This dissertation documents an action-oriented, arts-based doctoral study that used popular theatre to investigate graduate students’ experiences at the University of Victoria (UVic) in Canada. The research question asks, what are the contradictions between the welcoming multicultural discourses of Canada and the experiences of international graduate students? This question is explored with a total of twenty-four graduate students, representing fourteen countries, including Canada, and ten departments across campus. These students participated in pilot work, interviews, focus groups, in-depth theatre workshops, and a public performance entitled, UNSETTLED. The process of creating interactive forum theatre with six graduate students and one student’s infant is outlined in depth, as is performance at UVic on November 8, 2006. The community impact of UNSETTLED and the researcher and actors’ learning-healing experiences are highlighted. The key contributions of this research are practical, theoretical, and methodological. Practically, this research contributes to the ongoing dialogue and concrete efforts around already identified challenges of internationalization. The outcome is an entirely student-driven effort that is unique both in content (due to the graduate student perspective represented) and in form (theatre). Theoretically, this research contributes to the areas of transformative learning and intersectionality. These theoretical insights reposition the ‘international student’ from being a person solely in need of services, to being one of many potential agents of change. An intersectional analysis points to a need to simultaneously address the diverse struggles of other graduate students, staff, administrators, and faculty in increasingly globalized universities and communities. Methodologically, this study expresses the catalytic and dialogical power of the intersection of research with art, education, community development, and activism, contributing to the fields of both arts-based research and action-oriented, participatory research and the places where these overlap.

The city is characterised by unequal living conditions and inequities. Residential segregation – in the sense that people with different socio-economic resources and of various ethnicities live separately from one another – is a major cause of urban inequities. Urban planning has contributed to segregation but also provides the potential for change by facilitating a more just and non-segregated city. Social sustainability and social justice objectives, however, usually conflict with a neoliberal planning mindset, one that shapes both the planning conditions and approach and benefits economic growth. The aim of this thesis is to examine how and for whom Stockholm is being planned in order to thus clarify whether the planning reduces segregation and contributes to creating a more just city. This is done by looking at Stockholm’s overall planning approach, based on the ambitious objective of ‘a world-class Stockholm’, and the present planning of two areas – Järva and Stockholm Royal Seaport. Vision Järva 2030 is a strategy to develop segregated neighbourhoods, while Stockholm Royal Seaport is a new urban development project. The analysis highlights that Stockholm’s planning is in a dialectical state between a socially sustainable approach – with the goal of reducing inequities and segregation – and a neoliberal development logic focusing on competing with other cities to attract investment. The latter, however, predominates, for instance resulting in social strategies taking place on neoliberal terms and so losing their true meaning. The planning focuses primarily on developing the city for a neoliberal subject associated with economic growth. In accordance with this, a lifestyle philosophy based on the city centre’s urban city ideals and middle-class consumption and activity patterns is in evidence in the planning. The overall conclusion is that the planning cannot be deemed to reduce segregation or contribute to the creation of a just city as a result of how and for whom the city is being planned.

Social economy community development organizations (SECDOs) are social service organizations that provide poverty relief but do not necessarily inspire a counter-hegemonic antipoverty strategy against a neoliberal welfare state. Tension between providing human social services and engaging in advocacy is at the core of how SECDOs may be both complicit to as well as working against the neoliberalization of the welfare state. This study explores how SECDOs can nurture a new paradigm for community economic development organizations. Through a case study of a Canadian settlement house, the research demonstrates how transforming work may encourage a culture of organic intellectualism or, a culture of emancipatory consciousness-raising. By re-organizing workplace practices, such as working collaboratively, providing a hub for services and engaging in popular education, transformative SECDOs help provide the conditions for citizens to affect governance. The research theorizes how SECDOs may foster a culture of organic intellectualism to promote the transformative social economy.

