of this study was to increase knowledge, skill and competence in school teachers (care givers) when dealing with underweight in school children. A training program (train-the-trainer) was designed by the researcher. Under nutrition (underweight) is implicated in more than half of all child deaths worldwide. 25.33% of respondents in this study showed signs of underweight highlighting the importance of such training in schools. Using the above statistical data the research embarked on the development, implementation and evaluation of a training program for care givers on underweight prevalence in children in South African schools. The intervention research model of Thomas and Rothman was used in the design and development of the training program. A descriptive design with a quasi-experiment one group pre-test-post test was used in this study. A non parametric statistical test was utilized as data was measured on an ordinal scale (Wilcoxon signed rank test). The care giver training program was implemented over nine weeks consisting of one and a half hour sessions held once weekly. All Foundation Phase teachers were involved in the training (18 Care Givers). The program was implemented with grade one learners at a traditional primary school in Pretoria with a mixed demography and age groups varying between 6 and 8 years of age. Hundred and fifty learners participated in the pre and post test wherein a non probability sampling method was used. The study found that the training program for care givers had a statistically significant effect on underweight prevalence in young children. FMEA profiling in this study confirmed that enhancing care giver knowledge, skill and competence contributes significantly to the changes experienced in children’s underweight status. BMI levels changed significantly. The percentage underweight children dropped from 25.33% to 15, 33% over time. It is recommended that this intervention program be implemented and facilitated by teachers (care givers) forming part of a multi-disciplinary education approach in many South African schools. AFRIKAANS : ‘n Onlangse verslag getiteld “Report Card on Physical Activity and Health in South African Children and Youth 2010” dui aan dat daar ten minste vier hooffaktore is wat jong kinders se gesondheid aan gesondheidsrisiko’s blootstel. Die faktore sluit in rook, ongesonde eetstyl en dieet, gebrekkige deelname aan fisieke aktiwiteit en gewigsuitdagings. Gewigsuitdagings waarvoor Suid Afrikaanse jeug te staan kom sluit in oorgewigvoorkoms, ondergewigvoorkoms, obesiteit en of groeibeperking (stunting). Een van die areas wat in die verslag as voorkoming vir hierdie gewigsuitdagings voorgestel word is opleiding aan opvoeders. Die doel van die studie was dan om kennis, vaardigheid en bekwaamheidsvlakke in onderwysers te verbeter wanneer hulle met ondergewig kinders in hulle sorg werk te bewerkstellig d.m.v ‘n indiensopleidingsprogram (Train-the–trainer). Tans dra ondergewigvoorkoms by tot meer as die helfte van alle sterftes onder kinders wêrelwyd. In hierdie studie is bevind dat soveel as 25.33% van die kinders in die studie tekens van ondergewig getoon het. Dit beklemtoon die belangrikheid van ‘n opleidingsprogram aan die opvoeders van hierdie kinders. Statistiese data soos hier bo genoem is deur die navorser aangewend in die ontwikkeling, implementering en evaluering van die opleidingsprogram aan opvoeders van ondergewig kinders in die skool. Die intervensie navorsingsmodel van Thomas and Rothman is gebruik in die ontwerp en ontwikkeling van die opleidingsprogram. ‘n Beskrywende ontwerp met kwasi-eksperimente, een groep voortoets-natoets is in die studie gebruik. Nie parametriese statistiese toetsing is aangewend en data is gemeet aan die hand van ‘n ordinale skaal (Wilcoxon signed rank toets). Die opleidingsprogram aan opvoeders is oor ‘n tydperk van nege weke geïmplimenteer. Elke opleidingsessie was een en ‘n half uur lank en een maal per week aangebied. Alle grondsalgfase opvoeders was in die opleiding betrokke (n=18). Die program is getoets op graad een leerders wat skoolgaan in ‘n tradisionele laerskool in Pretoria met ‘n gemengde demografie en ouderdomsgroepe het gewissel tussen ses en agt jaar oud. Een honderd en vyftig leerders het aan die voor en natoetsing deelgeneem en ‘n nie waarskynlike metode van insluiting is gebruik. Die studie het bevind dat die opleidingsprogram aan opvoeders van ondergewig kinders in die skool ‘n beduidende invloed gehad het op die voorkoms van ondergewig. FMEA profiele gedoen in die studie het bevestig dat die verbetering van opvoeder kennis, vaardigheid en bekwaamheidsvlakke beduidend bygedra het tot die verandering in die ondergewig status van die kinders. LMI tellings het gedaal vanaf 25, 33% tot slegs 15, 33% oor verloop van tyd. Die navorser is van mening dat hierdie voorkomingsprogram in werking gestel behoort te word en deur opvoeders in die skool gefasiliteer word; om sodoende deel te word van ‘n multi-dissiplinêre onderwysbenadering in Suid Afrikaanse skole. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Biokinetics, Sport and Leisure Sciences / unrestricted