Social economy community development organizations (SECDOs) are social service organizations that provide poverty relief but do not necessarily inspire a counter-hegemonic antipoverty strategy against a neoliberal welfare state. Tension between providing human social services and engaging in advocacy is at the core of how SECDOs may be both complicit to as well as working against the neoliberalization of the welfare state. This study explores how SECDOs can nurture a new paradigm for community economic development organizations. Through a case study of a Canadian settlement house, the research demonstrates how transforming work may encourage a culture of organic intellectualism or, a culture of emancipatory consciousness-raising. By re-organizing workplace practices, such as working collaboratively, providing a hub for services and engaging in popular education, transformative SECDOs help provide the conditions for citizens to affect governance. The research theorizes how SECDOs may foster a culture of organic intellectualism to promote the transformative social economy.

Despite a growing body of research on trainee teachers’ learning during pre-service programs, intensive introductory TESL training courses are still designed to instruct a “standard” type of trainee teacher. This research study investigates the factors that mediate trainee teachers’ learning process as well as the interaction between these factors, which either facilitate and/or hinder trainee teachers’ success during an intensive introductory TESL training course. Using a qualitative holistic single-case study, informed by an interpretivist perspective, this study explores how three trainee teachers learned how to teach during a course in Southern Ontario, Canada. An integrated conceptual framework, formed by a sociocultural perspective of teacher learning, a holistic view of curriculum, and transformative pedagogy was employed and the findings include four major factors that mediated trainee teachers’ teacher learning process and three types of interaction that facilitated and/or hindered their success during the program.

Fältet ledarskap är ett tidigare väl utforskat område, trots detta har relativt lite forskning inom ämnet berört svenska organisationer och än mindre statliga institutioner och myndigheter. I följande studie undersöks, vad chefer på en statlig myndighet upplever som faktorer för att utöva ett framgångsrikt ledarskap i sin organisation. Studien bygger på empirin från kvalitativa intervjuer med fem chefer på den statliga myndigheten Trafikverket. I och med denna studie har även en ny intervjumetod utvecklats, interaktivt tematiserad intervju. Där respondenten är en del i att skapa och utforma intervjuguiden. I resultatet av denna studie framkommer det att de undersökta cheferna själva upplevde att ett framgångsrikt ledarskap i sin organisation bygger på fyra faktorer. Dessa benämnda som relationer, beslutsfattande, utveckling och autenticitet. Slutsatserna som denna studie kan bidra med, utöver vilka faktorer som cheferna själva anser genererar ett framgångsrikt ledarskap, är också hur cheferna agerar för att utöva ett vad de upplever framgångsrikt ledarskap, men även vilka roller ett framgångsrikt ledarskap innefattar. Att rollen som chef, rollen som ledare och rollen som sig själv, påverkar tidigare nämnda faktorer, relationer, beslut och utveckling, och att samspelet mellan dessa roller och faktorer på olika sätt påverkar chefernas grad av upplevd framgång i sitt ledarskap. Studien visar även att Trafikverkets nya ledarskapsfilosofi stämmer väl överens med vad cheferna upplever som bidragande faktorer för att utöva ett framgångsrikt ledarskap. Samt att denna nya filosofi kan bidra till att cheferna till större grad kan utöva ett vad de själva upplever framgångsrikt ledarskap. / The field of leadership is a previously well-explored area, but relatively little research in the subject has concerned Swedish organizations and even less government institutions and authorities. In the following study, what managers at a government authority are perceived as factors to exercise successful leadership in their organization are investigated. The study is based on empirical evidence from qualitative interviews with five managers at the State Administration of Transport, Trafikverket. Through this study, a new interview method has also been developed, interactive themed interview. Where the respondent is a part in creating and designing the interview guide. In the results of this study, it is found that the investigated managers themselves felt that successful leadership in their organization is based on four factors. These are referred to as relationships, decision making, development and authenticity. The conclusions that this study can contribute beyond what factors the managers themselves consider generating a successful leadership are also how the managers act to exert what they experience successful leadership, but also what roles a successful leadership includes. That the role of the manager, the role of leader and the role as himself, affects the aforementioned factors, relationships, decision and development, and that the interaction between these roles and factors in various ways affects the managers' degree of perceived success in their leadership. The study also shows that Trafikverket's new leadership philosophy is in line with what managers perceive as contributing factors for the pursuit of successful leadership. And that this new philosophy can help managers to exert more what they themselves experience as a successful leadership.