My thesis will serve as a monitoring tool for the management of an educational division in company BooK s.r.o.. This monitoring will consist in setting up a new form of monitoring feedback mechanism with help of a made-to-measure web application created by me. The feedback check will reflect the customer’s satisfaction with services provided by this company as well as the evaluation of employees concerned. Creation of this new form of feedback was requested directly by the company management of BooK s.r.o. and the implementation and using itself will bring benefits the company primarily in automatization of the monitoring process and time factor. At the same time this application will serve as a tool for evaluation of satisfaction of the customers whose opinions are crucial for the company’s success and improvement of the standard of the provided services which will result in increasing the company’s competitiveness.

Beginning as young as five or six years of age, children participate in organised sports and there are an estimated 25-35 million children under the age of eighteen who participate in organised youth sports. Whether success records, statistics, motivational factors or personal reasons are the motivators behind participation in sports, athletes are often studied by the population. Despite a large contingency of children who participate in sports, professional or adult athletes’ thoughts and motivations are often studied. However, one thing is known: The reason children play sports is because they have fun. This study explored the viewpoints of teachers/trainers from Schools in Paarl region from a qualitative perspective on why children choose to participate in sports. The participants were selected via non-probability sampling method with the utilisation of purposive sampling techniques. Data were collected with semi structured interviews with teachers/trainers at Paarl schools. Data were analysed according to Tesch’s (in Creswell, 2009:186) framework for the analysing of qualitative data and data were verified according to Guba’s (in Krefting, 1991:214-222) framework for data verification of qualitative data. The verified data were described in specific teams and sub-themes as well as supplemented by literature control. The researcher concludes this study by drawing certain conclusions and recommendations from the research findings / Philosophy, Practical and Systematic Theology / M.A. (Daiconiology)

Digitalization crosses all areas of life (Hess et al. 2014). Recent progress in artificial intelligence (AI) opens new potentials for further developments and improvements, with virtual coaching being a prime example. Virtual coaches (VCs) aim to optimize the user’s life by transforming cognition, affection, and behavior towards a stated goal. Since they emerged from the health and sports domain, a typical example are VCs in the form of digital avatars, which instruct physical exercises, shape health-related knowledge and provide motivational support to achieve the user’s goals (e.g., weight loss) (Ding et al. 2010; Tropea et al. 2019). Nonetheless, the application areas of VCs are versatile and exploring the potential areas (e.g., healthcare, work, finance, leisure, and environment) constitutes an essential topic of future research and development. According to Gartner’s hype cycle for human capital management technology, VCs are still in their infancy but are considered innovation triggers for the following years (Gartner, Inc. 2021). Specifically, VCs can be a replacement or complement for traditional human-to-human coaching scenarios and promise broad access to personalized coaching services independent of place and time (Graßmann and Schermuly 2021). As a result, VCs may contribute to solving challenges posed by an aging society and skilled labor shortage (European Commission 2016; Edwards and Cheok 2018). Last but not least, the recent COVID-19 pandemic additionally showcased the need for VCs as an alternative to traditional face-to-face interventions. Against this background and driven by the potential and promises of VCs, research has recently engaged in developing and understanding VC applications (Tropea et al. 2019; Lete et al. 2020; Graßmann and Schermuly 2021). To introduce the concept in information systems (IS) research and provide a basis for researchers and practitioners alike, this catchword aims at providing a holistic view on VCs. The structure of this paper is as follows. Section 2 elaborates a definition, delimits VCs from related system classes, and proposes a research framework. Section 3 aggregates existing research into the framework and concludes with an outlook on future IS research perspectives.