Submitted by Paulo André Nassar (paulo.nassar@gvmail.br) on 2012-01-24T19:26:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 NASSAR - JDMTC - BKAB - final.pdf: 4839362 bytes, checksum: 527a7cf0c0a74ce36854726d39768c25 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Vera Lúcia Mourão (vera.mourao@fgv.br) on 2012-01-24T19:57:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 NASSAR - JDMTC - BKAB - final.pdf: 4839362 bytes, checksum: 527a7cf0c0a74ce36854726d39768c25 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-01-26T10:58:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 NASSAR - JDMTC - BKAB - final.pdf: 4839362 bytes, checksum: 527a7cf0c0a74ce36854726d39768c25 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-12-09 / In this dissertation, I aim to assess Courts’ transformation performance on housing rights issues. I begin making reference to transformative constitutionalism theory, presenting its main thesis, and then I point out the transformative features of 1988’s Brazilian Constitution and make the distinction between dirigiste constitutionalism and transformative constitutionalism. Then I present and comment both the housing problem in Brazil and the Brazilian legal doctrine on housing rights. After that, I propose a multidisciplinary methodology developed to assess Courts’ transformation performance on housing rights issues. Finally, I present an empirical study that makes a systematic content analysis of 50 'class action' filled by the 'Defensoria Pública do Estado de Sao Paulo against the Municipality of São Paulo, which aims to modify the municipal housing policies to accommodate the interests of marginalized groups. I conclude that in these issues, Courts has a limited transformation capacity, since social change occurs only when political, social and economic agents are also engaged "out of court" and when there is political will of the government. / Esta dissertação tem por objetivo avaliar o desempenho transformador do Poder Judiciário em questões relacionada ao direito à moradia. O estudo tem como referência teórica o constitucionalismo transformador, razão pela qual apresenta-se suas as principais teses, aponta-se as características transformadoras da Constituição brasileira de 1988, e propõe-se uma distinção entre constitucionalismo transformador e constitucionalismo dirigente. Faz-se apresentação e crítica do problema habitacional brasileiro e da doutrina jurídica brasileira sobre direito à moradia. Propõe-se uma metodologia multidisciplinar desenvolvida para aferir o desempenho transformador do Judiciário em questões sobre o direito à moradia. Feito isso, apresenta-se um estudo empírico que faz a sistematização e análise de 50 ações civis públicas propostas pela Defensoria Pública do Estado de São Paulo em face da Prefeitura de São Paulo, em que se pretende modificar as políticas habitacionais municipais para contemplar os interesses de grupos marginalizados. Conclui-se que, nessas questões, o Judiciário tem um desempenho transformador limitado, uma vez que a transformação social pleiteada ao Judiciário só ocorre se forças econômicas, sociais e políticas estiverem mobilizadas 'extra-judicialmente' para tanto e se houver vontade política do Administrador.

Text in English / In order to address the paucity of knowledge in regard to the psychological and physiological processes associated with lifelong weight loss (>20 years), this study adopts a qualitative approach informed by phenomenology to explore the experience of lifelong weight loss and maintenance of women who participated in the ITAND Programme. The research questions guiding the exploration of the current research are: (i) Which strategies from the ITAND Programme do women perceive as assisting with initial weight loss? (ii) What are the processes mediating lifelong weight loss? (iii) What strategies and skills mediate the maintenance of lifelong weight loss? (iv) What feelings or beliefs motivate women to continue attempts to lose weight after experiencing multiple failures on diets? and (v) Which psychological, cognitive and behavioural processes are identified as mediating lifelong weight loss? Eight overweight and obese women were invited to write their narratives and engage in interviews in regard to exploring their relationships with food, their bodies and their weight, after a period of more than 20 years following their participation in an integrative, transactional analysis, anti-diet programme (the ITAND Programme). Narratives were used to explore their beliefs about constructs, processes and strategies mediating long-term weight loss maintenance. The participants’ narratives and interviews were analysed through applying narrative analysis and interpretive phenomenological analysis. In addition to a non-diet paradigm, four processes definingweight loss maintenance were identified, including the adult learning process of transformative learning, the psychological process of transactional analysis, the physiological process of intuitive eating and the cognitive-behavioural processes relating to weight loss maintenance. This study contributes an integrative, transactional analysis, non-diet treatment model (ITAND model) which is enabled by the processes of transformative learning, intuitive eating and cognitive-behaviour modification to the successful long- term treatment of overweight and obesity. This model may be applied in whole or in part in a primary health care or community context. The findings of this study may be used to inform future research into the development and implementation of non-diet weight loss maintenance interventions in the treatment of overweight andobesity. / Psychology / D.Litt. et Phil. (Psychology)

The legal historical development of fairness in the South African common law of contract is investigated in the context of the political, social and economic developments of the last four centuries. It emerges that the common law of contract is still dominated by the ideologies of individualism and economic liberalism which were imported from English law during the nineteenth century. Together with the theories of legal positivism and formalism which are closely related to parliamentary sovereignty and the classical rule of law, these ideals were transposed into the common law of contract through the classical model of contract law which emphasises freedom and sanctity of contract and promotes legal certainty. This approach resulted in the negation of the court’s equitable discretion and the limitation of good faith which sustain the social and economic inequalities that were created under colonialism and exacerbated under apartheid rule. In stark contrast, the modern human rights culture grounded in human dignity and aimed at the promotion of substantive equality led to the introduction of modern contract theory in other parts of the world. The introduction of the Constitution as grounded in human dignity and aimed at the achievement of substantive equality has resulted in a sophisticated jurisprudence on human dignity that reflects a harmonisation between its Western conception as based on Kantian dignity and ubuntu which provides an African understanding thereof. In this respect, ubuntu plays an important role in infusing the common law of contract with African values and in promoting substantive equality between contracting parties in line with modern contract theory. It is submitted that this approach to human dignity should result in the development of good faith into a substantive rule of the common law of contract which can be used to set aside an unfair contract term or the unfair enforcement thereof. / Private Law / LL. D.

The concept of parental involvement has been viewed as an ideal style of leadership and management for school development purposes. In South Africa’s case, it is an educational policy which is expected to reign in all school management bodies. Many theorists envisaged parental involvement as enhancing active involvement of parents and it has been advocated by many scholars who believe it is the best leadership style in implementing democratic values to education, particularly South African rural education, which is still in a transitional stage. The primary purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which parents contribute towards education of their children. This study involved transformative case study as a research design at one rural school in Waterberg district in South Africa. This research employed three data collection techniques, namely semi-structured interviews, focus groups and document analysis. When formal education was introduced in South Africa schools it was regarded as exceptional environment for teachers, school administrators and learners. To a large extent, parents and the communities regarded themselves as something outside of the education system. The main findings of this study revealed that there is a lack of joint understanding and shared vision between educators and parents in the School Governing Body. This problem underpins other more symptomatic problems, such as lack of accountability in the matter of school finances, differences in understanding the roles of School Board members and lack of parents’ motivation from the school management. It highlighted some of the challenges that hinder the effective involvement of parents in rural school governance, such as poor educational background among parents. The study has also revealed challenges and consequences of non-parental involvement in school governance. The conclusion that could be drawn from the study is that in schools where parent-community involvement is highly visible, teacher effectiveness is apparent and this contributed significantly to the improvement of learner performance while in schools where parent-community involvement is non-existent or minimal, the result is the opposite. / Educational Leadership and Management / M. Ed. (Education Management)